#be x y or z too!“ into every single message

[eclaire-went-bam]

although i think it's important to acknowledge the complexities of aro & ace identities, & to be welcoming of aroace identities that may be sex/romance favourable/hypersexual & seek those relationships, i think it's still important to acknowledge that completely romance/sex repulsed aroaces are still a minority in the ace community despite being the stereotype. & we should still listen to those voices,

[csolarstorm]

Aaah! It's an A!

Let's forget about the Z in Legends: Z-A for a moment. What is this, ay? It's tall, green, pointy, and the bottom of it looks like veins on a plant.

My guess? It's the Pokemon version of Yggdrasil, or to be more general, the Tree of Life archetype. In many myths this is the original tree, the origin of life, and the "A" at the beginning of the alphabet.

Pokemon recently represented the similarly archetypal World Turtle with Terapagos, and the interesting thing is that some cultures have a World Turtle AND a Tree of Life. Take a look at the Tree of Life page - it's interesting.

Screenshot From: Reddit

To illustrate this point, there is a tree at the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis that grew from seeds that AZ brought to Hoenn. Everyone rightfully talks about the Eternal Floette flower underneath the tree, but nobody talks about the tree itself, planted at the Cave of Origin. Like some kind of origin tree.

X and Y are most known for its Norse inspiration since Xerneas, Yveltal, and all three of Zygarde are based on creatures that live in Yggdrasil. But interestingly, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire return to the Hebrew symbolism of Gen 3, building upon it with themes of beginning and end. Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza take some inspiration from the Biblical "chaos monsters" Behemoth and Leviathan the making the Omega and Alpha symbolism pretty fair.

So if there are Tree of Life myths that this hypothetical Pokemon takes from, I'm guessing it will take from Norse and Hebrew myth as well, both Yggdrasil and the Tree of Knowledge. In fact, according to Bulbapedia AZ and the Eternal Flower may be based on the legend of the Wandering Jew, or "Eternal Jew". It probably is, since the Wandering Jew plants (now known as inch plants or spiderwort) look like this:

Source: Gardening Know How

I'd also like to point out that Omega and Alpha are just the Greek version of Z and A, end to beginning As in, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire already did the Z-A motif. This kind of synergy makes me hopeful that Legends Z-A will expand on the cultural and mythical themes of Gen 6.

Okay, but the tree at the Cave of Origin looks nothing like an A, aye? Well, the "tree" part of it doesn't, but that's just the symbol mean to suggest the Tree of Life.

And I think the actual Tree of Life Pokemon is

Source: Bulbapedia

Think about it: what is an "Eternal Flower"? Floette's flower isn't a part of it, so for AZ's Floette to have an Eternal Flower, one has to exist in the first place as a living, organic flower, which suggests that the Ultimate Weapon is alive in some way. And the Eternal Flower planted at the Cave of Origin can't be the one AZ's Floette holds, because it's actually planted there.

Many Tree of Life myths involve searches for immortality. That's why the archetype is called the "Tree of Life". AZ originally built the machine to grant immortality. That's probably where AZ gets his name: the "universal remedy" of alchemy, Azoth, closely related to the Philosopher's Stone. It was only afterward that AZ altered the machine to make it into a weapon.

Source: Bulbapedia

I'm definitely not the first person to say that the "A" looks like the Ultimate Weapon. Either the machine was built on top of the Tree of Life Pokemon, or it was built from single giant Eternal Flower that blossomed from the Tree of Life Pokemon.

Every letter in Gen 6 designates a Pokemon, so I'd be very surprised if "A" does not designate a Pokemon too. Wait...

Edit:

*bangs head against table* How did I not catch that?! Sometimes it's even used as the "middle" letter of the Greek Alphabet between Alpha and Omega!

What is the title of this game, a secret message or something? Z crossing into lambda making A? "End making middle into beginning..."?

[kitxkatrp]

In the space of a day I've had no less than five people come to me talking about being worried about being attacked for x y and z and I just--

Guys. Do not be afraid of these fuckers. They can spam your inbox, and you can delete them, block their IP address from interacting with your askbox, and report their anon messages to tumblr staff. If they send repeated messages, you can get their blog deleted for harassment. If they skirt a block, you can report them for that too as it is against tumblr's TOS.

If you're really afraid of drastic things happening, keep documentation (a screenshot) of every single thing you receive. If it escalates into harassment off the internet (which it usually doesn't) you'll have a profile to report to the police.

But like guys...the worst thing that's gonna happen is people are gonna talk shit, the people (who are probably people you don't want to interact with in the first place) might avoid your blog because of some misplaced biased callout, and in the end, the people who do respect you and enjoy writing with you and care about you will still be here. If they leave, they weren't worth your time in the first place.

They can call you names all they want, but you don't have to listen to it. You don't have to give into them. You don't have to let yourself have a fullblown meltdown every single time someone says something bad about you. It takes a while to learn this, and believe me it's not easy, but the moment you get to this place? Nothing can really touch you.

There is nothing these assholes can say to you that is worse than many of us have already experienced in our lives off the internet, some of us with abusive family members, horrible workplaces, a country that's trying to kill us, etc. Their opinions don't mean jack shit. End of story.

[topazadine]

"How Do I Start Writing?" (Or; A Psychoanalysis of Newbie Writer Questions)

This is for my aspiring writers here, who have never done much more than write essays for school.

If you go onto the r/writing subreddit and type in this exact question, you will get pages and pages of posts going back years, most of which have about 15ish comments. And most of those comments will be something like:

Or, this super bitchy response:

And yes, "just write!" is helpful in some way, I guess. But it doesn't actually get to the root of the matter. It doesn't acknowledge why someone would ask this question in the first place.

It's also kind of insulting, because the people asking for advice about writing already know they need to write. They know that writing actually involves doing the writing.

So why do newbie writers keep asking this?

This Question Probably Isn’t About Concrete Advice

Stay with me here. Stay! Good.

These fine individuals are on the internet. They have likely used Google at least once, perhaps to look up a recipe for an apple crumble or to spoil a book they didn’t feel like finishing.

Or, like me, they’re searching things like “does my dog love me” while their dog is literally curled up in their lap. (I just want a second opinion, you know.)

My obsessive Googling to psychoanalyze my dog’s every move is exactly what is happening with said posters, too. They want external validation that they can write. That they have permission to write. That they are capable of writing.

This may not be true of everyone that posts this question, but I like to believe that the majority have the wherewithal to seek information on their own. After all, it takes more effort to make a Reddit post and type out a short message about your backstory than it does to put a single keyword into a search engine. They probably know there are thousands of good writing guides out there.

So it’s not laziness, or absolute befuddlement about the concept of writing; said inquisitors clearly do know how to read and write, or we’d never know of their plight.

No, this is about validation: “See me! Hear me! Tell me it’s okay! Assure me I won’t fail!”

And that is fine. It is fine to need those things. We all need comfort sometimes, and I’d never shame someone for wanting some support.

They want someone to tell them, personally, how to write. And to tell them that they can.

But why ask for support that way, then? Because it’s less vulnerable and painful to simply say “how do I write” than to admit what you might really feel deep down:

“I’m scared that I’m going to mess up. I’m so overwhelmed, and I’m thinking of all the times that I got dinged for not including something in an essay, and it’s stifling my desire to write. I have all these good ideas in my head; I imagine how fascinating they’d be to explore. But I get to that GDoc, and I panic, and my brain goes as blank as the screen.”

And the reason, I believe (though I may of course be wrong), is that you want a list of rules like you’ve always gotten before.

Asking “How to Write” Reveals a Need for Structure

You are desperately hoping someone will give you a prompt, a list of things to check off, because that’s what you have been taught that you need when you write.

If you have never really written for fun, you might be intimidated by that blank page that only you get to choose what to do with. There’s no fill-in outline, no list of resources … there’s nothing but limitless white space that belongs only to you.

Depending on how you look at it, such a concept is either the most exciting thing you can imagine or the most horrible thing in the world.

But, dear writer, we can’t do that for you. We can’t give you an outline for your book, and we can’t just promise you that if you do X, Y, and Z, everything will be okay.

We can give advice based on what works for us, whether that is hyper-specific things like our plotting format or the ways we develop characters, but there’s no guarantee that it will work for you personally. Maybe we can direct you to good writing guides, but those may not always be super helpful anyway.

Creative writing is far more individualized than academic writing, which is “include X amount of resources, answer Y question, and provide it in Z fashion.”

Or, we could snark at you and go "just write!" as if that helps you. Which it does not.

No, here's what you need to realize, internalize, and chew on before you start writing.

You’re the Boss Now

Most of the people I see who ask this question are younger, either in high school or college. At that stage of life, you have never really been in control; you may have responsibilities and stresses, but someone else has always given you a pathway to success.

You are told when to get up, when to arrive somewhere, what to bring, what to complete and at what time. At least one person is always there to check in with you, to grade your work, to give you specific guidance on what to do next, and to give very clear pass/fail feedback telling you whether you did well or horribly.

With creative writing, you take that role instead. You check in with yourself. You assess your own work. You find the guidance and identify the problems.

And you, of course, decide whether you’re happy with it or not.

This is not to say that other writers can’t be of help: certainly having a mentor or two is invaluable, because they can see the issues you might not see yourself and help you troubleshoot ways that will work for your story (that you are the boss of).

People can give you advice on specific issues you have, but they cannot give you a list of things to follow. If they do, you might as well be ChatGPT, and that’s no fun.

There is no secret recipe to success in writing, because every piece of creative writing is its own beast.

There Are Just Two Firm Rules of Writing

Just two. I am genuinely serious here. Anyone else who says there are dozens and dozens of rules is bullshitting you.

So, get out your notebook. Prepare your highlighters. Preemptively put your hand up to ask questions. Listen carefully. Here are the rules.

Writing consists of words placed in a logical order that is meant to communicate something to someone (maybe you, maybe many others).

This is what makes writing a book different from writing a shopping list.

Generally, "logical order" means that you will have a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence, and then there will be more words until you come to a period, question mark, or exclamation point. You will then continue doing this same process for a whole paragraph, and then another, until you no longer have any words left to put anywhere.

After that, you’ll probably have to remove a few. Or maybe add them. Shuffle them around a little. Shuffle whole sentences and paragraphs, even.

There are subrules to this one that consist of things like grammar, punctuation, syntax, and so on, but they all fall under the heading of “communicating in a way that other people will understand.”

That’s all grammatical rules are, anyway: the literary social contract. We get mad at people for breaking them because it makes the rest of us look bad.

... And You Have to Keep Doing It if You Want to Be a "Writer"

I remember meeting someone once who proudly proclaimed herself an “authoress,” but she had never published anything, and she admitted, without an ounce of shame, that she had not written anything in seven years. This was when I was like 21ish and she was the about the same age, so … being generous, she had not written anything since age 14.

Seven years is a long time. Her last writing creation would be in first grade, eating snacks and falling off the monkey bars.

Yeah, I would not consider that an “authoress.” That would be someone who wrote something once and then just basked in the glory of it without doing any of the work.

Think about it like this. Most people in licensed professions need to get their licensed renewed every two years-ish, right? And they have to take continuing education courses during that time.

If a nurse lets their license lapse, they either get in big trouble for operating without a license, or they become a former nurse. They cannot just skate through life being a nurse without continuing to sharpen their skills and proving they are still capable of doing the job.

Writing is the same way. I’m not saying you have to write every single day or you’re not a writer. Even the most skilled professionals need some time off.

But, like a nurse, you need to continue working at it. You need to keep learning, and you need to practice.

It can be as simple as a ten-minute freewrite before work, or committing to 500 words in the evening. Maybe you take one day a week to review your work and outline. If your life is very hectic, perhaps you schedule one hour three days a week to just do something with your writing.

And, as you will see everywhere, reading is a part of writing too. All kinds of reading, whether that is:

The news

Nonfiction books

Blog posts about writing

Beta reading someone else’s work

Literary novels (preferred option of course)

So, with a mix of actually doing the writing and reading about the writing, you can consider yourself a writer.

But you have to do it regularly. Consistently. Incessantly. Until you die.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It sure does to me. Not the dying part, but the rest of it.

And, Dear Writer, You Will Fail.

All writers fail. We fail hard and we fail often. We write awful stories, we get ripped apart. Someone tells us that we might as well pack it in and be a rodeo clown instead.

But that is part of the process. That is what makes you a writer: failing a lot, then failing a little less, until you’re mostly not failing (only sometimes).

You need to accept that you will suck at first.

Everyone does whenever they’re learning something. This is especially true if they are taking a skill they already knew (putting words in front of each other) and doing it differently.

Transitioning from plain-jane Five Paragraph Format writing for schoolwork feels uncomfortable because you’ve had certain rules jammed into you, berated at every turn if you don’t execute them perfectly.

All those papers bleeding red ink because you didn’t start with a topic sentence make you internally flinch when you think of not doing exactly what is asked of you.

This, I believe, is part of the reason that many new writers get so much comfort from the rigid prescriptivism of things like “show don’t tell” – because that’s familiar.

It’s daunting to realize how limitless fiction writing is: how you could give five writers the same prompt and they would turn out something totally different until you can barely tell that they began at the same starting point. So new writers retreat into their rule barricade and grow snappish if anyone points out that those are training wheel tools, not meant to be clutched at forever.

Because they’re scared of failing. They think that if they stick to the rules, then it’ll all be okay. Maybe that’s true, but something else is more true (is that possible?).

Failure is not a bad thing. Giving up is.

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not learning anything because you sprung from the godhead as the lovechild of Shakespeare and Sappho. It’s great to fail as a writer! Welcome it! Because every time you fail, it means you tried at all, and it means you have an opportunity to do better.

The only thing you cannot do is give up. If you do that, you have not just failed on one story or one submission or one whatever, you are a failed writer.

Believe In Yourself

Even if no one else believes in you, you need to believe in you.

Believe you can do it. Know it will pay off.

Make it a habit to reread your old work and compare it to your current work. You’ll see an amazing amount of growth after a while, and it will only make you more excited to keep going.

And you know what? Even if you don’t believe in yourself yet, that’s ok. Because I know you can do this. I believe in you already.

Now that you're revved up and ready to go, maybe you'll consider purchasing my book, 9 Years Yearning?

9 Years Yearning follows two young men (those guys up there actually) as they study at the War Academy, future protectors of a country perpetually besieged by their neighbors. In between Codes of Valor and Military Tactics classes, Uileac finds himself growing intrigued by Orrinir, a boy who is rough around the edges but deeply sweet inside. They fight, they support one another, they ... act like total fucking idiots who can't bear to share their feelings. And there are horses, too.

If you do decide to purchase my book, don't forget to leave a review!

They are crucial for visibility on Amazon, which uses all reviews (good and bad) to determine whether a book is worth anyone's time.

Also, I've been told that if you leave nice reviews on indie books, you'll never drop your PB&J sandwich jam side down ever again. Isn't that wonderful? Give it a shot.

[forzasedici]

The tags on your last post, about ppl becoming a tourist attraction themselves, are unfortunately so true.

My TikTok fyp is a lot of traveling and a tiny bit of f1 that I tend to click the not interested option on, so there shouldn’t be a lot of interaction. But every single hey if your traveling to the South of France you should visit x,y,z including Monaco for a day trip video, and truly every single one of them will at least have one comment going oh yeah let’s search for Charles.

The itinerary goes visit the Harbour, look at yachts, visit the Palais, visit the Casino, forget all human decency and stalk Charles Leclerc.

Also still speechless about how nice he was in that message. Truly unacceptable behavior and he still goes I’ll still take photos/ sign autographs if you see (harass) me on the street, just please don’t come to my private home.

yeah it really is insane like i do get a lot of monaco videos pop up on my fyp as well since i do like travelling content as well and literally not one of the "a day in monaco" or those monaco aesthetic videos can be without at least a single shot of charles. be it his custom ferrari or i've literally seen one with a random shot of him and charlotte at the pool.

and they're all doing that for a reason just because the comments will all be about charles which drives up the engagement for the op.

as for the him being nice at times i do think he is being a bit too nice but i'm guessing police probably got involved behind the scenes which is why he even posted on ig about it. but the thing is it's all carefully crafted pr and even beyond that because he does like the attention. obviously this crossed the line but i think he's probably one of the most open drivers when it comes to fans approaching him for anything.

the thing being that because he's so open to it the ppl have crossed the line waaaay too far and he's now establishing boundaries which is a good thing but this shouldn't have happened in the first place. unfortunately it's what comes with being famous and i'm hoping it hasn't negatively affected him and his family.

i just think a lot of ppl don't realize just because a person is famous and you're their fan they still don't owe you anything no matter how much they like the fame or not, or how much they are open to their fans approaching them. there are always boundaries that need to be respected.

[wakraya]

What about if you’re like 100% certain you’re trans but you’re anxiety & indecisiveness is keeping you from like coming out to people that would absolutely be supportive and moreover from truly admitting it to yourself in a really meaningful way and you just keep shutting down about it even though you’re certain about who you are and what you want and you just can’t open up about it or go for it and you’re keeping yourself from being you and you just keep it so tightly closed inside even though you don’t want to and the first person you talk to about it is through an anon message on tumblr to someone that was talking about something even tangentially related to your own gender issues

I cannot take the leap for you, in that case. That's not an uncommon feeling, either- The feeling you probably are, or even that you DEFINITELY are but feeling a barrier you cannot quite overcome. "What if I'm not actually trans?" That's a concern basically every single trans person has, and it can really be consuming. But also, consider what being trans is.

Saying you're trans doesn't mean you immediately go pursue hormone treatment or stuff like that. And not wanting to get hormone therapy or stuff like that also doesn't mean you aren't trans. The first step begins with social transition- Feeling out how it feels, to be in a different way you've been until now. Does it feel comfortable, when you introduce yourself in this way? Do you connect more with your idea of yourself when people acknowledge you're not X, but Y, or Z or whatever?

You don't have to say "I am trans" if you are worried. You can start slow. Mention that you've been thinking about gender. You can 'try out' pronouns and identity and see how it fits you. You can also say you're trans, take the leap, and if it just so happened, for some reason, that you actually realize you may not have been, or that your identity is different than you thought it was, there's also no reason not to roll back or try other things.

Once more, it's about comfort. If you have people who will stick by you, at least commenting you've been thinking about it can make all the difference. Remove the idea that this is a dramatic upheaval to your life- It can be something as simple as your best friend using she/her instead of he/him, or trying out introducing yourself with neutral pronouns or a different name in a Discord Server.

There's a lot of sentiment, specially in negative ways, that you NEED to have always felt like you're trans, or that once you dip your toes into transness a bit you have to COMMIT utterly to it, and very reductive binary ways of seeing things like, "well if you're dmab and you think you're trans, you have to like thigh-highs and spinny skirts" or something like that, and it's like... So reductive of identity? It's about comfort and happiness. If you think you are trans? I encourage you to take the first steps and see how it feels. But also, at the same time, try not to overthink about it too much. It may be difficult to take that leap, even to people you know, but if you can turn even a little bit of that faucet open, let it drip slightly, you may eventually realize you can just turn the valve all the way much easier.

[blu-joons]

DAD SEVENTEEN A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Xu Minghao

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Being affectionate around you and your bump is a big thing for Minghao, he’s keen to try and be around your bump as much as possible in whatever capacity to try and bond with your baby and make them familiar with him.

B ⇴ BUMP

In trying to form a bond with your baby, Minghao will often end up spending time in the evening talking to your bump and getting them familiar with the sound of his voice. You can only sit back and admire Minghao as he talks, chuckling to yourself at the voice that he puts on to appeal to your baby, surprised that his voice can go as high as it does.

C ⇴ CRAVINGS

Your cravings were one of the things that fascinated Minghao the most, whilst he knew that it was inevitable that you’d get cravings at some point, he never began to imagine that you’d crave some of the foods that you did. Foods that you hated suddenly became your favourite foods in the world, and Minghao just couldn’t get his head around it.

D ⇴ DUE DATE

It was important to Minghao to make sure that you were as prepared as possible just in case your baby decided to arrive on their due date. Your baby bag was packed well in advance, as a just in case, and your nursery finished with plenty of time to spare. Rather than a due date, you could often be mistaken for thinking that you had a due month with how organised Minghao tried to be, making sure everything was in place just to be sure.

E ⇴ EMOTIONS

Taking care of you was the most important thing for Minghao, regardless of fine you often tried to argue that you were. You enjoyed trying to do things for yourself, but as the months passed, the less you could do. Minghao loved stepping in and being able to help you whenever you found difficulty, but with that, he also understood the frustration that you felt towards suddenly being so incapable of doing so many basic things.

F ⇴ FAMILY

You both tried to keep as in contact as you possibly could with your families, sending messages every single day so that they could keep up to date with how things were going. If they hadn’t heard from either of you for some time, your family group chats would be filled with messages of concern, usually from your mums, who wanted to make sure that the two of you were alright and coping as well as you could by yourselves.

G ⇴ GENDER

From the very start of your pregnancy, the two of you had decided to wait and see until the end. Minghao loved to guess throughout your pregnancy as he read through old wives’ tales, but the uncertainty of knowing whether to believe in what they suggested or not always left him excited to eventually find out too.

H ⇴ HEARTBEAT

The beat of your baby’s heart was Minghao’s very sound to hear in the world. He didn’t care for music, chatter, or anything else, for the nine months that you were pregnant, not a single sound made him happier than when he was able to hear the gentle thuds of your baby growing healthily inside of your bump.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

His actions often let you know that Minghao loved you the most, he was very aware and usually able to pick up on the fact that you needed help before you even asked. Having him around to take care of you was a blessing, and you sure felt loved having someone as kind as Minghao around, never listening to him complain once.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

Even though Minghao much prefers to describe himself as protective over you and your bump, a fair few others would argue that he can get jealous from time to time. He’s not the biggest fan of people having their hands around your bump for too long or getting too close to you, especially when that means that he ends up being pushed away. When he feels like someone has outstayed their welcome, Minghao will definitely push his way back to the front.

K ⇴ KICKS

The kicks of your baby are a surprising source of inspiration for Minghao, especially when he finds a bit of a beat in them. It’s something that he always ends up carrying with him into the studio the following morning, saving it to his laptop in the hope that maybe he might be able to come up with a little something from them.

L ⇴ LABOUR

He’s your biggest support during labour, you were sure that you would have never gotten through it if it wasn’t for Minghao by your side. He was calm and he was composed, even if he was terrified on the inside, the perfect voice by your side to comfort you and reassure you. Even though he was a little nervous too, Minghao knew he couldn’t let you see that, and instead kept he smile on his face and his hand holding onto yours.

M ⇴ MORNING SICKNESS

No one was keen on sick, Minghao definitely being one of them, but he was even less keen on leaving you to battle your bouts of morning sickness alone. And so, every single morning he’d make sure to be there for you and refuse to leave your side until he had managed to tuck you back up in bed with a smile too.

N ⇴ NURSERY

Designing your nursery was one of Minghao’s favourite things to do, he loved to use his creative mind to come up with the perfect theme that he was sure your baby would love, and the two of you would enjoy building too.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

Minghao was obsessed with your hands, he loved how they would almost always instinctively relax over your bump when they were free, holding your bump with pride and excitement over what was to come for you both.

P ⇴ POST BIRTH

He was very wary about you doing too much too soon after you gave birth, but Minghao tried to trust in you and hope that you would listen to your body. He made it clear to you that he wanted you to put your baby first, but if you wanted to try and do a little more, he wasn’t going to hold you back from doing so.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

If he’s been away from you at work for the day, Minghao will always come home and ask you if he has missed anything first of all. Any milestone, big or small, he wants to hear about it and make sure that you’re alright too.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Documenting your pregnancy was one of Minghao’s biggest passions, with the aim of creating a photo wall in your nursery to look back on too. You’d often walk around the house and find him with his camera in hand, ready to snap you hard at work or candidly going about your day whilst trying to ignore him.

S ⇴ SCANS

Holding your scans was something that Minghao never took for granted, he loved being able to see your baby growing and knowing that they were growing healthily too. He’s very observant of your scan photos and looks into them with a great amount of detail, even if you struggle to make sense of the things that he finds.

T ⇴ TEST

You both had sensed that something wasn’t right with you for some time, and after waking up throwing up one morning, Minghao knew that the two of you had to take a test, just for your own peace of mind.

U ⇴ ULTRASOUND

Being with you at your appointments was immensely important for Minghao, the last thing he ever wanted to do was leave you at one on your own.

V ⇴ VISITS

The boys couldn’t wait to come by and visit, bringing food and essentials over almost as soon as you got home so that you had no excuse but to let them in and thank for taking such great care of your new little family.

W ⇴ WAITING

Minghao verges on patience more than impatience, he enjoys seeing your bump grow and the process rather than just the result at the end of the nine months.

X ⇴ XXXX

He loves to kiss against your bump in between sentences whenever he talks to it for two reasons. One, in the hope that your baby will be able to pick up on it, and secondly to reassure you how great your bump looks too.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were his inspiration, Minghao couldn’t believe how incredibly strong you were.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

Every night Minghao waits until your asleep before allowing himself to sleep too. He knows he can rest in no time at all, but when your bump is restless, he tries to do whatever he can to make sure that you can rest too.

---

Masterlist

[mrsmctominay]

Heyy, love your work sm!!! I was wondering if you could do a fluff alphabet for rashy. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t already in your list but if it was sorrryyy, just ignore this! 🤍

Fluff Alphabet- Marcus Rashford

A- Activities He loves playing football with you in the garden. The way you get so happy when he lets you win or the way you watch to closely when he teaches you a new skill.

B- Beauty He loves your smile. It gives him butterflies. Seeing you happy makes him happy. But something about your smile is oh so beautiful.

C- Comfort He talks through the situation from start to finish with you, trying to find the root of it all. Then he will ask if you would like some space. If the answer is no, he will take you on a nice walk to take your mind off of the issue.

D- Dreams Marcus can imagine having 2/3 kids with you. It's something that he really wants.

E- Equal Marcus is naturally dominant, but he doesn't have to be the one in control all the time. He doesn't mind being laid back and letting you make some decisions sometimes.

F- Fight If it's a pointless argument, usually he will just walk away and let you cool off. But if it's something serious he will get angry and shouty to begin with until he realises that shouting isn't the solution.

G- Gratitude

When you first got together, Marcus didn't think you would have as big an impact on his life as you have, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

H- Honesty Marcus has absolutely nothing to hide. Anything you ask, he will answer. You've both always been very open with each other. He doesn't have a problem with telling you anything.

I- Inspiration You really helped him to become less tense, so I suppose you changed him in that kind of way. He has a softer side to him now, which he is thankful for.

J- Jealous Marcus becomes intimidating when he's jealous. Very up-front and vocal about it too. If someone is making him jealous, he will let them *or you* know with his face.

K- Kiss Your first kiss with Marcus took your breath away, he was very good at it. He kisses you very passionately, with lots of love. He always has to give you a kiss before one of you leave's the house, it's his way of saying goodbye.

L- Love He confessed his love to you on a boat on holiday, at this point you were still in 'the talking stage' so it was perfect. He held your hands under the sunset whilst standing on this boat and just said it, no hesitations.

M- Marriage He's always known that he wants to marry you, the only question was when. He thinks about it all the time, you looking amazing in your wedding dress with your little children running at your feet.

N- Nickname His nicknames for you are mainly darling and angel, or a shortened up version of your real name.

O- On Cloud Nine It's super obvious to Jesse, but maybe that's because they are together the most. Of course he talks about you to the other boys on the team but to Jesse it's a little bit more.

P- PDA He doesn't mind it as long as it's not too OTT. He will hold your hand and give you a hug but nothing too handsy, maybe a peck on the cheek every now and then too, he likes his privacy.

Q- Quirk He's very good at surprising you. Birthday parties, presents. Whatever it is, you're very unlikely to find out. You don't know how he manages to get away with it because you're like the nosiest person ever but he pulls it off every single time.

R- Romance Candlelit dinners with strawberries and champaign and soft music in the background is his kinda thing. He dresses nicely for you (when does he not, lets be real) and wears his nicest smelling aftershave.

S- Support He will push you to your limits, you hate him for it in the beginning but when the outcome comes, you're always very thankful for him pushing you so far.

T- Thrill He likes routine on certain things, like mornings and nights. But dates and other things (wink wink) change up sometimes when you feel them getting too repetitive.

U- Understanding He understands you very well, he knows when to give you space and he knows when not to give you space. In the beginning of the relationship, you were a bit hard to read but now he can read you like a book.

V- Value Marcus is good at making time for you, despite everything he does in life. You're very important and you're the main thing that gives him a stress relief so of course he values your time together.

W- Wild Card He leaves you a little message via the ring doorbell when he leaves for training in the morning. It's his chance to tell you he loves you if you were still asleep when he left. You keep them all in a little folder on your phone to look back on when you're having a bad week.

X- XOXO

At the end of a long day of training, there is nothing better than the feeling of a warm cuddle off of his girlfriend. It's what he looks forward to at the end of the day.

Y- Yearning He just focuses on his game, on training and whatnot. He does a good job at hiding it when he misses you, most of the time. Of course Jesse can see right through him but that's a given.

Z- Zoo We all know Marcus LOVES his dogs, and you do too. You both love having the fur babies running around all the time.

[atzhrts]

Ahhh!! I loved your Chan NSFW alphabet!! Could you please do one for Seungmin if you're comfortable?? <3

✦:˒ kim seungmin nsfw alphabet ◞⁺☆．

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

⿻ a = aftercare

╰┈➤ (what they’re like after sex)

seungmin is super sweet and absolutely pampering you in aftercare. the second he cums it’s like you exchange the rough man that was just calling you his ‘slutty puppy’ and completely destroying your pussy with someone who has made it his life mission to treat you like a princess.

⿻ b = body part

╰┈➤ (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

he likes your smile and he especially loves to see it after he painted your face with his cum. no matter what you do seungmin will always try to put a smile on your face, and with small expections it always works. and when he sees your face painted with his cum as you slowly start to play with it a bit while a smile forms on your face he feels like he almost could immediately cum again.

⿻ c = cum

╰┈➤ (anything to do with cum, basically)

as i said one point above he loves cumming on your face or at least somehow on your body. of course he also isn’t turned off from the image of your pussy leaking his cum but it happens more than often that he just pulls out, jerkin off over your body and painting it white.

⿻ d = dirty secret

╰┈➤ (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

he loves jerking off to you, whether that be your pics, your voice or even you in person - porn is never needed for seungmin

⿻ e = experience

╰┈➤ (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

he’s enough experienced to know exactly what he is doing and what buttons he needs to push to make you go crazy. but he also loves to learn with, learn new things that make your head spin and certain flicks with his tongue that you told him ‘will have everyone squirting on his face’ however i also can’t get the thought of corrupting him out of my mind. so do with that information what you will.

⿻ f = favorite position

╰┈➤(this goes without saying)

i can’t read this man i’m telling y’all. i can’t tell you if he’d love missionary, gazing into your eyes lovingly as he holds your hands in his or if he would pound you into the mattress from behind

⿻ g = goofy

╰┈➤ (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

i can see him being a bit more on the goofy side like he’d joke and everything whenever he feels a bit nervous.

⿻ h = hair

╰┈➤ (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

maybe a few stubbles whenever he didn’t get to shave because he needed to hurry up in the shower but overall he would prefer to be shaven completely.

⿻ i = intimacy

╰┈➤ (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

he is romantic. he always tell you how much he loves you and appreciates you even if it’s in a more rougher way.

‘god i love you’

‘you so good for letting me use your body’

‘thank you for swallowing my cock like a good slut baby, appreciate it’

⿻ j = jack off

╰┈➤ (masturbation headcanon)

he doesn’t seem like someone who masturbates often but if he does you’re in for it. when he is away from you he will always call you or at least leave voice message of him jerking off. and if you’re there you are going to watch him fuck his fist and he’d order you to not even move one finger to touch yourself.

⿻ k = kink

╰┈➤ (one or more of their kinks)

edging - he just seems like someone who would get a thrill out of having this kind of control over you.

dom/sub - i feel like he’s a switch but he definitely needs to have those dynamic in the bedroom it’s just what makes him feel the most comfortable.

mutual masturbation - he loves seeing you pleassure yourself, it’s one of his favorite things and most of the times he can’t help but touch himself while watching you (bonus for watching porn while both of you are masturbating)

⿻ l = location

╰┈➤ (favorite places to do the do)

he would much rather have sex in the comfort of your own home. of course there’ll be the occasional quickies in some restroom but besides that both of you like to keep it where the two of you are safe from any prying eyes.

⿻ m = motivation

╰┈➤ (what turns them on, gets them going)

your thighs - that’s it that’s the point. seungmin loves your thighs and it goes this far that you will only have to wear something tight that shows them off and boom he’s turned on.

when you wear your hair up - makes him wanna mark your neck or push your head down on his cock by your hair.

running your nails over his skin

kisses anywhere that isn’t his face

⿻ n = no

╰┈➤ (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

i don’t think he’d be the one for a threesomes but if that’s something you really want to try it he would maybe do it for you. besides that the obvious - things you say no to.

⿻ o = oral

╰┈➤ (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

PUSSY EATING KING

he just has a face you want to grind on and i don’t know what else to tell you. he seems like the type of man that gets off on seeing you get off yk. so he would just spend hours between your thighs overstimulating you with his tongue as he jerks himself off.

⿻ p = pace

╰┈➤ (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

he is definitely on the slower side but so PRECISE. each single slow thrust will rock your world because he’s so rough with it. he will pull out slowly making you feel every inch of his cock before he slams back into you making your whole body shudder.

⿻ q = quickie

╰┈➤ (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

it’s not really the most regular thing in your relationship but as mentioned before they are still there. especially if you tease him in public he won’t hesitate to fuck the shit out of you.

⿻ r = risk

╰┈➤ (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

same as the one above, public sex is not something he would love at a regular basis it is more a punishment for you whenever you are a tease. however with experimenting it’s a whole different story - he absolutely loves it. he loves learning new things that he can try with you and loves seeing your reaction to them.

⿻ s = stamina

╰┈➤ (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

not the best stamina, meaning he would have to take some breaks sometimes because he feels like he’s going to cum too fast. during that time he’d be attached to your nipples, either with his hands or his mouth.

⿻ t = toys

╰┈➤ (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

i definitely see seungmin using a vibrator on himself when he’s kind of experimenting because he found out you had one, and he’s like ‘i bet it feels good’

⿻ u = unfair

╰┈➤ (how much they like to tease)

i either see him not teasing you at all because he’s too impatient and much rather be buried inside you, feeling your warm walls hug him. or he’s the biggest tease and is having way too much fun with it.

⿻ v = volume

╰┈➤ (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

he’s pretty vocal. little moans and whines always escaping his mouth and on top of that he would let out some choked up dirty talk, knowing it’s what gets both of you going.

⿻ w = wild card

╰┈➤ (a random headcanon for the character)

he would let you top from time to time, or at least you think he does. he’d let you ride you only so much till he had enough from your teasing before he turns around and fucks your brains out for being a ‘bad girl’

⿻ x = x-ray

╰┈➤ (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

he’s about average but definitely how to work it like he’s above average tbh.

⿻ y = yearning

╰┈➤ (how high is their sex drive?)

it’s not too high. ofc there are days where he could just stay in bed and fuck you all day this doesn’t happen too often - mostly when you haven’t seen each other for some time.

⿻ z = zzz

╰┈➤ (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

after he made sure both of you are alright and cleaned up he’s pretty much gone immediately. he loves to just lay his head on your chest, listening to your heartbeat and your even breath before he slowly drifts off to sleep.

[futurewriter2000]

Bookshelf

A/N: Had this in my drafts for a long while. I don’t know what it is exctly but I do kind of like it. Yeah... 

PAIRING: Harry Potter x Muggle!reader 

XX

Harry would always think that the Wizarding world was better than the Muggle one. He would think of so many reasons to think wizards, witches and magic was the best thing that had ever happened to him. 

“Muggles are so odd- like he is pouring himself. You just swish a wand and lay back. Let it pour itself.” Ron kept staring at the old man in the coffee shop, whose hand was shaking agressively due to age or some disesase or pure alcoholism. He tried many times to put sugar in his tea with a spoon but each time, it fell right back into the sugar cup. He started cursing himself, grabbing the sugar with his fingers and throwing it into his tea until it made a splash, pouring some of the tea on the table.

Ron kept smiling at the old man’s unfortune meanwhile Harry only rushed forward without a glance at the old man. He wanted this to be over. Fast and efficiant.  “Muggles don’t know about magic.” he chuckled, turning the corner and up the stairs. 

“Some do.”

“Most of them don’t.” he stopped, grabbing the doorknob and grinning. “If they knew, they wouldn’t want to be Muggles anymore.” he smiled and swung the door open, walking into the library. 

“Bet.” Ron stood behind before chuckling and running after him. “Reckon they’d think we have long noses, witch hats and brooms to fly on, which we do but still.” he continued to talk, hearing Harry laugh as he shuffled through the books. 

“Just go and find the dumb book. It has to be among the G’s.” his finger traced among the book spines. He heard Ron’s footsteps distancing themselves from him and that gave him plenty of time to focus his eyes on the book titles. His eyes did not remove themselves from the thick, thin, black, grey, green, blue, wrinkled, ironed, smooth and harsh book covers until he went to the far edge of the bookshelf, bumping his hand into a wall. He slightly moved his hand at it, shaking it and noticing something catching his eyes on the other side of the shelf. 

It was only a flicker, a glance, not even a full, long look and he knew. 

He stopped and stared through the gap between the shelves. 

There you were. Your nose was stuck in a book, your fingers quickly turning the pages as your mouth mumbled something incoherently. If he focused on it, he could hear exactly what you were hearing. 

“Come on. Come on. It’s not like I haven’t analyzed you a hundred times. It has to be Cortazar- except.” you closed the book with a thud and stared at the distance, turning back to the bookshelves, letter C. “Except, except, except...” your hand touched the shelf and your eyes scanned every single book from right to left. “Conti?” you pulled out a book and started shuffling through it. 

Harry only smiled.

He could remember you from your primary school when he was still going to the Muggle school. The two of you were classmates from year 3 to year 6 before he went to Hogwarts. 

You were always nice to him, always found something to talk about but never much a friend. He was a classmate and only a classmate and you were just the same to him, except when you were the only girl who didn’t listen to Dudley and actually treated him, Harry, as a normal boy. 

You always had good grades. Sometimes with a comment, snarky or smart, either way you reminded him of Hermione. 

You’ve grown up. 

He’s grown up. 

He’s an Auror for 2 years already since the whole battle and Voldemort. What are you? 

“Oi, Harry! I couldnt’ find it but it was worth a try-” Ron came back with a book in his hand, perplexed when he could see Harry panic. “What? What is it?” he tried to pull out a wand and by now you were already looking for the source, finding yourself watching two men waving their hands at each other. One whispering, one speaking quite loudly. 

“Ron! Shut up!” Harry whisper-yelled. 

“Why?” he tried pulling out the wand but Harry grabbed his hand and shoved it back. “Harry- mate? What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Ron kept getting more confused by the minute as Harry was desperately trying to not be seen or heard by you. 

“There’s someone from primary school I know.” Harry stood straight, galring at his best friend. 

“You went to primary-” 

“Ron!” he shoved his shoulder to be quiet but it was too late. 

“Harry?” you asked, walking on the other side of the shelf you two shared and finding him looking at you. “Harry Potter?” you smiled, trying to figure out whether it was really him or not.

Though that was never a discussion. He still wore an oversized T-shirt, only that this one was a bit more his size and covered in leather jacket. His eyes were still as green as emerald, almond shaped and hiding behind his round glasses. They used to be broken- he had a ducktape on the bridge. You remembered becuase you were the one to do it after Dudley broke them. His hair were sticking up in all directions and his awkward grin was still so known by him. 

Ron stepped next to Harry, glancing between the two of you as he tried to figure out what is happening. 

“(y/n). Hi- hey.” he raised his hand but quickly put it down due to the awkwardness in the air.

“Wow- it really is you.” you beamed, leaning on the shelf and crossing your arms over your chest. “You’ve completely gone awol after 6th year. Dudley said you went to boot camp but you don’t look like a soldier to me.” 

Harry tried to think fast but all he could do was chuckle nervously. 

“Trust me, he did his fair share of fighting.” Ron interwined, reaching out his hand and offering you a big, kind smile.  “I’m Ron Weasley by the way. I went to boot camp with this twat. Thought him everything I know.” he started to joke and you laughed. 

“Nice to meet you, Ron. I’m (y/n)(y/l/n). Harry was my classmate in primary school.” 

“Is that so?” Ron smirked, mischief in his eyes, something Harry would usually find in Fred’s and George’s identical eyes. The twinkle in Ron’s seemed to match perfectly with the twins’. “Huh?” 

“Yes, that’s so.” you started to get a bit suspicious. “So, how are you Harry?” you started to talk, the curiousity getting the better of you. 

You haven’t seen this boy in ten years and suddenly he reappears out of thin air. He was shy but always nice to you. Quite a short temper but threw quite a punch as well. 

“I’m good. Great even.” Harry started to speak, his hand running up and down the back of his neck. “You?”

“University.” you lifted up the book. 

“I always wondered about that-” Ron started to speak but Harry only elbowed him in the ribs and sent him a glare. 

“Why don’t you search under the Z letter, Ron?” he grumbled out of him.

“But we don’t even-” he stopped after figuring it out not so fast enough. “Oh- yeah. Zetinski.” he nodded and left the space, causing you to laugh. 

“Zetinski?” you took a step forward and Harry only laughed.

“Haven’t heard?”

“No, I haven’t.” 

“Well, Zetinski is quite famous for...”

“For?” you quirked an eyebrow but he kept his cool smooth and calm. 

“Writing some physchological novels. Experimental psychology. Like Zola.”

You couldn’t help yourself to smile. “You know of Zola?” 

“I know a lot of things.” he was the one to cross his arms over his chest, digging his hands under his biceps and tugging the leather into nice defined arms. “So how about you? University?” 

“Yes. I want to be a literature teacher.” you smiled, getting a closer look at the tall boy who once used to be smaller than you. 

It almost made you giggle at how the time stops and goes, sways and bends. It was as if you’ve known this boy back in primary school and 10 years passed, you would think it would be like talking to a stranger. He looked like a stranger but his eyes were so familiar. It felt like you’ve known him for a long time, mostly since you knew whose his family was. He told you his parents had died in a car accident and he was living with his aunt and uncle, Dudley unfortunately as well. It sort of gave you some sort of understanding but also a surprise that he had not gone barmy or rebellious in his teenage years.

He appeared to look like someone who’s gone through a lot but still kept to his morals. He was still the nice boy you remember. 

“A literature teacher?” he took a deep breath, marveling at your answer. “What does that do exactly? Force kids to read books?” he started to tease, leaning a bit forward.

“No.” you shoved him back playfully. “We analyze certain books and try to find a deeper understanding. It’s not just about reading books. It’s about finding your understanding in the things other people don’t. Sometimes it holds a message. Sometimes a poem isn’t just a confession of emotions. Sometimes the structure and the figures, the rythm and other literature techniques that helps you understand more of what the writer wrote.” you realized you had been trying to explain something you could barely understand yourself but it was love for you. You loved literature and love was hard to explain. So you put it shortly: “It’s not about reading. It’s a bout individual understanding, thinking and percieving. It’s hard to explain.” 

He could see your eyes getting a bit frustrated for trying to prove him that what you’re doing isn’t useless. And he knew it wasn’t. You got the same sparkle in your eyes as Hermione did when she talked about Elf rights. It was adorable.

“I know.” he chuckled. “You were always such a Ravenclaw. Watching the teacher and making your notes like your life depended on it.”

“Ravenclaw?” you furrowed your eyebrows. 

Oh shit.

“Uhm...it’s a phraze from boot camp.” he tried to brush it off.

“Stop pulling by the nose, Harry. We all know you haven’t gone to boot camp at an age of 11.” 

“You don’t know that.” he started to tease again, something he was quite mastering but didn’t realize he was. 

It set you a bit on the edge, but the good kind. 

“So what are YOU doing in the library?”

“Looking for a book to read?” he shrugged but you only narrowed your eyes at him as he chuckled once again. 

How could a boy so shy once upon a time be so darn attractive when he chuckles. 

“I’m just looking for an information.” 

“Anything I can help you with. I know this library like the back of my hand.” you offered but he only let out a chuckle and started to pass you by. Before he did, he stopped next to, looking down with his green eyes and finding you looking up at his. Seemengly, your facial structure, your eyes and your whole-self evolved quite beautifully in a strong, intelligent woman- someone that would make his nerves burn as it did right now. 

A boy he was, he would only pass you by and let it go awkwardly but he was the Chosen One. He killed Voldemort. So why shouldn’t he take a risk with you?

He didn’t pass you at all. He put his hand on the shelf above your head and leaned forward, his muscles flexing a bit. 

You felt your breath catch up in your throat, your heart racing along with the miliseconds that passed. You couldn’t feel enough strenght in your voice to speak, not when his sharp cologne went up your nostrils and into your brain, fuzzying your mind.

“How about over coffee?” he spoke low and seductively, leaning a bit forward as you continued to look up at him and his long hair falling on his forehead. 

Your hands had gotten clammy, your books too heavy to carry in your hand and your knees were a moment away from giving up. You smiled shyly, nodding. “I’d- I’d love that.” you seemed to stutter, feeling feverish from all the sexual tension between the two of you. 

His belt clawed his hips so perfectly. The way his dark jeans hugged his thights, his jacket giving you a glipse of his muscled hips as his T-shirt rose up with it. When Harry put his hand off the shelf, the T-shirt fell back down and covered it. Harry took your hand in his and kissed the back of it. “I’ll call you then.” he said putting your hand back down and backing away. As he was further away, he called out for Ron and they both left. 

They left and you were stuck standing there with reddened cheeks yet it felt as if his presence, his energy and his eyes were still lingering on you. It felt like magic.

[whattheheehaw]

Hi! I’m sorry you’re getting shitty anons about this and you’re probably sick of it so I apologise for asking this but I’m genuinely curious what made you start actively disliking zutara? Like, considering how much excellent and insightful content/meta you yourself used to make/write? I get that interests change over time and you’re totally valid!! the anons sending you hate over it are really dumb, but if you’d be ok with sharing, I’d be really interested in hearing why you’ve done almost a complete 180 on the ship? Was is just burnout/end of a hyper-obsession? Or was it some of us in the rest of the fandom that turned you off? Or was it even something about the ship/characters themselves that you changed your mind about? xx

In short, it was a combination of burnout, dissatisfaction with fandom, and disappointment in myself that caused my disinterest for Zvtara.

I got asks similar to this one a couple of times before, but I never gave a comprehensive answer, mainly because I didn't know how to articulate my reasons why I don't like it anymore. But now that I've been out of ZK fandom for a month and have had some time to reflect, I think I can give a much more thorough response. Beware, this is long and I heavily critique the Zvtara fandom, so if you're a ZK shipper, keep reading at your own risk.

My first minor annoyance with Zvtara is that the fandom has a tendency to idolize certain fics and creators. And while there’s certainly nothing inherently wrong about that, I feel like the Zvtara fandom does it to such an extent that it influences the type of content that content creators make in order to get recognition. And to illustrate my point, I’m going to talk about one of the most famous Zvtara fics of all time: Once Around The Sun by eleventy7.

Don’t get me wrong, I love OATS. I think it’s a great fanfic and I think the author devoted a lot of time and effort to make it such an excellent fic. The plot, the development of the characters and their relationships to one other, and the messages about family and love were all brilliantly written. I mean, there is a reason why it’s regarded as the “Zvtara Bible”. This one fanfic had such a profound impact upon the ZK fandom, and I think the biggest impact that came from it is the dramatic influx of post-war Zvtara AU fanfiction. 

Because so many people kept reading OATS and recommending it to others, I think there was an overall interest in ZK fics that take place in a post-war setting. And I think that all of the high praise towards OATS made more fic writers start to write post-war fanfics because of this demand for post-war AU.* I normally wouldn't complain about it because more content is more content, but in my opinion, 99% of ZK post-war fics are the same fic but in different fonts.

Like, there's at least 3 of these elements in every ZK post-war fanfic:

Ambassador Katara

An assassination attempt (usually on Zuko's life)

A healing scene between Zuko and Katara (usually Katara heals Zuko)

Aang and/or Mai is pushed to the side or vilified to some extent in order to make ZK happen

A private journey between Zuko and Katara to facilitate #6

S L O W B U R N (that's not really slowburn and more like "I love you and I very much want to be vocal about my feelings but #7 is in this fic" but the love story takes up like 30 chapters so I guess it's a slowburn?)

Zuko's advisers don't want him to get married to Katara because ✨racism✨

Ursa is found

Azula is in the fic because a) she's going to get a healing arc ft. Zuko and Katara and thereby helps them get together or b) she's the villain and thereby helps them get together

ZK wedding happens in the FN

After reading multiple post-war fics back to back, I could tell that the format was pretty much the same across the board, which isn't very interesting for me to read. My only other fic options in the Zvtara tag on AO3 are canon divergence fics which almost always take place during The Crossroads of Destiny or after The Southern Raiders. And to some extent, those stories are pretty much the same too. There's nothing really new or creative going on in the ZK fandom fic-wise, and because of that, my interest in ZK fandom started to dwindle.

My second issue with Zvtara is that it's a very old ship from a very old show. Because there's been 10+ years since the end of A:TLA, every nuanced point about shipping and the show itself have been talked to death.** There's just nothing new to say. It's the same arguments being rehashed over and over again in the tag because there's no other interpretation one can come up with.

For example, there's so many people who talk about why Zvtara as depicted in The Southern Raiders is not toxic and that's great and all, but I (and most likely many others) have read those same points about five times already. And for some reason, each time this happens, people act like someone just discovered the lost city of Atlantis when they bring up their new-but-not-new argument in defense of Zvtara. Honestly, I'm ashamed to say that I'm not exempt from being part of the group of people that reiterate old arguments. I've done it with one of my posts about The Southern Raiders and I've done it again with my Zutara/Omashu parallels post.

There's no new content to really dissect and analyze (especially considering Zuko and Katara are rarely in the same panel in any of the post-war comics), and because of this, people are just restating points that someone else made several years ago.*** And even if someone did have a different interpretation of an episode, their ideas would most likely be shut down because for the past several years, the same interpretation has been recycled through the fandom repeatedly and people are resistant to new perspectives.

This brings me to the third thing that I dislike about Zvtara: the insistence that there can only be one way to interpret The Southern Raiders. For the longest time, I've read take after take that said if Katara decided to kill Yon Rha, it would be ok because that's her grief to deal with and if she thinks that's the best way to mete out justice, then good for her. And again, I'm ashamed to say that I perpetuated that idea in a few of my own posts. I have always thought that "Katara killing Yon Rha is ok" is just a bad take in general, but I didn't want to vocalize that opinion when so many people—so many of the nice mutuals that I made—all shared that same opinion. Taking down a popular opinion of your own ship is completely different from taking down a popular opinion of a ship that you dislike. The Zvtara fandom is the first fandom that I was actually active in and I wanted to fit in so badly with everyone else that I just parroted whatever other people said, even if I didn't agree with those sentiments.

This leads me to my final reason why I don't want to be a part of ZK fandom anymore. I think I established myself as a "meta" person pretty early on and because of that, I constantly felt pressured to come up with new takes on the ship. And when people started flooding my ask box with stuff like "Can you write a meta about your thoughts on the idea that 'Zuko only took Katara on that field trip in TSR because he wanted her to forgive him'?" and "What are your thoughts about antis saying Zuko and Katara are toxic because of TSR?", I realized that I don't need to come up with new takes. People just want me to paraphrase something that 10 other people said about the same exact topic, because if I said what I actually thought about the subject (i.e. there is some truth in what antis say about TSR and it's not as much of a "Zvtara episode" that most people make it out to be), I'd probably get ZK shippers in the replies telling me that I'm wrong because x, y, and z or "you shouldn't tag this as Zvtara".

And that was pretty much how my love for ZK turned into disinterest. I was and still am disappointed that I didn't stick to my personal opinions. For as much as I talk about herd mentality on Twitter, I certainly don't practice what I preach. In all honesty, the only reason why I held on so long to ZK fandom was because I had so many nice mutuals there and we all shared this collective distaste for antis. I think I started to become more anti-Zvkka and anti-Kataang than pro-Zvtara, which isn't what I wanted to do when I made this Tumblr blog.

The thing that made me joke about becoming anti-Zvtara was the fact that some ZK shippers just like to send shitty anons to people whom they've reblogged countless different metas from. Sending shitty anons to people in the first place is wrong, but sending them to people who tagged their posts correctly and did nothing wrong is just disgusting.

*I'm not a fic writer and can't speak for fic writers, but it definitely feels like a lot of ZK fic authors are pushing themselves to write the next OATS, and by doing so, they are proliferating the tag with post-war fics that have very similar aspects to OATS.

**I think that as more people point out the same nuanced points about Zvtara, it diminishes the actual significance of those points. Like, it's hard to explain but the more people talk about the subtleties of the ship, the more those parts become glaringly obvious and I become numb to their actual impact on the characters and the show.

***At this point, if someone wanted to make a new argument about Zvtara, I think they would have to look very closely at every little detail in every single one of their scenes together to find a crumb of new meta material. And speaking from experience, it's not very fun trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Whenever I post a "meta" like that, I feel like I'm reaching to make a point that doesn't exist.

[moonyswolfie]

SFW Alphabet - Draco Malfoy

So I’ve been writing a lot of NSFW Alphabets but no SFW ones yet. This had to change. So here is my first SFW Alphabet.

A = Attractive what do they find attractive about the other?

Your positivity and the fierceness that you defend your loved ones with was the first thing Draco noticed about you. When he got to know you better, he fell in love with your personality. He still does, more and more every single day.

B = Baby do they want a family? why/why not?

Definitely yes. The day Draco knew he was in love with you, he knew he wanted a future with you, a family. He knew you’d make a great mother and when he told you of his wishes, you were quick to agree. Draco was it for you, you couldn’t picture loving anyone else.

When you got pregnant and told him the news, he cried. He was so happy. It was when you told him, tears of happiness in your eyes, that he’d make a great father and that the baby will feel so lucky to be his child that he started believing it himself.

C = Cuddle how do they cuddle?

He’s so afraid of losing you after everything he’s been through, so he holds you close to him when you cuddle, especially when you sleep.

D = Dates what are dates with them like?

Dates with Draco are definitely extra. He likes to go all the way, stating that nothing is too much for the one he loves most, even when you insist that a night in by the fire with a good book or a nice home cooked meal would suffice.

E = Everything you are my ____ (e.g my life, my world…)

You are my everything. Draco loves you to the moon and back and is not shy when it comes to reminding you of it.

F = Feelings when did they know they were falling in love?

You and Draco haven’t been friends from the start in your Hogwarts days. You met the Golden Trio on the train and became inseparable since, which didn’t sit well with the young Malfoy.

One day in third year, when he was mocking Harry for the Dementors incident, you had had enough. You turned to Draco and gave him a piece of your mind that left the entire Great Hall speechless, even the teachers.

That moment, when you put him in his place, gave him a lot to think about. It was also the moment he knew he was hopelessly in love with you and there was no going back.

G = Gentle are they gentle? If so, how?

He might not seem like it from the outside, but once you get to know him, he’s the sweetest person in the world. It was a surprise, really, when you guys started dating and he would be so thoughtful and soft with you.

You actually considered being on a date with a guy using Polyjuice potion to look like Draco, but no. It was Draco Malfoy, in the flesh, showing you his gentle and vulnerable side and melting your heart with every passing day.

H = Hand/Hold how do they like to hold hands?

He likes to intertwine your fingers with his and hold your hand tight. He does it in the Great Hall during meals, in class when you sit together and every time you walk together to and fro classes. He loves to show you off and it also sends a clear message: you are his.

I = Impression first impression/s

He didn’t like you very much at first. He didn’t know what was it that was nagging at him about you so he kept on teasing you for four years before he finally gathered the courage to ask you out on a date.

Your first impression of him was that he was a spoilt brat. He was always bragging about his family and wealth and the way purebloods are better than any others.

You learned soon that it was just a façade, the real Draco being a sweet and brave young man, but it took a while for you to see it.

J = Joker are they into pulling pranks?

Only if they’re good ones. Draco is not really into pranks, but he doesn’t hate them either. He’s somewhere in the middle ground.

K = Kisses how do they kiss?

Long and passionate, making sure you know how much you mean to him and how much he loves you.

L = Little things what little things do they love/notice?

Draco pays a lot of attention to the details, and so the little things you do don’t go unnoticed. It warms his heart when he sees you in the crowd at every single Quidditch match, cheering for him and wearing his jumper, or when you spend the night in the Hospital Wing, holding his hand after an accident on he Pitch.

M = Memory their favorite moment together

His favorite memory with you is from your first date actually. You went to the Three Broomsticks and had a nice, hot Butterbeer. He remembers looking your way after you replaced your drink on the table and laughing at the bit left on your upper lip. You looked confused and he leaned in to kiss you, ridding you of the Butterbeer at the same time.

“Smooth, Malfoy” you smirked when you realized what he did.

N = Nickel do they spoil? do they buy the person they love everything?

Hell yes. Draco is the king of spoiling you, even when you tell him you don’t want him spending his money on you. He won’t listen. He buys you chocolates, books, flowers, absolutely everything he sees and thinks you’ll like. You eventually stop protesting every time he brings you a gift, knowing it’s pointless anyways.

O = Orange what color reminds them of their other half

Green, actually. As I mentioned before, you come to every Quidditch match of his and you never fail to show him and everyone else how proud you are of your boyfriend. You wear one of his Quidditch jumpers every time, which makes his heart swell because you’re his girl and you’re the one showing it off and he has trouble focusing on the match. After the first time it happens, every time you wear green he thinks back to that day.

P = Petnames what petnames do they use?

My love, darling, sweetheart

Q = Questions what are the questions they’re always asking?

He’s always concerned with your wellbeing so “how are you, darling” or “are you alright, my love” will be constants in your relationship. He wants to know you’re safe and comfortable at all times.

R = Remember their favorite memory of each other

His, as mentioned above, is the Butterbeer one. He thinks fondly of the moment even years after it happened.

Yours, on the other hand, is the first time he introduced you to his parents. You knew from the beginning that Lucius would be a challenge and Draco prepared for the encounter.

“You found a great match, son” Lucius’ words echo through the dining hall at the Malfoy Manor and Draco starts talking a second after.

“I don’t care what you think, father, she is it for me. I won’t break…what?” he stopped when he finally processed his father’s words. Lucius’ amused face made Draco blush a little for having rushed into the conversation without listening, but he wasn’t ashamed of having stood up for you.

You held this memory close to your heart and revisit it every chance you get.

S = Sad how do they cheer themselves/each other up

He cheers you up with lots of cuddles and soft kisses and sweet nothings murmured in your ear. He knows that won’t fix everything, but he tries because he can’t bear to see you upset or crying.

You cheer him up with a night in by the fire, cozy blankets scattered around the two of you and hot chocolate that you bargained for with the house elves in the kitchens at 1 in the morning. Even though he is not in the best mood, he never snaps at you, instead nuzzling further into you and allowing himself to be vulnerable with you, knowing you’ll never judge him for it.

T = Talking what do they love to talk about?

He loves to talk about anything and everything, but there is one subject he loves above all else: your future together. During your Hogwarts days he likes to imagine a future with you, a family and a happily ever after. After your second anniversary he starts testing the waters by talking about it with you. When you don’t dismiss it and actually engage in the conversation rather animatedly, he knows there’s no holding back anymore. Until you graduate, you plan most of the life you’ll have together and while it may seem weird to others, it’s your little bubble of happiness.

U = Universe use a metaphor, what are they to each other? (e.g he was the universe, ever-changing and mysterious)

He is a complicated person with a heart split between what’s right and what’s expected of him. You, on the other hand, help him see reason every time. You make everything simpler and always ease his troubled mind.

V = Very ___ they’re thoughts about each other (e.g she’s very smart, he’s very stubborn, they’re very annoying etc.)

He is very, very stubborn and very possessive.

You are very gentle and ambitious.

Somehow you make it work like the best chemical reaction.

W = Why reasons why they love each other

He loves you because he can be himself when he’s with you. He loves you because you’re always there for him. he loves you because you are his everything.

And you love him just the same.

X = Xylophone What’s their song?

Womanizer by Britney Spears. The moment I heard this song I thought of Draco.

Y = You the ___ to my ___ (e.g the cookies to my milk, the macaroni to my cheese)

You’re the simple to his complex.

Z = Zebra if they wanted a pet, what pet would they get?

A dog or a cat. I feel like Draco would get a cat simply because they’re kind of the same.

[fromthefishbowl]

People who complain about Ao3 don’t remember what sites like ff.net were like

Every few months, a bright-minded Tumblr blogger peeps up with the never-heard-before: “Ao3 is a completely amoral site. If they want to prove to us they have a moral backbone, then they need to purge X, Y, and Z tags, and then create a team of mods who will regularly check the stories that are reported because since now there aren’t tags that tell the readers about X, Y, and Z, these goddamn perverts will slip through the cracks and create toxic environment in which children shouldn’t be” take, and the posts routinely receive thousands of notes.

Well... let me tell you how things actually work on sites that don’t use tags but have a team of mods that checks the authors and stories that are being reported.

I’m a fandom old: even if I’m young, I began reading and writing fanfics back in September/October 2012. I’ve used a site that was basically ff.net’s twin, Wattpad, and then Ao3. I was there, when Wattpad slowly turned into a money-making farm and implemented micro-transactions and ads. I have seen how these platforms evolved and who they were protecting, and it really doesn’t matter how much you whine and complain about Ao3, but it’s the only platform that actually protects both its writers and readers in equal measure.

According to the many theories made by people who have already forgotten how actually lawless fanfiction sites were, having mods would solve all the problems regarding the “moral issues” presented by Ao3. In their opinion, mods would be these perfect creature who never take sides and are always impartial, ready to defend ThE cHiLdReN from the evil, amoral content. They’d scrub the site clean from the “toxic” and “dangerous” content in order to create a wholesome environment where parents and kids alike can happily frolic together.

In truth? Nothing about mods ever worked like that. No one is able to be completely impartial, and some people only need to be given an ounce of power to lose their minds and do as they please.

On the site similar to ff.net, people were encouraged to report all the stories that didn’t strictly follow the rules of the site, including the ones where the spelling wasn’t as great as it should’ve been. It wasn’t rare to find that users had reported an account or a story simply out of revenge, because said author hadn’t commented their work favorably. If you were a fandom favorite with a lot of readers, it was also possible to find in your DM box people asking you to report and ask your readers to report someone, even if you had to make up things in order for the report to go through.

Thankfully, mods were extremely lethargic (I love the idea that people think that they’d act briskly and not sleuth around the site, posting stories with their modding accounts in order to receive a higher number of comments), so most reports ended up in stand-by, catching proverbial dust, for years and years, until everybody forgot about the report itself as well as the story, the author, and whatever had happened there.

But when they acted? Ooooh, and here’s the interesting part, because there were three options!

The story was taken down, the account banned, and the only thing left of them would be a notice from the mods that they had been stricken because they had done this, this, and a little bit of that too. But do you know who was usually hit, by this? Smaller writers, writers whose stories didn’t pull in a lot of views and comments, people who were “forgettable”. It also happened a lot with writers who would put themselves against bigger authors by writing negative reviews for their stories;

The mods closed an eye because the people and storied reported where at the top of their category in a very trafficked fandom. There was a case in which people were so distressed by the presence of a very specific story (Jewish girl falls in love with the Nazi guard that abuses her while she’s in a concentration camp), that the headmistress of the site had to write a special comment that could be viewed by all the people who were going to review that story that said that there was no reason to leave a negative review nor to report it to the mods, as it followed the rules of the site (it didn’t, but it brought in a lot of views and attention to the platform, so... it could stay!);

The mods would hunt the authors on their social medias too and ban them from the site because they’d been rude. It happened more than once, that an author was reported or they were the ones reporting, and have found themselves submersed in insults by members of the mod team on their Facebook page. Two cases:

An author was accused of having plagiarized a story written by another, more famous, user. The author denied, and asked for proof of it. The mod taking care of the case didn’t offer any, but deleted their story and blocked their account until they said they were sorry to the more famous user. In order to have their account back, the author said they were sorry to the famous user, but on their Facebook page wrote that it was a crock of shit: they hadn’t copied from that person, and the fact that the mod hadn’t offered any proof of it was suspicious enough. The mod saw that Facebook post, sent them a DM with nothing but insults, and then banned them permanently because they had been rude to the administration;

An author posted a story, and two other users plagiarized it. The author reported both stories and waited a week for the mods to send them a DM telling them to screenshot all the passages that had been copied and put them all in a document because they didn’t have time to read three different stories. Although the author complied, they wrote a post complaining about this lousy job on Facebook. The post caught the eye of another moderator who blocked their account and told them they wouldn’t have had access to the site unless they apologized to the entire team of mods, to the users they had accused of plagiarizing their story, and took down the Facebook post. In the meanwhile, the first mod was caught chatting with one of the two other users on the forum. The author didn’t back down for another two weeks, when the headmistress of the site herself showed up and told them she would’ve been the one to take care of the question. In the end, although it was clear that the two users had copied the author’s story, the author still received nasty and threatening messages from the entire mod team because of that Facebook post, to the point that they decided to delete their stories and their account altogether and move to another platform.

This is what happens with mods that are always asked to answer to reports and to take care of stories personally: authors are not protected against anything unless they are big enough to be an attraction people subscribe to the platform for. Fics with “moral backbone” issues were left up if they had the views and the comments for it.

And the readers? Well, the readers used to get the short end of the stick too, as those sites didn’t have a tag system and there wasn’t a way for them to know if a story contained something they didn’t like to read about, nor a way for them to “obscure” the ones that did. Finding specific things was a mess too.

This to say: you need to curate your own fandom experience. You are in charge of what you read, and it’s not my place to take care of the children and make sure that everything they put their saintly eyes upon is wholesome. Ao3 is the only platforms that allows the readers to have an absolutely complete control of what they consume and that allows the writers to warn the readers of every single issue their story can contain that might trouble them. Learn to curate your own fandom experience, rather than spending your time whining about “moral issues” and “think of the children”, coming up with ideas that are simply not doable on a massive site like Ao3.

[dendrite-blues]

Fluff, and Why it Triggers Me

Odd start, isn’t it? I bet most people reading this are like “whaaat?”

Which....fair. I know it’s weird. I didn’t have an explanation either, for the longest time. Like 15 years. Seriously.

I just knew that fluff fics made me irrationally sad, angry, and lonely.

I avoided these stories so hard that I left whole discord servers just to get away from them. I developed aggression and frustration with the people who posted about it. I starting getting annoyed just by looking at the prompts channel because it was most often used by the fluff mongers. It’s super unhealthy.

But that begs a really obvious and hard to answer question:

How the fuck could fluff—a genre explicitly about heaping the reader in good feelings—be triggering?

Well that really gets to the heart of trauma and the ways it warps cognition, particularly childhood trauma. If you’d like to see me unpack that trauma, keep reading. Otherwise, have a nice day. :)

We learn to process the world through our parent’s eyes, so when our parents are not good blueprints we end up with some whack ass mental hallways and trapdoors to the haunted basement that healthy people just don’t have. 

For instance:

Fluff-->feelings of comfort, love, support, acceptance Angst-->feelings of hurt, sadness, fear, loneliness, depression

But when I read fluff the story doesn’t have that intended effect on me. I actually feel most of the words listed after angst when I read fluff. And vice versa, reading angst makes me feel seen, validated, comforted, and like I’m not alone.

Having given the matter lots and LOTS of thought, I can finally articulate why.

Because when I look back at my life and particularly my childhood I cannot remember a single specific incident in which I was given comfort or support when I needed it. (God and I’m tearing up just typing that out, fuck’s sake.)

My parents were not outright abusive. They were wealthy, they gave me the best clothes, food, toys, and education money can buy, but they were utterly oblivious to the emotional needs of a child. If I cried I was given a toy or food or told to stop complaining when I had it so good. 

Any negative emotions were treated as an aberration, and when someone broke down in our house it was seen as a display of that person’s weakness, or laziness, or lack of gratitude for the riches we had been blessed with.

To my parents happiness was the natural state of a person, and being unhappy meant you must have done something wrong, or you must be broken in some way. 

Receiving comfort or support required you to first prove that you were entirely the victim, because otherwise your pain and hurt would be answered with a lecture about how you deserve whatever happened because of X, Y, and Z.

The worst part is that my parents are exceptionally logical, orderly people and so most of the time they had very coherent, rational reasons behind their painting of you as a bad person who caused your own problem. It’s a very insidious kind of message that leads you to punishing yourself in their stead, since you leave totally convinced of your own culpability and badness.

My family has two children, me and my sister. I think it’s pretty telling how we turned out because we really are the two most natural responses to growing up in this kind of environment.

I am a hyper competent perfectionist who cannot handle even the slightest insinuation of critique. She is a pathological victim who seems allergic to success and accountability.

When negative emotions are a punishment for wrong doing there are only two ways you can respond. 

Either you eliminate failure and unhappiness from your life so that you do not need support—me.

Or you focus all of your energy on deflecting blame to others so that you can present yourself to your parent as a helpless victim and receive the emotional support that you need—my sister.

But this post is about fluff so let’s get back to that.

Why does fluff trigger me?

Because it confronts me with how healthy people respond to a loved one in pain, and in the course of witnessing that freely given love, I am subconsciously told/reminded of how my ‘loved ones’ failed to do that.

It’s not a conscious thing, as I said at the beginning I went 15 years without ever making this connection. I just knew that flew filled me to the brim with resentment, disgust, discomfort, and anger.

And all of these feelings happen because on some level, my soul is hurting. It’s hurting so bad because I know that I deserved that. 

I know that I deserved to be the protagonist of a fluff fic when I came out. I know I deserved that when my busted wrist killed my illustration career. I know I deserved that when I failed to finish my Masters degree. I know I deserved that when my film work dried up and I lost everything. I know I deserve that now, for no reason other than because I’m sad and doing nothing in particular with my life.

And I wasn’t.

Not because my parents didn’t offer me comfort, but because I learned to never offer myself comfort. I learned to regard my own pain as a weakness, and my desire for support as a character flaw. I learn to hate and resent that weakness inside me, and to project that hate bitterly onto other people who were capable of being comforted and were capable of enjoying soft, fluffy stories. 

Because we humans never want to think that we are the broken ones. It’s too scary. Too much cognitive dissonance. It’s easier to think that everyone else is just stupid or weak or shamefully self indulgent in their reading habits.

But that’s not true, and thinking in that way certainly isn’t healthy for me. In fact it works against my recovery to regard stories about healthy coping/relationships with distain and resentment.

So I’m making the effort from now on to retrain myself, and to unpack all of those emotions I denied myself. To—as some psychologists say—re-parent my inner child.

I might never be a fluff fanatic, and I certainly am not going to stop enjoying angst. I will always love hurt/comfort (or ‘earned comfort’ as I’ve started calling it, to remind myself of why I conveniently allowed myself to enjoy this genre even though it is basically the same as fluff). But from now on I’m not going to let myself look down my nose as fluff and fluff readers. 

I’m going to take those negative feelings and ask myself, “Why do I hate this?”

Is it because fluff is stupid, shallow, annoying, and pointless? Or is because I’ve been conditioned to see love and comfort as things I’m not allowed to want, and that I am weak for wanting?

I’m not sure if anyone else has this reaction to fluff. I know that it’s without a doubt the most popular genre in every single ship tag ever. I know that I have felt freakish and deformed for disliking it because it was so overwhelmingly popular and so universally regarded as harmless and pure and good.

I don’t know if I’m the only one, but if I’m not then I hope this helps the one other person with this problem. I hope it helps you in your recovery, and that it makes you feel seen.

Pull out your inner child, and give them a hug from me. Because we’ve both been deprived of things every single human being needs, and that’s a wound that nobody deserves to carry into adulthood.

[blu-joons]

DAD NCT A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Yuta Nakamoto

A ⇴ AFFECTION

He was cuddly before your pregnancy, but during Yuta will not be able to get enough of you. He loves to hold you close and remind you how amazing you look, especially when you’re feeling a little insecure about the way that your body is changing.

B ⇴ BUMP

Yuta knows that your bump is something you fret about a lot, so he’ll always try his hardest to make you feel as confident as you can with it. His hands would often be around it whilst he whispers into your ear to try and make you feel better about yourself and realise what an incredible thing your body is growing as you continue to grow your child inside of your bump.

C ⇴ CRAVINGS

You’d often try and sneak into the kitchen when Yuta wasn’t paying attention when you were craving something. He’d often wake up and see the other side of the bed empty, knowing exactly where you were. When he turned the kitchen light on, he’d always let go of a laugh as he usually found you tucking into a tub of ice cream on the floor besides the freezer.

D ⇴ DUE DATE

His main priority as your due date neared was making sure that you felt no pressure at all. Yuta knew that your due date was an estimate, but your labour could begin before or after it too, and so he’d try not to focus too much on the day himself. Instead, he’d keep himself much more alert a few days before, and if needed, a few days after too so that he was right there with you whenever the time came, and nice and composed too.

E ⇴ EMOTIONS

Throughout your pregnancy, Yuta was sure that he’d experienced just about every emotion that was possible. Some days his smile would be wide with excitement, other times he’d be a bit more concerned and worried about was to come. He never really knew how he was feeling for most of your pregnancy, it all felt like a slightly surreal dream for him most of the time, struggling to believe that it was actually happening.

F ⇴ FAMILY

Being away from home, the two of you were very much in the journey together and relying on one another throughout all of the ups and downs. The two of you had many emotional nights when things began to feel like they were getting too much, knowing that you didn’t have your family down the road or in the city like many other couples did, and most of all the support that you knew many other couples were so grateful for.

G ⇴ GENDER

There was no way Yuta could get to the end of your pregnancy without knowing what you were having. He was far too excited to know, and also keen to plan a theme for your nursery, and your baby shower too. When you found out you were having a girl, ideas swirled around his head immediately for things that you could do.

H ⇴ HEARTBEAT

You ended up receiving a gift from Johnny that would allow you to hear the beat of your baby’s heart in an instant, which Yuta ended up using most days. He’d appear most evenings with the equipment in hand and a wide smile on his face, silently letting you know what he wanted to do whilst you relaxed.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

During those tougher times when you were struggling, you both made sure to remind each other that you loved one another. Perhaps it was the heightened emotions that you both were feeling, but you always made sure to remind one another that you were in this together and totally supporting each other too.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

You both often got jealous of other couples that you met at classes and appointments who bragged about having their families around. Although you both understood that it was the direction that life had taken you in, you still often had to smile through the pain of listening to other’s stories and pretend to be excited for them, when really all the two of you wanted was to be able to experience those kinds of moments for yourselves.

K ⇴ KICKS

Any time Yuta felt your baby kick at night, he would wake up instantly. His eyes would immediately flicker to you, usually ending up relieved to see that you were still asleep, but if you were wide awake, then he’d lay up with you and feel the kicks against your stomach until they stopped, and you were able to sleep again.

L ⇴ LABOUR

You were terrified of labour, and so Yuta decided to organise the best surprise that he could for you to make you feel more at ease. He managed to get your parents to fly across so that they could be in Seoul for when your baby arrived, and most importantly, you could have your mum with you to ease your nerves as only a mum could before your labour, and during too, with Yuta supporting you at your other side as well.

M ⇴ MORNING SICKNESS

More than anything Yuta wished that he could switch positions with you whenever you were sick. He knew just how much you hated such things, and how horrible you felt whilst you were being sick too. Whilst he would always try and comfort you the best that he could, it always still left you feeling pretty gross after.

N ⇴ NURSERY

Yuta took complete control when it came to your nursery, he didn’t let you take a look at it at all until it was done and he was completely satisfied with what he had done and the beautiful theme he’d created too.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He was obsessed with your figure, even if you didn’t feel as confident in your own skin anymore, Yuta loved to see how your body changed and made sure to appreciate everything that it did every single day.

P ⇴ POST BIRTH

The day after your labour Yuta’s family arrived too, finally creating the network you’d both dreamt of. The two of you were very much in a bubble with those around you for the first few days and having your baby with you too was the icing on top of the cake in completing everything that you’d wanted for nine months.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Knowing that the two of you were going through this all alone, a lot of staff at the company would often message and see if there was anything that they could do for the two of you or offer time off to Yuta if he felt that he needed to be at home with you.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Yuta loved to give little updates to the fans on fan cafes and let them know how you were getting on. He loved to mess around with them too, giving them the chance to guess the gender or try and predict what name the two of you would come up with, often taking a little inspiration from the suggestions that came in too.

S ⇴ SCANS

Your appointments were usually the time when you’d see Yuta at his most emotional. No matter how many times he got to see your baby on the sonograph, it would still make his eyes watery and his smile wide. You’d often be beside him, reminding him that there were tissues in your bag if he felt like he needed to use them.

T ⇴ TEST

It was Yuta who came home with a test one day when you’d been complaining about feeling under the weather for a few days. At the time it was just precaution, with neither of you thinking that it would actually come out as positive.

U ⇴ ULTRASOUND

Yuta always made sure he was with you for every appointment, the company were incredibly accommodating in giving him all of the time that he needed.

V ⇴ VISITS

Your parents both stayed with you at home when they arrived in Seoul, and so they became your permanent visitors. They were constantly there helping with whatever was needed whilst also making sure to dote on your little one.

W ⇴ WAITING

There were definitely moments in your pregnancy when Yuta would barely be able to contain himself, keen for your baby to arrive as soon as possible.

X ⇴ XXXX

When you were feeling a little insecure, Yuta would always try and reassure you with a fluttering of kisses around your baby bump to remind you how amazing your body was and how amazing he thought your bump looked too.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were Yuta’s teammate, the two of you were very much on the journey together.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

Yuta couldn’t remember the last time he got a full night’s sleep whilst you were pregnant, he was often more awake than you were, stirring at even the slightest of movements out of fear that something might not be right.

---

Masterlist

[burnedbyshoto]

Toyomitsu Taishiro (Fatgum) - HC

a/n: so I realized just how indepth these things really are, so scheduling I had is a joke, but whateva! happy four months lovlies :D

SFW:

A = Affection (How affectionate are they with an s/o?)

HE IS A BIG PHAT LIVING TEDDY BEAR DO YOU UNDERSTAND??? HE IS AS AFFECTIONATE AS YOU WILL LET HIM BE!!!!!!!!

B = Breath (What could their s/o do to take their breath away?)

If you, his s/o, ever learned how to make takoyaki. You don’t even have to be an amazing chef, this small act of cooking his favorite food will make him worship the ground you stand on (as if he wasn’t already doing that!)

C = Cuddling (Do they cuddle? If they do, how and when do they cuddle?)

You know those huge fluffy stuffed animals you wanted as a kid and you’d just lay on top of their big poofy stomach and just hold on because you were living the life??? That’s cuddling with Taishiro and you can’t convince me otherwise. Also, he loves it when you do it??? It just makes him feel super amazing???

D = Dream (What do they dream of doing with their s/o?)

He would love to open a poor kitchen with you. The two of you are that couple that everyone respects because of how kind and generous you are, and this kitchen would mean so much to those in the community that needs it.

E = Effort (How much effort do they put into a relationship?)

He’s very busy as a hero, and most nights he is very tired, but he will always dedicate his free day to you. Of course, it’s surrounded with errands, but just being with you is enough. He puts as much effort into his relationship with you as he can.

F = Fear (What do they do if their s/o is scared? How do they handle it?)

He will give you his hero hoodie. The soft and warm extremely large fabric of the jacket drowns you, but also makes you feel safe. He’ll wait for you to want his physical help, but for now, take the hoodie.

G = Gifts (What type of gifts do they give their s/o? Do they want a gift in return?)

Taishiro is the boyfriend who buys the rose from the local flower shop and brings it back with him on his way home. He gives you little gifts that make you smile, not really into really big and extravagant gifts unless the occasion calls for it. He enjoys the small things because you remember them just as well. He never expects a gift back and is genuinely shocked whenever you bring something home for him.

H = Hugs (Do they hug their s/o? How often?)

He is a big hugger. He will hug you more than kiss you, not even going to lie about it, but you enjoy it. Taishiro is an amazing hugger and it makes you feel safe, soft and warm.

I = Intimacy (How romantic are they? Do they have problems with intimacy?)

He is a huge romantic and is never ever afraid to demonstrate that to you or anyone. Never misses an important date, always texts you happy anniversary! Even month 18 he will send a heartwarming message as if it was a huge one!

J = Jealous (Do they get jealous? How do they act when jealous?)

He’s a bit of a jealous man because you are amazing. Of course, this jealousy doesn’t drive him to do anything, but he knows that many men scoff at him because he is in his large form! But he never fights anyone unless provoked into a fight; instead, he just glares at them which is super scary because he’s typically such an easygoing man.

K = Kiss (Are they a good kisser? Do they like to kiss? How often do they try to kiss you?)

He is a good kisser!!! His lips are never chapped, and he loves peppering kisses all over your face!!!!!!! He loves kissing you and will kiss you as often as you want him too.

L = Love (When do they say they love you? How often do they say it? Do they prefer to say or show it?)

He says “i love you” at a year. He fells it well before, but he felt that those words hold a lot of meaning, and he wants to express these genuine feelings to you at a special moment in your relationship because you mean the world to him. Afterward, he will continue saying it every day. If he had to choose between expressing it or saying, he would always show it.

M = Marriage (Do they want to get married? If so, what kind of ceremony?)

He wants to marry you, for sure! The ceremony would be small and intimate with only people the two of you love going!

N = Night out (What type of dates do they like to go on? How often do they like to go on them?)

You two visit a lot of restaurants together! Cooking classes!!!! Weekend trips to some taste-testing place!!!! wALKS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY?!?!?!!? They happen every week.

O = Out of the Ordinary (What’s something they don’t normally do with/for their s/o?)

He will not change his form for you. If you prefer FitGum over him, he won’t ever change himself.

P =Playful (Are they playful in a relationship? If so, how do they play around/mess with their s/o?)

He’s actually a very serious lover. Don’t let the wide grin and pleasant personality fool you. He is very very serious, that’s not to say he won’t play around with you or not joke around, but he likes being as straightforward and clear as he can be.

Q = Questions (Do they ask their s/o their opinion on things? Do they share theirs?)

He will ask for your opinion on things, he wants to hear your thoughts because he respects your input and ideas. He is also a very open and honest person; he shares his opinions even if they contradict your own.

R = Random (How spontaneous is their relationship? Do they do things on the spot or plan ahead?)

He’s not predictable but also not spontaneous. Like, you expect things from him because he’s a very routine guy, but he still manages to make every single routine something new for you.

S = Sleep (How do they sleep with their s/o?)

You can sleep on top of his belly, he loves it and he doesn’t move in his sleep so it works out! It also makes sharing the blankets easy!

T = Trust (How much do they trust their s/o?)

Taishiro trusts you completely. He never doubts what you say, and even if he thinks you’re lying he trusts you’ll come around and tell him the truth eventually.

U = Unique (What makes them unique as an s/o?)

His compliments. I know, compliments aren’t special or anything new, but there’s something so strangely different, so warming about the way he compliments you. It strikes your soul and warms you up whenever he praises you. You may not have a praise kink, but maybe you do now.

V = Vulnerable (How long until they can be vulnerable around their s/o? What are they like in this state?)

Taishiro actually really really hates being vulnerable in front of you. As a hero, he thinks that it isn’t correct for him to be breaking at the seams. But, when he has to be, it can be at any point because hero work is so fucking exhausting… he’s just… sad. The smile on his face is shakey, his appetite is gone, he’s a shell of who he is, and you both don’t like it.

W = Wild Card (Get a random domestic headcanon of the character of your choice)

Taishiro and you have a long-running game of throwing food into each other’s mouths in the most creative ways possible. The best one so far was when he threw a takoyaki from his stomach hundreds of meters into the sky and you caught it. LEGENDS ONLY!!!!

X = X-Ray (What would they do if their s/o got injured?)

He will cater to you without even blinking an eye. Taishiro will overfeed you because you need the energy to heal! He will giVE YOU HIS JACKET AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO WEAR IT OKAY

Y = Yuck (Do they have any pet peeves about their s/o? Are there any habits that might bother their s/o?)

Super picky eaters. Now now, i know there are picky eaters out there, but i’m talking about picky eaters who won’t let him try any new foods. No, he does not care if you only want chicken tenders for the rest of your life, but if you won’t let him try a new restaurant because they don’t have anything it does bug him.

Z = Zeal (Are they passionate as an s/o? Do they want or like passion?)

He is a super intimate and passionate lover!!! He will try his best with what he has to give to you, and he loves it when you return it to him on every level.

NSFW:

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He lays there for a while, trying to capture his breath again. When he gets up, he always makes the two of you tea, and he returns with some food and whatever you need.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His favorite feature is his legs, they’re just super strong and goddamn do you look hot as fuck when you’re sitting on his lap. His favorite body part on you is your mouth. Your pretty little mouth that can suck him off, kiss him like no one else, and whisper the most sinful things in his ear… yeah, he loves your mouth.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

His cum is… a weird taste. He has a good appetite, but he does sometimes eat questionable things, and it… is evident. But he loves watching you swallow his thin yet full load.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He has kept a pair of your candy panties that he didn’t get to finish and ate it in public one day because he was able to pass it off as a candy bracelet… you don’t know that though...

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He is actually not that experienced... unfortunately most people see his fat form and scoff at him because of that, even if he is a kind man. Having sex with these women was especially hard, and since he was busy for a long time he never let it bother him, but he was sort of a natural. He knows how to move his body.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

The standing pretzel (this one is fucking amazing btw) and loves fucking you when you’re on a swing.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He is more serious in bed, but will always be smiling. It’s passionate and meaningful to him, so he tries to avoid joking around. But if you’re into it, he doesn’t mind. 

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

It’s surprising very well-groomed. Almost to the point where it’s shaved off completely. (it’s for less friction with his hero costume)

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Loves to be super intimate and romantic. He is the kind of guy to hide flowers in the room and present them to you after fucking when you’re about to pass out.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t masturbate often. When he does, it happens more typically in the shower because he thinks you can’t hear him… you can… every time

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

FOOD PLAY FOOD PLAY FOOD PLAY!!!! Hairpulling, thigh-riding, overstimulating (giving), and blindfolds

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

In his office… oh my god, he loves bending you over his desk and making you come whenever you visit for lunch or something

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

You. in. a. candy. bra. and. panties. Also, just sending him a very small thirst text/provocative picture is gonna get you some Daddygum dick.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn-offs)

Anything with humiliation. Do not ask him to be FitGum for bed, he literally will ignore you for the rest of the week. There are times he comes back with his low BMI so if you want to seduce that very tired and drained hero, be his guest, but never ever ask for it.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Loves giving it more. But goddamn you just look so fucking delicious going down on him that he doesn’t mind when you beat him to oral.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Isn’t too slow isn’t too fast. It’s why sex with him is so exhausting because you’ll come twice in ten minutes but it’s such a painful yet pleasurable ten minutes.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Not into quickies unless he’s in the office, then, by all means, let’s make each other come in 3 minutes.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He is into experimenting as long as the two of you take it slow while introducing it into the bedroom. Like, don’t dial it up to 15 until you both are comfortable.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He can last a few healthy rounds but nothing more than four rounds in one night.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He owns a fair share of toys that he much would rather use on you. Like he bought you a vibrator that does it’s job fucking right.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Will never ever say he likes to tease, but he’s a natural fucking tease and just isn’t aware. He will be fucking you at such a slow pace, his words teasing promises as he makes sure you can’t fuck him any faster. He’s a goddamn tease okay.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s quite vocal. He thinks words are very powerful and so will make sure he praises your every damn move if he must.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Really really really fucking loves being called hero in bed. He takes so much pride in his work that hearing it being slipped from your mouth… big phat nut.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He’s a big dick daddy. There’s no way he isn’t. Like nine inches with a considerable girth to it. Not veiny though, pinker than the rest of his body, and has a leftward curve.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

He has a good sex drive… oh yeah, he can push himself to stay up every night to fuck you if needed.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterward)

Having sex really reenergizes him! He will definitely go finish up with last minute things afterward if you don’t fall asleep/want to cuddle.