#“I know you're lying.”

[sincerely-sofie]

I was going to write this idea as a story, but my mind keeps flatlining every time I try to coherently make it. I still wanted to share the idea, so here’s a snippet that pretty much summarizes it:

TW: child abuse, neglect

•••

“Mother, is Boulders Quarry dangerous?”

“Pokémon can handle it if they’re prepared and experienced enough,” Twig hums, stirring the stir fry on the stove, “but those are with Pokémon who are trained, and it can still be dangerous even for them. It’s not a dungeon that me or your dad would let you go to for a very long time — not until you’re adult or close to it.”

She hears shattering behind her, and Twig quickly turns around. Opal’s plate, once holding in apple slices and strawberries, is in pieces. The ceramic remains decorate the floor, some stained by bruised fruits and the juices left behind. Twig’s mouth opens, ready to ask if Opal’s okay and warn her about stepping on the sharp pieces, but the words that mean to come out die as she looks at her daughter. Opal’s eyes are wide and slowly become teary. Her body trembles, evidently the cause of the broken plate rather than her potentially tripping. Her stare never leaves Twig, her mouth quivering as words try to come out but never do.

“Opal?” As soon as her name leaves Twig’s mouth, the Marshadow begins to cry. Fat tears roll down her cheeks, only getting heavier when Twig rushes to her side and brings her into an embrace. “Opal, what’s-?”

“I have a friend-” Opal chokes on her words, trying to push through an invisible blockade in her throat. “She- she says that her big sister and brother try to leave her in dungeons by herself to ‘toughen up’ and that they were going to take her to Boulders Quarry today. She doesn’t like fighting — she usually hides when they try, and I can always find her, I haven’t been able to find her- she- I don’t- I wanted to say- she said they’ll run away and take her if anyone knew, and she didn’t want to go away — but now she’s not here, but her big brother and sister are- and- and-!”

Between her blood running cold and her burning organs, Twig manages soft words that she thinks are comforting by the way Opal’s cries calm down, but the Charmeleon can’t hear them. Ark comes into the room, concerned words leaving, but Twig doesn’t hear them. She gently puts Opal into his arms and she thinks that she mentions an emergency, but it all blurs after that. Now she walks out of Boulders Quarry, a quivering, shaking child curled up in her arms. She is careful not to aggravate old wounds that couldn’t have come from the recent the recent dungeon. The familiar excuses are desperately made by the kid, but Twig knows.

“I just got lost.”

“I got this because I fell — I fall a lot.”

“I’m okay, I’m fine. Don’t tell auntie my big brother and sister. I can go by myself.”

Twig knows and, internally, she seethes.

•••

It’s not my best and everyone is probably ooc, but I hope it’s still somewhat enjoyable. Sorry if it isn’t tho!

"Not my best," they say. "I hope it's still somewhat enjoyable," they say. Meanwhile I am holding this fic in my teeth like a rabid dog and shaking it (appreciative) and biting it (adoring) and eating it (complimentary).

I don't have many words to share because I've just been reeling at how good this is ever since it was sent in, but I can't wait to see any more of your work, especially of this concept!

[bacchuschucklefuck]

while teen while goblin while aroace while injured while doing your best

[clownowo]

🤨

bonus:

[uncanny-tranny]

Love disabled people who just lie about their disabilities to nosy, intrusive questions. Sorry, yeah, I lost my arm in the wash one day. It's funny how that happens! Oh, I got back pain from saving nineteen children from a burning fire department <3

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

caterpillar? more like cu. more like cunty. cuntypil. um.

[moonrpg]

can you two stop cycling through your idle animations for FIVE SECONDS 🫵 I'm trying to listen to the music adapt to changes in the environment

[front-facing-pokemon]

[tawaifeddiediaz]

you know, after watching day 3 of the democratic national convention, i need to say something, especially to other muslims like me.

most of the muslim communities that i'm a part of have chosen to vote uncommitted, or independent, or sometimes, even trump. they refuse to give their vote to kamala harris and tim walz, because of the way the us has handled the war in gaza, and how they have been careless with acknowledging palestinian lives lost, how it was american bombs and american tax money that went towards funding this genocide. it's fucked up, and it's wrong, and there shouldn't be any debate on that.

and i am 100% in support of that anger. i am 100% in support of forcing america to stop funding this genocide. no one wants to keep seeing palestinian lives suffer. no one is free until we're all free, and i believe that to my very core.

my only concern is that where this anger is being placed, from 1 year to 11 weeks before the presidential election, is so scary. because the reality of the situation is that america has a bipartisan outlook. whoever gets the presidency is either democrat or republican. and every vote that doesn't go towards democracy (i.e. voting for kamala harris) inadvertently goes towards trump's big plan of project 2025, which is basically dictatorship. Even voting uncommitted, even voting independent. we cannot afford to elect trump for a second term, and voting anything other than democrat draws that line way too close, especially in swing states like michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, georgia.

yes, there are many issues that we wish joe biden would handle better. there are many ways that the democratic party has fucked up beyond repair. there are many ways the democratic party has refused to acknowledge the pain of people affected by their military people throughout the years, and we've been seeing it for years. this is not a new thing. this did not start on october 7th. we see it during pretty much every administration.

however, voting for your candidate should never be based on a singular issue. no political candidate is ever going to check every single box. and its so unfortunate that we have to always take the "lesser of two evils" approach when nominating our president, but that's the reality of the situation at this very moment. there are many other rights to be considered that are at stake this election, all of which trump is trying to remove. abortion bans, women's rights, healthcare, social security, climate change, to name a few.

(and, somehow, there's a belief that trump will lead to a ceasefire deal where biden-harris didn't? let me tell you that is never going to happen.)

does this mean we just stop protesting or pressuring? absolutely not. you NEVER stop, because if our votes are the ones that put the candidate in their position of power, then we expect results. we expect them to work towards what they promised. and we can't let up on reaching out to our local county offices and our state governors and escalating these issues further until someone takes notice and does something about them. we don't elect them and just leave them to do what they want. we keep them accountable. use that anger i was talking about.

but it also means not having tunnel vision. the election in november could very well mean the end of democracy if kamala harris doesn't win. this post is not me all giggly-happy over the democratic party, because trust me, i have my fair share of issues with them as well. this post isn't to tell you what to do, because i can't force you to vote blue. i can't force the community i'm in to change their minds about toss-up votes. but what i can do is put down plainly what's at stake this election. and that is, very simply, our right to choose everything.

so if you are eligible to vote and haven't registered, please do. if you haven't voted before because "what's the point", please see above what the point is. a handful of votes is enough to flip the outcome of an election, especially with the electoral college.

and if you're still on the fence on whether to vote for kamala or trump, hopefully this post gives a little bit more perspective in the most streamlined way i could manage without bogging you down with statistics and numbers.

the choice is yours.

[ratatatastic]

the face of a coniving man who wouldve broken the rules of no cup ocean diping even if was aware of them

[beanghostprincess]

It still amazes me the number of people who see the juxtaposition between Nami and Usopp during Wano and their fight against Ulti as "Nami's devotion to Luffy is unmatched, unlike Usopp's" when she isn't able to say he won't be the king of the pirates but Usopp is telling her to lie.

I think most people don't have in mind, either, that Usopp isn't the one being directly asked. He is looking out for Nami and begging her to lie to keep her alive because he is scared to death they might lose her for something as insignificant as lying. For him, lying is a form of survival and it is not that big of a deal because he trusts Luffy enough to tell Nami to lie about her feelings. It is something that will only stay between them because he knows it is better to lie than to die and Luffy would want it that way too.

And that doesn't mean he isn't loyal to Luffy or his dream. He is just looking out for Nami's safety. And as I said-- He isn't being asked directly, either. It is easier to tell others to lie about something of the sort than to do it yourself, and if the roles were reversed I personally think he'd have the most awful of times with it too.

Nami refuses to say Luffy won't become the king of the pirates because for her, even if lying has gotten her out of messes, she puts her trust and loyalty in Luffy before her own instincts of survival because lying is what got her to push them away when they first met and this is the one thing she can't lie about because it would hurt more than death.

Then again, I think she would do the same exact thing Usopp did if she wasn't being the one asked. It is the whole point of the scene, actually. They both know the most rational thing is to lie so the one witnessing the scene will always be cold-headed about it, but the one having to lie is the one suffering the bitter realization of how lying about this and saying it out loud is way harder than it seems from an outsider's perspective.

So I am tired of seeing people criticizing Usopp for his decision during the fight against Ulti as if it were that easy for him to see Nami being about to get killed if she doesn't lie. Sorry for the guy to actually want to protect the people he loves instead of letting her be reckless and basically kill herself freely for telling a truth even Luffy would tell her to lie about if it meant living.

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Has this been done already

[hood-ex]

I don't know why DC insists on hurting Bruce in ways that aren't even fun. Runaway bride on his wedding day? Boring. Killing one of his kids? Well. It was heartbreaking the first time but now we're used to it.

A villain making Bruce view some of Dick's favorite memories via magic except none of the memories include Bruce because the memories were carefully selected to make Bruce think that he means nothing to Dick? Now that's fun.

[lindentea]

y'know, i had a moment of cognitive dissonance for a second at first like "wait why would being a top mean not giving head??"

...and then it clicked and i remembered i'm a lesbian.

[zevis413]

happy autumn days to those guys!

[frobby]

the most unbelievable thing about blue exorcist to me is that rin didnt know about shiemi's existence at all. Like not at all?? I get yukio being able to lie and lead a double life but he never mentioned his childhood friend that he tutors like once a week? He was never in a situation where he was like 'oh i heard this from shiemi' not even a slip up??? Not even once??????? I feel like when rin met shiemi he shoulda known OF her at least.

[vegaseatsass]

Since I'm still thinking about Ming today... Let us compare Three Mings.

1. Ming when he's Scared*

*caught off guard by domesticity/affection and how much he likes and wants it

2. Ming when he's Trying*

*to fix the shit he does when he's scared, but still seem cool and controlled (of highest priority always)

3. Ming when he's Scared*

*deeply fucking terrified, scrambling, on the precipice of a complete break from sense and reason which he shan't recover from for years

And the thing is, which of these Mings do you think stays with Joe in his bones, in his gut. Which of these Mings are the Mings Joe remembers and thinks of as true?

Ming my babygirl, you have so so soooo much more Trying to try.