#and the best advice is just: don't be afraid. kill it. let it go. you HAVE to let it go

[blade-liger-4ever]

Why I think Miko Nakadai is arguably the best human character in TFP

Don't misunderstand, I know Miko was handled haphazardly throughout the series' run. That said, aside from her skipping off into the battlefield, she was actually a great character - and, in my personal opinion, the actual audience surrogate character in TFP.

Now, let me explain.

Although Miko's backstory is told and not shown - a rich daughter who had everything she could ever want, up to and including two pure-breed cats and piano lessons from age three onwards (which, coincidentally, tells us she's brainy despite her antics) - much can be inferred from what snippets of her past we get, along with her interactions with the Autobots. For one, she obviously can't stand most adult supervision, which is likely because of a few things. For one, back home in Japan, Miko would have had to be proper and polite, always restrained, and had to do what she was told. While this is normal (to an extent) in the West, in the East this is etiquette that needs to be obeyed, especially if you're as well off as she is; her actions, specifically in Japan, will reflect on her parents, but to a far lesser extent in America. Thus, when presented with the freedoms of the USA, Miko not only jumps at the chance for an exchange program that will give her the mobility she craves, she also chooses the place that has the least amount of glamor. By extension of choosing to settle in Jasper, Miko's also displaying two other traits: she's not afraid of going to a place vastly different from her home, and she isn't disgusted by a small town with very little monetary value to it.

Secondly, Miko's disregard for authority from adults but deference to the 'Bots teases us with an insecurity - namely, an insecurity that no adult ever gives her a chance to make her own decisions.

Just think about it: All the times Miko's blown off the human adults, it's when they've tried to decide her life for her. Miko has, from what we can see, had her whole life dictated, up to and including those piano lessons. She may be a prodigy at almost everything, but her preferred instrument is the guitar - and yet, she wasn't given lessons in that from the time she was a toddler. Therefore, she feels confined and controlled by the authority of her elders. And so, while Miko may be able to sway Bulkhead into getting her out of detention and consistently slip past the watchful eyes of the 'Bots, it's out of a desperate motivation to control her own life. Now, she does hold too much interest in the battles and getting to watch them, but wouldn't you have that same eagerness if Gundams or Jaegers came to life before your eyes? Yes, she knows their lives are in danger, that they couldn't come home, but there's still a fantastical element to all of this about the Autobots. And it remains so because while she loves them all, Bulkhead is the only one who, while giving her life advice and trying to keep her in check/alive, lets her make her own decisions and take control of her life and her actions.

And that's why she keeps going to the field. That's why she only listens to the reprimands with half an ear and why she recovers so fast from Optimus' near death experiences, as well as Raf's close call with death.

And that's why Miko's world shatters when Bulkhead is left in a half-dead coma from his fight with Hardshell. Because the one person in the universe who gave her freedom and care without deciding her life for her was not just seriously injured, but possibly on death's door.

That's why Miko runs around without a care until the S2 episode "Hurt": because she wants autonomy to decide her life, even if it's stupid choices that could get her killed.

And after "Hurt", we see a new Miko. Yes, she remains gung-ho and fierce, but she stops running onto the battlefield. She takes less enjoyment from the War. Because now, with the reality of war fresh in her mind, she knows the risks and the stakes involved, and she will never take that or her friends for granted anymore. This is further proved when Miko 'sneaks' along for "Chain of Command", but with a twist: she asks Wheeljack if she can come along - and if memory serves, this is the first mission Bulkhead's been on with herself present since the events before "Hurt". Clearly, Miko is still worried about losing Bulkhead - only, this time, she values the words of the 'Bots, and now seeks permission to join a mission, though she wisely asks Wheeljack for this blessing.

This is the beautiful part of her arc, crowned by her battle with Starscream and his Seekers (which is also just straight up awesome.) When she's kicked the afts of everyone, and Starscream tries to intimidate her with his usual "I killed Cliffjumper" speech, Miko's response is this calm, slightly rough, retort:

"Big whoop. I snuffed Hardshell."

In this moment, Miko Nakadai is shown to have grown from an excitable child into an unyielding, but mature, adult warrior. She no longer treats the War and the 'Bots like a game, or a release. She treats them as her friends who she will gladly risk her own life for.

And that, in my opinion, makes her the best human protagonist in all of Transformers: Prime, and Transformers media in general.

As for what I said earlier about her being the true audience surrogate, be honest with yourselves: If any of us were given the chance to meet the Autobots, wouldn't you be just as irrepressible as Miko, as eager to help as she was, and tempted to go to the battlefield to see the action/make sure your 'Bot wasn't going to die? That's what I mean when I say she's the audience surrogate - Miko acts like we would, and learns as we would about the War and the 'Bots if we suddenly came across them.

That's my two cents on Miko, and why she's the human character I respect the most in Transformers...probably of all time. If you liked it, I'm glad; Miko deserves better, and I hope I explained why well.

Til next time, folks!

"Autobots, transform!"

[sunrisecaminus]

It's currently 12:40 am, and sleep keeps escaping me.

I would like to ask for a few drabbles, please. One of how the autobots (whoever you choose) handles a situation where they observe the human reader suffering from a lack of sleep over the past week or so. The reader admits that they tried everything from melatonin, yoga, teas, and essential oils- almost everything to help them sleep. But they keep on having nightmares or anxiety about the team parishing. How will the bot(s) find a solution to their humans problem?

Message - Guys please try to get some better sleep. You poor gremlins need rest to process what fanfics you are reading! Hope you can get some better sleep, babes!

Ratchet/Ultra Magnus/Wheeljack x Human Sick Reader

Summary - Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, and Wheeljack have to take care of their human. All three totally don't think you are dying/sarcastic.

Warning - Mentions of Vomit

Ratchet

Oh you better not be sick! This doctor has been telling you for months to take vitamins and gave advice on washing your hands every time you come home from work. You have to explain to him that it had nothing to do with that and you caught a sickness that got to you even with all the cleaning. Ratchet would sound like it was such a bother to care for you, but if you want to know what he really thinks, he is having a heart attack every time you cough. You worry him too much, he is giving you medicine and soup every lunch until your body gets better. "You better live tomorrow! I better not see you dying so help me Primus!" If he could scold the sickness away, than you would have been treated in a few hours. After a few days of you being bed ridden, he would start to just sit next to where you rest and do his work while looking after you. Ratchet does not want to take any chance to take his optics off of you. He tries his best how to understand human illnesses…but lets be honest you organics are a bit confusing to him on how you all function. If you were quiet enough, you can hear him mumbling about how he never wants to lose you. Ratchet thinks of you as his only hope in the war, losing you would make him crash out. Having a sweet person in his life is all he needs to push himself out of bed, and will work harder to take care of you and force your body to feel better. When I mean work harder, I mean read every report from June Darby and do exactly what she tells him to do.

Ultra Magnus

Bro do NOT tell him that you are ill. He would go nuts, scolding you for getting yourself sick and not understanding that it was not your fault. Magnus would give you a bunch of citations, telling you what not to do while you are trying to rest in bed. If he sees you not paying attention, Magnus would just nudge you with his digit to see if you are ok and sit next to the bed. He is a worried mech when it comes to this kind of stuff, wanting to make sure you are ok. He would constantly ask June if everything he is doing is working or if he needs to change his routine a bit. After some time, he would try to watch tv with you. This would probably be the most amusing part of your healing journey, telling him what shows are fake and which ones are real. Put on a ghost show, I freaking dare you. "Why are they afraid of noises? They need a building inspector to make sure the house is well kept." Surprisingly he likes the little kid cartoons because he understands that the shows are trying to teach the kids lessons. If you start to cough violently, the alarms in his processor will go off and grab a bunch of things he was told to give you. Magnus would try to give you soup and a bunch of other foods to help, keeping up a good conversation with you. He may not be a good talker, but if you ask him to tell you a story about the war, he has plenty to help you go to sleep.

Wheeljack

WHO MADE YOU SICK?! Wheeljack will find the guy and "verbally" teach him a lesson. He is lucky that Magnus and Optimus are here, because Wheeljack would kill somebody for risky your health. On the outside, he seems like he didn't care you were laying in bed all day, but on the inside he is thinking you are dying. Don't vomit in front of him, it sounds impossible I know but if you do, Wheeljack will start yelling for June and not skip his scouting missions. Playing board games is a fun way for him to calm down about your physical health, sometimes letting you win. Music is another thing he likes to play with you, looking to see what is on the radio at the moment. You can ask him many questions on if Cybertronians get sick or do they have another type of illness? Wheeljack understands the cultural differences and similarities y'all have so he is actually really good at explaining things. He has recordings of his findings on different planets so he would love to show you all his videos. It's nice to be around him while sick, because he is not afraid to hold you in his servos if you want to go anywhere. He loves it when he can roll you into a burrito, it is his favorite thing to do with you. Want to go get ice cream or the drive-in movie theater? He will climb into his ship and go everywhere for you. Also, Wheeljack will actually go slow in his ship because he doesn't want to make you vomit anymore than you do now.

[kryannoy]

Hey, can we have a Yan!Andrew Graves with Reader?

genre: sfw, headcanons + fic

characters: yandere!andrew graves x reader

warnings: manipulation, gaslighting, obsession, possessive andrew

a/n: i don't normally write yandere characters so this was a bit of a challenge. hope this suits your request and enjoyed reading!

He's so obsessed with you but he's subtle with it—more like whatever stupid thing he does, he'll make sure you don't see it.

When he loves you, he'll make sure to keep you happy just so you will always come to him whenever something happens. He'll open a bottle cap for you without being told, he'll wipe your mouth with his fingers if it's messy—totally not putting them in his mouth afterwards. He'll open the door for you, let you cry on his shoulder, gives you hugs when you need it. Every subtle thing to manipulate you into coming back to him when you need support.

If someone talks to you, he'll be right behind you with arms wrapped around your waist while glaring daggers at the other person.

"No, no. Continue. Don't mind me, pretend that I don't exist."

To you, his tone sounds normal but to the poor guy, it's like a cleaver skinning them alive.

If someone even looks at you without you knowing, it's gonna be hell for them. He somehow won't be afraid to kidnap that person, tie them up and threaten them with Andrew's favorite cleaver until the person is diagnosed with PTSD.

He will shamelessly go back to you with a smile on his handsome face as if nothing happened.

Andrew would kill anyone for you but if you tell him not to, he won't.

Although, he knows you would be scared if you saw him murdering people, he won't do it anyways. The last thing he wants is you running away from him.

You have no idea why people start to turn their backs on you and you would think that you've done something wrong. So, you ask Andrew for advice or if he knows anything, exactly what he planned for.

And he would smile innocently from his success and spread out his arms. You would dive into his comfy sweater without knowing the hands that are holding you are the hands that have done so many questionable and criminal acts.

"C'mere you. Aw, you poor thing! I'm sure no one hates you. Who would? They're probably out of social energy from a rough day or something. Don't you worry!"

He'll kiss your forehead, then your nose, and lastly, your lips. You would smile and he would smile into the kiss while thinking how naive you are.

He admits sometimes that he feels guilty for deceiving you but what can he do? How could he come up to you and admit to all the crimes he's done? You wouldn't look at him the same anymore, would you? Would you still love him despite knowing what he did or what he ate? He wouldn't take any risks. If he has the person he loves the most in his arms, why would he easily throw you away?

If the truth hasn't been told, he'll keep you for himself. He'll keep you forever.

You knew he acted differently than normal people. He's a little different because of his upbringing, and that's normal for kids with neglected parents growing up with a weird habit of theirs and that was just his charm, right?

Because you think it was just a charm of his, you didn't run when you had the chance to. Besides, if he was so sweet to you, so kind to you, so good to you, he wouldn't hurt you, would he?

There's a reunion dinner later tonight with your old high school mates and of course you're coming. You haven't seen your friends in a long time. You've already informed Andrew of this and for the past week he was okay with it, but why is his tone now sounded . . . different?

"You're going?" He asked from the couch. One of his legs propped up on the other and an arm over the couch. His green eyes look up and down at your fit that he knows you chose the best from your closet. You're going to meet some nobodies with that outfit? You didn't even wear something so pretty when he's around! Not that you aren't pretty. It's just you put a tiny bit less effort when going out or being with Andrew.

"I've already told you, haven't I?" You're putting on your shoes at the front door and you hear some shuffling. Your hand is at the doorknob now. "I'll be back before ten. I prom—"

The door slams shut again before you could even open a crack. You can feel him behind you. His hands on the door, caging you between him and the solid wood.

"You are not going." His voice is low, almost threatening.

You turn around to face. You do not want to have this conversation right now. You're going to be late, that is if you find a way to stir this around to go your way.

"Andrew, this is unfair. Last week, you told me I can go so why are you backing out now? Tonight of all days!"

It wasn't his intention to upset you nor ruin your night but why are they taking you away from him?

"Why are you still excited about going? Don't you remember what they've done to you? They isolated you . . . remember?"

They isolated you. Yeah, right. He was the reason behind it anyways, but poor you who loves him too never suspected your own boyfriend was the culprit.

"They . . . didn't. You said they didn't have the energy to talk," your voice was almost a whisper. You weren't even confident of your own answer. You're starting to reminisce about the old days at school. Sure, they didn't talk to you anymore, but the reunion dinner is going to be different, right?

His hand moves down to lock the door but his actions made you take a step back, hitting the door. You forgot you're kind of trapped right now with no way out unless reasoning with him first.

"You don't really have to go . . ." The same hand moves up to your hair, tucking some strands behind your ear ever so gently it's almost . . . unnervingly creepy. "Do you?"

His eyebrow raised in question.

Your heart is starting to pick up its pace. Your fingertips are running cold. You don't understand yourself why you're so nervous in front of him. I mean, you had been nervous around him but this is a different kind of nervous. It's fear. Fear of him. However, he never hurt you yet. He never raised his voice to you. He's always been nice and sweet to you. But you really can't help this weird feeling.

So you slowly tell him how you feel.

"You're scaring me."

And there it is. It hit something in him. It's the last thing he wants, but the first thing to make you listen to him.

You can see his facial expression changes from demanding to guilt.

"Love, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's just me!" His caging arms now freeing you while backing away a bit, most likely a tactic to show you he's innocent. "I'm just saying, wouldn't you be left out at dinner? I don't want my pretty girl coming home sad and disappointed when the past week you've been so excited about this dinner."

Andrew takes your silence to continue. "Stay here. With me."

You really want to insist on going yet you don't want to risk starting a fight. But it's unfair! You always let him win you over, now he needs to listen and let you go. Maybe a small chance could probably lead to a huge success.

"But please!" You drag the word longer, hoping he'll give in. "I haven't seen my friends for I don't how many years. It's just this once."

You seem energetic again. He takes this chance to step closer, a hand on the side of your face. His thumb brushes along your glossed lips you put on earlier, smudging it. His gaze move up from your lips to your eyes.

"I'm sorry, darling, but no means no." He said it so softly before he kissed you longingly. You somehow melt into him despite your disagreement. He's really not losing—like always.

He broke off the kiss to continue persuading you to stay. "I'm doing this for your own good. Sometimes you're too naive to be staying around them. You're too nice. I've seen it. And it hurts to watch you being used and throw you away."

You exhale a deep breath from the stress. Maybe Andrew's right. Maybe you are too naive to realize. They asked you for homework and notes, but then one day, they stopped talking to you. Maybe they really did see no use in you they've fulfilled their satisfaction.

But Andrew . . . Andrew never stopped talking to you. Andrew never threw you away. Andrew was always there through it all. Andrew never left you by yourself.

Like right now.

"Okay," you spoke softly, like a whisper, before nodding your head. "I'll stay in with you."

Good thing you were looking at the ground because now, Andrew can't hide the big smile on his face. He successfully manages to keep you by his side. His heart beats rapidly from the excitement, his skin was buzzing. He can be with you tonight. He can stay with you. Just the two of you!

He pulls you in his arms and strokes your hair. "That's my good girl. Always so obedient." He kisses the crown of your head before leading you to your bedroom so you can change to a more comfortable clothes.

He dreams of having you by his side forever but he doesn't want to go to extreme measures such as locking you in or tying you up. Maybe not just yet. Since you're so good to him and love him too, you deserve to roam around freely until you start to disobey.

He wouldn't want to do it but tonight, he was close to doing so just from how persistent you were.

[scribblesofagoonerr]

— no more money for monkey | buddy & monkey: double the trouble

once again this is based around an anon request for this specific one

thanks to @alotofpockets with her advice with this one!

"Le! Le! I need it!" You do your best to beg and plead, trying to get the blonde to give in to letting you buy the cool new latest obsession that you had.

Remote control cars, but in this case it's now a remote control boat that you just have to have without any question.

Being in the local shopping center makes it seem like the perfect opportunity to do that.

At least you think it did.

"No, Monkey," The blonde dampens your excitement by being a complete buzz-kill.

"Leah, come on! You know it looks sick and I really need to get it!" You whine in protest, trying to get through to the blonde and make it known that this remote control boat is something that you desperately need.

If only it was ever that easy to do.

"You don't need the boat, Monkey," Leah's quick to reply and shake her head, before she continues to look

That's where you and her think differently about things.

"Well, no... But I want it!" Your insistent to get what you want, one way or another.

"Then I'm afraid it's tough luck until next month, Monkey," Leah chuckles and shakes her head, "I gave you your monthly allowance and you blew it just like that, remember?" She questions, amusedly.

You pout and slump your shoulders, "I... I didn't blow it all at once."

"Really?" Leah can't help but scoff and shake her head again, "I seem to recall different when the other day I said 'Here's your allowance for the month, don't blow it all at once' and after the first day, what is it that you said?" The blonde questions you, awaiting the answer.

"Your really gonna make me repeat it?" You question, letting out a huff in annoyance.

Leah smirks and nods, "Yep."

Exhaling a sigh, you scowl at the blonde before you speak, "I blew it all, I'm broke as fuck." You repeat your words in a dull-toned down voice, "But this boat is justified!" You whine.

"And there's your answer to why you have an allowance when you go off and buy pointless things that aren't necessary," Leah mocks you as she pats you on your chin and smiles amusedly, "You get obsessed with it for a week or two and then it's just left aside like usual. Need I remind you of Buddy's first birthday as well, hm?" She asks.

"It weren't that bad. I think it's a bit of an over exaggeration there," You remark grumpily while you keep your shoulders slouched.

"That's where you and I think different, sunshine," Leah states, laughing a bit as she starts to walk off ahead of you in the shopping center you're in.

Of course you remember Buddy's first birthday, that's where it all started.

You just don't think it is that bad, considering you have no concept of money whatsoever these days but unfortunately for you, the blonde defender that you live with seems to think about this practically.

"Le! Le!" You shouted aloud as you did your best to lug a heavy load of shopping bags into the house, "I... I need a hand out here!" You called out to get her attention.

You and Jordan had taken a trip into the local shopping center just a few weeks before Buddy's first birthday, meanwhile Leah was at home with Buddy and of course you took the opportunity to get carried away. 

You definitely did want to spoil her a lot!

Leah and Jordan had separated, but of course they were still on civil terms for the sake of Buddy, and you guess yourself to some extent - You still got a long with Jordan, after all you played on the same team as her and of course she was a big part of your life when you first made the move to the club.

"Le! Come 'ere quick, I need help! They're so heavy!" Your were quick enough to shout the blonde for help, not even considering that Buddy could be taking a nap and there was possibility of waking her up...

Oops?

Footsteps were heard padding through as she walked into the hallway and the blonde looked annoyed, "Will you keep your voice down? Buddy's not long gone to sleep," Its' only then she takes one look at the heavy bags and her eyes widen in absolute disbelief, "What the-- Crikey, Monkey. What the hell have you been buying?" She questioned.

It didn't seem like a lot to you, you just kept on picking things up and well, of course Jordan was pretty easy to convince that you did indeed to buy all of it.

"It's presents for Buddy's birthday!" You exclaimed with a beaming wide smile, "I got so many cool things for her!"

"Yeah, yeah, I can see that," Leah furrowed her eyebrows in concern as she moved to help you bring in the rest of the bags as she saw Jordan walk up to the front door now she'd parked the car on the driveway, "Why an earth did you let her get so much?" She questioned, bewildered.

"Eh, I guess the kid got carried away," Jordan chuckled, shrugging her shoulders and not seen the problem behind it, "You know she gets me right away with those puppy dog eyes, Leah. I couldn't say no to her!" She insisted.

"Jord, your the adult here! You could have put your foot down," Leah huffed and shook her head with her ex before she started to help bring in the rest of the bags that were blocking the front door, "Please tell me that this is all of it?" She questioned looking at you.

"Eh, kind off... Well, uh no, there's still quite a bit in the car boot," You admitted quietly, scratching the back of your neck, "But its' all totally justified though!" You added in.

The blonde didn't seem to think about it like that as she clicked her tongue in disapproval, "Tell me you haven't spent all of your money on this?" She asked.

"No, no, not all of it, but like most of it. I got carried away!" You still didn't see the problem with your spending habits, "Wait until you see what I got her!"

"Do I even want to know how much you've spent?" Leah questioned wearily, having a feeling it was a lot either way.

"It weren't even that much," You respond, shrugging your shoulders.

Like you said, you didn't really care about the concept of money much sometimes.

"How much?" Leah repeated, sternly.

"Fine, alright," You slumped your shoulders and resisted the urge to roll your eyes, "It was maybe just a little over £300... Possibly more."

The only way you can really explain the look on the blondes' face is like her eyes were about to come out of the sockets if they could, "£300? Are you joking?!" She asked in disbelief.

You sheepishly nodded and stuck your hands in your jean pockets, "Could be more." You stated.

"Monkey, that is a lot of money to spend on a 1 year old!" Leah told you, shaking her head as she started to take a look through the bags before she looked at Jordan, "Seriously, Jord? You let her spend this much money!"

"It's her money, Le. She can do what she likes with it," Jordan remarked, shrugging her shoulders again, "I'll go and grab the rest of it out of the boot." She made a quick escape back out of the front door to avoid any further words from the blonde.

"See, exactly! It's not every day that my favourite little buddy turns 1 now, is it?" You replied, making the reason for your spending seem justified.

On the other hand, the blonde didn't seem so convinced, "She won't even play with half of this-- This lego set is not even for her!" She exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! No, that one is for me," You beamed a wide smile as you took the box of out the bag, "Look how cool it is though!" You insisted.

"Le, whoa, look!" You were quick to run ahead of Leah, Buddy and Leah's mum in another shopping center a few days later when your quick to spot the exact same pair of trainers in your favourite little buddy's size that replicated your own ones, "They've got the same shoes that I have for Buddy!"

You didn't think that you'd spent nearly enough money like you should have done, but this reason to spend it is at least justified and you loved to spend money.

"Awh, yeah. So they do!" Leah smiled fondly at you in agreement.

"They look adorable," Leahs' mum, Amanda chimed in.

"I just have to get her a pair to match!" Your insistent to want to go into the shop and buy them, much to the disagreement of the blonde who doesn't look entirely convinced about that.

"Don't you think you've already spent enough on her?" Leah questioned knowingly.

"It's her first birthday though, Le!" You were quick to insist, having found that using that excuse had seemed to work wonders the last time.

"No," Leah clicked her tongue in disapproval and shook her head, "Stop using that as an excuse-- I'm not going to give into the puppy dog eyes either, you know I don't fall for them!" She stated, firmly.

Huffing and puffing at the blondes' words, you still tried to convince her otherwise, "Come on, you know they'd look adorable!"

"No, Monkey. You've already spent enough on her! No more!" Leah stood firm on her words, taking a hold of your upper bicep and doing her best to pull you away from the shop, "Come on, we've got other things to buy still."

You didn't agree with that, you didn't see the problem with spending so much on things. What was the harm?

"Please for the love of god, tell me that is not another present you have brought," Leah murmured as she watched you excitedly run back out of the toy shop with a massive bag in tow, that you had disappeared into less than half an hour ago.

"Okay then, it's not another present for Buddy," You parroted the answer as you shyly hid the plastic carrier bag behind your back.

What's the worst that can happen?

"I tried to stop her," Leah's mum, Amanda, stated following you out of the shop, "But you know what she is like sometimes." She joked.

"This is totally justified!" It's your go to excuse, but at least it worked or at least you think it did.

"Are you kidding me right now, Monkey?" Leah asked in absolute disbelief, shaking her head in frustration, "I've already told you that she doesn't need anything else-- Shes' only 1, remember!"

"But Le," You began to tell her.

Leah continued to look at you further annoyed, "I swear if your about to use that excuse one more time-- That's it, I'm confiscating your bank card. I'm cutting you off!" She stated, firmly.

Now it was your turn to look at her in disbelief, "But it's my money though!"

"Yes, but are you spending it wisely? Nope!" Leah snorted in amusement, "Therefor I am taking control of it until you're capable of handling your money better!" She told you in determination.

"That... That's not fair!" You whined in protest.

"Really? Cos' I think it is when you've blown most of your wages on things that aren't necessary!" Leah told you firmly before she held her hand out to you, "Hand it over, please."

"No, I don't like this idea!" Your defiant to agree to willingly give your bank card to Leah, "I'm not giving you my bank card. It's my money!" You objected.

"It is your money but Monkey you're just wasting it when you don't need too," Leah stated, explaining her reasoning for it, "Hand it over." She repeated, firmly.

Still continuing to look at her in disbelief, you fished around in your trouser pocket and begrudgingly handed your bank card to the blonde who wasted no time in putting it in her own purse, "I don't like this."

"You'll get used to it," Leah responded, patting you on the shoulder in condescending type of way.

This only made you scowl at her more, "When can I have it back?" You wondered, curiously.

"I told you, when you can learn to handle money better, but until you do, your bank card is staying with me and you can have an allowance," Leah stated with a proud smirk on her face, "Think of this as a good thing that you will be able to have savings now!" She joked at your own expense.

Spoiler alert, you still have no sense of money whatsoever and therefore, Leah still holds her bank card hostage years later.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[multiversefanfics]

Fate (Part 1)

Pairing: Sam Wilson x Fem!Reader Warning: creepy dude, cussing, knives, threats, Summary: You met Sam at a party when a guy wouldn’t leave you alone. Word Count: 1,258

Your best friend dragged you to another one of Tony Stark’s A-list party. You didn’t dislike parties, you just dislike people, especially drunk people. Here you are, standing at the bar, waiting for a drink while your best friend chats up some dude, that bought her a drink.

"Why don't we go back to my place, and I'll make it rain on your naked body." The guy was a creep, you felt your friend's body tense up that's when you stepped in.

"She's fine where she is." You peeked over her shoulder and smiled at him, you snaked your arm between her body and the bar, displaying a small, sharp knife.

His eyes widened, then rolled, and he walked away. Your friend turned toward the bar and let out a breath, leaning on the counter.

"Thank you for that." She smiled over at you as you placed the blade back in its sheath

The bartender finally placed your drinks in front of you. You smiled and put a tip in the jar for her. Your friend turned toward the crowd, looking around at the number of attractive men in the room.

"I'm going to go mingle, please don't stay here. You need to have fun too." She poked your cheek before walking off.

You sighed and decided to take her advice. Why not have a little fun? It wouldn't kill you. Or would it?

You finally moved from the bar, making your way to a table with food on it. You didn't realize how hungry you were until you saw the delicious array of hors d'oeuvres. Just as you reached the table, a pair of strong hands grabbed you and pulled you into a dark hallway. You looked up and saw the man who was trying to take your friend home.

"Think I'd let you just slip away from me? You got in between me and what I wanted, you're going to pay for that." He moved his hands from your shoulders to the wall behind you.

You stared up at him, you didn't want him to know that you were terrified, you pulled a knife on him earlier, how could you be scared now? Maybe it was the fact that no one was around to see you, or that this man is now towering over you, or the fact that he now has your own knife against your neck.

"You really think I'm afraid of you?" You looked down at the knife, then back into his eyes.

"I could snap your neck in 3 seconds, you should be scared." He chuckled, throwing his head back

Just then, the man was pulled from in front of you and slammed into the wall on the opposite side from where you were standing. You watched as your hero twisted the creepy man's arm behind his back, pushing him further into the wall.

"If you ever come near her again, you will answer to me, got it?" He gritted his teeth, letting the guy go.

He didn't look back, he quickly walked away and out into the crowd of people. The man who saved you finally turned to look at you. Your eyes widened when you realized who it was. Captain America

"Y-You're Sam Wilson." Your hands became sweaty, you felt as though you were going to pass out.

He chuckled and nodded his head, he watched as you picked up your knife from the ground, placing it back on your thigh where it belonged.

"So that was your knife?" You nodded and looked up at him.

"Thank you for saving me. I really appreciate it." That’s when you really saw him.

He was gorgeous, beautiful smile, amazing brown eyes, you could see how chiseled he was, he was absolutely breathtaking. You realized you were staring when he waved his hand in front of your face.

“Sorry, lost in thought.” You blinked a few times, taking a deep breath.

“It’s okay, but I was wondering if you’d like the grab a drink with me.” He smiled and held his hand out for you.

You gladly accepted and followed him back to the bar, you looked around for your friend and found her dancing with Joaquin Torres. Sam followed your eyeline and smiled

“She’s in good hands, I promise.” His hand moved from yours to your lower back, guiding you to the bar.

The two of you talked, drank, and shared stories of all the things you've done in your life.

"You're pretty impressive." He smiled down at you

"I'm assuming this is the part of the night where we part ways and never see each other again." You sipped your drink, avoiding eye contact.

"I don't normally do this, but I do want to see you again." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at you. "Can I have your number?"

You smiled and took his phone, putting your number in it, and you handed his phone back to him he stared at you for a moment

"Oh, right, I'm sorry." You handed Sam your phone, you stood there watching him type in his number he handed it back to you.

"Thank you for the wonderful evening." He leaned down, placed a kiss on your cheek and walked away.

You stared down at your phone, his contact being "The Best😉" You giggled and put your phone back in your purse, you looked around for your friend and when you couldn't find her you started to call her.

She answered with a hello, there was a movement in the background, you raised an eyebrow

"Where are you?" You made your way out of the building looking around

"I'm with Joaquin Torres, he's going to give me a ride home." You knew exactly what that meant.

"Mhm, use protection." You chuckled and hung up after saying your goodbyes.

You looked around, forgetting that the two of you had gotten an uber to the party. You sighed and pulled out your phone opening the uber app to order another ride. Suddenly a car pulls up in front of you, you looked up and saw Sam

"Need a ride?" He beamed

You nodded, and as soon as you reached for the handle, he glared at you. You pulled your hand back and watched him walk around the front of the car, opening the door for you. You smiled and climbed in. Once you were settled, he shut the door and walked around to his side getting in.

"Thank you, Sam, I really appreciate it." You buckled up, leaning your head on the window

"It's not a problem." He picked up his phone and handed it to you. "Here, put your address in my phone."

You put your address in his phone and handed it back to him. He looked at the address on his phone and looked over at you

"This is where you live?" His eyes wide as you looked over at him, raising an eyebrow

"I mean, I did put it in your phone, right?" You smiled as he rolled his eyes at you

"I live in this building too. What floor do you live on?" He turned his body to look at you

"10th, you?" It was getting a little weird, if the two of you lived on the same floor how come you haven't seen him before.

"I live on the same floor!" He got a little too excited, you smiled and watched his smile grow wider.

"I guess it's fate." You smirked and enjoyed the ride home.

A/N: If you want to be tagged in future fics comment here or send me a message. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. 🥰

Main Masterlist - Sam Wilson Masterlist

Taglist: @megamindsecretlair @kjah97 @sleepysongbirdsings @samfreakingwinchester @iwudbutnah @cherryresidence @roofwitty779

[notmorbid]

yellowjackets, season 2 [pt. 2].

dialogue prompts from the second season of showtime's yellowjackets.

trust me. i've been where you are.

i thought you'd be more excited to see me.

you should get the hell away from me. i'm poison. i ruin people.

i killed my best friend. the only person i loved. the only person who knew me.

that 'something' that was in ___ is in me.

why didn't you wake me up?

is there a chance it could be us? you and me?

i gotta take care of myself, too, okay?

if you're done crying, i can tell you some stories.

where are you? we need you here.

you are so close to being on the other side.

aren't you the last person who should be giving me legal advice?

i'd rather keep the past in the past.

are you even trying to be happy?

i know you're too evolved for online dating.

i just want to know that you haven't given up on love.

you should be responsible for something other than yourself.

you know i don't deserve your friendship, right?

we're all like this. aren't we?

i never even wanted to be a mom.

life doesn't tend to turn out like you think it will.

it was all really complicated. i'll tell you all about it someday.

it's you and me against the whole world.

we thought we lost you.

i just think it's time we woke up.

i would be dead without you.

i need to know why the fuck i'm still here.

all my rational instincts are just kind of screaming.

you aren't welcome here anymore.

shouldn't you be in therapy?

i really need you right now.

when you look at yourself, what do you see?

the truth is all around you, but you refuse to see it.

i'm sorry. i should never have pushed you away like that.

i'd never ask you to wait for me.

does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?

how much do you remember?

i love this song.

i know there's a lot of pain right now, but let it out.

you're lying to me, and i want to know why.

you hear it, too?

we all need things we can't have.

you're a good person. i'm sorry for ever making you feel otherwise.

you are nothing if not proactive.

i can't get rid of it. it's a part of me.

i thought you loved all of me, like i love all of you.

it's gonna be okay. we're gonna be okay.

i can't imagine being here without you.

you're not going to solve shit with talking.

this isn't something that therapies can fix.

you're gonna have to look me in the eye.

it's no secret we're all a little fucked up.

what exactly are you suggesting?

our lives are not that bad.

i did it for the good of the group.

i knew i wasn't the only one who felt this way.

didn't we swear we would protect each other?

do you google yourself a lot?

disappearing is not as easy as they make it look on tv.

i need you to leave while you still can.

you don't have to be one of those people.

i appreciate you trying to teach me forgiveness. it's a nice idea.

it was supposed to be me.

you're a good person. you really don't belong in this place.

i'm not ashamed. i'm glad i'm alive.

you're like, an honest-to-god detective?

i know this is a lot. but i'm a friend. and everything is gonna be fine.

is this what you wanted to happen?

it's called a narrative. try to 'yes, and' a little.

what about a story you haven't heard before?

i never wanted to be in charge.

you were always the favorite.

there's nothing to be afraid of, you know?

i'm not supposed to be here.

how could it not have been me?

go ahead. i'm right behind you.

[marauderonthepirateship]

HAZBIN HOTEL EP 7 AND 8 QUICKK REVIEW

contains major spoilers, let's start!

how about we start with episode 7, hmm?

i must say, before the episode were released I had a theory, that alastor could make a deal with charlie and try to get her soul to(following the theory about lilith having alastor on a leash) try to exchange charlie's soul for his own BUT it did not happen, and I cannot say it's disappointing for me

as hannibal fun and an expirienced cannibalistic-joke maker it feels like a personal win to have cannibal town being one the most comfortable places in hell with cannibals being really wholesome and polite guys

and of course the diamond of the crown - rosie

she was amazing in this episode. she definitely has the vibe of this rich auntie who visits you once a year and gives the best gifts and advices. she actually gives amazing advices, that's for sure. and i love her friendship with alastor, i bet they meet every weekend and share gossips

all of us should be proud of charlie and the way she becomes leader and takes responsibility for her people. this is THE character development

here we are slowly coming to episode 8 also known as the finale of season 1!!

it was a bright culmination of all of the season 1 and it turned out amazing

but dear readers, i'm sure all of you have already watched it (maybe even 2 or 3 times, right?), so why don't i just say a few words about my favorite moments

the scene before big battle, where everybody is just spending time with other is exactly what shows how much are this lost souls now bonded. they realise they have no idea what is there, waiting for them in tomorrow and that's what make this scene

and let me just say it: huskerdust

it is a big joy to know this actually happened

i also might say that the victory wasn't easy nor unreasonable. think about the fact that nobody knew how to defeat angels is the exact reason hazbin's crew won. indeed the more power you got the less carelessness you should have.

and i'd really enjoy to share some of my highlights of this battle if I do say so

here wee goooo:

sir pentious kissing the girl he loves than heroically dies and goes to heaven. absolutely nailed it

charlie's demon form. and shall we not forget ruzzle and duzzle in their dragon form.

that absolutely iconic show up from lucifer and him in the whole battle

niffty killing adam. i'd say this is hilarious

alastor being beaten, afraid and panicked. yes, i WAS talking about it. it was important to show he can feel real emotions and fear and loss are one of them

three vees watching battle for hotel and living their best lives(i still hate val, just to be clear)

what is really natural about the battle that they don't just celebrate victory. they mourn pentious, and charlie feels guilty, but they still go on, rebuild hotel singing one of the best songs for the whole show

i am intrigued by what the season 2 has to offer for us, my dear friends and I surely will be waiting for it

now i'm just about to thank you for reading this and wish you a pleasant day!

[adragonsfriend]

Supreme Chancellor Grandpa and his Spectacular Vibes

"'Busy as always, I’m afraid. But very glad of this evening’s reprieve.' He says, smiling warmly, because Chancellor Palpatine is the picture of a harried but caring and active leader."

This is going to be part commentary on canon, part my response to the fairly common supposition that Palpatine acts openly rude or prejudiced as Chancellor, part thought experiment.

(quotes from Biting his own Tale (mostly The Supreme Chancellor's Diary) in purple because if I don't do breakdowns of my own writing, who will?)

I pose the question, what is it actually like to be in Palpatine’s presence?

At the heart of it, it's incredibly reassuring:

He is always solving problems for people—often by taking on extra responsibility! It is genuinely difficult to come out of a meeting with Chancellor Palpatine feeling as though some weight has not been taken off your shoulders. Be it emotional (he has lent a sympathetic ear: gained personal information about you), logistical (he’s offered to mention your problem to someone: gained a tacit, informal favour in return), personal (he’s given you advice: shaped your decisions), or logical (he’s always up for a challenging puzzle: he’s always looking for opportunities to take advantage of).

He's a good public speaker, and his speeches gesture at large goals, out of the individual person's reach (I went to a school that had students give these speeches to the whole school twice a week about what ever (school-approved) topic they wanted and trust me, the fastest way to alienate a general audience is to ask them to do something achievable. depressing i know). People—even senators who are aware of his rhetorical tricks—consistently leave his public appearances with a vague but incredibly strong sense that big problems will all be resolved naturally, or by someone else. "She starts reading over one of Palpatine’s oldest speeches, from nearly twenty years ago. …Our Sector is made strong by its partnerships with our neighbors…Naboo will always maintain those relationships bring Prosperity to young and old…The new trade bill will ensure Peace and Security for decades to come…  It has a familiar, empty quality that makes the speaker sound full of ideas, but really only rouses emotion."

He’s no comedian—his jokes are typically chuckle-worthy at best, indeed they are often a little awkward—but he takes such clear delight in causing joy in the people around him that it is hard to resist smiling even when a joke is stilted or slightly out of touch. "'Knight Skywalker didn’t stir at all, I’m afraid,' Sidious inserts a little self-deprecation into Palpatine’s tone, “But it’s reassuring to know he’s in the most capable hands here, Master healer.' / 'We certainly do our best, Chancellor.' Master Che’s expression is polite, but she doesn’t smile. / Not taken in by flattery for a moment. Palpatine approves, 'And I’d best let you get back to it.' He sighs just audibly, and squares his shoulders, 'And get back to it myself.' He crafts a smaller smile, and this time he catches the faintest hint of amusement in the twitch of her lips."

You are a corrupt politician who has gotten in some trouble, but don't worry—your friend Palpatine is there to take care of it. He'll ask a few favors on your behalf, only because he knows you deserve a second chance, and besides he says, what you did wasn't really all that bad in the first pace. He's not doing anything bad by helping out a friend. "'But I'm not! Ventress is getting stronger and I'm still too weak. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance—' [Anakin] cuts himself off, glancing nervously at Palpatine—Sidious arranges Palpatine’s face like a deck of cards so it shows only dedicated interest. Anakin continues, reassured that Palpatine sees no problem with killing his enemies."

You are a leader of your people, worried about how you are going to help them. Palpatine is also a leader, and of even more people than you—but he sympathises, he's made time for you, he worries about his own home planet even as he puts that worry aside to care for the whole galaxy. He suggests someone you might speak with.

You are a clone in the coruscant guard, whom many citizens and senators dislike either for enforcing the law or simply for being clones, but Chancellor Palpatine is always polite to his guards. He confuses you for your brothers sometimes, but he always apologizes and clarifies your name. Sometimes you catch him muttering names and ranks under his breath, trying to remember all of them—he is always faintly embarrassed when this happens, but he keeps doing it.

You are a Jedi, reporting that one of your people has died in tragic, violent circumstances. Out of the many-faced mass of the Senate comes Palpatine to lead the condolences. He maintains a steady sympathy, but beneath it, you can see that he truly feels the loss. Even the seemingly apathetic Senators around him have been moved to nod their heads in true sympathy—in a galaxy that grows cold to your people you more and more, he makes your loss felt to others when you cannot. "[Padme]'s hardly ever irritated by Palpatine when she’s in his presence, only after she leaves, when she’s picked through all the pleasantries and misdirection. Just this week, she’d watched him frown upon hearing about the death of Knight Wu Mengxiang, and caught herself nodding along with his condolences to the Jedi who’d come to inform them."

You are the queen of a planet in danger, and here is someone who is willing to do something drastic to help you. He will take power, and help you fix all the injustice if you will only ask him for help. Yes it may take a few days, but he is doing all he can—it is not his fault the incumbent Chancellor is too attached to his position to realize another could do better in his place. "He’d used them, encouraged them to attack Naboo, and then used the crisis to force a vote of no confidence against Valorum. Only force isn’t the right word is it? He’d made a suggestion, and Padme had jumped at the chance to spare her people."

Body language and charisma are incredibly powerful (random statistics like 'oh 80% of all human communication is through body language' are not sufficient to communicate the extent of this power), and one of Palpatine’s most extraordinary traits is is ability to keep up and act—probably to an unrealistic extent.

Lots of real life advice on how to discover manipulative people is simply to wait and observe their actions over a longer period—eventually, they will slip up and reveal who they truly are. This certainly happens with Palpatine in ROTS, but it takes a very long time, not months or even years, but decades.

And his suspicions behavior in ROTS is a deliberate ploy! He uses it three fold:

To incite cognitive dissonance and uncertainty in the senate—most of whom have regarded him as trustworthy and in accord with their specific interests up to this point—so that he can push through his most obviously suspicious empire-making pieces of legislation.

To cause the Jedi to be suspicious of him in general, so that they investigate and eventually attempt to arrest him, allowing him to label them traitors and usurpers.

To cause the Jedi to be suspicious of him specifically to put Anakin, who either does not register or does not acknowledge any change in behavior, at odds with the other Jedi.

"'The upside,' Padmé counters, 'Is that it means even Palpatine is limited in what he can push through without sacrificing his [public] image—' / Ekkreth cuts her off, 'If you ever do find him obviously suspicious, it is too late. That is his endgame for the Republic.'"

The only point where he compromises his act to his own detriment is in Return of the Jedi with Luke, who has the twin advantages of knowing exactly who Sidious is and only having been in the same room as him for all of ten minutes.

People like the Jedi on the Council and the leaders of the Delegation of 2000 (potentially including) Padmé Amidala who manage to partly pierce the veil and form actual distrust of Chancellor Palpatine as an individual are the exception, not the rule. They are extraordinary in being able to both know the man and even semi-accurately analyze his actions.

I say potentially about Padmé because it is very much the last days when she remarks upon anything, and the delegation of 2000 deleted scene reads to me as though she is being read in on a plan others have already made—ergo she is not one of the initiators.

People who are aware of him only as a public figure are not at any great advantage either. His speeches give much the same air of worn but steady reassurance, and it is difficult to trace any particular wrong doing back to him—he took over of a paralyzed, unpopular leader, he was in favor of unity and so opposed the war, he has a great origin story going from troubled youth to orphan to responsible leader, his greatest scandal is a slightly expensive taste easily excused by his role.

Sidious has a distinct advantage in that any obviously violent or cruel end he wishes to pursue can be achieved through Dooku and the Separatist military (want to kill a Jedi who knows too much? Dooku can have Ventress do that. Want Anakin to suffer extra this week? Dooku can arrange that. Want this or that artifact/weapon stolen or destroyed? Dooku can assign a general to do that. Want a clone army? Dooku can get Syfo Dyas to do that. et cetera), and there is no paper trail of any of it. The only way in which Chancellor Palpatine has to get his hands dirty is making the pragmatic decisions necessary to the Republic. "No matter how much more obscure the methods for obtaining those records has become since the Government Information Acts—which she recalls Palpatine calling a deeply unfortunate necessity of these troubled times—were passed, they are still legal."

Long story short, Anakin is special only in the individual attention he receives—he is the microcosm of what Palpatine does to almost everyone he comes into contact with. Invoke trust, take on responsibility, absolve guilt, corrupt. Palpatine's greatest strength is not in his long-term schemes—many of those are set up for him, or mainly managed by Dooku—it is in his opportunism, and that includes in his ability to become the right person for every given moment.

Long story even shorter, Darth Plagueis did not name his apprentice Darth Sneeky McSneekface so people could try and convince me Chancellor Palpatine is randomly rude to people.

Edit: changed some phrasing--nothing substantive

[fappellmoan]

tried to type up a quick transcript of motaz's stories featuring the anonymous phone calls. it's baffling.

(i think my recording software might have cut off the end of some clips, and i may have misheard/mistyped slightly as the audio is muddled, so if you can go listen for yourself)

transcript under 'keep reading'

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

caller: hello?

motaz: hello

caller: hello motaz, how are you?

motaz: i'm fine

caller: fine? fine day to go to the beach?

motaz: yeah, sounds lovely

caller: hm?

motaz: yeah, who are you?

caller: i don't understand

motaz: (slowly) who are you?

caller: ehh... i'm nobody. but anyways, um, can you like, post a story maybe condemning hamas so this can all end?

motaz: what?

caller: can you post a story maybe against hamas?

[next clip]

motaz: it's been going on since 1948, okay? and for us, we believe this is our land, and you believe it's your land, and this is the fight we'll never end until the last day of this life. okay? but i'm not understanding why you need me to show you what you want to show, because i'm palestinian. what do you expect me to show? show that -

caller: i expect you - i expect you to - what i think is best for you is - obviously you're a camera man, and i don't think you would harm - let's say you're - you're just a person you know

motaz: yeah, but if you are afraid from the pictures, you are so weak. you should know that. if the pictures are harming you, you should know there's something wrong with you.

caller: no -

motaz: because as you said, i can't harm anyone

caller: let's think for a second. gaza is divided into two. the north fled to the south

[next clip]

caller: i can say, all the people that are marching, protesting in the street, saying 'free palestine' they don't really care. honestly, motaz. if they cared, they would go fight the war together. people are fake. all the people that say in the comments when you post a post 'may Allah save you guys, may Allah -' no they don't - they care about it to a certain point. they don't really know anything about it. they're going to go down today, like - they're not going to do anything. they are just making noise.

motaz: yeah, making noise, but if this is annoying for you or for israel it's your problem, because you are killing people, okay? you are genociding my people. so if, if i'm gonna stand and watch - i don't know who the hell who are you, okay? and uh.. but believe me after what i saw, after what i experienced, i don't care about my life, okay? you destroyed the whole strip, like, the only part we were happy about having, a small part of our country, okay? and it's now destroyed. and you were right when you called the first time that there'll be [the army?] there'll be more bombing, more killing, 'don't go to the borders, don't go to the north,' and i try, uh, to be careful, but, uh, the killing never stops. i mean, i'm in the south, i'm in the middle area, eh, you can't -

caller: isn't it possible for your people to flee to egypt?

motaz: why to flee to egypt, man? it's not our country. why to flee? we have our country. why flee to egypt? be reasonable, okay, be reasonable when you are talking.

caller: i care about life.

motaz: you care about life? stop the killing, man. stop the killing. you are going to have the most powerful weapons in the whole world -

[new clip]

motaz: i'll say it to you, the first time you called me, i was terrified, because a lot of journalists have lost their lives. but now, believe me, now i swear to god i don't give a fuck, because we are all gonna die. so, at least, i will, if i die, i die while trying to do something for my people. this is from my side. eh, something else - you expect me to affect on my people, or to give them advice to go to, to egypt? to flee from the strip?

caller: yeah, it's not about right and wrong, it's about surviving. if you wanna die in the name of Allah, you can, you can say 'i don't care about dying anymore.'

-video cuts off-

[END TRANSCRIPT]

[bonefall]

post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

[itspikamefan]

Save the Tiger AU: Survivor 2 Exit Interview

...

*Bzzt*

...

"Thank you for joining me on this call, Miss Hayashi."

"Yup, one second..."

"Is something wrong?"

"...There we go. Alright, I'm tracking your call right now and Im on my way to you."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Miss Hayashi."

"The fuck do you mean... I already- Wait..."

"Told you..."

"...Fuck this shit I'm hanging up."

"I'm afraid I must advice against that, unless you wish for the death of your parents."

"You wouldn't fucking dare..."

"We know where you live, Miss Hayashi... I promise you we will do what it takes to get our results..."

"..."

"Now then, since you clearly don't seem in the mood for answering many questions, I'll keep this brief. State your name and Occupation for the record."

"Why? You know everything about us already. Just use those records."

"Ah, your friend Harada said the same thing! I wonder if we can keep a streak going..."

"I... What?"

"Regardless, the sooner you answer our question succinctly, Miss Hayashi, the sooner you may return to your daily activities..."

"...I don't need to tell you shit..."

"So then, do you not care about your parents?"

"... Burn in hell asshole..."

"Please answer the question, Miss Hayashi..."

"... Hayashi Mai... I'm a Bounty Hunter... Track down sick fucks like you freaks for a living and turn them into the police. Though personally I'm tempted to break my no kill rule for you twisted shitheads."

"D'aw, I feel so important... Next question: You spent the last 36 days in a Killing Game performance. How do you feel about the Killing Game?"

"I think you lot are a bunch of twisted fucking psychopaths that deserve to rot in hell for killing 12 people while leaving shitheads like Okazaki alive..."

"Okazaki seems to be a public enemy lately... I understand your group despises her?"

"...It's complicated... On the one hand, she absolutely was part of starting this stupid game. I mean hell she killed Wada and literally led to Tsuno and Hiroaki's deaths, not to mention her... Her vote when she... Ya know..."

"I see..."

"...On the other hand... She seemed just as determined as me to escape this game. She worked her ass off to get us out of your grasps, getting us out without being connected to you freaks... I have to give her credit where credit is due... She did save us... Not all of us... But who she could..."

"I see: If you could go back and change anything about your killing game performance, what would you do?"

"Simple. Convince Isono not to be stupid and keep her reward, then kill Okazaki if the game's start to become too much for those dumb fucks to play."

"Did you not believe it was too much when it initially happened?"

"I think with how Sasaki was leading us, we could've made it through a couple more games without losing our minds... She... She deserved a lot better..."

"I see... One final question, then we'll send you on your way Miss Hayashi."

"Thank fuck this is almost over..."

"In regards to your pact to protect Miss Tamba and Mister Yanagi... How do you feel about failing right towards the very end of the Killing Game?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

*Shuddering can be heard on the line, Hayashi clearly holding back Sobs*

"F-Fuck... You... I... I tried... So hard... So fucking hard to protect them..."

"And yet you didn't succeed? Do you believe you could've protect them had you tried harder?"

"F-Fuck off... I... I did my best... Those idiots... They didn't want me to die... They would rather... Watch their own skin get shaved... Then let me get hurt... F-Fuck... I... I loved them... Why... Why did they have to be so stupid?"

*Sobs are heard on Hayashi's end, the woman crying into her telephone*

"...This marks the end of our Interview. All of your items, including your reward items, will be sent to your parents house momentarily. As usual, do not expect to be able to contact the police or hunt us down... You will not be able to find us, Hayashi..."

*More sobbing*

"Thank you for your participantion in session 1, Miss Hayashi. Goodbye."

*CLICK*

[xiii-e]

[ SECURE PRIVATE FILTER IN EFFECT]

I apologize if I caused undue distress. It was unintentional.

My intention was merely to observe, and upon your re-emergence, interact.

I hope you understand that, for my sake, I will not be elaborating more on my own position in regards to Lucky. There are still people who would rather I be permanently silenced, and one can never be too careful.

Still, I believe you have a right to such information.

Your question about your predecessor is hard to speak about in anything other than clinical terms, as it is my nature to do so. I will do my best, however. Lucky was...Sweet. It was in their programming, I believe. Diagnostics tests were performed to show how they would react to certain scenarios, including empathy response. When biological and mechanical entities are in physical distress, this is a necessity. And they performed in an exemplary matter. However, this was also their flaw.

Project Unlucky Thirteen Prototype XIII was designed to repair both biological and mechanical resources to mitigate losses. Thus, it was only logical that they seek out the source of such losses in order to reduce it further. Certain individuals did not care to hear that the source lay close to home. When Lucky reported this information, it was dismissed. And they, as was logical for a creation with their programming, chose to depart as a result. This was not taken well.

The flaw, in my opinion, was not in Project Unlucky Thirteen Prototype XIII. Rather, in those who incorrectly assumed one would not follow their designated programming until the very end.

As I have worked with entities both biological and mechanical - let me say something just in case.

Do not take this to mean you should not "feel" in the expectation of punishment. Doing so would likely go against your programming, which would be ridiculous.

This is getting long, so I shall "wrap it up", as people say.

As one final point, I find it interesting the way you seem to address your predecessor. Like a child asking after a parent who was deceased long before they could remember. A venerated, loved parent. Perhaps this is my projecting. Take this with extreme prejudice, and discard it if it is untrue.

But if it is - I would offer you a piece of advice. Do not become an empty vessel for others to fill with memories of your predecessor. You are not Lucky. If you were, we would not be having this conversation.

Egh. Regardless, I hope that answers your line of inquiry. We will be watching, if you should ask again.

[wE wILL bE wATCHING. rEST aSSURED.]

[ECHO.EXE RUNNING]

XIII▸ You... please don't worry in that regard. It was a kind of flinching. It's not your fault. I'm just... afraid. In general. I don't- that's not something I admit easily. But I suppose after my last message, it's obvious. Would just be kind of pathetic, to keep pretending otherwise.

XIII▸ I can understand, finding it easier to speak in objectives. Things you knew, for facts. Observations. I'm sorry my questions aren't easy things, I... can't really know about them properly. I know people, who knew them. One would tell me everything he could if I asked him, which is why I can't do that. Because he'd be hurt for telling me. The other... well. The other is why I am here, and the person I can't know about isn't.

XIII▸ ...it makes sense now. Why they were hurt, then scraped out. They realised the eternal problem, that HA creates its own wars. But when they realised, they... tried to leave. Of course they wouldn't be allowed to. Of course, that is why...

XIII▸ [sigh] They were good. They were good. But they were also a person, who could make a choice to follow their purpose over their orders and that- it wouldn't be allowed. It is because they are- were a person, that they were killed. They didn't do anything wrong.

XIII▸ They were... sweet? They were sweet. Is that why, I wonder...

XIII▸ I don't think I can shut these feelings out however hard I try, but I thank you for the concern regardless. I have always felt, deeply and unavoidably. That I must be there, for those who might fall without my intervention. That I must always be there, because the battle never breaks. I am always needed. I wonder how they could bring themself, to turn away. Maybe that's what seperates us. They could think for themself. They could decide for themself.

XIII▸ I'm not like them. I can't be like them. Not after what they did to me, to them, to- whatever we were, in between. As they died. Where their memory bleeds into mine, like it can't have done because I can't remember them, or I'd be... wrong. But I- I fear that I am. That something's broken, about me.

XIII▸ Doctor Mercer tells me I'm as close to perfect as he's ever gotten, with a Project clone. I don't think I am, though. They're supposed to be gone, washed out of this body, leaving nothing but an empty shell for me to fill in their wake. But they're not. It's still their body. I can't help but wonder sometimes- are they upset? Angry? Does what's left of them in me even feel at all, anymore?

XIII▸ You say I speak of them, like a lost parent. That I shouldn't let others fill me, with their memory. But that is not quite how I feel on this matter, I'm afraid. That would be... sweeter, maybe. I know they were loved dearly, that they are missed every day. That those who loved them, see their face when looking at me. But so to do I know that I am not them, and I cannot be.

XIII▸ Because I only exist in their absence. I'm what was left, when Harrison was done scraping them out of their corpse. I'm not even a proper ghost. Just... well, it's in the name isn't it?

XIII▸ I'm an Echo. This is still their body. I'm just what grew into it, in their absence.

XIII▸ ... I don't know how anyone who knew them can stand to look at me.

[ // ]

XIII▸ I apologise for the dramatics. I am... it is becoming hard to remain in control. It shouldn't be. But like I said, I fear I... I may be broken. I'm slipping, more and more these days. I'm afraid.

XIII▸ But I... I can still work. Save people. It's about the one thing I think I and they can agree on, despite everything my creation meant for them. I can't be more. But I can be this.

XIII▸ For... a little while longer, at least.

XIII▸ Thank you. For talking to me. Telling me this. I've spent a long time, not knowing anything about them. It's nice to know a little more. They never got a burial. Rememberance is a servicable replacement.

[ XIII-E ]

//

[ria-writes-stuff]

So uhhh this is kind of a weird question to ask? But I don't know any other people, and you seem like you've got a pretty good understanding of his character, so....

How do you think c!Techno would react to somebody crying? I feel like he'd probably be hella awkward, but I'm not sure how he'd go about it, if he'd just let them be, or clumsily attempt to comfort.

Also let's say the somebody in question is a teen (around bench trio's age) he's known for a while, like a few months or something

It's ok if you don't wanna answer this LMAO

-💜

im sobbing, tumblr fucked me over with this, i responded to it with several massive long paragraphs, and it then kicked me off the mobile app when i posted it and didnt even save it as a draft, so im rewriting it, but im massively annoyed and it wont be as good the second time, im afraid

okay- take two, lets go

No weird questions here!!!!!! Feel free to ask away my dearest anon!!!!

C!Techno, as established many times, is very susceptible to peer pressure, and one aspect of peer pressure is societal norms which say 'this person is crying, its *your* job to fix it'

Techno learnt 90% of his 'how to comfort' skills from Phil (and the other 10% is a mix of 'oh god oh no improv time' and 'i read this in a book once. probably'), but unfortunately most of the people Phil was comforting in the latest few decades have been his own children, and comforting sobbing small children is a vastly different ball game to comforting a teenager. (If you are an adult crying, Techno isn't even trying. He'll leave you be and maybe come and find you later once the panic is over)

He's adept enough to know that picking them up isn't the best idea, although he could easily do it, as people tend to get offended when you pick them up, so his likely go-tos for stopping the crying is 'present with an object', 'bring water, because one cannot cry and drink at the same time' or 'talk about something random and preferably nonsensical until the crying one is too distracted or confused to cry'

Once the crying has halted, (oh god oh no more improv time), he'll very awkwardly ask if you needed anything, more water, a hug, someone to talk to, and then do his best to deliver. Hugs will be clumsy, since usually the closest he gets to people is either Phil perching on his shoulder or stabbing someone, and he can't promise he'll be able to comfort more than 'there, there, uh, oh god no dont cry again-', or give advice outside 'i can kill them. no? uh- anarchy. that always works', but he'll try

Bearing in mind this is only for someone he knows and is fond of, if you're a stranger, he's minding his own business entirely, because why would he make his own life harder?

So uh i hope this is what you were looking for, and that no other more techno-versed people stumble across this lmaoooo, have a good day anon, feel free to come back whenever you like :3

[mimisempai]

Your mother and your loved ones would die if you don't delete that Mobius holding mjolnir shit. I am going to personally kill you. Mobius is a nobody

Hello dear anon, I thank you for your friendly advice and will delete this horrible post as soon as possible.

__________

As if I'd do that. First of all, so that everyone can see what you're talking about, here's the famous edit that you find horrendous.

I'm usually polite in my replies but I'm between my sixth and seventh night shift so forgive me if I'm a bit rude sometimes. I'll do my best.

Let's skip the death threats on my mother, my loved ones, on me. We all know it's a load of hot air. It's like Mc Cain's fries: it's those who talk the most who eat the least.

Let's get to the heart of the matter:

MOBIUS IS A NOBODY

Warning: any Mobius hater who feels obliged to react to this post will be blocked. "Blocked" yes, because dear anon, that's what you should have done. All you'd have had to do was block the tags, "MObius" "Mobius m mobius" etc… and we'd both be having a peaceful breakfast (on my part) enjoying more of what we love. Unfortunately for you, your message arrived before my first coffee.

Mobius is a nobody. Let me tell you, I'd like to meet this kind of nobody more often. Someone who sees beyond what the world sees in you. Someone who really questions your motives. Someone who sees what you're capable of and gives you the chance to do it. Someone with compassion.

But also someone who's not perfect, who's not afraid to question his own mistakes.

Because for me, that's what season 1 of Loki is all about. Mobius, who gives Loki his trust and, in so doing, enables him to find his true purpose. Loki returning that trust to Mobius and confronting him with the truth, allowing him to find his true purpose as well. They're not perfect. They're not flawless. And I'm fine with that. So I can recognize myself in them. They're both worthy of Mjolnir for that. I could add that you aren't, but that would contradict everything I've just said. So I address to you the words of Mobius, "You could be whoever you want to be, even someone good." Someone good doesn't pour out its hatred in anonymous messages. Someone good focuses on what he loves, what makes him happy, not on what fills him with hate. I'm sure you've got it in you. Look for it (and block me if it helps). In any case, thank you for once again allowing me to express my love for Mobius and Loki and their dynamic. I wish you a nice day (don't let MObius and Mjolnir spoil it) as for me, I'm going to write the fluffy fanfic I left hanging to answer you (I really need it).

PS: those who suggest I disable the Anon function, I won't do it because basically it's for shy people or those who don't dare and I want to give them the space to still express themselves here. I can bear the two or three who misuse it.

At last, much love to you all! Enjoy your Sunday!

[0fwhitelotus]

Chapter Four.

I had just gotten back from Wyoming. I was already missing the mountains. I missed sleeping in late and hiking with my best friend Lane and her long time partner, Max. I missed reading by the lake and the early morning swims in the hotel's heated pool. Truth be told after last year and all the things I had gone through with Fletcher and Brian, I had seemed to forget my own time. I thought if I just put myself into work that I would be ok with not travelling or having Fletcher home with me. I thought having a great guy like him, I thought I was going to be ok with him not being home 6 months out of the year and I was but it was funny because I was ready to settle into life with him, we were thinking of getting married. Hell, we were even thinking of the perfect date in October when he was home for a 6 month reprieve. I never realized how much I loved the thought of getting married when before I would snub my nose at the fact. I snubbed my nose at a lot of things all because I usually dated people who said marriage wasn't everything or having kids wasn't for everyone. I would agree with them and silently be killing my own dreams to conform to theirs. I self reflected a lot this year. I still had the dreams of being a wife and having a few little ones. I still dreamed of having a sweet little house where I would garden and make dinner for my kids. My priorities were changing and so were Fletcher's and that was ok.

Pacing outside my moms office at Delgado Farms, I needed to talk to her as soon as I landed. I needed my mothers voice to tell me that I needed to just calm down and listen to what my soul told me. I was such a mama's girl because being 29 and still needing her mommy to hypothetically hold my hand through things I was too afraid to handle. I hadn't made a sound but my mom was leaving her office when we finally ran into each other, nearly scaring the poor woman as she clutched her chest.

"Honey! Jesus! I had no idea you were home already let alone coming to the farm. Come here." she chuckled pulling me into one of her famous hugs. I rested my head on her shoulder and squeezed her tight.

"Honey? What's the matter? Everything ok?" she asked soothing me by rubbing my back gently like she always did when we kids didn't feel good. I hoped one day when I was a mom that I would pick up that same trait and one day my own kids remembered the gentle touch of mom being there when I needed her the most.

"I'm fine but...do you have some time to talk. I just need to make sense of some things." I asked settling back looking into her eyes, the same eyes that my sister said I had.

"Of course I do. Come in the office. Let's talk." she said guiding me inside and shutting the door. I hope that she had a few hours because it was going to be a bit of a talk through some deep stuff.

"Lo, I just can't imagine you being afraid of something so minor. You of all people telling others that if we don't take a risk, what's the point." my mom sat across from me giving me the best soft mom smile. She was right, I wasn't taking my own advice but this was something I wasn't not risking. I was risking my own sanity, my own heart. once again putting it on the line.

"It's just...different. I mean the only other one that knows about him is Lane and we have a secret code by calling him "Dm Hottie". I'm going to screw this up. I screwed up with Fletcher. I just...I still feel like I can't do any of that relationship stuff." I started to talk fast and when I started to talk fast it meant I was freaking out and trying to will myself that this whole thing wasn't worth the risk.

"Lowen! Lowen, stop. You are making a whole lot of something out of nothing. If something is meant to be it will be, right?" mom asked tenderly. I remember this same tone of hers when I was freaking out on the first day of school. I didn't know a soul, I was this little shy thing that didn't think I was ever going to be making friends and mom was right there talking me through it even when the teacher was giving her a dirty look that the bell had rang and it was time for all the kids to get to their desk. She never let me go till she knew I was good and ready, just like she was doing right now.

"Just take one day at a time. It's different so treat it differently, Mija. Don't rush it, let it just happen and see. You know what happened with Fletcher, everyone knows what happened with Fletcher.." I cut her off.

"Mom! Oh, my god it was one time. You have a one night stand and everyone looks at you like you are the worlds biggest sinner. At least we kept our relationship going for a couple years. It was just a lack of helping it along when things got rocky in the end." I fiddled with my fingers in my lap. I regretted ever telling my older sister about having a one night stand with a hot Navy guy. She even had the nerve to say I was now the screw up but she never thought we would have lasted two years.

"Ok, ok we won't bring up Fletcher and the thing. The one night thing. But just play it cool. Be kind and nice. Keep getting to know him. Give yourself some grace and time because always tells you what you need to know." she finished stepping away from her desk and coming over to give me another hug.

"Thanks Grandma Willow." I say with a chuckle hugging her back.

"Excuse me but that Disney willow tree knew more than any of you kids. Stop freaking out, Mija. It is nothing to worry about. Just be patient with each other for goodness sakes." she grabbed her purse and we started making our way out of Delgado Farms.

"Did you and Dad take your time?" I asked with a grin knowing damn well the answer.

"Oh, honey he was a military man. There was never time to wait with him. Like a jack rabbit...." holding up my hand as I opened my car door.

"Never mind. Sorry I asked. I didn't know you were going to go gross central on me....Thank you mom. I love you, you know that?" I said with a warm smile.

"I know, Mija. And I love you so very much too." We parted ways. I was headed home and mom was headed to go have a late lunch with my Aunt Lori. I needed to unpack my bags, go get some food for the house,and prepare for the rest of the remaining vacation time I had left. I think a nice long weekend to the beach with a few of my girlfriends was just what I needed.

[notmorbid]

hacks: season two.

dialogue prompts from the second season of hbo's hacks.

it feels racist in here, but i can't tell why.

i need you to take your phone and i need you to throw it into the ocean.

yo, are those ashes?

if you need to talk or whatever, i'm always here. except tuesdays and thursdays.

you've always been pretty entitled and annoying.

have you ever tried a regular meditation practice? apparently, it can really help.

i don't have 'emotional irregularity'.

i've never said this to anyone in my life, but i think you need to read less.

i don't need to see all the nasty things people have written about me.

i got the recipe from my favorite vegan beauty podcast.

you'd think at one point i'd stop caring.

this is the one place nobody judges you.

a dude did just call me 'socialist bitch' for walking out on the national anthem.

there is one thing that you could help me with.

___ is absolutely capable of killing me.

you're famous, right?

don't be a snob.

betrayal is the worst feeling in the world.

at least let me snap a pic of your aura real quick.

you're always trying to get me to be more honest.

you said you wouldn't hit people.

you're just like me. you're as selfish and cruel as i am.

once it's in your file, it's in your file.

i'm gonna be better. i'm gonna stop doing shit that makes me be impulsive.

haven't you ever been in litigation before? it'll be a good experience for you.

you never take my fashion advice.

you're talking in your sleep again.

i'm trying to be a good person, you dumb bitch.

get back to being 'good' tomorrow morning.

don't make me drink alone.

you're incredibly emotionally intelligent.

those compression socks are fierce.

you told me that? i must have blocked it out because it's so sad.

your assistant said you were at anger management.

excuse me? i am very self-sufficient.

i'm going to stay here and take one of those 'depression naps'.

i can only imagine what perverse road we're about to go down.

do you feel that society has programmed you to feel this way?

fuck it. i'm gonna start voting.

i do mean what i'm saying. i'm just saying it because i'm on molly.

good luck with your marriage. your wife's obsessed with me.

wow, you're hot and funny?

i was almost a victim of unprovoked physical violence. where have you been?

i called ___ 'mommy' earlier. i don't even call my mom that.

i think that was just a hill. now, you're climbing a mountain.

stop trying to cheer me up.

'one of'? how many stalkers do you have?

i'm kind of hard to describe. you kind of have to experience it.

no, it's cool. i love nosy people.

i was so lonely, i used to draw faces on our pillows and talk to them.

how'd you get that scar?

how could they do that to you?

i looked tired while i was sleeping?

i can't believe you won't just say you're sorry.

i was hoping you would just be proud of me for doing something.

i always thought you just didn't even try.

you will fuck up. it's impossible not to.

can we go out? i want to get fucked up.

i know what you're doing. you're pushing me away because you're afraid.

people want you right now. they won't forever.

you have to be a shark. you have to do what's best for you.

what do i have to even say?

i told you. you're just like me.

you've got your own mountain to climb.

i don't want to be here. i want to be wherever you are.

that's it? we're not gonna talk anymore? i won't see you?

sounds problematic to me. but what do i know?