#and idk how to combat that bc like. i think its true

[poorlittlevampire]

actually i think i need to go back into isolation mode everywhere outside of tumblr

[emptylotfiasco]

yeah they need to remaster kurohyou

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

the duality of trueform!Dean

he's glowing he's everything he's beautiful he's a warrior he's a mother he's a dorky little creacher whose default face is a blep

@castrotophic trueform posting

[rollercoasterwords]

hey rae, i’m experiencing a bit of a moral dilemma (ish) bc like… i’ve always more or less had this view that its wrong on some level to like “police” people on the kind of media they are creating, even mainstream tbh and now… well… let’s just say a little bee flew in rather aggressively into my eardrums and it won’t stop buzzing about the moral implications and suddenly the pretty stable ground that i was standing on is slowing crumbling beneath my feet but like… that’s okay??? i’m accepting the fall bc i’m actually always thrilled to free fall. that is to say, i love the way things around me can make me question my own ideas of what i believe to be true sometimes like i love love love it. i love looking at smth ekth a new lens and more information and then yk, rebuilding thag ground with more stable material. anyways, sry i’m rambling, but you see, everything this bee was buzzing abt started to increasingly make more sense and like, i started to rly think about it in the way of like… evaluating the consequences right? like if a specific media trope has very real contributions to a stigma abt a certain group and manifests in the society in multiple ways, then rly, why can’t i condemn it? bc the way i used to look at it was like “well yes, the media is harmful, but like, i also don’t think we have the right to dictate other people’s liberties when it come to art”. but now… especially considering that this “art” is mainstream and like reaches millions of people, why tf not? bc when you rly put it on the scale, what has more weight, ppl being mad/annoyed that engaging with this is “bad” and they shouldn’t/ being limited in creating it or ppl suffering the real life implications of this. and to make myself a little clearer, the specific thing thag kinda made me realize this more was how media a lot of the times portrays certain mental illness in an overly negative and harmful way, and how in thrn, society discriminates against those individuals in part bc of the skewed perception thag media has portrayed about them. and i feel like this kinda of made me like… think more about this view that i used to defend strongly, and kinda of go, wait, hold up… and i’m still a little like… conflicted bc as much as like i say this, i don’t think there are any viable means of like combatting this issue bc at the end of the day, what creators for mainstream media want is money and these things get them money and so it’s never rly gonna stop, and i still am a little iffy on the idea thag it’s essentially like… an objective moral no no, but like i can see the other side more clearly and it’s just… man it’s so frustrating in a way. and like as much as some ppl may engage with their media critically and liek recognize these stereotypes and shit, a majority of ppl don’t and it’s so frustrating to see itttt. but yeah, idk im still like… gathering materials before fully building this floor, but like, what are your thoughts on this if any? (i’m literally going to everyone with this i an truly a menace, i need to talkkkk abt it like the way this brings me so much joy) (unfortunately i don’t have many ppl in my life that care or are willing to talk to me abt these things) (enter: rae)

hello!! interesting questions!! love that u are embracing the freefall of having a core belief challenged + opening urself to new ways of thinking rather than growing defensive + closing urself off!!

so, what i wanna start off by saying here is this: there is a very broad middle ground between "this art is bad and shouldn't exist/shouldn't be interacted with at all" versus "everyone should just create whatever they want with disregard for the consequences."

because different forms of art are going to be doing different things, reaching different audiences, and sending different messages. and there are plenty of ways that art/literature/media/etc can be harmful. for example, this recent open letter to the new york times is a great example of a critique on the way in which the nytimes' coverage of trans "issues" causes real-life harm to trans people. in this sort of instance, it's not okay for the nytimes to just continue writing as they have, however they want, because they have certain journalistic responsibilites which include not promoting/perpetuating harm against marginalized groups (not that they have an especially great track record in that regard, but i digress). part of critically evaluating media is evaluating whether that media has harmful real-life implications, and, if it does, figuring out whether/how to engage with that media in a way that does not perpetuate that harm.

so like--with the example you're talking about, portrayals of mental illness that contribute to stigma. part of evaluating those portrayals is going to start with asking what kind of media you're looking at, who it's reaching, and what it's trying to do. for example--a movie made by a large hollywood studio that's profiting off a stigmatizing portrayal of mental illness, reaching a broad audience, and contributing to widespread misconceptions is tangibly harmful, and it makes sense to vocally critique that portrayal or perhaps even encourage people not to engage with the movie at all, as it is profiting off something harmful. additionally, hollywood movies are invested in perpetuating a capitalist system such that they will often have an underlying goal of spreading messages/ideas that support that capitalist system, so there is much more to be wary of there in the intent of the media.

a fanfiction on the internet written by an individual that contains a stigmatizing portrayal of mental illness is something that is not accruing profit, not reaching a broad audience, and not harmful in the same way. an individual writing fanfiction on the internet is also not invested in perpetuating broader systems of capitalistic power in the same way a hollywood movie studio is, so the intent of their art is likely different. a better route here is probably to reach out to the individual, who probably wrote this portrayal out of ignorance and would most likely be open to educating themself and avoiding such portrayals in the future. this is a better response than trying to "cancel" the person completely, because it works to build community and has a much more direct impact in breaking the stigma around mental illness by educating an individual who previously internalized those stigmatized views.

when you're trying to critically evaluate a piece of media that contains something you view as potentially harmful, here are some important questions to ask:

who is making this? why are they making it? what is the stated goal of the creator(s) in creating this specific piece of media? are there any other goals that the creator is leaving unsaid?

who is the intended audience of this media? how large is that audience? in what ways is this media catered to appeal to that audience? what responsibilities does the creator hold towards that audience? will the audience response be monolithic, or is there room for varied impact amongst members of the same audience?

is this media a lecture or a conversation? is this media presenting a moral truth that i am expected to accept? or is it presenting moral questions and encouraging me to draw my own conclusions?

what role does profit play in the creation + distribution of this media? what systems of power is this media invested in upholding, if any? what institutions is this media invested in upholding, if any?

these are all questions which, depending on the answers, are going to change your evaluation on the media. this post kind of sums up what i mean, and i talk more here about when art becomes truly harmful. but also, i want to emphasize--engaging with media critically and coming to the conclusion that something is harmful is not the same thing as policing media, at least in my opinion. policing implies reinforcing set rules for how someone can or cannot create/engage with media, which doesn't allow for the necessary flexibility needed for actual critical thought. i think it's also important to note that policing typically says "if this media is Bad, you must destroy it/ignore it completely." but critically engaging with media means acknowledging harmful media when it exists, and analyzing why it exists + what it's trying to do. it also means acknowledging that not all media is going to fit cleanly into the harmful/harmless dichotomy. sometimes media will contain harmful stereotypes or stigmatizing portrayals in one sense, and really important representation or progressive ideas in another sense. other times, a portrayal that feels stigmatizing to one person will feel like representation to another. part of engaging critically with media means evaluating what it's doing as a whole and accounting for both the good and the bad. at the end of the day, we can't solve problems by refusing to engage with them at all, y'know?

[knightzp]

izuleo and uhh. xingyun for the ask game (I think you like xingyun right?? I was and still kind of am obsessed with them)

izuleo:

what made you ship it? tbh i remember watching the enstars anime and not really understanding at first why everyone was shipping izuleo (bc the anime shows absolutely nothing abt them) and then i read checkmate and lionheart and i was like. Oh. now i get it now i understand everything. izuleo oughgg

what are your favorite things abt the ship? just. all their story. theyve been through so much together, both good and bad moments. how they started as best friends and understood each other like no one else at the beginning and then how it all went wrong after checkmate and they hurt each other a lot during the war but after months of being separated they reunited and started slowly healing from their wounds to the point theyre now living together in florence. the whole evolution of their relationship is just. So good

is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? actually im gonna say the same as you tia bc its so true i really think it too. their relationship is a lot of things but i dont think it is extrictly romantic i cant imagine them like a regular romantic couple at all but also its not entirely platonic either bc they love and care abt each other so much and in a lot of unique ways. theyre def a secret third thing and i believe not even them know how to describe it

xingyun (and YES YES YESSS I LOVE XINGYUN SO MUCH theyre my fave genshin ship and one of my fave ships ever in general too my absolute beloveds <333):

what made you ship it? oh god its been so long i dont think i remember the actual moment.... like i knew abt the ship way before i got to know their characters in the game and i Had the feeling i was going to love them. and then i played their quests/hangouts and started to slowly get to know them until i was like. yep i do love them. i knew it <3

what are your favorite things abt the ship? oh boy *inhales air*. theyre best AND childhood friends with water/ice powers which is the best combination ever both combat wise and aesthetically one is pining a lot and making every possible excuse to spend time together with the other (like remember that moment when xingqiu asked chongyun to go to that haunted place BC IT WAS A LOCATION ONLY VISITED BY COUPLES HE CLEARLY WANTED A DATE) and the other is so oblivious that wouldnt take a hint ever (and so asked the traveler to go with him instead.... sorry xingqiu) but also most of the times one appears onscreen the other is very likely with him bc theyre clearly so attached to each other. xingqiu pulling pranks on poor chongyun and teasing him so much but also 'dear chongyun'. and chongyun may get a bit mad at first but would never hate xingqiu for anything he does bc he just cherishes so much. THEIR MATCHING TASSELS. THAT BDAY LETTER FROM CHONGYUN THAT WAS CLEARLY FOR XINGQIU AND NOT THE TRAVELER. THE YOUNG AND HOPELESSLY SMITTEN THING they just have one of my fave dynamics ever and there is So much evidence in canon content abt their feelings for each other and hngngngngngn im so obsessed i love them so much 🩵💙

is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? mmmm not really? idk if this is really unpopular but if i have to say something. theyre So ace. to me. both of them but especially chongyun. ace xingyun is real and canon to me <33

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Watching some random guy be like "Things Famous DMs do that you SHOULDNT do" (famous dms being like Matt Mercer and Brennan (?) The guy from college humor idk)

And the first thing was like, "no long, narrative descriptions" and the second i think was like "dont focus too heavily on the social roleplay" (which he condescending nicknamed "talkie talkie bits")

He also went on to say DO NOT conspire with players and Don't "put the story before the game"

Which to me is all just confusing bc. The story IS the game??

We regularly go whole sessions with 0 combat and im cool w that because personally combat is Just Okay to me and I looooove talkie-talkieing, esp with the other PCs. We go on random tangents sometimes and to me that's fun! Its a table top ROLEPLAY game after all

Our dm gathered our opinions on the amount of roleplay to combat, how much we like puzzles and subjects we didnt want to involve in the game, all in session 0.

And, yes, our dm talks with each of us individually about our characters and backstories on an ongoing basis so they can come up with possible directions for storiesz but nothing is so locked down that we "might as well not play the game", which is what he said about players and DMs "conspiring".

Thats kinda stupid imo. Like, as stupid as saying that theres "no point" in playing a single player video game when you could just ... read the synposis or watch a gameplay no commentary... like bro its about the whole experience? I do think watching a video game is also a valid way to experience it but it doesnt mean theres "no point" in playing it yourself. Otherwise there would also be no point in replaying games or playing games with the same formula (like pokemon) bc you already know what will happen.

Anyway. Its FINE to want a combat heavy, light roleplay/narrative dnd campagins but saying "generally narrative and roleplay heavy DMs will bore players" is not true! It depends on your specific table!!!!!!! Why are you presuming to know that there is ONE specific dnd player that every dm will appeal to???

[sl33pyperson]

we love a man who is after blood

marlene and marc being domestic: good food

mk just looking good: also good food

not wanting to be alone: yup

this comic has Really swung into marlene being badass via combat and violence and its just fun. mwah. love a lady who can take carw of herself. nevermind randall is coming back next story so we!ll see if she survives that

“youre the only true people marc spector has” 1. how dare u say this about gena. she wanted to get out of this city bc its fucking dangerous not to run away from u (also u did attract danger to her) 2. hmmmm. the introduction of Separating mk and marc?? im reading into this too much

why does this giant casino that is roman themed have a giant fucking statue of khonshu. shut up

he just looks goooooood

hes sulking lol

ALSO SORRY JEANS HAT “the clothes really make the man” WITH THAT HAT BABE?

i didnt know drax was green

OH RIGHT YES so there was cameos before the volt guy - which was thanos and infinity wars. its so wild to see like, most people going around kicking space ass while moon knight truely is down to earth on the streets with the people (do not talk to me about the show with this in mind ill start crying)

this page is also like. what a fucking nightmare. you got haunted by a arsonist and now your home is dying and on fire and being invaded. half the people you know are now dead (WHICH UH . IS WILD but i think all the infinity war stuff happened in between issues)

ive never seen this guy before and hes tacky but im like. mildly fond of him. walkin the dog bc hes fond of his lil human who fUCKING DIED

moon struggling in the corner. help him. hes doing literally the least

is that

is this seriously how they deal with infinity war

WELP ITS ALL OVER TIME FOR EVERYONE TO FORGET ABOUT IT??? ah. fucking comic logic.

ok now im worried the mk list im going off isnt accurate bc it didnt have this spidy comic in it (mk is in it for 1 panel bc hes mentioned ahh) but anyway midniht is looking good

may is adorable

this is uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh very quippy. idk what else i expected from a spidy comic but EVERYONE is very quippy. didnt expect that from midnight and punisher (him making fun of heros yeah im into that)

hey. hey midnight baby. that is not how i fucking remember what happened

u forced ur way to join mk and be his sidekick bc u wanted to use ur dads skills in a better way. being a hero FUCKING SUCKED bc u kept getting shot at and everything u did amounted to nothing (to u at least). marc hated having you around bc it was another person he could hurt and get hurt, and you were not very street smart. then you RAN OFF, DECIDED TO GO BACK TO STEALING, BROKE INTO HIS HOUSE AND STOLE HIS CLOTHES TO MAKE HIM LOOK LIKE A VILLAIN FOR PAYBACK BECAUSE HE DIDNT WANT UR DUMB ASS AROUND??

aBANDONED YOU?? TURNED HIS BACK ON U?? WHAT?? WHAT WHAT

ok. ok. the man has been manipulated and gaslit ok that. that makes more sense

ok. ok. hes been highly brain fucked. YOU WERE FUCKING DEAD MY GUY AND THE EMPIRE STOLE UR FUCKING BODYYYYYYYYYYYYY HOW TF DID MK LEAVE U BEHIND WHEN THEY STOLE UUUUUU

oh this man is just goneeeee sir this lady is just a fucking nurse that wants to go home. ofc she made a connection to the guy who if she didnt care for she would get killeeeed

anyway i love seeing midnight again even if hes fucked up. no thoughts on darkhawk yet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jackienautism]

update on the fire emblem playthrough! i've just started part two and let me just say. absolute ROLLERCOASTER of emotions since my last ask omg. i did manage to recruit the non-eagle characters i was most interested in (marianne, ingrid and felix. also i forgot to mention in my first ask but sylvain is also there since he was. easy to get). sadly i didn't manage to get raphael who was my next pick, probably because i kept accidentally skipping time (skipped a whole month by accident, and then later skipped a day of exploration without training bc edelgard asked me to come with her. and if i'd had that one day of training i would've gotten him too!! im so salty..) </3 living a sad raphael-less life now.

currently my absolute favorite is dorothea and it's kind of killing me that i'm not gonna romance her this playthrough (because i've gotta go with edie.) next playthrough however.....

i also still really love bernie and caspar those are my besties. i never disliked hubert but he's really grown on me. OH and i didn't even MENTION petra in my first ask which should qualify as a crime. i love her so much.

as for the other eagles, i still like them! i feel like i've already listed most of the eagles hang on who's even left.... linhardt and ferdinand. yeah they're chill! not on the same level as the rest of the eagles to me, but i do still like them.

and as for the recruits from other houses, marianne is definitely up there! although i feel like you have to work a little more to get to know the characters you've recruited from other houses, and the only one i've really gotten to know is sylvain. who i do like, honestly, but he just can't compare to the majority of the eagles lmao.

even though it's like... abundantly obvious by the rest of my ask. i did end up siding with edelgard. uhhhh other story related thoughts hmm.. OH jeralt's death was really sad.

idk i'm having fun!! still enjoying the combat, still enjoying the life sim, and still enjoying the overall plot. excited to see what happens next! LMAO this ask is mostly just me listing all of the characters i like and not much else whoops.

you have no idea how happy your updates and asks have made me <3 thank u so much for sending these in!

SO GLAD YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE SECOND HAAAALF... you got there quite quickly WOW good for you! but yeah dfgjndfg and don't worry things are absolutely going to heat up even more <3 esp if you werent able ot recruit raphael <33 atleast i think so? i havent played crimson flower without recruiting him so i cant remember exactly what happesn... but yeah. AND SYLVAIN YEAH DFJGDFG he was also there for me my veeeery first run. i assume you chose f!byleth right? i think its so funny how he immediately says yes if youre a girl. glad you were able to get the non eagle characters though! youre def gonna be happy that you did 😭 i tend to recruit like everyone. even the characters i dont find myself attached to. just cause. well actually theres a reason but i wont say anything jsut yet

SORRY THAT YOURE LIVING A RAPH-LESS LIFE THOUGH ): glad you were able to get the other 4 but <//3 you have my condolences. did you accidentally skip the whole month when you had to explore jertiza's room? bc i did that during my current run djfjdfg i just. totally forgot abt it. i read the message that appeared and did not comprehend a single word. BUT AGUGGH THAT SUUUCKS MAN, IM SO SORRY THAT YOU WERE THAT CLOSE TO GETTING HIM. BUT ALAS.....

DOROTHEA<333333333 YOU HAVE SPLENDID TASTE. CAN YOU BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE HATE HER? STUPIDITY... anyway byleth and you and i (i assume) have 2 hands so why can't we romance both edie and dorothea? yk? have fun romancing them though i love them both so much<3 such lovely choices you are so cool

BERNIE AND CASPAR!!!!!! SO REAL AND TRUE IM HAPPY YOU FOUND YOUR PEOPLE... and the same thign happened w/ me and hubie fdkgjnf i didnt hate him perse but i just didnt reallly care and then i got his A support and justt.... oughhh. AND PETRA THE BELOVED!!!!!! SHES SO AWESOME.... she deserves all the llove in the world

fair enough! ferdie had to grow on me... but yeah his development regarding edelgard and whatnot got 2 me i guess. i love him dearly. plus his timeskip design rocks. and linhardt my boy linhardt.... i just think hsi disdain for fighting / war and his desire to just chill under a tree due to all the trauma and pain he's gone through is cool. hes gone through and is going throuhg a lot and he deserves a moment of complete and utter. tranquility

MARIANNE MY GIRL<33 but no youre absolutely right. you def have to go the extra mile to learn more abt characters who arent in the house youre teaching. which really sucks, but atleast you get a little insight into them and their characters before diving deeper in their respective route? sylvain is def a good choice, hes absolutely a very interesting character to me. but the black eagles my beloveds

glad you sided w/ her <3 wont even lie i was extremely afraid you wouldnt like her after what happens in part one and whatnot. bc i dont blame anyone who does. i just think most of the common reasoning against her is dumb. BUT YEAH. VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT LOL first impressions are super important ofc but things could sooo easily change.... esp in edie's case..... bc shes such a morally grey character. and also a girl so . and we know how fandom reacts to morally grey girls. ANYWAY/ RIGHT ? HIS DEATH MADE ME SO SAD. GOING THROUGH IT FOR EVEN THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME ... hes a great faather and i think his voice is cool

DW IM SO GLAD THAT YOU SPENT THE ASK TALKING ABT YOUR FAVES..... and im so happy that you seem to be really enjoying it so farrr ouguh... hope the rest of crimson flower and the other routes dont disappoint! feel free to chat whenever :D im always free to do so!

[foxstens]

had my first run-in with the janissaries

basically i went through every area i could access to get all the treasure chests i had been avoiding bc they were guarded n stuff. and all of them were easy, like four were in a huge restricted area that literally had two guards lmao, but there’s this one. it’s in a camp, the only camp ive come across in this game, and there’s like 50 guards around it

most of them are janissaries, who are... the most annoying enemy ive come across in this series. like i knew they’d be hard based on their description and what i’ve read about them but holy fuck i did not expect to be this bad at fighting them. they can block or counter or dodge every attack you have, they can either combo-hit you or shoot you, and they take a million years to die bc it’s so hard to find an opening. oh and in this case there’s no way to just fight them one by one. 

they’re also quite resistant to the crossbow and the hidden gun, like a few enemies in this game, and they take like 3 shots form either to die. the only way to one-shot them is via poison or arrow storm. idk how well bombs work since i suck at using them and you can’t snipe them from the roof bc this is a pretty big open camp.

in my panic i ended up calling a few assassins and thankfully none of them died but it was close. taunt doesn’t exist in this game so you can’t disarm them like the papal guards, and apparently the best ways to kill them are via counter steal??? which is pretty complicated and im too slow to use it, or via air assassination which im also too slow for. i dont think they show up in other places but i think there’s a mission involving them and this camp which is. scary. i mean i guess i could go there and just practice them or smth but i feel underleveled for it. id like to get more stuff and more experience with the bombs before i do that

i feel like there isn’t too much to do in this game yet, ive just been running around getting money renovating buildings lowering my awareness rinse and repeat, and also recruiting any troubled citizens i came across. i’ve managed to recruit pretty much everyone that showed up on my map apart from one particular guy because its a race

and races are still fucking impossible jesus fucking christ its not even hard but EZIO JUST JUMPS ALL OVER THE PLACE EVEN WHEN MY FINGERS ARE WORKING CORRECTLY AND ITS SO FUCKING ANNOYING JEHSUGDJUSJDUG 

i am glad i checked it out tho bc there’s a small cutscene before the race starts and holy shit have i mentioned i love ezio. ohhhhhh my god i love ezio in this game. HE’S SO GREAT WHAT THE HECK. like hes always been great but hes so. hes so mature now. hes so calm. i keep saying that but its true g o d. AND HIS VOICE I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE HIS VOICE AND HOW IT CHANGES THROUG HTHE GAMES. 

the combat and movement does feel pretty wonky at times like the secondary weapon just doesnt work sometimes for some reason i cant figure out and it takes a million years to stand up if i happen to fall, which i dont rmr if it was the same in brotherhood bc i never fell, and 99% of the time i just can’t break out of grabs even if i do what the prompt is telling me. its worked twice before and i was doing the exact same thing i always try to do so most of the time i just stand there and get stabbed. 

which is why im still not making the most of the combat system and i prefer using coward strats and killing everything from the rooftops or with the arrow storm. i also still don’t understand how purchasing bombs works, like i had three types of bombs then i bought like 4 from the guy but i ended up only having two?? i think the stuff you buy from him can only take up one slot, so if you buy four types of bombs you’ll end up with the last one you purchased. but it’s not clear which slot they each go into and you also aren’t told what they do unless you go into the database and check it out??? 

roughly half of them seem useless since they can affect civilians or im just never in a situation where they’d be useful, and i feel like using them takes too much thinking and time because half the time i just can’t deploy them when i need to. switching weapons is also so fucking annoying since now have two weapon wheels and i gotta hit a button to switch to the second wheel and /then/ i gotta use the mouse to actually move the arrow to the weapon i want bc rebinding the controls makes the selection skip items. wasnt an issue before whne there was only one wheel but now its annoying bc bombs. also the crossbow is a primary weapon now and i hate. 

still having a great time with the game i just hate the moments when all the issues with the controls make it harder than its supposed to be. im kind of itching for another hidden tomb now eh

[sciderman]

re: menace

Ik this is further back in the timeline so has Wade moved past bullying Peter? Banter is a big thing for them and Wade likes pushing buttons but... is this him punishing Peter intentionally?

Thinking about their first kiss after which Wade went waaay over the line, he wanted to hurt Peter and he did. He’s moved past a lot of that now like the insecurities that stemmed from Peter prioritizing heroism. Yet he still takes things too far. Even Peter calls him out for knowingly “torturing” him. (A fair accusation tbh after the mask comment given we know about Pete’s past partners liking only one of his identities. Too pointed a remark).

If this relationship started with Wade needing Spider-Man more than him liking Peter, that’s not true anymore.

So what is it? Just Wade? Another part of himself he has to work through in therapy or something else that’s lingering?

I think it’s the latter.

Menace was hard to read the first time (emotionally). On the blog, it’s easy to pretend the issues between them are settled and this fic said they are not.

Idk how to articulate the rest of my thoughts on this (there’s too many). Something like they’re both burying feelings bc they finally have each other and were so lonely without that it’s better to focus on being horny bc things are more good than bad (?)

i love you anon and i love all your questions!

actually menace hasn't happened yet. neither has seeing red! presently we're actually at the day seeing red happens.

i'll absolutely be marking it with a post!

menace without a doubt happens after that. and its issues wade is still addressing. issues wade will be trying to combat even more as more of his past is brought back to the fore.

this isn't an issue he has with peter at all. it's not a punishment for anything peter's done to him. it's not payback.

teasing and insulting peter is something wade's always done, often as a way to cover up his fondness. to cover up how much he wants him, and often tied to that, how he can't have him so what's so freaking great about him anyway? he's a loser. i don't need him.

it's entirely, wholeheartedly, completely, 100% wade still feeling. undeserving.

he still feels like he could lose peter at any given moment, and he's just finding his footing and if the rug gets pulled from under him this time he might not survive the fall damage. so he's keeping peter at arms length, and trying so fucking hard to enjoy this but his stupid ass keeps tripping himself up.

the mask comment in menace was absolutely below the belt, but it wasn't targeted. wade doesn't realise at all how much his teasing actually might be hurting peter until that point.

and when peter confronts him with it - with another thing that wade's done wrong - wade's such a tightly wound ball of insecurities that he snaps like a bear trap. "great. so it's all fucking over now isn't it. peter's finally getting wise. he's going to leave me eventually, right? let's test that theory."

i feel like wade specifically pushing peter's buttons at times to get him to be angry is wade trying to pull peter down to his level. weed out the ugly in spider-man. he knows where to find it.

if the timewarp was about wade learning to love himself, this arc is about wade learning how to be loved and let himself be loved by others. whether he thinks he deserves it or not.

this little follow-up to menace kind of explores that a little.

[rheawritessometimes]

Okay I just thought of an idea last night while I was trying to sleep and I had to come to you bc you write the boys so well dsjfkdhs

Anyway could I have a scenario (or hcs if that's easier) with Childe, Kaeya, and maybe Diluc if you're up for it where during a soft moment reader calls them beautiful? I mean we all know these boys are hot but I just think that it's such a good way to say "I love all of you, even the parts you think are broken and unloveable"

Maybe some of them came to reader for comfort or maybe reader just brings it up out of the blue?? Idk I was having Childe angst brainrot and I thought it could apply to some of the other tall lads too lmao

(I picked these three bc I feel like they'd have the most self doubt about being good enough to be loved but you're free to swap Diluc out for someone else or just add more people if you feel inspired!!)

{ Childe/Kaeya/Xiao x GN!Reader }

{ Summary } Telling them they're beautiful. Masterlist

{ Warnings } Mild Angst, Mentions of Injury, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Combat.

{ Notes } Childe and Xiao have loving parts and Kaeya's is just like, 'u r so beautiful'. But this is how it turned out. Sorry I didn't do Diluc but he is still in the dog house.

{ Word Count } 888

Childe

It was no secret to anyone that Childe loved the thrill of a battle, he lived for finding the next worthy opponent. However, he did not love battle in its entirety. He didn’t love coming home to see his reflection in the mirror in the aftermath of a battle. Whether it was a victory or a loss, whether the blood that covered him was his own or his opponents, when he looked in the mirror sometimes he thought it was a monster looking back at him.

For many years he’d taken to locking himself up in the bathroom after a battle, hiding away to cleanse himself of whatever grime and gore might be stuck to him. As much as he loved to gloat over exciting battles he’d been in, when the cleanup came and gave him time to stew in his thoughts it all suddenly seemed a lot less glorious.

But things had been a little different since you came into his life. No longer was he able to hide away in the bathroom alone, now you were in there with him. Even with two people inside, the small apartment bathroom never felt cramped when it was you in there with him.

Even though your gaze was never judgemental when you sat him down on the toilet to clean out whatever wounds he may have, Childe couldn’t bring himself to look you in the eyes. He was not subtle in avoiding your gaze even when you tilted his chin up to gently wipe the grime off his face with a washcloth.

The way you handled him was so tender, the Harbinger couldn’t help but think himself undeserving of your care. The silence of the bathroom gave him ample opportunity for the thought to fester.

“You’re so beautiful, Ajax.”

Although spoken softly, the words are enough to break the silence and pull Childe from his thoughts. Wide blue eyes meet yours, but the Snezhnayan is quick to mask his surprise with a smug smirk.

“Of course, I have to be to end up with someone like you,” he flirts, and though his recovery was quick he can tell by your smile that it wasn’t quick enough to hide his true feelings.

“Your looks have nothing to do with it.”

-

Kaeya

The breeze that blew through Windrise was gentle, a stark contrast to the harsh blows exchanged by you and Kaeya during your sparring session in the field north of the statue of the Anemo Archon. The Cavalry Captain hadn’t held back with his strikes and teasing while you struggled to keep up. By the end of it the two of you were well worn out, sitting in the grass to catch your breaths.

“You know, I think you’re improving really quickly,” Kaeya tells you with a grin, chest still heaving from exertion. His flirtations had been relentless throughout your match and you’re surprised he doesn’t follow up these words with more of the same.

“What can I say?” you return his grin, “I’ve had a wonderful teacher.”

Kaeya sits beside you, leaning back on his arms to gaze up at the sky. You can’t help but mimic his actions, looking up at the darkening expanse above. The sun is beginning to sink below the horizon now and the stars are just starting to become visible.

“You know, your beauty puts Teyvat’s starry sky to shame,” you tell him, speaking as though you’ve just stated a simple fact before you continue, “And I hope my place is always with you.”

The Cavalry Captain’s surprise is palpable as he turns his head to stare at you. But your gaze remains on the sky, too embarrassed to look him in the eye after realizing how sappy what you said must seem.

Kaeya notices your embarrassed expression, but he can’t understand why when he wants nothing more than to always have a place with you.

-

Xiao

It’s not often Xiao will let you hold him. Actually, it’s not often Xiao allows himself to be held. He is the protector of Liyue, the Guardian Adeptus, the Vigilant Yaksha. He is burdened with defending all of Liyue, or at least he burdens himself with the responsibility. The endless battle against darkness.

But for now, while he’s in the safety of your arms, he allows himself a sliver of peace. Although he knows all too well there are demons that will forever follow him, he also knows he can find refuge with you. It’s a comfort he has not allowed himself in centuries. Even now, on dark nights when he’s alone, he still wonders if he deserves your affections.

“You’re beautiful,” he hears you whisper softly into his ear, so soft he isn’t sure you really said it. But his mind wouldn’t conjure up such words, especially not ones said so sweetly.

When he looks up to you with awed amber eyes, you can’t help but smile and press a chaste kiss to his forehead. The sudden affection startles him, and he responds in the only way he knows how.

“To make light of the adepti…”

But you know by now what his reaction means, and it only makes you smile more. The genuine affection your expression holds makes Xiao’s heart swell with something overwhelming. But it’s the same kind of overwhelming he wishes would swallow him up.

[damienthepious]

it’s too goddamn cold&snowy here right now so i dove back into my summer-y-est fic <3

Made A Garden (chapter 4)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ao3]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Rilla

Characters: Rilla, Lord Arum, Rilla’s Parents, The Keep

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, (categorized as ‘other’ bc arum is nonbinary when i write him bye), Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, POV Alternating, canon typical Arum ignoring feelings, edited to feature my Rilla’s Two Dads theory

Fic Summary: Rilla’s parents take her out when they do field work. She’s a smart kid, and she knows how not to get in trouble when they’re caught up with their experiments and research. This time, they’ve taken her to an enormous, beautiful swamp, and their theory is that the monstrous presence in this place should be entirely dormant- which is why Rilla is so surprised, when she meets a monster for herself.

Chapter Summary: A conversation, an argument, and an interruption.

Notes: Please appreciate these children. Please. I care them................ also idk if this needs warning for, really, but i guess chapter warning for an adult Being An Asshole to a child? yeah.

~

"Why did you decide to start actually talking to me?" Rilla asks, laying lazily back on the thick trunk of a fallen tree, her hand draped to trail fingers in the slow-moving water beneath it.

Arum looks away from her, sinking his face further into the water for a long moment before he rises enough to answer.

"Well..." he says slowly, "when I determined that you and your... kin posed nothing of a threat-"

"Which I told you the first time we met," she interrupts in a chirp, and Arum scowls up at her until she laughs. His snout twitches then, a tell she's beginning to suspect means that he's burying a laugh of his own, and then the monster sighs.

"Which I needed to have proven, for the safety of my lands and my own self," he amends, hissing. "I decided that you should have an eye kept on you."

"And..." Rilla tilts her head back, her long braid rolling off the log enough that the end dips into the water beneath her. "You decided to do that yourself?"

Arum raises an eyebrow. "Who else would?"

She shrugs, her shoulder pressing against the bark beneath her. "Mm, I dunno? I just figured- you're the Lord of this place, right?"

"I am," he says, stiff and proud.

"So, I figured you'd, like, have someone else you could send, if you wanted to keep an eye on us?"

Arum growls, though he looks more sullen than angry at the assumption. "Perhaps I simply didn't want to risk any of my subjects in the effort, just in case I was wrong about you."

"In case..." she trails off, and then she blinks. "So, what, you'd risk yourself, first?"

"I can take care of myself," he snaps, his frill flaring quick enough to splash a little halo of water around his face for a moment, rippling across the surface of the pond. "And- and a good ruler is concerned for his subjects before himself, anyway. That is my entire purpose."

Rilla tilts her head a bit more, trying to get a better look at the vague purple blush coloring the webbing of his frill. "Huh," she says, and then his words sink in a bit more. "But- if you got yourself hurt-"

"I can take care of myself," he spits again, and she frowns.

"But if," she insists, "if something bad happened, who would take care of the swamp, then?"

Arum scowls up at her, and then he ducks his head beneath the water entirely. For a second she thinks that he's just going to disappear again, and she sits up, the wet tip of her braid flicking water along her arm, but then Arum reemerges a few feet down the log. He flings himself out of the water like a salmon, then pulls himself onto the log ahead in front of her, easy and oddly elegant.

"You," he growls, glaring at her with his claws digging into the bark, "ask altogether too many questions."

"Is... is that an observation?" she asks slowly, "or do you- do you want me to-"

He exhales an exaggerated huff, then sits back on the log and lets his tail drape over the side. "You may do whatever you want," he says, not for the first time, "so long as you understand that I may do the same. Meaning that I will not answer, if I don't feel like doing so."

Rilla pulls one of her legs up, hugging her knee against her chest and letting her other leg dangle. "Yeah," she says, and then she grins. "Yeah, you've kinda made that pretty obvious by now."

"Good," he mutters, and then he flicks his tail in the water, splashing her leg.

She laughs again, surprised, and Arum's snout twitches.

"Okay," she says. "Okay, mister secrets, I'm totally and completely informed that you're not gonna answer anything you don't want to, but you have to know that I'm still not gonna stop asking." She grins, and the monster frowns at her, and then sighs in an exaggerated way and looks off towards the edge of the pond instead. "So unless you're gonna tell me to stop-"

"I rule my swamp, Amaryllis. Obviously I do not rule you. As I said, you may-"

"Do whatever I want," she parrots, bouncing her head back and forth. "You don't ask questions basically at all, do you?"

"If you wished to tell me about yourself, you would," Arum answers with a shrug, and then- he smirks. Rilla doesn't think she's seen that particular look on his face before, actually. "In fact," he continues, "you have. I don't need to ask, Amaryllis. You are perfectly content to share the bland details of humanity without any prodding whatsoever."

"Humans aren't bland," Rilla says. "Just because you're bored all the time doesn't make everything else boring, it just means you aren't looking hard enough."

"Tell me something interesting, then," he says, leaning his head back and draping himself dramatically across the log, and for half a second he almost reminds her of Marc. She buries a laugh at the idea of the two of them meeting - Tal would get along with Arum better, she thinks - and thoughtfully drums her fingers off her chin.

"What sorts of things do you actually like?" she asks. "I'll be less likely to bore you if I know that much, at least."

The monster rumbles in his chest without opening his eyes, then makes a humming noise. "Blade combat," he says simply. "Music. Pollinators. Translations and ciphers. Questions within questions."

Rilla purses her lips for a moment. "Questions?"

"Indeed."

"So- wait. No, no- we just talked about this. You don't like questions."

Arum glances up at her, then, his mouth curling into a frown. "I think I know better than you do, what I like."

"If you liked questions, you wouldn't get so annoyed at me when I asked them."

"I don't dislike your questions," he says, sitting up again. "I dislike that you assume that all of them will be answered. A decent question will only lead to further questions, and trying to neatly tie anything to a single, simple solution will only reduce a thing from its true nature to a caricature of itself."

"If you can never find the answers, then how are any of the questions useful?"

"It's not about usefulness," he says. "It's about understanding, both the nature of inquiry itself and your own small place in the infinite."

Rilla frowns hard. "Those were a bunch of big words that mostly seemed to mean basically nothing."

Arum blinks, then gives a shocked, incredulous laugh. "How- how dare-"

"Even if a question leads to a bigger question, a bigger question is still an answer, Arum. Knowing that you don't know enough is still an answer. That's just- that's all just dumb semantics."

Arum sputters for a moment, then narrows his eyes. "I would say, I think, that the argument that a question is an answer is far more a matter of dumb semantics than the assertion that not all questions have answers, Amaryllis. You simply do not know what you're talking about."

"If you're not even trying to get to the bottom of the questions you ask, then maybe you're the one who doesn't know what you're talking about," Rilla says, and Arum scowls again, more viciously this time. "I think it's better to actually know things, instead of just- making everything even more confusing. Isn't the world already confusing enough?"

"Maybe for creatures as petty and small-minded as humans," Arum growls low, but as he opens his mouth to continue-

There's a noise. Unexpected, and out of place enough that it takes Rilla a moment to recognize it.

A small whinny, not all that far off.

When Rilla meets Arum's eyes again she knows he heard it too. He looks exactly as scared as she feels.

"Hide," she hisses, and Arum's wide eyes go wider.

"You hide," he snarls, slipping off the log and back into the water. "It could be anyone, you don't know-"

"Horse could mean knight," Rilla snaps, and Arum's frill flattens against his neck. "Just hide and-"

The brush at the edge of the pond rustles, and Rilla hears Arum gasp before he slips beneath the surface entirely, and Rilla holds her breath as she turns to see whatever pushes through the foliage at the edge of the pond.

Rilla doesn't think she's ever been less happy to be correct, before. The knight frowns down at her from beneath his helmet and atop his sandy-brown horse, and Rilla tries to lean into her surprise so the guilt hopefully won't show.

"Oh!" she says, pressing a hand to her chest as she scrambles to stand on the log. "Oh, I- you scared me! I didn't hear you, and-"

The knight narrows his eyes, and Rilla realizes that his hand is resting on the pommel of his sword as his gaze sweeps suspiciously across the shore.

"What is a little girl like you doing out in the wilds all by yourself?" the knight says slowly, and Rilla-

Rilla isn't the best at reading people, but something about the way his mouth curls, the way his eyes stay suspiciously narrowed, something tells her that his tone is less concerned for her, and more concerned by her.

"Oh," she says, and she tries to smile. "Well, I'm not by myself," she says. "My parents are- they're not far."

"Hm," the knight says, and then he swings himself down out of the saddle.

Rilla takes the moment to glance down, and- and she has to hold herself very very still to keep from flinching when she realizes that Arum is still in the water beneath her. She was certain that he'd be- completely gone by now, safe and away and- and she widens her eyes at him quickly while the knight is still busy with the horse, and she jerks her head to the side, trying to tell him- get out of here, obviously, get away-

But Arum glares up at her, his violet eyes furious, and then he jerks his own snout towards the knight.

"Who were you talking to?"

Rilla jolts, wobbling on the log before she regains her footing.

"Wh-what? I- I don't know what you're-"

"I heard voices. Who were you talking to?" the knight repeats, his hand still on his pommel even after dismounting.

His eyes are icy and sharp and unsettling, and Rilla decides that she's really, really glad that she's out in the middle of the pond, instead of on the shore with him.

"I-" Rilla pauses, then lowers her eyes, shuffling her feet as if embarrassed. "I was talking to myself," she says quietly. "I know I shouldn't-"

"You were shouting at yourself?" the knight drawls, dubious, and Rilla tries to smile. If it comes out awkward- well, that'll work too, right?

"Y-yeah. I was- I was making up an argument? I- I'm not good at- at arguing for real, so I like to- to practice? Sometimes? When I'm on my own?"

"Well," the knight mutters, looking away, "I believe you're not good at talking, at least."

Rilla swallows, ducking her head, and-

And in the water beneath her, Arum rolls his eyes hard enough to make a little ripple on the surface above him, and then he makes a face as if he's gagging on a piece of rotten fruit. Rilla presses her lips together tight, choking down an almost overpowering urge to laugh.

"Your parents," the knight says, and Rilla's eyes flick back up from the water to his sullen, stubborn face instead. "They let you wander around in monster-infested wilderness all by yourself, then?"

"They- um. I mean- this place is pretty safe, and- and they aren't far."

"That's what you said before,"

"Do-" Rilla swallows. "Do you want me to- to call them? I can- I have a whistle, I can-"

The knight seems to consider this, looking her up and down as if checking for weapons and then scanning his eyes around the shore again quickly, and then he adjusts his stance, his frame tensing before he nods. "I think you had better, little girl. Go on, whistle for them."

Does he think that I'm a monster? Rilla thinks, feeling maybe just the littlest bit panicked, and then she raises her hand to her neck to lift the whistle.

They have a whole system, Rilla and her parents, for the emergency whistle. There's a call for monster, there's a call for injured, a call for someone else injured, a call for not-an-emergency-but-you'll-really-wanna-see-this-right-now-it's-cool, a call for I'm lost, among others. Rilla doesn't use any of those right now, though, because her parents don't think about magic and medicine exactly the same way that the King does, so-

Rilla lifts the whistle to her lips, and she gives the call that means that she's spotted a knight nearby.

The knight tenses further, as if he's fully expecting to be swarmed or something, and when nothing immediately jumps to attack him he glares at Rilla again. She- barely manages to fake a smile, certain that she must just look like she's showing teeth at this point, but it takes less than a minute for her dad to come bolting out of the underbrush on the far side of the pond.

"Rilla- Rilla what's wrong?" he says in a rush, and he's always been a better actor than Rilla or her papa. When he swings his eyes across the pond and 'notices' the knight, the flash of surprise on his face looks entirely genuine. "Oh- oh, I'm so sorry, Sir-"

"Sir Caradoc," he says, his expression bemused (surprised, Rilla thinks, that she was telling the truth) despite his flat, toneless voice. "The Dauntless."

"An honor," her dad says, smiling sharply, "and what a surprise to meet a knight this far from the Citadel! What- Rilla, why did you..."

He trails off, his sharp on her own, and Rilla manages a weak smile of her own. "He- he was- worried? That I was out here all on my own, so- so I wanted- I wanted to show him that I was- that you were here, if I was got in trouble."

Her dad exhales, something like a sigh, and then he nods and turns his attention back to Sir Caradoc. "Well, I'm glad nothing's wrong, at the least. Thank you so much for looking out for my daughter out here, Sir Caradoc. Please- would you come back to camp with us? I'm sure you're out here on important business, but the least we could do is get a hot meal in you before you've gotta be on your way, right?"

Caradoc raises an eyebrow, but after a moment his lip turns up into a very slight smile, and he nods.

"It'd be a pleasant change of pace," he says. "Been weeks since I've had a meal I didn't cook myself, and I'll admit I'm not as good with a ladle as I am with my sword."

Her dad's smile goes wider and more forced at the reminder of the weapon, but he laughs lightly anyway. "Great! Rilla, c'mon back to shore, now. We might not be home, but we've got company to look out for, yeah?"

Rilla nods, plastering on a smile that she hopes looks as honest as her dad's, and then she- she aims herself so she won't land right on top of Arum, and she hops into the water.

When she's under the surface she cracks her eyes open, and Arum is- closer than she expects. His eyes are narrowed and bright, even through the murk of the water, and when she makes a vague get out of here motion with her hands, he scowls even harder, and then he reaches out and grips one of her wrists. He flicks his eyes towards the surface, then back towards Rilla, and he squeezes lightly before he lets her go again, retreating further down into the muddy detritus at the bottom of the pond.

Rilla gives him one more glance (she can barely see him, obviously he knows exactly how to blend in), and then she kicks her way back to the surface, and then over to the edge of the water where her dad can reach down and lift her back out.

Her dad keeps hold of her hand when she's back on shore, and he squeezes soothingly as Sir Caradoc leads his horse around the pond to join them, trampling through the brush with authoritative carelessness.

"We'll be fine," her dad says under his breath, before the knight will be able to hear them again, and Rilla nods.

She already knew that, actually. She knows they'll be fine, because her papa is clever and her dad is confident and charismatic. She knows they'll be fine because her dad is holding her hand.

As Sir Caradoc comes closer, batting aside a hanging branch and wearing his bland, professional smile, Rilla thinks about Arum's hand, too. She thinks about the odd texture of his scales against her skin, the way he frowned when he squeezed her wrist, the intensity of his eyes under the water.

Rilla is pretty sure - pretty sure - that what he actually meant to say with that little squeeze was be careful.

Pretty good advice, Rilla thinks, if the coldness in Sir Caradoc's eyes above that smile is anything to go by.

[baegarrick]

ZUKKA ADVICE COLUMNIST AU! EITHER sokka as the columnist with a large readership/listenership bc of his elaborate plans to address typical relationship/work problems & zuko asking questions about social situations/making new friends when you've had a troubled childhood & your best friend is your uncle. OR: zuko as the thoroughly unqualified advice columnist (THAT'S ROUGH BUDDY)

yes 👏🏻

idk if it was inspired by this post or not, but if you haven’t seen it you should

finally got this done I'm the slowest actually

as much as I love “thoroughly unqualified zuko” (he’s my favorite dummy), I’m kinda so here for a “sokka’s elaborate plans” au

I’m thinking a little “you’ve got mail” and that post mixed in

so: Sokka is an advice columnist in the college paper. (this is a college au now sorry)

Zuko is one of his roommates (with like, Aang and Haru or something)

Sokka’s column is one of those “ask auntie” anonymous columns, and the name he’s forced to pen under is.... Aunt Wu. Katara and Aang both know he writes for the paper in the column, bc Katara’s his sister and Aang is their oldest friend and he figured it out (the kid is smart), but most of their friends don’t know, mostly bc the paper wants to keep it as anonymous as possible, and also he really didn't plan on staying this long. it was supposed to be one of those easy jobs for a semester until he got an internship in the robotics department, but it’s three semesters and one robotics internship later and he still!! has a job!! (partially because they told him if he quit they would do something unspeakably horrible to him, and also bc he’s..... popular??)

it started out as just a job, but Sokka’s an overthinker. he’s bright as hell, and maybe it’s his engineering brain, but he sometimes misses the obvious sometimes. Half his plans for “how do I deal with this guy who I’m dating who says either the fish goes or he does?” start out “dump him!!!” and then end with “.... actually wait, first of all it’s really shitty he wants you to get rid of a fish??? its a FISH???? it doesn’t even do anything????” and then three paragraphs of both a personal experience (sokka surprisingly has a lot of personal stories that Relate) and an elaborate plan for dumping this guy and then signing him up for like 12 free fish magazines.

He gets really popular, and while some of the questions he gets are weird and kinda over the top (”aunt wu, I’m blind but want to join the wrestling team, how do i tell my parents I’m both gay and stronger than them?”) some are just kinda sad (”aunt wu, my uncle is my best friend, how do I make friends?”). They’re all asked anonymously, sometimes with funny names attached. The latter is from a guy calling himself, “Blue Spirit.”

Anyway. Three semesters into writing this column, he lives with Aang, Zuko, and Haru. He picked Aang, the other two just came with the place (Suki, Katara, Yue, and Toph said “under absolutely no circumstances will we be splitting up so good LUCK boys we’re out.”)

He starts getting questions like, “How do I break the ice with my roommates?”, from the “Blue Spirit” guy, which prompts Sokka to get his roommates involved. He’s not against crowdsourcing. (only aang knows about the job, he tells the others its for school.) Sokka doesn’t really know Haru and Zuko, but like, this is a great way to get to know them, right?

Haru’s chill off the bat, but Zuko’s awkward and fumbling, and a little shy (though Sokka has heard him getting in a shouting match with the TV on more than one occasion), but after they get into it, throwing out ideas, Sokka thinks, you know, this was a good way to make friends with roommates. (he doesn’t write that, exactly, he’s got a reputation to uphold, but he includes “tricking them into hanging out with you by asking about a homework assignment” in the article) Zuko’s in the living room a lot more often after that, and even asked for Sokka’s help on a physics assignment once (ya know, bc Sokka’s super smart), so he thinks the method is tried and true.

A couple weeks of other mundane questions, he gets one that makes him pause. “What do I do if I have a crush on my roommate?” (Blue Spirit). and he thinks, “oh no, the ice breaker worked TOO WELL.” (but, of course, he doesn’t know what to do about this. He’s never had a crush on a roommate before. Aang’s like his little brother, Jet was a creep, and Hahn was the WORST. So he outsources again.)

[”Hey Aang,” Sokka says, hanging half upside down off the couch, “would you date your roommate?”

“Sorry Sokka, I’m flattered, but you know that Katara has captured my heart-- hey!” Sokka throws the remote at him.

“Not me! Just like, in general. Would you date someone you’re living with?”

“Oh, is this advice for your...... thing?” His eyes twinkle, “Or.... do you have a crush on someone I should know about????” (Aang is wildly unhelpful. He says he would date his roommate, no questions asked, but Sokka thinks he’s just thinking about Katara.)

He asks Zuko, next, the first person to come through the door.

“Would you date your roommate, Zuko?” Sokka asks. Zuko looks like he’s a deer caught in the headlights. “I’m asking for a friend,” Sokka says, whenever they ask. This was what had gotten him in trouble with Aang, but so far no one else had noticed Aunt Wu answering the same questions in the paper a week later.

Zuko relaxes, but he doesn’t look much better. “Uhhhh.”

“I mean, not like, us,” Sokka said, “I don’t know if you’re into dudes--”

“Definitely into dudes,” Zuko rushes to say, his cheeks pink all over again, and it’s cute. Sokka can see why dating him might be appealing. Oh no. That’s a thought for later. “Definitely gay.” And then, “I mean.... would you?”

“I don’t know,” Sokka says thoughtfully, looking Zuko over. Before he can think over it, Haru comes out of the bathroom, freshly showered.

Haru just shrugs. “I mean, isn’t your spouse just like your permanent roommate? It’s just like making a commitment really really early.”]

He publishes this in the paper: “What do you want to do about it?”

When he’s typing it up, he thinks about it. There are really two options for having a crush on your roommate. One, you can tell them you like them, or two, suffer in silence. He thinks about it. If he had a crush on someone-- his thoughts wandering to Zuko far more often than he likes-- he would probably do something about it. That’s what he did with Yue, that’s what Suki did with him. He details an elaborate plan with anecdotes about what he did with Yue, leaving out the part that they broke up. Giving her gifts, making her laugh, showing up at her workplace just to hang out for a little while. He details a 12-step plan that involves defeating your rival in hand-to-hand combat.

Of course, none of that would work with Zuko. They once got into an argument over how loud the TV was when neither of them were watching it, so he definitely wouldn’t want Sokka fighting his battles for him.

And then, oh no.

(He publishes the article. He tries not to feel like a hypocrite when he doesn’t immediately ask Zuko out, thinking about what Haru says. It’s a lot of commitment for an early relationship. He’s always the responsible one. For once in his life, he doesn’t go after what he wants.)

A couple months of this, living with these dudes, one of whim he now has a crush on!! thanks ANONYMOUS BLUE SPIRIT, the girl running the horoscopes segment of the paper quits and leaves that segment without an author. cue Sokka, reluctant horoscope writer. (He doesn’t even believe in this stuff!! but does he really believe half the stuff he writes in Aunt Wu?)

He half-asses it the first week. He looks up some bullshit guide to what everything means, listens to Toph describe what she thinks they mean over drinks at the tea place, and then sends it off to be published. He finds Zuko sulking in the living room two days later.

[”My horoscope said I’m going to make everyone around me miserable this week!” Zuko falls back on the couch, dramatically, like it’s a fainting sofa. “With my physics exam next week, I know it’s because I’m going to fail and drag you all down with me!”

“Oh,” Sokka says, stopping in the doorway. “You read those? ...and believe them?”

“Yes?” Zuko says, face a flushed red.

“Oh,” Sokka says, mind going a million miles per hour. “I have to, uh, go do my homework now.”]

The next week, Scorpio gets a nice horoscope about how everything is going to go right in the world and all that other sappy bullshit. Zuko looks better before his exam, and he’s happier. Sokka keeps that in mind whenever he seems Zuko looking a little down.

It’s not until the week before Winter Break that Sokka is forced to confront his feelings, in the dumbest of ways. His laptop breaks, and he asks Zuko to borrow his so he can finish the second-to-final Aunt Wu column. Zuko tosses his laptop over without thinking, from the other side of the couch, and he goes to open a document when he sees one already open.

It’s an early draft of a letter addressed to Aunt Wu, and it’s signed off with, “Blue Spirit.” He looks over at Zuko, who seems to realize what he left open at the same time, and suddenly--

[Zuko pounces, practically leaping into Sokka’s lap to slam the laptop shut. Sokka looks down at him, surprised. The only thing he can think of saying is, “You’re the Blue Spirit?”

Zuko looks more like he’s ready to die than ever, cheeks a furious red, “You read Aunt Wu?”

“Of course not,” Sokka says without thinking. “I write it.”

“Oh,” Zuko says, “that’s so much worse.”

Finally the implication catches up to Sokka, and this time, he feels his face heat, Zuko still sprawled across his lap. “You.... have a crush on your roommate?” Zuko doesn’t say anything. For once, Sokka’s mouth works properly. “Dude, I really hope your crush is on me because otherwise this is gonna be really awkward.”

“Wha--” Zuko tries to say, but Sokka’s leaning down to kiss him. When he pulls back, Zuko looks a little starstruck. “Oh. Yeah. It was definitely on you.”]

(Sokka doesn’t tell him about the horoscopes. He’ll tell him when he graduates, but for now, he likes making Zuko smile.)

[cheekbites-moved]

ok i still havent gotten the secret ending but farming for it might take me a bit so im gonna make a thoughts post for age of calamity now:

Major spoilers obvs so ill put it under a read more

things i enjoyed:

revali beatdown simulator

the controls for the divine beasts are a bit clunky, but i think the angles they used for them did an excellent job at really making the player feel like we were actually controlling a divine beast. so i think it was done well.

link’s personality really gets to shine full force in this game with the amount of cut scenes and it was wonderful to see

every character clearly had a lot of love put into how they operate. they truly all feel unique, & all of their play styles fit them really well in my opinion

the game does a really good job of making you understand what a real threat the monsters are. like in botw they’re intimidating at first, but once you’re far enough into the game they become just an inconvenience to work around if anything. this game managed to actually make certain monsters intimidating for me again, and i think that’s a real accomplishment

the blight battles are actually somewhat challenging in this game and that is truly a commendable achievement lol i think all the bosses are good tbh. i didnt rly dislike or not enjoy any of them.

the way daruk and link’s friendship & urbosa’s motherly relationship towards zelda got to shine was. so good. it’s all i could’ve ever wanted

seeing the descendants again was really nice & it was awesome to see the champions interacting with them!! especially sidon and mipha omggggg. that was. really fucking good shit

kohga. just. kohga in general. getting to see more of him was really rad, he’s such a fun guy! and his english va was Excellent. you could really tell he was having a lot of fun playing him, and it was lovely to see! :)

zelda getting to really shine in this game was also lovely to see. and her being so assertive and badass by the end? omg. it was so wonderful especially after botw. man. 

the combat is done very well imo. im rly glad that they took so many elements from botw, but also added their own flares to make it feel fresh. it was rad.

sidon’s tagline is “winning smile” and his power is “boundless optimism” and i think that’s beautiful

the music in this game is SOOOOO good oh my god. multiple times during playing i had to pause to just appreciate it. it’s pretty much all remixes of botw with a few originals for the new characters, but they all slap. there was not a single song in this game i didn’t like. it is definitely one of my favorite video game soundtracks officially. maybe one of my favorite overall soundtracks in general tbh.

the visuals obviously look just like botw, but it still looked fucking gorgeous at some points. like. man. they really went off to make it look not only faithful to botw as far as appearance goes, but also as far as capturing botw’s beauty and it was. excellent to see!

if anything is true to botw’s backstory, it’s definitely how op link is. cause he was established to be op in botw, & when u finish botw he is also op as hell. he is so fun to play as the higher leveled he gets. he absolutely kicks ass. especially with a two-handed weapon??? daaaaammmmnnn. thats my badass baby boy!!!!

link eating rocks not once, but TWICE. just showing PEAK gremlin energy. 10/10 for those scenes they were great

the ending was really beautiful actually and i did cry like a little baby for it what about it

things i didn’t like:

obviously first and foremost.. this is not the game we were advertised. and no matter how much i overall enjoyed the game, it will always have some layer of being tainted attached to it due to the false advertising. this is not the prequel we thought we’d be getting. & not using “prequel” specifically doesn’t matter when all the advertising, including the box art talks about this being the story of what happened 100 years ago. with no indication it wasn’t the story of what happened 100 years ago in the botw timeline, but a separate universe/timeline entirely. i do hope we get dlc for the game at some point giving us what we were advertised, but at the same time... rly wish that the story that’s in the final game was dlc, & the story we were promised was the original :/ or just having the game have two separate storylines originally would’ve been cool. i just wish it wasn’t falsely advertised. 

fort hateno can fucking eat my whole entire shit WHY is that part so needlessly obnoxious compared to everything else oh my god

being forced to fulfill revali’s power fantasy TWICE hurt my soul

fuck any mission where you have to protect the useless hylian guards. i hate them. they suck.

the ai for player characters when you aren’t playing as them can also be pretty useless. it was really frustrating failing missions because my fellow party members weren’t helping me, and i was basically expected to be in two places at once to get shit done myself. :/ ik you can just switch between characters to make it easier, but like. i like playing as link the most. he’s my favorite character, & ofc since he’s mandatorily played for most of the story, he’s gonna be the most leveled up character regardless so he’s just the best to play as in general especially for harder missions. it was annoying to be forced to play as other people Solely cause the ai was so useless.

king rhoam’s attempt at a redemption arc. i’m not sorry that i just fucking hate this man. i don’t mind him entirely in botw bc you can see clear, genuine remorse during the cut scene at the end of the great plateau. but the redemption arc he gets in this game? after all the fucking shit he does in this game? especially when after his ~redemption arc~ i had to sit through a cut scene of him being an absolute fucking asshole to baby zelda after her mother just died????? absolutely fuck that shit. i don’t appreciate that crap at fucking all. he’s a verbally abusive piece of shit and i hate his guts.

obviously there was gonna be some retconning of how certain things worked in botw in order to make this kinda game work but the way sheikah technology works in this game is so goddamn confusing i do not get it. the works of botw are never outright said or explained completely, but it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really matter. this game does try to explain certain things and it just becomes. really clunky and confusing very quickly. 

the story is alright, i guess, but..... really confusing/convoluted as hell at times to a point that it’s. really fucking distracting. especially in comparison to how straightforward botw’s story is. like..... cannot help but be annoyed that such a problem wouldn’t have been a thing if they stuck to botw’s story.

i was sad when the egg thing died but i dont like the egg thing.... it is the MAIN reason shit was retconned so much & i just. dont get its purpose. but i did really like the reveal that zelda made it herself. that was good shit!

also the egg glitched out like. a LOT. idk what the fuck was going on with the poor thing but there was multiple times during a cut scene or when i was just sitting there that it was freaking out in the background and it was rly weird

elemental overworld boss monsters................. obnoxious. especially elemental guardians like goddamn bro what the fuck

i know warriors’ games aren’t about exploring anyway but the limitations for exploring was really sad/frustrating. this is still somewhat the world of hyrule before the calamity, which is something we’ve always wanted to see. not being able to explore even the immediate area at certain points because of shit like timed missions was really upsetting, man. :( i just wanted to see hyrule castle Before the calamity why was did they have to rob us like that.....

creepy corrupted egg’s transformation. why. what was that. what the fuck

even though i did enjoy the boss fights, it did get. incredibly taxing eventually to have to fight the SAME bastards so many times. like yeah botw is also guilty of this with the blights, but goddamn.... at least i have a choice to avoid certain encounters with them? this game has you fighting the same bitches like upwards of 3-4 times. it was. really annoying tbh. like the fights themselves are enjoyable, but damn we added new characters and it still inevitably lacked variety in boss fights.

no playable kass >:( if he’s available later in dlc then fine but i wish he was playable in the original game. so many random choices you’d never expect are. why couldn’t he also be there >:(

overall:

it will forever have that sour taste for the false advertising attached to it unfortunately, but that aside, i overall did enjoy the game! i think it has a lot to love in spite of the issues i encountered. as someone who has this as their first warriors game as well, it did lend itself to letting me see the appeal of them. idk if i’ll get more, but i do get why they’re so beloved/popular now. it was an alright time, with some amazing highlights that i’m gonna think back on very fondly for a very, very long time. if i had to rate it..... 7/10 

[impractical-matters]

Tag Game: Dig a Little Deeper

tagged by @mollyweasly - thank you steph!! 💕💕

1. do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen? both

2. would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? country

3. if you could learn a new skill, what would it be? I’ve always wanted to learn to drive stick/manual

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? both, and yes

5. what was your favorite book as a child? I always loved, The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

6. do you prefer baths or showers? I love both, but I like to unwind in the tub whenever possible

7. if you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? An elemental witch

8. paper or electronic books? paper, always, unless it’s fanfiction 

9. what is your favorite item of clothing? I have a couple plaid shirts that were my grandfather’s that I love

10. do you like your name? would you like to change it? My mother chose my name and it’s spelling because it was her favorite, and I have always liked it. 

11. who is a mentor to you? I have some successful psychologists/psychiatrists in my family who I really admire and would like to follow in their footsteps

12. would you like to be famous? if so, what for? I think we’ve all imagined what it would be like, I did some singing competitions and it was scary but it was also really nice to be recognized afterwards and complimented, but then again celebrities have zero privacy, so I don’t think I would be able to combat that. You have to be seriously dedicated to your craft to be willing to put up with the whole world, and I think I’m a bit too shy for all that...

13. are you a restless sleeper? When I was in camp, I had the nickname ‘sleeping beauty’ because I always slept flat on my back and never moved. That was when I had no stress in my life tho, so nowadays it’s a bit rougher sometimes. 

14. do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? I like to think so, but I haven’t had anyone to express that with recently

15. which element best represents you? I can see how they all play a part for me, but I think fire might be the most appropriate 

16. who do you want to be closer to? my friends, this quarantine has been hard on all of us

17. do you miss someone at the moment? my brother (oops, brothers I mean haha) 

18. tell us about an early childhood memory. there was a swingset in my backyard that faced my mother’s office, and in the summer when I had off from school, I would sometimes go out there and swing for hours, waving at her and just trying to catch her attention. I also spent a lot of time “rock hunting” in the backyard, which was just me digging for pretty rocks, mostly quartz

19. what is the strangest thing you have eaten? honestly I don’t think I’ve eaten that many weird things, religion kinda gets in the way of that. I did try a raw quails egg once

20. what are you most thankful for? my family and their continuous support 

21. do you like spicy food? I like some spicy foods, like Japanese and Korean, and sometimes Mexican, but I gotta be careful with those peppers 

22. have you ever met someone famous? yes, i met Matthew McConaughey outside a bathroom in JFK, I met Chris Allen in Disney World, and my friends cousin is Ricky Ullman, so I saw him around a few times for family events. 

23. do you keep a diary or journal? I used to have a song folder, which is the closest I ever got, and then of course there’s all my writing journals, but those are mostly stories, not strictly personal thoughts. I did try once in camp, but someone stole it, so clearly that was a bad idea, and I never tried again. 

24. do you prefer to use pen or pencil? pen

25. what is your star sign? gemini

26. do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? mostly crunchy, but I like pops to be a big soggy

27. what would you want your legacy to be? I just want to be remembered, not really sure what for at this moment...

28. do you like reading? What was the last book you read? I do love to read, I recently re-read The Call of the Wild by Jack London 

29. how do you show someone you love them? Being there for them, showing my support when they’re down or if they need help. also just saying it, getting them little gifts that remind me of them 

30. do you like ice in your drinks? sometimes, but never in juice or milk 

31. what are you afraid of? sharks, starvation, being deserted in the middle of the ocean and being alone 

32. what is your favorite scent? ooooh that’s a tough one, I like fresh scents, like rain, ocean water, the forest, and other natural and seasonal scents like herbs and spices, flowers, sandalwood, vanilla, etc. 

33. do you address older people by their name or surname? Depends who they are, family I’ve been trying to keep their titles in there, like Aunt & Uncle because they told me they like that, if it’s someone at work I use their first name with them and their surnames when discussing them with outside clients. 

34. if money was not a factor, how would you live your life? I would probably travel a lot, visit all the places I wanted to go and visit my family around the world, pay off all my debts, pay for medical bills...and I would buy back my family home. 

35. do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? I love the idea of the ocean, but it’s big and scary and covers the majority of our planet so we can never really uncover everything that’s out there, so I prefer the safety of a landlocked pool. 

36. what would you do if you found $50 in the ground? Depends on the context. If I found $50 on the ground but I know that someone has lost it, I give the money back to the person. If I don’t know whose money is that, I keep it to myself. (keeping this answer bc same- also same!)

37. have you ever seen a shooting star? did you make a wish? yes and yes

38. what is one thing you would want to teach your children? your anger does not control you and while violence might seem like a convenient answer, it is never the solution to your problems; using your words is a much smarter and efficient tactic to defeating your issues/enemies etc. And you should treat others the way you would like to be treated and always protect your family. 

39. if you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I’ve always liked the idea of triskelion because of the many different things it represents (plus teen wolf), and I would put it on my wrist because I’m cliche 

40. what can you hear now? the air conditioning is really loud in this basement

41. where do you feel the safest? under the covers with my cat 

42. what is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? I wish I was more confident and could overcome my stage fright, I get nervous talking in front of anyone and it’s just so frustrating to trip over my words so much when I know exactly what I want  to say, but my mouth won’t speak the words 

43. if you could travel back to any era, what would it be? I always liked the fashion of the Victorian Era, but the treatment of women was terrible, which is mostly true for most points in history, so...idk 

44. what is your most used emoji? 💕 because I love these hearts, and one is just never enough

45. describe yourself using one word. tenacious

46. what do you regret the most? not being there when my father died

47. last movie you saw? I just watched Knives Out last night! 

48. last tv show you watched? currently have Derry Girls s2 queued up 

49. invent a word and its meaning. dude, come on, I have no idea

Welp that was a lot of questions, but it was a nice break from work 😂 Seriously no pressure, this was a long one! Tagging: @mercheswan @superdanys @clotpolesonly @tinanewt @anduril @buckleydiazs @lightfiretomypaperwings @lovelyhufflepuff38 @when-she-writes-stuff @mysnflower @hecthledgers @dannneelackles @nighttimemachinery @theproblemwithstardust @tabbytabbytabby

[upslapmeal]

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

I knew basically nothing about Tesla going into this so for all I know this could be completely true

me, every time we get a historical: I LOVE A GOOD HISTORICAL

always fun to start off with a death!

Miss.....Carrot??

oooh Skerritt

spooky spooky 

oh it’s just the Doctor

OH no it’s a spooky cloak person

the fam in period dress! I missed this in The Witchfinders

except Thirteen lol

ah I see it's Palpatine Electricityhands chasing them

“we’re not letting you out of our sights until we've worked this out.....so where's this lab then? :D :D” menacing threat to puppy in 0.2 seconds

I love that nobody even seems to notice how out of place Thirteen looks

“their opinions do not affect me” me reading all the people saying that Orphan 55 was a weak episode (true) like Tsuranga (untrue!!)

Tesla: *storms out* Thirteen: 😬

“he should have been the first billionaire by now” well. a conversation for another time mayhaps.

"mainly out of spoons"

science buds!!

Thirteen bonding with Tesla about being lonely right in front of the fam

“it can be difficult, to feel no one else sees the world the way you do” :(

“slymurian laserpasta”

sadly I’m in the same position as the fam, I know about Edison but nothing about Tesla

"the man didn't understand the American sense of humour" what a slimeball

well that creature morphing its face while in the fire was uh. horrifying.

I love how the Doctor managed to get phone signal in 1900s New York

so this is like...Scorpion racnoss?

WAIT this is the Anjli Mohindra character??

I love that little conversation between Ryan and Skerritt about not being able to go back to the ordinary after being with the Doctor / Tesla

“which I'm not worried about.....in the least” I see why she gets on so well with Mr “their words do not affect me” Tesla

“we make him look like the village idiot” ooh Thirteen getting her manipulative side out

“oi! AC/DC!”

first the spy gear and now the death ray, Ryan and Graham truly are children aren’t they

I love inventor Thirteen

“this ain't our first rodeo” “we've never been to a rodeo” “you're not helping Ryan” there’s Graham with their one shared braincell

the extended TARDIS shield is making me think of that scene in s1 where Jack tells the daleks about the shield and just. gives away the plan.

“you're not a ruler, you're a parasite” aaaaaah

“just a trail of blood and other people's brilliance. no one will even know you existed” AHHHHH

this is the first time Thirteen’s been like this in front of her companions right? I hope we see some sort of effect this has, even if it’s not in this ep

“have you ever seen a dead planet?” WHELP

“I've seen more than you could possibly imagine” this whole scene is fantastic and doing a really good job of getting across the ~ancient and dangerous~ side of the Doctor

did they actually kill the scorpion Racnoss? or just kinda damage the ship and force them to leave

bc if they did kill them, again I hope we see the companions dealing with this later, especially as this ep they were very much going with the Doctor’s ‘no guns no violence’ approach

the idea that none of this is going to change the future, that Tesla still doesn’t get his funding to complete his projects is kinda giving me Vincent and the Doctor vibes

but I like that hopefully this ep is directly combatting one of the things that was brought up in it, that this will help kids learn about Tesla and recognise what he did

(though again, this is coming from someone who knew about as much as Graham did about Tesla before watching so idk, maybe all the history stuff in this ep is common knowledge)

NO SHO BLO FO KO PO! TRO GO MO SO FLO!