#I have learned from my mistakes of incorrect tagging

[gratefulcheeses]

Local turtles plan out completely useless plan they’re never going to execute, more at 10

(This comic was inspired by a conversation I had with @gordonzola-ramen upon sending him the original Quora post and it was so in character for these two that I just HAD to draw it. Full version is under the cut cause I didn’t wanna clog anyone’s feed)

[anthropologyruinseverything]

“Warm Nights”

Chapter 1 - 1.8k words

Damian Priest x Black!CurvyFem Reader

Pg-13 for this chapter but much more intense spice to come!

By request for @xbutterflius-effectusx 🥰

Drop a comment if you’d like me to tag you in the updates plus I will make the whole thing into a single post when done

Authors note: I am happy to do requests for all kinds of works for a variety of characters. However, I am an Indigenous woman and that’s the perspective I usually write from so I may make some mistakes when writing other folks. If there is ever something in my writing that is incorrect, insensitive or wrong in any way, I apologize and please correct me. Please let me know and I will learn and do better. Thank you and hope you enjoy!

Now on with the story!

Chapter 1:

**Your POV**

Sweat ran down your back as you ran the ropes in the seemingly empty performance center yet again. Your success in NXT was the result of hard work and dedication paying off big time and you weren’t about to change that approach now. No one could tell but you still felt the sting of insecurity over being a little older than many of your cohorts and it drove you to work even harder and make your time count.

“Creep!” A loud thunk and pained yelp followed by a string of curses in Spanish made you pause and turn towards the commotion on the upper level.

Damian Priest appeared, hands held up begging an unseen assailant for mercy as they chased him down the steps. Rhea Ripley came under the lights next, wielding a thick practice mat she’d been using to beat him. Only once everyone was under the bright beams of the lower level did she stop swinging. Turning to you she smirked. “Caught him lurking.”

“Wasn’t lurking perra loca!” He made a swipe for the mat she wielded but Rhea moved it out of his grasp.

You leaned against the top rope smothering a grin under your hand. The tall man had clearly had his feathers ruffled and it was fun to see the normally collected Damian flustered.

It had nothing to do with the crush you’d harbored for a while now. At least that’s what you told yourself.

“Then what were you doing?” Hand on her hip Rhea shot you a smirk. You two had fallen into a quick friendship over long hours at the performance center.

“Paul asked me to stop in and talk with the talent, same as he had Cody do last week. I just noticed Y/N practicing and…ugh, I wasn’t lurking.”

“Want some hair tips?” Damian whipped his face towards you with narrowed eyes. Your multicolored locs were the envy of the locker room after all, even if you’d always been modest about your looks.

“Yeah, that’s it. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Straightening his back and smoothing his tshirt one last time with a glare at Rhea he gave you a smile and wave on his way out the door.

It was nothing but it made your heart flutter all the same.

Rhea jumped up on the apron and leaned back, assessing you. “Been at it a while?”

Nodding you stretched before shaking the rope and making you both laugh when she nearly toppled backwards. After you’d been brought into NXT your workout hours tended to be the same as hers. Rhea had approached you one day asking for a spot while she did squats and your friendship has taken off from there. You drove each other to do your best in the gym and that had bled into the rest of your lives, making for a strong bond.

“Yeah. I wasn’t happy with my match last night, I want to work on that middle rope suplex.”

Rhea rolled her eyes.

“Not happy!? You’re making the rest of us look lazy love.” Her accent tended to make even compliments come across harsh from time to time.

You laughed and swatted her arm. “You? Never. Thanks for having my back by the way, even if it was a false alarm.”

“False? You didn’t see how he was watching you.” Casting you some serious side eye she smirked and hopped down from the mat.

“Hey! What’s that mean!?” You wouldn’t let it get you too excited but dammit if she didn’t know what she was doing.

She backed away through the door while calling out in a sing song voice. “Guess you’ll have to get cleaned up and come to dinner to find out! Leaving in 20, hurry up!”

You stared at the swinging doors that led to the locker rooms for a long moment, slightly confused and very curious. It was tempting to stay and keep working but you were also hungry after hours of hard work and wanted to know what she meant.

**Damian POV**

I kicked Rhea under the table of the little diner and hissed at her under my breath when Y/N walked into the restaurant. I knew immediately she’d been the one to invite her. She snickered and waved Y/N down, much to my dismay. Swallowing my stress over the situation I greeted her and everyone resettled, Finn and J.D. peppering her with questions about her day and what was going on the NXT locker room.

Never before had I been so grateful for the two nosy men. It had been a near miss when Rhea caught me staring earlier. Not that I didn’t like Y/N.

No, the opposite problem actually. I liked watching the way her body moved around the ring, the way your outfits hugged her very curvy form, and the way her face lit up whenever she stepped through the ropes. More than anything I respected her passion and dedication, knowing what it was like to hit it big a little older than many. It made her absolutely magnetic.

Now Rhea kicked me and grinned before indicating with her head. Alarmed, I realized I’d been staring as my thoughts wandered. Shit.

“What?” The table chuckled.

“For a third time.” Her voice was saucy as she smirked at me and south of my belt tightened in awareness. “Do you want meat in the queso or not?”

Goddamit. “Uh, yeah sure. Whatever you guys want.”

She tilted her head slightly and smiled. “Mkay then.”

Dinner progressed uneventfully as we all fell into conversations, mainly buzzing with excitement about the upcoming draft and wondering who would be sent where. In equal parts I hoped Y/N would be wherever I ended up and the other hoped she would be sent elsewhere.

It was a hard spot to be in.

Y/N was tempting for all the rights reasons and I wasn’t going down that road. I’d been burned before making it to the WWE, back before I had everything I do now to offer. An angry part of me figured if I wasn’t good enough for *her* then I wasn’t going to waste my time now.

Problem was, talking to her more and more, the more I wanted to get to know her like that. Thought she was what I might need to see things differently again. She had me thinking about long nights on the beach, how the moonlight would look shining in her eyes, against her vibrant hair…how it would shine on her dark skin slicked with sweat while she whimpered and sighed my name.

“So Damian, when’s your flight leave in the morning?” J.D.’s voice finally pulled me out of the daydream.

“Ugh, 9 or so.”

Conversation turned to where we were going after dinner and Rhea would hear none of Y/N staying home.

An hour later and the music throbbed around us as the lights flashed over the dance floor. I liked nightclubs like this, not huge but not tiny and a little on the gritty side. It reminded me of my days bouncing and how far I’d come and at the same time I enjoyed the throngs of humanity that melded together, no one concerned with how things would look in the daylight but content to be enthralled by the low light and smoke.

I should have known it would lower my ability to stay away. Seeing her there, leaning against the bar in a simple but perfectly tight dress and heels pulled me in. Her strength was obvious but so were her femininity and grace. My heart pounded as I reached out a hand, Y/N’s eyes widening a little in surprise.

In an adorably unusual show of shyness she ducked her head. “I-are you sure?”

Taken aback I stepped in closer to make sure she could hear me, also to enjoy her scent that reminded me of big flowers and warm breezes.

“Si.” I took her hand and pulled her with me to the dance floor, not caring as she protested. A slow song came over the speakers and I spun her before pulling her close, her back to my front. At first she tensed slightly but then relaxed against me. “Eres divina niña.” (You’re divine girl)

She giggled. “What’s that mean?”

Shaking my head I wrapped my arms around her as we began to sway gently to the music. “No hablas español?”

Shrugging she swayed with me and I felt myself getting lost in the hypnotic feeling of her body pressed to mine. Was she feeling the same?

“Non mais je parle français.” (No, I speak French) The smile she threw over her shoulder made my knees weak.

“Fair enough.” I continued to sway, letting myself fall for the mood of the space as she did too, her body relaxing even further as the melody flowed through her. Some women were just gifted naturally when it came to movement and Y/N was certainly among them. “You work hard, I admire that.”

Continuing to move with the beat her arms came up around my neck and I knew she was losing herself like

I was. “Same goes.”

I wondered how she’d react if I let my hands wander. It was dangerous territory and with a few more drinks I’d have thrown caution to the wind. Instead I held her tightly, enjoying the press of her body against mine and the perfect view I had of her ample breasts. I imagined slipping her dress down just enough to taste them.

“Ask you something?”

Her voice was low and sultry. Maybe I’d let my hands slide just a little lower down her hips, just to see what she’d do.

“Hmm?”

Taking a deep breath Y/N opened her mouth to speak but never got the chance, Finn barreled into us, drunk and laughing with a group he danced with.

Anger burned through me hot, breaking the spell. Anger not so much at Finn but over letting myself be intoxicated by just dancing with Y/N.

I knew she was stung but I forced myself to walk away. Of course she followed.

“Damian, hey, is everything okay?”

Clearing my throat I gestured to the bartender and downed the shot he provided while motioning for another. A blonde at the corner of the bar caught my attention on a quick sweep.

“Yeah.”

She waited a beat but realized quickly I was done talking. With dignity I wouldn’t have been able to muster for the situation she nodded and walked away.

My heart twisted in my chest.

Approaching the blonde I put in the fakest smile I could manage.

I didn’t remember her name or anything else in the morning. I didn’t even leave a note as I slipped out to catch my ride to the airport.

[incorrectbungou]

I still have more quotes from friends and family to make into incorrect quotes:

Chuuya: “Put the cactus back with its friends now Dazai.”

Dazai: “But it’s making new friends!”

Chuuya: “Now before I make it best friends with your ass.”

——————————————————————————

Kenji: “It’s a pupper with a porpoise!”

Yosano: “Did you just have a stroke?”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: “Snack time bitches.”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: “But my chalupa...”

——————————————————————————

*after getting into an argument*

Dazai: “Hey! Look at that!”

Kunikida: “Look at what?”

Dazai: “I don’t know but I’m not wrong!”

——————————————————————————

*driving past a farm*

Kenji: “Was that a fucking zebra?”

Atsushi: “When did you learn to curse?”

Dazai: “Holy fuck that is a zebra!”

——————————————————————————

Kenji: *in tears* “I tried to save a bug by pushing him out the window and I put too much pressure on him and he just exploded!”

——————————————————————————

Oda: “Where will Mori go when he dies? Heaven, hell, or purgatory?”

Dazai: “Well he’s a little bitch with no soul so according to my copy of the bible he’ll go to purgatory.”

Oda: “But where will he go?”

Ango: “He’s the personification of Satan so he’ll just reclaim his throne in the depths of hell.”

——————————————————————————

Yosano: “I think my left ovary just screamed for help.”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “Get that nice car out of here, everyone’s gonna think I bought it off drug money.”

——————————————————————————

Mori: “Tell the dog what’s going on and say goodbye.”

Dazai: *to Chuuya* “I’m leaving for a month for work, you better not die while I’m gone.”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: “There are so many cars.”

Chuuya: “That’s called TRAFFIC!”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS USELESS?”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “Did you roll up that hose outside?”

Dazai: *half asleep* “We have a hoe outside?”

Akutagawa: “No I didn’t it was too much of a mess.”

Dazai: “We have a messy hoe outside?”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “I have power.”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “Dazai is a fuckin freeloader, alcoholic, and a glutton!”

Dazai: “We should open that new bottle of wine.”

——————————————————————————

Gin: *pulls up in a car next to Higuchi* “Hey there hoe, you take 20s?”

——————————————————————————

Fukuzawa: “What are you eating?”

Ranpo: *angrily* “I’m eating a prepackaged healthy snack of course.”

——————————————————————————

Cashier: “Did you pay yet?”

Akutagawa: “Nah man, but I’m just gonna go if that’s alright?”

——————————————————————————

Poe: *playing the sims for the first time* “My sim doesn’t need a boyfriend, he just needs a raccoon.”

Ranpo: “I’m actually insulted.”

——————————————————————————

Kenji: *singing* “Intercepted with LOVE!”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: *trying to get a dog to sit in his lap* “I know you want these thighs!”

——————————————————————————

Tecchou: “This is a mistake...”

Jouno: “You only just realized that Sherlock?”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: “When in Rome, I’ll fuck a Roman.”

——————————————————————————

Kyouka: “I can hear you but I’m ignoring you.”

——————————————————————————

Kyouka: “I’m only half kidding.”

——————————————————————————

Jouno: *laughing hysterically* “Sorry sorry, I’m just imagining little emo Tecchou listening to Michael Jackson on repeat for 6 hours.”

——————————————————————————

Jouno: “Tecchou ONLY likes Green Day and Michael Jackson.”

——————————————————————————

Tecchou: “I feel like I’m getting stupider as I get older.”

Jouno: “That’s because you are.”

——————————————————————————

Yosano: “I just want regular pants! Why are there so many tags? Why is there elastic in the waist band? I’m not that fat!”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: “Are you happy to see me or do you just have salami in your pants.”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: “Sometimes you’ve gotta rub a penguin on your ass, you feel me?”

Atsushi: “I have never felt you less.”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: *to Kenji and Kyouka* “Santa flew over Yokohoma already? That’s a bunch of fucking bullshit! Where’s our presents?”

——————————————————————————

*1am*

Poe: *almost falling asleep*

Ranpo: *kicks open door* “WAKE UP BITCH IT’S TIME FOR DINNER PART 2!”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: “Fuck teachers.”

Kunikida: “Excuse me? I used to be a teacher!”

Dazai: “And look where that got us!”

——————————————————————————

Fukuzawa: “Ranpo... you need to stop eating all the time... even when you’re bored.”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “Fuck this, I’m defaulting to a box of wine.”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: *changing a light bulb* “I’M GOING INTO THE LIGHT!”

——————————————————————————

Nikolai: “Thanks for the support everyone, but I’ve decided to become a problem.”

——————————————————————————

Chuuya: “Not to be dramatic, but if I don’t get into a homoerotic sword fight right the fuck now I’m going to lose my shit.”

Yosano: “I’d homoerotic sword fight you, but I don’t think I meet your requirements baby.”

——————————————————————————

Gin: “I’m only going if I get to shoot someone.”

——————————————————————————

Kenji: “Oooo I’m about to go wild.”

——————————————————————————

Ranpo: *to Poe* “This movie might scare you, but it’s fine, we have McDonald’s.”

——————————————————————————

*through DMs*

Poe: *to Ranpo* “It sounds like you planned a really cool party, I’ll be there!”

*in different DMs*

Ranpo: *to Yosano* “YOSANO! POE THINKS THIS IS GONNA BE A COOL PARTY GET RID OF THE GLITTER GLUE AND MACARONI! WE CAN’T DO THE MACARONI ART ANYMORE!”

Yosano: “Well now this party is gonna suck. The macaroni art was the only reason we were throwing a party.”

——————————————————————————

Dazai: *shows Yosano a picture of Chuuya*

Yosano: “DAMN SET ME UP WITH HIM!”

Kunikida: “I thought you were a lesbian?”

Yosano: “Wait! Fuck! I genuinely forgot I was gay when I looked at him!”

@stinkyme

[sayitaliano]

Hello, I’ve been trying to learn Italian for a few years now (it’s been an on and off thing, depending on how frustrated I get lol), I feel like my discipline is not the best, and the fact that I can’t find a native to practice and ask for help is also pretty discouraging. Could you please give me a few tips as to what I can do to learn more in my current situation? Thank you 💕

Ciao!

For as frustrating as it may get (and I know what you mean here as a languages student myself), my main suggestion is to try and keep up a constant pace that allows you to study at least 15 minutes everyday (or a bit more 3-4 times a week, all according on your schedule ofc). I noticed an improvement once I started being more consistent in my practice (even writing just a sentence per day is better than doing a whole paragraph each month -eg. I've been writing a diary everyday, not just about random stuff but inserting different things like descriptions, answering questions, grammar stuff/sentences practice...). And ofc, the moment I decided I wanted to be more consistent, I had to start from basics again (and I'm suggesting you the same).

Set easy goals, plan reviews of what you have studied (even the week before), write in and listen to your target language (and also talk to yourself in it, like eg. describe what's around you or try to tell yourself what you should do; immerse yourself in the culture as much as you can -youtube is so of help with its many vlogs and shows and music...): I understand you want to run fast towards fluency but it's not said you need to reach it in a certain amount of time. Allow yourself to have days in which you see no progress or even think you're taking step backward. It's okay, it's all part of the process (we also have bad days in general, so be kind with yourself). We need for stuff we learn to settle a bit here and there, and therefore not making moves even for a week or two (or more) is normal. Go slow: moving fast is enemy when we want to learn and really assimilate what we learn.

Even if it's annoying to study, grammar is fundamental. And Italian grammar is not easy to learn so again it may take time according on what you are studying (nouns' genders, irregular verbs, articles, pronouns, adjectives.... try to start as easy as you can). If you rather, I'd suggest you buying a book for foreigners (I'm leaving you the resources masterpost, maybe you can find studying books but also other resources for your self studies)

I have collected LOADS of studying tips in the years on this masterpost (lemme add this since i cannot edit that post now) and... actually I know of a native who's trying to practice English (this said you can write a post about needing a "Penpal" and tag me, I'll happily reblog it here: many Italians follow me or you can use some other app). Don't give up on a native's help: being corrected when we make mistakes is so very important. It helps us remember the mistake we made and not do it anymore (or be more aware of it). Or find studying pals! I'm sure other Italian students would like to share and help you. Having others studying with us, may also help when it comes to consistency: we have no excuse but to practice at least every week and then we can practice together too. There's nothing bad in asking for help: if you don't know something, you cannot just try to solve it yourself, as you may not find the solution (or find a incorrect one): that way studying a language can really become frustrating to say the least as you may feel like you're in a hole and you cannot get out of it. Don't make it more difficult for yourself, make it easier. It's plenty of people who'd like to help you out and find themselves in your same position. You're not a bother, js.

All the best!! And ofc here I am if you need help :)

[blankd]

MushRush SRPG Devlog Aug 10th, 2024

Time for the first update!

READ MORE to see: my production plan, why I'm calling this MushRush, what this week's Golden Duncecap moment was (and how I solved it), and some of THE scrungliest assets.

NOTE: I will be tagging all posts like this with the 'mushrush SRPG' tag, yes even after I figure out a real name for this project

PRODUCTION PLAN

This update will be lacking in screenshots as I was mostly fiddling with the SRPG Plugin suite, locking in a battle/events roadmap for the entirety of the game, and organizing my notes into something more concise. The battle roadmap outlined their purpose (narrative and/or mechanically), if they had something noteworthy in plot or flaovr, their objectives and their failstates, and a rough idea of what visual assets they might require.

There is roughly a total of 33 maps: so far 5 are core/mandatory, 6-7 are optional, the rest are progression. The distribution may change as production goes forward, and the map count may even decrease but I'm absolutely holding myself from exceeding that 33 number as this number does NOT include whatever magic I need to use for towns or 'cutscenes'.

Additionally, I'm holding off on ANY art assets, writing, and such, until the game has a solid mechanical skeleton to be played through. Since there are a maximum of 7 (8 technically, as its sometimes a Unit on the map but has no personality) party members, I'm optimistic about its implementation and testing. I'm also already planning to reuse/upcycle the enemies from Moon-Scarred appropriately. Waste not, want not!

PROJECT NAME/WHY MUSHRUSH?

it's not a spoiler to say this (as it's visually obvious within the first map), but you play as a cleric of a Divine Mushroom and will be carting it around to solve the Undead Problem. I'm fairly bad at titles, so while I know the name Mysilla is important, I can't figure out a snappy game title for it yet, so MushRush will keep things silly. 8)

THIS WEEK'S GOLDEN DUNCECAP MOMENT

The Issue: I encountered my first (and hopefully worst) instance of things breaking where I could not get my template map to run at all- it would completely skip showing the Pre-Battle (win/lose conditions, etc.), (functionally) skip the Battle Preparation Phase (couldn't place any units, but I could 'Start' the battle with 0 usable units) and then enter an infinite loop of the Turn Incrementing even though no Player OR Enemy Turns were occurring.

The problem was so severe and 'unsolvable' that even my basic ass debugging method of putting trigger text to tell me if/when the code was running, would not trigger. After a LONG journey of consulting the demo's documentation- even literally copying the eventing framework, nothing was working.

As I went to reset the Plugins, I noticed that they were in the incorrect order. For context: a (purposeful) function of RPGm is that Plugins have certain priorities and sometimes need a specific order, but when LOADING the plugins into RPGm, it's alphabetical in its folder (because how would IT know what order it's supposed to be in). I fucked up in that I had only remembered to put the core plugin at the top, but loaded the rest alphabetically because I was lazy and had just forgotten this BASIC FUNCTION.

Once the Plugins were organized into their correct order as intended by the Plugins' creator, everything worked as expected. So learn from my mistakes and never forget Rule 0 of RPGm use- check your goddamn Plugin Order FIRST!!

THE SCRUNGLES (aka a Most Unflattering Teaser of the Main Cast)

White = not-Halfling Cleric MC Orange = Dragon(born) Lady Paladin Grey = Orc Rogue Purple = Drow Barbarian Blue = not-Tiefling Sorcerer Red = Human Wizard (a HUMAN? MODS, BAN HER) Green = Goblin Ranger (even though in my notes I call her Druid, whoops!) Brown = yeah that's a cart, what of it

While the broad strokes of the characters are present/set (I'm still figuring out Rogue's clothing, oops), enough details can still change or will later be included to make them less boring, such as how Red/Wizard is an older lady, but there's no point to putting the wrinkles at this stage.

I hope you look forward to whenever I can post their 'talking' scene sprites to show off more of their designs! Thanks for reading~

[herboire]

How I use the tarot journal in my Notion grimoire

I keep a physical grimoire, but at this point the majority of my grimoire is in Notion. One thing I enjoy most about Notion’s grimoire capabilities is that I can keep a thorough journal of my tarot pulls, conveniently tagged and color-coded.

I thought I’d share my tarot journal process for anyone who might be wondering where to start!

The table of contents:

My template:

Under “Interpreted” I have tags for yes, no, partially, and yes but poorly. I record my pulls even if I end up not having the time or energy to interpret them. With this system, I can go back later and learn from my own past mistakes or incorrect card meaning assumptions

Under “Type” I have tags for single card pull, two card pull, three card pull, large pull, and no card limit

Under “Created by” I have tags for myself and someone else. If someone else created the spread, I always include their identifying info (username and website, for example) somewhere on the journal page so I can find the creator later or credit them if I share the spread with a friend

Under “Deck” I have a tag for each of the decks I own so I can track how often I use each one, and under what circumstances, The picture at the top of this post only shows Somnia in that section because that is my most frequently-used deck, but I currently use four decks: The Somnia Tarot by Nicolas Bruno, The Wizard Deck by Wizard of Barge, the La Muci RWS deck, and The Essential Tarot by Chloé Zarka Grinsnir

Under “Reason” I have tags for daily pull, specific question(s), dream interpretation, holiday/seasonal/planetary changes, emotional, deck interview, and creative prompt. This has come in handy so I can look back and see what kinds of messages come up repeatedly in a specific context

Finally, under “Cards” I have an upright and a reversed color-coded tag for each of the 78 cards in the tarot deck. It was time-consuming to put this together, but being able to scroll through my table of contents and see which cards come up repeatedly has been really helpful

An example of a recent “week ahead” spread:

For each card I go through and write down an interpretation. I try to write down general meanings of the card, how the card ties into the greater context of the entire spread, any symbolism that stands out, and how I may be able to put the card’s message into practice in my life

If the spread was one I found online, I always include the graphic of the spread idea as well as a photo of my card pull so I can reference them both later (and so I can find the spread creator again later):

NOTE: I changed question 6 on the above spread because I do not follow spirit guides and I do not use that terminology

At the very end, I dissect the physical layout of the spread. For the example spread above:

Finally, I end with key words or phrases that I can write on a sticky note or my arm so I can look at them and quickly remind myself of the tarot’s message(s). This one is again from the example spread above:

And that completes a tarot journal entry! I allow myself the grace to not finish every interpretation (hence the “Interpreted? Yes, but poorly” tag) because this process does take around an hour on average– and although I wish I had an hour to spend each day on tarot and introspection, at this stage of my life I simply do not. However, recording my spreads anyways (and taking pictures of them to look back on later for comparison) keeps me in the habit.

Thank you for reading!

[janzoo]

Three Elezen Walk into The Radz-at-Han Market...

Read it on AO3 above (registered users only) or under the readmore below -

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Estinien Wyrmblood, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Alisaie Leveilleur, Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Oneshot, Ficlet, Alisaie Leveilleur Being Alisaie Leveilleur, Estinien not-so-secretly wants kids Summary:

Prompt: Fulsome

A merchant sees three Elezen with snow white hair and makes a very incorrect assumption.

                A Raen merchant huffed in frustration. It was a quiet day at the markets of Radz-at-Han, which meant her coffers were lighter than she’d like. But a moment later, she heard the sounds of other merchants down the hall calling out to clients – which meant there were clients to call out to in the first place. Finally! She put her most winning smile back into place on her face and waited for her chance.

                An Elezen man came into view, with two nearly-matching teenagers in tow. All three had bright white hair. What a fulsome trio they were. And, hopefully, looking to buy some glassware.

                First, however, she would lay on a little charm.

~*~*~

                “Good sir! Good sir!” a Raen merchant shouted in greeting to Estinien. He hardly did more than glance in the seller’s direction until she added, “The Sisters have blessed you with such beautiful children, and twins at that! You must be so proud!”

                All three of them stopped in their tracks. If the merchant intended to say more, she didn’t get the chance as Alisaie all but squawked in indignation.

                “He is not our father!”

                The merchant’s eyes widened.

                Alphinaud put a hand on her shoulder. “’Tis a simple mistake, nothing more. There is no need to get upset.”

                Alisaie harumphed. “Well, maybe they shouldn’t assume that every Elezen that pass by are related to one another!”

                “C-Consider my lesson learned. I am terribly sorry for offending you,” the merchant responded with a bow of her head.

                “Come, we mustn’t dally,” said Alphinaud.

                The three of them continued on, leaving the merchant not only lacking in fresh business, but thoroughly admonished.

                Estinien glanced to the twins from his peripheral, his mind still locked on to being mistaken for a father. He made a mental note to visit Mehrahd and Yahsra at the orphanage later.

[illfoandillfie]

Hi sweetheart, i hope you are doing great! i think you are a beautiful person and an amazing writer, i’ve written lots of things already but i would like to hear some advice from you about writing so i can improve my skills, i really love writing 🫶🏻😩🥹🥰💌✨

lots of love from Argentina

oh gosh im 🤧🤧 thank you, thats so lovely of you to say!

First of all I keep a writing advice tag for any posts I come across with useful writing tips. Some of them are really general, some of them are about writing specific things (like kissing or children), so probably not everything in there will be useful but hopefully some of it is.

As for my own advice.... none of it is going to be groundbreaking stuff. I've never studied writing, I don't think too hard about how I write, and at the end of the day I just write silly fics about silly boys to keep myself entertained. But I'll put a few things under the cut. These are all more general sort of tips so if there are any specific parts of writing you want me to talk about let me know and I'll see what I can give you!

Number 1 is to just have fun with it. Don't get hung up worrying about if a concept is cringe or if its something no one else will like or if it sounds too much like something else you wrote. If it's an idea that interests you, then you're going to find it easier and probably more fun to write. And if you already love writing then you don't want writing to turn into a chore or something you don't enjoy.

Number 2 is to read real books. Reading fanfic is great and fun but it's very useful to read some books that have been professionally edited and published too. There is a craft to writing things that sound good and one of the fastest ways to learn what sounds good is to read books. You don't have to study them or analyse them, your brain will just pick up on patterns, on how sentences fit together, on what sounds good and what doesn't.

One of my fave examples of this is the way we describe things, at least in the English language. There is an unwritten formula for making a description sound good. opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. It's why saying "the silly little pink French book" sounds good but "the pink silly French little book" sounds very strange. No one is taught this formula, no one does it consciously. It's just that one sounds better than the other. And it's the sort of thing you subconsciously pick up from reading.

Number 3 is don't be afraid to do some research. No one knows everything. Sometimes you'll want to write about something that isn't super familiar to you. Whether that be because you're writing is set in a different country to where you are, or you're writing a smut scene with a kink/position you've never done in real life, or you're writing a character with a kid when you don't have kids. Research it! Go on google maps and find the place you want to write about so you can see how the streets look. Find a cosmo article or a youtube video that talks about the kink. Find a site that includes those little drawings of sexual positions (or heck, find some porn if thats more helpful) so you can see how it looks. Find a blog post from a parent and see how they talk about their kid. Listen or watch interviews if you're writing RPF to see how your person talks and what their mannerisms are. Not everything has so be 100% accurate and you're absolutely allowed to make some stuff up but if there's anything you feel unsure about, see if some research helps you.

Number 4 is to read everything you write out loud, but especially dialogue. Sometimes things can sound good while you're writing it but then when you read it back you realise it sounds clunky or it doesn't flow properly. Plus it helps you pick up on mistakes you might otherwise miss (like incorrect spelling or if you meant to delete a sentance but didn't). And I say especially for dialogue because when people talk they'll abbreviate words, they include slang, they use contractions. By reading things out loud to yourself you can hear where inflections are, you can hear if something sounds too formal, or wrong for the emotion you're trying to convey. When I write I make sure that I read it out loud to myself when I'm editing. You don't have to read it to someone else and you can whisper it under your breath so no one else will hear, but it is one of the best things you can do while editing or even if you get stuck while writing a conversation. Sometimes just hearing it out loud will help you identify why its not working.

Those are all the things I can think of off the top of my head but like i said if theres any areas of writing that I haven't mentioned that you'd like my take on let me know!

[oh-no-another-idea]

Incorrect quotes tag

Thanks for tagging me @pluttskutt @k--havok @vsnotresponding! It’s been a while that this one’s been going around, so I’ll leave an OPEN TAG for everyone that sees this!! 

I had entirely way too much fun here :D Rules: Generate incorrect quotes from this website and tag someone else for every quote you post

Lewis, at the slightest provocation: I came into this earth screaming and covered in someone else's blood and and I'm not afraid to leave the same way.

Paris: I'm sorry. Please talk to me. Velia: Paris: Hello? World's most amazing person?? Sweet pea? Precious cinnamon roll that's too good for this world, too pure? Velia: 'Sorry' doesn't bring back my fucking M&Ms.

Fynn: Why aren't there friend pick up lines? Pick up lines to make friends like- Fynn, to Velia: Hey, that's a cute outfit. You know where it would look better? On nobody else, because you're a beautiful individual. Antonio, to Lewis: Be my friend or I'll set your entire family on fire. Paris: There are two types of people.

Velia: At first I thought you were foolish and incompetent. Antonio: My apologies for whatever misstep I may have taken to dispel that impression. It was an honest mistake, I swear.

Lewis: Being gay is a constant battle between "I wish to sit on a window bench with my lover, our legs tangling as we listen to the birds" and "Hey, let's go throw rocks at fascists" and I think that's very sexy of us. Antonio: If the window's open and you time it right, you can do both.

Fynn: You know what I learned from my friendship with Velia? Antonio: There’s no such thing as too mean? Paris: Never let your friends know for sure if you like them? Lewis: Always hold a grudge?

[hellsbellschime]

Two seconds after commenting on your post/answer to that one anon, I got blocked by fireandbloodsource for pointing out that Meereen is in absolute shambles rn. Like, that’s all I said, and it was hidden in my tags. I do love Daenerys’ character, genuinely. I recognize her compassion and her sacrifices, but I also hold her accountable when she does lack compassion and hides being a false sense of justice. I don’t believe she is evil, but while she beats herself over past mistakes and errors, we don’t actually see her actively learn from them. But even with all of that aside, at the end of the day she majorly incompetent. She has no idea what she’s doing. Her mission to free the slaves is absolutely wonderful, but it’s failing. She’s actively failing the people she saved, and she is going to choose to abandon them. If she truly wants to end slavery, then it would require her full dedication. And not just hers, but her children and their children. You can’t just free the slaves and call it a day. You have to destroy the entire culture and economic dependence of slavery. That can take up to hundreds of years. Or, she could completely destroy slaver’s bay and rebuild. But, she a. has no time for that. b. doesn’t have the resources. c. doesn’t have the education to take on such a responsibility. How can we look at her failing to save her “children” in Meereen and then expect/rely on her to save Westeros from the Others? This is why I’m not welcome in her fanbase, because I recognize her failure. Good intentions mean nothing to a dying/starving people. Competence and the ability to carry out and succeed in your well intentioned goals, does. (Sorry this was so long.)

And now they just unblocked me idk what to make of this

Maybe it was just an accident? But yes, I think you make all good points. In many ways Dany is well intended, but she is incredibly incompetent and her belief in Targaryen superiority seems to prevent her from delegating these tasks to people who are actually qualified to see them through. And aside from the Targaryen superiority, it is simply that her goal has always been and will always be the Iron Throne. Ultimately, she probably DOES have the resources to change the structure of Slaver's Bay, but that would require her using the resources that she is planning on using to invade Westeros, and if it's a choice between ending slavery and taking the Iron Throne, Iron Throne wins every time. It's troubling because there is an aspect of her personality that is well-intentioned, but she sincerely believes that the best thing that she can do for everyone is to simply conquer and rule them, and ultimately that belief is quite obviously incorrect.

[starlitvalyria]

MASTERLIST

a/n: english isn't my first language, im deeply sorry for any mistakes or inconveniences. if you have any tips, pls let me know.

tag list

requests

about me

Matt Murdock;

BROKEN | summary: matt comes back from the massacre at the bulletin to find you wanting for him along with Sister Maggie

Bucky Barnes;

IT COMES WITH BAB MEMORIES | summary: you come home from work to find bucky having a mental breakdown in your shared apartment.

ALWAYS BY YOUR SIDE | summary: you were seeing someone, one night you bring them to the compound but at the same night bucky has a terrible nightmare and you drop everything to comfort him.

LOVE LANGUAGE | summary: you and bucky demonstrate love for each other through touch.

BUT I DO | summary: are you what you eat?

WHO THE HELL IS DOLL? | summary: you and bucky are in a secret relationship until sam accidentally sees a message in bucky's phone.

GLASSES | summary: bucky sees you without makeup and wearing glasses for the first time. (three pieces serie)

part 1 - part 2 - part 3

I SWEAR THAT IM DOING MY BEST | summary: bucky learns who to love again, after 90 year.

Incorrect Quotes;

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10

#11

[saturnsummer]

impatient

When Jiho and Sol B find themselves in a questionable situation.

aka: if jiho and solb had a one night stand.

ao3 link

notes: all credits to @ohcoolnice @sxfik !! i’m taking a spin on a one night stand jisolb edition, which originally came from a solhwi one night stand idea. feeding the jisolb nation with this spicy one shot. it’s my first time writing a more mature piece, so do bear with me! i’ll continue to learn and grow! once again, editing, grammar and incorrect facts will be taken responsible by me! thank you for the love and support, feel free to suggest prompts and more!

rating: mature! implications of sex, definitely steamy and spicy. 

(as promised, tagging the fam that went nuts: @ohcoolnice @sxfik @affablewritesfables @cathartichaoss )

words: 3166 words

Ouch.

Jiho hated hangovers. He hated how he would repeat his mistakes over and over again, chugging back the glasses and shots of alcohol. Each time, he would remind himself not too much. But he would throw that advice out the window when he chases his high.

The warm sun rays of his window filter in through the sheer curtains as he squints his eyes closed, grabbing the sheets and pulling them over his head. God, he really hates hangovers. He can’t even remember what happened last night, and he didn’t really want to at the moment.

Realising the sun was not going to go away, he grunts in frustration, before getting up and propping himself upright with his arm. The bed was messy, and he knew something was off. Of the many times he came home drunk, his bed was never this messy. Ever.

And that is also when he realises he’s naked underneath his black sheets. Strange, he’s never really gone to bed naked. He had the habit of putting on a pair of boxer shorts, for sure, but he doesn’t remember getting naked.

A throbbing pain stops his train of thought as he groans from his headache, slowly getting up to find a pair of sweatpants for him to wear before getting his hangover cure of painkillers. He needed to order some spicy jjamppong as well. And he’s definitely not going to work on his reports today.

Just as he runs his fingers through his hair and opens the door, he’s greeted with the sight of someone already in his house. Seated by the dining table and chair, with a mug of hot steaming coffee and in an oversized grey T-shirt, her hair was long, slightly messy and her eyes were clearly still sleepy.

There, in all her glory sits his rival, Kang Sol B.

Sol was up just a good ten minutes before him, in the same state that he was in. A moment of confusion, before realising that across from her, one arm draped loosely around her bare stomach was Seo Jiho. Not wanting to wake him up and send him into a state of panic, she chose to crawl out of bed and grabbed the first thing she sees: his grey shirt.

She brewed herself a cup of coffee and made an additional one for him, knowing how he would need this. She nurses her headache and recollects her memories, before muttering curses to herself as her memories come back bit by bit. When the door opens to see a shirtless, well toned Jiho in his sweatpants and disheveled hair, she locks eyes with him and the puzzle pieces fall into place over last night.

The memories of last night suddenly come hitting back at him like a bullet train, as his eyes meet hers and he can only blink back in shock. He doesn’t even care that she’s in his house, or that he’s shirtless. He’s suddenly thrown back hours before.

The memories of them drinking with their friends to celebrate Joon Hwi’s promotion as well as Seungjae’s having a second child comes back. How he kept knocking shot after shot back. How his rival was one moment next to him, the next moment in his arms. How he was attempting to bring her home, but she was quick to kiss him, and he was already enjoying it too much to say no.

How one moment they were kissing on the couch, and the next in the bedroom, and the next…

Jiho was stumped. Did he really just have a one night stand with his rival? Kang Sol B? Still standing by his door, he grabs his glasses from the edge of the table, fumbling with it out of nervousness and slips it on as naturally as he can. Sol doesn’t look away, but only slides another steaming mug to him when he sits across from her. They both sit in silence for a bit as Jiho takes scalding sips while he processes his hangover and his memories.

“How are you feeling?” Sol asks, her manicured fingers drumming the side of the mug. She notices the way he bites his lip, the same way he does when he’s nervous. The way his hair was messy from his pillow, it was so different from the man she knew since middle school. As best as she could, she tried not to look at his toned abs, as she remembers running her fingers up and down those muscles last night.

“Terrible. You?” Jiho simply replies, too nervous to say anything else.

“Feels worse than the time after the mock trial.” She says, taking another long sip. Another silence ensues. Jiho unconsciously bites his lower lip, and Sol feels her heart skip a beat.

She’s used to his habits, how he clicks his tongue when he’s thinking. The drumming of his fingers. How he adjusts his round glasses every five minutes. Yet, she has never noticed the way that she feels whenever she catches him doing it. She has never noticed how her heart flutters when he leans over to her to grab a paper, or to glance at her report.

“You remember everything?” Jiho finally asks. Sol looks up at him, thoughts suddenly cleared as she takes another sip of coffee to collect her thoughts. She closes her eyes, the way she does when she’s thinking, leaving Jiho in a moment of silence, and observance.

Jiho notices the way her hair is so messy, it’s so unlike the Sol he knows. Her jet black hair not styled and straightened, the morning frizz just taking effect and her hair knotted made her look so different than the judge in the courtroom he was so used to. Her small frame hidden away with his big grey shirt, yet her slim collarbones are showing and the neckline so low and big, one of her shoulders are exposed.

Jiho was sure that the alcohol had worn off. So why do the words ‘cute’ and ‘sexy’ resonate with her now? Why does he find the way that she bites her lip when she’s thinking about her schoolwork cute back in school? Why was he always flustered whenever she looked at him? Why will his heart skip whenever she brushes his hand or arm?

Did he… have feelings for her?

“Most of it, I think.” Sol’s reply brings his thoughts back down. Sol brings her hand back and combs her mid back length hair back. She outgrew her short hair styles when she graduated school, and has stuck to growing it out ever since she moved out of her home. Jiho can’t help but notice the way the shirt exposes her shoulder and collarbones, he wants to throw a jacket on top right away.

“I… I’m sorry, for last night. I probably should have been more sober and brought you home, not to mine.” Jiho blurts out, fumbling with his glasses again, his hand pushing them up and naturally combing his bed hair back. Sol doesn’t say anything, but just scoffs.

“No use apologising now, don’t you think?” Her voice comes out harsh, but Jiho is used to it. That was her, after all. And Jiho could tell the slightest differences between each tone. Jiho only leans back on his chair, and shuts his eyes for a moment, letting his head tilt back. Sol tries her best not to stare at his muscles, and the way he shifts his glasses up. All she’s thinking is how hot her rival looks in front of her, and how everything about this feels wrong.

“Was it…your first?” Jiho asks, his eyes still closed. He dares not face Sol if she says yes, and he dares not face her if she says no either. He rather wishes to disappear. Only, she returns a light scoff.

“What, you scared?” She mocks. Jiho’s eyes open slowly, and Sol is there with a mocking smirk on her face, almost in amusement. Jiho feels almost fluttery and giddy from her smirk.

“I’m just asking. It’s not mine, I can tell you that.” Jiho bluntly says. Well, it was true. He’s never had serious relationships before, but he did have a couple of casual relationships in the years after graduating Hankuk. It was always bland, though. Never enough time to meet, and the sparks died the same month they met.

“It’s not mine either.” Sol admits to Jiho. Sol wasn’t lying, either. She was never one for serious long term relationships, being so driven by her career. But men kept chasing after her, and she attempted a few flings that mostly landed with one night stands. It never went any further, and she knew that they just wanted her for her body. Ever since, she hasn’t been on dates. This time, Jiho scoffs. Sol hears it and her face darkens.

“What?”

“I never thought you would be like this. I always thought you were so pure.” Jiho says, the taunting smile on his lips. Sol knows that smile. It was the smile from last night, the one he gave her that drove her right over the edge. The one smile that she finds herself so utterly helpless against.

“Well, I’m sure last night I provided enough evidence to support that.” Sol says, leaning forward slightly, eyes darkened. Jiho loves her eyes, the way they change and sparkle, but also how mysterious and dark they are. Two could play this game, Sol thinks to herself.

The both of them lock their eyes for a moment, the tension in the air heightened.

Jiho’s certain he wants her. He wants her, like how he wanted her last night. The entire sight of her was enough to bring him down. Her messy hair falling into her face, the way his shirt drapes loosely around her. He wanted to feel her and caress every spot he hasn’t touched. He wanted to ravish her, to taste her, to mark her as his. To show her that she’s his, and no one else’s.

Sol was equally brought back to last night. How she loved the smirk he gave her, how gentle he is. How good he made her feel, till she was out of breath and dizzy. But yet, it felt so wrong to feel this way. They were friends, classmates. She wasn’t even certain if she liked him for being Seo Jiho, or for the sex itself. She just felt so wrong to want a man to please her like how she felt last night.

Sol breaks her eye contact first, a red blush creeping up to her face. Grabbing her phone nearby, she scrolls through to try and book a taxi.

“I’m sorry, I should go.” She says, as she wants to get up. Jiho brings his hand up to her arm and sets her down back on the chair.

“You’re leaving in this?” Jiho says. Sol looks down, embarrassed and admits defeat. Her clothes from last night reeked of alcohol, and there was no way she was going home in those.

“I’ll drive you home later. Let’s get some jjamppong to eat first.” Jiho says, shifting his glasses up and clicking two orders of jjamppong from his phone. Sol instinctively grabs their two mugs of coffee and brings them to the kitchen to wash.

Jiho watches as she washes the mugs from the glass panel of the kitchen. When she returns, Jiho shifts himself closer to her. They sit in silence for a moment, before Sol breaks her silence.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Sol admits. Jiho knows what she means, and of which, he rebuts.

“Why?”

“We’re… we’re not a couple. I don’t want you to get lead on, and sour our friendship.” Sol says, her hand sweeping her hair back again. God, that move, Jiho thinks. She stands up abruptly, pacing from her chair to the wall nearby.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.” Jiho says, stopping Sol in her tracks. He continues on, while taking slow steps towards her.

“I realised way too late just how much I love you. And you’re not going to lead me. Because I’ve already fallen for you, Your Honor.” He says, now closing the distance between both of them. He brings a hand up to Sol’s hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. Sol hitches a breath, as she feels his fingers.

“Kang Sol, I, Seo Jiho, love you.” Jiho slowly leans in, giving her enough time to push him or dodge if she wanted to. But Sol doesn’t move and only lets him kiss her. She feels his soft lips, as they dance together, her hands finally letting it glide over those abs she’s been staring at the whole day. She’s thrown back to the previous night, remembering how she did this too.

Jiho tastes the coffee on her lips and hers. He loves the way she tastes, how perfect his hand rests on her hips, the other hand snaking under his shirt to feel the bare skin. She shudders as his fingers glide over her thighs, but only kisses harder from the feeling.

“You love me?” Sol asks between those kisses as his hand comes into contact with her hip bone, rubbing it lightly. Her hands trail to his waist, pulling him closer to her and taking steps back, such that she’s leaned against the wall.

“I do. Ever since law school.” He growls back and sweeps her hair back from falling into her face. He bites and nibbles on her lip, a sigh of pleasure escaping her lips, before she gently sucks on his.

Pulling away to catch her breath, Sol hates how she’s given in to the man in front of her. She stares deep into his eyes, as she thinks back to the years they spent in school. Had all the meals they shared together, all the one-on-one study sessions and all the reports she’s willingly helped him in just really out of pure friendship? Has she been so blind to her feelings?

“Still think it’s a bad idea?” His voice is so raspy and breathy from all the kissing, she can’t help but feel so lusted. In response, she only dives in for another kiss, thumbs gliding over his muscles, savouring it under her touch.

Jiho smirks under her kiss, as he shifts his attention to her jaw and neck, leaving a trail of light kisses. He thanks the shirt now, leaving a whole side of her collarbone and shoulder exposed along with her neck. Peppering her with kisses, he finds her sensitive spot when she gives an audible gasp as his lips brush through.

“Ji-Jiho...” She hates how whiny she sounds, how her voice is so breathy as she holds him closer to her. But she wants it. She wants him so bad. She wants him like how he was last night.

“You look so good dressed in my shirt… God, you’re such a tease.” He whispers softly, before lightly sucking on her spot. Sol is slowly giving in, as a sound of pleasure escapes her lips, eyes closed.

“Don’t leave a mark there...” Her voice so soft and gentle, unlike the other times he’s heard them. It’s the first time he's heard her so vulnerable and weak. The air between them was so hot, and it didn’t help that Jiho could feel the bulge in his sweatpants slowly forming.

“So you’re letting me mark you, Your Honor?” Jiho teases, the same smirk that he knows Sol is weak to on his face when he looks at her. But Jiho is equally weak to her pleasured face, the way she bites her lip. His fingers rub on a sweet spot on her hips and she rolls her head back, nodding in response. She’s so needy and she can't wait any longer.

Taking it as a go, he attaches his mouth on a spot of her collarbone, sucking lightly and gently, as her whines fall from her mouth. He moves on from spot to spot, nibbling on the skin of some. Sol’s face is red from the heat, and she only palms Jiho’s head, guiding him to the spots she loves. Jiho leaves a trail of bites along her collarbone and her shoulder, but leaves one on her neck for good measure.

Pulling away, he locks his lust filled eyes to find Sol’s eyes equally drunk on lust. He knows he has fallen in love with her with the way she rivals him. It was opposites attract, how he’s always chasing up to her, and sometimes it’s her who’s chasing him. How she was silently there during his low moments. Their physical attention was just another confirmation of how Jiho needs her in his life.

Sol finally accepts the suppressed feelings she’s locked away. She’s been so caught up in her career, from breaking free from her mother’s fingers, she’s forgotten that she had a life, that she was more than just a puppet with her mother pulling the strings. She had feelings for Seo Jiho. More than the way he makes her feel, she fell in love with the persistence he had to clear his father’s name. His entire being comforted her, knowing how it felt to grow up in her mother’s palm.

“I... I love you too.” She whispers back a whisper so soft, she almost feels giddy from all the kissing. Jiho gives a rare smile, almost delighted to know she feels the same, and she manages to give one back.

Diving in for another kiss, Jiho takes the next step further, letting his hand glide on her thigh before going up to her hip and slowly crawling up her toned stomach. Sol was no stranger to such teases, as she sucked on his lips, her leg sliding up and down his inner thigh. Jiho audibly groans in the kiss and Sol loves how she’s taken control.

“Excited, are we?” he growls. Sol only smirks in reply, her hands reaching to the waistband of his pants, feeling the V-shape of his hip bone. Jiho only groans in pleasure, watching as the girl in front of him could be so controlling in a matter of seconds.

“You could speak for yourself, Prosecutor Seo.” And that was all Jiho needed before he fully decided to ravish her in his bedroom. Sol wanted it herself as she continuously teased him by pulling on his drawstrings or letting her fingers slip over the waistband.

But they pull apart, when the doorbell rings, signalling the arrival of their hangover food.

Jiho pulls apart, not wanting to let her go and Sol’s hands still rest on his waistband, a finger fingering the band. Jiho reluctantly pulls her hand away, collecting their food and letting it sit on the table. With one fluid sweep, Jiho picks the younger girl into his arms and shuts the door to his bedroom.

The jjampong could wait. But they couldn't.

[yaffles-world]

Hi! I feel like this was more statement/fact question based rather then the previous stronger leaning imaginary style asks- I had fun! A nice change of pace hehe.

Romantic F/O - Spike Spiegel

rose - how many brain cells would you estimate there are between you and your f/o?

20. Shared completely. All or nothing or some sort of mix who knows. It's a hazard :D

anemone - in ten words or less, describe the dynamic between you and your f/o.

Loving couple who exist on spectrum of cool - organised - stupid

dahlia - what song and/or song lyric do you most associate with your f/o?

Money - the drums. Particularly funny story, I was making a playlist of songs thatI relate to Spike in some way, and spotify auto suggested this based on songs already in the playlist, and i was like "SORCERY" because I'd never heard it before and it was so Spike. Basically, it's about a guy who makes a mistake and wants to make up for it but feels like he can't because he's broke which is a Big thing with Spike, to learn he doesn't need money. Also the vibe of the song fits.

tulip - go to your f/o's wiki page and quote your favorite part of it.

That's a DANGEROUS GAME

buttercup - give an incorrect quote of you and your f/o.

So full disclosure I just looked at the incorrect quote tag on Tumblr idk hehe

Me: You're late.

Spike: You're handsome

Me:... You're forgiven.

marigold - what is your favorite picture, video, and/or moment of your f/o?

Anyone paying attention to the canon of our relationship will remember this - either the one of him asleep in the car with his flower crown or when he's sleeping in bed with Sunny our cat on his chest :D

orchid - is your f/o also your favorite character from their respective media, or is it someone else?

Yeah he is! He's also the main character - it's very unusual for me to like the main character the most hehe. Jet is a close second but Spike is leading, definitely.

sunflower - do you make fun of or tease your f/o a lot, or can you not bring yourself to be lovingly mean to them?

I'm not usually a making fun of kind of person but yes absolutely. He can take it, and he needs it hehe. Plus he gives as good as he gets. And sometimes that goes too far but it all just ends in cuddles so… :D

zinnia - how often do you think about your f/o? do they live in your head rent free or do you not think about them for months on end before suddenly hyperfixating on them nonstop for a week?

I haven't really had a proper f/o before so I'm not sure. But judging from previous fixations he shall reappear at random hehe. At the moment, it's rent free in my head :D. With the few other f/os that weren't as intense it's like "oh hi" talk for a few minutes then they go again for a day or so...so who knows hehe.

lily - what would you say is the color scheme of you and your f/o?

Purple and blue

hydrangea - list your full playlist for your f/o.

Uh? https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tm1odu3YnqayeTItmcJCz?si=Z1-x4LTBRj-Mik_arT0sJw&utm_source=copy-link

iris - does your self insert for your f/os source material have a detailed and complex story and character arc, or are they just kinda vibing?

My self insert is kinda just me but adapted to fit in a mix AU between our world and Spike's. I'm sorta just making stuff up as I go along - since it's just me, I make stuff up as I go along and its relevant hehe like being friends with Jet, how I met Spike, etc. So basically just vibing haha

peony - how many images, gifs, and videos of your f/o do you have saved to your gallery?

Only 27 because I'm too scared to google him cos spoilers. Thanks irummna for 12 of those :D

[a-lil-perspective]

I have been silent for some time now. I have refrained from exhibiting any plaguing thoughts that might warrant me the label of “that person”, but I’m at the point where I’ve had my fill.

Ramble under the cut so as to not... offend or inconvenience anyone. There’s absolutely no obligation to read this. It’s Tumblr. You can block/ignore me. The option to do so is readily accessible.

I’ve been a Bad Batch fan since day one. While I didn’t start creating that very same day, it was relatively close. Point being, I’m a long-time dedicated fan. As the premiere to their series draws closer, I feel like there is going to be a great shift, rift here. That being said, I figured now is as good a time as any to make this post.

I love those boys beyond words. They’ve been the one constant in my life amidst a rapid and debilitating change. I love getting to give them life, even if my interpretations aren’t the most accurate.

Yes, I am a new Writer and yes, I am new to Tumblr, as I am sure both of those things are painfully apparent.

I get that it is impossible to please everyone. It’s something I’m learning more and more with each passing day. It’s something that gets harder to swallow, even more so.

I’d like to say that being here has been a largely positive experience, with all of these great connections and opportunities. But honestly? It’s been more isolating than anything. I’ve actually never felt more isolated than since I joined a year ago.

As a content creator or even just a general blogger, I don’t ask for much. I don’t ask for anything, in fact. I consider myself very low maintenance. I don’t demand/harass/play the martyr for reblogs. I have never mentioned it once, and never will. Some people on here are so damn passive-aggressive about it, and quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. It’s very stigmatizing. While I completely understand the frustration surrounding the like-to-reblog ratio, I think it’s neither tasteful nor reputable to threaten to call people out for not reblogging your fics. I wish I could say I was joking on that one. But I’ve seen it profoundly. Not cool.

And yet, no one says anything or raises any concern there.

Yet I make metas, harmless rambles, and I get shot down? Seriously?

—I need to “chill”, it’s “overkill”, I’m “overthinking”. I and my content are apparently just so damn arduous to interact with.

If you don’t like me, please just move on. There are plenty of other Bad Batch creators for you to enjoy. You know that. My work is absolutely not the final say, and I’ve never claimed it to be.

What is so wrong, with sharing one’s thoughts? Why do people inherently have a problem with other’s creative efforts? I see it time over again. Why do I feel like if I was making a bunch of smutty posts it wouldn’t be as much of a problem, that it in fact would be infinitely more welcome? (Absolutely NO shade to people who create smut, okay? I’ve made my own share. I admire those bold enough to do so regularly. I absolutely love them. Please teach me your ways).

This ramble really has nothing to do with the most recent event regarding my contributions. Rather, it’s a culmination of experiences over the past several months that have brewed and festered to the point where I can no longer keep downplaying it.

Social media, at its core, is one big popularity contest. It always has been, it always will be. But I’m not here to win. That’s never been my objective. That’s not what I’m about. Surprise (or not), I am not a popular blog. Not by a long shot. I’ll never claim otherwise.

I don’t ask people to view/interact with my content, I’m not an activist, I can’t even fathom exuding that kind of confidence. Even though I, admittedly, crave it. I suspect I crave interaction as much as the next creator. It’s a nice feeling. Yet there’s never been any obligation for it, especially with me, so I don’t understand what the problem is. As I’ve said, there are ample ways for you to block/avoid me. It’s the internet. In this day and age, there’s no excuse for viewing anything you don’t want to.

I came here in the hopes of finding like-minded individuals, uplifting and interacting, and exercising some otherwise stunted creativity.

All Tumblr as taught me is that creating and contributing is largely a thankless, empty endeavor. You can give and give and give and be reduced to nothing. There’s a profound imbalance between “giving” and “receiving”, and in regards to both ends of the scale, it’s became apparent to me that if you don’t cater heavily and in unreasonable degrees or get “noticed” by a popular blog, you get nothing, and your efforts are null and void.

Truthfully? I constantly feel like I walk on eggshells here, and it’s all I can do to not crack under the pressure, even though it’s my blog and my headspace. I should feel comfortable and free to express myself here, and I don’t, and I’m unsure of how to achieve that sense of stability. To be completely honestly I feel like a constant bother and a nuisance. When I post, I literally feel like there is a collective eye-roll that comes with people receiving a notification from my blog. Even though I know, rationally, that can’t be true, that’s an absurd level of thinking. I can’t say I can pinpoint exactly where it stems from.

But regardless: I hardly ever talk about/create the things I actually want. I only recently just got ballsy enough to share some metas, and we all know how well that’s going. I try not to have smut out of respect for my asexual/minor mutuals, even though the tag to blacklist is very much an option. I try not to bring up conflicting topics, Tumblr, political, or otherwise, even though with proper tagging I could. But I try not to even bring that into existence. Even though it’s my right to, I don’t.

I don’t actually feel like I fit into any narrative here, especially in the Bad Batch fandom; even though we are all basically the same steadfast group of bloggers. We all know who we are. We all coexist in the same space. It’s nearly impossible to be unaware of each other, at this point.

And yet, I’m not in a bunch of Discord servers or backed by a team of beta readers and all that jazz. It’s basically just me talking to myself out here. It’s very isolating.

Part of that—most of it—is my own crippling social anxiety, and the genuine belief that I don’t deserve to be in the same space/servers as all of these brilliant creators. Because I’m just me, and there’s not a whole lot of value there. With that mindset, it’s hard to actually feel like I belong anywhere. I know that is a mindset I have to conquer alone.

My excitement over my creations has largely dwindled into nothing. I seldom ever bounce my ideas off of others—another issue that stems from the fear of presenting as a burden—and even though I try to write for myself, even that fire has pretty much died out. I’m not even sure how or if I could even reignite it, at this point. It’s really quite sad. It makes me very sad, actually. All I wanted was to safely ramble, project all my thoughts and creativity that has otherwise been repressed through prolonged detrimental circumstances.

More than anything, I wanted to find and hold onto something that makes me feel useful, meaningful, happy. More and more I wonder if that’s even possible. I don’t think it is, not here. I often wonder if joining and sharing on Tumblr was a horrible mistake. I miss the innocent joy of when I first started creating. It was so simple. I’m trying to find that simplicity again.

But I’m burned out. I’m running on fumes. I have been for some time.

At this point it goes beyond just “taking a break” from Tumblr. It’s the fact that it all feels like this meaningless, monotonous cycle. I wonder every day if I am an isolated case in experiencing these emotions.

And yet, come tomorrow I will still be here, business as usual.

I’m not asking for sympathy or playing the victim or attacking anyone or trying to guilt-trip into more interaction. I am very aware of my shortcomings and incorrect mindsets. I’m just trying to make sense of it all. I feel very disconnected from everyone here and it’s lonely. This took a lot for me to share. I will most likely delete this because anxiety will eat me up, as it does with everything I post. Yes, everything.

[sweetiepie08]

RebelZ (Chapter 9)

Invader Zim fanfic

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn, @agentpinerulesall​

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list feel free to message me. Also, if you’re on the tag list and you changed your name, please just let me know.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

[-]

“Care to tell us what the fuck that was?” the Dib shouted as they ran down the hall.

“A coup, obviously,” Zim shot back. “Just not one where you seize power at the end. So, half a coup.”

“So then who seizes power now?”

“The Tallest Red and Purple still have it,”

Dib nearly tripped over his own feet in his shock. “You mean you didn’t kill them?”

“It’s nearly impossible to poison an Irken,” Tak explained. “The PAK filters out most toxins. You can incapacitate them, though, for a short period of time.”

“So you basically just quit your job in spectacular fashion,” Dib said indignantly.

Tak almost couldn’t believe it. Zim must be sincere in his betrayal. He poisoned the Tallest and declared to the entire upper crust of the Irken military that it was intentional. There was no coming back from that. Every other disaster he caused could reasonably be argued as a mistake. But there could be no doubt here. Zim truly had turned on the empire.

Yet, something still didn’t sit quite right with her. If he had gone rebel, if he had truly turned traitor, then his life clock would have gone off like hers did. One would reasonably assume the impotence for this betrayal was her discovery of the Control Brains parasite, but she was with him ever since she told him that news and she never saw his life clock go off. But that could only mean something else prompted him at an earlier date. So the question was, what made Zim finally snap?

They came to a split in the hallway. Tak started going right while Zim went left.

“Uh, the Voot is this way,” Tak called.

“I’m not going to the Voot,” Zim yelled back. “I’m going to the control room.”

Dib and Tak cast each other a glance, then followed him. They found him crouched behind a door at the end of the hall and joined him in his hiding spot. Dib took a peak inside. There, dozens of Irkens worked at their stations. They seemed unaware that, for now, their leaders were incapacitated.

Zim tapped his PAK and a metal ball flew into his hands. He pulled a pin, tossed it in, and smashed the control panel, shutting the door. They heard coughing from the other side and, after a few minutes, opened the door to find the Irkens unconscious on the floor.

“So, what are we doing in here again?” Dib asked, as they stepped into the room.

Zim grabbed one of the Irkens who still slouched in their chair and threw them to the floor. “Wiping Urth off the navigation map.” He sat down and the monitor and started messing with the buttons. “If I’m going to continue to use it as my home base, I can’t have them finding it.”

“Not so fast,” Tak slapped his fingers away from the buttons. “Before this goes any further, I need answers. If you’re truly on our side, there’s only one way your life clock didn’t go off.”

“We don’t have time for this!”

“You had a rebellious thought!” Tak declared. “When?”

“Three Urth years ago.”

“Three years?” Dib shouted, stepping up to them. “But I’ve been watching you. Why were you still trying to conquer Earth if you kinda-quit three years ago?”

“I wasn’t.”

“But I saw you building machines!” Dib argued.

“They weren’t for me!” Zim shot back.

Tak began to ask “But how-” before Zim cut her off.

“Silence!” he shouted. “Silence your questions! I need to concentrate.”

Zim continued typing on the buttons until a picture of the Earth appeared on the screen. The stats were scarce, save for the coordinates and the note, ‘that place where Zim is.’ The little blue ball of dirt and water had gone unnoticed by the empire, noteworthy only as a banishment site. To them, it was merely a place to keep Zim contained, far away from anything important. But after the stunt they pulled today, it would be a target.

Another few clicks of a button and the Urth was gone, leaving only a blank file in its wake. All Irken military ships automatically synced with the Massive. If it was gone from this data base, it was essentially invisible to all Irkens. If they wanted to find Urth again, they’d have to scour the universe for it. But why stop at Urth?

“Let’s dump it all,” Tak said.

“What?”

“Erase the database,” she said. “It’ll be a crippling blow to the empire.”

“Do we really have time to erase everything?” Dib asked. The human made a good point.

“Jut the maps then,” she suggested. “They would have to rebuild their navigation systems from scratch and it would send the fleet into disarray.”

“Zim is no radical!” Zim snapped. “I’m only doing this to cover my own ass.”

“Not a raical?” Dib scoffed. “You just poisoned your own leaders.”

“That was personal,” Zim argued. “This is political.”

“And what about those weapons you’re building?!” Dib shot back. “If they’re not for Irk, then who are they for?”

“Zim’s business deals are none of your… um… business!”

“Shut up!” Tak commanded, taking a seat at another monitor. “We don’t have time for this! Let’s get these maps erased and get out of here.”

“If you even make it that far,” a chorus of voices answered.

Dib looked around. “Who said that?”

“We did, human.”

Every Irken in the room rose to their feet. Tak prepared herself for a fight. Her eyes darted as she watched them all, poised to deploy the weapons in her PAK. But none made a move to attack. They all stood there, stalk still, with a dead look in their eyes.

Dib gaped at the sight. “H-how are you…”

“Silence Urth Creature!” the possessed Irkens shouted in unison, turning their cold eyes toward Dib. “Do not interrupt us again!” Dib shut his mouth and the Irkens calmed. “Congratulations defectives” they said, now addressing Zim and Tak. “It’s been centuries since we had to resort to total override, but mark our words, you will pay for this waste of food.”

“What do you care for waste?” Tak spat back at them. “You throw Irken lives away every day in your conquest.”

“A calculated cost to bring me more to feed from in the long term,” the Irkens explained with their eerily monotone voices. “You should know about calculated risks. Don’t forget, we see everything you do.”

“When have I ever sacrificed good soldiers?”

Every possessed Irken in the room wore the same mocking smirk. “All through your training days. Don’t you remember? We saw everything you did, every little cheat to get ahead.”

The Irkens tapped buttons on their control boards and soon, every monitor showed various scenes from Tak’s training years. “Electrodes hidden in your boots to cripple race opponents. Stealing test answers and planting them in a rival’s locker after copying them for yourself. You got top scores on your exams and excelled at your drills, but is it really victory if you have to sabotage your competitions? Oh sure, you studied and trained, but it never felt like enough, did it? Never thought you could win a fair fight. Had to tear someone else down first. Maybe, if it weren’t for all your cheating, we’d have let you make up your Elite ranking test. After all, we allowed everyone else who was inconvenienced by the blackout to take it.” Their smirks grew as they twisted the knife further. “Just not you.”

Tak ground her teeth together as she watched the images play out on the screen. There was no denying them. The monitors played footage from her own memory bank. They showed her and everyone else who she really was. She work so hard. She clawed her way to the top and did everything she could to stay there. But it was all a lie. And now they knew it. What was worse, Zim knew it. That little pain in the ass managed to make it to elite the first time, even while being a walking disaster, and he never had to deliberately cheat. The idea of him lording that over her was enough to make her blood boil.

“Perhaps you can prove everyone wrong, though,” the Irken voices went on. “Take the honest route for once in your life. Tell Zim what you learned on your little trip to Refirencee. Tell him what you suspect.”

“Fool!” Zim scoffed. “Zim already accessed Tak’s memories. I know everything she knows about the Control Brain parasite.”

“Yes, you saw the same books. But did you reach the same conclusions?”

“Guys! Don’t you see what it’s doing?” The Dib burst in. “It’s distracting you. It’s keeping you here until your leaders recover. Let’s erase those maps and get out of here!”

“Silence!” Zim snapped at Dib, then turned back to the dead-eyed Irkens. “Tell Zim what you know, creepy hive-mind…thing!”

“Have you ever wondered why you’re such a failure? Why you destroy everything you touch? Why, no matter what you do, everything always blows up in your face? It’s because you have no choice in the matter. It’s what you were made for.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Before we push for something big, we require extra sustenance. We take this sustenance in what some have called a blood toll. On our first planet, we made many mistakes, one was asking our hosts directly for sacrifices. We know better now.”

“Ans what does this have to do with me?” Zim growled impatiently.

“Since the beginning of our reign, one PAK has been passed down through generations, carrying a suppressed impulse for destruction. We need only to activate it and we have our blood toll. Clearly our PAK has become quite damaged over the years. It no longer works quite right. You’re so defective, you couldn’t even declare your name right.”

The screen flashed the name Zim across it. It then reversed the letters and spread them out to reveal an acronym. ZIM became MIZ. And MIZ became Massacre Initiator Z.

“You were supposed to live as a low-ranking drone until we activated your destructive impulse and die in the disaster. You, however, defied us at every turn. We kept you alive out of sheer curiosity. We wanted to see how your life would play out. It’s been entertaining, however, you’ve become too great a burden to bare.”

Zim stood motionless, staring straight ahead. They waited for the typical Zim outburst of “lies!” or declaring his greatness, but nothing came. His eyes looked as dead as the possessed Irkens around them. He said nothing, did nothing. As much as Tak couldn’t stand Zim’s obnoxious voice or erratic behavior, watching him be so still was chilling.

Tak’s antenna perks at the sound of footsteps trooping down the hall. The Dib’s head darted for the door. “Guy! Come on! We’re out of time!”

Tak smacked Zim’s lifeless body away from the control panel. “Do you think you can stop us by getting into our heads?”

“Oh simple Tak,” the Irkens sighed. “We've lived in your heads since you were fitted with your packs.”

Tak sneered at them. “I cut you off for me and I won't rest until every Irken is free of you.”

“Please, you worked your whole life to get our attention. You finally have it. Do you want to throw that away? Perhaps we can find a place with someone of your drive and ingenuity.”

“Liars!” Did they think she was stupid? She knew as well as it that treason of this scale would never go unpunished. Even if they tried to appease her with a higher rank or a cushy job, it’d only be a matter of time before they got rid of her. But even the fact that it was trying to negotiate meant something. She was a threat to it, and she would stay a threat until the day she died.

“We you know you, Tak. You’re a plotter. You won't do anything rash.”

They don’t know me half as well as they think. “Want a bet?” She started hitting buttons on the control board. An alert came up on the screen and the voice blared from the speakers. “All maps queued for deletion. Are you sure you want to proceed?”

She hit one more button and the screen went black. “Deletion successful.”

“Take that you parasite bitch.”

“Come on,” Dib begged, pulling on her arm. The footsteps were noticeably louder. “We have to go now!”

Tak took off running and Dib pulled on the frozen Zim until his legs moved. They burst into the hall and immediately came across a group of Irkan soldiers. “There they are!” one of the soldiers cried.

Tak led the way as they ran toward the ship’s hanger. The soldiers fired at them. A laser cannon popped out of Tak’s pack and returned fire, but it was difficult for her to aim while leading the dash to the Voot. She wished one of her companions had could back her up with a pistol but Zim was still barely conscious and Dib was preoccupied with keeping his legs moving. The sound of little metallic feet running beside them gave her an idea.

“Zim, tell me your SIR unit to go into defensive mode.

There was no response. Zim was as helpful as a sack of empty ginzor cans.

“Hey Zim’s robot,” Dib said to the little SIR unit.

Gir looked up at him curiously. “Hmm?”

“Don't you have any weapons or something?”

“Huh?”

“You know, something that makes pretty lights and goes ‘pew, pew’?”

“Oh that. I got that.” A giant laser cannon popped out of his head and he fired wildly into the soldiers behind them, forcing the Irkens to scatter for cover

Finally, they made it to the hangar and all jumped in the Voot. Zim slid zombie-like into the pilot seat.

“Come on,” Dib said, shaking Zim’s shoulder. “Get us out of here!”

“Zim!” Tak snapped. “If you don't fly this ship, I will!”

That seemed to work. Zim shook off whatever stupor he was in and his usual look of single-minded determination returned to his eyes. “No one pilots Zim’s ship but Zim!” He took hold of the controls and the ship roared to life. In a flash, they took off into the stars.

[trekwiz]

I posted 11,131 times in 2021

361 posts created (3%)

10770 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 29.8 posts.

I added 498 tags in 2021

#gaymer - 105 posts

#gay man - 72 posts

#my face - 68 posts

#me - 65 posts

#selfie - 57 posts

#ask trekwiz - 31 posts

#spotify - 31 posts

#asks - 29 posts

#ask - 26 posts

#lgbt - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#the federation functions more like an idealized and friendly libertarian government especially in the way it treats its impoverished worlds

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Writers, some advice.

I was just reading about a character of color who was removed from an old TV show. The reasoning stuck out to me because it's a concept that's always rubbed me the wrong way; but this example is great at illustrating why it's wrong.

Some background: the character was a black neurosurgeon, and the writers gave him a racist nickname. He didn't get much of a role, he was mostly just there in the background.

For two reasons, they removed him: they weren't interested in tokenism, and their "accidental" tokenism demonstrated that his presence wouldn't be historically accurate.

Tokenism is generally understood this way: a diverse character exists without story reasons, just to pander to a demographic. This leads to shallow characters.

The logic behind this understanding is completely incorrect.

Here's the reality: when you try to create character and plot reasons to have diverse characters, that's when you're truly engaging in tokenism.

When you get wrapped up in trying to justify the existence of diverse characters, you make really stupid mistakes. You base writing decisions on stereotypes of populations (did I mention this character also played professional football?), and end up with a caricature instead of a fleshed out character.

In this particular case, the team's research identified that this character couldn't have existed in that setting. They checked; it was true. But about 30 years later, new information came out from soldier's journals. Journals that weren't previously available. Turns out this kind of character really did exist in that setting.

They were so focused on not having a token character, that they made a bland character that would have worked if they spent more time giving him a role instead of figuring out how to justify his existence. By trying to historically justify his existence, they ended up making a decision that we now know isn't actually historically accurate.

He was around for 6 episodes; the writing team spent so much time trying to prove he couldn't be there--after he was already there--that they didn't have time to expend on making him interesting.

So it went something like this:

Created a placeholder character based on steretypes so you'd know he really was a black man and not just a man played by a black actor

In an attempt to prevent tokenism, the team did background research to justify the existence of the character while the show was ongoing, but kept his development on hold just in case

The character remains shallow while this research is ongoing

Team learns he wouldn't be historically accurate; they also decide that because they didn't develop this character due to their ongoing research, he was a shallow token

Instead of developing the character to be something other than a token, they remove him--notably, without any plot reasons for it. They just erased the character as if he hadn't existed on screen prior

Tokenism happened, because they wanted to avoid tokenism. If you see shallow, diverse, token characters, it's certainly because the writers wanted to avoid tokenism.

If you find yourself getting into that habit of trying to avoid tokenism, stop. You've likely already created token characters based on offensive stereotypes if you've accepted that misconception as good writing advice.

Token characters are unavoidable if you need a reason for diversity to exist.

Write the characters you would have written anyway, but mix up their "appearance" a bit. I assure you, just about any personality exists in the real world across diversity characteristics.

As disappointing as it is, there are even gay fascist cops who support Trump and oppose marriage equality. You don't have to change your characters to fit your (mis)conceptions of what a demographic should be. Anyone you can imagine probably exists somewhere in the world.

47 notes • Posted 2021-05-31 19:37:44 GMT

#4

66 notes • Posted 2021-03-14 22:09:14 GMT

#3

I'm excited to announce a project I've been working on for the past few weeks. For most of my life, I've been upset at the dearth of great #gay media in the genres I enjoy; it's always been a given that if I wanted to watch shows like Star Trek, it was never going to be comprised solely of gay characters. That it would never have gay characters at all who didn't need to be justified by arbitrary story reasons.

We're also fit into a niche based on assumptions of who we are. We're not action heroes. We're not pirates. We're not knights and kings. We're not spies or hotshot pilots. We're isolated sidekicks at best.

I started my career in video production in hopes of changing that; I hit a lot of obstacles along the way that have been very discouraging, and sometimes painful. And when I took a sidetrack to indie film, I found it was just too exhausting and too expensive; I couldn't do it without burning out and fighting an uphill battle.

But I discovered that #music is relatively affordable to commission. For a few dollars, I could become the decision-maker; I get to say yes, instead of hearing someone else say "no", or "let's change this a bit for wider appeal." And so, I commissioned my first gay pirate song. I can't articulate how much easier and how empowering this was to do as a client or patron rather than as a creator. I'm both encouraged and saddened by that.

Music is still expensive, so I don't imagine I'll be able to do this more than twice a year. I'm very happy to unveil my first commission, and it's my hope that royalties will help reduce the impact of the price tag for future commissions. I found a specialist on Fiverr for the music, commissioned the album art from a gay friend, and commissioned the logo from within my personal network.

And finally, after spending more money than I'm comfortable acknowledging, here it is.

66 notes • Posted 2021-08-05 22:34:44 GMT

#2

Sword play.

80 notes • Posted 2021-07-05 00:56:31 GMT

#1

The world needs to be gayer.

416 notes • Posted 2021-08-25 00:13:23 GMT

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