#i just hate doing a job where the reason isn't my skills but to get random people's attention. like stop looking at me

[sailing-ever-west]

in my sanji era (waiting tables at my job even though that's not really what my job is supposed to be and im grumpy about it)

[celaenaeiln]

I literally can't take it anymore. I need to get this out of my system. This is a hate-rant about why almost every single thing Tom Taylor has written is wrong.

First and foremost is the bimbofication of Dick Grayson. Tom Taylor loves to write him like this idiot who doesn't think at all. Being cheerful does not mean being dumb.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

"You seem unusually contemplative"? All Dick does is contemplate!

Nightwing (1996) Issue #3

His mind is always running!

Nightwing (2011) Issue #13

Nightwing (2016) Issue #38

I just picked a random issue from all of these comics and in every single one of these, Dick's planning, thinking, and strategising constantly.

Tom Taylor literally treats him like he's stupid or something.

Also the degradation of his abilities

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

A vigilante for 20 years. Who has faced assassins, hitmen, psychos, surprise attacks, metas, and you're telling me he didn't know that a untrained kid snuck up and stole from him?

He forgot who he was, he didn't forget where he lived! Even when he was Ric Grayson, Dick had procedural memory. His battle instincts stayed with him.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #52

"Then...I didn't even know what I was doing. I took him down--took him apart in seconds."

This man is a vigilante machine when he was amnesic. Why the heck would Dick ever let his guard down?

His robin reference

Nightwing (2016) Issue #92

Even Bruce in Batman: Hush has said it-Dick was the best. His skills were the best of anyone he's witnessed which is one of the reasons why Bruce let him be Robin in the first place.

This scene is so wrong that there's a robin scene that came out before this in direct opposition of this Tom Taylor Shitshow.

Robin & Batman Issue #1

This was actually pre-robin. Bruce had him do a solo-trial run to see his skill before he made him Robin and this was the result. Compare that to Tom Taylor's scene and the result is humiliating. For Taylor.

Tom Taylor's version of trying to show that Dick loves the people comes off as him hating crime-fighting. RIP the whole Robin firing drama and Nightwing birth i guess.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #79

"We could have avoided all of this if we'd just stayed in and eaten kibble."

Nightwing (1996) Issue #3

Dick would rather die than stop crime-fighting. After Blockbuster's first attempt, his life was hanging on by a thread and he still continued crime fighting.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #91

After Blockbuster blew up his apartment, this is the single-minded determination Dick had to continue crime-fighting. This is him at one of the worst lows of his life but he refused to give up but now? He has everything and Dick wants to ignore the murder of a child to stay inside and eat kibble which - what the heck? I know he's seen as a happy character but him finding dog-food desirable is too far!

Also the idiocy of which Tom Taylor had Barbara calling the cops in Bludhaven for a stolen wallet. Newsflash! This isn't her first rodeo here.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #81

vs

Nightwing (2016) Issue #24

Nightwing (2011) Issue #23

Given how Dick's easily defeated enhanced metas and "very good" fighters, him falling down the stairs is a little to absolutely impossible to believe.

Another thing I love about Dick that Tom Taylor deciminates is his grace. Dick is the most graceful person in DC. His balance easily matches Selina's enhanced cat powers.

But yet. You have.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #83

Nightwing (2011) Issue #23

yeah. okay.

Taylor's motorbike scenes of Dick make me so mad. The boy is a pro at crazy. It's one of his best traits because he does the wildest stunts and he pulls it off.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #93

Nightwing (1996) Issue #86

He lands on his feet. He grabbed a villain mid-air, crashed into a window, and was perfectly fine. Actually no, he's not fine because he's worried about his bike's paint job.

Nightwing (2011) Issue #24

He just sailed over a whole crowd of people and started kicking butt like what he just did wasn't extraordinary - which for him is just another tuesday.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #95

yeah, tell 'er Dick.

He doesn't need someone to hold his bike.

One of the worst things in Taylor's run is how Blockbuster went down. It suddenly reminded me of Selina's stupid ideology which is why I think I got so ticked off.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #96

Blockbusters' thugs loyalty to him isn't a make it or break it deal. He's one of strongest criminal organisations and the knowledge that he owns one of the worst prisons that he could easily put his underlings into would've instilled fear into his thugs, not freedom. Furthermore Blockbuster takes good care of his people that don't piss him off. He teamed up with Nightwing in the scarecrow era in Nightwing (2016) because someone was messing with his people. He's extremely intelligent and superstrong, and he's not just going to be brought down by the knowledge that he owns a prison. It's Bludhaven. If he didn't, then there would be something suspicious given that he runs the city. It's the way Taylor dumbs down Bludhaven's villains that gets to me. Imagine him writing Batman (2016). It's like saying, "yeah the Joker was just a little misguided but he found the right way again after a stern talking to by Batman."

Nightwing is a big name.

When Dick first came to Bludhaven, one of the police officers was like we don't want your crazy here or something. Also Bludhaven loves Nightwing. They want him.

So why is everyone pretending like they don't know who he is?

Nightwing (2016) Issue #90

The police, the citizens, the villains-all of them. Dick fought Brutale and beat the crap out of him way back in 1996 comic. He's a Bludhaven regular. Just because Dick forgot who he was doesn't mean anyone else forgot him. Amnesia doesn't work that way.

Nightwing (2016) Issue #54

A whole team of Nightwings were formed during Dick's amnesic period because of how badly he was needed and missed. It's almost like the Tom Taylor run is set in an alternate universe.

I ran out of image space but what the absolute fiddlesticks is up with Dick being scared to jump. It better be a manipulation tactic but at this point I think Tom Taylor doesn't even know that Dick is manipulative.

[phantomrose96]

Hey not to go all "tumblr is a professional networking site" on you, but how did you get to work for Microsoft??? I'm a recent grad and I'm being eviscerated out here trying to apply for industry jobs & your liveblogging about your job sounds so much less evil than Data Entry IT Job #43461

This place is basically LinkedIn to me.

I'm gonna start by saying I am so so very sorry you're a recent grad in the year 2024... Tech job market is complete ass right now and it is not just you. I started fulltime in 2018, and for 2018-2022 it was completely normal to see a yearly outflow of people hopping to new jobs and a yearly inflow of new hires. Then sometime around late-spring/early-summer of 2022 Wallstreet sneezed the word "recession" and every tech company simultaneously shit themselves.

Tons of layoffs happened, meaning you're competing not just with new grads but with thousands of experienced workers who got shafted by their company. My org squeaked by with a small amount of layoffs (3 people among ~100), but it also means we have not hired anyone new since mid-2022. And where I used to see maybe 4-8 people yearly leave in order to hop to a new job, I think I've seen 1 person do that in the whole last year and a half.

All this to say it's rough and I can't just say "send applications and believe in yourself :)".

I have done interviews though. (I'm not involved in resume screening though, just the interviews of candidates who made it past the screening phase.) So I have at least some relevant advice, as well as second-hand knowledge from other people I know who've had to hop jobs or get hired recently.

If you have friends already in industry who you feel comfortable asking, reach out to them. Most companies have a recommendation process where a current employee fills out a little form that says "yeah I'd recommend such-and-such for this job." These do seem to carry weight, since it's coming from a trusted internal person and isn't just one of the hundreds of cold-call applications they've received.

A lot of tech companies--whether for truly well-intentioned reasons or to just check a checkbox--are on the lookout for increasing employee diversity. If you happen to have anything like, for example, "member of my college Latino society", it's worth including on your resume among your technical skills and technical projects.

I would add "you're probably gonna have to send a lot of applications" as a bullet point but I'm sure you're already doing that. But here it is as a bullet point anyway.

(This is kind of a guess, since it's part of the resume screening) but if you can dedicate some time to getting at least passingly familiar with popular tech/stacks for the positions you're looking into, try doing that in your free time so you can list it on your resume. Even better if you make a project you can point to. Like if you're aiming for webdev, get familiar with React and probably NodeJS. On top of being comfortable in one of the all-purpose languages like C(++) or Java or Python.

If you get to the interview phase - a company that is good to work for WILL care that you're someone who's good to work with. A tech-genius who's a coworker-hating egotistical snob is a nuisance at best and a liability at worst for companies with even a half-decent culture. When I do interviews, "Is this someone who's a good culture fit?" is as important as the technical skills. You'll want to show you'll be a perfectly pleasant, helpful, collaborative coworker. If the company DOESN'T care about that... bullet dodged.

For the technical questions, I care more about the thought process than I do the right answer, especially for entry-level. If you show a capacity for asking good, insightful clarifying questions, an ability to break down the problem, explain your thought process, and backtrack&alter your approach upon realizing something won't work, that's all more important than just being able to spit out a memorized leetcode answer. (I kinda hate leetcode for this reason, and therefore I only ask homebrewed questions, because I don't want the technical portion to hinge at all on whether someone managed to memorize the first 47 pages of leetcode problems). For a new hire, the most important impression you can give me is that you have a technical grasp and that you're capable of learning. Because a new hire isn't going to be an expert in anything, but they're someone who's capable of learning the ropes.

That's everything I have off the top of my head. Good luck anon. I'm very sorry you were born during a specific range of years that made you a new grad in 2024 and I hope it gets better.

[1000sunnygo]

One Piece Academy chapter 40: Cora san part 2 (Quick translation)

source | part 1 | index

Sanji: Huh..? Aren't you...?

Luffy: Who?

Nami: Luffy! We've just seen this guy in a photo a while ago!

He's Corazon!!

Cora: Guh..!

*tap tap*

Nami: Ah, he's running!

*wham*

Nami: Ah, he fell ;;

Cora: Law, what's the meaning of this? How did this place get busted?!

Law: I'm in a state of shock myself... I swear I wasn't being tailed by anyone.

You guys, how did you...?

Robin: Underestimated our skill of gaining intel, haven't you?

Sanji: You did a good job hiding your tracks, but...

[flashback]

Luffy: Traffy... he's totally gone, huh.

Bart: Ah, Luffy senpai! It's been a while beh!

Luffy: Oh? Isn't that Romeo!

Do y'all know Traffy's place?

Bart: Naa I don't.. Gambia, do you?

Gambia: I dunno. Lemme ask my granma at home.

Gambia: Helloo, granma! Do you know where Trafalgar Law lives?.. Hmm, hmm... oh?

*pulls up a map*

Gambia: She says he lives here! Even gave us details on how to enter!

Bart: Granma really has all the wisdom beh~!

Luffy: COOL!! Thanks!!

Cora: THIS IS WAYY BEYOND THE REALM OF WISDOM THOUGH!!

Usopp: She also said, "if you're worried about the doorknob's prickly static shock, just touch the wall with your palm first."

Law: So she shared some real wisdom too? That damned Bartolomeo!

Zoro: A man believed to be missing is here, 'hiding' so nobody can find him - so it seems.

Corazon:...!

Since I got busted already, I guess there's no going back.

*cracks knuckles*

I'll make sure to make you feel at home.

Coby: Woah!

Law: DON'T START A RICEBALL PARTY!!

Luffy: What flavor is that one, Corao?

Cora: That's umeboshi! Law hates it.

Law: Cora san... ;

Cora: It's okay, Law..

Cora: After all, the only visitors we get in this home far from the town are Bepo and team. And that's just Law's pals.

Law: They're... not exactly pals...

Cora: That said, it's not like someone is expected to live here. The entrance is far down some secret underground passage. We buy our groceries from the neighboring Swallow city.

*clang*

Nami: Why all these secrecy?

Coby: Where are you going?

Cora: Follow me! I'll show you.

Luffy: Traffy's place seems fun!

Law: Make sure not to ravage it.

Cora: This is.. The Doflamingo countermeasure Headquarters.

Nami: The Doflamingo countermeasure Headquarters?

Luffy: That's a lot of Mingo!

Cora: You get the gist of a secret opposing faction, don't you?

In short, we call it "Vs Doff.." "Quarters.." well, something.

And not just Doflamingo, we collect information about the Family executives.. Even about the Onigashima middle school.

I investigate here everyday.. *tapping some keys*

And think of countermeasures.

<bzzzzz>

Coby: YOU JUST SHUT IT DOWN!

Cora: Crap, I blew it up again...

Nami: Cora chan, might you be a bit clumsy?

Cora: I have always been a clutz. It doesn't get better.

Vivi: We know that Doflamingo is a bad guy who needs to be stopped.. But do you, as his brother, have any specific reason for your action?

Cora: As his younger brother, my goal is...to prevent my older brother Doffy from falling into the dark world.

Brook: Dark..

Chopper:... World?

Cora: Do you know what they call Doffy in the town?

Coby : I'm pretty sure it's Joker, "The Town's Charisma"....

Cora: He's a regular hot topic among young admirers, my brother's got that talent in him. But..

He's being approached by the people from the dark world - meaning the Bad adults, as they observed those qualities.

To be honest, brother does have the predisposition and ideas for 'evil.' He's already a bad guy, you can't call him good even as a flattery.

Zoro: Will he remain as the Town's Charisma, or become a Charismatic Evil?

If it's the latter, that'd be way more serious that being just a bad, flawed person...

CONTINUES IN REBLOG ⬇️

[roosterbruiser]

Can I request a Bradley thing where he goes in to get a tattoo and reader does his tattoo and he’s just super love stricken. Next thing he knows he’s going to get tattooed just to see reader till he finally asks her to go on a date??? 🫶🏻🫶🏻

𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝐚 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞

Honest to God, if Bradley knew that you were going to be the girl doing his tattoo today, he would've pretended to be sick to get out of the appointment. He would've just gone to a different tattoo place entirely. But it's too late now--he's here, sitting in your little cubicle with its potted plants and hand-drawn posters and knick-knacks and bluetooth speaker, and you're quietly humming as you look over his paperwork.

It isn't that he thinks you're incapable of doing his tattoo--God, no. You were the name that kept popping up when he asked around for artist recommendations, the highest rated artist in his area (and the surrounding three--but who's counting?). And he knows you'll do a good job because he's seen your work on other people and even if he hadn't, the posters on your wall are evidence alone. Bradley can draw a crude stick figure on a good day--so he is endlessly impressed with your skill.

It's just that you are the prettiest thing he's ever seen in his entire life. No, not just pretty--something above that. Beautiful, gorgeous. Fuck, you're ethereal even and Bradley hates people that say ethereal.

Everyone he talked to failed to mention that you are simply the prettiest person in every room you walk into and, Bradley knows just by looking at you, that you're probably the coolest person at every party you've ever been to.

You have big eyes that you wear bright colors on, which look almost too good against your skin and those pretty irises. Just looking at you legit makes Bradley want to bite his knuckle. You have a cool haircut, one that is polar opposite of all the Navy-issued chop-jobs he's so used to seeing, and your voice is raspy and lovely. You're wearing authentic vintage Levi's and a smooth bodysuit, one that hugs your body, one that shows the hills of your breasts so well.

Simply put--you're fucking perfect.

Perhaps the worst of it all is that you're so fucking nice. From the moment he walked through the door, you were all smiles, leading him back to your little area and talking him through everything without making him feel like an idiot. You were offering him drinks and asking what his ideas were and then complimenting his ideas. You were making all the little tweaks he wanted and not complaining about it even a little bit.

And now, as he sits on your table with his foot tapping incessantly on the tile, he's just watching your throat vibrate as you hum. It takes him a moment to recognize it, but when he does, it makes him want to rake his hands through his hair.

"Leather and Lace?" He asks you, perching a brow.

And the way you laugh, looking up at him with a bright grin as the sun kisses your face, should be illegal. You're about to put a needle to his skin and watch him cower in pain--he wishes you would take that into account and look less Goddess-like, for the sake of his ego.

"Stevie is my idol," you sigh, pointing casually to the portrait of her on your arm. He inspects it with a smile tugging at his lips, hoping his ears aren't as red as they feel. "You're a big music guy, then?"

He nods, slightly embarrassed. Isn't everyone a big music person? Who the fuck doesn't like music?

You like this guy--this guy that told you to call him Rooster for some reason. This guy who's wearing the ugliest vintage Hawaiian shirt you've ever seen. This guy who has a lewd pornstache, the one who somehow pulls off the lewd pornstache. God, this guy is still wearing his sunglasses inside, but he's just so goddamn cute. He has one of those infectious laughs and a headful of nice, sandy hair. He looks like California has kissed him--pretty. He just looks pretty.

But you can tell that he's nervous. Most people are before getting under the needle--you totally get it. Sometimes you still get nervous about it, too, despite having your arms almost all the way filled in. but you have a hard time imagining this hunk of a Navy man is nervous about a tattoo on his peck. Even just based on the scars littering his face and throat, you're certain he's been through worse.

"So," you sigh, moving your chair closer to him so he can see the paper in your hands that has the mock-up of his tattoo. He leans in and you get a whiff of sea salt and vetiver--God, he smells good. "I scaled down the legs just a bit. I was thinking some light shading through here and filling in here and here--is that okay with you?"

Rooster nods, swallowing hard, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"It looks good," he tells you. "Like really, really good."

You beam at him.

"Well, thank you," you say softly. "I'm a big art girl."

It makes something come loose in his chest--some breath he's had bated releases through his smiling lips. You're teasing him, you're joking with him. It feels good--natural.

"So, with this detail, I'm gonna put us at three hours. Does that sound good?"

Rooster nods immediately--his afternoon is entirely clear. But the prospect of getting to be with you for three hours is exciting--so exciting that it makes his throat tight. Needle be damned, he's going to get to listen to that laugh for three hours. Three!

"Sounds great," he tells you.

You grin, clapping your hands together.

"Well, I bet we're gonna be good friends by the end of this, huh?"

He grins. He already aches to kiss you and he doesn't even know you. Rooster does consider himself a hopeless romantic--but this is a whole new line he's crossing.

You point to his shirt, a slight blush covering your cheeks.

"You can go ahead and take that off now. I'm gonna prep the area."

As he obliges, he watches as you grab a little plastic razor and some paper towels. You're putting gloves on and still humming along to music that isn't playing, mentally cataloguing everything you're gonna need presently.

"Prepping the area includes--?"

You smile, standing up. He still hasn't taken his tank-top off yet, but you can tell already that this guy is fucking ripped. Not even in the usual California way--no, this guy is like movie-star ripped. He looks like he's been plucked out of a blockbuster.

"Shaving and disinfecting," you tell him, gesturing to the razor.

He nods, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as he finally shrugs his tank and lets it fall into the chair he was sitting in.

"At least let me buy you dinner first," he teases.

Then you laugh--it's the first time he's really heard you laugh. He likes the sound, likes that you laugh with your mouth closed and your eyes wide.

"We'll see how the tattoo goes," you wink.

You're very careful as you shave and disinfect him, humming Stevie Nicks and Don Henley still. And you can feel his eyes lingering on your face as you work, but it doesn't bother you. He has pretty eyes--you're glad he's looking at you.

"Wanna be the DJ?" You ask with a grin, nodding towards the speaker.

Rooster feels like his heart is about to fall out of his ass. If he'd have known that he was going to be DJing this three-hour tattoos session with you--the prettiest girl he has ever seen--he would've made a playlist. Like, a proper playlist. One that is carefully curated and accounts for all possible avenues of this appointment. His dad used to make his mom mixed tapes--he still listens to them. Even though he thinks that making playlists is only a fraction as romantic, he understands that it's the modern mixed tape.

"Sure," he says softly, connecting his phone. "Are you exclusively a Fleetwood Mac girl?"

You shake your head, making sure all your ink is set out on their stabilizing beds of petroleum jelly and your gloves are intact. You pat the bed and he takes the hint, laying down while you adjust the light above you. Jesus, his muscles are practically rippling and he's not even doing anything.

"Mainly," you tell him, running your fingers along his peck and trying not to drool. "But I'm pretty diverse with my music. Hit me with your best shot."

Bradley suddenly feels nervous--put on the spot. It isn't even that he is about to have a needle against his skin. No, he was in Afghanistan, he doesn't really give a fuck about three hours of needle pricks. He cares about picking a song you think is lame. God, he'd just die of embarrassment if you didn't like what he chose.

As if you can sense his sudden nervousness, you grin up at him--it has the ability to completely relax his shoulders.

"C'mon, flyboy," you smile at him, readying your tattoo gun, "give it to me."

And suddenly Bradley can't breathe. You know that--it's why you said it. You watch him suck in a breath, watch him flounder for words, watch his pupils blow. Now he knows what it feels like for you to stare at his upsettingly beautiful midsection.

So Bradley gives it to you--very subtly turning on Hot Stuff by Donna Summer. It makes the both of you laugh--you even dance a little bit for him, in a silly and unserious way that makes his heart warm.

"Bet you're a good time at the bars," he tells you with a grin.

You nod rapidly, biting your lip.

"Oh, I'm the best to go to bars with," you tell him with a grin. "I dance and I sing and I drink."

"Triple threat," Bradley grins.

You nod again, chewing on your lip again. This guy is cute--like too cute for his own good.

"Few and far in between," you say, sighing. "I'm really a spectacle."

His heart is sitting in his throat. He loves the way you blush when you're being mockingly egotistical--he thinks that makes you genuine. Genuine and confident.

"I'd gladly spectate you at any bar," he says. You smile at him, the blush in your cheeks darkening as you narrow your eyes slightly. "You know, if you're up for it."

Your answer is a resounding yes--you know that already. But you can't just give it to him like that--you like to keep guys on their toes. Especially Navy boys.

"Actually, I have a two-tattoo minimum dating requirement," you sigh, shrugging.

He smirks at you. He can do this--he can do the chase.

"Is that so?"

You nod.

"Unfortunately," you say.

"What's your availability look like tomorrow?"

There's that sweet laugh again--it's bigger this time. God, Bradley loves to make you laugh. You just look so fucking happy. Happiness looks really, really good on you.

It isn't hard for him to imagine that you really are the best person to go to the bars with. He can imagine you in a pretty little skirt, sweat dampening your hairline as you twirl on the dance floor, the golden lights above you reflecting off the glitter on your eyelids. He can imagine that your warmth would be enough to heat the entire place. You seem like someone who is just down--down for anything and everything. He likes that.

"Ready?" You ask sweetly not a moment after, still laughing quietly.

He just nods, blinking rapidly at you.

The three hours honestly flies by. The pain really isn't all that bad, not when you're making conversation the entire time. By the end of the tattoo session, he knows where you grew up and that you don't have a boyfriend and that you have a cat named Strawberry and that you don't have a boyfriend and that your favorite food is street tacos and that you don't have a boyfriend and your first concert was Neil Young. Oh, and that you don't have a boyfriend.

And by the end of the tattoo, you know that Bradley is getting the tattoo in memory of his father, who was also in the Navy. You know that he has an affinity for Jerry Lee Lewis. You know that he has a vintage car and an endless collection of vintage Hawaiian shirts. You know he's gonna be stationed here indefinitely and that he hangs out at the local Navy bar--The Hard Deck. And you know that he is endlessly pleased that you don't have a boyfriend.

"Careful sitting up," you warn softly as you take your gloves off. "You've been laying down for a while. Want a hand?"

Bradley feels totally fine. He doesn't want to brag, but he's pushed his body to the brink in his life. Laying down for three hours having a conversation with the prettiest girl he's ever seen is like a luxury for him. But he wants to touch you--so he lets you grab his hand, lets you help him sit up.

And then the two of you are close--like close enough that he can smell that sweet, flowery musk on your skin. He can see the little flecks of his favorite color in your eyes and the way your lashes fan out over your cheeks.

And you can see his scars when you're this close, these pretty white lines that roll over his skin like ridges on a map. You like scars--as an artist, you think they're part of what make bodies art. They're the human equivalent to an eraser smudge.

He doesn't move for a moment, just looking down at you with that sweet smile, just letting his eyes wash over you. And you don't move from his gaze--you feel totally comfortable in it. You haven't known Bradley for long, but you're a good people reader. You can tell that this man, intrinsically, is a good person.

"Don't you wanna check out your new ink?" You ask with a teasing smile.

He makes a show of glancing down at his chest with his eyebrow perched. Then he hums and nods in approval. When he looks back up at you, you're biting a grin of your own.

"So," he starts softly. "Your availability tomorrow?"

eeeeek fun fact about me: I have eighteen tattoos! so it would by me greatest HONOR to write this little fic!!

[gauloiseblue]

Gaz x cook!reader. We all can tell army food is shit but dam can you make a bowl of mush taste like heaven. And it seems your skills have gotten through the belly and to the heart of the 141's pretty boi leaving him head over heels for your adorable form. Dressed in a head scarf, to keep hair out of your face, and an adorable apron brought from home all he wants is that pretty smile directed at him.

A/N: I noticed that cook!reader has become a trend in this fandom nowadays? Not that I'm complaining. Also, *crack my knuckles* it's time to write a jealous boy

The first time he tasted the food at the new base, he thought his tastebud was playing trick on him. Because there's no was a mere rice could taste this good.

But his confusion only lasted for a second, because he saw his friends made the same expression.

"Bloody hell," His captain grunted, "I don't mind gettin' tough missions if I get to eat this food everyday."

"Cheers to that." He chuckled as he scooped a spoonful of rice.

At that time, he didn't know who were the cooks yet, but he's determined to find out.

The kitchen in the military base isn't as strict as restaurant's one, so people can come in and out of the room. He uses that opportunity to pay a 'visit' to where you're stationed.

Judging by your uniform, you're not the head of the chef. But the one who runs around, checking each of the stations is you. He spots a few soldiers who stand at a distance (he soon found out that it's for hygienic reason, to minimize the contamination in the kitchen) while trying to talk with you. Unlike a cold-faced chef who hates distractions, you politely respond to them, while focusing on your job at the same time.

That sparks something in him, as he finds himself wanting to get to know you. But he knows better than disturbing you in your working hour.

Those soldiers might be lucky to get your attention for now, but he's confident that he'll get thrice as much sooner or later.

The kitchen's busy at the time when the soldiers are on the break, but when it's time for training, you and the other chefs would get the time to rest. So he, as a member of the special force, gets the privilege to arrange his schedule.

He starts his training earlier, so by the time he finishes, he'll get the time to visit the kitchen. The chefs like to hang out at the break room, but when he walks in, he finds that you're not there, so he goes to the second location.

In the back of the kitchen, there's a pantry where the food ingredients are stored. He had a feeling that you'd be there, so he went there.

And he's right.

You had just checked the tomatoes when he knocked on the door. The sound makes you jump, as you look at the open door with wide eyes.

"Sorry," He raises his hand to calm you down, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh." You clear your throat, "It's fine. I just… didn't notice you there. Do you need anything?"

"No." He smiles, "I came to say that I loved today's lunch. It's the most delicious food that I've had all week."

You blush upon hearing his words, "You flatter me, thank you."

"So what are you cooking for tonight?"

"I was thinking about making beef goulash, but I noticed that we still have chickpeas, so," You hum as you think, "It's either of the two."

"You're making Moroccan beef stew?" He raises his brow at you, and you nod.

"That's what I'm planning to. I haven't decided yet." You said, "What do you think?"

"You know which one I'd pick." He grinned as he picked the paprika, "You have enough cilantros?"

"Of course." You giggle as you take the veggie from him, "It's settled then."

Since that day, it becomes a habit of him to visit the kitchen and talk to you for an hour or two. You're shy at first, but once you're comfortable with him, you become a lovely chatterbox. You'd talk to him about foods, kitchen operations, and plans for dinner. Breakfast and lunch menus are already handled by the head chef, since they require not much of a job. But the dinner is entirely your responsibility, since it's the most varied meal of the day.

"What do you think is the most important asset for a cook to have?"

"I don't know. Hands?"

You shake your head, "Try again."

"Hmm, let me think." He closes his eyes, while pretending to ponder on, "Brain?"

"Wrong." You laughed.

"What is it then?"

"Tongue." You replied as you pointed at our mouth, "You won't have any idea how good your food is if you can't taste it."

"Is it really?" He chuckled, "Then what about knife skills? Or time management?"

"They're also important to have, but at the end of the day, taste is all that matters." You tilt your head, "Right?"

"Can't argue with that."

One day, he's caught by Price when he's about to leave after training.

"You've been leaving awfully soon these days," He stops at his track as he feels his captain's gaze on him, "Does it have something to do with the cook?"

He sheepishly grins, as he turns to his mentor, "Maybe."

Price studies his face, before letting a long sigh, "You're dismissed. But—" He interjected before he could leave, "You better tell her to make shepherd's pie."

He chuckles at the request, "Not tonight, Cap. Maybe tomorrow."

When he arrives at the kitchen that day, he sees you already in your apron. You're about to put your hair in the head scarf when you notice him standing at the door, with his mouth slightly open.

"Hi." You greeted him as you smoothed out your hair, "I need to do a little bit of prep, so I start earlier."

"Oh… I see."

"You can stay, though." You shot him a smile, as you fixed your headband, "I could use some company."

"Don't mind me then."

He takes the seat near your counter, watching you as you bring up the large pan.

"Need a hand?"

"No." You said with a grin, "I'm pretty strong, you know."

He snorts in amusement when you show him the muscles in your arm, which is clearly less defined than his, or even any private's.

"I know, but I'm sure you could use some help."

"I'm fine." You told him, "Besides, I don't have any spare aprons."

"What a shame." He feigned a frown, so bad that it made you laugh.

"Well," You spoke as you started to chop the onions, "Entertain me then. Tell me about your training."

There's not much to talk about, since his training was meant to be watched, not described. He doesn't tell much, but he mentioned the little chat that he had with the Captain.

"He wants cottage pie?" You raise your brows with curiosity, "I can make that, but we gotta wait until we get the right meat."

He mutters a small response, as he watches you cut the chickens into four pieces. You show such a focused expression, that he can't help but think if you're gonna make that face when you're making the shepherd's pie.

All of the sudden, the little remark that his Captain made isn't as nice as it sounded before.

"Why'd you stop?" You looked at him when you noticed that he's been quiet for a while.

"Nothing." He replied, "I just remembered that I don't like meat pie."

"That's too bad." You frowned, "Don't worry though, cottage pie isn't really a meat pie."

He stares at you, and thinks about his Captain's request. He wouldn't say that he's being generous, but in this case, he was.

"I know, but I like your stew better."

"You're so sweet." He saw your eyes crinkled as you chuckled, "We'll make that Moroccan stew again, yeah? Or do you want something else?"

He felt his chest swell when you asked him the question. You offered to cook for him, you'd cook what he wants.

Perhaps you had asked that question to someone else—someone who has visited your kitchen longer than him—but he didn't care.

For the first time in his life, he doesn't feel like sharing.

[ponyosmom35]

revelations

Simon Ghost Riley x reader

Liability chapter eighteen!

summary: after learning the real reason ghost didn't want her there, reader confronts him and earns the truth.

Liability masterlist

https://www.tumblr.com/ponyosmom35/733401347573088256/simon-ghost-riley?source=share

In a quiet, dimly lit room, Soap walked her back to her quarters, persistently seeking the information he held. She implored him, "Johnny, you have to tell me what you know. You hate lying; I know this is bothering you."

"Look, I want to tell you everything I know... but in good conscience, I can't," he responded, sighing and avoiding eye contact.

"Why?" she questioned.

He sighed again and looked down, not ready to answer. "You know why, lass..."

"Because he told you not to?" she asked, already aware that Ghost was involved.

Johnny nodded slightly. "I won't tell anyone," she assured him.

"I know, lass... but I have my orders," he explained, struggling with the dilemma. she, looked into his eyes, pleading, "I'm your friend; please do this for me."

"I know... and I will... for you, lass," Simon replied, taking a deep breath. “ the reason it took so long to get you back is because Ghost was trying to replace you with someone else. I fought for you to stay but Ghost was set on keeping you home…” Tears welled up in her eyes as she processed the information.

“he wants to keep you safe, this is the last place he wants you to be, in the middle of danger”

“I'm not in danger if I'm strictly on base”

“lass, this is war. danger surrounds us at every corner, we're lucky to be alive, trust me, I would take you straight home if I could but you're safer with us now”

“if that's true then why wouldn't he just talk to me?” she asks, he laugh as they all knew ghost had never been praised for his communcaitn skills.

“you can't ask Ghost to actually talk about feelings, he's the most closed up person I've ever met.”

“I told you it was different with us”

“it's different, yea. but you still can't ask him to talk. that's just how he's always been, he's never been good with his emotions…”

“fucking men”

“I feel personally attacked”

“you should”

“It’s probably better I get over him now” she admits 

“he's a hard guy to get over, lass”

“you got a crush on him too?” she asks, Johnny cackles and nearly collapses on the floor 

“he's all yours Soapy” she jokes

“yeah have fun with him tonight, its nearly lights out” he smirks before turning and leaving her alone. 

However, emotions escalated when she entered another room to see Simon himself.

"I'm so upset I can't even look at you right now," she declared.

"I know... and I'm sorry," Simon sighed, averting his gaze as she confronted him.

"Sorry for being a prick or sorry for trying to get me fired from my job because I'm not stable enough?" she snapped, her frustration evident. Simon cursed Soap under his breath for divulging the information.

He sighed again, looking away. "When I heard you were coming back, I..."

"How dare you! That was not your call to make! This job is all I have left!" she retorted, her anger escalating.

Simon shook his head. "I'm not sorry, actually."

"Oh, of course not!” she accused, her tone laced with resentment.

“Your sister died, and you gave yourself a few months. You're not ready to be back," 

"You have no idea what's going on inside my head! We haven't spoken since I left that day; you made sure of that!" she defended herself.

"Because you wouldn't listen!" he shot back.

"To what?”

“ I told you to live a life; this isn't where you should be!" Simon argued, frustrated.

"I'm still struggling to understand why you think you know what's best for me. You act like you hate my existence six hours ago!" she exclaimed.

Simon sighed and laid back. "It's not that simple."

"Never is with you," she retorted, turning to look at him. 

"And why is that?"

"You tell me, Simon... oh, my bad, I'm not allowed to call you that anymore!" she said sarcastically.

Simon sighed again. "God damn it."

"You went above price and talked to Shepard. You told him I was unstable! How dare you! Do you really hate me that much?" she accused, sitting forward.

"I trusted you more than anyone in this world”

“I did what was best for you," he tried to explain.

"You did what was best for you. If you wanted me to stay away, you should've just asked," she argued, leaning closer.

"I didn't want you to stay away. I wanted you to go live your life," Simon confessed.

"So you thought the best way to make sure I lived my life was to ghost me?" she questioned, sitting forward as their faces were inches apart.

"I waited for you to call for months!" she yells, putting his hand on her cheek.

"Why didn't you? What was so bad that you couldn't pick up the phone?" she pressed, emotions bubbling to the surface.

"I was scared... scared of losing you," Simon admitted, his vulnerability showing.

"So you pushed me away?" she stood up and confronted him.

"God damn it, darling, I..." Simon began, but she stood with him, refusing to back down.

"sit down," he commanded, frustrated.

"Why do you keep barking orders at me? I don't get you!" she shouted back.

"Stop provoking me!" Simon snapped.

"Or what, you'll accidentally slip up and tell me the truth?" she glared at him angrily.

“when Emma died I thought that I was next, I didn't know how I was ever gonna survive without her. I was so utterly broken and then you sat with me. we talked for hours and you told me about your past... you have no idea how much that meant to me. you've been such a mystery and when you were brave enough to tell me those things... that was everything to me. It felt like you were the only person in the world who understood how I felt, you didn't lie and tell me that it would get better. You were honest and you told me it was gonna suck but through the worst pain I would find myself. you are the reason I'm here, your words got me through it. And then to never get a call... I don't know what I did wrong”

As she poured out her feelings, Simon's fury turned into remorse. He realized the impact he had on her life, especially during the tough times.

"I... have been so stupid,"

 she scoffed.

"Listen, love, please, let me explain," Simon pleaded, taking her hand.

"When I saw you again today... I wasn't mad. I was happy," he confessed, trying to bridge the gap between them.

"Yeah, sure felt like it," she retorted, shaking her head.

"No... no listen, I was happy. You have no idea how often you've been on my mind," Simon revealed, looking into her eyes.

"I wish I'd just called you," he expressed regret.

"Why didn't you?" she questioned.

"People who get close to me die," Simon confessed, realization striking her as her heart shatters. Of course, it all made sense now. How had she been so stupid? Simon would never hurt her intentionally if it wasn’t to protect her. 

she nodded tearfully. "I understand."

"I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted you to leave because... I thought you were better off without me," Simon sighed, expressing his misguided intentions.

"You've never been more wrong," she whispered.

"darling," Simon began, but their conversation was interrupted by Soap, barging in with urgent intel.

"We gotta go, but can we talk more when this is over?" Simon asked as he grabbed his gun.

"Be safe," she said

They nodded at each other, acknowledging the unresolved emotions between them as they prepared to face the imminent threat.

a/n: I am screamingggggggg omfg

Tag list:

@vivi123abc

[artist-issues]

How to Stick to the Point About Rachel Zegler and Snow White

"Rachel Zegler is just an actress doing her job, Disney is the one to blame for the Snow White changes!"

Just because she didn't write the changes doesn't mean she's not responsible for the words that come out of her mouth and the tone in which she says them. If anything, her skills as an actor, which usually include control over intonation, make her even more responsible for tone and attitude, not less.

Disney didn't write her a script for her interviews that said "now include a childhood memory that insinuates a negative opinion of the original Snow White!"

If you want to make it about how well she's doing at her "job..." She's not being professional: if her goal is to promote the new movie, alienating fans of the original is the worst way to accomplish that goal.

"Why are you attacking her just because she doesn't like the original? Lots of people don't like the original!"

The problem isn't that she doesn't like the original. Harrison Ford didn't like Han Solo, and he did a great job playing Han Solo anyway: because he understood the character, even if he didn't like him. Zegler is demonstrating that she doesn't understand the original movie, and doesn't like it based on that misunderstanding.

"You're just criticizing her because you're racist!"

Not really, because the point of Snow White as a character is pure love and pure innocence: and that point has been retold across all cultures. Rachel Zegler's skin color takes very little away from the role: it has nothing to do with her comments. Why are you making everything about a person's race? Kind of racist of you.

"You're just criticizing her because you hate women!"

If I hate women, why am I defending one of the greatest female characters of all time?

"Snow White is a movie where the Prince has to save Snow who does nothing but sing and dream of being rescued. It SHOULD get an update!! You're just worshipping the old one because you hate empowered women."

You don't understand the original movie. Snow White is a movie where the main character has faith that pure, innocent love will find her even when the odds are impossible.

She is the only character in the movie, contrasted with Grumpy and the Queen, who is genuine and doesn't hide what she is, because she's not afraid. She has several lines in the movie pointing that superpower-of-character-strength out. The Queen is afraid everyone will see how ugly she is in the inside if she's not Fairest of All. Grumpy is afraid his tender heart will lead to heartbreak so he hides it with grumpiness. Snow White hides nothing. She's the strongest character in the movie for that reason.

Again: Snow White IS an empowered woman: she's empowered with strength of character that can't be broken or twisted by circumstances even as a child. My definition of power is just different (and truer, and more powerful) than yours.

The Prince has two scenes: one where he falls in love with Snow White and promises to give her his heart in one meeting because that's how amazing she is, and the other where he fulfills that promise. His "effect" of waking her up wouldn't have happened without her "cause" of being a worthy enough woman to love.

They're not just "reimagining" the old version: they're replacing it. They're claiming to fix what's "broken" about the original. Therefore attacks on this movie are not attacks against the patriarchy or attacks against bigotry: they're attacks against the previous VALUES of faith, innocence, and the worthiness of pure love. Love that doesn't have to fight because it's powerful enough on its own. Faith that isn't corroded by circumstances. Innocence that doesn't turn bitter and inspires others. That's what they're saying is "broke" and trying to fix.

Do not let people derail the actual argument. Stories matter because they represent values. Values shape a culture. Rachel Zegler isn't a target: she's an example of what's happening in the culture, and makes a good entryway into talking about it. Don't get it twisted.

[americana-antihero]

Long post, but TLDR: Lois is allowed to be flawed.

Everyone and their mother is talking about how Lois responded to Clark's secret. It seems like many are on the side of Lois, believing she did nothing wrong. And then there are many who are on the side of Clark, believing he did nothing wrong.

Before I say what I believe, let me make this point: it seems that any time a female character does something wrong, fans immediately dislike the character from that point onward. And before anyone thinks I am referring only to male fans, nope! It's actually all of my female friends who grow immediately disgusted with the female character and refuse to redeem her.

And honestly, it's hard to blame them. Because often, when a female character does something that is morally wrong, it's not written as a character flaw that she will learn to work through. It's written as an Epic Girl Power Moment! Look at this Strong Indepedent Woman! She'll jump off a building to prove she's right - that's so cool and edgy and not a sign of emotional instability at all!

What Lois did came from a place of emotional instability, and that's not a bad thing. The writers need to lean into that to flesh her out as a character, and I think they will.

Someone else mentioned how Lois's issues with her father have led to this moment. Her father concealed everything from her, and growing up, Lois probably had to learn how to get the truth out of him, even if she had to use manipulation. It was kind of a survival skill. She can't stand not knowing something, and that's why she's at a job where she gets to learn EVERYTHING.

So now she's got this good friendship with Clark in which she has tried to be more open with him than their first story together. They have built trust. When Lois finds out that he is Superman, she gives him the chance to open up to her. Judging by her playful attitude, if Clark told her that he is Superman, Lois would have probably reacted positively.

And then things take a turn. Lois is so desparate for the truth that she handcuffs herself to Superman. And then he leaves her at the Daily Planet so she won't get hurt.

That's probably when Lois was at her most unstable. Because that whole time, she waited for him, wondering if he would get hurt. And when she saw the scratches on Clark, it probably reminded her of how she felt when she found out her mom was sicker than her dad would admit. That was the nail in the coffin for her.

By taking a step off that building, Lois is acting out of unresolved grief.

Yes, what Lois did was wrong. But that doesn't make her a bad character. It makes her a real one. By trying to defend her actions as "good," "right," "just," and "morally sound," it would do a disservice to where the writers are going with her character. Or at least, where I hope they go. I really hope this isn't a case of "Epic Girl Power Moment."

As for Clark, he did nothing wrong. People (albeit few) are trying to say he should have told Lois the truth...but he already tried. His fear about her publishing his secrets was valid, because that's what she said in Episode 1 - "We'll make him tell us his secrets - AND THEN WE'LL PUBLISH THEM!" Clark has no reason to believe that Lois wouldn't do that.

I also think Clark struggles to see what people actually think of him. Because maybe if he could see how much Lois cares about him, he wouldn't have been scared to tell her the truth about his identity. Instead, he believes that she "hates" Superman...which she never said she did, that I can remember. Clark just assumed that.

So I think maybe Clark had an experience growing up that made him think that everyone would hate or disrespect him. Probably something to do with why he couldn't play sports, or how his connection with Lana ended up. It's seen in how desperate he is to be a "normal man with a normal life." He's afraid that people won't accept him for who he is.

If Clark and Lois talk through it, it could be the most touching moment in Clois history.

[essayofthoughts]

If you're still interested in taking asks for the games you reblogged how about 4, 21, 22 and 🔥 for Percy?

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Book. Book. Give me a book. I want to know Percy's internal monologue if possible, or at least how he was with his family prior to the Briarwoods, and I think a book would be a great way of showing the fun nuances of that given we won't get anything like that on stream.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I mean I think the obvious choice is that I love to poke at his trauma but also like...

I like to provide a small change and try to figure out how it'd affect him? Partly because small points of divergence are fun for me, but also partly because Percy is an overthinker and also someone who comes to conclusions and then rationalises them to himself, not always realising the inconsistency between his emotional conclusion and the actual facts. Percy loves to portray himself as rational and reasonable and he almost never is! He has reasons for what he does and what he thinks is best, but he's also a lot more emotional than he wants to think he is, and I think that's interesting. Percy's brain is a big old thorny mess and I like to really get into the weeds with that, to pick apart how he thinks and why he thinks it, where his logical errors are and where he remains consistent.

I don't think there's anything in particularly I dislike? I mean, I don't tend to write crack, but that's more because crack isn't where my skills lie, it's not to do with Percy. When it's to do with Percy... I mean my goal is to write a good story and sometimes that means geode method-ing it - to find out what a character is made of, first you must break them. Which I think leads on to the next question-

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

Because something I don't like is stories which deny Percy's capacity for awful. I dislike the fandom propensity for woobiefication and how many fics just have him simp for Vex and ignore the ways he can be kind of awful, and neglectful of his sister and just generally kind of a mess. I also hate just...

Okay this is layered but, there's this habit in fandom, largely by people who I think are either inexperienced writers or just inexperienced with trauma to... flatten it. To make the ability to relay a narrative easy, to make triggers simple and obvious and the reactions similarly clear cut.

But the thing is... it isn't? It's way more fucked up and messy? We see Percy in canon try to relay events and it's choppy and erratic and disordered - trauma messes with your memory! And yet I see fics which have Percy just blandly exposit his trauma to Vex, no ums or ahs, no pauses, no hesitation, no chewing over his words or trailing off to silence as the memories overtake the present. There's ones where they have Percy perform anxiety and trauma when encountering people a part of things, and yet it's nothing like what we see in canon - his seething anger with Stonefell, his razor's edge calm at Ripley (that's barely concealing screaming terror within). There's none of his capacity for total irrationality (again, Ripley) and it's...

I don't think it's intentional on the part of these authors. I don't think they realise just how much of a shit job they're doing. But at least to me, with my own trauma - it doesn't feel remotely reflective of 1. My own experiences with trauma and that kind of shit and 2. With what we see in canon.

Instead it feels like someone playacting something they don't remotely understand - like a child. And that's fine for the people learning about it, but for people who've got their own experiences and who like to read about similar experiences for the catharsis of seeing a character overcome it or the relatability factor or anything else - it can feel weirdly mocking? Dismissive? Like the author doesn't care enough to actually think about how those kinds of events affect someone. It's like they think our stories make good stories - but they don't care enough to portray it accurately.

And, again, I don't think most authors do this with malice, I think it's pure ignorance, but that doesn't stop me hating it.

On the flipside, I really love stories which actually tackle Percy's trauma and bullshit well.

I also... and this is much more petty, but I dislike the portions of fandom that like to make Percy some kind of sex god, or even overtly horny. Percy is very restrained and very internal that we see, and he's easily flustered. When Scanlan makes a joke about him having syphilis when he has his cough early in the Briarwood Arc Percy's flustered response is along the lines of once! Vex makes a point that Percy has improved because he's good at learning and knows when to listen. He was a nerd who explicitly had nothing to do with court - he's not the kind of person who was likely to go fucking around before the Briarwoods and after the Briarwoods he had awful, personal, visceral trauma and violation from being tortured, as well as dissociating to shit! I highly doubt he fucked around after! It seems likely to me that he has very limited sexual experience and also was someone who was deeply flustered by a lot of sexuality for some time - he notably relaxes once he's getting some on a regular basis which very much suggests to me that if he had more experience, he'd be less flustered!

There's also that Percy is very much someone who overthinks. Who hates himself for his own terrible thoughts and ideas. I'm sorry, but I can't see him easily fantasising about someone he knows - Percy strikes me as the kind of person who'd think even a wet dream about someone to be terribly rude and an imposition. He hates his reflexive awful bad ideas, the Ripley of his brain, he was raised posh and noble with rigid etiquette expectations - I think Percy's sense of propriety probably extends even that far. Repression is a hell of a thing.

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

Percy's a dick, no not a dick like that, no, not a misunderstood woobie, Percy's kind of an arrogant rich wanker and that's half the fun of his character. As I say above, there's a lot of people in fandom who just want Percy to be cool and kind of ignore his capacity for awfulness or petty bullshit, and also who ignore his capacity to be a dork or a fucked up uni kid! He's a traumatised man in his early 20s, he's basically a fucked up uni student! Percy wants people to think he's cool, but this man is a nerd! He invented guns! Don't make him cool! Make him a dork!

A huge swath of fandom is wrong about Percy and I remain narky about it.

Character Ask Game | Send “🔥“ for an unpopular opinion | Ask Box

[uummyuu]

im probably not the first to request this but could you do invincible united headcanons? 🫣🫣

invincible united headcanons

unironically you are the first request, so here's me going off about men who should probably be in jail but aren't for plot convenience :))

in other teams' headcanons i call them family/fandom of space nerds but these guys? nah, they only tolerate each other because they keep each other out of jail (or at least vince does).

honestly vince probably just has some sort of mafia like underground connections to keep these guys out of jail, moreover how he even got dooma OUT in the first place.

the only (somewhat) sensible guy i can see in the team is automatic but even he's kinda pushing it. like bro what kinda rage do you hold inside you to be able to throw that hard??? he and dooma are easily the guys who could actually murder someone and get away with it.

dooma's definitely a wall puncher, like his wall has several fucking holes in it from the times he goes into rages. (the team have literally learned to cage this man in his room when he's angry, barrackading the windows included, one time he escaped through them and god—)

dooma's probably taking anger management somewhere but hell it ain't working all that well, his therapist probably needs a fucking therapist.

anyways onto dingaan my sweetie <33, he's just so head empty but loyal in a misguided puppy kinda way i can't help but be endeared to him. but also the way skarra keeps bringing him into his shit is so funny because bro you KNOW dingaan of all people ain't qualified to operate a freaking crane are you insane.

i hope dingaan's happy honestly he deserves it. (probably knows skarra is kinda using him as a placeholder for his long broken friendship with shakes which bums him out a bit but he wants to be there for skarra no matter what).

anyways onto skarra, considering he's the antagonist of the show i don't really have too much of an opinion on him?? probably laments his relationship with shakes (platonically or romantically take your pick) but he's too deep into the schtick of hating him he can't get out of it now. he sees no way out for himself or even a method of how to return things to the way they used to be between them.

oh but i felt pretty bad for him in rookie season when he failed to pass for supa strikas just cause he wasn't ready to die for a couple of people he'd just met. like i dunno i thought he was reasonable for that even though the show kinda pictures it in a "he deserved it after sabotaging shakes" kinda way. alternate universe where both he AND shakes get into supa strikas where they can slowly patch up their friendship and develop a healthy relationship when?

anyways invincible united tried to hold a game night once. keyword tried. they were not invincible, nor united.

dingaan wanted to play monopoly of all games and uh, yeah. didn't end well dooma smashed the gameboard in half when he kept having to pay skarra rent. also landed in jail way too many times. they learned not to do that again, but in the first place they were never really a buddy-buddy type of team.

some players just see it as a job while the others see it as a way to flaunt themselves and prove their skill to the world. football isn't really a dream to this team, more of just a way to show off while making money.

honestly no shame there, whatever works for them and they're clearly skilled enough to have this sort of mindset. but the so-called "beautiful game" is more of a hollow reality to them. get up, practice, play football, win. do whatever it takes.

[senior-management]

I mean networking barely works now. I've spent the last year and a halfish networking my ass off and I get ghosted and rejected just as frequently as I do when I apply to things on my own lol the job market is shit atm so now even networking isn't enough. Like yeah, you should still try and do it! But it's no longer a guarantee that you'll get anywhere eventually if you do. You also need a shitton of luck and unicorn levels of experience.

No. My sweet lamb. Listen. The reason young me would have hated that post is that I had the same false perception of networking once that you (and many, many young people in my notes) seem to have. If people are ghosting on you, I'm guessing they're strangers who didn't have another reason to be in your life.

What about all the people who already enjoy having you around? Do they know your skills and career goals? I imagine for a lot of people that feels like a boring topic to bring into a fandom or hobby space. For some people their dream job might seem too silly to talk about to people they may not know well. But my point was sometimes you don't even know who you already know, and saying the right thing in a Discord server could land you the best gig of your impoverished life.

And my other point was to keep making friends on the basis of actually enjoying each other to keep new people with different experiences circulating through your life.

I think almost everyone feels like a failure doing networking the way capitalism tries to sell it to you - as a reason to pay for a more exclusive college, or a ticket to an industry event, where shaking hands with the Most Successful Guy is supposed to telepathically relay to him all of your merits and get you invited out of nowhere into his company.

I think maybe in reality though we can all just relax and enjoy who we enjoy and yeah it might take some time (disclaimer: I am 40), but as long as you're not socially stagnating, and taking enough of interest to really know the people around you, eventually you will be in the right place at the right time.

[thrawns-backrest]

Listen, what do you think about how the fandom perceives Ronan? This may be a strange question, but I saw post here about how Thrawn is an ambiguous character, he does both good and bad things, he is not an innocent kitten, etc. And I completely agree with this. But it seems to me that in relation to Ronan, the opposite situation very often manifests itself. If Thrawn is sometimes too idealized by the fandom, although he is a more complex person, then Ronan often appears as some kind of universal evil in posts and fanfiction. And…I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to me. He has a adverse nature, that's true, and his loyalty to Krennic sometimes pushes him to do not the best things, but there are enough moments in the canon that show his good traits too. At least he is really loyal man and not as stupid as he might seem. I just saw your post recently where you talked about him, so I was interested to ask your opinion!

Thank you for your attention and sorry if I disturbed you :c

please don't apologize, I love asks like this!!! If anything I should probably apologize because this is about to become ridiculously long :D I really like Ronan as a character, he's one of my favorites from Treason. He's entertaining, competent, somewhat churlish and has that posh attitude where you really want to ruffle his feathers to see what he'll do.

Those last two are part of the reason why it's fun to make him the butt of the joke and why the fandom does it so often. But having said that... you're absolutely right. I've also noticed that the fandom tends to be excessively antagonistic towards him (as it is with some other similar characters but more on that later).

And you're right to bring up Thrawn because he's the golden child here, him and Eli, and any character that disagrees with or doesn't like him automatically gets blacklisted. Which is odd to me since Thrawn is supposed to be controversial and Zahn does a good job of portraying that by giving us different characters' perspectives and reasons for liking/disliking him.

Sadly for Ronan he's very unfriendly towards Thrawn and Eli and ends up making a decision that goes against Thrawn's goals which now garners him a lot of hate. An interesting development given that Thrawn himself doesn't begrudge him for it in the books and even trusts him enough to send him to the Chiss. Which honestly means so much coming from Thrawn? It's as close to a stamp of approval as you can get from him, be it of Ronan's trustworthiness or simply his skills.

So if people really hold Thrawn in such high esteem, they shouldn't forget that his own assessment of Ronan was ultimately positive. No matter what role he plans for Ronan to play in the Ascendancy (even if that role is for Ronan to come to specific conclusions he can then take back to the Empire, ie feeding him some kind of information) Thrawn trusts him enough to, again, send him to his own people. People with lost of secrets that make them vulnerable.

And it's honestly a shame because as you say, Ronan has so much going for him as a character. The very idea of someone who's loyal to the Empire while being critical of Palpatine is so cool. It's literally something that can get him killed yet he's ready to face that danger if it means adhering to his principles.

Of course loyalty to the wrong party makes him pretty culpable but regardless, there is a good basis for him to grow as a character. As already mentioned he's loyal, he's competent, he disapproves of Palpatine and all the petty political games that dominate the Empire's higher echelons. He feels guilty for tricking Eli despite believing that he's a traitor. He even comes to respect Thrawn's skills by the end and modifies his answer when reporting to Tarkin so as to ensure Thrawn isn't accused of treason.

So very good foundation to build from. There's still his loyalty to Krennic (who is a pretty damn morally corrupt guy from what I've read) but an overzealous attitude like Ronan's understandably makes him liable to blind idolization so we can't really say for sure that he has a nasty motif for admiring Krennic.

From what Zahn tells us, Ronan seems to admire Krennic for his, quote, leadership, competence and brilliance and he does so to an excessive degree. He sounds pretty starry eyed is what I'm trying to say. Enough to cloud his better judgement perhaps.

Moral or immoral though, he's still a pretty cool character. Which is the same thing you can say about Thrawn. Funnily enough they're almost parallels of each other - Thrawn has honorable end goals that he pursues through corrupt means and Ronan (unwittingly or not) works toward a corrupt end goal but is pretty morally upright in the way he does it.

And come on you can't tell me he doesn't have one of the coolest descriptions (like Savit noting his eyes look older than he does) or some of the coolest inner monologue (like the "half a victory is still half a defeat" line). I also love how he hates politics yet ironically those political mental gymnastics are exactly what he's good at.

But I digress. My point is that you hit the nail on the head when you said the fandom idolizes Thrawn to the point of having a skewed perception.

Another character that I personally like a lot and whose standing in the fandom is very similar is Thurfian. Thurfian doesn't do anything overtly evil in the books and yet he's very often demonized as some kind of villain. Which I bet you is because he's in opposition to Thrawn and other fan favorites like Thalias (something that annoys me because people tend to victimize Thalias so much in their dynamic when she's actually a very brave and resourceful character. Who once held Thurfian at gunpoint might I add).

The thing is, people need to stop the whole pigeonholing characters into 'good' and 'bad' categories. Because especially with Zahn, things are rarely so black and white. Our prejudices as readers can be influenced by both limited and omniscient povs.

In Ronan's case, seeing him from the pov of beloved characters who he opposes is what paints him in an overly negative light. In Thurfian's we forget that these characters don't have the same insight into Thrawn's motives and logic as we do and that Thurfian is perfectly justified in thinking that Thrawn will one day overthink and overplan to the detriment of many. And if those words sound familiar it's because that's what Ar'alani herself says to Thrawn at the end of the book.

But to cut a long story short, I don't think Ronan deserves the hate he's getting. He's a very interesting guy - he's got a good foundation of principles, a quick mind and an amusing personality. Sure, he's prone to extreme bias, both positive (Krennic) and negative (Thrawn, Eli) that can cloud his judgement but barring that he's displayed an impressive amount of competence. Impressive enough to catch Thrawn's eye and we know Thrawn has a good sense for these things.

So basically love Ronan y'all, he's really neat. Even if he's not some paragon for moral goodness which honestly few of Zahn's characters really are.

(Thank you for this ask, I had a lot of fun answering it! If I get my act together, I'll hopefully finish my fic about Ronan where I plan to explore more of his motivations and how he could potentially find a place for himself in the Ascendancy. So fingers crossed for that!)

[p0rchc0ll4ps3]

swap au shit! i was holding off on this so i could line it and color it but i take too long with that and would never finish so here's just what i have. going just on my fandom blog until (IF) i line it coz its just doodles and a textwall of thoughts rn

fucked up harry on the far left is unrelated, and some of these look Bad but its fine tbh

anyways the idea is Kim loses his memories bc of drinking bc it's been six years and he still hasn't gotten over the death of his partner Eyes (who i've named Viorel). kim's still kim, trying to be professional and trying to do his job, but bc of the drink and drug issues he's a wreck and has a hard time keeping himself emotionally together. i don't think he'd swear as much, and being given a second chance (losing his memories and being allowed to start again) would allow him to loosen up and love life again and move on from the grief and sober up. before the memory loss, he's gotten so deep into his grief that he hates revachol and hates himself and hates the world. after the memory loss, he can start to love the world again, and it starts with harry showing up and being harry

the reason he looks different here is bc after eyes's death kim has no idea how to process it and does the only thing he can think of: become eyes. that if he becomes as cool as him, eyes doesn't have to be dead. also his bomber jacket's black (for mourning, i hc he gets the black one first before the orange one), and he hasn't been promoted to lieutenant yet bc he was too fucked up. he also hasn't figured out he's gay (neither has harry figured out he's bi)

eyes for reference (right image unrelated, put it there so the left image isn't that hugelarge. that's my cat rose)

bc while harry is sober and medicated now, harry's still harry. silly. strange methodology for solving cases. can-opener. an uncanny ability to pick up on thoughts

bc Harry on the other hand, after going through that horrendous breakup with Dora, gets serious medical help for his issues and is now on meds and sober and in therapy. in this au, revachol would have mental health doctors haha. harry's been jean's partner for 4 years now and they're really tight i think. jean also had breakup issues, and harry helped him through that and now they have a promise to each other they'll stay sober. it's still almost toxic levels of codependent, but i dont think theyre romantically involved here bc the drugs didn't get that bad for the both of them to push them in that direction (i don't think jean would EVER do anything gay without drugs or alcohol, he's just that kinda' guy. phobic). harry still has all his skills bc he's had them since he was born

so basically theyre the same guys but if kim never got over eyes's death while harry got over dora leaving him. i wanna write a fiction about this but it seems like such a difficult task fr

text transcript under cut

First Image: Kim: "I'll get to the case, Officer. Just let me do my job." Harry: Sargent, the body's still in the tree.

Second Image:

Top Left Kim: You look vaguely familiar. Your face is blurry. Do you need glasses? Where are they? What's your name anyways? Viorel. No that's not it. Is it? You look like a Viorel.

Bottom Left Harry: They sent you here to check up on the guy from the 57th. You know where he is. You haven't caught him yet. God you wish Jean were here to help.

Top Right Kim: Harry POV (of Kim short and smaller than him) Kim: I don't know who the fuck you are.

Kim POV (of Harry): Large Blurry Ape

Bottom Right Kim Harry: Harry: Sargent, do you need glasses? Kim: Fuck no, Lieutenant.

Third Image:

Harry: "God, Jean, he's getting me depressed. Jean: "Oh come on, Harry don't get all fucking sad again. I went sober for your fucking ass. Harry: It could've been me in his place, man... Jean (not pictured/over radio): SIGH. You're gonna' make me start drinking again, Du Bois.

[starry-blue-echoes]

hello, its me again, the self insert bastard

i have SO MANY thoughts about Jotaro and Kakyoin being childhood friends, it's only for a short time because Kakyoin's dad's job causes him to move around a lot; but they reunite in middle school only for Kakyoin to move away a month later AND THEN, Jotaro gets in an accident where he hits his head and forgets, along with him starting to show an aggressive nature [ due to said injury ] + combined with the harassment he faced because of Japan's xenophobia and then people suddenly wanting to be all over him one the Joestar Genes (tm) kick in

Which leads to DIO trying to take advantage of this bond between the two by sending Kakyoin after Jotaro in some sick mind game and Kakyoin expecting Jotaro to falter in their battle only for Jotaro to not have a single goddamn memory about Kakyoin and beating him stupid.

Which ALSO adds a layer to the scene where Jotaro pulls the fleshbud from Kakyoin's head and Kakyoin being near in tears as he cant understand why Jotaro saved him after very clearly not recognizing him and Jotaro is just, idk bro [ deep down his soul is like I GOTTA ]

theres like so many MORE layer to this when the self insert universe lore comes into play but i dont want to barf it up all at once because i want this to slap people in the face when its revealed in full [ when i can finally write this, i gotta finish the current project im on before diving into more ]

my brain is full of thoughts

*crashes through the wall* HEY I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND BUT FOR SOME REASON THIS SMACKED ME UP THE HEAD WITH BRAINROT SO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR EVEN MORE ADDED IN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT-

so what if I just. what if I

*bonks Jotaro with more amnesia*

what if in the accident you mentioned Jotaro couldn't remember anything. Like, brain blank, had to relearn a lot of basic skills and is having to essentially start living life again from scratch

Holly is of course a god send through it all. She never expects anything from him even though he's supposed to know who she is, and despite the undoubted amount of pain she's experiencing seeing him like this she lets him get closer and comfortable at his own pace, never making him to do anything he isn't comfortable with. She does what she can to help him remember things, but also does what she can to help him keep the new memories he makes (another symptom of amnesia is having difficulty making new memories too which will honestly just adding more frustration). Maybe she gives him a small notebook and maybe even a video camera to help him out

she doesn't try to mould him into how he used to be and just..... lets him be who he wants to be

and honestly...... when he does start school it's no wonder he retaliates. He probably pestered Holly for months to let him go back to school, but when he does...... the world is crueler than he thought. It's not at all like his home with Holly's warm hugs and phone calls with Joseph's bad jokes and crazy stories and Suzie's gentle encouragement and advice. Instead, it's cruel with harsh gazes waiting for him to mess up and whispers he can just barely hear and rules he can't understand

it frustrates him and scares him but most of all it confuses him. And because he doesn't know how to respond to it all, he retaliates with anger. Anger was easy. It made sense, it was clean cut and knew what it wanted him to do and gave him quick, easy explainations of how to do it

(Holly hates it, he knows. He can see it in how the spark in her eyes dims a fraction every time she gets a call from the school, how her eyes will linger on every bruise and scrape when he comes back home long after the sun set, how she always looks so sad whenever he hangs out by himself without any friends)

((But she never says anything. She still keeps the first aid kit under the sink stocked up, she still makes him his favorite foods (new and old) every few weeks, she still helps him go over all his video footage and journal entries, and in those soft moments behind the wood walls and shoji doors that keep the harsh world out, Jotaro can't help but wish he could remember what to feel instead of anger))

but of course, Dio and Kakyoin have no idea about any of this. As far as Kakyoin's aware, Jotaro simply..... forgot about him. There was no recognition in Jotaro's eyes, so hesitation in his punches, no acknowledgment of the past they shared, of how much they'd meant to each other

And BOY that's painful to learn, that the one and only friend he ever made, who stubbornly stuck to his side no matter what he did to try and scare him off, who accepted Hierophant's existence without hesitation even though he couldn't see the spirit, simply....... forgot about him completely. Whether it was because he didn't care or because in the grand scheme of things Kakyoin really wasn't that important, it burns in a way he hadn't predicted it would

this definitely changes his and Jotaro's dynamic, with Kakyoin trying VERY hard to pretend he doesn't care and is completely unaffected and Jotaro who really has no fucking clue what's up with this red haired kid

and who knows. Maybe Kakyoin was a pinch familiar to Jotaro but he brushed it off since there were a lot of things in his life that felt vaguely familiar. Maybe they knew each other before his accident, but they probably weren't that close since the guy hadn't tried bringing up the past yet. Or even worse, maybe it was a one sided type thing and Kakyoin had no idea who he was at all

(Jotaro tries not to acknowledge the slight disappointment he feels at that thought. His knowledge who he is, who he was, was almost entirely limited to his mother and grandparents who lived across a whole ocean. No friends, no extended family, just the three of them left filling in the gaps. The idea of there being a fourth person who properly knew him, someone his age...... ah, but no matter, it probably wasn't anything)

also for some added angst....... just. when Jotaro starts getting more positive(?) attention at school, what if some people tried pretending they knew each other before his accident to try and get closer. Just to give this boi some ✨ trust issues ✨

and honestly, there are so many ways the reveal and reconnection can go and I don't know which one to pick. We could have the crack-y "Joseph makes a joke about it and Kakyoin's brain soft reboots" to the softer "in a moment of vulnerability Jotaro talks about the amnesia because he's starting to genuinely see the Crusaders as friends" to an angsty "Kakyoin reveals he knew Jotaro in a moment of stress/high emotion and Jotaro slightly flips his shit because This Guy Knew Him And Didn't Say Anything"

there's just. so much and it's so tasty

[alicenowonderland]

I'LL-IT: The New Aesthetic GG ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾

I'LL-IT a new Korean Girl Group from BE:LIFT LAB, a subsidiary company by HYBE is a 5 membered girl group that was formed by the idol survival show called R U NEXT? which was created by HYBE and JTBC. They debut on March 25, 2024 with their mini album "𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞" with 4 tracks: My World, Magnetic, Midnight Fiction and Lucky Girl Syndrome.

I’ll-it should be a 6 membered girl group but Yongseo leave the group and terminated her exclusive contract on the agency before the group debuted. Let us wish Yongseo a good luck on her endeavors.

Meet the members:

❀ 𝐍𝐎𝐇 𝐘𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐇 ❀

Looks familiar? I know. She looks like SOLAR of Mamamoo. I saw videos of Yunah from R U NEXT? since I am not a fan of idol survival shows, I observed her star-factor. She was born to be an idol. She's good at both singing and dancing with her low tone voice, which is rare for female idols. Here is my opinion, Yunah will be good as an idol but I do not think she is fit with the Y2K aesthetic concept of I'll-It. Another reason why the crowd's fave like Chanelle, Jiwoo and Jeemin did not make it is because they do not fit the concept of I'LL-IT, but it does not mean that they are not equally talented as the ones who debuted. I just hope they debut too as an idol with the concept fitting to them where they can showcase their talents more.

My Given Position to Yunah: ❀ Sub Vocalist ❀ Lead Dancer ❀ Leader - she is the leader of I'll-it, Be:Lift confirmed it already. I think she is gonna be a good leader.

✿ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐉𝐔 ✿

If she sounds familiar it is because her voice is soft and high like Rose of Blackpink. No hate for Minju please!!! But her voice is so good that I always root for her in her performances. Not only she has a good voice but she is also good at rapping and dancing. An ace for the group. Her voice fits the concept of I'll-it very well.

My Given Position to Minju: ✿ Main Vocalist ✿ Main Rapper ✿ Visual

❁ 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐈 𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐀 ❁

She's pretty whether her hair is short or long but I preferred her long hair. Moka is a Japanese idol and she has the distinctive voice of Japanese females, thin, soft and cute voice which fits the I'll-it's concept.

My Given Position for Moka: ❁ Sub Rapper ❁ Sub Vocalist ❁ Lead Dancer

𖡼 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐄 𖡼

Now we have a visual for 5th Gen! Wonhee receives backlash when she debuted with I'll-it since you can see on her past performances that she has blank expressions or nothing at all. We all know facial expressions are must when you are a performer. But Wonhee has a great voice, and a great hair 🎀 She became more popular in a positive light with positive comments like how shiny and healthy and her hair is and as you can see, Wonhee van be the visual of 5th Gen! In my opinion, she is the next Jennie and Wonyoung of 5th Gen. The IT Girl of 5th Gen.

My Given Position to Wonhee: 𖡼 Lead Vocalist 𖡼 Visual 𖡼 Center 𖡼 Face of the Group- she has an aura that is so fresh and young which is I'll-it's concept. 𖡼 Sub Dancer 𖡼 Lead Rapper

ꕤ 𝐇𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐍𝐎 𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐇𝐀 ꕤ

MY BIAS! Iroha is a Japanese and she her stage presence is just so good matching with her dancing skills and good voice, of course. Did you see the mole below her eye? Isn't she a beauty? ૮₍´˶• . • ⑅ ₎ა Watching her clips on R U Next? proves she has the idol-factor that the I'll-it is looking for. And look at her bangs! I thought bangs is only good for Thai Idols but it looks good on her. (♡ヮ♡)

My Given Positions to Iroha: ꕤ Main Dancer ꕤ Lead Vocals -ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

I'LL-IT is often mistaken and compared to New Jeans. They have the same Y2K aesthetic, the same healthy long black hairs and minimal style of make-up, which is a must knowing a lot of them are still minors. The fresh look and concept that they bring to Kpop industry is new and hit after the worldwide and famous girl crush concept. Hybe did a great job on building fresh concepts to new Kpop idols. But I hope that it won't get I'll-it hate from the bunnies and other netizens since it is a trademark style of New Jeans. There are a lot of similarities also in their music but as I heard repeatedly both their musics, I'll-it has their own style from New Jeans.

Let us support our girls and give them love. They are young and being an idol is their dream. Let us protect them from all the hate and backlash. STREAM TO THEIR SONGS!

Let us also wait and hope for the crowd's fave who did not debut on I'll-it to be idols soon since they also deserve it. I hope their company or the company who deserves them takes care of their talents well.

(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧