#and ofc you can make the argument that she’s so influential so she should be and i agree but also! it’s her choice!

[evermoredeluxe]

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[kashi-prompts]

Flowers For A Shinobi

Chapter 11: Soup

Word Count: 4,670

Pairing: Kakashi x OFC

Previous Chapter ❀  Archive of Our Own Link  ❀  

A/N: This is fuffy, right? lol

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"I understand," Kakashi nodded, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, picking at the fabric at the inside of his trousers. He remained stagnant with his usual aloof disposition, appearing as though he were disinterested in the conversation between himself and the Hokage. Within him, something stirred uneasily. 

"So you'll do it then?" Tsunade questioned pointedly. 

"Yes, I'll do it." 

"Good," Tsunade looked back down at her paperwork, content with the elite-jonin's tepid response. Her fingers hastily returned to endorsing the stack of documents collecting dust on her desk, her blond pigtail sweeping across her shoulder as she leaned over.

"She's being discharged from the hospital today. I want you to start training her as soon as possible. She's rested enough." 

"And if she doesn't want to be a shinobi?" 

"Convince her with that charm of yours, Hatake," Tsunade pointed her pen at him, "she has so much potential. It would be a shame to waste it on a flower shop." 

Kakashi scratched the back of his head stiffly, pressing the locks of his hair back down to the nape of his neck. Under his mask, his lips pursed, thinking of a counter-argument to present. 

"What are you waiting for?" She questioned, cocking an eyebrow as she looked back up at him. "Go talk to her." 

Giving up with a respective bow, Kakashi turned on his heel and headed for the door.

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Ayame combed her fingers through her hair, crudely attempting to make it presentable as she stared out her hospital window. The mid-morning sun drifted upwards in the sky, the clouds shielding the village selfishly from its warmth.  

Instinctively, her fingers began weaving the strands of her hair into a braid. The act quickly reminded her of when she was younger, where her mother would sit her down and tenderly begin folding the strands to create a tight plait of red locks. 

"It's too tight," Ayame would whine, tugging at the braid for her mother to remedy it. 

"Pain is beauty," her mother would tell her indifferently, "You need to keep it out of your face while you work! It'll loosen as the day goes on." 

It never did loosen, despite her mother's words. Tying off her braid now, she missed having someone else care for her as her mother had. The loneliness of this new village lessened as the years went on, but the underlying longing for her original home crept up on her ever so often. Not so much for the village as it was now, but the way she remembered it. Or maybe it was the people. Or perhaps it wasn't even that - but just the overall sense of duty she had there. At least she was doing something with herself.

Even so, she had left Rōtasuagekure for a reason, and quite sincerely, she reflected, she could never see herself leaving Konoha. Especially now. 

"Hana-chan?" a petite nurse asked, popping her head into the small, sterile room. 

"Yes?" 

"I have your discharge paperwork," the nurse offered. She took a few steps in, observing Ayame already dressed in the same clothes she had come in with. 

"Do I just need to sign?" 

"Yes, here and here," the nurse indicated, "the doctor said you have recovered well. She really didn't have much to say otherwise." 

"I'm feeling much better. Thank you for all your support," Ayame smiled, handing the nurse the pen and clipboard back. 

Walking out of the hospital after two weeks left Ayame feeling strange. Almost as though her life had changed, never to return to the way it was before her admission. Her experience on the journey, or mission, rather, resonated in her mind. Looking back, she may not have felt it then, but it was certainly thrilling to be a part of something like that. She thought of the shinobi in the hospital, pleased that she had done something to help them. She examined her feelings towards helping them, remembering how she used to be one of Rōtasuagekure herbalist medics. 

The slight chill in the air from two weeks ago had been replaced with a heavy, thick mist that hardly ever reveals itself except for after a cool shower on a hot day. Instantly, the moisture stuck to her skin as she began walking in the direction of her apartment. She breathed deeply, letting the dewy scent on each blade of grass mingle in her nose pleasingly. It was good to be out finally and feeling better. 

"Oi, Ayame-chan," she heard. 

Her heel skidded against the pavement at the sound of the familiar dull voice. As she turned around, her jade-green eyes settling on a tired-looking masked man. The memory of an unconscious body in the basement of her childhood home suddenly left her reeling. She blinked, watching him walk towards her with his hands that always seemed to be situated deep in the pockets of his uniform. 

"Kakashi-san," she smiled, "how are you?" 

"I am well," he stopped in front of her, looking down at her from his usual height. His cheekbones lifted in a small smile. A beat passed as her eyes traveled over the worn look in his eye. 

"How are you feeling?" Ayame asked, folding her hands together at her waist. 

"I'm doing alright," Kakashi admitted, "but more importantly, how are you feeling? Were you just discharged from the hospital? 

"I was," Ayame gestured in the direction of the hospital, "I'm feeling better. Thank you. I heard the shinobi are doing better? And the flowers were delivered to Lady Hokage on time." 

Kakashi nodded, smiling to himself, "yes. They're all doing much better. Thanks to you." 

"I couldn't have done any of that without you," Ayame admitted, shaking her head. "I'm so grateful to have been a part of it." 

"You handled your own," Kakashi emphasized assuredly. 

Looking over, Kakashi smiled stiffly at her, clearly seeming unsure of himself. Seeing this, Ayame looked away, a few spring leaves floating through the breeze around her. 

"I'm sorry I didn't come to see you while you were recovering. I was recuperating myself."

The memory of a pink-haired shinobi Ayame had seen before with Ino crossed her mind at his words. 

"Kakashi-sensei carried you back to the village," a blur of pink hair had told Ayame. Her bright green eyes had smiled down at her as she drew Ayame's blood one morning. "You're lucky to be alive. He's a really strong shinobi. He's on the mend as well, but he'll probably be better before you are." 

"I heard," she frowned, turning to look back at him. "I'm glad you're doing better, though. But I honestly must apologize for having to have you carry me all the way back here. You should have just left me there. I did my duty." 

A light laugh bubbled up in her chest at her own snide comment. His single eye glanced back down at her with a soft gaze and shook his head, "I would have never left you there. You're worth more than that."

The breeze picked up again. Sakura blossoms dancing in the wind around the two of them. The pink tones of their petals were imitative of the fleeting rouge on her freckled cheeks. Noticing, Kakashi shuffled his sandaled foot and looked down the road. 

"Were you heading somewhere?" Kakashi asked suddenly, his head tilted. 

"I was just heading home," Ayame told him, composing herself. 

"Mind if I join?" Kakashi asked, looking down at her with his one eye. A smile crept over her lips that she tried desperately to tame. 

"Sure." 

Turning on her heel, the two began heading away from Konoha's hospital, passed the mid-afternoon rush of citizens scurrying to grab something to eat before returning to work for the rest of their day. Ayame watched them walk by; the lingering eyes of a few young girls fell on the tall shinobi next to her. She wondered fleetingly if he had a girlfriend or some romantic interest on the side already. Surely, he would have mentioned it. Or an indicator would have arisen at some point. 

But then again, Ayame was still unsure. She hadn't even thought of it until this moment. She glanced over at him, his profile straight ahead as they walked together. 

She really didn't know much about him at all, she mused. It seemed as though he was still a stranger to her, despite this strange gravity pulling them towards each other. The brief time they had spent together felt more influential than just a day or two of ongoing conversations while they traveled. 

"What do you think about living here?" the silver-haired jonin asked abruptly, glancing over at Ayame as she waved kindly to a little girl with a new bouquet from Yamanaka's. 

"I love it here," Ayame shared, her voice a hum as she traced a finger along the wooden siding of the Dango shop. "Although I miss home sometimes."

"I can imagine. This wasn't your first home."

"But it is my home," Ayame vowed quietly. The Dango shop owner gave them a wide, knowing grin, offering a few sample pieces of Dango on a skewer. Ayame smiled thankfully, taking the skewer and popping the round treat in her mouth happily. 

"Would you like one?" She offered, extending the skewer to him. 

"I'm not much of a sweets man," the jonin admitted, lifting a hand to decline. "Plus, the medication they have me on for the amatoxins for my liver makes me pretty queasy lately. I haven't been able to eat much anyway." 

Ayame frowned, "I'm sorry to hear that." 

"I'll live," he shrugged, watching her toss the empty skewer in a passing garbage bin. 

"I would like to talk to you about something,"  Kakashi said a few beats later. Next to him, Ayame felt a cold shock to her chest. She glanced over at him, his expression seemingly difficult to read with a mask and headband that covered the majority of his face. Despite such, she noticed his dark eye glance over at her to assess her reaction.  

"Oh?" Ayame stammered through a chuckle. 

"Yes," he nodded, his tone serious, "what do you think it means to be a shinobi?"

Ayame narrowed her eyebrows, looking over at him quizically. She wondered if this was some joke he was playing, asking her this question to see if she understood the importance of his role. But when she looked over at him, his profile remained straight ahead and composed. She, too, had been thinking of this while lying in the hospital bed.  

"Well," Ayame began, folding her arms against the breeze as they walked, "I suppose a shinobi's only resolve is to protect the village and those who live within it." 

"That's true," he nodded, pausing, "I agree. What do you think about that?"

"About shinobi protecting the village? I think it's important and valuable. Economically, the infrastructure of the village depends on the careers of shinobi to make money. But it is clearly more than that. A shinobi's occupation is valuable to the next generation to have leaders look up to and be protected by. Working for the Yamanaka clan has undoubtedly shed light on all this for me. But I would say, this past month especially strung the understandings together fluently."

She was rambling. When she let out a breath, she expected him to laugh at her wordy response. But when she looked over, he only nodded his head, seemingly appreciative of her narrative. 

She continued, "And I'm sure you've created priceless bonds while working. I think, as a shinobi or kunoichi, you first begin learning to hone your own personal, individual skills. But I think it is more of a community effort than an individualistic standpoint. I mean, the village wouldn't run without you all. And those men would have died it not for you. So, as a shinobi, you have to put unity - and self-sacrifice - first. It doesn't seem to ever be about you. But about those around you. To learn to protect everything at any cost. For the sake of others." 

"Any cost?" 

Ayame looked over at him analytically, unsure of his question. "Yes, with your life." 

"Right," Kakashi nodded distantly, his mind far beyond their wanderings over the wooden bridge. Ayame stopped, leaning over the overpass to look down. She noticed a few boys fishing below and stood to watch them for a moment. Kakashi stopped as well, looking up at the clouds above as he came up next to her.

"What made you ask me that?" Ayame questioned, looking over at him. 

"I have some special orders," Kakashi said finally, turning to look at her. His elbow rested on the railing. The breeze swept across the side of his face, pushing the thick tufts of grey into his eyes. 

Ayame quirked her eyebrow and smirked, "To quiz me on my patriotism to Konoha?"

"Not like that," Kakashi laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm just curious."  

She stilled for a moment, feeling the wind in her ringing ears as she looked back down at the boys below. One had caught a red skipper, joyfully showing it off to his friend. The other cheered, dropping his wooden rod in celebration. 

"It has been discussed that you have the potential to be quite a powerful kunoichi. The way you handled yourself against Daichi was clear evidence. I would say you have the ability to overcome the injury to your chakra. The more you train, the stronger you'll become."  

"I don't think so," Ayame turned away suddenly, leaning over the railing and folding her fingers. What did she want? Her two desires mingled together, mudding themselves in her mind. 

"I don't know, actually. It's not as though I grew up using my jutsu as you all did. I don't even have the proper academy background as even the youngest shinobi in this village have." 

"Do you want to know what I think?" Ayame looked over at him again. His eyebrows shifted to his hairline, and the fabric around his mouth bunched into a smirk. 

"I suppose you're going to tell me anyway, huh?" Ayame chuckled easily. 

"I'm not forcing you to do anything," Kakashi began, leaning his elbow against the railing to look at her. "No one is. But you seem to appreciate the dedication and work it takes to become a shinobi. And what it stands for. I would give my life for those in the village. And everything about the way you handled yourself on this last mission tells me you would do the same, even if you don't know it yet." 

Ayame nodded her head, looking out at the skipping fish. Another breeze brushed her flyaways from her hairline. 

"I know. I understand. So I take it your orders are to recruit me?"

"No," Kakashi hesitated, "my orders are to train you." 

"Train me?" Ayame turned, looking at him surprised and skeptical. 

"If you want," Kakashi lifted his hands defensively with a smile. "I am a fairly notable sensei." 

Ayame laughed again tenderly, placing her chin in her hand as she looked out over the horizon. She could feel his eyes on her, his elbow leaning coolly over the railing to face her. 

"Can I think about it?" Ayame asked, glancing at him. 

"Of course. I don't expect you to drop your life as it is and join a risky occupation like mine."

"I'm not sure if I want to join your cult," Ayame farced, smirking at him from the side. She heard him chuckle next to her, looking out at the river below. The breathy sounds of his laughter she had evoked caused a ripple of satisfaction to fade slowly into her skin. She smiled, sighing. 

Ayame stood up straight, turning to him. The wind rattled his hair more, transforming it into more of a chaotic mess than it already was. She folded her hands at her waist, considering his last comment. She had thought about it endlessly in the previous two weeks, so his sudden request to have her train with him certainly shocked her. 

"Don't doubt yourself," he added unexpectedly. She scoffed playfully, feigning confidence and turning her head away to hide her burning ears. When she looked back, his eye had transformed into a crescent moon, a genuine smile dancing across his cheekbones. 

"I wouldn't have agreed to any of this if I didn't think there was a reasonable chance of you being a skilled kunoichi," Kakashi admitted, "trust me on that. You've proven yourself."

Ayame folded her arms again, another gust of sakura blooms rushing past them. She watched them land in the river, floating past the boys who returned to fishing for their next meal. 

"Thank you," Ayame said finally. "I will think about it. And let you know." 

Kakashi nodded his head, a smile hidden under the fabric of his mask. 

"Well, I'm right over there," he pointed, a round blue apartment complex across the river. "If you need anything, just come here. I can see the bridge from my window." 

As he walked around her, Ayame looked over at the tiny apartment building and considered his response. Just come here. 

"And Ayame?"  

She turned, surprised he was still even near her as her mind had begun to wander. Walking backward, he shoved his hands back in his pockets. 

"Although I'm not exactly happy with the way you administered the antidote in the cache, thank you for saving me." 

Her top teeth tried to tame the grin that crept across her lips. She rolled her eyes at him, "had I known you'd try to recruit me, I should have left you there."  

"I doubt it," he winked. 

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Beyond the gates of Konoha, deep within the Land of Lotus' muddied grounds, a pair of green eyes stared sharply at his work. Three vials of a glowing blue aura dripped slowly from a tube that traveled into the cracked ceiling above. He stacked two fists on top of one another on the desk, placing his chin in them to watch the liquid. 

Drip, drip, drip.

The contents of the vials barely grew. The man grumbled to himself, shaking his head in disgust. 

"I can't believe Daichi's gone," the green-eyed man sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. The room was no larger than a closet, with a metal desk placed in front of the man. A foul stench enveloped the room. 

 In a bed next to him, a woman with locks of blond, grimy hair laid placid against the pillow, throwing an apple in the air and catching it. 

"Doesn't matter anymore," the girl said curtly, "He was arrogant and careless. He should have just ransacked the place, gotten the scroll, and came back."

"I should have never trusted him," the man said gruffly, "I should have just done it myself." 

"Then she would have seen you," the blond pointed out, taking a bite of the apple. 

"I don't care," the man stood, his soiled feet kicking the chair in disgust. "Better than her getting that scroll. I should have gotten the scroll first and then deployed everything. How senseless I am. Now look at this; we barely have anything." 

He gestured to the vials on the chrome table and sighed heavily. 

"Can't predict the future," the girl reminded him coolly with a mouth full of apple. 

"But we can change it." 

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The dark side of the moon tilted in the sky, its crescent shadow illuminating a golden sickle that threw off surprising light. The heavy breeze from earlier that day remained. The humidity level elevated.

A tuft of silver hair laid under a comforter embroidered with green shuriken. One eye remained open, staring at the tiled ceiling above. His stomach growled uncomfortably, causing a sigh to escape from him. Lifting a hand, the jonin slid it through his hair restlessly. 

What had he done? How could he have recruited this girl to become a shinobi when it wasn't even her choice in the first place. Things were changing, indeed. Not everyone was destined to be a shinobi from birth. 

A strong sense of guilt mounted in his chest, making the origin of his nausea unclear as to whether it was from his medication or the nagging feeling that he could be responsible for another lost person in this world if she were to enlist. It wasn't that he didn't trust himself to train her properly. But the what-if certainly stirred a sense of anxiety in him that was very unlike him. 

Everyone he knew and cared for was a shinobi. Why did it bother him now? 

Get ahold of yourself, he groaned to himself. It’s not your responsibility and you have orders. 

Another sigh escaped from his lips as he swung the blanket off of him. In the window behind his bed, he observed the heavy moon in the sky, its contents decorating the pavement and river below in a soft glow. A breeze flew in his cracked window, tickling his nose with a familiar scent. A mixture of the grime from the river and the pleasant aroma of lavender blended in his overly sensitive nose. His eyebrows came together in confusion. 

A lot of things smell of flowers, he reminded himself coarsely. 

And yet, standing on the bridge was Ayame, her arms bundled tightly around a white sack that she held close to her chest. Frowning, he watched her for a moment, unsure if he was seeing her correctly. But the unmistakable scent of her freshly cleaned and braided hair caused his stomach to knot. Was she here for him? Or was she just going for a walk? At this time of night?  

Looking over at the clock, Kakashi noted the time. It was nearly 11:00, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Regardless of if she was here for him or not, he decided to see if she was alright. Blinking once more, he watched her lean against the bridge with the bundle in her hands. Her head tilted towards his building. 

She is here for me.

The breeze picked up, and the sakura flowers from earlier drifted across her view as her eyes unmistakably scanned his blue building. 

Throwing his jacket and sandals on, he quickly flew down the steps and out the door of his apartment building. This may not be the perfect time to tell her, but he had to. He couldn't let her join. He couldn't bear to watch an innocent person become a warrior. Of course, she had potential, but ultimately it should be her decision to join. He had tried to keep his words neutral, but the dialogue in his head from earlier twisted itself to make him believe he could have skewed her decision. 

Get. ahold. of. yourself, he told himself angrily. 

His swift gait quickly replaced itself with the usual casual stride his legs typically paced themselves at. Absently, he shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged forward over the bridge towards the young girl. 

"Ayame?" 

Turning her head, he caught another intoxicating wif of the scented shampoo that clung to her hair. She smiled immediately as her eyes rested on him as he walked towards her. 

"Kakashi-san," she greeted, the audible noise of his name on her tongue sounded like a content sigh. The sound tickled his already queasy stomach. 

"Why are you out so late?" he asked quizzically, leaning against the railing himself. He glanced down at the bundle against her chest, and she smiled, standing up. 

"I made you some soup," she stood, pushing a container wrapped in a white cloth forward. He looked down, thankful for the darkness surrounding them as he felt blood rush to his cheeks.

He tilted his head quizzically, unsure of how to respond to the kind gesture. 

"You said you were nauseous," she explained quickly, waiting for him to take the parcel. "So I pulled together some soup when I got home. It's an old recipe my grandmother used to make for us when we were sick. It always helped me feel better. I hope it hel-"

"Thank you," Kakashi replied gratefully, taking the bundle. It was still warm in his hands. The gesture stunned him, and the warmth of the soup in his hands radiated through his entire body. Momentarily, he forgot what he had intended to tell her. 

"I appreciate this," he held the parcel up, the silence growing awkward as he collected his thoughts. 

"You're welcome," Ayame smiled at him. 

Were her cheeks red as well? Oh god, he thought. He couldn't do this. 

"Ayame, I wanted to talk to you about our conversation earlier," Kakashi began hesitantly. Her expression changed. 

"Yes, I wanted to speak with you as well."

"You first, then," he offered, shifting his weight to his other foot.

He expected her to say no. To say she didn't want to join and instead remain an anonymous citizen of Konoha, utilizing her Kekkei Genkai as a means of generating precious flowers for the Yamanaka Flower Shop. He expected her to say, "thank you for the offer, but I decline," and then to walk away from him, only to pass by him at different times on the street in the near future. 

"I think I'll do it," is what she told him instead. "I want to protect the village. I don't want anyone to go through what I went through or what those shinobi went through this week." 

Kakashi blinked, blindsided by this woman yet again in less than 5 minutes. 

"You do?" he asked, feeling his finger twitch nervously against his bundle of soup. 

"I was thinking about it while I was hospitalized, to be honest with you," she admitted, looking away, "I didn't want to mention it. I also didn't think it was a possibility. I figured you had to be born here or something. But you said you had orders?"

Kakashi nodded, looking above her head as he processed her words. The image of his dream crossed his mind. The uncomfortable feeling of not being in control crept up his spine. He shook his head, composing himself. 

"I do," he confessed with a nod, "from the Hokage." 

Ayame blinked, clearly taken aback by his words. "The Hokage wants me to join her shinobi army?" She asked incredulously, her voice teetering on laughter. 

Kakashi let his bones relax as she laughed, "she said you have potential." 

Ayame paused, folding her arms loosely around her torso, "well, that's the highest compliment I've ever received. But what was it that you want to talk about?"

"Oh," he shrugged, "It's nothing. I just - as long as you are comfortable and understand-" 

"I understand," she interrupted. He narrowed his eyebrows, surprised again by her definite tone. Her eyes glistened as she stared back at him. 

Realizing, she replied, "I've weighed the pros and cons of it for two weeks in a hospital bed. I know what you are referring to. A shinobi's life cannot be easy. But I wouldn't say yes if I didn't think it was worth it. I couldn't protect my brother or my family. So I want to protect Konoha."

She waited for his response, her eyes tracing the line of his mask that hugged his cheekbones. 

A smile crept over his lips as he bobbed his silver head in a nod, seemingly content with her response. Crickets sang in the brush below them, filling the void of silence. Her response eased the tension in his shoulders as he looked back down at her. 

"Then we start tomorrow," he told her abruptly. "Meet me here at dawn."

"But it's nearly 11:30!" she protested, her lips twitching as she guffawed at him. "That is barely enough time for a good night's sleep."

Kakashi turned on his heel, raising his eyebrows in delight at her reaction. He chuckled to himself as he held the soup against his chest, walking away. 

"Should have thought of that before you came here so late then!" 

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A/N: Hello all! Thank you for reading. It really means a lot to me. I have been in a pretty dark situation/headspace lately and planning out and writing this fic has really helped me. Watching your story come together and seeing people enjoy it is an immense confidence booster. So I appreciate you all. I’ll be writing prompts in between too! <3 

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Since you’re promoting Zelda OCs I would like to share this thing that happened to me with you and if you want you can also tell me what you think. There is this botw artist who had her Zelda OC whom I liked very much. Her art is beautiful but she’s been very mean. It's true: “never meet your heroes”. One day she shared a post about her OC asking others if they had ocs as well. I shared my OC in the comment section saying I made my OC based of myself. She immediately DM me saying I should delete the comment because to her it looked like I wanted to use her ‘popularity’ to promote my art (dude wtf she isn’t even THAT famous lmao). I ofc told her I was ashamed by it and deleted it... I complimented her and she didn’t even give a shit about it. I told her I wanted to let her see my OC to not make her feel ‘alone’ and she told me “uhm okay I don’t need your approval, I’m quite happy with that I make”. And last but not least when I said I’d been following her since 2018 she said “but I don’t see you among my followers”. What do you think? It made me so depressed I quit drawing my OC for three days.

Well, obviously I have no context for the whole extent of this situation, so very well could be misunderstand and tone and other stuff factored in there, but going off what you’ve said overall sounds like she’s a BITCH. Not very poggers of her if I do say so myself. 

There’s maybe an argument and point to made there about not putting art in another person’s art post because I guess it could be seen as derailing. But like, if she asked for people to share their ocs then people are gonna share their ocs lmao. Also, and this is just my personal opinion and I’m no artist myself so take this as you will, if someone posts art, and then someone reblogs that with their art that’s related/inspired by the original topic, 90% I’m able to appreciate both art separately. Welp, I guess she’s op so she gets some semblance onto how she wants people to interact so. Good for her for not needing people’s approval to enjoy the things she makes

But that shit about “using popularity” and questioning your follow time...wow that’s bitchy sldkjfs apologies I can’t think of the proper synonym for it but it just is. Gonna call the cops? Gonna report me? “Oh how scandalous that this person who follows me and likes my content has been following for only 200 days and not a YEAR like they said smh” boi shut the fuck up no one cares. I don’t care, and you shouldn’t care. If you’ve followed since 100 followers, sweet. If you’re here from just this month, welcome. What is this gatekeeping obsession with how long you follow people for like I get it if you’re friends or mutuals but literally what is there to gain by saying shit like “only REAL ones have been here since 1k subscribers” or “only my TRUE fans are the ones from 2017″ like fucking shut up, since when has follow time constituted for how much you enjoy and appreciate something 

“Using my popularity to your advantage” arguments have also grinded my Ancient gears. Like yes, there are assholes who only want to talk with you or be friends just so they can use your position or whatever for their benefit. They totally exist don’t get me wrong. People who are like that, you have my approval to punt them. But also, the entire idea that just because someone is benefitting from someone else’s popularity they are a bad person is really wrong. Not to bash capitalism on the Zelda sideblog, but the entire idea that the rich and “famous” (heavy heavy quotation marks there considering we are on tumblr) are only successful because of their hard work is just blatantly false. Sure it’s important, it gets you like 50-70% of the way there, but the rest of that very significant percentage is just luck, or just factors in user engagement, or current trends or maybe they’re related to someone influential. It’s a roll of the dice. You don’t own popularity, you just don’t. That is completely owed to the people that follow and engage with you, so who are you to insult them.

Now, I’m not saying that you owe your followers anything, in fact, yeah I’d agree blatantly: You don’t owe your followers anything. You make the thing, they get the thing, they follow/like/share, the transaction is over. But at the same time, don’t act like a high and mighty bitch about it, fucking “using her popularity,” how much of your precious and popular time do you waste to give a nice comment, or even sharing something made by someone else, someone that could very well be the reason you’re in the position you’re in right now. Yeah bitch how about you use your “popularity” to give attention to someone talented, what do you have to lose by sharing something good with people. And no one better give me that shit about “OhhhHhhHHhhhh but if you share it then they didn’t eaarrnnnn anything and they can’t leaaaAAARnn and growww” cause first of all no, shut the fuck up, bash your capitalism brain into the earth and stop thinking that all success and growth has to be born out of pain and sacrifice. Secondly, just because someone popular shares something, it that doesn’t mean all that engagement instantly gets passed on to another person. That engagement would only get passes if the person was skill/talented/created something great AKA they worked in that regard to earn it. Idk about you, but if someone I like promotes another person, I don’t just automatically follow them, I look at them, and if I like them and what they do, then I follow. Such an incredibly stupid argument to me when people say that people are leeching off of popularity like it’s some finite resource, anyone can get a couple hundred likes and views, but if the stuff you make is quality and good, that’s when people stick around.

If you’re “popular” you should also share the work of other people that you like. Now THAT’S JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION cause there are other reasons that you might not mass reblog shit to keep yourself organized or you purely just focus on your account for sharing and nothing else or whatever other reasons there are that are probably valid, but it’s how I feel. So if you share, don’t share because someone asked or begged you, or because you want the nice guy clout, just fucking share the stuff that you like because you like it, because those 5 seconds it takes to click a few buttons could mean a world of change to someone who very well could have been in your position had the stars of the social media algorithm aligned a bit differently.  

Wow I wrote a lot, I guess this was something I really wanted to rant about huh. I guess I just really want you to know that, yeah, that person sounds like a bitch, and you shouldn’t let that experience stop you from making the things that make you happy. TL;DR be nice to your nice followers, popularity is a made up currency so just fucking spend it wildly, OCs are pretty rad

[recordmcqueen]

Kay so im gonna start by saying that tumblr mobile is boiled and doing this kinda thing on my phone is a Pain but my moms still asleep n she hasnt taken out my laptop yet so i make do with what i got ig

Secondly, context: so a while ago ashton posted about how ppl tryna cancel brendon urie is dumb and i mean i would agree without even knowing the context bc cancel culture IS dumb gdi but anyway i shot an anon asking like "yooo wassup" n he wouldn't say much aside from "yknow the usual CC argument" blabla im paraphrasing anyway i left it at that uNTIL someone i followed reblogged this post like "if u support brendon urie gtf away from me ugh" and i was like...wot so yknow i asked "what he do" n op replied with a Link to a Thread so being the curious cat i am i went for it

Side note that if u dont know by know, twitter.com and i are Not on very good terms ahahaha thats an understatement but in any case reminder that tumblr mobile is boiled and tumblr replies do not support hyperlinks so i mf typed this entire url out on my keyboard to get to Le Thread which was also ON TWITTER a place that i Prefer to Avoid Whenever Possible anyway all this considered i was expecting some Real Tea yknow?

Instead, i got...this list of, er, "receipts" proving that brendon is, uh, Problematic(TM)

Tbh im actually starting to question the...purpose? Of cancel culture? I understand the issue with JKR because shes in a position of influence and shes actively spreading propaganda against an already marginalized population so ofc the Objective here is to get ppl to Stop Listening to Her ie Take Away the Microphone so she cant spread any more of this bs and keep hurting trans people

But thats an extreme case and while i do think ppl should stop listening to her, i think the more important thing is to Acknowledge the Issues at hand Instead of Focussing on the person behind them. Whats a bigger issue, one writer who peaked in the early 2000s and hasnt been taken seriously since at least 2017, or the genuinely pervasive social institutions of racism, transphobia, etc. Im not saying we should let jkr off the hook im just saying this is less of a "JKR IS PROBLEMATIC!!!" and more of a "JKR is in an influential position enabling her to spread toxic ideology to impressionable minds and thats not good"

After all, no one is perfect. Ik it sounds cliche but honestly if i was Up There n in the public eye where people Care then heck id be canceled 360° within a week tbh. I'm still trying but literally no one Doesnt make mistakes and Hasnt done crappy things at Some point in their life WHAT MATTERS IS THAT THEYRE NOT DOING CRAPPY THINGS RIGHT NOW AND REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S WRONG

like what are you fundamentally trying to prove i dont understand?? expose their past mistakes?? call them out for being flawed and Human?? MISTAKES ARE NATURAL - ITS HOW YOU REACT TO BEING CALLED OUT FOR EM THAT TRULY DEFINES YOUR SO-CALLED “PROBLEMATIC”-NESS GDI

the fatal flaw of cancel culture is to hold people to unreasonable standards n put em up on pedestals where theyre expected to be nothing short of Perfect in past and in present and that?? is toxic?? as hell??? its genuinely sickening to imagine these people with too much time on their hands digging through actual deleted posts and videos just to collect dirt on people so they can present the sum of their sins and mark them as irredeemably evil. bro im terrified of fame n i pity celebs cause they just cant catch a break can they??

if youre going out of your way to dig up dirt on celebs from Years ago (one of those links was from 2011,,,) just to expose their mistakes? people change and the thing cancel culture refuses to acknowledge is that Yes People Change!! they Can and they Do!! so why why Whyyyy are you treating them as though one distasteful joke from half a decade ago is a permanent marker of their personality. gee i sure hope they apologized for it in any case, but yall fr need to get a life

[leaughrilke]

What are the superbabies individual talents/hobbies that are not limited to their powers

so!  i have v weirdly specific ideas for this so hang in pals

finn

video games

listen………my boy is sweet and soft but he is brutal when it comes to video games.  he will destroy u and laugh.  he will dance on ur metaphorical grave, like it does not matter if yall are playing mario kart or whatever.  he will.  Destroy u

piano

so when he’s little, kara and lena sort of just sign him up for anything he shows interest in, and he’s on a music kick but hates violin, hates brass and woodwinds, so they sign him up for piano just to see and holy shit he loves it and is so so good, sticks with it his entire life tbh

gardening

what a green thumb like…..its kind of out of nowhere tbh like eliza has this habit of taking the kids out whenever she’s in town and letting them each pick one thing to get and this one time finn drags them all into a nursery and picks out this very fussy plant and eliza is like ??  okay kiddo, but it’s going to be a lot of work and finn’s just all in for it

and somehow??  it stays alive???  and flourishes???  and then finn’s asking for plants for every birthday and asking for seeds and a little planters box and he’s like……..v particular abt his plants.  like he’s got a time table for all of them, knows which should bloom when and what fertilizer works best

cooking

this sort of developed from his gardening actually!!  lena’s a p good cook and she asks if finn wouldnt mind growing a few herbs for her and ofc that sweet child said yes and then he sort of??  naturally got interested in cooking from there??  lena teaches him everything she knows and like that’s their thing u know??

basketball

he plays on a team when he’s younger, but when he gets older he only does pick up games bc he doesnt think its fair otherwise??  but he and kara will shoot hoops sometimes and he joins this underground alien league??  so he plays at the rec center downtown with them a lot

maia

debate

my argumentative child……she verbally eviscerates ppl on the daily, ofc she joins debate and ofc she easily becomes one of the best members like.  other school’s debate teams literally shudder in fear when they see maia danvers on the roster at a competition.  full body shudder.  Full Body

ballet

so kara and lena sign her up for ballet when she’s v little bc her friends are in it and maia wants to hang out with them and she’s rlly good at it??  but she never lets on that she actually likes it and her moms are rlly adamant abt never making the kids stick with anything they dont like so they’re kind of shocked when, after maia’s friends quit, maia doesnt ask them to pull her out.  she finds it rlly calming??  she doesnt have to think too much, just has to know her body and focus on that

volleyball

bruh.  she’s vicious but she is probably the biggest team player, like she always makes sure to pass to her teammates and never gets too nasty with her trash talk, always makes sure to high five the other team after she’s demolished them 

to be clear, she’s on the suppressant all through her childhood and well into college, never plays if she hasn’t taken it so its all fair and even

~science~

she’s actually the only kid that shows an interest in science at all??  like finn has always been good at it, but its just one of those things that he’s good at, he doesnt find any actual joy in it, but maia fuckin loves it oh my god.  she LOVES it, like she does every science fair and the science olympiad and its such a weird thing like no one expects maia danvers to be grinning as she blows some shit up…….or maybe it makes perfect sense

she bonds with both her moms a lot over it and with alex and eliza too!!  like lena takes her to the lab a lot and helps her with whatever her idea of the week is and when she’s a little older, kara teaches her everything she remembers from krypton, watches with pride as her daughter adapts it, does the correct conversions in order to obscure the origins.  alex gets used to having a shadow at the deo, grins and rolls her eyes good naturedly when maia appears and starts asking questions abt the samples alex is studying.  eliza learns to expect biweekly emails from maia

theatre

for a child so dramatic that she would often fly up to the ceiling when she was having a temper tantrum bc lena couldnt reach her, ofc she gets into drama.  she’s a solid actor, not the absolute best, but she’s solid and reliable and has a pretty, strong singing voice that makes her a top pick for musicals

the entire family takes up an entire row every opening night.  lena cries, without fail.  any performance that maia danvers is in is kind of infamous bc ur sure to see at least half of the most influential ppl in national city, sitting in the front row

programming

maia’s actually rlly technically minded!!  like she’s the math/science geek of the family tbh.  when she’s ten, she’s supposed to be training at the deo, but theres a supergirl emergency so kara had to leave for a bit and finn’s wandered off to nap, probably, so maia’s sort of hanging out by winn and watching what he’s doing over his shoulder (which……never fails to freak him out a little) and she startles him by abruptly asking how he did something and he’s like ??  uh.  i can show you, if you want?

those kids have had him wrapped around their fingers since the moment he laid eyes on them tbh, it takes v little convincing for winn to teach maia everything he knows

she actually ends up as a programmer as her day job when she’s an adult!!

stella

soccer

she’s small and fast and super determined and like……gonna b real, her powers do help a bit here, like she’s able to be more in sync with her team and she’s not the best player??  but she does enjoy it and her team improves a lot with her being on it actually

she’s not mvp or anything but that doesnt stop her whole family from coming out to her games.  lena actually blows out her voice cheering for her and kara for sure got t-shirts made that say stella danvers biggest fan and finn and maia make obnoxious glittery signs that say #12 is #1 and DANVERS IS OUR QUEEN

chess

i cried abt this here but chess is honestly one of stellas fave things to do, it rlly is, and when she gets to high school and finds that her school doesnt have a chess club, she starts one, like she’s That Nerd

piano

this is one of those things that she started bc she wanted to be like finn, but ended up actually loving???  she loves it so so much actually, loves the easy feel of the keys beneath her fingers.  she’s not as good as finn, has to work a little harder bc her hands are a little smaller, but its calming and fun and that’s what matters

kickboxing/boxing

jiu jitsu

krav maga

so i grouped these together for a Reason and she picks up kickboxing with kara and alex, but its as she gets older, starts to feel a bit more useless bc maia’s fighting crime on the up and up now, works with kara at the deo and stella’s just…..never going to be given that chance??  like why would she, she’s not bulletproof or anything, so she takes up these different martial arts just to feel more powerful, to feel better and then maybe becomes a vigilante