#(which nobody has to look that way but it just helped me tons)

[monards]

i know hoyo is setting up rhine to have good intent and whatever in her trying to 'save' khaneri'ah or whatever; but i REALLY hope they stay with the cruel persona thats been built up for her. because it would be so wonderful to see a character who had good intent in the beginning just get absolutely corrupted; with the inability to ever go back to that prior state purely because of what had happened. also because there is NO way in her turning back after all that shit

[keeps-ache]

happy gender thoughts :D

[ckret2]

I've seen some folks saying that the reference to The Great Gatsby in TBOB was just a joke Alex didn't put deeper meaning into—which might be true, IDK the man's motives for choosing Gatsby specifically—and that there's no way the book has any deeper relevance to Bill's character beyond the eye doctor thing—which is totally wrong. Whether or not Alex intended parallels, there ARE parallels. So, for those of you who didn't read or didn't pay attention to The Great Gatsby:

the book's about a guy who started out as an unimportant loser with starry-eyed dreams, who very quickly gained a lot of power/gold and now presents himself as this dapper fancy well-dressed super important guy.

He constantly throws huge parties, he's got a reputation for being THE party host. But it's a sham, he's pouring all these resources into this party to make himself look so cool but he's living at the very edge of his means.

He lies about his history, lies about how he got his money (spoilers: he's a criminal), lies even in how he presents his personality—he's a con artist, he's always wearing a mask.

The reason he's doing all this—putting on the mask, making himself look so great—is because he's trying to reach across this very thin boundary to a better life he can see, JUST out of reach, so close but something he's never quite clever enough and rich enough and persuasive enough to reach. Every night at his parties he stares at his goal, he can LITERALLY SEE it, he just can't reach it himself.

The best he can do is briefly charm and dazzle someone on the other side of this social boundary, but he can never quite persuade that person to help him cross over; in fact no one on the other side of the boundary thinks he has a right to cross it.

He finds somebody—the guy narrating the book about him—who's very lonely, socially awkward, and disillusioned, whom he can easily awe with his stories and persuade to help him reach his goal, come on please, it'll be harmless! (It is not harmless.)

He loses control over the act he's putting on and over the people who only follow him around as long as he's still got the resources to keep them entertained and loyal.

It ends with him getting murdered by a guy he has LITERALLY never met before—by which point everyone has realized that he's a nobody making it all up as he goes along who was just desperately chasing the illusion of a good life and the admiration of everyone around him.

The narrator ends up disillusioned with him and the whole culture around him of grasping and clawing for a glitzy glamorous life at the expense of the regular people who are manipulated, trampled, and discarded in the process.

Now tell me that Gatsby doesn't have any parallels to Bill's character. And this is just based off reading the book a decade ago—there's probably tons of little details I don't even remember. The book may well have been chosen as a coincidence, it did recently hit the public domain. But if so, it's a VERY GOOD coincidence.

[sssardonian-ssserpent]

((Am i the only one that feels like they missed a huge narrative opportunity with Sir Pentious’s death?

Like yes, it is fine and good that he became the first redeemed soul, I’ve since made my peace with that and can concede that it has a ton of interesting narrative potential and ways to forward the plot that they still hope they use him with in season 2, but the way they could’ve made his sacrifice into something that would’ve been a PERFECT way to hammer in the narrative of the show, and yet they turned it into a useless anti-climatic gag that ultimately wasted what they could’ve done with it.

Like, for example, it has been noted and discussed many times in the fandom that the final fight is all about love and compassion triumphing over senseless cruelty. This is seen with how Lucifer comes in to save Charlie when all hope is lost, with how Angel saves the Eggbois from an exorcist because he knows Sir Pentious cares for them, how Cherri is there to help Angel fight because they’re friends and how Husk fights to protect everyone because he’s grown too fond of everyone else to walk away. The only one who ultimately doesn’t fight for love and compassion is Alastor, who tries to fight Adam one to one out of little more than pure ego and spite. And what happens? He gets his fucking shit rocked, is nearly mortally wounded, and flees from the battle entirely to avoid death.

And, ultimately, this is seen in Pentious’s sacrifice, as he takes off in his ship to try and face down Adam because he recognizes that he’s the biggest threat to their defenses and that if he’s allowed to continue his rampage, everyone will die. Of course, we all know how that sacrifice goes; Pentious being instantly obliterated in a single blast by Adam before Pentious can do anything, in a comedically abrupt and anti-climatic gag to offset the seriousness of the moment. And while it was initially funny in the moment, I think it severely weakened the tone of the moment and, ultimately, as I will explain, ruined what could’ve been a grand and drastic moment, not only for Pentious, but for the hope and love Charlie inspired in him.

You see, the line Adam says directly afterward after killing Pentious is “that could’ve been ugly.” Which, to me, heavily implies that if Pentious had actually gotten off a shot, it probably would’ve done damage and actually hurt Adam, which might’ve helped turn the tide of the battle even before Lucifer had shown up.

So then I got to thinking, imagine if he HAD gotten the shot off? Imagine if he HAD actually wounded Adam?

Sir Pentious. A demon constantly craving recognition and attention, who was never able to get it. Someone who was always considered a useless weakling, a laughing stock, a desperate pathetic idiot who was better off dying than ever being able to be anything of worth in the eyes of most demons and Overlords in Hell, despite how hard he tried to become just as fearsome as them. A demon regarded as a nobody, unrecognizable and totally worthless and forgettable, in Alastor’s eyes, and in the V’s.

A demon everyone has looked down and regarded as weak, hurting the First Man, the leader of the Exorcists, wounding him, in a sacrificial effort to protect his friends. Hurting the most powerful Exorcist in Heaven, out of love for his friends, to protect them and save them from death, when Alastor, a selfish and sadistic egotist who didn’t care about anyone else, wasn’t able to put a scratch on him.

Imagine Pentious being able to hurt Adam more in a noble sacrifice to save his friends than Alastor of all demons, who was unable to when he was only fighting for himself. The poeticism in that. The rawness of that, in a story all about how love and compassion and kindness for others can triumph over the most senseless cruelty and hatred.

Imagine if the blast had gone off.

Imagine if it had caught Adam at the last second. Grazing a shoulder perhaps. Burning his wing. Sending him tumbling out of the sky.

He sends a holy blast up toward the ship, enraged by the fact that he got struck by such a lowly sinner, and the ship can’t get out of the way in time, and Pentious knows that.

One of the Eggbois is screaming and shouting about an incoming attack and how the ship is unable to evade.

And Pentious just slowly takes off his hat, and as the light of the holy beam begins to consume the room, he just goes “….I know.”

He dies, accepting his death, not fearing it, knowing that what he did may have been enough to save his friends.

Cut to the ship being instantly obliterated in a massive cacophonous explosion while everyone looks on in horror from the ground.

Wouldn’t that have made his sacrifice, and his consequent redemption in Heaven, so much more worth it? So much more heavy hitting?

Wouldn’t that have made it actually mean something? Instead of it being made into a joke?

[silencedrowns]

hi I’m a very long time cosplayer (20+ years experience) who has chronic headache and migraine problems and this is a post about how to prevent your cosplay wigs from giving you painful headaches! Nobody likes wandering around the con in blinding pain and so hopefully this post will help you reduce the chances of this happening.

1. If your wig is way too tight, don’t use it. Get something with a bigger cap. tbh I often wear slightly too big wigs to reduce the pressure! Find out what brands and sellers sell wigs that are comfy on your head and prioritize buying wigs from them! I made a big master list of cosplay wig sellers a while back so here’s a few you might not have known about. Arda (and its Canadian and European sites) sells by far the biggest wigs, but I personally find Classe the most comfortable for my specific head. It’s all very YMMV and it’s totally possible for a wig to not actually be too small but fit your head in an uncomfortable way (Blue Beard on taobao does this to me every time), so just don’t buy from suppliers that do that. Also consider resizing wigs to be larger! For wig clients with extra large heads I like to nip the edge of the wig right behind the ear where your ear and hair from above will cover it and add in a little godet of elastic.

2. Reduce weight! A heavy wig will make head pain much more likely, so here’s a few tips on wig weight reduction!

A) if your wig doesn’t need a ton of volume and is already very dense, rip out some wefts in the bottom half. Anything on the part of your head from the ridge where your head starts going in towards your neck won’t really show unless your wig is very short and it’ll obviously reduce weight instantly! You can replace any missing volume with light crimping or light heat and tease, or leave the wig as is for a natural and silky look without the unnatural volume of a cosplay wig.

B) if you need more volume in your wig, instead of going straight to adding wefts for more volume, see first if combining crimping with heat and tease at the roots will give you the extra volume you need! Crimping or heat and tease adds volume and if you straight up destroy the fiber in the first two inches from the scalp by doing both repeatedly, it’ll add huge volume without you needing to add extra hair! When I do this I like to heat the fiber near the roots, tease it, let it cool, crimp the teased part, let THAT cool, and then brush it out. You can flat out double the perceived volume in the back of the wig this way!

C) if your character has a high ponytail or high pigtails, consider using clip on ponytails that you can easily remove if you need the weight off your head right the fuck now. here’s two tutorials I swear by for making a short wig + clip on combination look more natural! They’re in Japanese but easily comprehensible if you use machine translation thanks to the clear photography. They also help with spreading out the weight on the wig itself, and if your hair is long enough, using a clip on with a fishnet wig cap and clipping through the wig and into your real hair will also he lp make it more secure and distribute weight more evenly.

if your character has high pigtails

if your character has a high ponytail

D) when you need extra wefts, opt for sewing in wefts rather than gluing whenever possible. Glue doesn’t seem heavy but enough of it can make a wig get real heavy REAL fast.

E) redirecting the weight to your entire head and not just the front hairline will feel lighter and give you less forehead tension, which is one of the biggest causes of wig headache. Toupee clips sewn evenly around the edges and a Wig Fix https://therenatural.com (the name brand one, the knockoffs genuinely don’t work half as well) can help with doing this. A Wig Fix will also let you use fewer pins to keep your wig on, which is another cause of wig headache. Can’t suggest trying those enough. There are also some velvet wig grips out there but I find those don’t work quite as well, but they’re by far better than nothing.

3) make sure your wig is easy to remove. A lot of characters have horns or veils or other head things on top of the wig so make sure those can easily come off if you need a wig break! I’m a big proponent of using wig glue or double stick tape to glue strands (face framing layers etc) to your face for a more natural and more flattering look, but if you get headaches from wigs, keep that glue or tape in your bag so if you have to de-wig for a bit, you can get it back on!

4) take the ibuprofen or whatever BEFORE you put the wig on, and not when your wig is already making your head miserable! It’s like taking the ibuprofen before you wear the horrible shoes for a special event; it’s more effective in advance.

5) what are your normal headache triggers? Make sure you’re doing the work to EXTRA avoid them before wearing a cosplay wig. Stay hydrated. Keep up with your electrolytes. If you have any food triggers, make sure you’re managing them properly.

6) try multiple types of wig cap before deciding which ones to use! I’m a big fan of the fishnet kind because I’m in agony every time I try to use the stocking kind. Some people find relief in doing pin curls under their cap, and @/battleangelgif on twitter suggested doing this with damp hair the night before you wear the wig. There are tons of methods! Stretching out fishnet caps can be done more effectively when they’re slightly damp and that’ll make them pinch less. Experiment with what you like best to keep your irl hair in place and once you find a method you like, go for it! Make that your go-to!

7) always remember: wearing a short wig is less miserable than wearing a wig to your ankles. consider very carefully whether or not you can actually handle that wig that’s as long as you are tall. sometimes you just can’t and that’s okay! reduce the length of any super long haired character to hip length and it’ll be FINE. I swear. It’ll still read as super long and it won’t be as terrible.

8) always remember you can just. take the entire wig and cosplay off if you’re in agony. it’s not worth it. don’t do that to yourself. If the migraine hits anyway, just take it off.

Hope some of this might help you out! Focusing on reducing and redistributing weight is what helps me out the most 😌 feel free to reply or reblog or message with questions and I’ll try and get back to you ASAP!

[epigstolary]

The Middle of Nowhere, Part Two

I once said that my feeder didn’t have to do anything to keep me on his farm. That I was building my own prison there, bite by bite. And that’s still true — but only partly true. The farm may be a long way away from anything — town, other people, even the road that’s our only real connection to society — and it may as well be a desert island for someone too big to drive a car or walk further than the yard, but it isn’t my prison. Because my prison isn’t a place.

Things started to change when it got difficult even to go outside to our porch. I don’t mean they changed with my feeder; he was still as caring and doting as ever. He started bringing me my snacks once I got big enough that just shuffling out the front door took all my energy and attention. I had to watch where I placed every step of my bloated legs, laden with fat that looked like bags of cottage cheese, and hold on to the walls and the railing along the porch to keep my belly and chest fat from sloshing sideways and pulling me over. Even those few steps left me breathless and my heart pounding by the time I got settled on my bench; but it was worth it to have a plate of his biscuits and gravy or chicken and dumplings, under that big sky beyond our little farm, gilded with another sunset. And even when my bench finally gave way after one too many helpings of both, he dusted off his woodworking kit and put it back together, reinforced and better than new.

But by then, we both knew it was only a temporary fix. It wouldn’t be long before there’d be no way I could maneuver myself out there every day, and he could tell how being cooped up inside would drive me crazy after a while. If I was going to do anything other than sit mostly alone on the couch all day, we were going to have to find another way.

His first innovation was to invite people over for dinner — farmhands, friends, folks he knew from town that he could get to come to me even if I couldn’t go to them. And they were good company, in a lot of ways; they’d bring a taste of the outside world with them. They might talk about how the crops were doing, recount some recent anecdote from working out in the fields or going into town, opine on some petty local politics or gossip. And it was nice to hear about something other than what was going on within the confines of our little farm — an outside world that it was increasingly impossible for me to get to. But really, it was hard for the focus not to turn around to me. Nobody was ever rude the first time they met me; but it was rare not to see either a reaction of stifled surprise, or else a glassy look of unseeing, a conscious attempt not to notice the half-ton of fat flowing and bulging out of my ill-fitting clothes.

It didn’t help that, with me never leaving the farm, there weren’t many topics of conversation other than myself and food that our guests could engage with me about. When the conversation didn’t turn to recent meals or my favorite foods, which usually elicited at least warm agreement about the country staples forming much of my diet, it turned to how I spent most of my day. We’d do our usual face-saving song and dance about what I did to take care of the house while my partner was out working in the field — all of it lies, and increasingly transparent lies as my limited ability to even move became more obvious at higher weights — and how I was getting ready to start losing some weight. I’d talk about how I really wanted to get healthier, get out and about more often; and they’d smile and nod, giving tepid approval and encouragement.

The thing is, I really did mean it. I really did want to get down to a size where I could at least walk around outside again, maybe even drive a car into town and go to the little greasy spoon like I used to. It was becoming discouraging to have every step, every reach, every movement blocked or restrained by the fat smothering every inch of my body. But our guests knew full well I didn’t have a prayer of keeping to a diet or an exercise routine. It was even more obvious to those who’d visited before, and who saw me even more bloated, even more out of shape than the last time they were there.

The actual meals certainly made them think that, if they hadn’t before. My partner would serve a spread fit for a dozen people — something like a barbecue buffet, a whole turkey with all the fixings, a tray of lasagna — and I’d end up eating everything that was left after the others had their fill. Long after their places had been cleared away, I’d still be gobbling up the heaping plates my partner would keep bringing me until every scrap of food was gone. Since I couldn’t last very long at the dining table anymore, usually we’d sit around the living room, and they would basically watch me gorge myself — tits and chins wobbling as I’d chew, plate sitting on my enormous belly so my blubbery arms could rest on the sweep of my side rolls while I cut and speared each bite. It was obvious to everyone, I guess even to me, that I was never going to drop a pound if I couldn’t resist completely abandoning myself to food like that. By the end of the meal, I’d be stuffed full, taking up the entire couch and looking enormous, almost too drowsy from overeating to notice the expressions passing between our guests, their looks of amusement or disgust or astonishment at what was apparently a typical dinner for me. Sometimes they’d even whisper about it, thinking I was asleep. I wasn’t.

From the front window of the house, I could watch them drive away, taillights receding toward that distant road where proper civilization began again. Probably recapping the dinner and my obscene size and appetite with horrified amazement. They’d been merely passing through, tourists in my isolated bubble, visiting their friend’s or boss’s blob of a partner out of courtesy but with no real desire to bring me into the fold. They could make things more tolerable, but they’d never be any real help in connecting with the world again.

Then one day, my partner’s beat-up old pickup disappeared, and he pulled into the yard in a gleaming new one, looking unusually excited for him and expectantly at me. I was puzzled — by that point, I was already too big to heave myself up into the cab of any pickup. But then I saw the truck bed — more specifically, the crane and winch rising from the front corner. My stomach did a somersault at the sight of him rigging up a harness meant for lifting cows and pigs into the bed; it was a way to let me get off the farm, sure, but at a pretty steep price in dignity. It was as good as an admission that I’d eaten myself far too fat to rejoin the world like a normal person, probably for good.

But the temptation to be somewhere else, anywhere else, was too much. A day or two later, my partner was helping me waddle out the front door and down the steps toward the driveway. Months indoors had obscured just how much my body had changed in even that short amount of time. My legs had both bloated considerably and weakened since my last walk through the yard, making every step like having to lift heavy bags of molasses just to advance a few inches at a time. My belly hung lower and broader than I remembered, physically holding back my steps and making it harder to twist my upper body to steady my walk. My side rolls and bicep blubber fought one another for space, pushing my arms up and sending fat bunching around my neck and shoulders. I was an out-of-breath mess by the time I maneuvered myself around and collapsed into the harness.

The sensation of my weight being lifted slowly off the ground, suspended and moved by an object completely out of my control, sent a surreal thrill through me. My hundreds of pounds, cradled in the harness, wobbled and jiggled with its slow movements, and for the most part I had no choice but to be carried along with my body’s jostling inertia. Even more than usual, I was buried under my immense belly and tits, my bloated legs were lifted level with the rest of my body, and my flab-laden arms — if they’d even been strong enough to do anything — had nowhere to grasp to help stabilize my sloshing bulk. The crane and winch cracked and creaked as it labored to move my weight, lifted me over the sides and into position facing the tailgate, and lowered me onto some foam padding my partner had arranged into a kind of makeshift couch against the rear window. I didn’t fill the truck bed — but there wasn’t room to sit next to me, either.

I’ve never felt a mixture of emotions like I did on that first drive back into town. On the one hand, it felt so amazingly free — finding myself on that once impossibly-distant road, our farm receding into the distance as fields and hills sped by. Fresh air, and the wind in my hair. But then, as buildings grew closer together and we started rolling into downtown, my blood ran cold — I’m a half-ton blob taking up most of the back of a pickup truck, too fat to walk or move, coming to town like a circus attraction, I thought. People were going to react.

I’m sure a lot of it was in my mind. I’m sure I was self-conscious, reading intent into every glance and word and gesture, most of the time when it wasn’t there. But it felt like every last person in the town had turned out to stare at my huge form being paraded down main street. Me looking out over the expanse of lard occupying the truck bed and smothering my body. Blubber sloshing uncontrollably every time we turned a corner. Kids pointing at the enormous fatty passing by, their shouts being stifled by nervous and disgusted parents. Skinny people casting sideways glances at the pickup, stopped at a stoplight, as they muttered to each other amid broad grins.

And that was when I realized. It didn’t matter where I was — on the farm, in town, on stage with a million people watching. I had let myself get fattened past the point where I could exist in this world and connect with it ever again. Even when I was right in the middle of it, I was as far removed from these people as if I’d still been back on the farm. I’m never going to be walking around with them, shopping with them, just existing in the spaces they exist in. I literally don’t fit in, even if I could haul around all the blubber I’ve accumulated under my own power. And I’m just as alien to them — someone five times their weight, who can’t control their appetite any better than to get this big, someone they can deride or pity or judge with impunity.

On the drive back to the farm, under a starry indigo sky and with a backseat full of fast food from the town’s only chain, I had to wonder about my feeder. Whether he really was trying to get me out of the house. Or did he know? Had he already figured out that I was too big for it to matter where I was — that the thick rolls dominating my body and the sacks of fat hanging off my limbs would keep me his, even if I’d tried to get someone to help me leave? That this drive would do nothing more than to show me a world, a life, that my fat — his fat — would never let me go back to?

The thought lodged in the back of my mind as he gently helped hoist me, every inch wobbling and quivering, out of the truck bed. He led my bulk, step by exhausted step, back inside and to my usual divot on the couch. And as he got me comfortable, spreading the buffet of greasy, fatty food out before me, and as I bit into the first of ten thick double cheeseburgers, his too-kind smile and his gaze that lingered on my bulging gut for an instant too long told me everything I needed to know.

The farm isn’t my prison. My body is.

[mandaplease10]

A Polin Take Nobody Asked For #1

Here I'll be yapping about different things I've noticed from Polin's Story in the Bridgerton Series. Don't know how many parts this will be, but here goes the first!

Colin's Fake Persona

Most of us (with media literacy) realize that the Colin when see in the beginning of season 3 is not the real Colin. He has traveled and returned to the Ton with this new personality to try and fit into society and the other men.

Many have stated that this is because he acts this way (flirting, brothel visits, etc) because he is simply mimicking the actions of the other gentleman and his own brothers. This all makes sense and it is a very good take, but then I took a deep dive and came up with this.

What if the reasoning behind this new Colin is actually because of Pen and what happened last season.

Let me explain:

We learn from Colin that Pen didn't respond to his letters while he was away despite him constantly writing to her. It is never really mentioned or inferred that he stopped writing to her due to her non replies, so it seems like he had hope that she would respond one day.

Now, we know that Pen and Colin have always remained in touch whenever he was gone away based on previous seasons, which meant that he always had Pen to rely on to share his adventures with through his letters and still had a piece of home with him by reading her letters.

Fast forward to him returning this year and despite this new personality he still seeks out Pen. When he greets his family, he instantly looks around for Pen because she has always been there with his family when he returned in the past. Once he realizes she's not there, he glances over towards her house, as a reflex.

Then at the debutante event he seeks her out again and when he finds her can't wait to see and talk to her. In his mind, he thinks everything is okay and they'll jump right back into their old friendship.

But then she keeps their conversation short and he realizes that something is different with Pen. At this point he thinks it is from whatever is going on between Pen and Eloise, which could also not be helping the case, but isn't really the main reason.

Then we see their next interaction at the ball and once again, Colin seeks her out. He notices her when she walks in and even looks towards her direction once more even after everyone else has moved on. He again, notices that she leaves and is upset, despite being surrounded by the Fife and his friends and trying to keep up with the persona, he has to check on Penelope.

It's in this moment he finds out about why Pen is upset with him and as soon as he realizes this, that previous act, falters and he wishes to make things right, but Pen won't have it and walks away.

It's looking back at his words in this moment mixed with what we learn from his journal entry and just the overall arc of his character in these four episodes that got me thinking.

We hear from Colin that he missed Pen because she never responded to his letter. He missed their connection, their friendship, their conversation, his feeling of home, etc. So, while on his travels, he decided to seek out such a connection in the only way he knew how and that was by taking on the rake persona because that's the only gentlemen experience he knew.

I mean think about it, he was very young when his father died and we don't really know if Edmund had his own rakish days since he and Violet fell in love so young, so he only has his brothers to look up to as well as the rest of the rake bros in the ton.

Yet, we also know despite him taking on this new personality and action, he never did find that connection or fill the longing he was feeling from missing Penelope. The only reason why he keeps up with this act for so long is because he finally was feeling accepted by everyone, even his own family, so he felt like this was who he was supposed to be.

But when he realizes that what he feels for Penelope isn't just platonic love or feelings, he slowly starts to take off the mask and become the person he really is because Penelope accepts him.

Honestly, there is more I could say about this one topic, but this is already long enough. Ha

P.S. I will add that I really would love a prequel about Violet and Edmund. I know that Julia Quinn doesn't want to write it because of Edmund dying, but I still think Shonda and Netflix could do a similar spin off like Queen Charlotte where it's not their whole story, just the beginning. I definitely think Colin is similar to Edmund and it would be lovely to see any parallels between Edmund/Violet and Colin and Penelope 's love story.

[bluestarjay]

It's kind of shocking how Hinata is so commonly characterized as someone who is perfect at making friends and is a 100% extrovert-- which yes, he is, but I think people are forgetting how much anxiety he has and how much of a people pleaser he is. I'm rewatching Haikyuu rn and I'm on S1 E5, and the way Daichi came up to Hinata and his immediate response was "I'll block, I'll set, I'll do whatever you need me to!!" And the way he makes promises he can't keep because he wants people to like him is kind of sad. I doubt he had many friends growing up other than Izumi and Kouji, and was probably bullied for being loud, obnoxious, and a weirdo for playing volleyball with the girls or being so into volleyball. So now he makes promises he can't keep and tries to go above and beyond for the team because he doesn't want them to get rid of him or not take him seriously. Yes, he's good at making friends, but I doubt he knows how or why. He's clearly worried that people are only friends with him out of convenience and his jumping skills; that since they play together, they /have/ to be friends. He just wants to finally be of use to someone; for someone to take him seriously; someone who won't ignore him around other people bc they don't want to be seen with him (silly funny little hc of mine 🥰🥰) . But that's also why Karasuno is so great, because they really are a family. They love Hinata and are friends with him, and they like him because he's a good person, not because they have to be since they play together, or just because he's skilled and they want to take that from him. And maybe at first, Hinata didn't realize that, since after being ignored and bullied and mocked, he thought the only way someone would possibly want him around was because he could help them win. And since he's so short, of course, taller, older, buffer players would intimidate him because they could easily take advantage of the height difference, so all of his bathroom encounters are NOT helping his anxiety 😭😭😭 and the puking??? When hinata threw up on Tanaka?? Everybody is always so focused on Yamaguchi's anxiety that they don't look at or even realize Hinata's anxiety. LITERALLY, THE ENTIRETY OF EP5 IS ABOUT HINATA'S ANXIETY AND PEOPLE PLEASING BEHAVIOR,,, WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT IT???? THE KEY SCENE LIKE 20 MINUTES IN??? (For ref, Daichi, Suga, and Kageyama are talking about Hinatas behavior, and Daichi imagines a scene: He hands Hinata the club room keys, Hinata says he'll take it, Daichi says, "I never told you where to keep it, so I brought it", and Hinata bows repeatedly saying he's sorry (about 6 times)) THAT IS NOT NORMAL!!! And then he's so worried about not doing well because he feels like he needs to make up for everything (his height, his lack of skill, his lack of experience on a team, the incident with Kageyama, etc), AHH HE LITERALLY SAYS, "This isn't like junior high...because I can be replaced! I don't want that. I don't want to be replaced. " BUT NOBODY CARES?? NOT ONE PERSON IN THIS FANDOM (THAT I HAVE SEEN) TALKS ABOUT ANY OF THIS!!! All I ever see is how Hinata has tons of friends and is so popular and is a people magnet, but does anybody ever think that he's probably anxious because those friends might get bored of him and find new friends?? That since Kenma has known Kuroo a lot longer and already doesn't really like people, he might just decide to stop talking to him?? Or that Kageyama might get bored of Hinata and stop hanging out with him outside of volleyball?? Or that Daichi and/or Coach Ukai will one day realize that he isn't really that special, and anyone can jump or run fast, so he gets replaced??? Literally I bet his WORST FEAR is being replaced and forgotten.

[writeforfandoms]

Warrior Song 13

Find the series masterlist

Okay guys, we're approaching the end! I think we've got two chapters left in this story. And remember, if you kill me, I can't finish the story.

Medic learns more about Atriox's plan, and has a difficult decision to make.

Warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical plots against humanity, nobody likes humanity I guess, playing fast and loose with canon, canon is my sandbox. Mention of injuries.

Word count: 2k

Master chief/John-117 x f!reader

“Humanity has been more opposition than I first imagined,” Atriox growled. He’d left you on the ground, for which you were grateful. It was easier to hide the shaking when you were already seated. “But you will not be for much longer.” 

You couldn’t see exactly what he was doing. You were a medic, not an engineer. But you knew it was bad. 

You wished you did know what he was doing, so you could find some way to stop him. 

Not that you really thought you could. You were, after all, the third most harmless person on this ring. 

“Why did you not break when you lost your Master Chief?” 

It took you a solid two seconds to realize that Atriox was not speaking to you, but speaking of humanity in general. You swallowed hard.

“Well, he died before, so.” You almost immediately winced at yourself. Oh yeah, great plan, snark at the maniac with the weapons and hands as big as your head. Good job. 

Atriox huffed. “Then I will see to his death permanently this time,” he growled. “He will be the first, but not the last.” He looked down at you over his shoulder, the blue lighting only making him more intimidating, somehow. 

You swallowed hard. That was very much a threat. One he apparently intended to see through. 

This was so bad. 

Two of the Endless floated nearer to him, and Atriox once again elected to ignore you, back to you. You took the chance to look around, carefully. You were far from alone, after all. 

There were weapons and supplies stacked neatly. More than you were comfortable seeing. 

It looked like war preparations. 

Which was terrifying, of course, but also rather useless here. Sure, Atriox could lead the Endless and whatever of his forces remained against the humans here on the Halo, but that was far from all of humanity. 

Fernando had told you the Halo was non-operational, John had dismantled whatever it was that made it a weapon. 

So what was Atriox’s plan? 

Not that it really mattered, so long as someone thwarted his plan. You doubted you could do much, but you could try. 

Very carefully, you scooted back away from the control panel and Atriox. Nobody even looked at you, clearly deeming you harmless. 

Maybe you could use that to your advantage? Somehow? 

You could feel the Halo humming under you, gentle vibrations that would have been soothing if you weren’t absolutely terrified. Nobody else seemed to pay it any attention, but you leaned into it a bit. 

Look, you could really use anything to help you calm down a bit just about now. 

Okay, so you couldn’t tell what they were planning, and they were currently ignoring you, correctly deciding that you were not someone they needed to worry about. Okay. What else could you do? 

There were tons of weapons, of course. Most of which you didn’t know how to use. And which you had no chance of doing any real damage with. Okay, yeah, not your best idea. Moving on. 

The Endless seemed to be doing their own thing - only a few were around Atriox. You didn’t know where the rest had gone, because when Chief had been chasing them there had been many, many more. Possibly they were around the rest of the Halo? But for what purpose?

Maybe they knew how to repair it.

The thought stirred dread in your chest, cold seeping into your bones and your mind. That… was horrifying. And terrible. That would end so poorly. 

But you had to consider it.

From what you remembered, the Endless had been around with the Forerunners, so there was a possibility they knew how to work this tech. 

Which was honestly pretty terrifying. But this whole situation was pretty terrifying, so you weren’t sure how to qualify the actual level of terrifying anymore. 

Okay. So. Atriox and the Endless were definitely up to something. You couldn’t do a lot from here. But you could watch, observe, try to piece together their plan.

And that’s exactly what you did. You sat there, thigh aching, gaze fixed on Atriox and the Endless around him. Maybe if you watched you’d get some hint, some clue as to their plan. Maybe. 

It was the least you could do, anyway. 

For the large part, they all ignored you. Atriox, the Endless, the Sangheili. All of them. You were beneath their focus, not worthy of watching more than to make sure you didn’t grab a weapon and start shooting. 

Not that you were offended by this. They were pretty much right about that. 

You had no idea how long you sat there. Time was meaningless and impossible to track. You just stayed exactly where you were, watching everything.

So when the Sangheili approached you again, you flinched. But he just sneered down at you and hauled you to your feet, grip uncaringly tight around your upper arm. You winced but kept quiet. 

You were moved through a doorway, though your thigh ached and threatened to give out from under you. A walkway went around the circular room, with a single walkway stretching out over nothingness to a central point. 

“Move,” Atriox growled from to the side of you. You chanced a quick look, but he was just watching you. So you stepped forward carefully, slowly. 

“What am I doing?” You kept your voice low - it felt wrong to speak at full volume here. 

“Ensuring my victory.” Atriox stepped up behind you, too close, looming over you. Then again, being on the same damn Halo as him was too close. Two of the Endless floated near you, watching with open curiosity. 

So. They needed you to do something. Some way to interact with the Halo, or activate it, or something. But they needed you to do it. Or else why bother grabbing a human at all? Why bother keeping you alive? 

Too many questions, not enough answers, and no way to get them. You blew out a slow breath, looking down at the interface in front of you. You could probably throw yourself off the walkway, which would at least slow down his plans. Give Blue Team a chance to catch up and stop him. 

But you didn’t want to. You really didn’t want to. 

Apparently tired of waiting for you, Atriox grabbed your arm, pulling your hand forward to slap against the interface. It lit up vibrant blue, sending chills down your spine. 

“The Forerunners thought they were being so clever,” he growled, watching various statuses show up, flicking through them. “Leaving their technology to humans.” 

The two Endless moved closer, and you stepped away. Carefully. Slowly. Your arm ached and throbbed where you’d been grabbed twice now, but nobody stopped you. They were focused on the displays. 

Okay. Maybe you could back up, grab a weapon, and… do something. 

You didn’t have a chance to plan more than that, though, as the sound of gunfire echoed down into the open room. Atriox started barking orders, his remaining soldiers gearing up quickly. 

You used the distraction to scuttle away as fast as you could, trying to remain out of the way. Partially because you didn’t want to get shot, and partially because you didn’t want to get grabbed as a shield. It was easy for you to hide in the growing chaos, looking around almost desperately for some way to defend yourself. 

The sounds of fighting grew louder, the shots getting closer. You had just turned to look back at the weapons stash, so you had a perfect view of Blue Team advancing into the room. Your breath stuttered out of you. They were okay. They were all okay. 

“Master Chief,” Atriox rumbled, taking one step forward. “We meet again.”

Chief didn’t respond, just shifting his grip on his gun, helmet fixed on Atriox. 

“You will not be so lucky again.” Atriox started forward, the floor shaking under his steps as he ran towards Chief. 

You didn’t watch. You couldn’t watch. Two of the Endless were still working at the terminal, completely avoiding the fighting. Whatever they were working on was bad, clearly. They were trying to get it done. 

You’d just have to disrupt their work. 

A shotgun slid towards you, bumping into your shoe. You picked it up quickly and then looked at Blue Team. Fred nodded to you once before he threw a whole Unggoy into the pit, the high-pitched squeals fading quickly.

You didn’t hear it hit the bottom. 

You knew the basics of gun safety, at least, so you were able to point and shoot. Which you did. Your first shot was a little wide, but the second hit both Endless. One of them turned on you with a furious sound while the other continued working. 

Well. Damn. 

You pressed your back into the wall, eyes wide. That had not gone according to plan! 

But the Endless didn’t have a chance to attack. Two more shots hit it in the back, and it turned and… teleported? It did something and moved away from you. 

Giving you a chance to focus on the remaining one. You needed to stop it. Somehow. You had no ammo, no convenient ally to help. 

So you did what you could. You threw the entire shotgun at the Endless. 

The Endless turned, energy crackling at its fingertips. Oh shit. It floated towards you slowly, seemingly just to enjoy the panic on your face as you scrambled backwards, away from it. 

Kelly dropped down out of seemingly nowhere, pinning the Endless beneath her and shooting it in the face three times. “Stop taunting them,” she scolded you, sparing you one look before she leapt off to deal with something else. 

You breathed out slowly, shakily. Yeah. Right. Good idea. You’d accomplished your goal, anyway. 

Back still pressed against the wall, you hunkered down a little, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. The fight around you was loud and far too close, but there was nowhere else to go. 

You had the perfect vantage point to see Atriox look back at the control panel. You saw two Sangheili descend on Chief to distract him. You saw Atriox leap back to the control panel. 

You looked down when you felt something bump into your shoe. Another weapon. But this time it was a grenade. You had no idea what kind it was, or what it did, but you recognized the shape. 

You picked up the grenade. Blue Team was scattered across the room, dealing with the veritable flood of Endless. 

Could you make that throw? Maybe. 

A sharp clang jerked your head to the side as Fred hit the wall across from you, getting back to his feet quickly, in time to block a shot from an Unggoy. 

Your Spartans were doing well, but they hadn’t known the extent of what they faced. They didn’t know Atriox’s full plan.

Neither did you, of course, but you knew more than they did. You knew that he couldn’t succeed. 

You knew what you had to do.

It took all your courage to take that first step forward. Then another. You moved slowly, softly. You didn’t even register to the combatants - the Endless were focused on Blue Team, and Blue Team was focused on eliminating the actual threats with extreme prejudice. 

You nearly wobbled the last step you dared, your instincts screaming at you to run away from Atriox. But you didn’t. You held your ground, facing his back, shaking. You pulled the pin on the grenade, crouching a little. Okay. You could do this. 

You rolled the grenade right between Atriox’s feet until it hit the bottom of the control panel and stopped. 

Your gaze met John’s across the room, his visor impenetrable as ever, but still comforting. He shouted, and it took you a moment to realize he’d called your name. 

Atriox made a triumphant noise. 

John lunged.

The grenade went off.

[agbob-dollpants]

💓 Meet Velvet! 💓

If you’ve seen my post on here about picking out dolls in person, I can’t do that anymore! My local AG Place closed in February, and I’m genuinely still in disbelief. However, this girl embodies all of the wonderful memories I have made there, as I purchased her on my last trip there on February 16. ❤️

Velvet is a truly me 118, who was never really on my radar when she was first released, but something inside me decided I absolutely NEEDED this doll after seeing a million photos of her on AGIG! When picking out my second to last doll at AGP Columbus, though, I chose truly me 120 instead. Sometimes I’m so mad at myself because, when I picked her out, she didn’t have that awful little star on the bottom of her foot, but there was also one 118 in the store who did not. When I went to pick out Velvet, tons of 120’s were in the store without a star foot, but EVERY 118 had one! It was a nightmare to pick Velvet out, but her sweet face just spoke to me and I bought her anyways! 🌟

One thing I really love to do with my dolls is create stop motion videos for my AGTube channel, AGBob DollPants. For those videos, I have to fashion personalities for my dolls, which usually persist with unusual, outlandish personality traits that create a lot of chaos. However, making a more relatable personality for Velvet has really helped me bond with her! 💓

As I tried to come up with ways to “make up for” her star foot, I landed on the idea that the star is her “scar” from being the last doll to “step foot” into the AGP. Then, I came up with the most BRILLIANT idea! She would be an AGIGer and AGTuber like me! 🌟

In my “doll lore,” Velvet’s presence on AGIG has become even more relatable to me, as I’ve created a story for her that involves similar events to my own experience in high school. At the age of 17, Velvet is a senior in high school, and she still absolutely adores her AG dolls. Navigating her upcoming adulthood, she has to deal with her adult friends growing out of dolls, trying to hide her AGIG from people at school, and the closure of her local AG Place.

At least she has her stories, though. Velvet has loved to write stories about her dolls since she was eight years old. Though I do not have a mini doll to represent him, her stories mostly revolve around Fletcher Rae—a customized Kaya mold boy doll with curly black hair and freckles who was created from a mangled Kaya doll that she “found at a yard sale.” Fletcher, as well as every other doll in Velvet’s collection, attends a school of magic in their 400 page novels! So far, Velvet has created six books about Fletcher in the style of the AG historical books, such as “Meet Fletcher” and “Fletcher Saves the Day,” but filled to the brim with action, suspense, and TONS of lore! ✨

Nobody at Velvet’s school knows that these stories are really about a massive collection of American Girl dolls, though—except for her best friend (who is still to be determined, she will be one of my existing dolls!) As much as she would love to share her doll collection with the world, only the closest people in her life know about her passion for these dolls. Similarly to my own life, Velvet feels like she’s hiding a huge part of her personality to others when she first meets them—almost appearing “personality-less” without her dolls. However, with thousands of followers on AGIG, Velvet realizes how amazing her dolls truly are, as so many people admire her photography skills and love for the American Girl brand! 💓

I absolutely love taking photos of Velvet as if she was a real AGIGer. The photo above showcases her dolls falling over during a photo shoot…I’m sure we’ve all been there! I just adore having a doll who doesn’t look like me, but embodies a similar personality. With Velvet as an AGIGer, I am able to feel more seen as an adult with a passion for AG, even though I created her character myself. Even though Z Yang was a 13 year old girl who adored AGTube (who I own in my collection), something about carefully crafting everything about Velvet’s character makes her so much more special! ❤️

After deciding her personality, and considering the fact that she was my last doll from AGP Columbus, Velvet quickly became my favorite doll of ALL TIME! Though I have had other “comfort dolls” in the past, there is just something about this girl that rises above all the others. To be honest, I don’t even know what I was doing without her! 🌟

Every single day since I first purchased this doll, she has not left my sight. Of course, she always has to have a mini doll with her, so a lot of mini dolls have also been invading my bedroom. Having Velvet around has even inspired me to take the photo above at a public library! It’s been a long time since I took photos in a public facility that was not outdoors, so her love for AGIG has made me more confident in that respect! ❤️

Once you find a doll that you really bond with, they will be your best friend forever! I’m shocked, yet not surprised, that I did not feel this way for my first two dolls that I got all the way back in 2012, but for a doll that I actually purchased as an adult. I like to think that I’ve just accumulated more appreciation for my dolls with time! ✨

Even though my beloved AGP closed, I am beyond thrilled to have the most PERFECT 118 in my collection. It sounds a bit silly, but Velvet means the absolute world to me, and I am so glad to have such a connection with one of my dolls! 💓

[ihopesocomic]

I find Nothing's immediate attachment to Hover actually pretty realistic in a sad way.

She's been abused all her life, even before she was born into a society that told her she had little to no value to anyone because she was a female cub

Then she got injured defending herself and instead of protecting her her mother married the person who caused her disability and then put all the blame on her for being a child who was attacked.

Hover was the only person who wa remotely nice to her, of course she immediately fell for her eventhough Hover is terrible

She immediately attached herself to someone she thought was the one person who wouldn't treat her like her family did, and even when Hover treats her just as bad she still want sto be with her because Hover *has* to be different. Because if Hover treats her like nothing too, maybe that's just what she is

It's so depressingly realistic how Nothing jumps from bad familial relationship to bad romantic relationship

Like MP could've done something with that where it shows Nothing going from an abusive mom to an abusive partner and thinking that partner treats her better because she doesn't want to face reality or she just doesn't know how bad this is and only realizes when she meets someone else who does treat her right and she reflects on how awful Hover was(yknow with her meeting new friends she goddammit she deserves a healthy friendgroup who doesn't mistreat her or downplay the abuse she's faced)

Because Hover is just awful

But instead of addressing this very real thing victims of abuse go through with how people like Hover who jump at you for any mistake you make will 100% turn their back on you when you need their help because you didn't do what they want

They instead make it that Hover was just angwy guys :c and Nothing made mistakes too!

Ignore the fact that she left her disabled girlfriend to fight a bigger lion to defend her brother AFTER she just got berated by her mother for being disabled(Hover was too busy picking her nose to defend the supposed love of her life), only to then ALSO berate Nothing for missing her assessment while Nothing's life was just threatened, she was verbally abused, and her brother is in danger, AND HOVER DID NOTHING

but priorities

It's just

So scarily realistic how Nothing sought safety and love from a partner and she ended up with someone like Hover

And she was literally never treated with any kindness ever that she doesn't even know what it looks like anymore

I actually touched upon this in the other ask regarding Nothing x Hover where I said that Nothing appears to be emotionally vulnerable and needy in this situation and I was absolutely not giving the show kudos or leeway by saying that.

The bottom line is that folks like you and me care more about how these characters came across or could potentially come across than Tribble herself ever did.

Like you say, it would've been an ideal thing to show that Nothing is supposed to be in this vulnerable position with Hover. But the sickening thing is that the relationship is sold as being very healthy and wholesome to the point where there's a shit-ton of ship art out there where they're being just that.

Not to mention Hover wasn't even nice to her. She was what an able-bodied individual's perception of being nice to a disabled person is... which is asking intrusive questions about our disabilities, making jokes at the expense of our disabilities... You get the idea.

But yeah, I agree with all this and it just further solidifies why Nothing's relationship with Hover was very one-sided and abusive.

It could also be argued that Hover was also very used to only thinking about herself and nobody else as a prideless lion, hence why she chose to go off with Farleap and Silentstalk. Because they could offer what she felt Nothing could not, which were cheat codes to get through the huntress assessment.

But Hover fans like to pretend this didn't happen, of course. Along with everything else you've pointed out. Trust me, we've been there. It's certainly a group of stans that love to cherry-pick and ignore blatant evidence that their fave is problematic. lol - RJ

[x-0ophelia0-x]

Ezra just nonstop flirting and being an absolute lovable dork around fem Reader Post reunion..

Poor reader’s desperately trying to get her work done in peace but she is struggling..

One, either because Ezra is even vaguely in the same space as her and she can’t focus because of his stupid pretty face, or his stupid voice that makes her feel all fluttery inside..

Or two, he’s not there at all but she still can’t focus because she can’t stop thinking about him! A mechanic who can’t focus is a mechanic who can’t work… and she needs to get her work done!

So the next time Ezra walks up to lay a flirty line on her she just stops.. gets up, walks over to him, grabs him by his collar and shoves him In chair.. sits on his lap, grabs his face and kisses him.. hard, like within seconds Ezra went from being all suave and flirty with his crush to his crush straight up making out with him on his lap….

Girl has her hands fiddling with his soft curly hair, and thumb rubbing across his cheek when she pulls back for air.. gently running her fingers across his bearded jaw as she slowly gets off his lap…

He his too stunned to speak…. But she’s not~

“I finish work at ten.. I know a few places that stay open late for dinner.. if you’re late THAT won’t be happening again for awhile..”

Reader Calming walks away with a satisfied grin on her face to go back to work…

Ezra: ….. OH KRIFF YEAH!!!!

the last sentence was literally me when I first read your request 😭

can’t focus? can’t work.

pairing: Mechanic!Fem!Reader x Ezra Bridger

warnings: none, kissing at the end

word count: 2K

summary: you are a well known mechanic which meant that you had plenty of work to do. There was one problem tho.. Ezra. He always managed to distract you from your work, even if he wasn’t around you. You can’t focus yourself anymore on anything and this was bad for your job. You had to find a solution to this.. which you did. Leaving him completely flustered behind.

authors note: Flirty Ezra lives rent free in my head.

Pls bare with me, flirting isn’t my speciality, if his attempts to flirt don’t make sense I‘m deeply sorry.

anywayyy

enjoyy <3

Hera asked you if you could help her with something. The Ghost made weird sounds for over a week now, she wanted you to take a look at it. 

„Are you sure? I don’t want you to overwork yourself. I know that you’re quite busy, this can wait for a few days“

She tried to reassure you, knowing that you were a well known mechanic which meant that you had tons of work to do.

Unbeknownst to her though, you had other problems. 

Ezra.

-

Some time passed now since he finally returned. He didn’t want to show it but those years which he spent alone… let’s just say that they left their mark.

You two were close before he disappeared, nobody confessed but you had your moments with him. And now? After all those years you two noticed that you had to catch up on a few things…

And since he was alone for a decade now.. he made sure that he made his affection towards you clear, not thinking twice before he opened his mouth to say something he’d maybe regret when he couldn’t sleep. 

Or not, it’s Ezra after all, he’s sure as hell proud at how he makes you feel.

You kind of enjoyed it, and you still do. But your not so official boyfriend just doesn’t know when he has to stop. 

It all leaded to your current situation. You accepted way to many comissions hoping that they’d keep you concentrated. And they did, for a few days. 

You were stressed, regretting your actions while you worked at the different shuttles or machines. 

Ezra always found his way to you, sneaking in to your workshop, spending his time with you while you fixed some broken parts. 

„Did I tell you that you’re beautiful?“

Yes he did, multiple times now and he always managed to make you blush whenever he said that.

„I guess so“

You tried to brush it off, focusing on your work as best as you could. 

„Do I see a blush?“

He smirked, walking closer to you while you continued your work. 

This boy was so full with love, love that he wanted to share with the only person he wanted. You.

And he made sure that you knew that there was ‚someone‘ who’d be always here for you.

You turned around, originally wanting to change the tools you were working with only to collide against Ezra’s chest. 

You were trying to maintain your focus so much that you didn’t even notice how he left his corner and made his way closer to you. 

And you blushed even more.

„Oh yeah that’s definetly a blush“

There was no point in hiding your face now, you just stepped closer to him, resting your head on his chest while you wrapped your arms around him.

„You’re going to be the end of me, do you know it?“

„Your ‚end‘ will at least be a handsome one“

He said, not even hesitating for a second after your statement. A proud smile made it‘s way up to his face, yes. He indeed was very handsome.

You looked up to him, straight into his eyes. They were directed at you, representing his affection. 

Words can’t explain how they made you feel.

You could stare at them for hours and never get bored of them. 

They were just so… peaceful? Loving, caring, actually a sight that comforted you. 

Blue always had this effect on you. Hera once got really worried because you were standing in the cockpit, not moving a muscle while you observed the hyperspace’s blue. 

His eyes had this magic effect on you and he soon noticed that.

„If you like my eyes that much.. why don’t we go somewhere more private where you’d have all the time you need to observe them.. or more“

He of course had to say something. 

Would it still be Ezra if he didn’t? Nope.

Why did it even surprise you.

After all, deep within his heart, he still was the 18 year old boy who loved to tease his people. 

-

„Don’t worry, I’d be more then happy to work at something I actually care for“

Even if Hera was right about you being busy, she didn’t know anything about your inner conflict. 

Ever since Ezra started to be all lovey dovey around you, flirting with you whenever he got his chance, you felt like you couldn’t get anything done anymore. 

The image of his face, his eyes, his mouth, his handsome hair or whatever. 

He was just perfect and your brain made sure that you wouldn’t forget it.

His voice was a constant element in your mind, haunting you whenever you did something.

„I‘m just worrying about you.. you seem to be stressed“

„I mean… I am but.. believe me, working on the Ghost will definetly help“

„How so?“

„I‘ll be actually working alone“

She was confused, you were already working alone, you didn’t have a coworker, or did she miss something?

„What do yo-„

„Heyy Hera! Ehem..“

Hera was cut by Sabine calling her through her comm link. 

„Sabine! What’s going on?“

There was an apologetic look on her face as she turned around.

„Could you come please? A pilot needs some good advice from you“

„Can’t you handle it..? I‘m in a conversation right now“

„With who?“

Hera gestured for you to come closer so that Sabine could see you.

„Hey there“

You said nervously.

„Oh perfect! Okay y/n tell me and be honest, would you want to repair another X-Wing this week?“

This confused you, Sabine knew about your busy schedule, why would she recommend such a thing?

„.. Sabine… why do you ask?“

This caught Heras attention too.

„Well.. if Hera doesn’t want to come to lecture our newest pilot, your mechanic skills may come in very handy by the end of the week“

You heard a sigh coming from Hera. Seems like Sabine won.

„Okay, I‘m on my way“

„Thank you, see you! And y/n, good luck with the Ghost!“

And with those words she ended the transmission. 

„Seems like she still got her spirit“

Your attempt of a joke actually managed to get a chuckle out of Hera.

„Oh yeah.. however.. thank you for prioritizing the Ghost on your list, I really appreciate this“

„No problem, you’re basically my family, the others can wait a little longer“

You said your goodbyes when Hera left to go and get this new pilot lectured about his X-Wing while you made your way to the Ghost. 

You ran some test and after a few minutes you too noticed the weird sound coming off the engine. 

You ran a mental check list of the things you’d have to get from your workshop in order to get that nasty sound fixed. 

Well.. you tried your best. The thought of a certain someone crossing your mind. 

His laugh and his eyes.. damn they where so beautiful.

He was beautiful.

Damnit! Again! You won’t be able to get any work done at this rate. How did he even manage to take control over your thoughts. 

Jedi or not, he wasn’t even in the same room as you right now. 

With all your willpower left, your tried to stay focused and get your tools to repair your friends ship. 

Everything you had to do right now was to just fix it, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? 

Your mind always managed to drift off, memories of and with him, his attempts to flirt with you or his handsome face.

Oh my force, why did he have to be this handsome in the first place?

Drifting off while you were at work seemed to be your new speciality.

He had such a big effect on you and it started to annoy you. 

Not he as a person, nor his affection.

You were growing to be upset with yourself. 

A mechanic who can’t focus is a mechanic who can’t work. 

It is as simple as that.  

And if you can’t work, you sure as hell won’t be able to keep your deadlines.

You had to find a solution to this.

Something to stop you from getting distracted whenever you where alone.

But what?

-

You were once again working on a other shuttle. This time you only has to repair something that broke within the wings.

Yes. Wings.

Heras advice didn’t seem to help enough, that new pilot still managed to destroy it. 

For the first time in what felt like forever you managed to stay focused.

Not thinking of him and his flirting or everything.

Until now.

You heard someone’s footsteps closing in on you. 

And then, his sigh before he started to speak. 

„We’d be married by now if you decided to just spend half of the time with me that your spending with those shuttles“

He faked a hurt tone, looking down in ‚defeat‘.

„I already miss your voice.. so sweet..“

He continued, sensing through the force that even if you didn’t answer, he still managed to make you feel flustered.

„Please don’t make me bring the ‚I see the stars in your eyes‘ card, it’s too simple, your eyes don’t just resemble the stars but also the whole un-„

Ezra stopped when you just stopped whatever you where doing.

You placed the tools somewhere on a desk, getting up from your sitting position to walk over to him.

You didn’t say a thing. 

Not a damn thing. 

„y/n?“

Still no answer. 

Instead you reached out for his arm, grab him by his collar to push him onto the nearest chair. 

He was speechless and when you didn’t leave him any time to realize what was happening, you were already sitting on his lap.

Now it was Ezra who was flustered af. 

You then placed your hands on his face, holding him while you took every ounce of courage you had to finally kiss him.

Hard.

Very. Hard. 

Bro was flabbergasted to say the least. 

But he didn’t hesitate to return the kiss.

He still tried to understand what was happening right now. His flirty attitude from before seemed to be replaced. 

Right now, just for you, he was the most passionate man, putting everything he had into that kiss. 

Your hands started to work on their own. The one fiddling with his soft locks while the other did it’s work around his cheek. 

Poor boy still tried to understand how he went from trying to flirt with you to straight making out with you on his lap.

However, oxygen was something you both needed in order to survive, and you two started to run out of breath, you pulled back.

Locking your gaze with him.

You were panting, both of you. Trying to catch your breath.

This was… intense.

You ran your fingers across his bearded jaw as you stood up from his lap, not breaking the eye contact. 

Now it was him who was speechless, a blushing mess even. 

You at the other hand enjoyed this.

„I usually end my work at ten… there are some places I know that stay open late for dinner… don’t be late, otherwise this… won’t happen again anytime soon.“

You then walked off, back to where you were working. A satisfied grin on your face. Words couldn’t describe what you were feeling right now.

It was overwhelming, you just kissed him, kissed him so hard that he was still speechless.

The Ezra Bridger. Speechless. Because of you.

Ezra was still sitting on the chair. Slowly realizing that you asked him out on a date. And that you also just made out with him on his fucking lap. 

His stunned expression turned into a excited one.

He was still too stunned to speak, but his mind was everything but quiet right now.

„Holy force…“

SHE ASKED ME OUT!

OH KRIFF YEAH!!!

[nico-di-genova]

i come to your inbox with Heavily Researched News™ (i listened to off track and did some quick googling) containing info for your 'a lesson in braking' alex.

so, in 2022 there was a huge prank pulled on conor daly on day one of the indy500 (dubbed Beadgate), where someone filled his hot tub with what he estimated was 400,000 orbeez. his top list of suspects were josef newgarden, callum ilott, tony kanaan, colton herta, kyle kirkwood and scott mclaughlin.

in hindsight, daly thought he'd heard some noise outside his trailer

'there was a lot of guilty faces in the paddock this morning, and i can’t figure out which one is the culprit,' daly said. 'it’s a tough scene. i think the primary suspects are the dads of the indycar community, too, because apparently children like to fill up these little fake guns with water balls and shoot them at people.'

newgarden called daly that night 'in a very scared manner' to try to convince daly that he wasn't guilty of the prank. daly suspected callum of being involved 'cause he was hanging out with him a lot as he was looking for the culprit and wondered if callum is keeping himself close to the situation to throw daly off.

callum meanwhile, claimed he’s innocent because he wasn’t prepared for the shenanigans to ensue so quickly. (but as a rookie, he was fully prepared for being pranked himself and had bought supplies to retaliate if that was the case)

ilott said that it was a genius and clever prank and wondered why daly was considering him a prime suspect and why alexander rossi wasn’t being considered at all.

kirkwood said he spent $40 on chlorine and test tubes to keep the hot tub running properly so why would he ruin it?

marco andretti also wondered why nobody was considering rossi, as well as james hinchcliffe.

'I’m so busy worrying about my race car right now, but it is funny to look at on social media,' andretti said. 'hinch has some time on his hands. rossi is always a culprit, isn’t he?'

but rossi claimed to have an alibi 'cause he and hinch was with daly as it happened on monday night, so he couldn't have done it... right?

wrong. guess what?? turns out he really should have listened to callum and andretti 'cause it very much was alex (with the help of sage karam) who filled daly's hot tub with 1.76 million orbeez (which cost him 483 dollars which was almost as much as the hot tub itself btw). he just didn't do it on monday night, he did it on tuesday morning.

and this is how he confessed:

daly's reaction to finding out btw:

and alex explained it all in detail on the 'off track' (don't know which episode, i watched the youtube clip titled 'the hot tub prank') where he claimed to have done legitimate research into how many orbeez it would take to fill a 242 gallon portable hot tub (which is apparently how large daly's hot tub is), which honestly? very believeable to me.

the cherry on top of it all? the way daly found out about the prank to begin with. 'cause daly had guests over and he wanted to show them his brand new hot tub.... cue him lifting the lid on the hot tub and finding 1.75 million orbeez instead of water.

and the reason behind this hilarious prank??? daly did this to rossi TWO YEARS EARLIER in 2020:

so essentially, when it comes to pranking alexander rossi? fuck around and find out.

…so when I said alib Alex breaking the water pump in the fountain at school…where he dumped a fuck ton of soap in there senior year…after researching which brand of soap would produce the most bubbles…I was actually underestimating the lengths he would go to?

Jasmine honest to god this is the best possible Alexander lore dump you could have given me. I am absolutely in tears. What the actual FUCK goes on in his brain??? He plotted, he planned, he did THE MATH to figure out how many fucking orbeez he would need to fill this thing? Because…the wheels were taken off his golf cart TWO YEARS PRIOR??!!

He’s so insane, he’s so absolutely crazy insane. Nearly $500 on orbeez beads…I love him. I opened this ask with absolutely no idea where tf it was going and now I am sitting here laughing so hard I am actually in tears. I can’t get over the image of him researching this. He absolutely was not fucking around.

And not only did he own up to it, he shows the actual receipts. My respect for his commitment is through the roof rn. When people say race car drivers are competitive this is actually what they mean. I am now also a little scared of him and his unwavering resolve to finish what is started.

What I’ve gathered from this is you should probably never engage in a prank war with Alexander Rossi. It is a guaranteed loss and he will decimate you to the point that you are preparing to proudly show off your brand new possession, only to find it has been broken by toxic water balls.

[violetdawn001]

What is with the Dreamers' Houses?!?! Part 3.0 Lurien's Spire

Okay, we can all agree that Team Cherry put a LOT of thought into crafting the backgrounds and environments of Hollow Knight. But why is nobody talking about the designs for the Dreamers' houses?! Especially compared with their base forms?  Well, let's start talking about it!

The Last Dreamer, Lurien the Watcher! A.K.A. The guy who is responsible for this whole essay.

His design is the simplest among the three Dreamers.

Taken from Hollow Knight - Lurien the Watcher

A design so simple that it leaves the fans in relentless debate on what species of bug he is.

So tell me, why is HIS HOUSE the one with the most freaking complicated design!?!?!?! It's as if Lurien is living in a cathedral here!

Okay, Lurien living in a cathedral might be an exaggeration, but take a look at complicated his Spire is! Look at the floors! Notice the window designs! The hanging banners! The lanterns! And goodness gracious, the dude has wallpaper throughout his whole Spire!

Did I forget to mention the wallpaper?!?!!

The insane amount of detail!!!

And we haven't even gotten to the fact Team Cherry went out of their way to incorporate 3D into a 2D POV! You can clearly see it in this window here.

As we start the walk here…

We can't help but notice…

How the pillars framing the window "move" as we do.

Could you believe that a team of four people made all of this? Team Cherry truly wasted no detail in the Watcher's Spire, from the simplest wallpaper to the famous Telescope.

And here is the Telescope! In all its very-difficult-to-draw glory! Speaking of it, the design clearly costed tons of geo. The cost paid off, however, as the Telescope still works despite the lack of maintenance due to the Infection.

Of course, that can be easily seen by anyone who played the game in a rush. In terms of Lurien's character, the fan can see how he earned his namesake, Watcher.

Yet...has anyone stopped to consider how Lurien set up his office? In particular, how Lurien can position his Telescope anywhere in his main office?  Check out all the windows!

Did you all notice it? Every single window is open, yet each window is nicely framed with the glass plane. And before you all comment, “what about this window? It's closed!”

The window design is different from the ones behind Lurien's bed…and matches up with the window where the Telescope is currently at. This implies that this window can open up at any time should Lurien wish it. As the Telescope is NOT facing that direction, there is no need to keep that window open. Lovely for us, as that window keeps Lurien's butler in. If you need proof, check out the photo where the Telescope is again.

With this in mind, what does the Telescope and open windows tell us about Lurien's character?

First, Lurien is very dedicated to his duty as the Watcher, so much so that he will spend as much money as needed to craft the best tools he needs.

Second, Lurien favors practicality as seen by how every window is either open or has hinges to open it. The Watcher must watch over the WHOLE City of Tears, not just the left side (or commoner side).

Third, Lurien loves beauty. It is not enough to have the windows open; goodness, Lurien could have not added windows at all! But he insisted on a lovely window design that framed the view into the City. And we're not even talking about the pillars and the curtains which frame it as well. 

Fourth and finally, Lurien was able to get both practicality and beauty in the same window. I cannot stress this enough as Herrah and Monomon choose practicality over beauty. Yes, there are beautiful details here and there, but when push comes to shove, both ladies choose practicality with a dash of beauty on the side. This really makes Lurien stand out amongst the Dreamers.

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of Lurien's Spire. Unfortunately, I must stop here as this is merely 1/4 of Lurien's section of the essay. Please feel free to comment and reblog as much as you would like. It's fun reading your thoughts.

If you wish to read more of the Essay, click one of these links below.

Part 1.0: Herrah's Den : Here

Part 2.0: Monomon's Archives: Here

Part 3.0: Lurien's Spire (You are here.)

Part 3.25: More of Lurien's Spire : Here

Part 3.5: Lurien's Spire: Pillows and Patriotism: Here

Part 3.75: Even, even More of Lurien's Spire

Link to essay on Ao3: Here

[suzukiblu]

hi! i have a question for you, if that’s ok? i always try to leave comments on fics i read, especially on ao3 where it’s really easy to do that. in other fandoms i’ve been in, before getting into dc, fic authors often responded to my comments on their works and it was pretty easy to make friends through that and other social media and have lots of fun interactions talking about the fandom and our favorite characters etc.

however, i’ve found with this fandom it seems to be very different? almost nobody seems to respond to comments on their fics and i’ve found it very difficult to make any fandom friends, even in a casual-tumblr-mutuals kind of way. (this isn’t about you btw, you seem like the friendliest person i’ve come across on here so far which is why i’m asking you haha)

i completely understand many people are busy or some authors may find responding to comments overwhelming, but i was just wondering if this is something you or anyone else has noticed? is it a quirk of the dc fandom in particular? or am i just getting older and fandoms in general are changing haha, idk.

anyway sorry for the long ramble, feel free to ignore if i’m making no sense. i really enjoy all your stories (and your art! your art style is so cute!) and i hope you’re having a great day :]

Thank you, I'm glad you like my stuff! Especially the art, that I always feel like I'm worse at, hah. ❤️ I hope you're having a great day too. And asking me questions is always okay, no worries! I can't always get to everything in my inbox, to be honest, but I do my best to respond to as much stuff as I can. Either way, though, I never mind getting questions.

Personally I don't currently respond to most of my comments (I try to answer questions that aren't spoilers, but that's usually it these days) because it's just really easy for me to run out of spoons doing it and end up down a rabbit hole of comments instead of actually WRITING, which stresses me out because then I don't feel suitably "productive" for my imposter syndrome brain, and I also know a few people who don't respond because of anxiety or things like that, but I don't know if it's specifically a DC fandom thing or an overall trend in fandom in general? Every fandom is different, obviously, and also certain SECTIONS of those fandoms are different. Like, when I was into MCU fandom, I never really expected super-involved responses when I wrote Stucky because there was SO MUCH Stucky that it seemed like a lot of people just kinda churned through it and it all blurred together for them, but when I wrote about Darcy Lewis oh BOY did people come out of the woodwork to tell me how much they loved it in GREAT detail. Having a niche in general helps, I think, because if you're doing something that isn't super-common or interested in something that isn't super-common, people will be more excited to see it from you or hear you appreciating it from them.

I WILL say there's only a couple DC authors I can currently think of who I generally assume I'll get replies from when I comment on their fic, but I don't know if that's the specific fandom or just that I'm not reading a ton of fic right now and therefore have a smaller pool of authors I'm commenting on. Like, it's hard to tell, honestly. Also DC is a very widespread fandom and pretty old and established, but there's definitely characters and series and canons that just get ignored by huge chunks of it, so if you're into them you either have a real easy time finding people who are excited to talk to you or a real HARD time, depending on where you're looking.

Either way, I think it's really great that you try to leave comments on everything you read and a really good habit for the fandom ecosystem, I know a TON of authors who appreciate getting even, like, a single friggin' emoji or kudos, whether they respond or not. Literally any not-a-hate-comment comment is good for the ecosystem, imo, even when it's not obvious that it is. I very literally once wrote, like, eighty thousand words pretty much just because someone left a very kind comment on an old fic I'd abandoned. I did not actually RESPOND to that comment, as far as I remember; I just changed my mind about abandoning the fic and went through the long-ass process of getting my brain back into it and then the even longer-ass process of writing another 80k over the next few months/year until I got to the end. So like, I VERY much am a person who believes in the value of feeding the ecosystem, hah.

I am largely a call-and-response type of writer myself, so like, getting comments or people talking to me in my replies/asks/messages is basically like somebody is putting tokens in the fic machine and pulling a lever, and we'll all just see if I write three sentences or 80k or secretly tailor a fic towards things a frequent commenter's mentioned appreciating/being into. It's a surprise every time, with me!! And like, that's just how I work, of course, everybody's different, but I have NEVER met anybody who told me they didn't like getting comments.

When I leave comments myself, I tend to feel like more like I'm just telling the author that I think they're on the right track with the thing they're writing, one way or another, and letting them know it got a reaction or feelings or the like out of me, but I'm generally not really expecting a response from them. For actually making friends, I've found MUCH more luck in talking to people on Tumblr and Discord than on AO3. I've made friends on AO3 on and off over the years, but it's just much, MUCH easier for me to do on Tumblr and Discord. Though I kind of have a cheat code there in the sense that I'm a pretty prolific writer and so I've kinda encouraged people to get into the habit of checking my blog pretty frequently or even put alerts on for it, so generally people have a lot of opportunities to talk to me or be reminded I'm around.

I tend to notice people who show up repeatedly in my Tumblr mentions, personally, especially when they talk in the tags or comment in the replies or send me asks, and some of them I've either become friends with or just, like, secretly adopted as secret faves and sometimes sneak little extra treats of Things I Think That One Tumblr Person Would Like into my writing or pick specific WIPs to work on because I think "hey last time I wrote this [ TUMBLR FAVE ] really liked it, I should write more!" (and then I cackle in triumph/delight when they reblog it later, for that is a Victory, mwahaha), but like, it's a process? I definitely feel like making friends in fandom is generally slower than it was once upon a time, but also I'm a Fandom Old so there's been a few migrations and such over my time online too. And also Discord confuses me, hahaha. Discord is VERY confusing to me.

Ummm . . . okay I got INTO that reply, I guess, lol, but I hope that answered your question? Or at least helped answer it, if nothing else!

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I feel like this conversation is a bit played out, but I’m curious: do you think JK’s banking on winning a Grammy and potentially getting out of his military service? I’ve tried to take their words for what they are and I know everyone’s said that they’re all going to the military, will be back in 2025, yadda yadda, whatever. I can’t understand why, if that’s the case, they’re banking so much on his solo career if he’s just going to disappear from the scene (physically) for almost 2 years. Do you get what I mean?

My thoughts are that they are actually hoping for a Grammy and subsequent deferment of mandatory service, but then again, nobody knows so I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.

As this is only speculation and might as well not happen, let me bring my own contribution. I don't think this is about Jungkook and I'll explain why.

If you look at this entire issue from the perspective of the artist/idol, you'll realize soon that you're stuck, that you can't explain why he's doing this or that. But looking at it as a business deal will shine another light on it.

Yes, Jungkook is leaving to do his military service soon and everything he said up until now points to that so why are they investing so much into making him a "global pop star"? Because Hybe and Hybe America need to show that they can do that. That their strategy is one that works for future business. Why do you think they tried it first on the most versatile of the BTS members, the one that can do any song because he has the voice needed for that? This wouldn't have worked with Taehyung or Jimin. God, I'm so happy it didn't work with Jimin because it would have been horrible to see all that unfoulding. Besides, they had projects on their own and without making any contribution to the song writing, Tae's album was still something that matched his personality, it was him with the help of MHJ.

With Jungkook, the situation is different. I wouldn't know the details, but when they announced their hiatus, it looked like everyone was set on releasing an album, including JK. And then, most likely, life happened. Because you can't plan your state of mind. And when you're under a contract, you do need to listen to other people. I know army always uses the shares in Hybe argument, but the value allocated for the members is insignificant on a larger scale. Yes, they are rich and they can do what they want and sleep on a wlive, but I don't think for one second the company would have let Jungkook do nothing and be a couch potato.

So they found this opportunity. You also have to keep in mind that Hybe paid a lot of money for Scooter's company and then what happened to him? Most of his artists left? So where is this big opportunity for collaboration and projects and all that?

This is just business. That's it. They chose the idol capable of being a blank slate and stuck the concept of global pop star on him. Because that's what it is which is incredibly funny (not). Usually that accolade comes after some time, when the results can be seen over a prolonged period of time, but in this case, that was the starting point. As much as Bang wants to get rid of the k in kpop, they're still using a kpop strategy, that of making an album based on a concept or creating a specific image for an idol.

And now they are pushing it hard. They are investing a ton of money into this in a way that makes them look desperate and I think that in the industry at large, people see it. Not the fans because they either choose to turn a blind eye or their mind doesn't go that far. There are voices which have said a thing or two lately among army, but it's an insignificant minority. The company can rely on the fandom to buy all those 284836521 versions and remixes and they will eat it up. And voila, look at how Hybe produced a global pop star in less than half a year. Quick, open the catalog for some songs that sound mediocre enough for a top 40, make the singer record them asap, fast, done in less than one week. Quickly come up with some generic argument of how this is just to show the artist's vocal range (good job PR for that one, jesus) and then also openly admit that it was made for a Western market, aka US cause the world stops there.

Jungkook had the possibility to show more personality of his own when he was with a group of six other people than with his solo album, which is so ironic. But that is because it is not his album. He's merely a vessel through which Bang and Scooter can show investors that they can invent a global pop star and fast while their pockets grow bigger and bigger.