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#Okay I think I may be including too many hashtags...
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On this day, 20 years ago, Cartoon Network broadcasted the very 1st episode of Cartoon Network's Fridays.
A block that was very controversial for the fact that it depicted segments with live action hosts in-between each show.
The block was hosted by Tommy Snider and Nzinga Blake, until she decided to leave and was replaced by Tara Sands.
While I never watched Fridays when it aired, it still holds a special place in my heart. Why, you ask?
Well, that's because in September 2014, a company called Great-5 Productions (which is associated with CN (but also not actually real)) brought Fridays back in the form of live-streaming online, as well as filming the show in the cartoon world instead of the real world. This era of Fridays lasted a long time, from September 12, 2014 - February 5, 2021.
And all this month, I'll be posting different moments from throughout the block's existence (both eras). Now, there isn't a set schedule for when these will come up (with a few exceptions), because I'm too busy with college to set up a full schedule for this.
I'll go into the revival era more throughout this month, but here's what you need to know for now.
With Fridays coming back, it was decided that the show would be filmed live, but still scripted. Tommy and Tara were also brought back for the block's return. Not only that, but in the beginning, they also brought on different CN characters to be in the background.
This included me, since I was a part of "PBS Kids GO!" (the series, not the PBS block), which aired on Fridays. Eventually, I became a co-host myself. However, let's just say that I sometimes acted a bit annoying and unprofessional when I started out (especially since I was only 10 when this era of Fridays began).
Now, you're probably wondering, "Davis, why didn't you guys ask Nzinga to come on to co-host?"
...........
(No seriously, why didn't I ever decide to bring her on?)
(I don't think I ever had an explanation. I mean, sure, she did have a cameo at some point in either 2017 or 2018, but-...)
(Oh wait, sorry, back to the history)
In the beginning, the lineup was filled with either reruns of old CN shows that were strangely listed as new episodes (i.e. Foster's and Billy & Mandy) or shows that were produced by Great-5 Productions (i.e. PBS Kids GO! and Wii Sports Resort when it premiered in November (the show was adapted from the Nintendo game of the same name)).
Another thing that occurred (at least in the 1st few years) was that the block would sometimes just not be broadcasted. This would happen for a number of reasons (scheduling issues, the cast being busy with other stuff, etc.). Fortunately, this stopped by the summer of 2018.
Okay, so about the picture above. The designs I've used for Tommy and Tara are based on how they looked around the time of the "Yes!" era, including Tara with her slightly-blonde hair, and Tommy with his Black hair and sideburns. These designs would also be used for the livestreams, starting with our January 3, 2020 show.
They're certainly more detailed than my very 1st designs for them (which they had from Sep. 2014 - early 2019). Tommy's hair was just a bunch of lines pointed upwards, and Tara's wasn't much different.
One more thing, if you're wondering why the Fridays logo looks slightly off, that's because it's an AI upscaling of the logo. I couldn't find a high quality picture of the CNF logo anywhere, not even a recreation of it.
Stay tuned this month for more Fridays content!
Okay, now go away, I'm busy studying for a test.
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multiuniversefangirl · 4 months
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I’m getting really tired of the overwhelming MJF hate and comparisons, but moreover getting tired of the toxicity of the iwc
last night while watching dynamite, i was looking at the twitter hashtag and 85% of the tweets were about how everyone hates this version of mjf, how jack perry is better at promos, and even saw a tweet saying that it wasn’t fair for him to skip to the front of the line for a title shot… which he only hinted at. some of these tweets even had antisemitic comments and references in them, while others were blatantly anti-neurodivergent. i personally have many issues with this, so i wanted to vent in what i HOPE is a safe space:
not EVERYONE is going to like EVERY gimmick. it’s okay to say that, but to promote the idea of turning this already tense community into an even more turbulent space isn't cool (for lack of a better word)
jack perry IS good... but he has improved throughout his career (especially since returning from his UNFAIR sabbatical and njpw run). that's not to say that mjf has always been as good as he is right now, there has been a noticeable improvement in jack VERY quickly. they may be two of the "pillars" but don't compare them. they're different people, with different careers and different backgrounds.
i'm really annoyed at people saying he doesn't deserve a title shot, as if almost every other champion who was injured and lost their title didn't have another shot almost immediately, including jon moxley and rey fenix (twice including next week's dynamite). as much as he toots his own horn, mjf really is very, VERY good. plus mjf vs swerve is a banger waiting to happen, so stop acting like you wouldn't enjoy it.
i don't know how many times people need to be reminded of this, but ANTISEMITISM ISN'T OKAY. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS JEWISH DOESN'T GIVE ANYONE LICENCE TO BE HATEFUL. there is so little mainstream representation in sports for Jewish people, so to see someone who is openly and proudly representing the community being unjustly targeted is heartbreaking.
for as little representation there is for jewish people, there is even LESS representation for neurodivergent people. the fact that mjf and will ospreay (as well as other aew wrestlers) are being open and vocal about their diagnoses is inspiring and amazing and to see people making jokes about it is disgusting.
lastly, can we all just like what we like about wrestling and not shit all over others who don't agree with you? so you don't like goofy wrestlers? great, have a roh pure rules match! think deathmatches are a little too much? think about watching a battle royale! you can even find different companies with different feels. there is something for everyone to enjoy and of course, that means that there is also something for everyone to hate. but keep an open mind when talking about these things.
tl;dr: just let people like what they like and don't be hateful about it. and whatever you do, don't target things that wrestlers share about their personal lives. thanks for looking at this and taking a few minutes to read my mini-article.
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toinfinitywinning · 8 months
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this is get to know you time. the cringy name game at every camp in the world you do with toilet paper. enough.
Conversations and thoughts resembling the same level of random and incongruence of my Apple Music library. like Josh Groban is to Eminem: Mercy Me. a lot about everything that’s not a hashtag bc it just needs more attention.
Let the first (post) be first:
Hi. I’ve never done this before (like a seriously grown up blog on purpose. Just when just followed sad somewhat desperate poetry with a random live-laugh-love meme in there somewhere.) and Pitch Perfect.
BUT.
For 2 years I’ve had Long-Haul COVID. It’s a different kind of lonely
Thanks so much, amirite? —Gen-Z apologies if I didn’t use that jumbled acronym-word correctly.
It’s hard to keep up.
See? What am I talking about now and how did I get there…
Due to a very common symptom of LHC…
Again—hard to keep up. It’s there. Tho
And I have a lot of quirk so it’s possible I think you’ll “get” but are just nice not to tell me
BUT.
It’s already gone. Train left the Station yesterday.
Slipped on a penny.
Not Good. not even funny.
Teens with the gorgeous graffiti have to Go elsewhere. I’ve always been jealous of that kind talent.
Whole lot better than something else shiny thrown on the track and it’s derailed. There’s at least some innocence in a paint can.
WOW.
I have major attention and Brain Fog hurdles to conquer or shortly bypass. You might not be able to tell b/c of how My writing jumps around so infrequently.
Not true but still easier.
Mostly innocent and playful.
Sadly the attention part is this many years young.
Writing comes naturally. As it always has, strangely...
And why is healing so exhausting? Writing is therapeutic but My body says—can you not?
i know im not the only one asking that!
As if I have time for that too.
find a community of people suffering just as similarly and gain strength, tips and tricks.
Just, speak-screen edit my writing for me. Maybe a clarification fact-✔.
Just not wherever Tr*mp gets his.
Could be Truth Social. Monthly fee tho will cost you your Red Hat.
MYGAbad
Speaking I struggle with processing w/e skills I must have held onto.
BUT.
Since 2 years is quite. some. time.—I’ve shared many struggles and victories.
Like a Bell curve. Or a punk Domino falling then lining them up takes longer just to go down again in half the time. Repeat.
It’s very likely I Will try to talk about many things at once.
I really can’t help that. LOL.
Jury’s still out but I get most of my writing and miscellaneous musings from mom.
Dad can write the best, longest, and precious prayers and notes.
Almost delicately but like you KNOW he’s giving you a hug.
A Good mix tape’s paper Version.
Enter Run on sentences. Truly a stream by now.
Although my brain muscle is weak I’ve been encouraged by several people to Start a blog. Someday I’ll include the past 2 years of w/e pics are on other SocMed.
I can’t think of anything worse.
Yea, okay LOL.
Judgment free. Occasionally… like normal doses then have to work through that.
Mostly that’s because I knew nothing about anything before I opened My computer and started sharing My thoughts under zero context ridden or form at all.
More likely as well to offend and piss someone off. Well done you’re now one less friend popular. There’s an App for that tho-tracking people Who don’t like you.
Not sure where I’ll land with this. It may not land you either.
Because like a lot of us. Sometimes you don’t get to talk actually. No Room.
I like routine; that’s out. So it gets dull.
I’ve learned I hadn’t yet given myself the space to see all of things I can do sitting down.
But. By “given” I mean to say that perhaps I didn’t know it was there.
One Good thing I’ve gathered from this Hell.
Hell fresh by the Day! Never frozen.
So at that time and in this case of my life; sitting is fine.
Some of it isn’t too bad. The writing. You will find questionable punctuation. Run on sentences that I was running.
Relevance at all.
All around Confusion…altho connect the dots could have been seen as practice.
Or annoying even. I’d have no words.
I truly don’t set out to be funny. I could never do stand-up or improv. Or act.
Humor forced just takes and receives too much energy that might come off insincere.
Nothing on command.
Like Matt Perry’s brilliant improv wit it just doesn’t hit the same.
B/c it was scripted.
A syllabus for it Imagine.
The horn to jump off the swim block.
It’s when Life feels more scripted a lot of people close up.
That’s because you’re not in charge anymore. I’ve lost the Power.
Don’t prefer caring about whether someone likes me like I used to.
I believe you can snooze me for 30 days or say ‘I’m done w/ her’ and send Me to the cyberarchives.
Okay. Okay.
So—90% of the time I’m witty and sarcastic with a bit of cynicism, discomfort (for you), and pettifogging.
I write primarily about the questions of intersectionality.
How do things fit.
Let’s Fit it.
Until I figured out physics and calculus and basic math were behind a career in architecture and the classes I would have to take, I enjoyed taking things apart to make something else.
Not always pretty.
Could be Good what I took apart was the best thing we can’t see.
Like I’m writing questions but with wisdom not meaning to do that either,
A lot of people don’t like that. You do you! Baby.
I don’t mean to be at all harsh or hurtful. I try not to say that anything vainly.
I say it b/c a lot of what I’m writing is all of every piece of stream of consciousness tallied.
And it was a synapse connecting another.
Maybe that’s the creative part? The other side of My Brain is telling Me to ✔ on the other side so I’m like…crickets.
What I write is stream of consciousness, brutally honest and to some might be lightly offensive. In College writing this Way would’ve absolutely driven Me crazy.
Then life steps in and bonks u on the head with a newspaper but 15 years later returns the favor with an iPhone.
Or too blunt. And comes across as harsh. And that’s mostly because if I don’t have an emoji to match my real-life broken ღ I’m breaking up with you.
Self reflection: impulsive
I used to journal so much growing up.
When did I lose that innocence?
We can’t talk about folding paper into cranes and witchcraft finger fortune games anymore?
No more MASH?
Huh, maybe you weren’t born this Way. Ur Parents just drew circles nearest each other or your apple stem twist broke too soon and you want a partner whose name starts with P.
Very often I overshare. If you’re reading this this is not brand new information. No ability to say things simply. Think I’ve already. That can put me really vulnerable to more bitcoin hacks.
And then you need to figure out what bitcoin is. And whether Mario can collect coins as well in place of the hackers.
I’d say ask Tom Brady b/c of his investments but since retirement he’s been pretty deflated.
Mean people that mean to hurt.
First of all I feel sorry for you. Not in a poor you tho.
People Who hurt on purpose don’t often have any Way to vent or get a rise other than evoke feelings in and deflect toward a schoolmate.
Skip back to the part I tried talking about vulnerability. It truly is the invisible cloak and no one can see you but nothing makes sense still and you’ve only fixed what’s on the outside. Now you’re peeved AND cloaked.
At this conjunction junction next I’d suggest try shopping at Target opposed to Abercrombie then.
Feet in the water right above bankruptcy to see how things could be different only what…if?
Good ♧ seriously.
So there’s more grace given when you fall. When it’s not your month Day or even year!
Nobody is there for you!!
And My cloak is getting rained on.
Maybe gathering strength from falling will come a common sense with a 6th one but with seriously meaningful things I’ve learned and less hard knock’s Life for us.
The hard Way.
The bottom’s still there and it actually stinks stinks. Discouraging b/c there are two sides to the bottom of the cave full of stalagTITES and mites.
All the up’s and down’s. Right there. And the COVID-19 bat OMG!
You know you may not be able to fall any further further but once you’re up again you’re wondering whether you should get some cement to close that thing off.
Choose to live! But welcome to the real world—it sucks—ur gonna Love it.
Almost 4got. In the cave you dont always have to wait for Jesus to be resurrected if that metaphor comforts you but if change comes and it requires a whole new worm can of Life we already can’t handle that gets us outta the dank I don’t think we need to ask permission to the rights of that Bible passage.
BUT.
Until YOU are ready for change...
Forget it. At least you meant well. Someone can guide that horse to water but it stays pretty hydrated, so he says he’s Good. Promise. The only talking animal and it was Me Who got to hear it. More importantly, who’s gonna ☊? Care? There’s a country song finding out Who your Friends are. A lot stay lost and it’s not helpful all our Friends aren’t the same.
Missing a Good chance to find out if you’re in a similar predicament and that not always a bad thing.
At times I have literally had to be lifted off the floor.
I don’t do this at all for pity. As you read, My Pride is the biggest obstacle to let Go.
When you do?
The hard way through this.
I am angry and irritable for bouts. Sometimes I’m silly and invite karma punishments.
Go all Brimstone and every type fire and the Old Testament has nothing New-thinking and no one new to add to it. SMH. Nail a list on the wooden church door reading it is nearing endgame. Or, Just open your hotel drawer and tear out the back half.
So change then— If it were Me and it has been just not an actual hole I’d be outta there due to the spiders and crickets alone. Jiminy’s Cool.
If u can’t change and just stay a novice bunny hill—fine! Stay there. Build some confidence through experience.
And isn’t that another thing? Something specific motivates the fire under your (cuckoo!) and before you’d see the dark without any End of the tunnel and more importantly with the light aspect. All the sudden you care b/c what? It applies to you of course be selfish. Fascinating yet humbling.
Then there’s the ‘Why Me’ (?) phase? Not fully pitiful but just pretentious enough to resume the trailblaze. Bad attitude with a healthy dose of are we there yet and trying to Balance whether someone is saying …’they get it; you always feel bad’ so…KY Basketball banter? Ashamed accompanies too bc thing is a few times I did kind of scoff at phrases like I always feel bad. Like, here’s 2 Extra strength Tylenol.Alright, Ok, come test for Covid 1/29/22. It shouldn’t take going through something to empathize with or change but you could’ve listened for longer with a clear mind. Just cannot wrap your head around it and I think sometimes that’s okay. What’s next I’ll try so hard.
+ It’s 12:01am of 1/29/24 (so last night), you still can’t do math and/or struggle to add or subtract 12 so aren’t entirely sure its your sophomore year orientation, and you already surrender to what you didn’t want to get up for in the first place. Kind of silly u set the alarm! B/c Pain, confusion, Discomfort and a Deep loneliness that has very little to do with people awaits. That whole scenario is a disaster but look who’s standing and GOT. UP. period. 15 years ago that’s where I’d be. Just defeated.
THAT. Is enough some days. I say that to you struggling to believe the same but know Deep down.
Year 2 longhaul and youre wondering why there are anniversaries at all given about half are always sad or tragic. Evoking the worst on what could be the best. Might be something To think 2 minutes ago you’d ended your prayer to have a better Day. Of anything is true about everything happens for a reason I’d say having to chooose how to respond given you have the privilege at all to that just means were normal. B/c ill be honest I would not
I’m angry. WHAT is so complicated about your lack of Faith or belief prayer must go into an encrypted iCloud even the FBI can’t retrieve or interpret. Never had a chance! But I’ll add that it’s worth noting prayer doesn’t deal with its existence in transaction currencies..
Feel less Pain but feel more with it or stronger now. Or, just plain ‘ol numb. Similar to Addiction I suppose people get so used to being healthy one Way or another they don’t even notice better OR worse and no one is getting married.
Truth is.
Yea.
I’m in Hell, but I’m not on a ventilator. I’m not without relentless Support.
I still can smile but laugh just a bit before it hurts.
Something is always worse.
SomeONE is doing worse.
Somewhere and definitely rn.
I never knew I’d be dealing greed of perspective for this Long.
Something you’ll never find out about that changed your life’s trajectory where an explanation would have only confused things.
Then we still have the chance to be astonished and then genuine bc of that. Thankful. Expectant. With Faith somehow. Maybe carrying someone else’s Hope for a while might burden you less for a short time.
You dont need to see eye struggle and suffering. You dont need examples. You just know. There’s a fleeting peace u might not see again for 2 days but in knowing it’s not just you with the same bs going on.
Like here. Here is someone who needs support but in a different Way but how unique it could be to trade just for a bit. It’s not leg day this time remember u agreed a temp trade.
We don’t have to know everything. Most of the time I don’t give God the time to keep up w/ Me let alone do anything miraculous before I just hang up.
Although My Life was headed in a completely renewed direction in so many ways of recovery—
I got sick. Not because it was meant to be.
Because COVID. Possibly a rabid bat. Cracked vile or petri-dish
Everything does not happen for a reason and ppl dont like hearing that bc its an easy out. Says time might go on but this thorn wont ever heal. How do we respond? that’s the most authentic and a strength yes or no wand.
I hate cliché. Thing is tho…I think we all hate it b/c it doesn’t hold us accountable. Eh it’s fine.
Unfortunately we wouldn’t have the pretty, surprise, one of the Walk to Remember walks. All up to the of healing and forgiveness individual to each of us.
If for Me that means ive healed all I can and I’m counting on research to help Me out some more maybe I just keep going. Trust Me nothing is forgotten but you do know now that at least you were strong and capable enough to figure all that at all. And—I can do that. Some days aren’t that kind.
Maybe it becomes a goal we never anticipated but ✔ your resilience at the ticket line and saddle up, honey.this donkey only holds ____ lbs. let some things Go. That thing will still only walk in a circle but you’ve evenly distributed your baggage.
The feeling of pure joy. Which btw does still require a thesaurus b/c it is NOT the same as joy. Like a preventative Med to an acute one.
Then feel Accomplishment.
Not knowing what’s next but trying to be prepared.
It’s a surprise party we never RSVP’d and don’t regret it.
And it’s a Good thing u got outbid for that yacht.
Hell, tho, you won’t be forgotten but pushing helps the donkey move faster for now that is acceptable.
Unshun. Reshun. (This will make sense if you Watch the Office)
Flee fly. Be gone. Thankfully we hope to come out more resilient after the rip and tear and often not fully repaired sewing lessons.
But perhaps the biggest trait I’ve had to work on is My Pride. I want to do it.
I’ll give myself 3 strikes. 4 balls.
Then I walk to First.
Please do not get Me a gift.
I Love you and that was so sweet.
Would I be as generous?
Do u work, yea. It’s just one really hurts more and being tough isn’t tough at all if it’s not helping the worst hurt.
Those are sitting down, timeout thoughts.
The compression socks need to breathe.
But once the Pride slides over, let go, I get to know how it feels to very tangibly be taken care of and watched over.
Patience. The other side of a rant.
Later on that.
My main goal is to learn. Connect. Be called out if something comes off really tasteless.
Laugh at things that don’t have anything to do with being chronically sick. Laugh about what Medicine u had to administer and royally failed.
Sometimes all coupled with a handicap car-tag. No crutches either b/c I don’t like hearing I Will get better. It is a nice statement but it is impossible to be sure. Ive struggled with that b/c I know everyone believes that and means well I’ve just taken prior sick Gentry’s generalization and multiplied.
I am not making light. I think part of me is using the sarcasm as a coping mechanism.
Praise God there is something that does help the pain or at least distract from that Pain just not the one in your legs.
A codependency just a bit less severe. Embarrassing. Reason for judgment. Too easy.
If you can believe it—-I am not the same person I was 2 years ago.
For now I truly don’t know how. Pain can leave, anything traumatic can be worked on. You’ve got your scars.
I actually really think a scar is just unique as a snowflake or fingerprint. Telling so many stories. B/c a scar does mean something has healed. And it never forgets at one time it was painful. I’d prefer to see what I accomplish but I see wonder and beauty in them.
Things get pretty deep, complicated and downright pitifully sad. Vulnerable. Frighteningly true and relevant.
So I take what Good I can get in that day and pray those with LHC (Long-Haul COVID-19)
Be released.
However. On the flip tail’s side.
I’m 35 years aware there are some people who just don’t like me.
Until recently I wouldn’t have meant ‘sorry not sorry.’
I do now. To a respectable extent.
Reader discretion is advised. I promise I never set out to hurt anyone.
definitely not on purpose.
Because. Idgaf. Not bars being held. Que sera, sera.
complete transparency and seriously tho this doesn't mean i dont care. i wear my heart on my sleeve like a ding-dong ready to get hurt.
call it a diversion. we were on a break.
i just might take all of whatever hits wrong and turn that in to whatever ounce of assurance I can with the openness and to the best capability to learn new things and grow with compassion.
And back to writing—may already be just engrained but I don’t ever have a thesis, 3 supporting ideas or a better word then a conclusion.
You might find yourself confused. Reading it again prob won’t help.
Some will be really bad. Ugly. Waste of time. it was at least therapeutic for me.
Already is.
Even more might not make sense.
Read at your own risk, basically.
I have confidence but not really. Just enough not to care to change.
But I think about it. Because I’m wrong a lot.
challenge me. ill try to get through the fog.
But a lot of things have changed. in ways i might not even know Beauty in the Mess.
To sum up the above (sorry, there won’t be another summary after this disclaimer’s commercial intermission.)
I want to be as positive as possible.
Be in control of what I can. Ask for help for what I cannot.
I’m so ready to get My Life back. Trust Me and trust anyone Who tells your theyre in constant pain.
Really embarrassing I used to kind of scoff and be empathetic.
Funny how youre so sure of things.
Until it happens to you.
Suddenly it’s back to the drawing board and humility.
I wear my ღ on my sleeve. My greatest superpower and kryptonite.
What you read is as close to what you get as possible.
Balance can be unfair.
Please know that I care. I try harder than I ever had before. There are things I didn’t even Imagine could happen to someone when sick.
In all the ways I want to come out of this even better than what I envy I was entering into when I got sick.
There will be a WIDE range of thoughts similar to how i write. Mostly Sports and public figures and the politics I can comprehend.
B/c I know there’s someone out there who’s homeless because of this diagnosis. Or was deadly. Fired.
Divorced.
Ive become a bit of a nerd. Childish in some ways b/c you have to be creative…to be creative.
How do I even Start philosophizing that? So I don’t.
So I try My best to be the best I can. Inspire. Elicit laughter and new ways of thinking.
Questions.
Really tho? I just wanna be me.
thank you so sincerly to anything fromn a meme to a gift to a hug a prayer a smile, company, vibes if they can travel
but most of all
for holding hope when ive not been strong enough to.
For better or worse
for loving me.
making me feel heard.
idk what tomorrow holds but if its the same as today ill know at least i can make it and i am still beyond blessed and cared for and loved unconditionally.
even if forever.
wanna feel free, free.
to be me unabandoned.
changed for the better without knowing it.
some people dont have that option.
or even less the resource or safety to write about it.
Lastly mostly—I’m thankful for Insurance and the ability and privilege to work from home. And. Still have a job in general.
A Family and Family reserves holding me.
gentry.gonna.gents/g3
next. and if you made it this far, bless you.
thank you.
you mean more than you know to me. to anyone miscellaneous thanks as well and to my family and extended family and friends and job and insurance.
im in better shape than a lot. perspective sucks in the throes. selfish not selfish but my gosh turn the lights off. each journey is sooo different, but idk find the goodness and inspiration inbtw. There will be a rainbow soon enough, I wont make the bold claim and promise you one tho,
semi lastly and vulnerably, we've all been hurt. all going through something.
I say this every time something really bad happens. Ya know the ‘this is even worse,’ talk.
This one holds every candle.
Funny not funny none are the same and you’re never fully prepared.
and no one knows what it is you’re dealing.
give grace when I can’t sometimes.
cliché’s be damned lets just golden rule it b/c that one’s hard to do too but it sounds cute and Idont see a periodic table saying A! U! Be nice and welcoming.
I know I’ve forgotten something.
So I’ll fight.
But I still get to complain.
Feeling so entitled to this ill.
Sincerely,
Gentry
no ps you're welcome
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Okay, Let's Talk About It: Adoption TV PSAs? Commercials? Ads?
Has anyone noticed the increasing number of adoption and foster care commercials on TV (adoption commercials in particular)? As someone who is old enough to remember them as a rarity at, like, 2 am on a news channel if you kept the TV on for background noise, it's harder to ignore when the appearance of one occurs at the start of every local news commercial break.
I'll be honest, as a child seeing them, I always kind of found them unsettling. I wasn't sure why, but I'd watch them and laugh at how much of a caricature it was of my life. What white people think adoption is, The kids, ugh, the kids on these commercials too that feel obligated to lie to please the people who were so gracious enough to open their home to you like the Little Orphan Annie. *insert eye-roll here*
I saw one last night, not too long after the Nuggets game, and when I was uploading an article to Medium, I added "#adoption," and there were 137 people who followed that tag. I also added "#adoptee." wanna know how many people follow that tag? Seven. That tells me 130 people are looking to adopt a child or are already adoptive parents. Seven adoptees, the people who are the ones being given to another family, are being vastly underrepresented. According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of State, there were approximately 4,059 international adoptions by U.S. citizens in 2019. It's not clear how many adoptees are currently living in the United States overall. Still, according to Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, an estimated 1.5 million adopted children live in the United States; how is it that on a platform that boasts 60 million monthly active readers, only 7 follow the hashtag "adoption?"
It clicked for me why I found the commercials so unsettling. The overly optimistic commercials fail to convey the difficulty of adopting a child, especially one that is in the foster care system and is older or is of a different race than the adoptive parents. What's funny is even as I write this, AI has suggested my following sentence be:Adoption agencies often provide resources to help families overcome these barriers," when in fact, they kind of don't. They only ever end up benefiting the parents. Adoption records are beginning to open up to those who even have such records. However, "non-identifying" information is still the "go-to" for most states, including the state I was born in (Missouri) and the state I live in (Ohio).
The problem is that these agencies can offer all the help they want; it won't matter. It won't matter until we change the stigma around adoption. Adoptees need a safe place to speak about the pain of their adoption loss and grief without feeling guilty or shameful for feeling the way they do. We won't open up about our experiences because we don't want to make our adoptive parents feel bad when we ask questions. We don't want them to feel like they're being replaced. Frequently, even wanting to know where we come from makes us feel guilty because we shouldn't want to know. After all, they aren't the ones who raised us. The entire existence of an adoptee is a contradiction. Contradictions between feelings, belonging, and identity are everyday struggles.
These commercials are unsettling because they do not accurately portray the pain that all parties feel during the adoption process. Ann Fessler addresses this directly in her book, "The Girls Who Went Away," when she says, quote: "Adoption is, by its very nature, a painful process, one that brings into sharp relief the loss felt by all parties involved: the adoptive parents who long for a child; the birth mother who may never forget the child she gave away; and the adoptee who, even in the most secure and loving home, feels the sting of being separated from their biological roots." Fessler makes a compelling point here, prompting us to think about the adoptive parent's loss in all of this, seeing as they will never look into their child's face and see themselves reflected in them. Some adoptive mothers will never know what it feels like to carry a baby in their stomachs, to feel the baby kick and move and squirm, or experience food cravings or hormones, they'll never know the pain of birth, nor will they have any advice to offer when their adopted children consider becoming parents and having children of their own.
This kind of loss is devastating for all parties. The overly optimistic and cheerful tone represented in pro-adoption commercials frustrates me because it just doesn't accurately reflect the reality of being an adoptee. If it did, outsiders wouldn't feel comfortable saying "be grateful" when a disagreement occurs between parent and child. People wouldn't say to you as an adoptee, "Oh, I'm so sorry," when you tell them you're adopted, and "Oh, how wonderful of you" when your adoptive mom tells them.
Look, I'm not claiming that this is some easy thing to navigate, but an honest conversation needs to be had here because judging by the quantity of these commercials, the fact that they're government funded, and aired on prime-time television, I'd wager all of the GOP's abortion bans are backfiring, because if this doesn't scream "propaganda," I'm not sure what does.
I don't know what the path forward is. Banning abortion isn't the solution. If anything, that would exacerbate the issue, and using adoption as an alternative to abortion isn't the move; I don't know that I believe adoption is a viable solution anymore because I'm not sure there is a way to mitigate the potential damage that can be caused. Whatever route is taken, we need to put the needs of children first. We can all agree a lot of time and energy goes into helping both parents (adoptive and biological) cope with their grief and loss. At the same time, the child's mental health and development essentially go ignored. This needs to change before we start telling prospective parents how great it is to be an adoptive parent and what it means to be a parent to a child suffering from adoption loss and grief. Adoptive parenting is a meaningful journey filled with unique challenges and rewards. It requires patience, empathy, and understanding to nurture a healthy attachment. Making sure that adoptees feel loved and supported can lead to a positive and fulfilling life for all parties involved.
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kingdaddydaichi · 3 years
Text
NSFW Alphabet || Katsuki Bakugou
I had so much fun with this! Vodka may or may not have been involved in the making of this little ditty. 🍸 I hope you shameless hussies enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. 😩
*Exhibit A:
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(Source)
A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)
I feel like he gets clingy asf, but plays it off like it's something he's doing for your sake. He'll probably never admit that he feels so vulnerable after sex, but he does. If it was a rough session - which it usually is with him - he'll ask if you're okay, if you're hurt anywhere, kiss any marks he left on you - he's such a protective hero boi.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
His: he's not gonna lie, he's fully aware of how well-endowed he is. He really is proud of his cock, the way it makes you sing when he works it - and he knows how to work it okay? Favorite non-sexual body part - his arms. He works hard to keep them cut (as in lifting, not cutting). 😬
Yours: listen, Katsuki is an ass man through and through. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, I'm 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 listening 👏🏼. He loves to watch the subtle ripples he sends through your ass cheeks when he's driving into you from behind. Also, our big scary boomboom man appreciates a nice, thicc pair of thighs. Bonus points if they're muscular/toned - he loves the way it feels when your thighs have such a strong grip around him.
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
Let's just say our boy's orgasms are explosive. He cums hard and loud, shooting long ropes of his hot seed. Consistency is about average, not too thick, not to thin, but there's a lot of it. He doesn't taste too bad - salty, but not too bitter. You're more likely to gag from the sheer volume and force of his cum hitting the back of your throat than the flavor.
His precum gets honorable mention here. It's fucking delicious. That is all.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
It took him no less than 2 years into your relationship to tell you this, and if you ever tell anyone he might actually kill you, or at the very least make your ass bleed. He hasn't gotten to the point that he's ready to try it yet, but he's not entirely opposed to the idea of you pegging him. Someday. It kinda does make his balls tingle a little just thinking about it tbh. He hasn't yet, but he thinks he might be ready to try working up to it and is really close to asking you to stick a finger in his ass and stroke his prostate. He's heard how good it feels and he's super curious to find out for himself.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
Not very experienced, actually. He's only had 1 or 2 lovers before you, BUT he's determined to be #1 at everything. Couple that with how perceptive he is and you've got yourself a winner of a loverboy. He's going to make damn sure that, even if things don't work out between you two, he will always ALWAYS be the best you've ever had. No other man will outdo him, E-V-E-R.
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Doggystyle all the way, baby. As stated before, he loves watching your booty jiggle every time he slams his hips against it. He gets off on spreading your ass cheeks to watch his slick-coated cock slide in and out of you. God he just loves hitting it from behind, makes his dick so fucking hard.
Bonus 2nd Favorite Position (couldn't help myself): you on your back with your ankles on his shoulders, your ass lifted off the bed, him on his knees and hugging those thick thighs of yours, keeping them closed as he reams into you. (Slight variation of this one: he leans over you, nearly folding you in half, putting you back on your shoulders with his hands pressing into the mattress beside you, angling you such that his prominent corona rubs over your g-spot as he drills down into you. 10/10 you're gonna scream his name when (not if) your liquid gushes all over him.)
Tell me the truth, am I a disgusting human being? Here are all the fucks I give:
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
Bakugou is serious asf about his sex game. This is not the time to joke around or poke fun at him, understand me? If you do he will get pissed and either fuck the silly out of you, or if he's feeling particularly ruthless he'll just stop altogether and let you ache for him as punishment until you beg him for release.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
He takes care of his body, paying a lot of attention to his hygiene, which includes manscaping to keep his pubic hair trimmed and kempt. The carpet's just a shade darker than the drapes, like a honey blond. If he lets it grow out, it sticks straight out just like his head hair. It's actually kind of funny and he hates it.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
*sigh* Let's be honest. Katsuki is not the super romantic type, at least not outwardly. However, if he realizes something he's doing is hurting you - physically or emotionally - he's going to stop dead in his tracks and hold you close, push his fingers through your hair, and tell you how much he loves you and how safe you are. He can be rough and he can be an asshole, but if he thinks he's genuinely hurt you at all, he's all over you, doing everything he can to make you understand that he will never let anyone hurt you, especially not himself. Got that?
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
He doesn't jack off very often. You two share a very active sex life so he doesn't see the need to. If you have to be apart for more than a day or two, he'll rub one out. Or if the need hits him particularly hard and you're not available or in the mood, he's not above closing his eyes and reaching into his pants to wrap his thick fingers around his cock and start tugging.
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Lord Baby Jesus, where do I even begin? Kinky, kinky Katsuki. This man should come with warning signs and disclaimers.
First of all, he dom asf okay? Even if he lets you play with his ass someday, he's gonna be bratty about it. He's going to top from the bottom, hashtag facts. And trust that he WILL own you afterwards to securely reestablish his dominance.
Giving and Receiving: Hair pulling. DIRTY TALK - you think he's got a potty mouth in the streets? His mouth is downright filthy between the sheets. Loves it when you dirty talk right back to him. "You love taking my fat cock, don't you princess?" "Mm yessss, fuck me, Katsuki! Your cock feels so fucking good babyyy!" He eats that shit up.
Giving Only: Degradation. Praise. Spanking. Cockwarming. Dom/sub/power play. Shibari/ropework (he tried it bc you wanted to and he fucking loved it). Creampies. Begging. Discipline. Ravishment.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
Literally anywhere inside your home/homes - bed, bathroom/kitchen countertops, kitchen/dining table, office desk/chair, any piece furniture is fair game really, up against a wall, washer/dryer, the fucking floor, ugh just all the places to fuck. Not one square foot is sacred tbh.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
Wear something that showcases the curve of your butt. Doesn't have to be revealing per se, matter of fact he'll get possessive as fuck if you're showing too much skin in public. At home/privately though? He can't help himself. Dat ass tho...he is going to smack it hard enough that it stings and that's final, understand?
Tease him. You can't be obvious about it though. If he senses that you're doing it on purpose, it'll just backfire. But if you just so happen to brush against his crotch when you squeeze past him, it'll drive him crazy. Go commando in short shorts/skirt and cross your legs just so, his dick will twitch. Even better if you do shit like this in public where you know he won't act on it. But when you get home you best believe he's going to dick you down so hard, won't even bother to take said shorts or skirt off.
His ears and neck are his most sensitive erogenous zones. Whisper in his ear or kiss his neck and he's going to grit his teeth in an effort to fight back the shudder that threatens to rattle his bones.
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Let's get one thing straight. Katsuki Bakugou does not share. This is non-negotiable. He will not agree to anything involving additional people - cuckolding, threesomes, orgies, exhibitionism, voyeurism (unless it's him watching you pleasure yourself - that he will gladly do, and probably start palming himself in the process).
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
Loves giving and receiving. Giving puts him in full control of your pleasure, receiving makes him feel like you're worshipping his cock, which you probably are. Have you seen this man's cock? Of course you have. Gatdamn.
Y'all, Katsuki's so good at eating pussy. Like how does one get that good at eating pussy? I don't even know, but god the way he flicks his hot tongue over your precious, tiny bud before wearing it down like a fucking feed bag? It's unnatural. Like it could be his backup quirk if blowing shit up doesn't work out. You've seen the way he licks his lips when he gets excited, everyone has.* He doesn't even bother swallowing while he's feeding on you so you just be dripping in slick and saliva and he's just slurping away. It's lewd.
*See Exhibit A above.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
You already know this, but I'll say it anyway. His go-to fucking style is fast and rough, dominant and relentless, hard and dirty. But every once in a while he'll want to take you slow and deep and passionate. He'll hold you so tight in his arms and chest, you'll have to tap his shoulder sometimes to let you breathe. And he'll just roll his hips so fucking thoroughly both of you will feel every last inch, his pubic bone rubbing your clit so hard. You've told him so many times how much you love it when he makes love to you like this, but he maybe makes it a rare treat on purpose. 😈 Little shit.
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
Quickies are difficult for our boy. It's not that he's against them, it's just that he savors every drop of sensuality, he has a tendency to draw the pleasure out as long as possible. He can’t help it.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
The idea of having public sex turns him on, but he's only done it with you a couple of times when he was 10000% sure you wouldn't be caught. He can't risk doing anything that would tarnish his reputation and goal of becoming the #1 Hero. He might be freaky as hell, but he needs a sex scandal like an Alaskan needs a refrigerator.
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
He loves you long time. He's a Taurus for fuck's sake (well, Aries/Taurus cuspie, but that just sweetens the deal). Great stamina. Grinds you down like a whetstone. Can last as long as he needs to to ensure you cum for him as many times as it takes for you to beg him to stop. If he feels himself getting too close while you're blowing him, he'll stop you and go down on you instead. If he's inside of you, he'll pull out and start kissing all over your body, sucking, nipping, licking until his urge to cum passes, then he pushes it right back in and keeps going.
If on the off-chance he does cum before you, he'll be ready to go again in about 20-30 mins. Just give him some motivation, he deserves it.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
He didn't own any toys when you first got together, but you did. He hated the idea of you using them though, especially when he's right there with you. You've since assured him that you don't want to use them to replace him, but to enhance the pleasure. So now you do use them from time to time.
The first time you managed to coax him into using a toy together, it was a small wireless bullet with a remote. When you brought it out and showed it to him, there was a wild glint in his eye. He carefully inserted the vibrator into you, his cock slowly following suit. He loved the fact that he had complete control over this thing, but later complained because the sensation of it against the head of his cock made him cum too fast. He still wants to use it sometimes though. 😏
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
Oh he can be so unfair. He loves teasing you until you're begging him to put his cock inside you. He's not so much into orgasm denial per se; he just loves to hear you beg him for shit - to let you cum, to suck his dick, to stop fucking you when you're overstimmed, etc.
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
Lol he's fucking LOUD! And he's going to make you cum so hard that you're screaming his fucking name. There was a time when one or both of you lived in an apartment and the neighbors would bang on the wall behind your headboard.
Shit, what sounds does he NOT make? He growls, moans, grunts, groans, yells, swears, fucks you so hard you can hear the wet sound of slapping skin, hell even the bed protests. Another reason he doesn't fuck in public - he can't stay quiet enough to be discreet about it.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
Okay, as much of a wild sex beast as he is behind closed doors, he gets embarrassed so easily when your sex life is so much as hinted at around others. It's legit funny how flustered he gets about it.
If he goes into work real tired and Kirishima says, "Hey Bakubro, you look like shit this morning. You and (y/n) stay up too late?" while doing the finger in the hole gesture, Katsuki will just "Shut the fuck up, Shitty Hair, or I'll blast your ass right through that fucking wall!"
Or if you two go out together with friends and the girls are talking about sex-related stuff, Katsuki will just roll his eyes and try to ignore it. But if one of them is all "So, (y/n), does Bakugou ever like accidentally let off explosions while you're doing it?" and you wink and say, "Only when he's especially *cough* frustrated *cough*". Katsuki will go red from his neck up to his hairline and start stuttering, sparks flying from his palms. "H-hey, d-don't tell them sh-shit like that! I-it's none of their god-goddamn b-business, (y/n), what th-the f-fuck?!" Meanwhile, you and the girls are in stitches while he stomps away, just mortified, bless his heart. When you catch your breath from laughing you'll follow it up with, "Looks like tonight's gonna be one of those nights", and you all lose it again.
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
As has been mentioned, Bakugou's well-endowed. I figure he's packing about 7.5-8" in length x just under 2" wide. He takes some getting used to, that's for damn sure. Oh, and he's more of a shower than a grower. Like around 6" long x 1.5" wide when flaccid. Katsuki + sweatpants/basketball shorts = swinging dick print, alright sis? Take notes, this motherfucker visibly jumps when he does, class dismissed.
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Eh, he's surprisingly not ridiculously horny. Maybe a little above average sex drive? A lot of times hero work just takes it out of him and he comes home utterly exhausted and just needs a soft place to land, and you provide him with all the love and nurturing in your heart. ❤
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
Depends, really, on the time of day and what type of day it's been. If it's late (like past 9pm lol) and he fought more villains than usual that day, he's probs gonna pass out pretty soon after. If it's earlier in the day - especially first thing in the morning - it gets him pumped and almost comically genki.
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imjeralee · 4 years
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Admirations! Could I get some Raihan and Leon headcanons of an S/O who likes to make love letters and send those letters to them by a Latios? I wanted to imagine their significant other writing them a love letter and asking their latios a favor to send these to them. Would they write back? Would they keep them? How would they respond? There’s a lot of many questions I have about it. Take your time on the request! 💖
Salutations! thanks for the ask, pls see below:
Leon:
Leon and his S/O would be sending frequent correspondence to each other if they were long distance because Latios can fly quicker than a jet. For eg. S/O would be working somewhere in Hoenn for the summer or something.
Due to Leon’s schedule, there is one window of opportunity where he can meet Latios to retrieve your letter and send one back. Charizard will wait with him too because he’s best friends with your Latios
Leon gets so excited whenever he sees the outline of Latios zooming towards him over the horizon of the lush flowers fields of Postwick/Turffield
Latios would stop in front of him with a little messenger bag and once he arrives, stirring up all the flowers in his wake and sending little petals into the air, would greet Leon cheerfully by doing a little circle in the air and making a little happy noise before he scoops out a letter for our Champion
Leon thanks Latios, grins and opens it whilst Charizard does a claw-bump and friendly headbutt with Latios. Without them seeing, Leon would take a quick sniff of the letter and clutch it to his chest with a big grin on his face
His work can be exhausting and nothing makes him smile than seeing Latios with your heartfelt letter to read after a long day of work!
Your letter would be full of your fancy handwriting complete with stickers of Latios including a nice photo of yourself
Leon keeps all your letters in a nice box somewhere. He writes back to every single letter you send him. He writes all his letters on Charizard print paper, envelopes and even includes stickers of Charizard.
His letter would look something like this: “Dear S/O, I hope you are keeping well. This week, Charizard and I had our most exhilarating match at the stadium but at the very last moment, I thought about you and your beautiful smile and I experienced a powerful surge of strength within me that I had never felt before that enabled me to emerge victorious. I could not have done it without you even though you are not by my side right now, but my love for you keeps you near whenever we are apart. You are the greatest thing to have happened to me, the greatest treasure that life could have given me. I love you from the bottom of my heart and soul and I will cherish you for the rest of my life. I pray to Arceus for your safety every day and cannot wait for the day that we meet again. Love, Leon”
Raihan:
Everyone’s using Rotom message these days so he doesn’t quite understand the appeal of sending love letters via pokemon but he likes the sentiment it carries and also it’s mail by Latios, man
Raihan loves dragon types, especially legendary dragons and knowing that his S/O has one is like the biggest flex
Surprisingly, he can be more eloquent with letters than messages on phone, maybe because he realizes written correspondence actually demands more time and handiwork and needs him to sit down somewhere
Raihan’s handwriting will be a bit choppy and rugged. He will just write a love letter on normal A4 lined paper but will pen in some doodles of Duraludon and his other pokemon for you.
He will also include some photos from his social media or random photoshoots (signed) for laughs
He accidentally wrote a hashtag at the bottom of the letter before scoring it out
He’ll get so happy whenever Latios arrives to meet at the top of the castle walls of Hammerlocke; he will take a selfie with your pokemon and send it to you to confirm he got your letter
Raihan would sometimes forget to write back though and just send you a text message instead. That being said, he may or may not have lost a letter or so in the process.
His letters can be short though and more day-to-day; it may look something along like this: “Hey princess/baby, how are you? You okay? The gym’s getting busy and the gym challengers are getting stronger so I’ve been training a lot recently but at the end of the day I always think about you and what you might be up to. I miss those times when we hung out together, like when we went to Hammerlocke Café and the cinema hehe. Duraludon is getting hungry, I gotta go now. Take care babe. Love you lots, xxxx.”
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barren-heart · 4 years
Text
If you’re Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, or Jared Padalecki.
STOP.
Read this post.
Dear J2M,
This is an open letter for you three written by a couple of unhappy passionate fans.
We write this to you because we know at least one of you has a secret Stan account and creeps on the destiel hashtag from time to time. Don’t lie. (Ahem. Misha Collins. Looking at you, Sir.)
With the subtle hints and possibility of a revival, us here at BarrenHeart (Bee and Jay) have some thoughts on what we think a reboot/continuation/revival would look like if it was done well.
Note: we don’t speak for the whole fandom(obviously). And we don’t even speak for all of the Cas/destiel fans. This is from our observation of the fandom after 15x18 and the finale, plus our own opinions.
Here are our demands suggestions for the potential revival.
--Castiel--
First things first. Castiel is brought back.
And by that, we mean he is either shown to be rescued from the empty, Jack rescues him from the empty, or by some other means, that man is not left there to suffer for all of eternity.
Castiel is a lead character.
Not a guest star, not “and Misha Collins.” No. Misha Collins gets to be in every d*mn episode. He is an equal lead alongside Dean and Sam. Which leads into the next point.
Castiel gets his own storyline.
It can be connected to Dean in some way, but he needs his own arc, y’all. Don't care what that is, but he IS his own character. So, some form of personal growth or whatever needs to happen. He is a badass and deserves a good storyline. Also…
Give this M-- F-- (mother father) his wings back!
Yes, he died without ever having his wings return to their full power. Like? We know he was nerfed so he wouldn't overpower Sam and Dean. Prove to us that he can be a fully powered badass and still work alongside Sam and Dean. No need to get rid of that.
Human!Cas does not mean pathetic Cas.
There is a divide on whether Castiel should stay an angel. Personally, we like human Cas. However, human Cas was shafted in the series. If you make him human in any way, shape, or form, he’s gonna still have to be a badass. Don’t whimp him!
He can be a good hunter/pretend FBI agent just like Sam and Dean!
So, make him one! Let him do more cases. On his own. With other people. With Sam. With Dean. He can fight without powers, too.
Give him love!
For the love of freaking Jack, let that man know he is loved by people. Not even mentioning anything romantic, he still needs platonic love y’all. Let Sam say it, let Jack say it. Let anyone in his family tell him that he is loved. Not once in this series did Cas hear that anyone loved him. So, fix it!
New style, anyone?
Cas needs other clothes! Please now. The black trenchcoat we never saw in-show? Boss. Cas in a black leather jacket? Coolness. Hunter plaid? Do it.
Confession Resolution
Speaking of love, come to some conclusion please about him and Dean. Give a resolution somehow, somewhere. We personally don’t really care how it’s done, but there needs to be something said here. You cannot just drop a confession there and just leave like it never happened. So, talk about it.
Adding this, I swear, if this is bros only, you WILL lose Cas fans. So, think about what you’re doing.
--Sam--
Sam is important!
Now, personally we have a soft spot for Sam. His character arc in Season 1-5 was great. Demon blood, powerful Sam was amazing. So, don’t sideline Sam. Seriously. We are gonna say in an unpopular way (as if this post isn’t already unpopular to some), but Sam got sidelined real hard in the last few seasons of the show. Now, was that what Jared wanted? Don’t know. But, Sam needs his own storyline too that isn’t just revolved around Dean. Figure it out.
Witch!Sam
Speaking of which, let this man be powerful. Sam is best when he has powers. Sorry but also not. He has been given all of Rowena’s (who is arguably the best witch around) spell books and decides to not really do much with it? No. He’s becoming a BAMF witch. Full-out, no word spells and shit. End point.
Sam in Charge
He’s not just a baby brother. He’s a grown man. Give him room to grow. Allow him to be a leader. Let him lead a group of hunters, witches, a whole team of people! He’s strong on his own, too. He's a big boy. Prove it.
He should fall in love.
Like, get married and all that. It’s a part of his arc, so keep it there. No blurry wife, my god! Personally it should be Eileen. She’s a badass. They also have a lot in common! Holy hell. They make a good team. So, keep that suggestion in mind.
Let him have the hero’s journey.
We want a good ending that shows growth for this character! He saw himself as a freak with powers, so…maybe he can use his powers now in a way that in empowering instead? Let him have an ending that doesn't just return to the beginning. Let him have gone through all of this changed for the better.
Don't be creepy.
Still keep the brotherly bond with Dean, but don’t make it weird, y’all. Don’t. Please.
Sam as a dad.
He can have a kid. But, Dean Jr? Eh. You might want to reconsider some other (Bobby) possibilities.
--Dean--
Now, with Dean, I wanna make this clear.
DO NOT K word THIS MAN.
This man here has dealt with unbelievable trauma, suicidal thoughts and even almost died by suicide in the show (okay, it was for another reason, but still!) He dies way too many times in this show. It’s not new anymore. Perhaps, when the show was newer, death might have been a bittersweet ending. But, now. It’s tarnished. It happened too much and the message of “carry on” got tainted to mean “there is only peace when you die.” That’s not okay.
Resolve his issues!
He has so much pain and trauma. Let him seek help. Let your audience know that it’s okay to process these emotions. Let him heal. He deserves it.
Dean’s internal struggles
This is piggybacking a little off of point two, but Dean has a lot of things he needs to figure out. We feel like his journey is more internal. While processing his trauma, he needs to learn that it's okay to be himself. This could include things about himself that he feels ashamed of or scared to admit. Things he may have repressed or suppressed over time. No more hiding who he is or brushing it off or making jokes. Be your true self, Dean. It's time.
Dean’s still important, of course
That said, Dean should still be integral to the overall narrative of the plot. Of course he's gonna go head to head with the Big Bad of the season/limited series, but he really should focus on what's inside first before he can take this monster down.
The Bro bond
No more dependent/unhealthy bond with Sam. Of course they are family and brothers, and will always be close. That's perfectly fine. However, its important to note that Dean was Sam’s mom/Dad most of his whole life. And, well, that never came to a resolution. Please let Dean resolve this issue. Sam is grown and older now, and even though Dean will always feel protective of him as his Big brother, Dean shouldn't feel like his life only revolves around taking care of Sam. There is more to Dean and his life.
Dean is complex
Also, Dean is not only about cars, burgers, and pie. It's like some of the writers forgot this. There are so many things/interests of Dean’s that are really cool and add to the complexity of his character. Keep those things.
He needs to resolve his issue with Jack.
He never said sorry to the kid. Not once after telling Sam that Jack wasn't family. He needs to tell Jack he is loved.
Speaking of which, Dean needs to tell Cas he loves him.
Okay. Who knows if you will make destiel reciprocal at this point.
Do we think Dean would have reciprocated based on context clues and what we have seen in the show? Yes.
Do we think this love is romantic? Yes.
Do we think you'll actually fully make it canon in a reboot/continuation? Eh.
Regardless, Dean loves Cas, so make it known.
Other demands considerations.
‘The found family’ needs to not be forgotten.
All the friends that were made along the way need to be included. What happened with Garth was great, actually. Do more of that. And by that, we mean include Jody and Donna. What are the girls doing now? Wayward sisters anyone? Bring Kevin back. Don't leave him to roam the earth all along like that. Either make him human again like Eileen or send him to rest in Heaven.
Where’s Eileen?
Hello??? Where? Tell us she made it back.
Claire
No idea if you can get Kathryn Newton back, but it would be cool at least for one episode. Please. Kaia? Resolve her storyline.
Also, Charlie.
Wtf happened? That was not resolved. We love Felicia Day. Charlie’s friendship with Dean is amazing. She deserves a few episodes.
Crowley!
Seriously. What happened to Mark was super disappointing. You gotta bring him back. His death wasn't great. Bring him back and give him his damn line already!
Jack!
I'm not fully on the Baby!Jack train, but he does deserve a normal life. He's three years old technically. He had no normal life whatsoever. He deserves that. So, give him that.
More Rowena please!
That's it. She's awesome.
Have a wedding.
No, really. Someone's gotta get married. Our pick: Sam and Eileen. Charlie is also a good contender for having a wedding with her partner, too. So there. Weddings are happy. We want a happy ending.
I will reiterate. Team free will lives. That's it.
Okay. Now, moving on to the next part of this. The elephant in the room. The thing a lot of us actually want from this, but frankly, we aren't sure if you'll do it.
Explicit Destiel.
If you've read this far J2M, then you're probably wondering when this was going to be addressed. So, here are the stipulations on destiel.
Go big or go home.
Yep. We said it. Make it explicit, full out, no ambiguity.
Honestly, you might be thinking what you could do to make it explicitly canon? Well, since there were tons of people who still think Cas’ love confession was just a platonic exchange between two bros (like wtf? How?), you're gonna have to spell it out for people.
But, some things that we may perceive as romantic, some people may not.
--Like, holding hands could be considered platonic between two men to some people.
--Cheek kissing could also be considered platonic to some people.
Not to say we need Jensen and Misha doing full on *** scenes to prove anything, but something more than a hand hold. Okay? Okay.
What we’re saying is basically, you're gonna have to kiss. On the lips. Yep.
So...I guess you'll have to figure out how you want to do that.
On when to make it canon:
You can decide if it makes sense to make it canon towards the beginning or towards the end. Honestly, there could be an argument for either. If it's made canon earlier, you could prove there can be a relationship alongside the main storyline. If you wait until the end, you'll leave fans wondering if you'll actually do it. But, the kiss being the major event of the finale could be worth it. Whichever you do, remember there are upsides and downsides to both.
Other other considerations:
Just realize who your fanbase is now. We’ve grown and changed. Like Becky, your fans have gone through a huge change in what they want from the show. Is the fandom all on the same page? Nope. Will they ever be? No.
You will not please everyone. That's a given. But, a lot of fans want to see the show wrap up in a better way than what we got. Destiel fans aside, the finale was not great overall. There are plenty of negative finale reviews that have nothing to do with destiel.
On top of that, society is changing. Slowly. The attitudes in regards to lgbtq media is quite different than before. You have the chance to make history. Really. If you make this canon, that will be a part of your legacy. You'll hit the news. I mean, 15x18 wasn't even the finale and it trended #1 that day.
We suggest that if you do decide to make it canon, it’s meaningful and you take the time to do it right.
So, consider your fans. Consider the part of the fandom that trended your show over the election. Consider the fans that trended a fictional wedding on Valentine's Day. Consider Misha/Cas fans who felt slighted. Consider your LGBTQA + fans. Just, think about what the reboot could achieve. What it could mean to a lot of people.
As always, we just want happiness and peace when we are done.
Thanks for reading Misha J2M.
Sincerely,
Bee 🐝 and Jay 🐦
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arhvste · 4 years
Note
Okay bear with me but may I request scenarios where kuroo, bokuto, and atsumu are doing the “He got all the drugs and I got all the guns” tik tok trend with their s/o (separately) and like they are wearing the whole shebang heels, dresses, crop tops, makeup, wigs ,etc that’s only if you want to of course n e ways have an awesome day🤩
OMG ARE U A MIND READER I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS AND SPECIFICALLY THESE BOYS DOING THIS TREND FOR WEEKS 🤯
just in case you didn’t know i’m referencing this trend 😼
KUROO, BOKUTO AND ATSUMU DOING THE FAMOUS (I’M THE ONE) TIKTOK TREND WITH THEIR S/O
-
KUROO
when you first show him the trend on tiktok he just laughs 
then you suggest the two of you doing it and he goes quiet
he’s really thinking about it 
he secretly is more than happy to do it with you 
but he’ll find out how far he can tease you first
“and what do i get out of doing this?”
“spending quality time with the love of your life duh”
“it’s gonna take a bigger reward than that for the expense of me making a fool of myself online princess”
“PS5?”
then he’s like 👀
he wasn't expecting an actual good reward but if that’s what you’re willing to do for it 
he won’t actually make you buy one for him don't worry
he’s just amused that you’re that adamant about doing it 
he will absolutely let you pick out what clothes of his you want to wear
you’ll pick out what he wears from your wardrobe though because he is not about to stretch your cute clothes with his big body
you end up giving him an elasticated crop top and some loose baggy sweatpants
he will 100% let you do his make up and hold accessories
he is stunning with a natural make up look
a pretty highlight to his cheekbones, bridge and tip of his nose, inner corners of the eye and brow bone
light pink blush on his cheeks and nose
slim eyeliner and a light pink natural lip colour
he actually suggested wearing super obnoxious fake eyelashes 
“i am NOT having you look like a tacky abg kuroo”
“but then we can say you’re a kevin nguyen, it fits”
‘nO!!” 
to finish the look he’s holding a white clutch bag of yours 
he almost looks seductive 👁👅👁
he actually looks so good in your outfit
“i think i pull this off better than you”
you’re wearing some training shorts, one of his favourite t shirts and a black nike cap 
so you set your phone up and the music starts to play
immediately you two are in fits of giggles though 
it takes you two approximately 8 attempts to finally get it right 
and when you watch it back you’re in for a shock
kuroo can throw it BACK
he doesn’t even have a particularly noticeable ass 
like he has one but it’s nothing like bokuto’s
but when he throws it back his ass is thicccccc
even he’s surprised at how well he pulls it off
he pulls the whole routine off
from the way his hips seductively sway, the pure sass in his walk as he struts into the camera frame and the way he rolls his body
honestly you think he makes a better girl than you
“good aren’t i? god i could almost date myself”
“yeah if you’re into 6″2 hairy girls with a hyena laugh” 
he’s looking down at his very manly and unshaven legs
“let me shave it and i’d date myself”
you guys upload it and you’re a hit 
“let’s move to LA right now tell the hype house they’ve got two new members joining”
“kuroo, i am NOT joining the hype house and neither are you. 😐”
overall i really think you guys would have fun with this trend and kuroo makes sure to send the video to both of your families who enjoy watching it as much as you guys enjoyed making it 
“the roles have reversed i’m your pretty girl now y/n~”
-
BOKUTO
he’s the one who brings it up to you
“babe look at this we HAVE to try it please please please!”
you laugh at him and agree to it 
he is so excited he already knows what choreography he is doing
you guys go to get changed and he lets you pick whatever you want out of his wardrobe 
this boy is pure muscle he is huge 
anything of his you wear will be like a dress on you
regardless you still take your time deciding what you want to wear
PLEASE pick his volleyball jersey and shorts he will literally cry from happiness
it would make his whole year 
so you do just that 
he is literally melting at the sight of you in his volleyball uniform
“BABY YOU HAVE TO WEAR THAT TO ALL MY MATCHES”
“-but you’ll be wearing it... at your matches... when you play 👁👄👁”
so bokuto will not be fitting into your tight fitting clothes that's for sure
but he will happen to fit into one of your cute flirty sundresses where the top half is made to be able to adjust the size
he is twirling around and flicking the skirt about once you manage to wrangle him in it 
he’s like a giddy school girl
again, he will definitely be up for you to apply make up on him
nothing too heavy but just enough so you can tell he’s wearing some
pretty light yellow eyeshadow, highlighted features and faded eyeliner
you pull his hair into two tight little buns
he’s really feeling the part now
so you guys go to film the tiktok and he is jumping around like an excited kid
you manage to film your parts pretty well first try but he isnt too happy with his performance
“i don't know i just feel like i could’ve thrown it back a bit more”
so you refilm until he is content with his part
which by the way is after 14 tries so thank the lords you are patient when it comes to him
it is so worth it though
the practices paid tf off because bokuto is throwing his cake about like nobodies business
he be serving a piece for everyone fr 
immediately after you film it he wants to show akaashi 
to which akaashi isn't surprised when he watches it 
he does snicker at his phone when he does watch it though
neither you or bokuto really care about views etc 
this was all just for fun after all but you upload it anyway not giving it much thought
and just like that the two of you are an overnight sensation
comments are flooding the notifications 
“his ass routine? drop it noW!!”
“what's his work out routine i need cake like his 😩😩”
“my boyfriend said he has a fatter ass than me so im currently crying 😔🤚🏽”
the nekoma, fukurodani and karasuno boys are BUGGIN tf out 
they're all calling you and sending you the video for confirmation that it is actually you two 
it’s not like bokuto is hard to tell apart but they still want your confirmation 
“REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU’RE FAMOUS BOKUTO-SAN!!”
“OF COURSE HINATA WHEN WE’RE RICH WE’LL ADOPT YOU CAN LET YOU MOVE INTO OUR TIKTOK MANSION!”
he is SUCH a child but he’s the man child you fell in love with
needless to say this video will be played at the wedding and anniversaries to come 
-
ATSUMU
atsumu is constantly irritating you to be one of those tiktok couples with him
he’s convinced the two of you were made for the tiktok lifestyle 
everytime you roll your eyes and decline 
but you decide to give him the opportunity when a certain trend catches your eye 
“baby, when i said i wanted to be tiktok famous i meant like the dances n cute videos where people compliment us n call us hot. this aint it chief”
“fine then, guess i’ll ask samu”
he doesn't even give u the chance to get up after you say that
“no nO I”LL DO IT 😠”
he is reluctant at first 
ideally he wanted to make the tiktoks where you’re the one throwing it back on him not vice versa
anything to make you happy though i guess
he will pick out both of your outfits
if he’s going to do this tiktok, the least he’s going to make sure of is that you both fit his aesthetic 
so you’re wearing typical clothes he’d wear to the gym
his gym clothes are actually stylish though
you will NOT catch atsumu wearing anything ugly that includes gym clothes
unlike a certain other setter who thought wearing plaid shorts was acceptable cough cough oikawa
he chooses to wear a tight dress 
it’s stretchy though so don’t worry he isn't stretching out and ruining your clothes 
“why are you wearing that? you can see a little too much there ratsumu”
“uh so people can see you have a boyfriend that's obviously packin heat 🙄”
“i hate you 😀”
he is hesitant about wearing make up
but you explain to him since you’re doing it you might aswell go all out so he finally gives in
you won’t put a lot on him though just to compromise with him slightly 
light highlight, blended out eyeliner, natural lip colour 
he’s surprisingly impressed and pulls out his phone to take a few selfies before getting ready to film the ‘stupid’ video with you
he insists he doesn't need to practice
“im good at everythin’ i do and everyone is gonna see that when we film this shit”
surprisingly it does only take you guys one attempt to get it right
atsumu is good at body rolls periodt  
he can throw it back 
but his body rolls chileee
he looks flexible asf 
he is serving absolute attitude 
you also did take notice of him using one hand to slyly cover his private area out of modesty though
because he found you were in fact right about how that dress really did show everything 
he incorporates it well into his choreography though nobody would be able to tell he was trying to cover himself 
“baby we look so fuckin hot. im talkin more bout me but you’re still sexy too”
he adds so many hashtags to the caption
#couple #hot #imhotter #fyp #foryoupage #tiktokcouple #couplegoals #hotboy #sexyboy #hotathlete #attractivemale #eboy #trending #makeusfamous
you just roll your eyes and let him get on with it 
im so sorry but you guys don’t get many views
atsumu is pissed
“we put so much effort in why’s it not gettin attention?!”
“calm down babe we only posted it 2 minutes ago”
give it a few days and you guys do blow up though 
im talking 867K likes
and to atsumu’s delight the comments are mostly complimenting you both 
“told ya this was a good idea”
“it was my idea?? 😐”
-
requests are open!!
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theshorttatortot · 3 years
Text
So... I've seen some people calling Marinette; Stalkernette. Okay but those people also go 'You call Lila; Lie-la so why can't we call Marinette; Stalkernette?' Okay I understand that you think it's not fair but the people who call Lila; Lie-la, (I'm included in that-) have good reasoning for it. Sure Mari likes Adrien, people would be surprised by how many people actually stalk their crush. It's reasonable. Lila's case on the other hand is just kinda stupid. We call her Lie-la for a good reason. She lies to get attention, she lied to get Marinette in trouble and to keep her away from a boy. A FRICKING BOY LIKE THERE ARE OVER 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET ABOUT 4 BILLION ARE MALE!! The people defending Lila will go onto say that she is unloved, doesn't have very nice things, or that her mom is super mean to her. All are false. In an episode where Lila gets akumitized, we see her room. It's filled with lots of nice things, she has a nice laptop which she ends up throwing at a wall out of anger like- just whyyy... With the topic of her mothee, Lila's mother may not be with Lila all the time but when she is there, she is very caring and loving. People also say that Lila is jealous of Mari. I do think that is accurate but lying and turning people against Marinette is not the way to make friends. She could have just been nice and polite and not lied and she could have gotten real friends and not people to use against Marinette. The whole reason I wrote this was because I saw a cartain hashtag... "#Adrien+deserves+better+than+Stalkernette+aka+Betrayalbug" Okay my first thoughts on this... okay um so who do you mean 'someone better for Adrien' Kagami? She in a way told Marinette that Marinette had no chance with Adrien if she was there. Chloe? DEF NOT. Chloe is my favourite Mlb character but im gonna be bluntly honest about her.. Chloe is a bully, narsisist, and she too, stalks Adrien. She tricked him into signing a poster so she could brag to other girl that he was 'hers'. Okay who else-? Lila-? No definitaly not- I already pretty much explained above-. Although I myself think Adrienette is super toxic, I still think that Marinette is the best choice for him out of the main female characters. The hashtag also called Mari Betrayalbug- like how-? Sure she causes akumas without meaning to and when she does it's when she gives helpful suggestions that backfire. Marinette is by far the nicest Miraclous character. She was always there for everybody, she risks herself daily to defend Paris from Hawkmoth WHO LILA WORKS FOR!! ( i forgot to mention it above-) but Mari is the nicest character and the one time she needed them they let her down and believed a liar... I'm not sure who came up with the STUPID hashtag but whoever it was, shame on you and shame on whoever else uses it as well.
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edxtsytlps · 4 years
Text
Writing Characters with ADHD
This is another thing I personally experience. However, this won't just be about my experiences (basing it off mine, my cousin's, and my classmate/friend's[? Am I friends with him?]) and on Instagram will likely be divided up between posts. So let's get into it! AND DON'T HESITATE TO CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG!!! I only know for sure what's in my brain, and I can only tell from my cousin what I see them do, and while I've done some research, it's different for everyone so if you have anything to add, just put it in the comments or DM me and I'll put them in a future post!
What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is horribly named, though. "I have trouble focusing and doing daily tasks, and sometimes I find it easier to concentrate when I'm moving." And then the name says, "Oh! Maybe you have a trouble sitting still disorder." Sorry!! That was a joke I saw while scrolling through Instagram ADHD hashtags, but I can't for the life of me remember who posted it. ANYWAY, ADHD has an unknown for sure cause, but evidence is supporting that it's caused by a lack of the chemical dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
There are three (3) types of ADHD!
Yep! You read that right (probably). There is the hyperactive type, the inattentive type, and the combined type.
The hyperactive type is the one most commonly thought of when someone mentions ADHD. They're the ones that seem to have the more impulsive side, however I have the combined type and I have some impulsiveness. So how do write characters with the hyperactive type of ADHD? Here are a few tips:
As stated above, they seem to be the most impulsive. This doesn't mean everyone that's impulsive has ADHD, but oftentimes the hyperactive type is the ones you see blurting out answers in class or inturrupting others.
The hyperactive type is often seen fidgiting. Whether it be with their clothes, a fidgit toy, or whatever. According to my cousin, they have an easier time focusing on things while his hands are fidgiting with something.
This type is more commonly seen in boys than it is girls, and often easier to diagnose as the symptoms are easier to recognize. I have a friend and she has the hyperactive type, so it's definitely possible for girls to have it; it's just less common!
Hyperactivity can also be in the mind! It doesn't always have to be moving around. It can also be having a hyperactive mind.
NOTE: I don't really have this type, so if anyone does and wants to add on or correct me please do so!
The inattentive type has previously gone by ADD, but that is now an outdated term. I have more of this type when it comes to my combined type than the hyperactive, so this one may be explained better with more helpful tips.
While the hyperactive type is more common in boys, the inattentive type is more common in girls. Like above, it's definitely possible for boys to have the inattentive type but it's more common in girls.
Daydreaming a lot is very common with this type. Maladaptive daydreaming is also often co-existant with ADHD and although there isn't evidence to back this up (I don't think), I've always had the idea that MaDD went more in hand with the inattentive type than the others. If you want more information on MaDD, check my other account (in bio)!
Touble focusing, poor hygiene, seeming socially withdrawn, etc. are common symptoms with both types, but considering the test my doctor gave me before diagnosing me I *think* they're more prominant symptoms in this type.
This type is most often diagnosed in your teenage years/adulthood as the symptoms are often mistaken for symptoms of depression and anxiety before they think it's inattentive ADHD.
The combined type has symptoms of both. Also! It isn't always 50% symptoms hyperactive type and the other 50% inattentive, it can be a mixture of percentages.
General Tips
Now that I've covered the different types and the main differences between all of them, here are some general tips! The ones above are more for specific types and so they're things that you may want to include as a way to develop your character more. Anyway, let's gooooooo!
Medicine sucks, okay. I often forget to take it when I don't have school (where I'm tracked down by the nurse if I forget). It has side effects, as well. I originally was on Strattera, but it would make me sleepy throughout the day and it would make it worse rather than better. However, Adderall makes me lose my apetite and my sleep schedule is really messed up. But, it helps! It doesn't affect us the same way it does people without ADHD.
ADHD and austism often go hand in hand. Not always, but oftentimes if a person has ADHD, they also have autism. You may consider putting your character on the autism spectrum if they have ADHD.
People with ADHD stim. There are many types of stimming, and I suggest that you research the types (as well as more research than just what I'm telling you or what other accounts have posted on the subject).
A focusing tip: I personally find it easier to speed up the playback speed on Youtube videos when I have to watch them as well as put closed captioning on. Not really a focusing tip, but it helps me retain the information and it *could* help your character too (remember, everyone is different). If I can't speed it up like that, I'll get out an index card and start drawing.
We go through periods of hyperfocus! This is where we focus on one thing for a lengthy period of time. Oftentimes after this, I personally go through a period of burnout where I find interest in nothing.
Emotions are very intense. Not that they aren't for other people, and I have no clue personally because I'm and empath (see @klenasboba 's post) and I only ever feel others' emotions but my friend and cousin both have very intense emotions. Even more so than the other people I've met.
That's all I know! Please remember, there is a spectrum and everyone experiences it differently. Also, this shouldn't have to be said but please don't self-diagnose based on the information I've told you. If you feel like you may have ADHD, please do more research. If you want to have a character with ADHD but aren't sure if you're writing them right, consider getting a sensitivity reader (see @chcmpagneandsvnshine 's post) and as always for anything like this, do research!!
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arcticdementor · 3 years
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A reader writes:
I’m writing to you today because I have some information to share with you (and your readers) who may still be skeptical that this LGBTQIA+ gender-identity craze is coming for their kids.  Some recent interactions online have made me more aware than ever that the movement is spreading in wild and unpredictable ways, and also made me reflect on how, in my own life, even someone like me could have fallen victim to it.
I want to start off by saying that recently, (and ironically, in an attempt to try not to be sucked into the internet as purely a source for doom and gloom: you will see how this backfires on me) I decided to rejoin a fan community surrounding one of my favorite franchises on Twitter. I won’t go into too much detail about which community and the exact specifics, but just know that it’s a popular franchise that’s appropriate for older kids, teens and adults (nothing 18+, nothing for really little ones).  As a teen myself I was fairly active in a similar branch of this community on another social media platform (Facebook), and enjoyed it immensely before the platform eventually went more or less defunct as a hot-spot for fan content. Most of the content was fan-created work (like fan-art or fan-fiction) with a little interaction and lots of “DID YOU SEE THE LATEST” kinds of posts.
Anyway, to keep it to a minimum, that was then. If you’ve been on the internet any time in the last five years you know that spaces where people just talk about an interest and don’t mix it with politics and activism are becoming few and far between. Even though I knew this, and knew that I wasn’t going to have the same experience in a different place, something sparked an interest in me to go try to reconnect with my internet roots in a different setting.  So, I followed some hashtags, quickly found some new followers and settled back to enjoy at least marginally some discussions online that didn’t have to do with Covid and All The Ways We Are All Going To Die.
Then came the teenagers.
Much like when I was a kid, this franchise attracts a lot of younger people.  So it was hardly surprising to me to find that many of my new followers were in the 14-18 age range and that people like myself (mid-older 20s) were a sort of senior majority. That was fine- Twitter’s rules after all are 13+, so it’s not unreasonable to assume if you’re part of a popular group that you’ll interact on occasion with minors. That wasn’t the part I found strange. The part I found strange was that all of them, and I repeat, all of them were fans of two things- the franchise, and gender identities.
You can actually almost pinpoint the age range of the 18 and under crowd by how many of them have the following: 1. Pronouns in bio and in username.  2. Gender identity or lack thereof displayed in bio or username. 3. LGBTQ+ sexual orientation displayed in bio or username. etc. etc. etc. I’m not going to dive into it too much, because some might be saying “isn’t that just normal nowadays? Even politicians do that?” Well, you’re not wrong if that’s what you’re thinking. And that’s not the part that disturbs me.
What disturbed me was that, a few weeks after I joined the group, I started noticing an unsettling pattern among many of these teenage users (and many over-teen users, but I’m trying to make a point about the young ones specifically). For a few days, after an interesting bit of news or a trailer or some other thing that unites franchises, the posts in my feed would be primarily things like what I remembered from past experiences: posts about the franchises, theories, speculations, fanart, etc.  But, every time things would settle back down into a quiet, normal week, the feeds in my post became almost entirely about one thing: Gender and LGBTQ talking points.  I’m going to diverge for one second and say that many people in this group aren’t using a personal, front-facing account for their interactions in this fan-group. They’re mostly using alt-accounts with no real names and faces attached (myself included).  And yet, every time the discussion in the feeds died down to where there was just no new stuff about the franchise to talk about, all the conversation slowly but surely shifted back to sexual orientation and gender.  From fan-ships of perfect LGB couples to ‘hey I drew this person but as a trans-female!’ to even forgoing pretending to talk about their interests and just discussing their own gender and sex presentation with their other online friends, it became quickly very clear to me that A. I no longer really belonged here and B. Every single one of these kids was obsessed. Every. Single. One.
I’m going to digress and talk about myself for a minute to explain just why these examples, particularly that last one, burn a hole in my soul.  From the minute I was old enough to remember, I’ve never been one of those typically presenting females. When my sisters and I played dress-up as kids, they played princesses and I played a prince or a witch or whatever was more interesting. In addition to the dolls and barbies I had being one of three girls, I also had an assortment of boy-oriented toys, including action figures, a remote control car and this really cool nerf bow-and-arrow set that I still secretly wish had survived my playing with it because man, my kids are gonna miss out someday. My hair was short because I hated wearing it up and the solution was a bob, and when we spent time with relatives I could be found as far away from my female cousins as possible, hanging out with my male cousins and talking about Legos and Lord of The Rings. I spent 90% of my time reading books and ignoring reality, and didn’t put much effort into my appearance until probably age 13 or later.
And I wished I was a boy.
It wasn’t an all-consuming thought, but I thought it. I wished, many times, when my parents would fuss at me to please stop attempting to climb trees in your Sunday clothes and when my sisters never talked about anything but dolls and tea-parties around their friends that I could be one of the boys. I had always liked the boys and their world better, and I fit into better, and yet there was that little problem (that I was still a girl) that kept me from being accepted into the boy group.  The reality was, I was already probably very intelligent for my age (too-well read children can relate) and I took that big-headedness a little too far at times. I was also a very emotional person (still am) and just passionately felt that being a girl and being expected to do girl things was hideous and unfair.
The saving grace? My mom was the same. She’s never been a typical female either, and though as adults we have some clear differences (ironically, I have more stereotypical female interests/talents than her- like a hidden passion for interior decorating and a love of baking and so on) she was there for me, to be able to tell me that no- I didn’t really want to be a boy, I was just a girl who liked sword fights and grass-stains more than ballgowns and tea parties, and that was okay!!! She was proof that there were other girls like me, and that I would find more of them eventually (I did) and, even though we never said so in so many words, that stereotypes and how we fit into them has nothing to do with our innate female and male selves. And so, reassured that I could be female and still be however I wanted, I eventually grew out of those thoughts, and as I matured, found that there were ‘female things’ I connected with that my past self was too young to appreciate.
But, think about all this in a modern context. I’m a happy adult female now, and I was never truly gender-questioning. I just thought, for a while, that boys had more fun than I did, so I wanted to be one.  But that, in it of itself, is a thought that’s deep enough for modern gender activists to insist I be transitioned immediately and put on life-altering hormones, never given a chance to grow up or grow out of questioning, and affirmed in my presentation instantly! If I, like that young girl online, had been handed a ‘gender-affirming’ flag and an identity that ‘made sense’ out of why I was different from my peers, I might have jumped on it, especially without the presence of a wise older person to tell me I wasn’t anything different than what she’d been as a child. This is the problem, this is why this kind of thing is so dangerous and toxic and wrong.
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oumakokichi · 4 years
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Hello I am the Tsumugi love hotel anon Thank you for answering my ask it's great to know that other people have the same problem Sorry if this sounds strange but it's hard for me to enjoy V3 without thinking about this I love Danganronpa and I like Tsumugi but this really really bothered me And I kinda don't want to assume that someone who created a series I like so much is like this I guess as a fan Do you have any advice? So sorry but I have this habit of overthinking things and just want help
Hi again anon! It’s not a strange question at all; this is sadly kind of a common dilemma to run into in most fandom spaces, and it’s perfectly normal to have conflicting feelings about these things.
The best advice I can give is to view everything through a critical lens. By this, I don’t mean “you can’t ever enjoy things casually” or “you have to hate the media you consume in order to be a Good Fan™.” I simply mean that it’s important to be aware that pretty much all media is going to be flawed on some level, and that it’s important to not brush aside those flaws when having a real discussion about the content we enjoy and consume.
Part of the reason why I love meta and analysis so much is precisely because it’s a really good way to sort through some of these more complicated feelings I have on certain topics. For as much as I love DR and as much as it’s been a huge source of enjoyment and comfort to me for quite a few years now, I’m never going to sit here and act like it doesn’t have its fair share of flaws. It’s certainly not for everyone, and I can completely understand why some people may not like it.
There’s a very fine line when discussing media too, between raising awareness that all media and content we consume is inherently flawed in some way, and simply dismissing it as okay because “well, everything is problematic in some way so it doesn’t matter.” These things do matter, and I feel like discussion of them is a very important part of critical analysis, especially when it raises awareness of potentially upsetting subject matter to people who may have been unaware of it before.
The entire love hotel scene with Tsumugi is undeniably in extremely poor taste, particularly when incest is a very real and terrible form of abuse that real survivors have suffered through. Seeing it used for nothing more than skeevy fanservice to pander to an otaku audience is deeply upsetting, particularly coming from a game that explicitly touches on the ways in which fiction can and does impact reality in very real, tangible ways.
It doesn’t help that the love hotel scenes themselves hang in a weird sort of limbo as far as their role in the game goes, either. There’s been a lot of debate in the fandom as to whether these scenes can even be considered “canon” on any level—and even if they’re not technically canon, which I think is a fair assessment given that none of the other characters even remember them after waking up and they have no real lasting impact on the plot, the decision to include them at all is still gross on some level.
In my personal opinion, the best way to determine how comfortable you are continuing to support a series or not, is to try and gauge authorial intent: why are these topics or themes included in this piece of media? What purpose do they serve? Are they contributing to a larger narrative by being included here?
To take a topical example… let’s compare this with Harry Potter. DR certainly has its flaws, and ndrv3 is no exception. Not only are certain unsavory “tropes” like incest played as either a punchline or a tool for fanservice, but even earlier parts of the series don’t hold up particularly well (like Chihiro’s “gender reveal”). These things are definitely not enjoyable parts of the narrative—but their presence in the narrative seems to stem from a larger issue of fanservice tropes in visual novels and anime overall, rather than some overarching attempt to either demonize any marginalized group or normalize harmful behavior in real life.
By contrast, through watching JK Rowling’s downward spiral on twitter in the last few years, we’ve seen her become more and more brazen about her hatred of trans people, and trans women in particular. Though she often attempted to brush these tweets aside at first as “middle-aged moments” or “accidents” where she wasn’t aware of the content being spouted by the people she was following, she’s become perhaps one of the most unapologetic T*RFs in the public consciousness.
No matter how much a series like Harry Potter may have shaped my and many other people’s childhoods in the past, it’s really impossible for me to go back to it nowadays as a trans individual. Re-reading the series with a much more critical eye shows that many of Rowling’s most harmful, offensive beliefs are not only something she spews on twitter every other month, but also downright woven into the narrative. Lines about “boys pretending to be girls to try and sneak into the dormitories” and Rita Skeeter’s “rather large, mannish hands” while she “disguises herself” to infiltrate the school premises just hit differently, knowing Rowling’s stance on trans issues and the disgusting harm that she advocates for with her huge platform.
I suppose that’s the biggest line I try to be aware of in deciding where I draw the line between enjoying a series while remaining critical of it, and just flat out refusing to support said series anymore. This line is understandably going to be different for different people, no doubt—but I think being mindful of what creators are actually doing with their platforms is the biggest indicator about the potential intentions behind their works.
The only other piece of advice I can think of to offer, and perhaps the most important one, is to simply support small creators with all the enthusiasm and love that you would for a large series. As long as we maintain a critical eye and awareness about the flaws within popular works like Danganronpa, I think it’s okay to keep enjoying said works. But there are so many content creators out there trying to contribute all kinds of meaningful works with better representation than anything we’ve seen in mainstream media, and it’s incredibly important to support these people so that their works can become better-known.
My best recommendation is to make sure you’re striving to support these smaller content creators: especially black artists and trans artists, who often get overlooked even when hashtags on twitter to support smaller artists are trending.
This sort of became a lengthier response than I was intending, but I felt your question deserved more of an in-depth look at the topic. I hope I was able to get my points across! Thank you for the question anon, and I really hope I could help.
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five-wow · 4 years
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I WATCHED 10.22. HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS UNDER THE CUT. i promise they won’t all be in full caps, but i feel i should also warn you that this was not proofread.
the episode is starting! it has started. the start has started.
lots of flashbacks from 10.21 with VERY dramatic music in the background and it’s very much working on me. EMOTIONS.
oh my gosh we’re now getting a flashback (a new one, not “previously on”) to wo fat and victor hesse planning some evil shit with daiyu mei serving them tea and it is EVEN MORE DRAMATIC than the previously on was. i am IMPRESSED. also maybe laughing a little bit, but in a way where i’m genuinely enjoying the extreme “LOOK, THIS IS BAD” of it, gosh.
fun way to remind us of how it all started, with these two planning anton’s extraction! they get to show us bits and pieces from the pilot while we still get something new.
wo fat: “blood. is blood.” hmmm, the show seems to want us to think he has a point but i’m mostly amused this is coming from the ultimate bad guy because yes, that seems about right. (hashtag you don’t owe people anything just because you’re related to them, shuddup.)
daiyu mei looks all shy and awkward when wo fat asks for her input but i’ve decided that’s an act to keep victor underestimating her.
steve and cole are in a car and fjdkfdjk wait catherine is a super code breaker now? idk, she may have displayed some skills that leaned that way in the past, but now she’s suddenly well-known as one of the best in that field even though that’s not even her field as far as we know? i. i don’t mind catherine getting brought up in conversation but this is such an odd way to do it.
“we were together for a buncha years” hahaha, fandom never really knows how to define the start and end of their relationship and it seems steve doesn’t, either.
“she was the one that got away. what’re you gonna do?” well, look sad and frowny while this guy you barely know throws you a somewhat awkward look because you’re suddenly baring your heart to him, apparently! (for real though, i get that people will be upset at this phrasing and i’m sort of thinking this is a lead in to things i won’t like at the end of the episode and that’s bad but for what it’s worth, i don’t mind this at all! she did slip away from him at a time where he thought they were going somewhere else and he’s talking in past tense now.)
cole is worried he ruined steve’s day by bringing up catherine and that’s sweet, actually! seals emotionally supporting seals.
OOF it is TIME for danny to get ABDUCTED. also: i love that steve immediately drops everything, including the very important super secret difficult to arrange meeting to maybe finally get some insight into this cipher that doris left him, to race to wherever danny is in his car. i feel like alerting hpd (or anyone else in five-0 who might be closer) would be a good idea, but it makes a lot of sense for steve to need to Be There himself.
ohhhhh steve continually nearly crashing his truck while yelling for danny but only hearing gunshots over the line is 👌👌👌. THE ANGST. THE TENSION. very good, very good.
the camaro is BURNING. well that’s one way to smack us in the face with the end of an era, damn.
steve is ALSO BURNING because he obviously tried to get inside the car ahhhh.
fjdkf steve calls tani with instruction about cameras and tani asks if everything is okay because he sounds upset and all he says is “danny’s been taken” and that’s how tani an junior find out, poor dears.
steve, instructing hpd: “we’re looking for detective danny williams. you know who he is, my partner, right? we’re looking for him.” YOU KNOW WHO HE IS. MY PARTNER.
steve is already out of breath from sheer stress and he’s just standing around the tech table with the team, my gosh. (I LOVE THIS.)
danny, bloody and chained up and facing his captor, a woman he already knows is very, very dangerous: [makes a joke about exchanging insurance information because they burned his car] (LOVE HIM TOO.)
OOF though, daiyu mei lets danny know she knows he has two kids and the jokes are over because that’s definitely the line with danny, god.
here’s the scene from the one preview clip i watched! i’m really enjoying daiyu mei, by the way. she’s still a totally bonkers way to bring the threat of wo fat back even after he’s dead, but she is genuinely threatening.
“i have the person you care about most in the world” hello yes i’m still yelling about that one and might not stop soon
daiyu mei telling steve not to make the same mistake he did with his father and “allow a loved one to die” is so mean but so good and narratively pretty darn cool.
we’re not even eleven minutes in and we’re already at “come alone, commander, or your friend dies”. [insert that escalated quickly meme]
steve thinks he has zero options except give in to exactly what daiyu mei wants and it’s very unsteve of him but also fits perfectly with the mindset they’ve maneouvred him into over the past few episodes and with DANNY BEING GONE so i like it. i like that steve is very obviously freaking the fuck out.
never though i would say this, but... steve, you should listen to adam. it’s shocking, especially this season, but he is making an actual good judgment.
steve alone in the elevator on the verge of either a panic attack or breaking down crying and curling up into a ball is A LOT.
steve goes to the meeting alone, gets a location and confirmation that danny is alive and then hands over the cipher, and that’s good but also... i mean, for real, if he had just printed some random symbols on a similar piece of paper (maybe even the same symbols but in a different order!) how on earth would daiyu mei have known?
OH. OHHHH. danny does the badass steve-ish thing where he pulls himself up by his shackles to somehow get himself free, holy fuck, yes man.
IT WORKS. knocked out the guard, got the keys, got a gun - damn son. not only do we get worried out of his mind steve, we ALSO get bamf danny, ahhhh.
AND THEN HE GETS SHOT IN THE SHOULDER, which is where all those promo pictures came from obviously, and also means we’re about to tick off the hurt part of h/c in an even bolder font than we already had.
fdjkfdjkfd steve’s litany of comforting little nonsense lines while he’s dragging danny to the car and getting him into it and NOT GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL BUT STAYING WITH DANNY IN THE BACK is killing me slowly.
fdjkfd steve hugging danny’s bloody face in his lap oh my god
apparently that wasn’t GOOD ENOUGH YET because then they’re at the hospital and steve tells the doctor’s what’s up and they’re about to roll danny away and danny, half dead and according to steve in and out of consciousness, somehow finds the time to try to grAB AT STEVE’S ARM BLINDLY. steve: “hey, i’m with you buddy, it’s okay.” DEAD. NOT DANNY, ME. I AM VERY DEAD.
the entire team is stressed and worried and just dead quiet, watching danny and steve. ohhhh boy.
oh fuck oh fuck steve is praying and red-eyed and furious and telling god “you wanna take somebody? take me. not him, you take me.” and i have a very big massive weak spot for exactly this.
cole comes to find steve to offer to figure out the cipher thing and steve has a very hard time giving a single flying shit and then HANDS COLE HIS GUN. welllll. just letting go of stuff they never would have normally left and right, here. i was kind of expecting steve’s badge to follow.
tani has a lot of good worried moments and i love that.
danny is out of surgery!!! steve gets to see him!!!
oh GOD we get a sad version of all for one while steve is in danny’s hospital room and grabs danny’s hand and i am. oh. oh. not okay.
STILL ONLY JUST PAST THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE EPISODE.
it’s honestly kind of weird that cole has this much screentime (i know he was supposed to be back for the season 11 that will never happen, but with the way things turned out that’s not very relevant anymore in story), but i mind it less than i thought i would have. i like him, and i’m glad he has quinn with him now, because i always want more of her.
danny wakes up and his slightly loopy conversation with steve has me fjdkfdjkfd. d: [says you’re supposed to be happy when a patient wakes up] s, like he might still be about to cry: “i’m happy.” d: “yeah? yeah, me too.”
steve is hurting and blaming himself for everything (very in character) and danny tells him he’s already annoying and that if he had a dollar for every time steve saved his life he’d have like twenty bucks (also very in character) and i’m glad for that bit of comic relief and they need it, too, but somebody also needs to give steve a good shake until the thought that this is on him leaves his head. if anyone except daiyu mei is responsible here, it’s doris. blame doris, jfc.
danny, after nearly dying and only just waking up in the hospital, while he still has trouble speaking: “put [the call steve is getting] on speaker, would you, i’m bored.” more jokes! but it also makes me go fjdkfdjk because you will not convince me that this is not danny, extremely injured, still trying to take care of steve by distracting him from all the misery they’re in.
fjdkfd OKAY SO. plot stuff: the cipher translates to coordinates that apparently lead to the place where the mcgarretts thought doris was buried. steve says he knows the place because his dad used to take him there and ? because i always thought john sent his kids away pretty soon after doris died so he can’t have had much time to visit her grave a lot with them, but also just, the drama of it, wow, doris. send your son an encrypted message that sends him to your fake grave, why don’t you.
jfkdsjlfksljfds the mcgarretts have a family mausoleum now, apparently, omfg. and there was still a space with doris’s name on it? even though they’ve known for how many years by now that she was still alive oh my gosh
cole is along for the ride to doris’s fake grave and steve keeps dropping these little nuggets from his family history and cole keeps (rightfully!) looking a little confused and/or alarmed, poor guy, hahaha.
daiyu mei is running full tilt and doing some mad parcour shit in a suit and what looks like high heels and there is a whole action scene here with lots of players and constant shooting and some one-on-one fighting, but i am fully distracted by the shoewear.
oh, false alarm, probably! not quite high heels, just something ballarina like with a very tiny heel. that’s better.
fjdkfjdkfd OOF daiyu mei nearly kills steve, steve gets the upper hand, daiyu mei says some things and we’re given another flashback to wo fat and victor hesse and this time also john when he was held hostage, and suddenly we’re told he’s not surprised that doris had a secret son (wo fat) and that he suspected her death was staged.
OH MY GU==fdj
okay so those were typos but i’m LEAVING THEM because “whatever happens next, don’t tell my son. it would be too hard on him.” HELLO JOHN, FUCK YOU JOHN. he wanted??? to keep this secret??? from steve??? and also he doesn’t even acknowledge that he maybe has more than just a son. maybe there is a person called mary out there somewhere? might ring a bell, if you think about it long and hard.
wo fat: “you’re a good man, john mcgarrett.” i really don’t know if we’re supposed to agree with things wo fat says but he’s mostly voicing the opposite of what i feel this episode.
daiyu mei to steve: “you are your father.” oh gosh. oh no.
ahh, here’s a point where cole’s presence really starts to take away from other characters. he shows up to steve and daiyu mei’s confrontation to back steve up, and that obviously should have been any other character that we’ve known for way longer and have way more attachment to (junior! that would have been so good, or maybe lou, who’s also been here for seven years, or tani, who keeps worrying), especially, very very much especially when steve goes “book her, cole”. that’s just confusing, too. so far the cole and steve parallels have been thrown at us and now he’s suddenly in danny’s place.
32 minutes out of 42 and we’re at “one week later” and steve hopping through his garden to get to the beach chairs where danny is sitting. this is good but worrying for how early it comes.
danny says he misses the very nice nurse who brought him jello and steve tells him not to confuse a caregiver for someone who cares and danny goes “yeah? you know jealousy is not uh, pretty on you.” and then they’re both awkwardly quiet for a moment. dear lord.
AND THEN THINGS WENT PEARSHAPED. danny: “you all packed?” my heart is sinking fast. maybe i should just quit here and leave it at danny telling steve jealousy is not pretty on him (which implies other things are pretty on steve - let’s get back to that).
steve to danny, who is talking up hawaii (which is of course very good): “who are you?” i am having FLASHBACKS to junior asking tani that exact same thing just a few episodes ago.
danny seriously questions steve’s decision to just up and leave hawaii a bunch of times and yes, danny, good, grill him. this is a stupid plan.
danny: “you know, it don’t feel like it’s gonna be okay. it feels like- my main dude is leaving me.” HI STEVE. MAYBE DON’T. MAYBE DON’T GO. MAYBE DON’T HURT DANNY.
“you got a phone, right?” we’re seriously at that point. we are. seriously at that point. wow.
steve forces danny to get up to give him the frigging tenderest, dopily smiliest hug and it is so very sweet yet so very wrong.
“I LOVE YOU, MAN.” / “I LOVE YOU TOO.” THEY DID NOT YELL THAT BUT I AM BECAUSE THIS IS ALL I’VE WANTED FOR TWO YEARS and now it’s under these circumstances which ugh BUT I AM STILL HYPED. THEY GOT TO SAY IT AGAIN. GOOD. FUCKING GOOD.
“don’t make me come looking for you” danny says after he sits back down and without another word steve starts walking away and then he stops and looks back and catches danny looking over his shoulder but quickly looking away again and holy fucking damn if this isn’t how stories go when they try to tell us that two characters shouldn’t be parting because they don’t want to. turn around, steve. it’s so easy.
EDDIE. my gosh, ANOTHER blond guy who loves steve to pieces and who steve Should Not Just Leave, wtf.
eddie gets an i love you too and then a kiss and my heart! is having a hard time today!
oh LORD there’s a knock at the door and it’s the whole entire team and lou!!! is making me cry!!! and everyone whispers how much steve means to them at him while they’re hugging him and fjdkfd what. why is he leaving! it’s starting to sound like a worse decision by the second.
i could cry at all of these goodbyes seperately but right now i am also crying at tani immediately hugging noelani when she joins the pile of people who have said goodbye. ohhhh.
EVERYONE IS CRYING. not cool. VERY UNCOOL. also, honestly, i love that danny got to say goodbye seperately and it’s fitting that he just can’t watch steve actually walk out the door but also... he should have been here, gdi. now there’s this huge emotional team moment and he’s absent and it’s weird.
steve boards a plane and sits down and his phone beeps and it’s danny texting him “miss you already” and i cannot believe this is actual canon and had to pause to kind of laugh/gasp for air for a little bit.
and catherine shows up! i’ve been braced for this so i’m not surprised and it��s less bad than i thought in many ways but also. they talk about cath driving danny’s car and steve says they can’t have danny williams driving his own car and if that’s true, then why the hell are you leaving, steve. what are you doing to danny? (also. uh. danny’s car kind of went up in flames? he has a new one already? i. what.)
cath asks if steve is ready and they hold hands and steve turns to look out the plane window and smiles and that’s very suddenly it.
you know what? you know what, for the most part, i absolutely loved this. i was prepared for VERY BAD THINGS and i don’t enjoy steve leaving at the end at all and i have MANY NOTES on how things could have maybe ended even better but i. i am okay with this. i am okay with this! that is honestly more than i thought i would be able to say and i’m just VERY RELIEVED right now.
as for the show ending with steve and cath... that was weird, but... he also held danny’s hand this episode and that was supposedly platonic, and steve and cath did not suddenly have a big romantic kiss or get engaged, so i am choosing to take this as a platonic reunion with a person from steve’s past he still cares about, someone who travels a lot and was in hawaii to break that code and therefore this makes sense. he leaves with cath, and then, in a few weeks’ time, he comes back to danny (the person he cares about most in the world), and canon just, y’know, forgot to mention that little tidbit. it happens.
anyway, i had EMOTIONS and i still need to let all of this sink in and i hope you’re all doing okay after this whirlwind of a thing and ahhhh, it is so very weird that it’s over now. 💖
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shireness-says · 5 years
Text
hashtag holiday party
Summary: This isn’t Emma’s company, or her holiday party, or her idea of a good time. Is there any good to be salvaged from the worst date ever? ~3.6K. Rated T for language. Also on AO3.
A/N: A couple of weeks ago, there was a great post about the worst company Christmas party date ever on the Ask a Manager blog, and I could resist turning it into a fic! Super thanks to @snidgetsafan, my ever trusty beta. Happy holidays, everyone!
Tagging the interested parties: @ohmightydevviepuu, @profdanglaisstuff, @kmomof4, @katie-dub, @welllpthisishappening, @thisonesatellite, @let-it-raines, @thejollyroger-writer, @phiralovesloki, @winterbaby89, @scientificapricot, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @spartanguard, @teamhook, @optomisticgirl
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
~~~~~
Emma Swan has many regrets, but chief among them right now is agreeing to this date.
Well, no. First place on her list of regrets is awarded to going to Mary Margaret’s Christmas party, where she ended up trapped in conversation with Walsh.
(Ugh, Walsh. Just the name should have been her clue to get the hell out of dodge when he’d spotted her across the room.)
Walsh isn’t her friend. Walsh wouldn’t even be considered Mary Margaret’s friend, if not for the fact that the woman is friends with absolutely everyone on the planet. He’s her and David’s neighbor, and he had been in town for the holiday, and Mary Margaret’s got a soft spot the size of Maine for lost souls - it’s how she’s ended up Emma’s best friend, after all. Emma and Walsh had interacted at a few previous gatherings, and he’d been fine. No spark to speak of on her end, but whatever, she’s okay to leave it that way. But clearly, he felt differently, because he asked her to accompany him to his company’s holiday party. In full earshot of Mary Margaret, at that, who had gotten such an excited look on her face, obviously already planning the wedding, that Emma couldn’t actually say no. The bastard had probably planned it that way.
(Shit, she doesn’t even know what he does - marketing, maybe? She barely knows the guy, and now she’s being dragged to his holiday party.)
Emma may not be excited, but she puts on a good show at least - none of this slobbing it up to make him regret asking. She can clean up good. And besides, she’ll be shutting that all down with her words later anyways if he’s stupid enough to ask for a second date - no ploys required. The red dress is cocktail appropriate yet a little bit Christmassy, especially when paired with glittery heels, even if her makeup and hair is simple. There’s a big difference between putting in no effort at all, and knowing what just isn’t worth the effort… and anything more than a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick falls firmly into the latter category.
It’s a good thing she doesn’t too, as Walsh shows up early. Eight whole minutes early, to be precise. Not the end of the world, but not ideal either. Emma sighs heavily and braces herself before going to the door; Mary Margaret would tell her to be optimistic, but Emma just knows it’s all downhill from here.
Sure enough, as soon as Emma opens the door, Walsh clumsily whips a bunch of fake flowers out of his coat sleeve. “For you, milady,” he proclaims dramatically, offering the fake foliage. “I wanted to start with a magic trick for a magical date and the beginning of a magical relationship.”
And ho boy howdy, does Emma want to call it all off right now. That was the original definition of coming on too hard. That was so far beyond the bounds of acceptable first date behavior, she doesn’t even know where to go from there.
(Far, far away, and very quickly at that.) 
Mary Margaret’s voice chimes in her ear, though, talking about how it’s sweet and charming and will be a great story to tell the grandkids one day, and Emma just knows she’ll shake her head in disappointment if Emma reports back that she ended the date before it even started. It’s especially hard to face Mary Margaret’s big sad eyes, too, when Emma knows that her friend just wants her to be happy.
Besides, she’s been led to believe there will be an open bar at this thing, and she could go for a free drink. Probably free drinks, plural, if the rest of this date goes the same way.
“O...kay. Okay. That’s… okay. Thank you?” Emma finally manages to stutter out, accepting his “gift”. Can’t say she’s ever received fake flowers from a guy - and can’t say she’d want to again.
“Anything for you, Emma.” His voice is about five notches too reverential for comfort. “Can I help you with your coat?”
“That’s fine, I got it.” No need to create an illusion - no pun intended - that she welcomes his attention any more than she actually does. Plus, she’s a grown woman, and it’s easy enough to slip her coat on over her dress by herself. 
If any hope had existed that this date might get better - that this might turn into the cute story to tell their future kids that Mary Margaret is probably hoping for - that hope is thoroughly squashed by the time Emma slides into her seat at the party’s venue. Walsh had circled the parking lot for fifteen minutes, refusing to accept that there was a complimentary valet service (“I just don’t understand why they’ve got whole sections of the parking lot blocked off.” “Because there’s a valet.” “It just feels like there should be more parking spots. Why isn’t there any place to park?” “Because there’s a valet.”). Then, he refuses to give up his coat at the coat check for too goddamn long because, as it turns out, he has all manner of other magic tricks hidden in the pockets and up his sleeves.
It is not nearly as charming as he obviously believes. 
Truthfully, it’s a relief when she and Walsh find their table, drink tickets in hand. At least at the table, there’s other people, and she won’t be forced to only focus on Walsh���s embarrassing attempts at seduction.
“Can I get you a drink?” he offers eagerly - almost too eagerly, really, practically tripping over himself.
Still, it’s an offer for a drink. And Emma’s in no place to refuse one of those, not with how she thinks this night is shaping up to go. “That’d be great, actually,” she replies, handing over her ticket. “Just some red wine please - I’m not real picky about what kind.” Anything alcoholic will do at this point. 
As Walsh trots off towards the bar, Emma turns her attention towards the rest of the table. They’re a mixed bunch of men and women who smile kindly as Emma looks about. She’s grateful for that - hopefully, Emma can use them as a distraction from whatever she’s sure Walsh will get up to.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” the pretty brunette sitting next to Emma asks. It’s the polite way of pointing out that her companion hadn’t bothered to make introductions. 
“Emma Swan,” she replies, extending a hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine,” she smiles back. “I’m Belle French, and this,” she gestures to the man sitting next to her, “is Killian Jones.”
“Hello, lass.” He’s a looker, to say the least - dark hair, blue eyes, charming smile. Sex on legs. Emma tries momentarily, futilely, to remind herself that she shouldn’t be checking out other men while she’s on a date, but fails spectacularly. It’s been evident since the magic flowers that she and Walsh aren’t going anywhere. 
“Hi,” she waves back. “So you both work for the company, then?”
“Oh no,” Killian laughs. “Belle’s actually a librarian. She’s just here with me.”
And damn, isn’t that a pity; all the good ones seem to be taken. Not that she can blame Belle - the brunette seems to be lovely, and who wouldn’t want a piece of that? 
(Emma doesn’t make a habit of ogling other women’s partners, but she just might make an exception for Killian Jones.) 
Emma’s about to strike up a conversation with her neighbors, hopefully learn more - so what do you do here, how did you meet, is this some sort of flexible arrangement I can get in on - but Walsh returns with her drink at that moment. 
It is not in a wine glass. It is not wine. It is not what she asked for. 
“I got you a mudslide,” he explains with an eager look on his face. “I know how much women love chocolate after all!”
Women love wine too, especially this one, Emma thinks, but accepts the drink gingerly to be polite. No sense wasting the drink ticket. “Thanks,” she responds dryly. “I’m, uh… I’m actually not a big fan of chocolate. But I’m sure it’ll be… fine.” At least it’s liquor, and at least it’s something she can nurse. He could have shown up with a fireball shot. 
“Well if you like, we can get you another drink later with -” Walsh darts a hand toward her ear suddenly, and even as Emma jerks away out of instinct, she knows exactly what’s coming. “- this!” He declares triumphantly with a coin in hand. Another magic trick. Because the first one went so well.
It’s… great.
“Huh. That’s… uh… wow. Huh.” There are no words to muddle through this with. There is only the mortification of watching a grown-ass man trying to woo her with magic tricks. “I was just getting to know some of your coworkers, actually; why don’t you introduce me?”
The rest of the table includes Walsh’s boss, Regina, and her husband Robin, and his coworker Ashley with her fiancé Sean. They’re perfectly nice, and friendly, and interesting, and Emma could almost enjoy herself talking to them - if only Walsh would ever give the magic tricks a break. He pulls handkerchiefs out of his sleeves when she reaches for a napkin, procures everything from drink tickets to miniscule flowers from a variety of places all too close to her person for comfort, and is now pulling out a deck of cards. God only knows how many magic tricks he knows with those.
“Why don’t you save those for later?” Emma suggests when he instructs her to pick a card. Without actually making it sound like a suggestion. Alright, it’s a straight-up order. In her defense, it’s been a long night. Walsh has monopolized her attention all evening with these stupid tricks and explanations of all the things they’ll do together, not even bothering to talk to his coworkers beyond the introductions Emma insisted upon. In fact, he’s grown even more insistent about it every time she’s tried to politely redirect his attention. She’s been making an effort at least - to talk about everyone’s Christmases and the baby that Ashley and Sean are expecting and Belle’s job. But it’s hard to keep any conversation going when she’s got Walsh bugging her every other moment to show her another magic trick. She hopes that the message maybe finally has gotten through with a flat refusal to engage. “Now Belle - you were about to tell us about one of the teen programs at the library?”
Unfortunately, Walsh doesn’t take that very well. In some ways, she supposes that the message to stop all the magic tricks finally did get through his thick skull - it’s just that he then stands up from the table and stalks over to the banquet hall’s piano, sitting down with a flourish. Maintaining eye contact with Emma the whole while - oh, how she wishes she hadn’t startled when he’d stood up and stormed away, wishes she had ignored him altogether - he begins to play.
“Is that Adele?” Regina asks after a moment.
Emma groans. “I’m going to need another drink.”
———
It just doesn’t make sense - how such a charming woman as Emma Swan ended up at this holiday party as the date of Walsh Ozman. Killian just can’t understand it; he has to work with Walsh every day, and he’s never been anything less than insufferable.
“I kind of got roped into it,” Emma explains, sipping on the glass of wine she’d finally procured with her second drink ticket. “My best friend is his neighbor, and we were both at her Christmas party, and before I knew it he was asking me and Mary Margaret was giving me that face she has. She’s a matchmaker - always just wants to see everyone happy and paired off. Romance is everywhere if you just look for it and all that.” She takes a long drink, nearly draining the rest of the glass. “Big crock of shit, if this is what it brings.”
He’d like to argue with her, tell her that it’s not all hopeless (if only for the very selfish reason that he’d like to show her otherwise on a much nicer date than she’s currently suffering through)... but Walsh strikes a particularly strong chord right at that moment, rendering anything Killian might try to say in poor taste. Christmas music has been piping through the room since before any of them arrived, but that doesn’t stop Walsh in the least. God, what an obnoxious prick.
“So, how did you two meet?” Emma asks, gesturing between Killian and Belle as she takes another sip, obviously trying to take her mind off the spectacle being staged in her honor across the room. 
“Killian moved into the apartment next to mine… what, three years ago now?” Belle asks, looking to him for confirmation. “Anyways, I dropped by with a tray of cookies as a little ‘welcome to the building’ gesture, and as they say, the rest is history,” she beams. 
“Of course you did,” he thinks he hears Emma mutter into the remains of her wine. Curious, that. It’s almost like she thinks… “Well, I’m happy for you two. You guys are really cute.”
Killian spares a glance at Belle before hastening to reply. “Oh, no, we’re not -”
But before he can clarify the situation - that he and Belle are just friends, no romantic spark to speak of - the distinct strains of “You’re So Vain” drift over from the piano, where Walsh wears a mournful face best suited to sad puppy dog commercials. Like this whole moment isn’t already the stuff of a terrible comedy movie.
Ashley pushes her drink tickets across the table. “I think you might need something a little stronger.”
The understatement of the century. 
———
Emma Swan ends up with a lot of spare drink tickets; everyone seems to recognize that she needs them a lot more than anyone else. With her spare drink tickets, Emma Swan procures a martini, a vodka cranberry, and two rum and cokes before anyone insists she switch to water. It’s certainly understandable that she’d want to drink her way through this utter disaster of a date. 
Walsh still plays the piano.
Killian, in turn, discovers that Emma Swan is an effusively nice drunk. She assures Ashley and Sean that they’re going to the best parents, and declares that Regina is both a queen and a boss-ass bitch in a tone that makes it clear that it’s the highest compliment. Killian thinks he even overhears Emma telling Belle that she’s “an angel nurturing the minds of tomorrow so they can make the world a better place and perpetuate the power of human kindness” as he returns with her final cocktail. 
(He just might have to print off business cards with that mouthful of a title as a gag gift for Belle.)
Eventually, Walsh does tire of his dramatics and return to the table in a huff. Unfortunately, he’s very insistent that it’s time to leave. It makes sense; this party can’t have been much fun for him, despite the elaborate wallowing routine he created for himself. That means Emma has to leave too, though, and Killian will miss her bright smile and endearingly excessive compliments. There’s also the matter of how he’s not sure he trusts Walsh to take her home.
“You know what, Belle and I are about ready to call it a night too. We’ll follow you out,” he insists. Walsh’s glare only solidifies Killian’s determination to do so. “Swan, do you want to text your friend and let her know you’re on your way?”
“I should text Mary Margaret!” Emma slurs. “Have I told you she’s an angel?”
“You sure did, love.”
The coat check shouldn’t result in any great debacle; it’s the coat check after all, practically just a formality. They get their coats, they go. Unfortunately, it’s Walsh, so unfortunately, that’s not the case.
“You’re like a… like a coat guard. A coat-yguard!” Emma grins as her outerwear is handed back. With clumsy fingers, she extracts a ten dollar bill from her wallet - a little excessive, most likely, but hell, she’s feeling good - and drops it into the tip jar.
Only for Walsh to snatch it right back out.
“You don’t have to pay the tip for me,” Emma insists with a stubborn set to her brows. “I’m fine to do it.” 
“Coat check is free, baby,” Walsh tells her with a patronizing tone, trying to stuff the bill into his own coat pocket. Poor taste, that, but still not nearly as poor of taste as refusing to tip.
“Yeah, that’s why you tip,” Emma insists, snatching the bill from his hand to stick it back in the jar again. 
“Don’t be stupid, that’s just a scam.” Walsh even rolls his eyes as he reaches back to the jar again.
Emma slaps his hand on the way. “You know what, you douchebag -”
“Emma would you like a ride home with us instead?” Belle interrupts, reading the situation. It’s more than for the best; Killian doesn’t trust Walsh as far as he can spit.
“Oh my god, yes.” After Emma manages to wrestle back into her coat, she turns back to Walsh for one parting shot. “Now that is what a date is supposed to look like, bozo. These two? They’re hashtag relationship goals.” She even makes the symbol with her hands.
He should correct her, really, but at a certain point, it just seems best to steer Emma out of the building and into his car.
By some miracle, her building is only two blocks away from their own. Emma spends the ride in the backseat with Belle, playing with the brunette’s hair and insisting they exchange numbers. 
“You’ve been a goddamn gem, Killian Jones,” she salutes in parting as Belle leads her inside.
This night has been many things, but memorable certainly tops the list. One thing is for certain: he won’t be forgetting Emma Swan anytime soon.
——— 
Emma wakes the next day with a pounding headache, an intense feeling of humiliation, and Belle French’s number in her phone. Surely, she’s had worse nights, but it’s hard to think of any right now.
She finally manages to work up the nerve to text Belle in mid-afternoon; she definitely owes a variety of people a variety of apologies.
Emma Swan, 4:32pm: hey, it’s Emma. thanks for taking care of my drunk ass last night, i’m sure i was a mess. sorry about that
Belle French, 4:41pm: Don’t worry about it, please! You were great, we should do something again sometime.
Emma Swan, 4:44pm: no mixing drinks, please, for the love of god
Emma Swan, 4:45pm: thank Killian for me too. lucky girl - he seems like a real keeper. unlike my date last night…
Belle French, 4:47: Will do! He’s not my boyfriend, though - we really are just neighbors. He’s like a brother to me, truly. Credit where credit is due, though - he really was a lot better than your tosser!
Emma Swan, 4:51: … oh.
Emma Swan, 4:51: do you know if he has a different girlfriend, then?
Belle French, 4:53: I know for a fact that he doesn’t. Let me send you his number.
———
She should be brave - should use that phone number to reach out and ask him to coffee or drinks or straight into a steamy make-out session. 
Emma Swan does not do any of these things.
(She especially doesn’t tell Mary Margaret - it was already bad enough to have to relive exactly why she and Walsh won’t be having a second date, there’s no need to encourage her friend to transfer all her hopes to poor Killian instead.)
Instead, she runs into Killian completely by chance a week later, as he’s coming out of the post office and she’s walking to the coffee shop. She nearly plows him over, actually - far too focused on checking her email on her phone and not nearly enough on where she’s going.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he grins once they’ve straightened themselves out again.
“Yeah,” Emma laughs. “And sober this time, too!”
(Not one of her stronger lines.)
“A real plus for certain.” Well, at least he seems charmed.
They lapse into a silence for a moment before Emma finds the words to continue. “I just want to thank you, for being so great that night. And apologize for… everything I did. God, I was a mess that night.”
“You were in the middle of a disaster of a situation,” Killian smiles at her. 
“Yeah, well, let’s just call it a lapse in judgement and leave it at that.” Emma winces as memories of the night flick through her brain. “God, did I really make the hashtag symbol with my hands? In public?”
“You really did,” he chuckles. “I take it Belle straightened you out on the relationship bit of relationship goals?”
Emma blushes. “Yeah, she did. Definitely not mortified about that, not at all.”
“Ah, happens to the best of us, Swan.” After another silent moment, his hand steals up to scratch at the bit of neck behind his ear. “Since that’s the case, I was just wondering - well, I’d like to ask, that is, if you’re interested -”
“Do you want to get coffee with me?” Emma interrupts. She thinks that’s where he was going, anyways; she’s just a little more efficient about it.
“I’d love to, Emma.” This time, the grin stretches fully across his face and could probably outshine a whole tree’s worth of Christmas lights.
Who knows? Something good just might have come out of that god-awful holiday party date after all.
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spainlovestay · 5 years
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Swiftie tips ❤️
I know I've met Taylor, but for the most part of my life, I was one of those people that wanted to hug Taylor and tell her lots of things and thought would never happen to me.
So, these are a few things that I think could make you feel better (and maybe one day lead you to meet Taylor). Please, never give up!
- It's okay (and normal) to be jealous! You can be jealous of someone that met Taylor or was noticed by her and love that person at the same time! I've been there and I understand how hard it is to see someone else getting notices when you try so so hard and get nothing. And actually, I was never noticed by Taylor before meeting her, so I am still in the same position as before! I’ve only been noticed by Taylor once in my life!
- It's okay to be down when others don't share something you've personally done with lots of effort (art, pictures, poems, whatever). When you're new to the fandom, it's really hard to find people that are nice and it's VERY normal that your hard work goes unnoticed. It happened to me and it happens to everyone! But I promise you, it changes with time! This fandom has some of the best people that I've met and if you keep trying you'll eventually make AMAZING friends that will help you and care about you very much.
- Notices DON'T MATTER. I can't emphasize this enough. When Taylor finds someone, she lurks them in secret and she doesn't notice them on purpose so whenever she decides to meet them it comes as a surprise. When there's an online "party" with Taylor Nation or when Taylor is doing a like spree, that normally DOESN'T matter at all. That's not when she finds people! Most of the people at my secret session didn't have a Taylor notice and they had never been noticed before. It's okay to want notices, but I promise you it's possible to meet Taylor even when you don't have any!
- Participate in Taylor Nation hangout parties, but not with the sole purpose of getting a notice! Sharing your things is a really fun way to make friends and let people know you. Comment down under their posts, share their work and like their posts! When you start doing that for others, they'll normally do the same for you when you post your things. If you have friends that care about you, your things will be shared more often and you'll get more possibilities of getting noticed.
- JOIN PROJECTS! Taylor Nation notices group projects quite often. But even when they don't, this is the MOST fun way of making friends. Don't be afraid to create your own project if you have an idea. Ask for help if there's something you want to do and you don't know how! Create collages, fan (and fun!) videos, etc. If you feel alone, start your own group chat! ASK people to join your group chat if there's someone you would love to talk to more and you feel like they don't know you yet! People are really nice and even if you feel invisible, it's okay to approach others! Most of the times they'll be super nice and want to make friends too!
- If there's a project or personal post you want to reach Taylor, ask for help to share it! It's okay to let people know about your project, send it in group chats and try to get visibility. I know lots of people ignore these posts, but there are also lots of others that love sharing things and helping out. I wouldn't have met Taylor if it wasn't for my friends sharing my things and trying to help me out. I'm so thankful for them and the only thing I can do is try to do the same for others now!
- If you find it hard to talk to strangers or for whatever reason you don't have many friends/followers, IT'S OKAY! You can still keep posting your things! Use hashtags related to what you're posting (#taylorswift, #taylor nation, #taylurking, #lover, or whatever hashtag is relevant!) and tag @taylorswift​ and @taylornation​. I've met people that had literally 20 followers and somehow, Taylor still found them and met them. So, really, DON'T give up.
- Don't be scared to talk to people that have met Taylor! We were one of you not long ago. We also want to help! I know sometimes it's scary, I used to feel that way. I know some secret sessioners can be a little meh, but most of them are the nicest people out there and they also want to make new friends!
- [Optional] Don't use a generic Taylor profile picture and have your name on your profile! Although this is not directly related, but people (Taylor included) love putting faces and names to accounts. If you use a Taylor picture as your profile picture and your name is something like "haunted stan", you're just another fan and you'll be no different than the others. This is a bit controversial and people will probably disagree with me, but I think it helps! Note: I understand that for privacy reasons you may want to hide your picture, especially if you're under 18 years old! That's perfectly fine (and I encourage you to do it unless you're like over 15-16 years old). Privacy is VERY important too. But don't worry too much about it because Taylor has met people with generic profile pictures before!
I hope this helps you in some way. If you ever want to talk to someone, I'm here for you! I don't want you to feel alone, EVER. Feel free to share this post so others can read it ❤️
Love,
Jenny
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holidaywishes · 5 years
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It Had To Be You XXXVII
Chapter Thirty Seven: Unconditionally
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  Summary: Tyler adds a picture of you to his Instagram and you try to not make a big deal about it.
  Warning: Cuteness... that’s about it oh and a pretty major time jump
  Author’s Note: The first of my writings when I’m laid up in bed; it’s a really short and fluffy chapter but I kinda like it. The last chapter was in November so I’m gonna skip a few more months to March 2021. So, we’re moving forward a year because I want the last few months to be happy ones and I want these two to continue to be happy. So, I can just break all of it with some angst, if I choose to!
  Song Credit: Unconditionally -- Katy Perry
  masterlist
  the other masterlist
xx
  You had no problem posting your life on Instagram. It was the only platform you really knew how to navigate properly, everything else may as well have been in another language. You posted literally everything from selfies to travel, food to festivals and, of course, every relationship you’d ever been in. Which meant that you posted nearly every moment of your relationship with Tyler, including getting a dog, but you knew he wasn’t comfortable putting you on his feed just yet. You were okay with it; he had his reasons, he’d post something with you when he was ready.
  @(Y/I/H): Four months later and the boys still don’t know what to think of Lionel... He’s just a little smaller guys, learn to live with it. 😜
  Your caption read on a photo you took in the morning before you left for work. Your day went by normally, and fairly quickly, until you got a notification from Tyler.
  @tseguin92: Look at these cuties 😍 #thatsmygirl
  There was something about it that felt weird. Maybe it was the hashtag or the use of ‘cuties,’ you weren’t sure but it felt off.
  “Were you hacked?” you texted him
  “Hacked? Where?” he replied
  “On Instagram?”
  “No.. I don’t think so, why?”
  “You posted something..”
  “I post a lot of things”
  “Not like this...”
  “What are you talking about?”
  “You posted me and Lionel.. and not in a story”
  “Yeah..?”
  “It wasn’t a mistake?”
  “Of course not”
  “Why now?” you started but quickly sent a follow up, “I mean don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re posting us and I love that picture but... you’ve never really acknowledged me on your accounts. I’m just curious as to why now? After two and a half years, why now? Why post something now?”
  “Because...”
  “Because...?”
  “We’ve made it two and a half years. With all the arguing and disagreements and the uncertainty, we’ve stayed together and I’m happy. With you. I hope you’re happy too..”
  “Of course I’m happy,” you smiled to yourself, “I love you”
  “I love you too,” he said, “I just thought it was time. I mean it’s not like it was a secret. It couldn’t have been because you post about us all the time so people knew, they know, but I just didn’t want people to say anything negative about you. I was nervous. But I don’t know I guess I want people to know about you... Now more than ever”
  “Why now more than ever?”
  “Because I love you more than I did when I first met you..”
  “Oh my god,” you laughed to yourself as you sat at your desk, apologizing to your coworkers around you, “you’re so cheesy”
  “I know I know. Look I gotta go, but I’ll see you when I get home okay?”
  “Okay! We’ll be waiting for you 😉”
  After that post, Tyler didn’t skimp on how many times you were featured on his feed or his stories. Every time he tagged you in a photo, you tried not to freak out but for some reason this felt more official than anything else in your relationship, even introducing him as your boyfriend or you as his girlfriend. There was something very vulnerable about putting your relationship on the internet for all to see, and comment on, so the fact that he wanted to put you on there... meant something to you.
  It was stupid and a very 21st century, very millennial, thing to feel but you couldn’t help it. He was proud of you, he loved you and he wanted to be with you; he showed all of that with what he chose to post. You were so happy that you were practically jumping out of your skin. You just hoped nothing would happen to change all of that.
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