#really it is a very basic and obvious problem to people with any kind of like. grounding in statistics through any means

[utilitycaster]

re that post about the warping of valid discussion into something really stupid from last night, obviously that's about real life but I think as with many things it's helpful to use the same analysis for fandom contexts. To use the same pattern:

"Misogyny is a huge problem IRL and in fandom" absolutely true

"If a character is a mother, people tend to judge her primarily on that basis and not as a complete person who exists outside of the context of motherhood" also extremely true

"it's misogynist to dislike a specific character who happens to be a mother" you have to provide some more analysis if you want to make an argument, otherwise you're just kind of like, the equivalent of a toddler putting their hands over their eyes and thinking people can't see you; also you better have a perfect track record of stanning characters who are mothers yourself if a single character can make or break this.

[kukukurona]

#WELOVELOSERS — isagi yoichi.

all art by yuexere.

a/n; feel free to send me requests!

gamer!isagi who, despite being very intelligent when it comes to playing basically any kind of game, was actually quite stupid when it came to school. although his computer science (and sometimes math) grades were high, the other subjects basically ruin his report card.

gamer!isagi who ended up meeting you through his chemistry class, which happened to be one of his worst subjects. you were pretty good at the subject but lately your test grades have been low, so you asked the teacher if there was anyone you could tutor for some extra credit.

gamer!isagi who groaned when his teacher told him to stay after class, already knowing that he was going to be talked to about his grades. annoyed by the thought, as his games were waiting for him at home and he really wanted to play some valorant or something.

gamer!isagi who, when the bell rang and everyone left — leaving just three people in the room, eyes widened and jaw slightly dropped when he saw you. sure, you had been in his class for like a good half year by now, but he was never one to pay attention to girls.

gamer!isagi who couldn’t keep his eyes off of you when the chemistry teacher was explaining that you were to be his new tutor, trying to hopefully get his grades up.

gamer!isagi who forgot all about the games when you started to talk, you leading the conversation and asking which days he was free afterschool and if he needed help in break times or not. your voice was really pretty.

gamer!isagi who’s grades in chemistry went up, so much so infact that he started not needing a chemistry tutor anymore. that can’t be good, he wanted to be with you more.

gamer!isagi who asked you, during one of the tutor sessions for the upcoming tests, if you were good at any other subjects. to absolutely no one’s surprise, you were. score!

gamer!isagi who wasted no time in asking you to help him with other subjects, with you having no opposition to it because you quite liked helping and also being with him.

gamer!isagi who started getting closer to you through the tutoring, you both became good friends. the time you spent together extended to more than just study sessions.

gamer!isagi who, you found out, was really fond of playing games. as if it wasn’t obvious though. he liked any type of game, and was willing to try basically everything.

gamer!isagi who you were able to discuss your favorite games with, as he probably played it too. there’s no problem if he hadn’t yet, as he immediately would pull allnighters finishing your favorite games just so he could talk to you about something.

gamer!isagi who became your bestfriend — the tutoring sessions that brought you two together becoming redundant, as his grades genuinely improved because of you.

gamer!isagi who you played games with a lot, going to his house often to spend time with him. his parents didn’t mind either, they were such kind people.

gamer!isagi who plays horror games with you, both of you screaming at the jumpscares and laughing your asses off every two seconds.

gamer!isagi who became your minecraft and roblox buddy, also just your buddy for everything to be honest.

gamer!isagi who became part of your daily routine and vice versa.

gamer!isagi who genuinely was so inlove with you since the first day you met, always trying to be the best version of himself for you.

gamer!isagi who helped you in your lows and always was there for you, never minding if his shirt was soaked in tears whenever you let the walls crush down and you finally let everything out.

gamer!isagi who you also fell inlove with, despite your feelings taking much longer to develop.

gamer!isagi who tried his best to stay just friends with you, thinking you would never like him back.

gamer!isagi who was also so dang obvious to the point where he couldn’t even hide his feelings for you anymore, despite his best efforts.

gamer!isagi who was too scared to confess, but with the help of his friends’ encouragement (and also you purposely giving him very large hints that you did like him back) he finally thought out a plan to confess.

gamer!isagi who asked you to be his girlfriend through flowers, your favorite chocolate, and a beautiful handmade minecraft pop up card, which he totally did not spend hours on and repeat dozens of times to get it perfectly right for you.

PROOF-READER: @bigbootyamongusimposter

a/n ; huhu this was lowkey rushed but its okay i think, i hope this didn’t suck that much :x also gradient text is such a hassle to do. weote this instead of updating my series, whoopsies! sorry guys, nerdsagi has just been stuck in my head all day.

thank you for reading !! ᢉ𐭩 please consider reblogging, commenting, or sending an ask if you enjoyed, it would really motivate me hehe! do not copy, translate, edit, or repost, any of my content on any platforms. this is my only account.

[babyleostuff]

perilla leaf/ shrimp debate | ot13

the perilla leaf debate: whether it is appropriate for one’s significant other to help peel the perilla leaf of a friend

𐙚🧸ྀི choi seungcheol

does absolutely not fuck with the idea. you’re not touching anyone’s food, he’s not touching anyone's food, and someone else is definitely not touching your food. he would genuinely give you a silent treatment if you helped your/ his friend with the perilla leaf or a shrimp because choi seungcheol is a possessive bitch, and he’s not afraid of letting everyone around him know about that (as if the hand on your thigh wasn’t enough). the only person that you can touch your food, and help you with it is him. end of story.

𐙚🧸ྀི yoon jeonghan

he wouldn’t mind you helping out your friend with peeling the perilla leaf or the shrimp, jeonghan is all for acts of service, and helping those who need it. even if the person would try to use the peeling as an excuse to flirt with you or get closer - still, no reaction from jeonghan. that’s just lame in his opinion, like seriously? a leaf? and i can imagine him scoffing loud enough for your friend to hear.

𐙚🧸ྀི joshua hong

does not pay attention to it, because if he was in your place he’d help his friend out as well. like, it’s so obvious to shua that neither a perilla leaf, nor a shrimp could question the quality of your relationship, and loyalty to each other, so why focus on something as silly as that? it actually causes the opposite effect for him - he finds it really endearing how you pay attention to the people around you, and how eager you are to help them.

𐙚🧸ྀི wen junhui

jun definitely wouldn’t say anything even if he was bothered by it, but i’m not really sure if he’d pay that much attention to it anyway. if you were around people you both knew very well, like the boys and their significant others, he wouldn’t mind it whatsoever. but if you were out with people he didn’t know that well he’d be more attentive then, but still - he wouldn’t make a scene out of it by any means. he’d maybe get a bit, i don’t know, sad? for a moment, but it would quickly go away. it’s just a leaf/ shrimp after all. 

𐙚🧸ྀི kwon soonyoung

(he’d probably be the one in need of your super duper peeling skills) the only thing he’d be truly bothered by if you helped your friend would be that they stole your attention from him, and kwon soonyoung needs your attention. the peeling itself is not that big of a deal, though i think a small part of hoshi would be a bit jealous, maybe he’d give you a bit of an attitude because peeling a shrimp can’t be that hard, right? but it’s nothing too serious, soonyoung is usually dramatic like that so it’s nothing new for you.

𐙚🧸ྀི jeon wonwoo

okay so, here’s the thing. if you help someone or someone else helps you, and it’s purely platonic - wonwoo has no problem with it. you’re all friends, it’s all good. BUT, if he sees that the person you’re helping out is flirting with you, and is using the excuse of the perilla leaf or the shrimp - it’s a big no no. he wouldn’t say anything, he’d definitely stay silent, but his face would say it all. would eye the person from head to toe with his sharp eyes (bonus point if he takes off his glasses to be more dramatic). wonwoo is nice until someone tries to steal you from him.

𐙚🧸ྀི lee jihoon

jihoon does not give a fuck whether you help someone or if someone helps you. for one, it’s just basic manners to help someone if they’re struggling, and why would he get jealous over you peeling a shrimp of all things. he doesn’t really get the whole perilla leaf debate either, it’s just plainly stupid to make a discours over two leaves sticking together as if that could determine the loyalty of your partner.

𐙚🧸ྀི lee seokmin

seokmin’s first reaction would be to pout, because it looked kind of intimate how you helped your friend, and from anyone else’s perspective it looked like you and your friend were together, and not you and him (and as a romantic soul, he can’t help but be a bit sad because of that). but then a realisation would quickly dawn upon him - you were helping your friend because you cared about them, you were paying attention to them, and your first and only reaction was to immediately help them. so in the end dk kind of melts over you , and your attentiveness.

𐙚🧸ྀི kim mingyu

my man does not care, he’s there for the food. so what if you help someone, or someone helps you, you’re all friends, right? it’s kind of stupid to get jealous over a literal leaf or a shrimp, like - if you help someone out it means you’re polite, and that you pay attention to those around you, which mingyu finds so much more attractive than being territorial over your partner. as someone whose main love language are acts of service, mingyu is all for helping those around you.

𐙚🧸ྀི xu minghao

doesn’t care either. even if said friend would have troubles with peeling the perilla leaf, and would ask you for help just to flirt with you, hao would not care at all. he is too confident in your relationship, like the trust he has in you and your love is so hot. besides, using a literal leaf as an excuse to flirt is pathetic. either way - flirting or not, minghao would not pay any attention to you peeling the leaf or a shrimp. 

𐙚🧸ྀི boo seungkwan

wouldn’t say anything out loud, but would definitely side eye the person that would ask you for your help with the shrimp. like, can’t you just peel it yourself? you really have to ask my partner to do it for you? but seungkwan wouldn’t make a scene out of it, it’s not that serious anyway, so why waste his energy on a shrimp. there’s a small chance boo would give you an attitude for a while, though, but that’s just because he wants your attention on him, not on someone that’s not able to peel a shrimp on their own.

𐙚🧸ྀི vernon chwe

vernon would not even notice you helping your friend with the leaf, because it’s literally your friend - he’d do the same if he saw someone struggling. we know he’s very laid back about this kind of stuff, it’s not like you’re going to fall in love with your friend just because of a leaf or a shrimp, so it’s not something he would pay much attention to. 

𐙚🧸ྀི lee chan

would probably swat your hand away from peeling that shrimp, not because he’s jealous or bothered by it - but because he wants you to keep eating your own food. chan is a little love bug that thrives off helping those around him, so in general he would not mind you helping others, whether it’d be peeling perilla leaves, shrimps, and whatnot. but he would still gently take your hand away, and encourage you to eat, and he’d help the person in need himself.

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[cherryredstars]

Not sure if I’m doing this right since I’m new to tumbler :D but hi love ur writing followed you in an instant!

I was wondering if you could write something for a very low self esteem, inexperienced reader who goes to uni so is like 21 or something and is Miguel’s neighbor. They live in this building and their other neighbor is a rude lady who complains at the slightest Noise basically. she doesn’t dare bother Miguel but is always bothering the reader since reader can’t tell her to f off. Reader is just such sweet chubby lil cinnamon roll :(

Idk if I should have been less descriptive or more TvT; ?

Anyway hope you’re doing great :D don’t forget to hydrate ♥️

1K Prompts

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Age Gap, Sexual Touching (With Clothes on), Slight Fluff

Summary: He helps you, you help him.

A/N: This is perfect, don’t worry, love!!!

Word Count: 2.4K (Not Edited)

This is most definitely going to leave you a crying wreck in your bathroom later.

Your nerves were already on high alert with finally becoming independent and moving out of the college dorms, that pesky exam and assignment you procrastinated on working on, and your job has been firing and hiring people left and right. The last thing you needed was your cranky old neighbor, (it is crazy to think that you once thought she was going to be a kind old woman who would give you cookies when she was lonely), to come banging on your door with a  list of complaints and reasons why she could get you evicted. You do not know what to do, never being in this type of situation before. Honestly, you do not even know about half the things this woman is accusing you of. 

You can only stand there, hand tightly holding the door open as you try not to cry from stress. In your head, you are counting in an effort to make sure your breaths are coming out evenly. The last thing you want is to have a panic attack and have your neighbor add the threat of a mental hospital to the list. You nod along weakly to what she says, letting out whispered apologies that only seem to make her angrier. 

“You useless teenagers and your need to ruin good things, don’t think I forgot when you tr-”

“Is there a problem here?”

His voice is deep and smooth, causing the both of you to jolt. You visibly relax when you turn your head to find Miguel standing outside his apartment door. He has just gotten back from work and running errands, his lab coat draped over his arm as he holds paper bags in his arms. His hair is slightly tousled from the autumn breeze, and a few strands of his black hair are scattered with grey. His sweater hugs his arms and torso in a way that is mouthwatering, and you quickly look away when his eyes meet yours.

Miguel is the only neighbor you really know. He had helped you the first time you moved in, hearing the way you struggled to bring some things up to your apartment. He offered to help, carrying in boxes faster than you could into your apartment. When you had gotten furniture, he was happy to come over and assemble it for you. He is so kind to you, offering to help with a leaking pipe or to answer any of your questions about how to do something. You might have grown a slight crush on your neighbor, something that slightly freaked you out when you realized because of the obvious age gap the two of you have. You have not even finished college yet and he is in his mid-thirties working in a big corporate lab. 

Miguel clears his throat and you look back at him. He stares at you expectantly, totally ignoring the stuttering woman who tries to answer his question. He is only ever interested in what you have to say. You flush under his intent gaze, quickly shaking your head. You do not want to cause more problems, and you definitely do not want to have your cranky neighbor form a bigger vendetta against you. 

Miguel’s eyebrow raises, definitely catching the anxious expression on your face. He hums dismissively after a minute, eyes lazily trailing back to the older woman. His nose scrunches up slightly at the sight of her and he looks away again as the woman stops trying to defend herself. Miguel shrugs, the paper bags rustling with their contents. He turns to face you, once again ignoring the older woman. 

“Then you wouldn’t mind helping me put away my groceries, right? Can’t get my keys with my hands full,” Miguel speaks in a lazy drawl. 

You are quick to nod your head in agreement, stepping out of your doorway and closing the door. The woman steps back, a displeased look on her face as she watches you walk over to Miguel. Miguel keeps his eyes trained on you, watching everything you do. You are shy when you smile up at him. With your back turned towards the old woman, you mouth a ‘thank you’ to him. His eyes instantly snap to your lips, intently studying your exaggerated words. His eyes seem to darken for a second before he blinks and it is gone. His eyes trail back up to your eyes and he tilts his head slightly down. 

“Keys are in my pants pocket.”

You quickly nod, whispering out an ‘okay’. Your face burns as you have to get closer to him to not knock into his arms. The angle is slightly awkward, your hands slip into his pants pocket and your face burns from having your hand so close to his…thing. As you try to find his keys, Miguel looks down at you with a heated look. He watches silently for a few minutes before looking back up and over your shoulder to the older woman. His face is masked in indifference, maintaining eye contact with her until she fidgets and turns away without saying a word. 

At the same time she walks into her own apartment, you make a sound of victory as you finally retrieve his keys. You dangle them in his face with a proud smile, and he gives you an amused smirk. He steps away from his apartment door, giving you room to step in front of him and unlock his door. As you insert the key, you feel Miguel press up against your back. His warmth seeps into your spine and you are quick to bite your tongue so you do not let out a squeal.  

His breath tickles your neck and ear, warm and slightly minty. “What did I tell you about standing up for yourself, hmm cariño?”

The question rumbles with his voice and you have to hold your breath in order to not make an embarrassing sound. You turn to look at him over your shoulder and instantly regret it. He has not moved his face yet, and you are a breath away from him. If you leaned forward the slightest bit, your noses would be touching. You gulp nervously, and Miguel’s eyes trail down to your lips once again. He lets out a deep hum as you lick them nervously. 

“I- she’s not that mean to me.” You whisper out in the older woman’s defense. You cannot help the way your lashes flutter as you try to meet his eyes. 

Miguel scoffs at your defense, finally backing away from you. He shifts his hold on the bags, freeing his hand to turn the doorknob. Your hand is still there, and your breath hitches when his large hand encompasses yours. His hand moves both yours and the doorknob, making a combined effort to open the door. You are still watching him from over your shoulder, mouth slightly opened in awe. Miguel looks down at you, something playful in his eyes as he tilts his head to the side. 

“You’re blocking the doorway, cariño. The ice cream I got you is going to melt.”

Your blush returns from the pet name and you stutter out an apology as you rush inside his apartment. It’s warm, and you’re hit with the smell of him. You find the light switch and turn on the lights, flooding the whole place with a warm glow. Miguel follows you into the kitchen, placing the paper bags on the dining room table. He rummages through them, glaring at you when you try to grab one to start helping. His hands connect with something cold, and he pulls out a personal pint of ice cream. He hands it over to you and you turn it around to see the label. Your eyes instantly light up when you read the brand and flavor. Last week you had ranted to Miguel about how the grocery store did not have your favorite ice cream in stock as he was fixing a problem with your internet. The whole time he just hummed along, you did not actually think he was listening. 

He smiles softly at you as you beam up at him. He turns back to the groceries, sighing when he sees your hand reaching for the bags again. He turns to you with a bored expression. He gently removes your hands from the bag, telling you to go eat your ice cream before it melts. You grumble playfully under your breath, complaining about how you were supposed to be helping. He chuckles as he follows after you, getting a spoon out for you. 

“I thought the whole point was that I was supposed to help you put the groceries away, not eat them.” 

Your complaining is cut off by a yelp when Miguel grabs your waist. He lifts you up, putting you on top of the counter. Your eyes are wide as you look at him and his head nuzzles into the crook of your neck. You squirm slightly from his proximity. 

“You can help me by sitting prettily and keeping me company. Tell me about your day.” 

He pulls away then, returning to the dining room table and carrying a bag to the counter next to you. Your eyes are still bashful as you watch him, quietly opening your ice cream and beginning to eat it. Miguel starts to pull contents from the bag and looks over at you expectantly. Hesitantly, you begin to go through your day, easing into it the more you talk. You speak between bites of ice cream, half paying attention to Miguel as he walks around the kitchen to place things in their proper places. Occasionally, he looks over at you as you speak, his eyes trained on the way you place the spoon in your mouth and lick at the delicious treat. 

You are almost done when he puts the last thing away. He walks over to you as you continue talking absentmindedly, just finished slipping the spoon out of your mouth again. You stop talking when Miguel’s eyes drop to your mouth, his thumb coming up the swipe at your lower lip. When he pulls it away, a bit of melted ice cream is stuck to his skin. His eyes meet yours again when he brings it to his mouth, licking it away. He hums in appreciation for the taste. 

Your mouth drops open with a gasp as you watch, eyes trained on the pink muscle. You watch as his lips form a sly smile, and you blush as you look back into his eyes. But his eyes are still trained on your parted mouth, eyes dilated and hungry. He leans forward slightly, hand returning to rub at your bottom lip before he replaces it with his lips. He is not kissing you exactly, only sucking on your lip until it is swollen and red. He gives it a small nip before he pulls away, his hands falling to rub your thighs. It causes a small whimper to escape your mouth and Miguel basks in the noise. 

His hand seeps closer and closer to the area between your thighs, grabbing the carton of ice cream and moving it to the side. His hands hastily return to the area between your thighs, fingers brushing against your center. Your breath hitches and you look down to where his hands are. Your attention is snapped away when his gravelly voice meets your ears. 

“Continue with the story, querida. You don’t sound like you finished.”

You stutter over your words, the topic of conversation blanking from your mind. Miguel chuckles knowingly, his fingers continuing to brush up and down until they land on your clothed bud. He presses into it hard enough so you can feel it through the fabric of your pants and panties, gently reminding you where you left off. You nod nervously, hands snapping up to meet his shoulders as you feel wetness rushing into your panties. You stutter and choke on your words, eyes shutting as you rotate your hips sloppily into his hand. The movement is jerky, and you feel slightly embarrassed at how painfully obvious it is that no one has ever touched you like this before. But Miguel seems to like it, likes the idea that you’re untouched and he is the only person who has seen you like this. 

It gets even better when you make those soft noises, cutting yourself off and having to be reminded about what you were saying. Miguel continues his hand movements, pressing into you and rubbing and stroking. Your wetness has seeped through your panties, dampening the material of your leggings. If you were not lost in how good it feels, you would have been grossed out and uncomfortable. A weak call of his name escapes you and Miguel looks up from your cunt to look at your face. He hums in acknowledgement, watching as you try to pull his face closer to yours in a kiss. 

He swiftly avoids it, and you would have curled into yourself at the blunt rejection if you did not become distracted by his mouth suck and licking along your neck and jaw. Your mouth falls open with a moan, head leaning back to give him more room. He groans against your skin, fingers pressing tight circles to your clit. With a few hard circles, your back arches and your hold on him tightens. Gasping moans leave you and you feel the band in you snap, releasing more wetness into your panties as you finish. Miguel pulls his head away from your neck, keeping his fingers to your bud as you ride out the orgasm. Once you slump back down, he pulls his hands away. As you catch your breath, Miguel cleans up the mess on the counter. He reaches over, closing your melted ice cream and putting the spoon in the sink. 

You are still in a daze when he pushes the warm container in your hands, his own hands gentle as he lifts you off the counter. Your eyes are glossy in after-lust as he gently guides you out of his apartment and into yours. His warm hand leaves the small of your back, massaging your sides before he whispers a thank you into your ear for your help. You are only pulled completely out of your daze when you hear your door lock and close as Miguel leaves. You turn to look at the door, cheeks blazing as you clutch tightly onto your ice cream.

You are totally getting a noise complaint for that old woman tomorrow.

Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5

Extra 1

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[augustlilyflower]

placements that I personally think are really easy to recognise in people

disclaimer: I am not a pro at this at all, like literally not at all I’ve just been fixated on astrology observations for years and noticed that some placements in astrology are really obvious and easy to spot in people

- Aries Venus

for me, it’s in regards to Aries Venus men rather than the women since it’s only the men I’ve had experiences with so I don’t know if it’s the same for women; but these are the boys who when they are pursuing you (and they will be the ones doing the active pursuing) you will know it and it will feel like a game. Not to repeat the phrase most ppl on astrology use with Aries, but it is just like a game of cat and mouse. Aries venus embodies this energy of Aries so strongly.

they’re not the type to back down very easy and they are really kind of straightforward with their intentions. These boys I’ve had experiences with are nice and fun, and theyre harmless at the end of the day, but if they like you they will go from 0-100 and they will not be subtle about it.

- Scorpio placements in general

These guys are intense. Usually their eyes are really striking in some way - not necessarily the colour, just the look in their eyes. Strong eye contact. Also in my experience scorpios and Leo’s (I am a Leo haha) are the most open about their sign? What I mean is that they usually know what their zodiac sign is - whether they believe in astrology or not they will have googled and found out their sign and they will have no problem telling people their sign.

- cancer rising

You just know.

- Venus influence

hate to be stereotypical but in this case the stereotypes are RIGHT. Gorgeous, gorgeous people. Libra, Taurus, 2nd, or 5th house placements. Or strong Venus aspects. This person is so likeable, and can charm their way out of any disagreement. My favourite manager at work is a Libra, and many friends of mine are libras. My manager is so many customers favourite employee at work, and she knows exactly how to keep the peace between coworkers. Also such a symmetrical face. Like even before I asked what her sign was in convo, I just knew she was a Libra. Usually Venus influence indicates some form of popularity in whatever way.

- virgo moon

in a platonic sense, the kind of friend who will go with u (and ENJOY) to do your daily/weekly errands. Loves helping in some way. Perfectionist habits, focus on details, and has likely dabbled in some form of cooking or baking.

- people with Leo placements

just so obvious. Usually really good hair, or just a lot of it. Or some kind of interest in hair care, the type to splurge on expensive hair products (definitely not calling myself out here 👀)

Like with Scorpio, is the type to know their sign and brag about it.

-Aquarius placements

The people you see with the funky hair colours, piercings, band t shirts, mullets probably, just someone who in some way is a little different than the norm. The people with Aquarius placements who I know however are usually the “cool” girls or boys, the ones who are known or liked by many and tend to have this nonchalant aura about them. (Whether they actually ARE as chill and nonchalant as they present themselves depends on the other placements in their charts)

Additional:

I also want to add that I think that the placements you have in your natal chart have an influence on what kind of energy you will find easier to spot when meeting new people.

For example, here’s my chart:

Leo sun 9’ (2nd house),

Cancer rising 11’ (+ cap descendant),

Virgo moon 27’(4th house),

Virgo Mercury 3’ (3rd house),

Leo venus 4’ (2nd house),

Pisces Mars 10’ (10th house)

here you can see how my chart is similar to placements I find easy to spot in new people.

I think someone having the same rising sign as you is probably something most people will find easy to notice when you know the basics of astrology, because unless you have a lot of aspects to the ascendant or planets in the 1st house, there is usually always some part of the stereotype that does tend to fit?

E.g., I’m a cancer rising and the appearance stereotypes are things such as a round face, big/watery eyes, soft/pale/“glowy” skin, bigger chest area, kind of sad looking eyes?, and overall quite soft features. A lot of these features are applicable to me, and when you search up celebrities with the same rising as you I guarantee you will notice key features shared between them all.

So I usually find it a lot easier to spot when someone is a cancer rising in comparison to any other rising sign.

[penny-anna]

classic who companion exit tier list

long ass post!! here u go:

TOP TIER:

Ian and Barbara: listen they have a very simple arc with a simple goal. they wanna go back to 1960s London. perhaps one of the most joyous moments in the entire show. they go home!! the world has moved on without them but that's a problem for tomorrow! they are home! hooray!

Sara Kingdom: i have a lot of opinions on this one oh boy! firstly: the ending of The Daleks' Master Plan is absolutely brutal n i love it. it's the kind of 'we defeated the daleks but at what cost' ending nuwho constantly teases but never commits to. The Doctor pulled the trigger on the Time Destructor and killed one of this friends in the progress and now he has to live with that forever.

secondly: Sara makes her entrance by murdering her own brother and while the text never really dwells on this it makes perfect sense to me that she's willing to do basically anything to defeat the daleks. if the daleks win then she killed her brother for nothing. I also love the horribly irony of her starting out so unable to question authority that she guns Bret down in cold blood & then dying bcos she disregarded the Doctor's instructions. love that.

Jamie & Zoe: yeah this one is a horrible suckerpunch of an ending and i love that for them. love to watch Jamie and Zoe learn and grow as people so so much over their time with the Doctor and then have it all ripped away. the execution is a little shaky but its conceptually so so good i can forgive it all its janky sins.

Adric: also absolutely gutting. his arc across Earthshock is so good. love him managing to resolve things w the Doctor and then dying right afterwards. love him trying to prove to himself & the Doctor that he can solve the logic gates but also his genuine desperation to save a planet that isn't even his home. 'but now I'll never know if I was right'. outstanding.

Tegan: the very rare 'companion abruptly leaves at the end of an adventure' that actually works. poor poor Tegan. 'it stopped being fun, Doctor'. 100% in character for her to just impulsively walk away and 100% in character for the Doctor to just let her go.

Turlough: I actually re-watched Planet of Fire the other night and I forgot how good it is. underrated frankly. full on deep dive into who Turlough is and where he came from. first name reveal. wonderful demonstration of Turlough's character growth since he came aboard.

Ace: arguably im cheating here as she doesn't have a TV exit but honestly I'm counting her. Ace affirming that the TARDIS is her home now and going off to have 1000 more adventures with the Doctor is the perfect ending for her. no notes.

PRETTY GOOD TIER:

Susan: so in theory I think this is the perfect ending for Susan. right from the start it's obvious that Earth is her adopted home world and she wants to stay there for good; staying behind to help them rebuild after the dalek invasion is a lovely way to bring her character full circle. and honestly I'm into the Doctor locking her out of the TARDIS. it's very in character all around. there's just something Off and vaguely sexist about the execution that knocks this one out of the top tier for me.

Katarina: im in favour of characters dying and on a certain level I love that they did this. it's just so exactly the kind of situation that Dr Who companions normally survive. uh oh Katarina's in danger! tune in next week and see how the Doctor will save her - oh. oh no. :( however this is a case where the ??? behind the scenes situations has me like honestly i don't think they should have done any of this. :/

Ben and Polly: as above I do think this was the right ending for them. they didn't leave home voluntarily and they get to go home. it also feels very apt that (unlike Ian and Barbara) they get sent back to the same day they left, making it kind of easier and also kind of harder to grapple with the consequences of what happened? just a real pity that the circumstances of the actors leaving the show made the execution so half-assed.

Jo: definitely the best of the 'companion leaves the doctor to get married' endings. far and away the most developed romance. love also that Jo made up her mind to quit travelling with the Doctor before even meeting Cliff. unfortunately: i just really fucking hate Cliff and I wish he was dead. :)

Harry Sullivan: honestly nothing wrong w this one. Harry had a good time and then he decided it wasn't for him and peaced out. fine from a character perspective i just think their reasoning for writing him out was kind of BS.

Sarah Jane: very mixed feelings on this one. I do get what they were going for and part of me really enjoys it. i just think Sarah could have had a better ending? honestly i don't know how I'd have ended this one.

K9: i don't really care about K9 but i think it's cute that the Doctor gave Romana the dog :3

OKAY TIER:

Vicki: I mean this one could have been a lot worse. the romance is very rushed but legitimately sweet. love her hugging the TARDIS goodbye. just sucks that they fired the actress. deserved a better ending.

Victoria: I think Victoria being like 'this isn't working for me, I just want to go back to a normal life' is the correct & proper ending for her. it's just one of those companion endings that's kind of abrupt and arbitrary and i don't love it.

Romana II: I think Romana heading off to be a solo adventurer in her own universe is the exact right ending for her & also love her being like 'tee hee the time lords can't make me go home if I hide in this pocket dimension :)'. however does unfortunately feel a arbitrary. wish they'd given her more of a send off.

Nyssa: feel similarly about this to above? like Nyssa choosing a new home for herself & her leaving to do medical research is on point. just feel like Terminus isn't a great send off for the character. would have liked more oomph.

Mel: yes this one is a bit perplexing but honestly in character of Mel to just breeze out of the Doctor's life like that and the whole scene is very cute. I'm into it.

BAD TIER:

Steven: look they just didn't write Steven an ending. of all the 'companion just kind of leaves at the end of an otherwise normal serial' i think this might be the worst. deserved massively better.

Dodo: perhaps the worst?? perhaps the very worst? vanishes without even saying goodbye. Dodo went to live on a farm with lots of space to run around w the other Dodos. :) she's fine don't worry about it.

Liz: character removed for sexist BS reasons. vanishes between seasons. i will give it 1 point for Liz's stated motivation of not wanting to be the Doctor's lab assistant being an actually decent reason for her to have left. just wish we could have seen the conversation. ):<

Leela: perhaps tied w Steven for stupidest 'companion just leaves' ending w an extra helping of sexism. do she and Andred even talk to each other?? do they talk ever?? what the fuck was this. fucking bullshit.

Romana I: honestly a hard one to classify as obvs she and Romana II are the same character but like really sucks that they didn't bring Mary Tamm back to film an actual regen and the bafflingly nature of the regeneration scene just kind of adds insult to injury. and then i think the producers lied about why she left? what?? awful.

Kamelion: look im just gonna say it everything about Kamelion was a mistake, including his ending. non-character.

Peri: what the fuck even was this. frankly if they'd stuck with the original ending i would have still put it in bad tier (and as seen above i like when companions get exploded & die) bcos it's just over the line nasty. attempting to walk it back by having her marry Brian Blessed was absolutely baffling. this was just a fucking mess.

[mistakenot4892]

Disclaimer that this is a post mostly motivated by frustration at a cultural trend, not at any individual people/posters. Vagueing to avoid it seeming like a callout but I know how Tumblr is so we'll see I guess. Putting it after a read-more because I think it's going to spiral out of control.

Recent discourse around obnoxious Linux shills chiming in on posts about how difficult it can be to pick up computer literacy these days has made me feel old and tired. I get that people just want computers to Work and they don't want to have to put any extra effort into getting it to Do The Thing, that's not unreasonable, I want the same!

(I also want obnoxious Linux shills to not chip in on my posts (unless I am posting because my Linux has exploded and I need help) so I sympathise with that angle too, 'just use Linux' is not the catch-all solution you think it is my friend.)

But I keep seeing this broad sense of learned helplessness around having to learn about what the computer is actually doing without having your hand held by a massive faceless corporation, and I just feel like it isn't a healthy relationship to have with your tech.

The industry is getting worse and worse in their lack of respect to the consumer every quarter. Microsoft is comfortable pivoting their entire business to push AI on every part of their infrastructure and in every service, in part because their customers aren't going anywhere and won't push back in the numbers that might make a difference. Windows 11 has hidden even more functionality behind layers of streamlining and obfuscation and integrated even more spyware and telemetry that won't tell you shit about what it's doing and that you can't turn off without violating the EULA. They're going to keep pursuing this kind of shit in more and more obvious ways because that's all they can do in the quest for endless year on year growth.

Unfortunately, switching to Linux will force you to learn how to use it. That sucks when it's being pushed as an immediate solution to a specific problem you're having! Not going to deny that. FOSS folks need to realise that 'just pivot your entire day to day workflow to a new suite of tools designed by hobby engineers with really specific chips on their shoulders' does not work as a method of evangelism. But if you approach it more like learning to understand and control your tech, I think maybe it could be a bit more palatable? It's more like a set of techniques and strategies than learning a specific workflow. Once you pick up the basic patterns, you can apply them to the novel problems that inevitably crop up. It's still painful, particularly if you're messing around with audio or graphics drivers, but importantly, you are always the one in control. You might not know how to drive, and the engine might be on fire, but you're not locked in a burning Tesla.

Now that I write this it sounds more like a set of coping mechanisms, but to be honest I do not have a healthy relationship with xorg.conf and probably should seek therapy.

It's a bit of a stretch but I almost feel like a bit of friction with tech is necessary to develop a good relationship with it? Growing up on MS-DOS and earlier versions of Windows has given me a healthy suspicion of any time my computer does something without me telling it to, and if I can't then see what it did, something's very off. If I can't get at the setting and properties panel for something, my immediate inclination is to uninstall it and do without.

And like yeah as a final note, I too find it frustrating when Linux decides to shit itself and the latest relevant thread I can find on the matter is from 2006 and every participant has been Raptured since, but at least threads exist. At least they're not Microsoft Community hellscapes where every second response is a sales rep telling them to open a support ticket. At least there's some transparency and openness around how the operating system is made and how it works. At least you have alternatives if one doesn't do the job for you.

This is long and meandering and probably misses the point of the discourse I'm dragging but I felt obligated to make it. Ubuntu Noble Numbat is pretty good and I haven't had any issues with it out of the box (compared to EndeavourOS becoming a hellscape whenever I wanted my computer to make a sound or render a graphic) so I recommend it. Yay FOSS.

[apas-95]

I’m an anarchocommunist that thinks a lot of other anarchists are stupid. For example, I don’t think that most people will just make insulin or do garbage collection/processing out of the kindness of their heart, and I also don’t think if it was genuinely done out of the kindness of their hearts that it’d work great. My idea is that for the ��getting people to do the shitty jobs” question, the people that do those jobs should be compensated better in some way. Maybe a larger/nicer house, I’m not sure on the details. But other anarchists will say “all labor is equal”, and while I’d like to agree in the “work is hard” sense, I think things for the obvious common good, like teacher or garbage man or doctor deserve some sort of reward over other jobs. And for the efficiency of the labor, I think *specifically for labor* there needs to be some sort of organization, and we can use what’s worked before. We don’t need to have bathtub insulin if there’s a factory right there, and if there’s no connection from the insulin factory to doctors/pharmacists and truck drivers then it won’t work either. Really, my main problem with Marxism/Leninism or Stalinism or Maoism or any combination of those is that there are specific people with far too much power over others. I’m ok with light power in the way of “man you gotta drive the firetruck to the burning building even though you hate the dude that lives there”, but I’m not ok with the idea of a supreme leader or representatives in a political sense due to as I’ve amounts of power obviously corrupting people.

Really I’m sending this to you to get your criticism of my ideas- I think you’re pretty smart, and even if I disagree with you on some issues, I think I agree with you on others. I also want to say that not all anarchists are… like that.

So, years ago, before I started reading any Marxist theory, this is about where I was at politically. If you think about any of the practicalities, you come up to points where, very clearly, the maxim of 'no authority at all' conflicts with being able to do anything. If you're seriously considering how society could be better organised, if this is something you actually intend on bringing about, then you make some amount of concession to reality - as you did with the firetruck example!

Now, myself, I went on like this for a good while, coming up with methods of truly democratic organisation that wouldn't be susceptible to the types of totalitarianism I'd heard about, ending up very similar to your position. I was interested, however, in how these 'failed experiments' that I'd learned devolved into bureaucracy started out, and I started reading up on the history, and realised, with some discontent, that what I'd developed, once I'd made all the concessions for reality that would be necessary if this system were to be the actual one real human beings lives depended on, was essentially identical to the Soviet system.

From there, I read up on Marxist theory, still basically wary that this had all, at some point, been taken over by an evil dictator, but able to see that the earliest stages, at least, had been exactly what I was imagining, but put into practice. Reading the theory, reading how their experience experimenting with different forms of organisation, and the failures of some types, had led them to discover what did and didn't work, and adjust accordingly, made me suddenly appreciate why certain things were done certain ways. The harsh experiences of civil war had revealed certain dynamics and mechanics in the way society and production worked, which translates into political theories that bore out results I wouldn't have expected (and neither had the communists who had discovered them through practice!).

Eventually, with some chagrin and a significant deal of excitement, I realised that much of what I'd passively absorbed about socialism, many of the common-sense maxims that I'd been taught by capitalist society about the nature of power and so on, were very much artifacts of a decades-long war against these communists and the system they'd built, carried out by exactly the corporations and empires I had thought myself opposed to.

I won't critique any individual point of yours, but I will enjoin you to try out some Marxist theory - Dialectical and Historical Materialism, or Socialism, Utopian and Scientific, or Principles of Communism, or even the Communist Manifesto, and to read between the lines of whatever capitalist source you read on socialism, to notice every [citation needed] and wonder what actually happened such that someone felt the need to make something up.

[ozoraslegend]

About "light" and "darkness" in Digimon

If you are a member of Digimon fandom long enough, you will know a fact: there're lots of fic crossover between 02 and Frontier.

This is not weird or surprising. First, 02 and Frontier are both in the Seki quartet, the first four seasons of Digimon franchise. And going against common negative opinions of a part of fandom about these two seasons, 02 and Frontier do get quite a good love from many fans. They also do have many uncovered, contradicting, or just curious-inspired parts, so fanfics are just being numerous!

And interestingly: 02 and Frontier both get quite same treating from fandom because they are somewhat similar outsidely. The characters are "flat" and " bad stereotype". the plot is "messed up", and the two seasons "don't have deep messages". Of course, these are false ideas, but 02 and Frontier have a specific between-line writing that is difficult to understand and sympathize. I really don't blame the fans to misread!

02 and Frontier has characters both known for particularly tight group dynamics compared to others, and both groups are known to be somewhat "chaotic" (and, affectionately, “very stupid”). With 02, that is from lack of planning or being too airheaded. The Frontier gangs, on the other hand, can and will cause trouble and will be very proud of it. And somehow escape it perfectly, of course.

So? Basically, "Takeru would hate Kouichi because of him being the Warrior of Darkness. 02 group would be wary about Kouichi (and Frontier gangs because of that as well (especially Hikari too)." is a (in)famous trope in crossover between 02 and Frontier. Let's debunk it.

First, this is out of character of Takeru. People tends to forget that Takeru is a polite, respectful and carefree person. If someone tells him "Hey, there's a Warrior of Darkness!", well... He won't react so boldful. He is actually very infamous for keeping his emotions inside, so unless he saw something really pissed him off, I don't think he will act too angrious. Takeru never blew up at anyone without some kind of good reason; it’s just that the level of his intensity was unnerving.

Takeru will pretend he has it together and has everything under control. He won't show any of his negative feeling, instead, he would investigate and find out the truth himself... while dodging questions and his own emotions. He simply handles everything with a “yeah, okay, sure! :)” attitude. Except when really needed, Takeru... rarely do things that are easily to do to solve problem, but passively deal with them when they run to his face. So if he completely snapped at Kouichi for no reason besides him being darkness-associated, that’d be really out of character.

And beside, Takeru is a quite social and generally nice individual, who treat other kindly! I don't really get how others can misread his personality in another way. Let's move to the next point.

Second, Takeru doesn't hate darkness, or have a black-and-white-morality. The thing is that Takeru himself says that he's not going to inherently hate anything darkness-related on sight (in 02 episode 34):

Takeru is pretty clear about what exactly he hates earlier in that episode:

Trying to change the world with that power...Trying to conquer the world...It's unforgivable!

Basically, he hates people who try to toy with darkness to play God, “create sad lives” like BlackWarGreymon with it, and do things that resemble Devimon in Adventure (like “dabbling” in the powers of darkness much like the Kaiser would later).

But in regards to darkness itself, you can find a proof three episodes later that Takeru is pretty understanding of the topic (02 episode 37):

...so he’d probably treat the twins with a lot of respect.

So while Takeru would probably hate Duskmon if he didn’t know more about what was going on behind him, that's obvious, if he actually learns about Kouichi’s situation and background, not only would he be very likely to sympathize with Kouichi and advocate on his behalf, he’d also probably fly into a murderous rage at Cherubimon for exploiting the powers of darkness to make Kouichi suffer! And because that kind of topic really pisses him off, he might even get more pissed off than Kouichi himself is about it.

Actually, these kinds of tropes just throw all character development of Takeru and turn him into a flat character. Takeru also would become a writer, and you can't think that he just skipped all nice characters with darkness-themes.

And mentioned that, Ken and Kouichi are usually being simplified to be just as the same as each other. Although they have many similar features, like "thoughtful, perceptive, very in touch with feelings, VERY assertive, resilient, strong in heart, and kind out of choice even when doesn’t have to be", but they are different individuals. In a language level, Kouichi uses the "ore" assertive pronoun while Ken uses the "boku" more gentle one.

In conclusion! Takeru would be the one to clarify with the Frontier gangs to make sure that Kouichi isn't dabbling in the powers of darkness for the others' sake. And then he'd become the most vicious protector of the twins. And the rest of the Adventurers would just follow his lead since Takeru and Hikari with their sensitivity to the balance of the world.

[casscainmainly]

i know cass is the best hand-to-hand fighter, but how does she measure up compared to the rest of the batfam in other metrics? like speed, strength, intelligence (more as in cleverness in the field), team synergy, whatever else you can think of. for example i typically hear that jason is the strongest in the sense of brute force, but i get the feeling that’s a little exaggerated..? like if we’re talking ability to take down someone much bigger than them, i think cass would be at the top or close to it cuz she’s on the smaller side

I'm really not a power scaler or anything like that so I don't have super defined thoughts! I guess I can spitball but these are not going to be accurate because I don't have the best grasp on certain characters' strengths, such as Tim or Jason.

Speed: I'm giving this one to Cass because of this quote from Batgirl (2000) #14:

Like her speed makes people think she's a meta! She's probably the fastest of the bats.

Strength: I think Cass is very much up there, she once broke a concrete wall by punching it. This is comic books though so all Batfam members probably have some variety of this feat, particularly Bruce, Dick, and Jason. It's hard to pin because depending on who's the protagonist of a story, they'll likely be made stronger - people who have multiple runs like Bruce and Dick will also have more feats in general due to their history. (Also male characters tend to have more strength-related feats due to gender biases).

Intelligence/Detective Skills: This one to me is a bit moot because being a Bat associate kind of entails being a great detective. Cass is maybe not as experienced in detective skills as Bruce/Tim/Dick, nor in problem-solving as Steph/Duke, or in tactical fighting as Jason/Damian, but she's certainly a detective and intelligent in her own right (see Batgirl (2000) #34 for an exploration of how being a detective is important to Cass). I think I can't really rank the Batfam on intelligence because all of them are really intelligent, though in different ways. Cass would rank probably bottom for tech skills though because she outsources to Babs 😭.

Team Synergy: Interesting one! I think Dick is the obvious pick for best team synergy, if nothing else because of the length of time and variety of groups he's been in (people also just really like him!). On the whole Cass would be on the lower end - she is adored by her current BoP team, but it took her a bit to get there (see Outsiders). My Duke bias is showing but I think, though Duke also had a learning curve and was not great in the beginning of WAR or Outsiders, he becomes an essential part of both teams quick and now is joining another team in Power Company! Dick + Duke + Babs + Tim I think have the most experience in long-running teams. (Oh and Bruce)

This kind of stuff really really depends on people's personal interpretation and what they've read!! Basically take all these with a healthy dose of salt idk if any of them are accurate😭😭.

[lemotmo]

Buddie canon Buddie canon Buddie canon

Q. Okay wait because I agree that Tim clearly wants to tell the Buddie storyline but is afraid to actually do it. I just have no idea why he would be afraid.

A. I don't think he's afraid of the actual storyline I think he's more afraid about what comes after. Right now Buddie is the carrot storyline. It's what they have to tease and dangle over their audience as a potential, but once they actually bite the carrot and put them together what then becomes their carrot storyline? I think that's what he's more afraid of. It was clearly the plan going into both seasons 7 and 8 but the first time something came up that allowed Tim to back out, or stretch the story into the following season, Tim took the opportunity to put the story on hold. In season 7 it was because Tommy was initially well received, as a result Tim decided to extend the Tommy arc past the originally planned 4 episodes, he basically said he decided to play with that relationship some. The problem was Oliver and Lou clearly didn't get along and had no actual chemistry once the first kiss was filmed. So they extended the storyline but also couldn't really show much of it because the two of them together just didn't work on any significant level so it was just kind of there. They recommitted to the Buddie storyline going into season 8 and put in a lot of work to make sure the general audience started looking at that relationship differently. But then something clearly happened with Peter over the mid-season hiatus that resulted in the complete rewrite of the back half of the season. The Buddie storyline wasn't the only one affected by this. It's pretty obvious that there was supposed to be a Wilson family and Mara adoption storyline that got completely cut out. At least they still tried to include some Buddie bits to continue to lay the foundation for that storyline, but the Mara adoption storyline got scrapped all together. And Tim just didn't need to do that. A focused show runner could have managed to tell all three of these storylines to some extent. But Tim didn't even try. He made everything about killing off Bobby from that point on. And he didn't even do that storyline well. It was a mess.

He doesn't have an out left for season 9. ABC has completely backed him into a story corner after the Upfronts. ABC went all in. Buddie was their Upfronts presentation. That was their entire ballgame. They didn't hide it. They didn't pretend they were there for other reasons. They didn't have Tim there to act like he had no idea what people were talking about. ABC jumped and took Tim's excuses with them. To an extent, I get being nervous about finally telling that story. They're only going to get one shot. And there's no way to tell it in a way that will please everyone. There's just not so he can't worry about that. And yes that will mean that they have to come up with a new carrot but Tim is paid very well to make those kinds of decisions. The loss of Bobby is an obstacle and the Buddie storyline is their best bet, by far, to keeping their audience engaged and attracting new viewers. Tim had complete trust in Peter and Angela story wise. The rest of his cast deserve that same trust. Oliver and Ryan will absolutely handle and deliver their end of this storyline. It's clearly the direction ABC wants to go. Tim is out of excuses. He will find his new carrot but it can no longer be the Buddie storyline. He has to jump.

Thank you nonny!

Oh this is interesting. 🤔

Tim really didn't try with any other storyline as soon as Bobby's death came up. It's a shame really, because we could have had more Eddie development, Eddie and Chris development, Buddie development, Henren and Mara development...

So many good potential storylines thrown to the curb. And the most frustrating thing of all of this is that a few of these things were already filmed, but then they ended up being cut from the season all together. Such a shame.

I agree that ABC has now forced the Buddie issue. There is no way back when it comes to Buddie. People already feel rightfully betrayed by the Bobby debacle and they are very vocal about this on social media.

If Tim were to back off on the Buddie storyline now? A lot of people will drop this show like a hot potato and they'll be very vocal about it as well, which is not what this show needs after the disastrous way they handled Bobby's death.

There is only going forward when it comes to Buddie. 🤷‍♀️

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[nikethestatue]

I blame TikTok/BookTok for a lot of things, but one for the biggest disservices that it did to the general reading public was it popularized the idea of 'trope writing'. it's one of the worst things to ever happen in writing, and it's the low hanging fruit for those who have bastardized the whole romance genre. Grumpy and sunshine, age gap, single dad, enemies to lovers...The list is long and...boring.

Trope writing gives a blueprint to unimaginative stories and their proliferation in the romantasy and romance genre is what's making it a joke now. There are so many 'Court of' and any combo of the words of blood, roses', and stars and it's...well, it's this:

The problem with SJM's fandom and the shipwar as a whole is very kind of simple and sad at the same time.

A HUGE number of Gwynriels came from TikTok and learned about SJM on there, and they've been lied to this entire time. Because the thing is, SJM is NOT a trope writer. Sure, there are a few tropes in her books, but they don't drive her narrative. SJM is a STORYTELLER. That's what she is and those who found her before/outside of TikTok were drawn to the story and the characters, not ships.

We didn't read ACOTAR, and then ACOMAF for 'ships'. We read it for the story--we didn't know who'll end up with who and that wasn't the main reason why we read. We loved the actual world of Feyre and Rhys, of Tamlin of Prythian, of the IC and Hybern. It was interesting to read.

TikTok ushered in the 'trope revolution' where talentless and mediocre authors are churning out boring, unoriginal books that fit into these tropes.

SJM doesn't do that. And while I know it's way too late now, I wish Gwynriels understood that early on. I mean, they would've had to read the books actually, and not just look at IG and TikTok videos, but it would've saved them a lot of time and energy if they did. Because what they want is 'grumpy and sunshine' trope with Azriel and Gwyn. 'Friends to lovers'. 'Teacher and student'. That's why they've struggles SO HARD for 4 years to come up with an actual story for their 'Gwynriel book'. They vacillated between 'it's Azriel's book!' and 'it's about healing!' or 'they'll redeem Illyria', and then, when they couldn't really concoct much of anything, they decide to make Gwyn Starborn and they've been obsessing about her paternity.

The 'problem' with SJM is that she has a story FIRST, and then certain tropes fall into that story, but she doesn't start off with a trope and then build a story from there. Which is what GAs want and think she'll do. For Eluciens, the downfall is their belief that 'SJM is a fated mates writer'. They dug themselves into a hole, because 'fated mates' is a trope and it's pretty obvious that this is NOT where SJM is going with Elucien. They'd rather ignore every mention of the Cauldron being wrong, and falsely assume that none of it matters because well, but 'fated mates'!

What they all keep ignoring and dismissing is that Elain has a story of her own. Yes, there is a grumpy/sunshine vibe with Elriel, but that's not the driver of the narrative. The driver is that she is a Seer, and that she is Made, and that the Cauldron WAS WRONG, and that she doesn't like her mate but likes another guy altogether, and that Azriel is a mystery and a Shadowsinger, and we don't know what any of this means, and somehow, he is carrying a Made dagger and he gave it to Elain, and he is in love with her knowing that he shouldn't be, and he said 'i am getting her back' and he got her back....THAT'S the story that SJM is writing. And it's not your basic and boring 'grumpy and sunshine' trope.

I think when Elriels have doubts or see something on TikTok, they should remember this. SJM predates TikTok by over a decade and no matter how people try to spin it, she is NOT a TikTok writer. She is actually a talented and best-selling romantasy writer who wrote this:

“Fireheart. Fireheart, why do you cry?"

"Because I am lost. And I do not know the way." "You have been very brave. You have been very brave, for so very long. But you must be brave a little while longer, my Fireheart. You must be brave a little while longer, and remember..." Her mother placed a phantom hand over Aelins heart. "It is the strength of this that matters. No matter where you are, no matter how far, this will lead you home. It is the strength of this that matters, Aelin. The strength of this. You are my daughter. You were born of two mighty bloodlines. That strength flows through you. Lives in you. You do not yield. You do not yield.”

And she made us cry.

And then she wrote this:

“There you are. I've been looking for you.

His first words to me— not a lie at all, not a threat to keep those faeries away.

And she made us fall in love.

“Even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will always love you.”

[cripplecharacters]

hi there, i really appreciate this blog! i was wondering if you had any advice when it comes to writing characters who use mobility aids (manual wheelchair and cane) and things that are like, pet peeves or cringey to see written? other than the big ones like “wheelchair bound” or having people just grab their chair or otherwise be disrespectful. i’m thinking more “little things that make it seem like the author is clueless” lol. thank you!

Hey!

You can check out our main #mobility aids or #wheelchairs or #canes tags for the general info. If you have a more specific question, feel free to send another ask.

I will talk about my own cane pet peeves because there's definitely some:

The most glaring, obvious, painfully clueless thing I have somehow seen multiple times is when the writer/artist doesn't understand the difference between a mobility cane and a white cane. Usually in the form of giving their blind character the same kind of stick I use for my mobility issues. Of course, a person could need both for different disabilities. That very much happens. However, it's absolutely never the case in this kind of scenario. This one is an example of a lack of basic research so bad that it circles back to being kinda funny.

The writer not knowing which side the cane would go on for the character. Obviously, in real life, there's a whole lot of hyper-specific scenarios why someone could use it the "wrong" way and why it would work for them specifically, some users can also use either hand for the cane; it all depends on why they use it. The problem that I have is when the writer doesn't have a single clue about any of it and just gives their character with a bad knee and nothing else the cane on the same side. Again, shows lack of basic research.

As a certified knob cane hater, I can't just not talk about them here. They're so bad. So non-functional. Don't serve their function as a mobility device because they literally aren't one. That's a fashion accessory. Unless your character has a wrist of steel and doesn't mind that the aid meant to help with stability does the exact opposite, I guess.

I know a bunch of people will disagree with me, but I think the whole sword cane thing sucks. Sorry. The only time I don't roll my eyes on this one is when the writer is also a cane user. I always felt like it checked out two tropes that I hate, the "abled character pretends to be disabled and is actually dangerous" and the "abled writer thinks mobility aids are boring and has to stick a gun in them to justify their existence".

The cane that somehow makes the user non-disabled. Sounds contradictory, I know. I mean the kind of scenario where the character is Weak and Frail but then they get the cane and are suddenly just fighting, running, jumping, whatever. Did the author forget what the cane is used for? Obviously it will depend on the character's disability how much the cane mitigates symptoms, but this writing choice always feels bizarre to me. My cane is here so that I'm not in as much pain or to help my gait disorder, it certainly doesn't turn me into an abled man who just happens to have a stick in hand.

All these tired old person or similar jokes/comparisons are probably not that funny. We get it, older people use canes. It's not even cringy or whatever, it's just so unbelievably boring it's hard to react to it with anything else than an eye roll anymore.

Apologies for the extremely late reply. I hope it helps,

mod Sasza

[johannesviii]

Continuing that pseudo-essay about Book 3 of Infinity Train. This is technically part two, two and a half, of I don't know how many parts yet, but it's too long for a single post.

perpetuating the cycle of abuse (part 0)

on the nature of leadership aka "oh cool, another negative feedback loop" (part 1)

So here's a part I’d like to call

Empathy isn't enough

Ok so before I say anything, to clarify, I’m using "empathy" as a very vague term meaning something like "being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes without having to really think about it first". Just in case you and I have a slightly different definition, because definitions of it have evolved over time. Specifically, I’m not using it as a synonym of "compassion", which is something different, and I'm not saying that empathy is always correct - what you think is you feeling how others feel can be a false impression, or even projection, but you can't always tell.

So yeah, long story short I’m using it purely, like the song says, to mean "when I look at you, I see me".

That being said: I've sometimes seen people say that Grace was basically easier to save than Simon because she had more empathy than him in the first place. And I disagree. Even if empathy is explicitly one of the core themes of this Book (to the point of having a little musical number dedicated to it!), I think this show (and this Book specifically) has a very neutral view of the concept of empathy, and presents it as something that can be positive, but also negative when used for the wrong purposes. Empathy in itself doesn't make you a good person.

I do agree that Grace is way better at "reading" people than Simon. She has great social skills!

But it's actually a problem. Grace is very good at understanding how other people feel, but most of the time, she uses it to manipulate them. You only have to compare the way she behaves with Jesse and Hazel to realize that not only does she adapt her attitude to the potential recruit's age, but she also identifies the recruit's fears and problems extremely quickly... so she can recruit them more effectively into her cult.

It took her only a couple of minutes to notice that Jesse was kind of a people-pleaser but also trying not to be like that anymore, and she immediately exploited the shit out of it by presenting the Apex as some type of counter-culture thing where he could be whoever he wants to be. She saw Hazel being this lonely child in a dangerous Car and presented the Apex as some kind of kid's club where she could find other kids her age.

Now, it's obvious that she really cares about all these children and, of course, about Hazel. And it's ALSO obvious that she isn't purely doing it out of malice or just for selfish reasons - of course it flatters her ego, and it's about having full control over other people, but she also genuinely thinks she's helping them survive in a scary environment. She’s not faking any of that - but that doesn't make the manipulation any more justified.

We also see her regularly feeling sad for Hazel, and clearly feeling how she feels. She sees herself in that little girl with no friends, lost in a scary place, who wants to be "special and brave". In her tape, Hazel is even sort of used as her reflection, in an echo of a couple of other scenes where Grace uses a triple mirror. But that projection only makes her want to take Hazel away from her adoptive mother Tuba even more, which is a disastrous idea, with the consequences we already know.

Which also means that this empathy she has for Hazel only made Hazel's life worse in the end. She thinks she's doing the right thing, thinks she knows how Hazel feels, but as she realises in the end, she's wrong.

Of course, one could argue that in the end, Grace relating to Hazel like that led to Grace being deprogrammed of a lot of her beliefs, so it has to be good, right? Well, for her, sure, yes. But her personal growth had a LOT of collateral damage. Again, it's kind of a neutral thing.

And sometimes, empathy wasn't enough to actually change things. We briefly see Grace saddened when she realizes that Simon and her have just symbolically excluded Tuba from their group by refusing to draw her Apex mark - perhaps she's remembering how the other girls in the dance group excluded her. It does make her number go down, but she doesn't fundamentally question her plan regarding Tuba at that point. Unfortunately.

It also seems that she sometimes needs to intellectualize a situation before being moved by it, the most blatant case being when she's on that branch with Hazel at Tuba’s funeral, and only starts crying once she's forced herself to make a little speech to please Hazel and make things less awkward. It's when she lists Tuba's qualities that she realizes she can think of Tuba as a person, that she was a person, and that she and her best friend have been killing persons for years. Which is, obviously, a very good thing to become aware of, but it didn't come to her spontaneously. She had to make a conscious effort to realise it. Empathy wasn’t enough.

That was the easy part. Now here's the part where I'm saying that Simon also has this whole "when I look at you I see me" thing going on, and that it ends up being completely useless to stop him from going further down the Spiral™. Actually, it makes everything actively worse.

In Simon's case, it seems that "empathy" manifests itself very selectively; since he divides the world into strictly binary categories (I'll come back to this later in another post, I swear), he reacts very strongly as soon as he recognizes himself in a given situation. The problem is, he sees everything through a distorting prism that takes into account only his own experience and trauma. He sees himself as a victim. So basically, there's people he can identify with, who are (according to him) past or future victims of the denizens of the Train, and there's everyone else. He's projecting.

And yeah, projection is something different than empathy. The problem is, they are very, VERY easy to confuse. We only live in our own heads, and sometimes what we think we perceive is wrong, but it's super hard to notice.

Anyway: when he has a nervous breakdown in front of that fireplace, Simon says that Tuba is to Hazel what the Cat was to him (“she was my Tuba”). He explicitly compares his situation as a child to Hazel's, without realizing that they are frankly two very, very different situations, if only because Tuba would never hurt or abandon Hazel.

So yeah, when he kills Tuba, he announces it to Hazel with a big smile, because he's convinced he's done the right thing for her - again, because he's projecting his own trauma onto someone else. As far as he's concerned, he's just killed a Cat proxy. He's just "saved" Hazel, because he's saving himself by proxy. In his distorted view, he's the hero of the story.

Of course he's not doing it just for that reason. He's also sticking to the plan. He's sticking to the same strategy they tried to use on Jesse and Lake, without realising Grace might have changed her mind since then, because they never really communicated about that (or about anything else, actually. These two are really bad at communicating in general). He's being a good little soldier following the rules. But he didn't have to kill Tuba. Grace's exact word was "ditch". He went that extra mile because of projection.

This scene is really disturbing and it's also because it's possibly the darkest application of "when I look at you I see me" in the whole Book. And yeah, of course Hazel is crying right now, and he can see that even if he's an idiot, but he says it himself: he thinks it's because she's just a kid, and she will understand later, for sure. Because he was also a crybaby. Because every denizen is the Cat and every kid is him.

(which, by the way, is also why he's starting to get jealous of Hazel later and convinced that Grace is trying to replace him. She found another lost kid to save. Because, again, every lost kid is himself. Because everything is about his own trauma, and it's everywhere.)

Yet, even imagining for a second that Tuba was dangerous (when he's had proof that she wasn't), he expects Hazel to simply forget about Tuba as soon as she's dead, WHEN HE HIMSELF clearly has very complicated feelings about the Cat, feelings he's still wrestling with years later. Relating to Hazel like he does is technically empathy, and yet it's catastrophically misplaced, and it doesn't help him understand how Hazel actually feels, or even how he feels about the Cat.

I'd even go so far as to say that if the Train hadn't placed the Cat's car in his path, he might not have rekindled his trauma like that, and he might not have had killed Tuba so easily. He is basically doing the same modus operandi than we see in S2 (Grace takes a new recruit somewhere else, Simon deals with their denizen friend), but unlike in S2 where he seemed mostly disinterested and simply told Lake to leave the Car, he seems to be very passionate about it this time.

Note that immediately before killing Tuba, he has this discussion in which Tuba tells him she lost her children before meeting Hazel, and he seems genuinely moved. And then he kills Tuba not even five minutes after that. It doesn't change anything if he had a brief moment of empathy for her - that doesn't make her a person in his eyes. He's already put her in his binary category where all his enemies are, empathy or not. It doesn’t matter. Because, again, every denizen is the Cat and every kid is him.

Which, in my opinion, is way worse than him being completely unable to relate to other people.

And yeah, of course, right to the very end Grace empathizes with Simon, even after all the horrors he puts her through in the final episodes. She can't even help it. And it doesn't change a thing, in the end, because he's already decided that Grace isn't like him anymore. And if she's not like him, if she's not a victim, she's like the Cat. And she has to die, because nothing she says can be trusted. It's like a switch being flipped. You can't reach him with empathy anymore.

Empathy doesn't even save the day in the end, not really. What ends up saving the day is treating other people like people, regardless of how much or how little you can relate to them. People are very different, you're not always going to understand everything that's going on in their head, and sometimes you can't even talk to them or read their expression. Because in that case they're literally origami, but still! Compassion saves the day!

But where the season really goes the extra mile regarding that theme of empathy, in my humble opinion, is that it more or less forces us to empathize with the two main characters, who both start as really bad people. And I'm fascinated every time I see someone else watching the series, realising who the protagonists of Book 3 are going to be, and deciding from the get-go there's no way they can relate to them, and being proven wrong. Because bad people are also people. And I'm also fascinated every time I see someone getting to the part with the flashbacks about Simon in The Origami Car, and saying something like “don't show me that now, I don't want to empathize with that guy anymore”. Because. Hey. Empathy kinda sucks sometimes. It doesn’t always feel great, and you can’t even help it. Sometimes you’re going to do good things because of it, sometimes it's terrible things, sometimes you think something is empathy when it's actually projection, and other times it’s going to cloud your judgement. And sometimes, it's going to make you relate to people you'd rather not find relatable.

And involving the viewer in the argument like that is a really powerful move, I think.

[dw-flagler]

How about this?

Where there any instances on canon (or in a midlly divergent timeline) you could see a character second triggering who didn't canonically, and what do you think the resulting altered power would be like?

really interesting idea!

Very obvious answer though. Single most likely character to second trigger who didn't is lisa. I wouldn't go as far as to say she should have triggered, because I think that's too far and kind of accusatory but she absolutely could have second triggered during Speck and not for a second would I think it was out of character or unfitting. I mean it would have shattered the pacing but it would fit her character.

There is literally nothing anyone can do to lisa more truly agonizingly torturous than what happened to her in canon. Except for some dead dove fics by figures like Alotoaxolotls and even then it's still close.

The parahumans series is basically about lisa wilbourn triggering from watching her brother die and knowing she could have saved him and didn't and then watching that happen again. Twice.

I think the line "you couldn't have made it easy?" is maybe the single most heartbreaking line in the entire parahumans series for me. The whole pepper spray thing genuinely crushes me every time.

Close second is "this makes me feel really sorry for your dad, because I’m starting to get a sense of what you put him through." Not very pithy, though.

If lisa triggered during speck it probably would have been late, when lisa realizes that she can't be the one to translate for khepri. This is a fucking crushing moment for smugbug fans (platonic or otherwise) because it's truly the moment where lisa had nothing left of taylor (and her facade as the smartest one in the room fully shattered).

If you wanted to put it somewhere else for some reason, maybe you could put it at the point where taylor leaves the undersiders to join the protectorate, but gold morning is just better. Or worse? If both of those are out for some reason then you could look at my fanfic where taylor dies post-leviathan, but that's distinctly divergent from canon, where these other two would just be completely canon until lisa second triggers.

For her second-trigger powers, this I always had trouble with. I'm not sure, cause the problem is that a second trigger has to be powerful compared to a non-second trigger, but still at least a little limited, and if you take like any limits at all away from lisa she basically becomes a god in purple spandex. Practically omnipotent. And that's not very interesting to write, except as a "lisa stomps all of canon" thing I guess.

My first and most comprehensive idea is basically that you increase her capacity for power use, making it way less of a debate whether it's worth it to use her power (it almost always because the tradeoffs are far less significant) but you make it far more prone to misfires or unhelpful tangents, especially about how people around her are lying-to or betraying her! This basically shifts the debate lisa has from "should I use my power?" to "should I trust my power?" The idea being that her power is less reliable but she's necessarily more reliant on it.

The opposite is also a possibility, where her power basically becomes way more reliable and accurate, but she has way less capacity. So it's basically always reliable but she really has to consider whether or not it'd be worth it because she gets very little power use per day. So it's more reliable but she can't rely on it. This one is probably a more concrete upgrade compared to tattletale 1.0 than the machine gun approach to thinker powers.

Since lisa's first trigger is mainly about regret, I guess her second trigger would be mainly about what she regretted. Did she more regret not knowing more or not knowing better? Something like that.

The problem with these is that they're kind of conceptually boring.

A third idea some others have floated around is if she gets an ability to control who suffers the migraine, so she could make others around her suffer the brunt of the migraine instead of her. However, my main gripe with this is that it makes her even more comically powerful than the other two options. Not only is it a lisa without migraines, it's a lisa with a shaker effect to induce migraines in others!

I'm not actually sure which of these (or maybe a fourth option i had not even considered) is the best option.

tl;dr: ask a lisa expert. I dunno. get silvianorton on the horn

[stylescine]

no because i have had this thought since this years met and i NEED to tell someone

imagine like influencer!reader who is doing interviews at the met (kinda like emma chamberlain) and she’s like a very known fan of harry (and was very open ab having a crush on harry online because she was so sure this man would never see it) and she interviews him and is lowk nervous because….. he’s harry styles and maybe he somehow (definitely) KNOWS. she has a massive crush on him and just

basically that!!! so if you could could you write something w that? i’ve had the idea for months it was driving me crazy

lingering

Summary: Everyone knows Y/N has a crush on Harry. But she didn't expect him to know about it too. She could have never imagined things to unfold this way...

Warnings: Y/N has a very obvious crush on harry, fangirling ig???, Harry is a tease, suggestive language, anxious Y/N, oh Harry is also a huge flirt, kind of a fast pace way to a one night stand (no graphic description)

Words: 2.3k

A/N: Gosh, I love that idea!! Influencer!Y/N x Harry is one of my favourite dynamics ever. This turned out way longer than planned but I hope you still have fun with it!

Masterlist | Request

The Met Gala was the event of the year. For everyone. Not only for her. But for her it meant so much more. It was her first opportunity to make the jump from being a simple Influencer to being a real presence in the world of fame and celebrities. Of course, she wasn't just seeking fame and attention, but more possibilities. Open up new ways of life for herself and–

There was a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around in an instant, looking at a familiar PR manager she had talked to a few weeks ahead of the gala.

"I'm so glad you could make it. We were really blown away by the podcast you did and we're excited to see how the interviews on the red carpet will turn out," the blonde woman said, giving her a soft smile. She was wearing a tight black dress, a clipboard in hand, but the blush on her cheeks, combined with the small beads of sweat on her forehead, were the only things telling of today's pressure on her.

Y/N could understand. She had paced up and down in her hotel room earlier today, changing her outfit three times and making sure every little strand of her hair would be in place perfectly. Today was not for imperfections. Today was a step into the future – hopefully.

"I need to thank you for inviting me. This opportunity is really one of a kind and–"

"I'm so sorry, dear," the manager interrupted her as she fumbled around in her small Valentino bag, following the ringing of her phone. "No problem," Y/N replied, giving her a reluctant smile.

She could hear the camera shutters go off in the distance, probably due to the arrival of the first guests. Her palms were growing sweaty. She was getting closer to her "big" moments. Soon, she would be talking to all these famous people, ones she had always looked up to, others she had admired for years.

"It's time to go," the manager said quickly, pushing Y/N into the direction of the carpet. The camera man followed close behind, probably being on her tail the entire day. A microphone was pushed into her hand as well as she stepped out onto the long red carpet, hundreds of photographers waiting on the sides. Their lenses were focused on the few celebrities already on the carpet.

Ryan Reynolds was one of them which made her feel giddy inside already.

But the real surprise came around the corner just a moment later. Flashing lights were going off left and right as he appeared in his lace outfit. It was way more see-through than she could have handled in any other situation.

Harry Styles looked stunning.

Her grip around the microphone became tighter as she watched him pose in front of the cameras, earring dangling on his sides, his hair styled perfectly.

A part of her wanted to rush over immediately. Ask him a million questions and record all of it. Because when would she ever be face to face with the Harry Styles again?

Another part of her, a much stronger one, felt the urge to run backstage and escape this moment. She was way too afraid to embarrass herself in front of her biggest celebrity crush. The worst thing was – everyone knew she had this huge crush on Harry for years. She was quite open when it came to talking with her community about people she thought of as attractive or had a crush on. But she was also usually a thousand miles away from said crushes. It had always been a quiet admiring through her phone screen and giggles exchanged with friends over dinner.

Harry wouldn't know this, of course, but it surely didn't make the situation easier for her.

He seemed to be a walking reminder of what people knew about her and testing her own awkwardness in the process.

Before she could turn around and make her escape to probably lock herself in the bathroom as to not embarrass herself in any way – because that would truly be a tragedy in front of him – he was already right in front of her.

There was the charming, witty smile he was giving his fans or interviewers all the time. His eyes looked a deeper shade of green as she was standing right in front of him. Of course, she had looked at a thousand pictures of him over the last few years, but nothing came close to this moment. Maybe it was the heat that was rushing into her face or maybe the overwhelming urge to present herself from her best side – but it was all so different than she had ever imagined.

Y/N took a long breath. She needed to focus. Or else millions of people would see her shocked expression all over Instagram, Twitter and National TV. So she did what she always did best. Entertain.

She turned towards the camera. "Harry Styles just joined us at the Met Gala!" She said excitedly and none of it was part of her acting. Genuine excitement was bubbling uncontrollably in her belly.

Then she turned back around and shook Harry's hand. It was enough to make her legs wobble for a moment, but she was a grown woman and she would stay calm. On the outside at least.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N."

He knew her name? How did he know her name?

Something had to be wrong. She tried hard to stop herself from pinching her arm in an attempt to wake up from this dream or nightmare – whatever you wanna call it.

"You're looking amazing tonight. Do you mind telling us more about what you're wearing?" She smiled and held the microphone into his direction.

Harry gave her an enthusiastic nod and then started to talk all about the designer of his outfit and how it was composed. She listened carefully, bound to his lips as she had been so many times before through the screen.

He continued to keep eye contact with her, continuously making her nervous. It wasn't his fault. She just wasn't prepared to get any attention at all from him.

"Thank you so much. Are you looking forward to tonight's after show party?" She had so many more questions to ask. About his music. Even about his favourite food. But none of that was expected of her right now and she didn't want to lose herself in the admiration she had kept for that man for so long.

"Definitely. Will you be there too?" Harry tilted his head to the side, slightly – a small sign of curiosity.

The thoughts in her head stopped for a moment. Was he really asking her...? He was just making friendly conversation. Nothing more. The slight smirk in his face was nothing. Nothing to think more about.

"Probably. Maybe we can share a drink if we see each other?" She could feel her palms growing more and more sweaty. Was this really not just a dream?

"That will be on me. See you later then." Then he shook her hand again and she prayed that he wouldn't feel how sweaty she had become. How her nerves were running wild inside her body.

"See you later."

Her face felt like it was on fire just a few hours later. She was looking at herself in the mirror, her hair having turned messy and her eyes almost screaming the truth at everyone.

She was nervous and out of her mind.

The music outside was loud. Giggles and laughter echoed over into the bathroom whenever the door opened and a new woman came in. She had seen so many celebrities today that she had lost count. Some of them asked her if she was alright, if she needed help with her make-up, while others just continued on with their day.

When she was alone for a brief moment, she took a deep breath. "It's gonna be alright," she muttered under her breath before she pushed herself off the sink and went back into the crowded room.

The bar was illuminated with purple lights and that's where she was headed. On her way there, she could see him following her in the corner of her vision.

This was really happening.

"What would you like to drink?" His voice was deep, but loud enough for her to make out his words in the packed room. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt his arm brush hers as he made his way to her side.

Harry leaned against the counter casually, his outfit catching her interest immediately. He had changed into a white shirt with a huge red bow at the front.

And he still looked as good as earlier.

"A Martini is just fine," she answered with a smile, pushing herself to sit on the barstool. Harry ordered two drinks for them, before he sat down on the chair next to her.

"You're enjoying yourself?" His voice was laced with curiosity once more, his hand resting on the bar. She had a hard time not taking a closer look at the rings adorning his fingers.

"Oh yeah, a lot. What about you?"

"The evening is about to get a lot better now that I finally found you," he admitted with a low chuckle and accepted the drinks from the bartender when he came back over.

Y/N could feel her head spinning. What did she do to get all this attention from him? Did he know what he was doing to her? Did he know about her crush on him?

"Those are some pretty heavy words if you acknowledge the fact that we have never met before today," she replied, a simple attempt to cool down herself and ground them both in reality again. Or more so herself.

"That's true, but I like to make people happy."

She almost choked on her drink. He had to know something. How would he know that talking to her would make her day?

Knowing that Harry Styles had probably seen a video of her made her feel even more dizzy.

She needed to loosen up. This would be her only chance at spending an evening with her favourite singer and long-time celebrity crush. Another sip from the Martini as a way to gather some liquid courage as quickly as possible.

"Me too. I hope talking to me makes you just as happy as it makes me," she answered with a smile, gathering all the confidence she had.

Harry's lovely smile as he took a sip from his straw was all she needed as confirmation. Maybe she was in for a good time if she came out of her shell and was able to push her anxiety to the back of her mind.

"It definitely does. I've seen your video on 2010's fashion just a few days ago. It was a really good watch."

She couldn't hold back her huge smile. Harry had seen her videos and liked them. That was more than she had ever hoped for. More than she had ever allowed herself to dream about!

“Oh my god, that means a lot to me, I-“

“I’m so glad you didn’t include my too tight skinny jeans in there, actually. That would have been embarrassing,” Harry joked casually, his eyes wandering from her hands to her mouth and then her eyes.

While his eyes were filled with joy and curiosity, his gaze still seemed to keep her trapped under his spell. There was something undeniably charming and menacing about Harry Styles.

She had known it all along, but seeing it in real life, actually being under said spell, was a different experience entirely.

"I believe they still looked decent," she admitted with a small shrug, taking another sip from her drink.

"You certainly don't look decent tonight. That can only be described as stunning."

She was so taken aback by the compliment that she was close to spitting out her drink. Her hand wrapped tighter around her glass and she was thrown into a spiral of nerves and anxiety. Was Harry Styles straight up flirting with her? He definitely was and she had no idea how to act.

"Have you looked at yours-"

"I don't need to look at myself if I can look at something better." His voice had grown deeper and he moved closer ever so slightly.

She was at a loss for words now. Where was this going?

But she quickly decided that she liked it, despite her initial anxiety.

So Y/N took a step closer as well, her fingers brushing past Harry's as she was setting down her drink on the counter.

"You're really a flirt," she whispered, wondering if he had even heard her over the loud music.

But his eyes seemed fixed on her lips, a smirk resting on his own.

"As you have suspected in a video or two..."

It sent a shiver straight down her spine to get more and more confirmation that he had been watching her stuff. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and she wanted to let him do whatever he wanted.

This was what she had been waiting for.

"Maybe you can prove a bit more of my assumptions right?" She replied, fingers brushing over his forearm, under his sleeve and feeling the soft skin. She wanted to see him without the top. She wanted to finally see that naked chest up close, take a look at every little line of his tattoos and count them all.

"Why would we waste any more time then?" He grinned, his right hand coming up to wrap around her wrist slowly. He took her hand away from his skin, intertwining their fingers slowly before he slid off his chair.

They left their drinks unfinished.

But there was more important business to get to.