#because they give him that environment where he can grow as a person and learn what it means to be kind and to love

[midnights-dragon]

people getting angry when abuse victims relate to billy hargove and sympathize with him because abused children who are never out from under their abusers thumb will lash out and be angry as a fear response since that’s all they’ve ever known is WILD

[moonilit]

having so much emotions over Jote and Joshua I can’t even articulate, like

[ave661]

Hiiiiiii 👋😙

With all the lovely dad!Ghost renders you graced us with, can i ask if you have any headcanons for them? Can never get enough of Ghost having a family he never got to have as a kid. I just wanna hug him frfr okay I'm done babbling 😭🫶🫶🤍

Helloooo! ♥ Ok, so this is interesting ask! Some of my renders are random, but some have a story

Simon forgot to take off his balaclava. Child saw it on him and by the time he realized, it was already too late. He expected baby to cry, be afraid of him and not recognize their dad, but when they didn't and even got interested, he got emotional. Maybe he realized that Ghost wasn't just a soldier and even he became a father - not just Simon.

He wanted to introduce his baby to "Ghost". Wants little one not to be afraid of him and to know what their father does for a living

I imagine him as a dad who likes to chill with his kid in living room. Maybe he turns something on TV and waits for them to fall asleep, and when they do, he closes his eyes for a moment and eventually they both end up snoring

Riley's first introduction to his baby. Simon was afraid of dog's reaction, but baby wanted to give Riley a toy. They definitely liked each other and became friends.

These are either before or after mission - last hug or a warm hello. Maybe his partner wanted to surprise him and came to the base with their baby to welcome him?

Now some of my random dad!Ghost canons! >.<

10000000000% girl dad

he certainly never planned to have children, due to his own traumas and dangerous job, so having them was by an accident for sure.

feeling first kick, seeing a baby bump or ultrasound made something "click" in him

once he becomes a father, he is overprotective and wants to provide child with a safe and calm environment, which he never had

delicate and distant at the beginning. He doesn't think he deserves a family, and if he does have one, he's afraid of losing it.

he is action and giving type of person. A new swing in the garden? Installed in a few hours. Repair a broken toy or paint walls in new color? Done. Take baby to the doctor? You can count on him at any time. This is his love language.

grumpy type with a dad humor. Always has a lame joke up his sleeve

at the same time, as the child grows up, he also learns what it means to show love for them as a father. So only with time he starts to feel comfortable hugging his baby, playing with them, etc.

once he gets it, oh boy, he throws this kid all over the place while playing. Yes, he is the type of father who throws his child on the mattress and pretends to play WWE

have you seen this photo of Chris Hemsworth where he holds his kid by leg on a beach? Yes, this is Simon

or wraps them up like a burrito in a blanket and watch them struggle with smile on his face. The best way to tire them out, so it's a win for everyone if they fall asleep faster!

but he also likes to watch cartoons with them and cuddle (falls asleep after a few minutes)

he does THIS a lot

his kid/s definitely color his tattoos. And no, he doesn't wash them off. He's very proud of them. Definitely shows them to Soap.

seeing blood during a mission in his life was nothing compared to changing baby's diaper. Avoids it like the plague.

definitely did a fake tea party once. Little plastic chair broke under his weight.

has a lot of vids and pics on his phone of every possible situation of what his child is doing - sleeps, eats, talks, plays, smiles.... Once in a while shows them to 141

but he definitely likes photos where baby is sleeping the most. Because then he sees their calm expression and it gives him a sense of peace and fulfillment

[zahri-melitor]

In terms of trying to transplant how Dick’s generation grew up to independent adult heroes onto Tim’s generation, one of the significant issues is that the two groups have very different backstories.

The Fab Five and their generation were largely cared for children with present guardians during their teen years. Their ‘growing up’ rebellion moments were about wanting to establish their own identities separate to their parent/guardian. Then once NTT occurred and new young adult characters were added to it, you had a bunch who were escaping overbearing guardians with expectations the young adult didn’t want to fulfil, and leaving trauma behind.

The Core Four and other 90s heroes, in contrast, were mostly latchkey kids. They had loving but absent parents and parental figures. They were largely expected to grow up and show they were independent in their early teens. The arcs of their stories were not about growing up and finding themselves and ‘be your own person’, but about learning to trust others and interdependency and working together.

Like the shape of a Fab Five story is ‘in my preteens or earlier a Disaster Happened and I was taken in by a hero who cared for me and taught me the business as their sidekick. Then around 18-20 I moved out to live in a sharehouse with my friends as I wanted to find who I was outside of the shadow of being a sidekick’.

While…Tim’s generation largely aren’t sidekicks in the same sense. The shape of THEIR stories are of ‘teenager with largely absent adults is expected to grow up and show emotional maturity too early’. It’s actually notable that Tim, Kon and Bart all have long term story arcs that involve gaining a stable household right near the end.

Kon’s entire solo is the story of how he is neglected and exploited by every adult around him. He doesn’t have parents. He’s Peter Pan, the little boy who cannot grow up, who lives without parental expectation. He’s a celebrity kid exploited by Rex Leech and by CADMUS, who’s expected by those around him to act in an adult manner and held to that standard while simultaneously specifically being underage and not having the right to make his own decisions. His final arc in Superboy is about being so abandoned he doesn’t even have CADMUS to depend on anymore so he has to find an apartment and a job (the building superintendent) and is expected to act and function like an adult in that position. Superboy #59 (FIFTY NINE) is when Kon finally gets his own name. Superboy #100 is ABOUT Kon moving in with Jonathan and Martha Kent and finally having a stable home environment where he can be a child. Heck Kon’s already had a story where he’s ‘married’ and responsible for a kid. He’s had solo space adventures.

Bart’s solo is about Bart and Max learning to be a family together, but also: Bart’s childhood didn’t contain parents. Meloni turns up occasionally through his solo and loves him but also has to disappear away back to the 30th century at the end of each appearance. The final arc of Bart’s solo is about him moving in with Jay and Joan Garrick for more stability, because Max has disappeared (and stays disappeared). And then, post his solo, Bart even already has HAD an arc where he had to grow up and assume the Flash mantle (which went horribly wrong and led to his death).

Tim? Tim’s entire solo is about upheaval and change. The first time he’s expected to behave as an independent hero, not a sidekick, is literally Robin #1 when Azbats kicks him out of the Cave. Jack threatens to send him away to boarding school on multiple occasions and DOES for the Brentwood arc. He loses Jack, he loses Dana, he moves out to be a hero caring for his own city at 16, in Bludhaven post War Games. Bruce’s adoption of Tim was all about giving him back that sense of stability and support so that Tim had people backing him up again in his personal life and not only as a hero. And then he does the ‘leave and get a new identity’ thing during Red Robin.

And Cassie? Cassie starts with a loving mother and her story arc over becoming a hero is about periods of operating on her own. She moves away from her mum to go to Elias School. Due to operating as a hero under her own name she eventually has to come up with the alias of Drusilla Priam to give herself a non-public identity to retreat to (and isn’t living with Helena Sandsmark but renting on her own during this period to protect Helena).

This is a set of characters for whom it makes no narrative sense to tell a story of them growing up by ‘moving out and finding their own identity as separate heroes’ because their entire PAST is about being alone and looking for connections and people to rely upon. They haven’t been looking for their mentors to accept them as independent adults, they’ve been looking to their mentors to be present and work with them.

They have already all BEEN through the steps of moving out (while underage) and learning to look after themselves as nobody else was there to support them. Growing up for them is about learning to trust and be respected for the skills they already have and trusted to know what they’re doing, rather than leaving to show they can operate independently.

And that’s a harder narrative to show, because it’s a less common growth story in our culture. But in the Core Four’s case, I’d argue a lot of the traditional signifiers of adulthood (moving out; moving away for education; taking responsibility for a city on their own; travelling for quests) are things they were already expected to do while still significantly underage, and so sending them through that plot again isn’t showing anything new to allow them growth. What they need is the adults around them to treat them as adults for the things they already can and do do.

[lotus-pear]

Can we stop acting like dazai was the devil. Like yes he did bad things but he was a child. He was 15 alone and in the mafia where althe was told to do was bad things. ALL dazai knew how to do is lie and deceive because it what he's always had to do.it's self preservation. Like??? When will people realize dazai wasn't a monster and was justa child brought up in an Unsafe and abusive environment. Behaviors are learned your aren't born with them. Dazai was a suicidal child just trying to survive all'he knew was manipulation and Iying because that's all he was taught. He abused akutagawa because that's all he was taught. And as he got older it's all he knows how to do. Obviously he's gotten better but he's still morally grey. And that's ok but it's not enough to call him a monster. hes trying so so hard to change, and even if he may not realise it or cling guiltily to his past, the entire prison arc shows how much effort hes put in to become a better person it isnt easy, growing up exposed to death/violence resulting in empathy and apathy issues, all while battling an emptiness inside thats slowly eating up ones will to live. hes genuinely trying to recover from that period of his life, and i cannot express how proud i am solely because of that. hes finally found a healthy environment, a family, and he deserves it along with so much more. he may be deemed as a “monster“ in the past, that cannot be erased, but he hates that part about himself too. being in the good or bad used to make no difference to him, but i strongly believe it does hate that part of him.  Dazai slander are fún and everything - BUT people seem to not get his character right. No, he's not an edgy boy. He genuinely wants to change for the best to make Oda proud, 'BUT HE ABUSED AKUTAGAWA’ , yeah, Akutagawa abused Kyoka and nobody is talking about how its litterally GENERATIONAL TRAUMA. Dazal was never raised correctly, he got raised by Mori and used by him to make him his right hand, maybe because of his ability, or he saw potential in him. He never fell parental Love nor being special to Someone except for Oda. "He LEFT Chuuya!!!“ ok and? Chuuya doesn't need him to live: Dazai LITTERALLY SAW PEOPLE GETTING KILLED/KILLING THEM ON THE DAILEY (AND HE WITNISSED ODAS DEATH - THE ONLY PERSON THAT MADE HIM WANT TO CHANGE.) his eyes at the age of 14, and Mori made him live in a shipping container. Obviously he is not gonna feel human after all this.

And about him and chuuya - the thing is they DO CARE ABOUT EACHOTHER. but nobody seems to care about chuuya other than the fact hes hot asf anf the fact that he is ’super mega gay for dazai 🥺🥺🥺’ because are we reading/watching the same series???? There’s SO MUCH to his character too!!!! But all everyone talks about with him is with dazai, chuuyas character is CRAZY WELL WRITTEN and everyone dumbs it down to ‘he’s an angry short boy with a god inside him and he’s mega gay for dazai and he’s also really hot’ like no - stfu he’s not actually super hot headed and it’s CANNON he’s usually pretty calm and collected. On the other side of the coin is that dazai DOES care about him - in Stormbringer ; Dazai literally willing gave Chuuya an option to either use corruption on Verlaine when he used his true form or to retreat and not do it, which gave a sense of Dazai giving Chuuya the choice to do what he wants without forcing him to, and the fact that when Chuuya used corruption, he was being injured badly to the point where Abahabaki was going to destroy Chuuya which FREAKED DAZAI OUT , and the fact that Dazai certainly believes that Chuuya is human shows that Dazai does care about Chuuya in certain ways without showing due to afraid of losing someone he cares about. and In age 15 Dazai, was willing to help Chuuya to find Abahabaki and defeat Rimbaud, along with stormbringer with him helping Chuuya to find out if he's human or not and to defeat Verlaine.

Ty for reading my rant 💞💞💞💞

i can't tell if this is attacking me or just a rant in general but anyway YESSSSS I 100% AGREE YOU ATE W THAT ANALYSIS BRIAR‼️‼️

[hannyoontify]

the best birthday gift - jeon wonwoo

member | best friend!wonwoo x reader ft. the rest of svt

genre | fluff, attempted humor, high school!au (but they’re not at school)

word count | 2.8k

synopsis | it turns out, wonwoo works best under pressure

warnings | cursing, reader wears a tank top, reader is short and gets made fun of for it (lightheartedly), sex jokes, friendly bantering

notes | set in southern california, LA/Hollywood, based on real life events from yours truly and kids don’t jaywalk not proofread

happy (late) wonwoo day!! to the sweetest boy ever, i hope you had a wonderful birthday <33

Whoever thought taking public transportation with fourteen people to downtown LA was a good idea deserved to “be buried alive 6 feet under with those bug-eyed Chihuahuas”, according to Seungkwan. 

In his defense, Seungcheol thought it would be better for the environment. It totally wasn’t because of the fact that he was the only one with a driving license and it absolutely wasn’t because he wasn’t confident enough in his driving skills to be responsible for the lives of thirteen other people. Where would he get a 14-seat car anyway? 

All fourteen of you trudged along the cracked sidewalks of downtown LA, broken up into smaller groups as Seungcheol led the way in the front with Jeonghan and Jihoon. You stayed in the back, with Mingyu and Wonwoo, who were intensely debating whether or not a person can suck their own dick. You occasionally pitched in with your two cents, but you mostly stayed quietly in the middle, enjoying the spectacle that was laid out in front of you.

You were so engrossed in Mingyu and Wonwoo’s conversation that you almost ran straight into a streetlight. You yelled in surprise and Wonwoo barked out a sharp laugh, almost in tears as you rubbed your nose with a pout. Mingyu cracked a smile as you threatened to demonstrate firsthand to your best friend what you learned from your second grade taekwondo class. 

“You don’t wanna mess with me, Jeon Wonwoo. I was a yellow belt in second grade.”

“Yeah, and I’m, like, a whole head taller than you. What about it?” Mingyu’s ears perked up at hearing those fighting words and reached for his leftover popcorn from earlier. It was safe to assume that Wonwoo chose death today.

“You know, with your height and broad shoulders, you would think there’s at least one bone with common sense in you but I guess not,” you countered.

“You do know that tall people have the same amount of bones as short people like you, right?” Wonwoo sneered. 

You did a double take. “Wait, really?”

“Oh my god, [Name], what’d you learn in human anatomy?” Joshua asked. He was standing next to Mingyu, his hand reaching into Mingyu’s bucket of soggy popcorn. “I thought you passed that class with an A.”

“Yeah, with my help,” Wonwoo muttered under his breath. “They slept in class everyday and I ended up having to tutor them for 16 hours the day before our final.”

You swung your arm around his shoulder and grinned. “I still owe you for that one, how can I ever repay you for your kindness?” You asked dramatically.

Wonwoo reached over and pinched the side of your ribs. “How about growing another couple inches?”

“Fuck off,” You pushed him away from you and stuck out your tongue. In retaliation, Wonwoo flipped you off. 

Mingyu and Joshua watched the two of you bickering in amusement. The older boy leaned over and whispered into Mingyu’s ear, “I give them two weeks before they either start dating or fucking, I don’t know which one yet.”

Mingyu snorted. “I give them three days.”

“It’s a deal then,” Joshua reached out and shook Mingyu’s hand with his non-buttery hand. Unfortunately for him, he had reached over and gripped the latter’s oily, buttery hand. “EW WHAT THE FUCK MINGYU.” 

“Why did we stop?” You heard Seungkwan ask. He was currently holding onto Soonyoung’s backpack strap like it was a leash, stopping him from running off into the wild streets of downtown LA. Next to him was Seokmin, who just looked happy to be wearing his newly acquired Minions bucket hat. 

After walking for what seemed like forever, Seungcheol had finally signaled the entire group to stop walking by an intersection. Mingyu glanced towards the front, where Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jihoon seemed to be in a heated discussion about something. Although you couldn’t hear what they were saying, you could tell they were getting stressed by Jihoon’s eyebrows that furrowed into each other with every passing second, Jeonghan’s more exasperated hand movements, and Seungcheol’s lips that began jutting into a pout as he got more and more worked up. 

You let out a tired sigh. Your feet were aching and sore, your shoulders were sunburnt and itchy, and you probably smelled like a mix of sweat and weed right now. It wasn’t you that was smoking weed, but the esteemed gentleman sitting next to you on the metro-rail earlier was and you’re pretty sure the smell was permanently woven into the fabric of your tank top. You shifted back and forth between your feet, trying to alleviate any weight and pressure off your feet for at least a second and Wonwoo seemed to notice this because he silently guided you to a nearby bench,

You spared him a quick glance. “Thanks, Woo. You should also sit.” 

“Short people tend to have a shorter life span. Compared to you, I have plenty of more time to sit down,” Wonwoo shook his head with faux sympathy, almost enough to convince you that he was being serious but you knew him better than that.

Despite being absolutely exhausted, you assumed you had enough strength left in you to give Wonwoo’s shin a good, hard kick. 

“Ow, what the fuck was that for?” Wonwoo complained and you just grinned.

“I hope you shrink.”

Wonwoo stuck his tongue out at you childishly and you just rolled your eyes with a giggle, momentarily forgetting about the hot, blaring sun and the impending sunburn on your shoulders. He glanced down at you with the ghost of a smile tugging on the corners of his lips and you felt your stomach erupt into butterflies. Your not-so-little crush on Wonwoo was old news, but no matter how much time you spent with him, his smile always managed to turn you into a messy pile of goo and butterflies. 

Waiting for further instructions, Wonwoo leaned on you, his arms resting on top of your head as he scrolled through his phone. You stared down at the ground, trying to ignore the warmth of Wonwoo’s body next to yours. If it was anyone else, you would’ve pushed them off already, complaining about how hot it was, but this was Wonwoo. 

You tried to use the breathing techniques Minghao taught you a while ago, but it didn’t help calm your fastly beating heart. You wiped your sweaty palms on the fabric of your pants and licked your chapped lips. You almost forgot how much you hated summer in southern California.

In an attempt to distract yourself, you thought back to the long day and how chaotic everything was from the start. All fourteen of you agreed to go to Universal Studios Hollywood for Wonwoo’s 17th birthday, and the morning was alright. You all made it to the theme park safely via public transportation and after a long, fun day, the group decided to head back home to catch the last train.

You guys missed the last train.

In Jun’s defense, he didn’t mean to get lost. He was busy trying to apply another layer of sunscreen and when he looked up, everyone else was gone. He wandered around the city for a while before he caught sight of Soonyoung’s bright tiger backpack (no one knows why none of them used their phones to contact each other). By the time all fourteen of you were reunited, the last train had already left, leaving you guys to take the cheaper, but much more sketchy metro-rail. 

After missing the original stop on the metro-rail, you guys had to ride back for another 20 minutes, then navigate the streets of downtown LA in the late afternoon heat to find a specific bus stop, leading to your current situation.

“Okay, everyone! Our bus is supposed to be here any second,” Seungcheol called out. Immediately, everyone’s focus seemed to snap to the three boys who were standing side by side, arms crossed and firm looks on their faces. “The bus station is diagonally across the intersection so we need to-”

Jeonghan, looking somewhere else, began to urgently tap on Seungcheol’s shoulder. “Cheol, that’s 460. That’s our bus.”

Seungcheol felt his blood run cold. Across the street, he saw a bright orange bus making its way down the street, pulling up to the bus station diagonally across from where he and the rest of his friends were currently standing. 

Everyone seemed to be under a trance as they stared at the run-down bus pull up to the station. Soonyoung was the first one to shake off the trance, breaking free from his beloved tiger backpack and leaving it in Seungkwan’s limp grip. He bolted across the street, ignoring all the different car honks and curses that were thrown at him. He had somehow made it not only across the street, but diagonally across the intersection, ending up on the same sidewalk as the bus station.

Soonyoung looked behind, expecting everyone else to be following him, only to see the rest of his friends staring at him dumbfoundedly.

“KWON SOONYOUNG WHAT THE FUCK?!” Seungcheol yelled. 

“I’M SORRY HYUNG I DON’T KNOW-”

Seungcheol waved at him urgently, doing everything in his power to resist the urge to run through the LA traffic to simply throttle the younger boy. “NO, DON’T FUCKING APOLOGIZE JUST STOP THE BUS.”

Soonyoung stared at Seungcheol with a confused look on his face. “WHAT?”

Finally breaking out of your own trance, you stood up and began pointing to the bus. “STOP THE FUCKING BUS. TELL THEM TO WAIT.”

Chan noticed that the crosswalk light turned green and began running. “COME ON WE NEED TO MOVE.”

My dear reader, have you ever seen a stampede of any kind? Whether it be the stampede of wildebeests that trampled Mufasa to death in the Lion King, the rush of high school students to the canteen during lunch, or thirteen teenagers running down the crooked streets of LA, I’m sure you can imagine the picture. Sweaty and red faces, backpack straps flying off shoulders, breathless laughs, unintelligible yells, and hands tightly gripping and tugging at each other.

More specifically, Wonwoo’s hand gripping yours. 

In the spur of the moment, the only thought in Wonwoo’s head was making sure you were safe. So when the rest of your friends broke into a sprint, his first instinct was to grab your hand and pull you along. 

Here you are now, your hand still in Wonwoo’s as you guys caught your breath while waiting for the second light to change. Soonyoung stood on the other side of the crosswalk as the living epitome of the standing emoji, waiting for someone to say something.

Seungkwan angrily shook his fist that still held his friend’s (tacky) tiger backpack. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GO STOP THE BUS!”

Soonyoung helplessly pointed towards the bus that had already left the station and was now waiting at a red light. “IT LEFT! IT’S TOO LATE!”

“GO! GO ASK THEM TO STOP. STALL THE DRIVER, JUST DO ANYTHING,” You screamed desperately. All around you, your friends were also yelling at Soonyoung, telling him to stop the bus and ask the driver to wait. 

Soonyoung finally gave in and ran back towards the bus that was still waiting at the red light. With every passing second, everyone inched closer to the edge of the curb, impatiently waiting for the light to change. And after what seemed like forever (it had been three minutes), the light finally changed and you made a run for it. Pushing past Jihoon and Vernon, you sprinted down the sidewalk with incoherent yells. You passed by other pedestrians who all looked at you and your friends questionably, and for good reason too. It wasn’t everyday you saw a group of teenagers running in downtown LA in the middle of July. 

There was maybe another hundred feet left in front of you and you’ve never felt more exhilarated before in your life. Adrenaline coursed through your veins as your feet made heavy contact with the gum clad concrete. You felt like you were in a teen movie. You could almost imagine the BGM as you and your friends dramatically run together in slow motion, your hair flowing in the air and you find yourself smiling. Wonwoo caught up to you, running by your side as the two of you silently sprinted down the street with bated breaths. 

Wonwoo glanced over at you and felt a warm feeling spreading throughout his chest. This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to him, but it amazed him how easily he was swept away by your charm every time he was in your presence. Your laugh always pulled at his heartstrings and your smile seemed to brighten up every room you entered. Wonwoo was drawn to you like a magnet and there was nothing he could do about it.

As the two of you got closer to the bus, Wonwoo suddenly had a thought. He reached for your hand and pulled you closer to him. 

“[Name],” Wonwoo started breathlessly. The bus was now less than fifty feet away and Soonyoung had successfully managed to convince the bus driver to wait for you and your friends. It was now or never. “You said you would get me anything for my birthday, right?”

You let out a strangled grunt, trying your hardest to not sound like you were fighting for your life after running for only five minutes because that was just simply embarrassing. Up ahead, Soonyoung had already made his way into the bus and found himself a comfortable seat in the back with a content smile. You slowed down as you approached the bus and breathlessly set down a foot on the front step of the vehicle.

Behind you, Wonwoo gently rested his hands on your hips and whispered into your ear, “How about a date?”

You felt your heart drop past your ass, your feet, and into the deepest, darkest pits of hell. Skinship was normal between your friend group, but this was different. And also, what the fuck did he just say? Were you slowly losing your hearing? Your mom was right, spending too much with Seokmin and Soonyoung did damage your ears-

Wonwoo let out a soft laugh behind you and almost as if he read your mind, “No, you’re not hearing things [Name]. This is me asking you out.”

You desperately needed someone to pinch you. 

Climbing onto the bus with a perplexed look on your face, you mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ to the bus driver who seemed a little less than happy to have a bunch of hooligans on his bus. Wonwoo’s big hands never left your waist as he guided you to an empty seat towards the back of the bus. You simply followed his lead as you tried to comprehend what your best friend just said. This was all probably a prank, right? You sank down in your chair and looked at Wonwoo, who was trying to get himself situated next to you. Was he being serious?

“Yes, you idiot. I’m being serious. I’m so surprised you haven’t caught onto my crush on you yet, with how obvious I was being,” Wonwoo had whispered the last part under his breath but you still heard it. His hand reached for yours that was resting on your lap. “I understand if you don’t feel the same way but-”

“I do,” you said abruptly, interrupting him. After realizing what you just said, you wanted to slap a hand over your mouth, dig a hole underground, crawl into it, and never come out of it ever again. “I mean- I- What I mean is…”

Wonwoo looked at you expectantly, his brown eyes gleaming with hope. He nodded at you to continue and you felt like your tongue had suddenly turned into cotton. Everything in your mouth was dry and heavy and you had to lick your lips before continuing.

“I do… feel the same way about you. I’ve liked you ever since that water balloon fight we had in eighth grade on your birthday. And-” You choked on your words again. “-I would love to go on a date with you.”

Wonwoo felt like he had just won the lottery. He simply couldn’t help the smile that tuuged up on his lips as he gave your hand a firm squeeze. “Okay.”

You returned his smile and hand squeeze. “Okay.”

Exhausted from the long day, Wonwoo rested his head on your shoulder as he drew small patterns on your knee. “I think this might be the best birthday yet,”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, since you agreed to date me.”

“You’re so corn-”

“HA! YOU OWE ME TEN BUCKS SHUA HYUNG.”

reblogs and feedback always appreciated ^-^

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for breaking up with my boyfriend?

I (32F) broke up with my boyfriend Jack (30M) a few months ago over a couple Issues I've been dealing with: I found out I have a degenerative issue with my eyes and will be going blind, and his dad hates me for being as he quotes "fat, uneducated, and bad with jobs". Note: I am infact obese, I do not have a college degree, and had lost my job 3 times in a row in 6mos before I hit the stable job I'm at now, due to mental breakdowns at work.

Jack has lived with his parents his whole life, and revers them greatly. However I can tell he's going through the same thing I did with my parents- Where they prioritized him getting good grades over his mental health, he constantly apologizes and thinks I will hate and abandon him over very simple things, he rather delve in games than face his problems, because he thinks he is comfortable when it's very much making him feel worse.

I cut contact with my parents 3 years ago for these exact same reasons- They were overbearing, abusive, and without another way to say it: extremely catholic. Because I was financially dependent on them and didn't know any better, I thought I could live with them as an adult because of how expensive housing is where we live.

Eventually I had to start getting therapy because I would have meltdowns so often in school, and found out it was the way that my parents treated me when I was younger, and that I have AuDHD- something my parents denied as me being too stupid and lazy to do anything after high school.I got on medication and though my ADHD improved, i had to continue therapy due to my Autism now having more time to focus and overwhelm me and having to learn to unmask. I've been told my personality did a 180 over this from peers that hadn't seen me pre-pandemic, but I'm happier now, and eventually found a way to move away from my parents and living with my Uncle instead, who instead of belittling me is encouraging my therapy.

I am explaining this, because Jack does the same things I do- he's almost the exact same as I was with my parentls. He has constant meltdowns and spirals, he thinks he's worthless because of the way his Mom and Dad treats him, yet he keeps putting his parents on a pedestal. It's because we seemed to grow up in the same kinds of environment that we bonded and eventually started dating last year.

Us openly dating did not last long, though, because when he introduced me to his parents they immedietely did not like me. They did not like that I wanted to help with dinner, or refuse eating chicken, because Jack is severely allergic to it. They also did not like that I wanted to clean the table and kept sidelooking at me whever we talked.

Because of this simple lunch, for months, they pressured him to break up with me but he wouldn't. He said he loves me as I am, and his parents are just stupid. We even had to start keeping the relationship secret, because his parents would harass him for coming to just pick me up, or meet me at a tennis court so we would play a game or two. His parents can track him through his car, so they always knew where he was.

I told him what I had to do to leave my parents house, but he said it's too hard to do that. My Uncle was sympathetic about this and even discussed with him to move into our house, but he refused that too.

Last month, I went to a vision doctor due to headaches and blurrier than usual vision, and found out that I would be losing my eyesight due to something going on within my eyes. Its extremely stressful for me, and dealing with that, and the constant harassment from Jacks parents, I got very tired. it was getting to the point where he couldnt go out without his parents yelling at him about me for something, we only hung out for once day per month. I didn't want to give them something else to yell about me at him, and I felt it would ease his stress because they would stop bothering him. And, though it seems weird, I hoped it make him uncomfortable enough to do something for himself. So I ended up breaking up with him.

It has really hurt to do this to him- He's someone I love dearly, and he's taken it way harder than I thought. He won't listen to me, But. He does listen to his friends- it's how he asked me out, and at least try out therapy, his friends hyped him up about it so he did it. I feel if his friends help him realize what he needs to do, he'll be more inclined to help himself than me just telling him. And if not, his friends are still there to back him up than me staying near him and having his parents harass him about it.

His friends are mad at me though, and told me I should have just put up with his parents, because in the end I am in love with him and that I actually made the whole situation worse, because he has loss motivation. Even though I am still talking to him and still there for him alongside his friends- I just make myself scarce so his parents don't know we talk. Am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[ashwhowrites]

Hey! Could you perhaps do a jealousSteve x Reader (with a bit of Eddie) where the reader asks Eddie for something that only Eddie can do - like, Steve can't help her with it. Maybe teach her to play guitar or something like that? And the more time they spend together the more jealous Steve gets and one day he snaps at Eddie like "I already lost one girl to a freak - Byers - and when I finally meet the love of my life then the next freak swoops in and has to steal her!" and the reader hears this and first she gets angry for how he talks about Eddie and Jonathan but later realizes that he's just scared because this is his worst fear happening again, and she decided to make sure he knows who she loves, smutty way :)

I love this!!! - but I'm not in a very smutty mood so I hope it's okay I didn't include that :)

Freaks vs Steve

Y/N has always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. She didn't care which one she learned, she just wanted to play something. Then she met Eddie, a friend of Dustin. Eddie was an amazing guitar player, and Dustin only had nice things to say about him. She figured Eddie was a person she'd be comfortable with learning from.

But one person who wasn't comfortable with it was her boyfriend Steve. He didn't like the amount of time Y/N and Eddie spent together. Or how close they sat together when he showed her the cords. Or the way she would hug him when she played a cord correctly. Steve tried to give them their space. He didn't want to be the boyfriend that watched from the corner....but that's exactly what he did. He'd glare from the kitchen as Eddie sat on his girlfriend's couch.

Steve thought he'd get used to it and get over it. But he could see a friendship forming. And Steve wished he didn't feel so threatened, but he did.

~~~

Y/N was growing annoyed with Steve's constant glares. She's been learning from Eddie and allowed Steve to be there because she knew he was jealous. She wanted to make him feel secure and see that nothing was going on. But she couldn't focus with his heated gaze burning through Eddie.

She felt a little embarrassed by his behavior. Eddie was nice and always shrugged it off. "Boys will be boys," he'd say with a smile snd continue. Y/N didn't believe that Eddie deserved the hostile environment Steve created. Eddie was always the elephant in the room, and she hated that her boyfriend continued that pattern.

~~~

"What time is Eddie coming?" Steve asked, mixing together a load of sugar into the lemonade.

"Going to his place this time," Y/N said, slipping on her shoes. Steve was next to her immediately, confusion all over his face.

"What? No, he comes here. That's how it always goes." Steve declared his hand on the doorknob to stop her from leaving.

"Steve, you have been incredibly rude to him every week. He's a friend and he's helping me out. Your stares and side comments are making him and me uncomfortable. Nothing is going on. Just trust your girlfriend." Y/N spazzed, locking eyes as she huffed.

"I do trust you. I don't trust him! I don't trust these freaks that come in and latch themselves on my girlfriends. I had to deal with fucking Byers, and now him!" Steve ranted, his arms wailing around in the air, she had to step back to make sure she didn't get hit. She felt the need to roll her eyes but stopped herself.

"Steve, I am not Nancy and he isn't Jonathan. I understand you are scared but talk to me about it. Don't act like a child and throw a fit. The whole time you've been watching us, has Eddie made any slight advance? No, because he isn't into me and I'm not into him. You are my boyfriend." She cooed, wrapping her hands around his shoulders as she kissed his lips. She felt his body melt into her. He nuzzled his face into her neck.

"I'm sorry, I just can't lose you."

"And you won't unless you keep acting like my father and not my boyfriend." She teased.

"Understood." He said as he kissed her lips.

Freaks- 1

Steve- 1

[ckret2]

I don't know if anyone asked, but how do you think about the Shapeshifter? Especially in Bill's perspective you can think of.

P.S. You gotta find this comic interesting. The problem would be, how to access Shifty's Mindscape?

https://moringmark.tumblr.com/post/113688377238

So here's the story of Shifty as I see it:

A baby hatches alone on an alien planet, and is immediately seen as a wild animal and caged.

The only "parents" it's ever known keep it locked alone in the dark when they aren't around.

Even though its nature is to transform into anything it sees—and as a baby, with its mind still growing, it probably needs to be exposed to new forms for its developmental health—it's kept contained where it has very little fresh stimuli.

One of its "parents" wears a mask over his face so it can't learn what he looks like. Its other parent wants to just freeze it and leave it underground.

Even after it learns to talk and its parents know it's a sentient, intelligent being, nothing about its captivity changes.

Shifty has learned how to speak! A few words at first, but every day he’s been learning longer sentences. Increasingly, he asks “Who am I?”

It's searching for a sense of identity. It's asking for help from aliens who don't know what to tell it, and who give no indication that they want to help it find out.

It's only allowed to learn new forms from pictures in books. It knows one of its parents has several journals full of wondrous shapes it's never seen before. It's not allowed to look at them. It isn't given a good reason why. It's treated like a threat that can't be trusted with new forms—even when it's given them no reason to think it's untrustworthy.

And if it's going to be distrusted no matter what—for nothing except its born nature as a shapeshifter—why should it be trustworthy?

In desperation, it ties up its other parent (without hurting him) to fool its main parent. In return, they freeze it underground—and it's left there, abandoned and forgotten, for thirty years.

I truly believe Shifty became a monster because it was raised like a prisoner. Isolated, under-stimulated, inadequate enrichment for a child of any species; treated with academic curiosity, suspicion, and fear rather than with affection and care. Why wouldn't it have become a monster? What in its environment could have led it to become anything else?

Ford and Fiddleford weren't equipped to handle a new, living person; they treated it like an animal, and when they learned it was an intelligent being, they didn't change their treatment. As much as Ford sympathizes with "freaks," I think occasionally Ford forgets to respect the sentient ones as people—too caught up in his research to think about anything else. And I don't think Fiddleford's ever seen personhood in non-humans as anything but unnatural and a threat.

(As far as Bill is concerned—if anything, seeing how Ford interacted with Shifty may have made him underestimate just how strongly he'd fight against Bill's plans for his dimension. After all, he might not like Bill's plan, but it isn't like he really cares about anyone else in his dimension, right? Except Ford does care. He just... never really thought through what he was doing with Shifty.)

I think Shifty should be given a heartfelt apology and unleashed in Gravity Falls. Sure, it might commit murder and mayhem! But it was treated like a criminal when it was a baby who'd done nothing wrong. It deserves a second chance and a fair shot at living a free life. The humans don't have the right to keep it in indefinite cryogenic solitary confinement until it's actually proven such extreme measures are necessary.

[nonexistent-introvert]

Lost

pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Word Count : 2.1k

content: Joel giving you life advice and assurance, him being your comfort.

A/N: It's been a hella long time, this may be a little too personal of a story but I have had a rough few months. And this was a little fic i wrote to comfort myself with my fav comfort character. Finally decided to post this in hopes that it may help someone ahaha.

 “Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Ellie grew up pre-outbreak?” Joel’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. “Why the sudden deep question?” He questioned you back as he sipped on the steaming hot cup of coffee in his hand. You shrug, “Just a thought.”  

   Joel and you sat on his front porch, just watching the sunset over the horizon, a beautiful backdrop for Jackson’s village. He ponders your question for a while before sitting up in his chair, “You mean if she didn’t grow up during the outbreak, but before, when we didn’t have to worry about the infected?” He clarifies. You nod as you stare off into the distance, watching the various villagers go about their days. “I mean, she’s 18 this year. If life was normal she would probably be going off for college this year. Not- not going out for patrols and helping out around town, or even fighting for her life every time she’s out of Jackson.” You continue adding on. Joel hums, “College huh?” He lets out a small laugh at the thought of an education system. It had been too long since he had last heard about any form of education. “Mmm, she would probably be going off for college, like every other teenager back then, where she would figure out her life from there.” Joel hums as he imagines what it would be like in an alternate universe. 

   “Do you think she would be happier than now? If let’s say she had the chance to go to a college instead of fighting for her life.” You ask again. Joel places his mug down on the table separating the both of you. “Probably, I mean I never went to college properly but it would probably be better than fighting for your life.” You look at him as he answers, “You really think so?” Joel’s eyes widened and he let out another laugh, “Come on, who in their right mind would prefer our life now to back then?” You simply smile and laugh a little. “We only think that way because we had them to compare to, Ellie only knows life throughout the outbreak, she’s been fighting since she’s young, learning how to defend herself and survive. Even now at 18, she’s been doing the same things as she did since young, it’s a form of normalcy for her.” Joel turns his body to face you, “What’s your point exactly?” He asked, not quite understanding where you’re coming from. You meet his eye for a few moments, trying to search for the right words to voice your opinions. 

    “Becoming 18 was the scariest part of my life, and arguably the hardest part of my life too. That’s saying a lot since I literally survived 20 years in a stupid zombie apocalypse.” You laugh, and Joel gives you a judgemental look, he can list down a list of worse periods of his life compared to turning 18. 

   “Becoming 18 brought about so many changes in my life, I had to prepare myself for college, choosing a major, being in a completely new environment, new friends. I just felt so pressured and overwhelmed with everything. However for Ellie, ironically enough, she’s in a more stable environment than she has ever been. Jackson is the safest it gets around here, she can live a semblance of a normal life here, hanging out with friends, indulging in her hobbies, and doing typical teenage things. For someone go fought for their survival everyday, Jackson is practically a safe haven. Personally, I know 18-year-old me would have done anything for some semblance of stability back then.” 

  Joel just stares at you for a moment, he clears his throat upon noticing that you seemed to be getting a little emotional just thinking about it. “My life changed when I was 20, 18 wasn’t bad for me, I knew I wanted to be a musician so a music degree was the way to go but I had to drop out when Sarah’s mum got pregnant with her. I worked tirelessly to afford a wedding and eventually, our life together with Sarah, balancing college on top of multiple jobs would have killed me.” He shares with you, looking away as he realizes you’re trying to subtly wipe the tears that are forming in your eyes. “One moment I was a college student and then suddenly I was thrown out to the adulting world without any prior warnings, forced to adapt and overcome. Plus the pressure from both sides of the family regarding the pregnancy, fuck I thought I was gonna lose my mind.” Joel continues. “As much as I say that, it taught me to appreciate the small things in life, sure i have my regrets but seeing Sarah.. having Sarah turned out to be the biggest blessing of my life. No matter how much life hated me, it was easier every day when I see Sarah, she was the light in my world. It made all the shittty things I went through worth it.” He says confidently, you can see the pride shining in his eyes at the thought of Sarah. Your hands reach over to give his hand a little encouraging squeeze. Joel used to have trouble even talking about Sarah, but he had came a long way since then.  

  “I’m sorry I went on about my grandfather's story, it’s your turn.”Joel chuckles, he picks up his mug to take another sip of his coffee, you had always been a cheerful person, he was curious about how your life was at 18 for you to tear up just thinking about it. 

  You sat there silently for a few moments, then you inhaled deeply, trying to muster the courage to tell Joel. You never had the opportunity to share what you went through prior to this conversation with Joel. 

   “I didn’t have life as tough as you but I don’t know, I just felt so lost you know? I didn’t know what to do with my life.” You started, your body tensing up just at the memory of it. “I was so afraid of suffering in my chosen major if I ended up not liking it. I didn’t want to waste my time studying something I didn’t like. Then I spiraled and thought that if I chose the wrong major I would be condemned to a job or industry I hated. I couldn’t bear spending my time on a job that I didn’t like. I just felt so doomed and trapped at that point in time, I was so lost, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.” Your words started to leave your lips at a faster pace, just the memory of it evoked some overwhelming emotions inside you. Joel moved the table separating the both of you immediately and shifted his seat right next to you. He revealed his bare palm to you, a soft invitation for comfort. You placed your hand in his immediately, letting out a sigh of relief when he held your hand tightly, giving your hand a few squeezes to ground you. “It’s okay, you’re fine now.” He murmurs softly. Silence fell over the two of you as you took a few steadying breaths and he patiently waited. 

  “You didn’t talk to anyone about this? About how lost you were?” Joel questioned, a worried look on his face. His hand still holding yours. You shook your head, “Not in detail anyway, I tried asking in general. My dad caught hints of how I felt, he just kept telling me about how it's normal to feel lost and that I’ll figure it out along the way, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiety.” Joel’s eyebrows furrowed, this made him wonder if Ellie or Sarah had ever felt anxious before and he had just never caught on. “I started spacing out a lot, I couldn’t remain in silence because if there wasn’t something to occupy my mind, it would go back to overthinking about the future. I knew I wasn’t in a good place, but I felt my feelings were invalid since there were people out there in worse situations than me. So, I- I just smiled a little bigger and laughed a little louder, trying to mask how I felt inside.” Joel lets out a breath at that, “No one should ever feel like their feelings are valid. Just because you’re in a better situation doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to feel that way. The feelings and pain you went through still affected you and hurt you, it was real.” Joel says firmly, a determined look in his eye. He firmly believed in that statement. You gave him a soft smile, “I just wished young me knew that, but knowing my stubborn ass, I would have continued to spiral anyways.” 

  Joel stretches his legs, letting out a grunt as he does so. “Have you ever thought of taking a gap year? To figure out what you wanted?” He suggested. “Thought about it, my dad didn’t like the idea of me wasting a year, he said the longer I waited the value of my grades loses and it would be even harder for me to get into college.” You answered. Joel let out a scoff, “It’s not a waste, it's better than you impulsively choosing a major and then regretting it for the rest of your life or even possibly destroying your mental health more trying to do well in something you found no joy in.” Yion shrugs, “At that point of time, I didn’t even want to commit myself to further studies, knowing me, I would have just settled for any job as long as it was stable even if it wasn’t the best choice financially for the long term.” 

   “There is no such thing as a stable job, every job has its own pros and cons. What matters is the fulfillment you get from it.” Joel answers. He would know, everyone around him didn’t like the idea of him becoming a musician because it took a stroke of luck to even do decently well and stand out in the industry but Joel knew for a fact that he wouldn’t enjoy anything else as much as he would being able to perform for people. It was the whole reason why he went ahead with his music degree. He would never know if it would turn out to be a choice he regretted since he had to drop out to support his family but until now, having the opportunity to study music was one of the best decisions he made. You sigh, “Well I felt like I had tunnel vision. I just saw myself on a path that led nowhere. Maybe I was in a bad place altogether too.” Joel hums in understanding. “You made it this far, even pulled through a whole apocalypse. Can’t say many people did the same. For someone who claimed they’re weak, you did make it 20 years in surviving an apocalypse. You laugh at the irony of it all, “Hm, turns out I did better when there weren’t many options. The only way to survive was to live, I didn’t have any other path to walk. The world narrowed it down for me.” Joel smirked, “Oh, how kind of them.” He replied sarcastically. 

   “So, do you think Ellie would be happier going off for college?” You asked again, linking back to the original question. Joel smiles, his eyes twinkling as the tangerine sunlight highlighted his features. “She would be happy as long as she finds the most suitable pacing for herself to move through life,” Joel concludes. “Life only seems fast-paced because everyone else moves at a fast pace but that doesn’t mean everyone can keep up. Determine your own pace and progress through at your own pace. It’s the only way you won’t feel stressed and pressured which tend to equate to you being content.” 

   Joel finishes his coffee. “Feeling lost is normal, it usually happens when you think you’re left behind and everyone is moving tenfolds faster than you. However, life was never meant to be some race to be the fastest, you could always set your own pace and continue moving forward. Being slower is better than pushing yourself past your limits and ruining yourself in the process.” 

   You look at him with admiration. Then you cleared your throat and laughed a little to lighten the tension. “Joel, that was really wise.” He looks over to you as he clears his throat too, trying to hide a small hint of a blush. “Heh, must be the old age catching up.” He murmurs. 

   You stare onward, looking at Joel and then to the various villagers of all ages living their lives in Jackson. You smile subconsciously. 

   Everything does work out in the end. 

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

I wonder how Yves would deal with his s/o absolutely hate his guts. Like just one meeting and they already find his existence insufferable for no reason at all.

Another Anon Sent: Me , personally, would find Yves annoying as hell in real life. Mf is too composed

TW: mentions of past physical abuse (on Yves's side)

There is always a reason. Many reasons. The most glaringly obvious one is that if you don't like how he presents himself. Yves's existence already challenged a wide array of norms that had been established since the publishing of the bible. Maybe you don't like that he's a "man", "cosplaying" as a "woman". He knows a lot of people didn't, many of his old scars hidden under his turtleneck are there to prove that. Perhaps he's too good for you, unintentionally reminding you of your own inferiority. Perhaps, like what was described, he is too composed and put together that it seems suspicious.

And he understands that. He cannot please every category of people he comes across. This could mean you hating his entire being and viciously attacking his character for being the way he is. Yves accepted that, but it doesn't mean it hurts him any less. He may try his best to accommodate your wants, he can be malleable but only to a certain extent. His hair and makeup carry the weight of emotions and memories that you can never experience, and his mannerisms make up the legacy of all the crucial fragments of his life. Yves has his own identity and he cannot lose that. Without one, he knows he will fall apart and wither, all of his hard work will be for naught and you will be left unprotected.

Your hatred for him is an integral part of you, developed over years of exposure to your environment. No one is born loathing, it is the buildup of teachings from adults that causes it. As selfish as he is, he wouldn't just expunge it completely from your mind, even if he knows he can rewire your brain to an obedient little thing. That isn't you.

However, tolerance can be learned. If Yves knows you would have hated him upon initial contact, he wouldn't reveal himself too early. You still had years of maturing to catch up. He has time, he can wait. Yves will tailor your experiences, letting you mingle with diversity, and broaden your view of the world. He knows all the buttons, the levers, and the switches in your mind and how he could manipulate them to better you.

Not to say all your friends are paid actors and actresses, Yves doesn't even need to do that most of the time. All he needs is information, about who will be there, when will they be and why will they be there. And just like fate itself, Yves will bring you to them. Change needs to be gradual, the human mind simply cannot take massive shocks.

Maybe you find his tranquility irritating because you didn't grow up seeing that. Your home life could have been chaotic, unpredictable, and constantly needing you to turn on survival mode. Hence, seeing Yves as an anomaly in the world and rejecting the unknown. You're used to the mayhem, not the peace; at least in disorder, you know what to expect.

Then, Yves will give you a frame of reference. You will meet people of varying degrees of collectiveness, with him being on the extreme end of the spectrum. You will see more and more portrayals of similar personalities in the media. Then, surely but slowly, you will change.

Right?

Perhaps, no. You won't. You could stay the same and it would only mean his hypothesis wasn't correct. You might even get worse. And that is alright, this is in no way, shape or form a failure. He still succeeded, he succeeded in obtaining data. This is the scientific method, no outcome is still an outcome. It is this attitude that got Yves to where he is, to the mammoth collections in his office. He will try again, with another experiment design, with another hypothesis based on the last study's results. Why didn't it work? Was there something he missed? Did his bias get in the way? Was he not looking at the big picture this whole time?

Regardless, he will keep going. Each time, he learns something new about you that others may deem insignificant. But could potentially be the determining factor. And he notes it down without missing a beat.

That is why it takes years. That is why you're more likely to meet Yves only later in life. You still need more time to develop your views and you are constantly changing whether you like it or not.

Knowledge may not be the cure to hatred, but it is the cure to ignorance. Yves would do is present the world as best as he can in front of you, and let you think for yourself. To him, the gift of choice is the ultimate expression of love.

[b0njourbeach]

My Jade Leech Rant!

"Haha, funny Mushroom man!"

No.

The joke was funny the first 53 times but it's getting boring.

I get it, he spends a lot of time studying and growing mushrooms, he's fascinated in it, so it's easy to make it his personality. I get it, I really do.

But Jade is more than just some twisted merman version of Mario.

Possible spoilers for Book 3 and following. Proceed with caution.

For one, I feel like people often miss the part where Jade expresses interest in *all* kinds of plants - He loves the nature because he grew up in the deepest parts of the ocean where they probably barely had plants and even if they did, they definitely hadn't the kinds we have on land. And this one might be more my own guess but the - possible - reason why Jade is so fixated on mushrooms is the simple fact that they're relatively easy to grow (compared to other land-based plants) and let's be fair here: I don't think a merperson has automatically the needed skills for land-based plant-sitting. So, give a Mushroom a bit of light (optional), some moisture and something to feast on and everything's thriving (I'm guessing. Haven't grown a Mushroom myself before but I do know that they feast on pretty much anything, so).

Also, why is no one mentioning Jades passion for tea? It would actually work with the fandoms insane passion of comparing him to Sebastian (which - again - was amusing the first few times but it's getting annoying). He meets Kalim while studying tea and mentions he's quite interested in it (it was his School Uniform Vignette, if my memory serves me right) and in Ruggies School Uniform Vignette we learn that Jade is also always trying to improve his usage of Herbs of all kinds. His literal special item in the Guest Room is a TEA GUIDE.

And there's another thing I don't get in this fandom: Why does he have to be compared so often to Sebastian? Sure, they both have the "polite gentleman" personality but both of them have very different reasons to do so and last time I checked, Jade ain't a who knows how old demon who made a contract with a severely traumatized orphan just to have a quick snack on his soul later on. I watched Black Butler and as far as I'm concerned, Jade has more depth in his personality than "perfectionist cat loving demon butler for little British brat". But then again, thats just my hot take (and I never really liked Sebastian anyways. On another note: Stop comparing Riddle to Ciel as well).

As I said: Jade is trying to be a polite little guy but fails with elegance on hiding his rather sadistic nature behind a wide smile, leaving him with that everlasting aura of pure mischief which is rather charming in my personal opinion but many people find this more intimidating than charming. So a natural layer of Fear surrounds those who have to deal with Jade - Unless they share a similiar sight like him (as we can see in his interaction with Rook: Instead of being intimidating by the Hunters heartfelt Invasion of privacy, they end up giggling together, causing Riddle - the third wheel of this conversation - to feel mildly but certainly uncomfortable to the point where he left the two of them alone.

Jade is shady, no questions asked but I would like to remind you that Jade also grew up in a very different environment: Not only has he been growing up under the sea, he also had - most likely - fight to survive at some point. Not to mention that his family is heavily implied to be shady business and with shady business, there comes a shady mindset. While Floyd doesn't bother hiding this "setting" of mind, Jade pretty much does so. For what reason? There could be many but as far as I'm aware, we haven't been given a confirmed reason.

It could be a tactical strategy: If he can convince people to trust in the "polite" side of him, giving him the opportunity to surprise them with the true depth of his mind - Luring his enemies like a siren with charming manners, only to slaughter them in a dark alleyway. He openly admitted that he enjoys having control over someone's/somethings life and death (although this was more about the living organisms in his terrariums - Book 4 and his Halloween Card make me believe that this also applies outside of the glass.)

There's also something about Jades specific reaction whenever he shows his more.. Passionate side: He often stops himself and pauses for a moment, before saying that he's joking. In my eyes, he notices how uncomfortable the person in front of him is getting, quickly thinking of an excuse and choosing to pretend that he's joking - It would cause trouble in the future for him if he were to intimidate people to the point of them avoiding him at all cost. People who say things that could be very well from the depths of the darknet happen to freak people out - A lot. More often than not, the person with this knowledge only realizes *after* starting to speak that their words are not necessarily "normal" for the average person. And especially Jade, who - assumingly - grew up surrounded by all kinds of dark stuff, it's certainly rather difficult to adjust your personal average to societies average.

I can also see him as a very extroverted child who wanted to make a lot of friends but never had the chance because of several reasons (for one, kids were often scared of him and his brother and possibly due to family affairs he wasn't allowed or it was significantly more difficult/dangerous to make friends with your average neighbourhood joe. Additionally, many kids misunderstood his gentle teasing as insulting the others even though being mean was a part of his "love language"). I'm also almost certain that he always had to make up for Floyd's mistake growing up, leading him to have this habit even now where he cleans up Floyd's messes or tries to keep up with Floyd's moods the best way possible. Which leads me to one specific personality trait of Jade: He never had the chance to be himself. He always had to be something: Father needed him to be careful, brother needed stability, classmates needed to feel save enough to be comfortable around him, Azul needed a capable right hand. The only times where he was truly himself were the times he was alone - In the nature. In peace, in harmony, studying the land he had not seen before, for he was bound to the Sea.

He's just a guy who's trying to please everyone while also trying to hold onto his personality as good as he possibly can.

And now some headcanons for my favorite shady eel!

He definitely has at least one scar in the shape of a bite mark from fighting with Floyd as kids (including possibly several other scars because these two just can't not fight - Surprisingly, Jade would win most of the fights).

Everytime he gets overwhelmed by something or if he's too stressed, he just leaves for a few hours to go hiking and to just touch some grass to calm down again. He then proceed to cause some petty mischief to call it even (only ¼ of the time people actually knew it was him causing said chaos).

I can't explain this one but I feel like he would have a lactose intolerance.

Out of all three, Jade was the first one who nailed the walking - He struggles with other typical land-sport activities. (One of his worst enemies is couple dancing. It's the only social gathering he tries to avoid like the plague.)

Have I gotten all my thoughts on my dear eel? I hope so. If not, I shall add it later

Ps: I know it's manners but you don't have to thank me every time I answer your ask, dear. I'm enjoying the attention, so it's mutual benefit /lh

[yourlocalbrokefangirl]

Being a Crew of the Revenge

I finished watching OFMD season 2 finale months ago but I haven’t fully recovered from it. Other than the fact that it brings such unique love story, it also serves my hunger for found family trope (that I do not realize I had one until now). Aside from that, I want to talk about how Stede Bonnet’s people management techniques impressed me to the point that I want to be one of his crew of the Revenge.

I fully admire the way Stede manage to keep the boat floating (as we all know he is not the strongest pirate) while maintaining a positive connection with the crew.

In the opening scene, we get to see how the crew have not really accept the presence of their captain, despite the salary that they got without needing to do anything. I do understand that even though we can call it as ‘easy money’, the crew wanted more action on piracy.

Back to Stede’s people management style, coming from a wealthy and noble family, he is not fully in to the abusive culture of piracy, therefore he implement new style in captaining pirates.

‘Talk it through as a Crew’

A rhyme that was introduced to the viewers in the first episode that is meaningful to Stede’s status as the Captain of the Revenge.

He encourages his crew mates to be more open with their feelings and giving more constructive criticism to one another in order to fully become one as a crew (and eventually as a family). We can see the importance of effective communication for him being a captain as well as being a friend (and later a partner to Ed) throughout the series.

One that intrigues me the most is the fact that when he found out about the man that he loved was killed by his crew mates, he did not blame them rather acknowledge that Edward was to blame for getting himself killed.

His positive personality really warms my heart especially in the scene where he and Edward were having a heart to heart conversations in Anne and Mary’s house. He even said something like ‘you tried to kill me once and I got over that pretty quickly’ and that cracks me up because what he said does make sense. When Ed opens up about his plan to kill him in season 1, there were no negative reaction from Stede, as he believes that Ed is a very good person at heart and will never cause harm to him in purpose. He never blames anyone other than himself for all of the bad things that came to him and his crews.

Being a leader takes up a lot of qualities of a person. Even though Stede may not be suitable as a pirate captain, he surely is fit to being a leader. He is all ears when it comes to his crew, listening to their suggestions and always seeks to learn new opportunity to grow. He leads people with kindness (and plans on kill people with kindness too, but that’s a different point) and he tries to make his crew felt heard.

Growing up as someone who are very closed to people, I admire the way he creates a positive environment in his ship. I always imagine that Stede will be able to make a reserved person like myself feel comfortable talking about our feelings without the fear of being judged. One of the reason I kept my feelings inside is because I am afraid that people will not accept the feeling that I felt.

The fear of being judge because we feel certain things that eventually led to blaming ourselves for having feelings like sadness or anger.

From what I saw in the series, Stede makes a room for people to have those feelings, to talk it through and to give space for people to actually feel their feelings and I really admire that. With that, I think though the pirate life will be uncomfortable because of the hot scorching sun, at least I can be myself knowing that people among me will accept me for myself, and it is nice to think of that. Therefore, that reason alone can make me sign up as Stede’s crew.

Thank you for listening to my thoughts.

[itsoxyymoronn]

i'd like to disclaim i have only read the first hunger games book and around half of the second, so my opinions and personal analysis are mainly skewed towards the movies. also spoilers for TBOSAS (duh). also this is all kind of a rushed non-edited theory, and probably needs more detail. ill probably edit here and there, so i'd love to hear any thoughts!

after seeing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes last night, honestly what has been on my mind a lot was if the love between lucy gray and snow was real, and from that it felt it could only be answered by whether snow was inherently evil or he became evil.

the easiest answer feels to be that he was always purely selfish and lacked a great deal of empathy. all things seemed to point to that, but one thing that always threw a wrench in that idea for me was the scene where snow breaks down crying after looking in sejanus' storage. i think this scene is particularly important because by panem standards he did the correct thing. his friend was a rebel and he reported it. by panem's standards, he shouldn't feel guilty, and yet he still does. this seems to indicate some sort of moral compass in him.

i guess then the question leads to why snow became so evil. i think it is a combination of inherent self-serving traits and the environment he was raised in. i think a key concept here is "explanation, not excuse", which i learned from a video essay by Trope Anatomy in regards to Cassie Howard (link below). experiencing war and hardship at such a young age and later growing up around negative influences, such as Dr. Gaul and really all of the capitol itself, shaped his worldview and are direct factors that lead him to make the decisions he does. it doesn't excuse them though. his upbringing didn't force him to make these terrible choices, they only gave him more reason to. yet he still could've chosen to be good, as people like sejanus did.

him becoming pure evil in the end felt like a defense mechanism to cope with his own guilt. an incredibly messed up and extreme one at that. i think in the end his distain for the districts and their people doesn't come solely from them being "district" (although that definitely has something to do with his hatred) but rather them being people. dr. gaul taught him humans are all destined to show their true, evil nature, and this snow did. i think continuing the games was a way of proving to himself again and again that it was not just him that was evil, but all humans. it probably soothed the guilt within him.

while he may not have began as pure evil, he did become it. he's evil, full stop. he can't be redeemed. but i think TBOSAS gives us reason as to why he is like this. and while it may have been easy to view snow as forever and always evil, i believe in a way snow having this agency and development into cruelty just makes him all the more evil because it shows he DID have a choice, and chose evil. a great Screen Rant quote that really made me start thinking about this is "the overarching antagonist of the Hunger Games [is] Panem, not Snow" (link below).

SOURCES:

Trope Anatomy: Freudian Cassie: How Far an Excuse Can Go

Screen Rant: Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Changes How You See Snow (But He’s Still Evil) https://screenrant.com/ballad-songbirds-snakes-president-snow-changes-evil/#:~:text=Still%2C%20the%20purpose%20behind%20Suzanne,Games%20as%20Panem%2C%20not%20Snow.

GIF credit is linked in GIF.

[chronicoverthinker]

A character analysis of Yoshiki cause he’s very dear to me 😔

I genuinely hope that as the story progresses we’ll get to learn more about Yoshiki’s father and the dynamics in the Tsujinaka household. Even tho we still don’t know the details we can see how much his father’s abusive tendencies ended up affecting Yoshiki , and mokmoklen is truly able to bring it out in a subtle but magnificent way in the things Yoshiki says , both about himself or others , and also in his relationship with “Hikaru”.

So, I’m not a psychology major myself but from personal experience I believe that Yoshiki presents symptoms of the so called fawn response. Fawning is also known as the “please-appease” syndrome, being mainly associated with people pleasing and codependency (see where I’m already going with this?). Usually these people seek safety by pleasing others as a way of avoiding conflict.

A possible reason as to why people might develop this syndrome is because they grew up in an abusive environment when they were little , maybe seeing one of their caretakers have outbursts of anger (we know that Yoshiki’s parents used to argue to such a degree that neighborhoods could hear them + if I remember correctly it is stated in the light novel that his father always used to slam his hands on the table and such).

As a consequence of this , he learnt that being good and pleasing his father would be the only way to guarantee his own survival. We see this happen in one of the flashbacks where his father grabs him (rather forcefully may I add) by the arm and Yoshiki just let it happen , knowing it’s best not to say anything. Even tho we can see how uncomfortable he looks with his father around.

People suffering from fawn response also have a hard time saying no , feeling guilty about expressing their own needs and feelings. Since growing up in an environment where you have to constantly walk around eggshells with others and where communication has never really been a thing , the things left unsaid make these people start believing that THEY might be the problem.

We see this happen in ch. 7. Now , I know that people will probably have various interpretations of THAT specific sequence of scenes , but personally I interpreted it as a metaphor for attempted r*pe or violation of some sort , with “Hikaru” trying to claim Yoshiki in the only way he knows , because he aches for him so damn much but he realizes that stealing Hikaru’s identity doesn’t make Yoshiki his in any way. He’s different from Hikaru and he can’t and shouldn’t expect to occupy the same spot as Hikaru previously did.

And even tho what “Hikaru” did is horrible , Yoshiki is still the one feeling bad about RIGHTFULLY trying to set some kind of boundary with “Hikaru”. He feels like HE is the one that should be apologizing for being harsh with him.

This brings me onto the next point which is being self-sacrificing , with Yoshiki quite literally feeling guilty for all the deaths happening most probably because of “Hikaru” and even deciding to share the burden of his possible next killings with him. Plus I would also add in what he said in ch.21 , where he literally states that he would give “Hikaru” his whole EVERYTHING if it meant that he could live somewhere as he pleased. He’s always thinking about others’ needs before his owns , deciding to share burdens that don’t have anything to do with him and he shouldn’t be carrying.

Other obvious trait very common in people suffering from this condition is having codependent relationships , which perfectly describes what he has with “Hikaru”. Hikaru is no longer here , so I’d rather have a fake around than having to live without him. This is what he says more or less in ch.1 , and it’s actually so heartbreaking to hear because Hikaru was quite literally Yoshiki’s light and source of comfort. He was the one always protecting Yoshiki and taking care of him. So when “Hikaru” goes “I bet you were crying not wanting for me to leave you” it is actually true , Yoshiki is no good without Hikaru! (or at least that’s what he thinks , but I swear you are baby 😭)

And even tho in ch.21 we see his journey of processing his grief for Hikaru’s death finally ending, he’s now becoming even more attached to “Hikaru” and getting all worried when he started thinking that maybe going back to the mountain might be the best option. You can clearly see his distress as he says “Didn’t you finally find the place you belong? You can’t do that. Let’s find another solution together”

Another thing is obviously the fact that he hates being scolded , especially when he’s so well behaved all the time like mokmoklen said.

I would also like to add the fact that he thinks so lowly of himself when he’s actually such a caring and kindhearted person. He says that he’s not sweet , and that he’s as hard on others like he is on himself. But as soon as Asako feels insecure about her hair he goes “I can definitely ask my mom since she’s a hairdresser” , we can see his kindness in the way he cares for his sister etc …

Anyways this was just me rambling about him because mokmoklen is able to write such beautiful characters and Yoshiki is literally my son

[veliseraptor]

Listen Jiang Fengmian doesn't know his ass from his elbow he is fully capable of bringing home the first kid savvy enough to lie to him.

someone else mentioned this in the comments of that post (about how xue yang could end up with the jiangs instead of wei wuxian) and then you sent this and you're not actually necessarily wrong. i don't actually think jfm is actually stupid but dude probably at the very least has no idea what the kid he's looking for looks like, one misheard syllable and a quick-witted xue yang knowing an opportunity when he sees one and we do have an opportunity

(obviously we are completely ignoring timeline fuckiness here, or rather embracing cql timeline fuckiness)

the thing is though I think growing up in this environment, as toxic as the jiang family issues are, would make a huge difference in how xue yang turns out/what his future looks like. I think he would feel a certain level of gratitude to the jiang for saving him from a much harder life, and I think growing up as part of a community (as opposed to largely on his own and fending for himself) would change at least some things about his perspective on the world and how to behave with other people. at the very least it gives him some experience with the concept of "people doing things for you because they care about you" before he's gone too far down the murder road.

I've always said that I think that, while it wouldn't come easily or naturally to him, Xue Yang can learn prosocial behaviors, given positive reinforcement/incentive. I doubt he and Jiang Cheng would ever get along well - the clash of personalities is pretty intense and Xue Yang does not let things roll off him the way Wei Wuxian does (or at least performs to), but at the same time I think Xue Yang could see Jiang Cheng as sort of His to piss off and bother and provoke in a way that would immediately make him turn on a common enemy in a pinch. he'd adore Jiang Yanli, though.

as far as Yu Ziyuan goes...he'd be too aware of the power dynamics involved, I think, to ever openly show his feelings (or, god forbid, act on them), but he would hate her. especially if we're post-finger smashing (which I kind of like the idea of), that's going to be even more intense, because that's also the point where I think Xue Yang really learns resentment in a real way. he respects her as a formidable force but he does not like her, and would not spit on her if she was on fire.

zero respect for Jiang Fengmian, though. right from the get-go. in this situation he would, after all, be the sucker who picked Xue Yang up instead of this "Wei Ying" kid he was actually looking for (and is there something about knowing that all of this isn't meant for him, not really? yeah, every once in a while when stories about "his" parents come up in particular).

anyway I'm going to be turning this over in my head for a while, this is an interesting concept that I'm now able take away from a really annoying post so thanks for that, anon