#i know it's much more comfortable repeat what other people say and claim it's your personal opinion instead of investigating the matter

[seleneprince]

@thebusylilbee (For some reason I couldn't reblog that reply of yours with this post. Pity)

A following of this beautiful, reflexive reblog:

Wow, you were so expressive, so passionate, so full of rage back there. I would've feel intimidated if you have added a deep, complex explanation of your point between all that messy spit of words..

As much as I would love to give you a full and detailed explanation of why your reasoning is fucking WRONG, I know by the way you wrote your thoughts you're not the type to willingly hear arguments that go against your beliefs and you're firmly set on your own interpretation of reality, so I'll be quick with this and leave you to keep swimming in your ignorance.

From all that load of bullshit and rage filled nonsense you spit out, there was one thing you're absolutely right about it:

"Hamas WOULD not need to exist"

Damn right they don't, their mere existence is a crime. I don't know how many palestinians outside Gaza you've spoken to but I can quote what the ones I came across have said about Hamas, here some examples:

"They're the real monsters. They do nothing to protect us and just keep making everything worse"

"We weren't allowed to leave because they shoot down anyone that tried to flew the country. They don't care about our lives, just our usefulness to them"

"We can't complain, we can't speak up, if they so much sniff someone's dislike towards them...."

It's hard to translate some of them, but you get the picture. Hamas are terrorists, that much is known. They've been also opressing, humiliating, torturing, raping, displacing, robbing and imprisoning people since their creation, but they've done it in a way that only those lucky enough to escape can confess their crimes. The rest are dead. But foolish, uncultured idiots like you don't want to hear that because it's much easier to pin Israel's government as the SOLE villains of this story and buy the propaganda western media is feeding you.

"if ZIONISTS hadn't created a fascist apartheid state called Israel"

Honey, I don't know what the fuck they taught you in History class, but the "fascist apartheid" state you speak of doesn't exist. Israel was created by the United Nations as part of a plan to give both the arabs and the jews their own territory and cease the continued conflicts.

(Fun fact: The Arab League refused this idea because they didn't want the jews to have their own land, and so shortly after proclamation, five Arabs countries joined forces to attack the freshly created Israel state and invade them. Or, using that term some people in this site love, colonize them. Israel fought back, won for some dumb stroke of luck and, as a solemn "fuck you", they also took a 25% more of the territory that have been accorded)

Now, the Israel's government has clearly changed a LOT (speaking in euphemisms ofc) back from the original days where they genuinely just focused on the Israelis and right now there's really nothing good left in that corrupt, self-centred circle of men.

"zionist ideology wasn't RACIST GENOCIDAL AND INHUMANE."

The origin of the Zionism movement was born as a response to the growing anti-semitism, an actual racist genocidal and inhuman movement, that was happening all around the world. So using those particular adjectives to describe it it's ironic and fucking dumb, because they go against the very reason of its existence.

Now there are various ramifications of Zionism, such as political Zionism, liberal Zionism, religious Zionism, etc. Not all of them good obviously, but the main core of this movement was focused ONLY in protecting the Jews and their culture. I'll never understand how a government that knows the tragedy their fellows suffered even dared to inflict it on other people, but well, guess some humans don't learn from the past.

And last one, the very jewel of your whole commentary:

"You are so fucking stupid, it's incredible that you would fuckign DARE tag your braindead bullshit with a pro-palestine tag when you quite obviously know and understand NOTHING"

I dare to tag "pro palestine" because I'm with them and I'm actually defending their lives, their cause and know where they come from, unlike people like you that speak up all proudly against others and use big words you don't even know the meaning of. If you actually cared about these people, you would have done your research and find out everything about this topic. But you don't, you simply want to show your deep anger for their pain in the same way all influencers and fake activists have been doing since this started. You want to be "part of the trend".

The only one who obviously knows and understand NOTHING about this conflict is YOU, fucking uncultured and ignorant asshole. Everytime I see people like you speak up on this conflict makes my blood boil, because all of you have been blisfully blind while all the atrocities were happening but now the biased social media and tv shows and all these radical anti-semitist political figures are telling you how bad it is, you think it's time to "stand up against the unjustice".

People like you only see the surface of it plus the propaganda they shove in your throats, and not the centuries of dark history and events that have consequently lead up to this. So how about you shut the fuck and let the grown people speak about this matter?

[miss-hyoko]

Privileged One

Character(s): Riddle, Leona, Azul, Kalim, Vil, Idia, and Malleus

Summary: What if you were his childhood friend?

Tag(s) and warning(s): GN!Reader, fluff, platonic but can be read as romantic, reader is NOT Yuu, a bit depressing for the character's part (not too serious)

Note: I initially plan to make you two a normal pair of childhood friends, but my stupid brain is acting up midway and makes it seems like he has a one-sided crush on you. I still hope you enjoy, though (⁠っ⁠.⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)⁠っ

1. Riddle Rosehearts

Most of the Heartslabyul students are jealous of you. You are the only person who can (accidentally) break the rules of the Queen of Hearts and then get away with only a light scolding from the Housewarden.

There had once been a student who dared to say that Riddle played favorites on you, but then the red tyrant got angry and they ended up getting collared for a whole week. The punishment actually could have lasted much longer, but you who heard the news took pity on the student and asked Riddle to release him. That student is now a living example of what can happen to people who dare to comment on how Riddle treats you. Now, almost everyone knows how important you are to Riddle.

Every time you come to visit Heartslabyul, the students there will automatically lead you to Riddle without paying attention to your reason for visiting. You find it a little amusing, the way their faces light up whenever they see you before trying to get you to Riddle as quickly as possible, it's as if they have found a savior who can save them from a calamity called Riddle Rosehearts. You can't blame them, they became like that after noticing that every time Riddle's with you, he will be a bit lenient in giving punishment to the rulebreaker because his attention is too preoccupied on you.

When an Unbirthday Party was being held, you would definitely be invited and there's a special seat that has been arranged just for you, which is right beside Riddle's own seat. There's an unwritten rule that says the first slice of cake belongs to the Housewarden. But, since the cake belonged to Riddle now and that rule wasn't exactly written down on paper, then there's no harm in letting you have the first bite, right? In his defense, Riddle claimed that he didn't break the unwritten rule. The first slice of cake was indeed his, he just let you have the first bite.

If you have trouble understanding a certain subject, fret not because you have Riddle to tutor you. Once school was over, you two would have a study session in Riddle's room. Accompanied by tea and Trey's handmade cakes, Riddle will teach you with the patience he has never shown to anyone but you. Every time you answer correctly a question he gives, Riddle will give you a spoonful of Strawberry Pie from his plate. And if you answered wrong, Riddle will explain it again from the beginning until you fully understand it. This pattern will continue to repeat until finally all the questions are answered or the strawberry pie on his plate runs out.

Amidst his busy life as Heartslabyul's Housewarden, Riddle would always try to spend more time with you. Like; accompanying you to walk to school, talking briefly with you when you two pass each other in the hallway, having lunch together in the cafeteria, and when school is over, he'll wait for you so both of you can go back together to Heartslabyul and have a private tea party.

Whenever he's feeling stressed and exhausted, somehow you always show up at the right time and give him the comfort he's looking for. The two of you would spend time together in his room, with Riddle resting his head on your thighs while your fingers trace the soft strands of his hair. Accompanied by your gentle hum, Riddle then decided to rest for a bit together with his childhood friend before continuing his work later.

2. Leona Kingscholar

Rather than calling yourself Leona's childhood friend, you actually feel more like his personal assistant, considering how much work you have been doing for that lazy lion.

Together with Ruggie, you two were entrusted by the teachers to bring Leona back to class every time he skips class. But knowing Ruggie, he will surely let you handle it all while he himself returns to class to study (he would rather not waste his school fees, okay?). Left all alone, now start your journey, trying to find Leona. You already know where Leona is, but first you need to go to the cafeteria to buy some meat which you plan to use as an 'offering' so (hopefully) he will go back to class with you.

Every time you pick Leona up from his napping place, usually there will be two possible endings. The first one was that he will accept your 'offerings' and go back to class with you, although begrudgingly and full of complaints all the way to the class, then continue his nap in class, which makes you heave a long, weary sigh. While the other one is, he pulls you to accompany him to take a nap together, where you will be his pillow and also his partner in crime considering now you also skip the class together with him.

Even though he never shows it, Leona secretly loves watching you bustle around doing things for him. From cleaning his room, cooking for him, doing his laundry, and other menial work. Ruggie would do all that work for his money, meanwhile, you do all of that out of concern for your lazy childhood friend. It makes Leona feel as if you put him in as your priority that's more important than anything else, it makes Leona feel smug.

Every beastman in school knows better than to pick a fight with you. Never mind fighting, they shouldn't even talk rudely to you. If they dared to do so, then they should be prepared to face Leona's wrath. In Leona's mind, you who are his childhood friend are a part of him. Offending you means offending Leona as well, and Leona won't take it well.

But no matter how your patient is, sometimes you can also get annoyed with Leona's endless laziness. So, you will wake the lion up from his sleep and tell him to do his own business himself. And since it's Leona, of course he refuses and will try to go back to sleep, but you're not going to let him have that peaceful sleep until he finished all his works. The two of you then will start squabbling about it for a bit while the other Savanaclaw students will stare at you in amazement, for you're the only daring one to scold their lazy of a Housewarden. If it were anyone else, their Housewarden would probably kick that person away the moment they disturbed his sleep.

In your eyes, Leona is no different from an overgrown cat. Whenever Leona's mood gets worse, he will look for you and take you to his room to accompany him to sleep. You didn't try to cheer him up, you knew all Leona needed now was just your company, so you started telling him about your daily life and other interesting things you encountered today. And whether you realize it or not, Leona never sleeps even though his eyes are closed. He listens to all your stories in silence without missing a word. For him, your voice is far more effective in calming his nerve than sleeping.

3. Azul Ashengrotto

In the Mostro Lounge, there is one special table that no one is allowed to sit on, no matter how much they are willing to pay for it. If someone tries to occupy it by force, then they would come face to face with one of the Leech brothers and be banned from entering Mostro Lounge again. That table was specially prepared by Azul just for you, his most beloved childhood friend. Every time you visit Mostro Lounge, Azul will drop anything he's currently doing just to greet you personally and help you order your favorite menu.

Contrary to what people think, Azul doesn't give you free food just because you're his childhood friend. You still have to pay for your meal, but Azul doesn't mind giving you a little discount. And when I say he gives you a little discount, it means he will give you several discount coupons that you can stack with other discount coupons with a maximum of 100%. But in exchange for the coupon he gave you, you have to keep this nice thing a secret from the other customers. Because truth to be told, Mostro Lounge doesn't accept stacking discounts, but since you're his childhood friend, Azul doesn't mind making a little exception for you.

At school, you were always seen together with the three infamous Octavinalle's students or at least one of them, mainly Azul. Because of that, there are rumors going around saying that you are also involved in some kind of shady business alongside the three. You aren't concerned with the rumours, but Azul does. He would send the twins to find the person who spread the rumor and teach them a lesson or two about how one should not just jump to conclusions without any real evidence. People can talk shit about him and he couldn't care less. But talk shit about you, and Azul will take it personally.

Every time Mostro Lounge wants to add a new menu, Azul will call you to be the taster. If he sees you enjoying the new menu, then that same night the menu will already be on the Mostro Lounge menu list.

Since you're Azul's childhood friend, it's not surprising that you're also good friends with the Leech brothers. Together with Jade and Floyd, you three have fun teasing Azul. But different from the Leech brothers, who will be given additional work if Azul manages to get angry, you will only end up with a long scolding from the businessman.

Even so, you still feel a little guilty for making Azul angry. You know Azul usually has a fair amount of patience, but if he gets angry, it means the jokes you three makes have gone a bit too far. Hence, you volunteered to help out at the Mostro Lounge. Azul is a little touched by your sentiments. You have always been very caring and concerned with his feelings, ever since childhood. Well, that side of you is the main reason why you're Azul's favorite person.

But as a businessman, who is Azul to turn down the chance you're giving him? Since you asked for it yourself, then he won't be lenient in giving you orders. This resulted in you ending up in the VIP room, sitting on one of the soft sofas, cookies and tea served on the table in front of you, while Azul sits at his desk and goes through his documents. Azul has indeed given you one task, which is to sit quietly and accompany him to work until the closing time.

Azul is the type of person who is full of preparation and planning. It made him feel secure, knowing that he was ready to take on anything. But if something goes wrong and out of his expectations, Azul will become very frustrated and all he wants is nothing but to crawl back into his octopus pot. It was times like these that the twins would turn Azul over to you. Their childhood experiences have taught them that once Azul entered his octopus pot, only you can persuade him to come out. You won't blatantly coax Azul out because the first time you do it, Azul actually hides deeper into his octopus pot. So to solve this problem, you're going to sit outside his octopus pot for a few moments without speaking a word, giving him alone time while still reminding Azul that you're there for him. After a long enough silence, you will start talking about random things to completely turn his attention to you and forget his frustration. For a while, you will continue to talk alone, but you keep telling stories until finally, Azul starts responding to your words one by one. Azul realizes that all the topics you choose to talk about are completely useless, but oddly enough, he doesn't mind hearing all your ramblings at all. When he is finally back to normal, he will pop himself out of his octopus pot and act as if nothing happened. But the next time you visit the Mostro Lounge, Azul will treat you to a free meal as his token of gratitude.

4. Kalim Al-Asim

Even though you are not a servant of the Asim family like Jamil, but you still insist on taking care of Kalim because he is a sunshine boy who must be protected at all cost.

Usually, people will see you hanging out together with Kalim, with or without Jamil. You are the only person Jamil trusts to look after Kalim when he is too busy doing other things.

Kalim loves to tell you numerous things, from the big news he heard from Cater in club-meeting to the little things like how sleepy he was during Professor Trein's class. You always listen attentively to him, while occasionally giving a response as a sign that you pay attention to his story.

Kalim also likes to gift you random objects he found at shop. He said they reminded him of you, so he reflexively bought them and wanted to give them to you. Because of his habit, Jamil often scolds him and constantly tries to remind him not to buy things spontaneously. But did Kalim stop? No.

Everyone knows Kalim likes to throw parties, but when it comes to you, Kalim hopes to always throw a party for you if Jamil doesn't forbid it. Did you get a good grade on Professor Crewel's pop quiz? It's time to party! Did you get coach Vargas' praise for doing a zigzag flight? It's party time! Are you sad because your favorite novel character died? A party will make you feel better!

Look, Jamil is grateful that you often accompany Kalim so that he can focus more with another work, but can you stop agreeing to all of Kalim's requests?! What do you mean you can't say no to him?! What do you mean his twinkling eyes look so mesmerizing that you forgot to say no?! Great Sevens, please give Jamil's more patience to face your and Kalim's stupidity.

Kalim is the epitome of the sun itself, he is always optimistic and cheerful. But that doesn't mean his life is always smooth, sometimes Kalim can also feel down. If that's the case, Kalim will usually sneak out of the dorm using his magic carpet and then go to your place to invite you to join him. Flying his magic carpet and spending time with you is Kalim's best way to relieve stress.

5. Vil Schoenheit

Initially, little Vil didn't want to be your friend because he thought you were ugly (you're not, it's just Vil's standards that's too high). But the little you have been fascinated by his ethereal beauty, so you constantly try to pester him. Being a child, you can only praise Vil's beauty with a limited vocabulary. Like how clear his eyes are, how pink his lips are, how beautiful his hairstyle is, how melodious his voice is, and other little things you like about Vil. No one has ever praised him like that, so little Vil accepted you as his friend on the condition that you have to constantly compliment him, honestly and sincerely.

And that's what you've been doing until now. But even as a grown up, you still prefer to compliment Vil's beauty with straightforward words because you think it sounds more sincere than long poetic words. Vil says it's a stupid thought, but deep down he'd rather you keep praising him like that because your simple compliments are always better to hear than empty flattery people give to him to curry his favor.

As a result of having Vil as your childhood friend, your beauty standards have been greatly affected. When other people compliment someone as handsome/pretty, you can only awkwardly nod your head, even though in your heart you are trying to find which part of that person is handsome/beautiful. They didn't even have a thousandth of the charisma that Vil had! How can people call him handsome/beautiful? Do they have a problem with their eyes? (No, it's just your standards that's been raised very high by Vil).

Every time Vil becomes a model for a brand, usually he will share the products he got with you. And if the film he's starring in is coming out soon, he will invite you to attend the film premiere together.

You are Vil's first and number one fan, while Vil is your personal stylist and makeup artist. Every outfit and makeup that you will wear must pass through Vil's strict selection. He won't force you to look perfect like him, but he will make sure you look outstanding in any style of fashion that you choose.

With other people, Vil has this Untouchable Queen aura who is difficult to approach. But with you, he's just Vil, an ordinary young man with extraordinary ambitions. When both of your schedules are free, you and Vil will meet in his room to do beauty treatments together while exchanging stories. Vil tells you about what's going on in the entertainment world, while you tell him about the stupidity that some NRC students did when Vil was away.

Vil has one big secret that he doesn't even tell you. And that secret is the fact that you are his emotional support that always cheers him up whenever he feels down. When he gets frustrated every time he gets a villain role, you always stand for the character he plays instead of the main character. When people started to leave him for Neige, you still chose him. When you have seen all the bad sides that he has always buried, you remain by his side. For Vil, you are the most beautiful thing the world has ever given him.

6. Idia Shroud

Apart from Ortho, you are the only person who can freely enter Idia's room as you please. But before entering, please don't forget to knock on his door in the rhythmical order that you two have agreed beforehand, so he knows that it's you outside and not the normies that he constantly tries to avoid.

Just like Leona's childhood friend, you're also entrusted by the teachers to bring him to class. Together with Ortho, the two of you will spend nearly half an hour persuading Idia to attend the class. Faced with your and Ortho's pitiful faces, what else can Idia do but to man up and do the shit? At least, that's what he said to himself. When he just come out of his room, his anxiety gets the better of him and he will immediately scurried back to his room. In the end, you managed to bring Idia to class, but it's not the person himself and rather his floating tablet.

It is common knowledge among students that Ignihyde has a private Wi-Fi network with excellent signal. So, whenever you have homework to do, or you simply want to play online games, you will come to Idia's room and borrow their dorm's Wi-Fi. In exchange for giving you Wi-Fi, Idia will 'borrow' your hand to do his game's gacha. Apparently, you have this 'golden hand' that every gamer would kill for. The card with the highest rarity will come home in just one pull or the first ten pulls every time you gacha.

The limited time event just started a few minutes ago, but thanks to your 'golden hand', you immediately get the SSR event character, whose spawn rate is less than 1%, in just one pull. He will immediately jump around while squealing like a child, and then subconsciously hug you while thanking you many times. After that, he immediately posted the gacha's result online and starts being salty to other players who have to hit the pity system just to get it.

You spend more time in Idia's room than your own. His room just has everything, okay? Cool air conditioning, smooth internet network, comfortable bed, and various kinds of snacks. Every time you visit Idia's room, you will usually fall asleep in his bed listening to the sound of keyboard typing that's created when he plays his games or programming stuff that you can't really understand. Of course, Idia initially is a bit unhappy with that habit of yours since he only has one bed. But when he sees you sleeping so soundly in his bed, Idia can only sigh and decided to sleep somewhere else, maybe in his chair or just straight up lay himself on the floor. He'll be kind just for this time, the next time you fall sleep in his bed, Idia swears he will really kick you out of the bed (he lied, he still lets you hog his bed while he himself sleeps on the floor).

You may not know, but Idia is the envy of every gamer in his online circles. He often shows off Ortho and you to other gamers, saying how lucky he was to have a younger brother who is very considerate and also a childhood friend who has a 'golden hand'. How many introverts can have the same thing as he does? ALMOST NO ONE, SUCKERS!

When Idia's anxiety becomes worse and he starts being pessimistic about all aspects of life, Ortho will immediately go to you and take you to his brother. You both will find him huddled under the blanket on his bed. He asked you and Ortho to just go and leave him alone. But you two know better than to leave. So, you and Ortho will sit on the edge of his bed and start trying to coax him out, telling him about all the good things this world has. It would take a while for him to calm down, but that was better than letting him sink deeper into dejection.

7. Malleus Draconia

Becoming a childhood friend of Malleus means accepting Lilia as your father figure. And accepting Lilia as your father figure means being prepared to be chased down by Lilia who wants to hear you call him father.

You are the first friend Malleus has ever had, so he tries very hard to maintain your friendship. Something caught your interest? Next time you meet Malleus, he'll give it to you as a present. Are you having trouble learning magic? Worry not, Malleus will help you master your magic. Are you amazed by his status as a prince? Hmm, maybe Malleus could ask his grandmother to adopt you? (His grandmother also likes you, but she can't adopt her potential grandchild-in-law just anyone)

You've once tried to stay away from him because some people say you don't deserve to be a friend of Malleus, the crown prince of the Briar Valley. As a result, Malleus's mood became so bad that it threw the palace into a turmoil. His mood finally returned to normal when the two of you were reunited again. After that incident, Malleus became quite protective of you. Someone spoke badly of you? Malleus will meet him personally to have a 'friendly' discussion. Someone wants to pick a fight with you? The next second, they all suddenly fell to the ground for no apparent reason.

You and Malleus are basically one package deal. NRC students will often see the two of you walking around the school hand in hand like two little children, you talk to him and he listens to you. Those who saw that sight dared to swear by the name of the Great Sevens, Malleus had this very rare gentle smile graced his handsome face when he's looking at you.

Malleus loves spending time with you, even if all you both do is just sit quietly under a tree listening to the sound of birds singing in the distance. When the soft breeze starts to blow, you start to get sleepy and unknowingly end up falling asleep leaning on Malleus. Seeing your peaceful sleep expression, Malleus couldn't help but gently trace your face using his finger. He just wanted to make sure that all of this was real and you're not an illusion his mind created.

Having a Malleus as your childhood friend makes you get free bodyguards. For the starters, Malleus himself is quite protective of you because of what happened in the early days of your friendship. And because Malleus is practically glued to you, his two retainers, Sebek and Silver, will also stick to you for the sake of guarding Malleus. Then, there's Lilia, who doesn't want to miss the fun, so he will always appear suddenly and join your group of four. It's kind of complicated, but at least now you have four free strong bodyguards.

Even though he looks young, Malleus has actually lived quite long. Therefore, he's quite mature despite having a seemingly teenager's body. There are only two things that can affect his mature mind, namely anything related to you and not being invited to an event, usually it's the letter one because he always makes sure nothing bad happens to you. When he starts to sulk because he wasn't invited to an event, Lilia will call you to cheer Malleus up. As soon as he saw you, Malleus was practically beaming with excitement. You don't need to bother coaxing him, just doing any activities together with him like walking in the park, eating ice cream, taking care of Roaring Drago, or trying new things is enough to make Malleus entirely forget his sadness from earlier.

[fleurriee]

from the jealous, protective and territorial prompt list LOVE THE WAY YOU WRITE NETEYAM 💗💗

❝  i just didn’t like the way they were looking at you.  like you weren’t mine.  ❞

+ [ CLAIM ]  for one muse to possessively place their hands on their shoulders or hips. 

ILYYYYYYYYY

so, this was a lot longer than i'd originally anticipated lmao. think i got a little to into the back story here <33 hehe tyyy im glad im doing him justice!! ily too 2k drabbles!

pairing ; neteyam x fem!reader

synopsis ; neteyam never did like it when others looked at what was his.

themes ; fluff, suggestive content - including heated kissing & groping, established relationship (mates).

Change had always been something you struggled with. From a very young age, you couldn’t stand it when even the littlest thing changed - whether your family had to move your tent to a different spot, no longer in the one you had grown to love; or, on a much larger scale, when people in your clan started to die more frequently due to the raging war.

You liked routine more than anything, you enjoyed the idea of doing the same thing everyday, nothing unexpected turning up out of the blue to catch you unawares. It was always considered more stressful if something changed within your day, because then the rest of it would.

The only change you ever did love, was when you became mated with Neteyam. It was obvious from the moment he had asked to court you that things were going to become different in the long run, but for once in your life, you didn’t find yourself worried about it. Instead, you craved it more.

It was so easy to fall in love with Neteyam Sully, that he eased you completely until you felt like you were an entirely different person. You weren’t scared when it came to having to meet new people who would eventually become your family; you weren’t scared of having to move your whole life into a different tent that would now be shared with your mate; you weren’t scared of waking up every morning with a different routine.

You weren’t scared - not if it meant Neteyam was by your side.

But, just because he had helped guide you through such a big change for you, that didn’t mean any other future ones to come weren’t going to scare you.

So, when it became known to the entire Omatikaya clan that the Sully family would be leaving to find another, somewhere far away so the dangers would follow them, no longer harming others that weren’t involved… it absolutely terrified you.

Of course, it was expected for you to go with them, too, as you were mated to the eldest Sully, and he was your entire future. And, whilst the reassurance of having him with you was comforting, the idea of leaving everything you’ve ever known behind - your family, your friends, your routine - was attempting to outweigh all of that.

Nothing would ever be the same again - not truly. You didn’t know if the next time you’d see your parents would be when you were much older, a family held safely under your wings they could scarcely recognise you. But, you didn’t have much of a choice, not when you were Neteyam’s other half - where one of you goes, the other follows.

It was safe to say that you struggled more than you’d care to admit when you first arrived in Awa’atlu. Everything was so startlingly different, you were surprised you didn’t create a headache from how much your eyes were flickering about the place, taking each and every thing in before the possibility of it disappearing could arise.

The Metkayina clan were so opposite to your old one in the way they do certain things - the way they hunt, the way they fight, the way they celebrate. It was a lot to take on board for a newborn, let alone someone who now needed to change their ways for a fresh start away from any lingering danger.

And, that’s what you kept in your mind, constantly repeating it to yourself whenever things got tough. This was for your family - now that every Sully was away from where they’d always been, the danger would disappear from the forest and struggle to find them. You were doing it to ensure everyone’s safety.

You’d repeat such a thought in your mind when you got things wrong, when you couldn’t control your breathing correctly so you could swim with the rest of them, or when you couldn’t understand what they were signing and instead laughed at your confusion.

So, the offer of Tsireya teaching you on a one-to-one basis everything you were struggling with was the best it could get. She was the kindest of the lot you’d met so far - her free-spirit and calming demeanour always making you feel all the more welcome - and you couldn’t have thought of a better teacher.

You’d been there for a little while now, the two of you conversing about the different signs that were of paramount importance when under the ocean. Her fingers were depicting a variety of shapes, pointing this way and that, until they dropped down in her lap, her expectant gaze looming on you.

“Um,” you thought, repeating the action within your mind and contemplating up an answer, “not here… danger nearby…?”

Your answer came out as more of a question rather than exuding any confidence, but when her once encouraging smile grew larger and her eyes lit up more, you felt pleased with yourself. “Yes!” she congratulated you, small claps from her lowered hands, “correct!”

A giddy laugh escaped your lips, feeling proud you’d manage to finally understand something they were saying. Ears perking up, they caught onto something else that didn’t include the obvious exuberance of yourself and Tsireya - turning your head, you noticed a group of boys lingering on the forest line, looking over at the two of you and watching you with hawking eyes.

Shrivelling in on yourself, eager to disappear from their view, you were moments away from turning back to Tsireya and telling her if you could go somewhere else. But, before you could, a pair of gentle hands placed themselves upon your shoulders, thumbs rubbing into the skin there. When you looked, it was Neteyam, back bent forwards so he was closer to your sitting figure, a hint of a smile on his lips - albeit, one that was slightly tense.

“Hi,” he greeted, “can I borrow you for a little bit?” he questioned, eyes flickering over to Tsireya for permission. Neteyam knew it was important you learnt their ways just as much as the rest of them, so he didn’t want to upset the one who was teaching you.

With an understanding nod, Tsireya got up from her spot and left, sending you a look that told you she’d find you later. Once gone, just the two of you left along the shore, your mate stood up straighter, gesturing with his head for you to follow him. Confused, you did as he’d wanted, his hand grasping your own as he led you further and further away, until there was nothing left but the sounds of the waves clashing against one another.

Bringing you to a stop, he placed you in front of him, so he could see you entirely. His features were pointed, slightly scrunched, as though he was agitated. It wasn’t often when you saw your mate such a way, so when you did, it was always something that must’ve annoyed him quite a bit.

“Ma’teyam, what-” you started, but there was no chance to finish, not when he suddenly grabbed you by your hips, pulling you into him until you were chest to chest, and placed a firm kiss upon your lips. His tongue clashed against your own, such passion and aggression intermixing together until you could feel your knees go weak.

Subconsciously, your own hands lifted higher until they were placed upon his broad shoulders, steadying yourself just in case you toppled over from the extreme love he was showing you - despite knowing he wouldn’t let you fall, not with the grip he had on your sides, anyway.

It was so rare to see Neteyam like this, especially when the two of you were in public, but it only made you all the more flustered.

Pulling away from one another, a subtle smirk stretched across his lips, pulling at the edges until he was only exuding cocky confidence. “Had to get you out of there,” he explained, words a slight pant from the breath you’d stolen from him. But, his words only made you more confused, considering you were only with Tsireya. He chuckled. “I just didn’t like the way they were looking at you… like you weren’t mine.”

Eyes widening just a smidge, you realised he’d been jealous of the group of boys. Still, that didn’t seem to explain much, seeing as you were sure they were mocking you. “But-“

“No,” he cut you off once more, shaking his head adamantly and stepping somehow closer to you. He squeezed your hips, dangerously enough to bruise you, something the two of you loved - showing off the marks that showed you belonged to someone, to Neteyam. “No, you’re mine, you understand that?” His smirk grew wider, fangs on display wickedly. “Hmm, maybe you need reminding of that, huh?”

[inkskinned]

i both firmly believe that self-diagnosing saved my life and i think that the way tiktok and instagram have recently been spreading misinformation about mental illness/neurodivergence is incredibly harmful.

people who are looking for answers are already people who are in a vulnerable situation.

much of the misinformation appears logically sound; and is presented as definitive fact (prefaced with claims such as "research shows"). it's imperative we remember correlation does not prove causation. it is incredibly dangerous to make definitive statements like "if X happened in your childhood, you now Z as an adult." real scientists will almost always use may or other less-definitive terms. similarly, equating one behavior/experience with any single condition is also unsafe. many conditions have overlapping symptoms; and many people "mask" their key symptoms, even to themselves.

we cannot discern from a singular data point any conclusion. in official diagnosis, for a behavior/experience to be considered a symptom, it must significantly influence your life. many people enjoy an organized space. that is a preference. disrupting your daily life even at personal cost in order to prioritize organization is more likely a symptom.

again, a single data point is not an effective diagnostic tool. it is necessary and important work to catalogue and consider all unwanted/distressing behaviors in order to understand a complete picture of the person.

i will see creators in paid partnerships make generalized behavioral/emotional claims that apply to a large portion of a community, and then they will suggest that the "solution" to that behavior is through their paid partner/through their personal support. "follow for more psych tips/facts" is an incredibly evil marketing tactic. i very rarely see unpartnered/unbranded content on how to aid/comfort those behaviors and feelings.

much of the misinformation employs a subtle technique (called confirmation bias) of setting up a conclusion before "proving" the conclusion. "you know you have X when you experience A,B, and C." no person's experience of their conditions/behaviors will look exactly the same as another's. while knowing certain things might be a sign/symptom of a condition, it is irresponsible to consider it definitive.

confirmation bias is unfortunately extremely effective on tiktok specifically. the algorithm will notice that you interacted longer with the video that "proves" (through a singular video) that you "have" a condition. it will continue to feed you related videos that further confirm what you believe.

this is dangerous because we are, unfortunately, not good at knowing ourselves. i did not know it was unusual to vividly nightmare every night; i didn't consider it a symptom. i was similarly dismissive also of any other signs of my PTSD - i incorrectly assigned them to anxiety/adhd. on the small scale, this can mean a longer journey to healing. on the larger scale, it can mean people with extremely difficult situations are unable to get the help they need.

please, if you can, and you're looking to self-diagnose: be careful about what you assume about yourself. try to keep an honest journal of what you're thinking/feeling/doing for a few days.

do not go in with an assumption. try to keep an open mind. i think we all "suspect" we have something - but like i said, i completely missed my own PTSD symptoms, because i suspected the ADHD the most, and only "saw" those symptoms.

do your own research. if the tiktok says "research shows", google that research. figure out who paid for that research. do further research related to that study - has it ever been repeated? is it peer reviewed? do other researchers seem to accept it as conclusive?

if you feel you really resonate with the materials of one person's experience with a condition, find other examples. see if you relate to other creators who identify similarly.

and please - please do not stop once you come to a conclusion. i fully believe that the diagnostic process should be seen as a first step, not a destination. by knowing what you might be struggling with, you gain an incredibly powerful tool on how to gain peace with that condition.

if you feel yourself emotionally respond to a tiktok/etc that suggests something that might be true about yourself, i'm glad you had that experience. but it's also important to not relax into the "easy" answer. interrogate it. start googling what else that could mean; what ways you could work on healing that wound.

healing does not "belong" to any one condition. i want you to begin to look into healing no matter if you have "proven" you have a condition or not. it is never selfish to practice responsible self-care. even if you don't relate to having adhd, you are not harming me by using adhd-inspired study tips. it is not making my condition worse for you to seek peace by asking for more time on tests. even if it was - the fault would be with the system, not in your need of something the system makes inaccessible.

remind yourself that everything you experience is real. and because it is real, it is complicated. while things might be related - even sometimes clearly related - a stranger on the internet cannot make that discernment for you. you as a person deserve the work, attention, and care that goes into the process of unravelling the harm that has been done to you.

it makes me very, very upset to see how popular these videos have become, because they're so irresponsible. and they clearly are targeting a vulnerable group. for example, making generalized claims about children of unloving caretakers is targeting those who have experienced neglect. there is no way to use 30 second videos to correctly analyze what that neglect might have caused in your adult life. i'm sorry, but it's snake oil.

i know it is so powerful soothing to recognize that you aren't broken. that others exist like you out there. i want every person looking for answers to find their answer. i want you to feel seen and heard and understood. i want you to find your community.

i just want it to happen safely.

[diagonal-queen]

That Place

♡ pairing: Dazai Osamu x gn!Reader

♡ synopsis: Dazai decides to introduce you to his old friend, except he's not what you thought he'd be.

♡ wc: 1.5k

♡ cw: Death (I hate to remind everyone that Oda is very deceased), Dazai talks about the mafia and suicide, mentions of alcohol.

note: You guys wanted this 😐 (dw I'm not mad or anything lol, I was just worried when I saw that the angst option won because I suck at writing angst sksjksksskjh) Apologies for errors.

Dazai hadn't said a single word for a few minutes and you were extremely worried about that.

He was taking you to meet an 'old friend' of his, or at least that's what he claimed. You weren't going to any usual places where one might visit a friend, like a cafe or a mall, but instead you were traipsing a small hill near the port. You were fully aware that Dazai was an unorthodox individual, and that his friends possibly were too, but you still had a twinge of apprehension in your stomach.

"Osamu...?" You finally asked, wanting to satiate your curiosity. "Why're we meeting him all the way out here?" Dazai gripped your hand a little tighter, and when you reached the top of the hill he finally spoke.

"He's here, already."

You took one of his arms and held it, almost nervously.

"He's here?" You repeated, confused. There was a tree, a gravestone, some flowers, but not much else. You noticed that the grass was rather soft, for what that was worth. Dazai stared at the headstone.

"Odasaku..." he began, then gestured towards you. "This is Y/N."

"Oh, you were talking about..." The grave. That was what he was talking about. You turned to him in surprise, but he didn't meet your gaze. The usual jovial and carefree gleam in his eyes was entirely absent. It was truly unnerving to see.

"I don't usually talk to him, but I figured an introduction was appropriate," Dazai shrugged, his face expressionless. The grave read S. ODA, who had apparently died at the age of twenty three. You'd never heard of such a man before, but you could only assume that by Dazai's reaction he must have been quite important.

"You said...Odasaku?" You asked, and Dazai drew a slow breath.

"Ah, that's just a nickname I gave him," he explained, quietly. "His name was Oda Sakunosuke."

"Right. How did you know him?"

"...we were both with the Port Mafia at the time," he bit his lip, and for a moment you reconsidered asking a single other question. Dazai hadn't revealed much to you at all about his time as a mafia executive, and eventually you gave up asking any questions. He really only ever griped about his ex-partner.

Dazai had always been, and was still, very much a wild card of a man. He was rather unpredictable, but you'd gotten much better at reading him over time, and you could tell that this Oda Sakunosuke was a rather valuable figure in Dazai's life. It was written plain as day on his face. You wondered then, if that was the case, why you'd never known of his existence before today.

"I see..." you replied so softly it was essentially a whisper.

"He was a little weird, though. He never killed anyone, despite being in the mafia, and he always had his curry really spicy. It was like putting solid fire in your mouth. I tried it once and I think I almost died."

"Some people just have a taste for spicy food, I suppose." You felt a little awkward. Often it was so easy to make conversation with Dazai, which was one of his many traits that drew you in so quickly. However, now you had no idea what to say or how to comfort him, though that was all you wanted to do. Admittedly, though, this revelation about Oda was rather sudden.

"You remember that bar I took you to last weekend? I told you that it was important to me?" You nodded, recalling the location. You remembered how time seemed to slow down while you were sitting in the mostly deserted bar with Dazai, noting the faint scent of smoke and how Dazai was so much more quiet that day. "Odasaku and I used to spend our time there outside of work. Us and Ango, too."

"Ango?" You questioned. You didn't know the agent too well, but you wouldn't have guessed that he and Dazai shared much of a history.

"Yeah. The three of us were friends, before Odasaku died."

"...don't take this the wrong way, but I can't really see you and Ango being friends." You turned to face him. "He's very...stern, and you're not."

"Things have changed since then." That brief statement told you all you needed to know. You sighed, and gave his arm a squeeze. The breeze picked up slightly, the leaves of a nearby tree disturbing your shared silence with their rustling. Dazai's beige coat fluttered in the wind.

"Odasaku is actually the reason I turned to the Agency," Dazai suddenly shrugged, the usual playful inflection somewhat returning to his words. "When he died, I made a promise to him, and that's how I've kept it."

You knew he was being intentionally vague, but whether it was because he'd rather not elaborate or because he thought you wouldn't understand, you weren't sure.

"You were with him when he died?"

"He was killed by the leader of an opposing organisation." Dazai bitterly answered. "And I found him right before he died. He asked me to...he told me to make a promise and I don't want to break it."

"...I know this is kind of a dumb truism, but I think he's proud of you, Osamu," you said, leaning your head onto his shoulder. "I think that he'd be glad to see that you've kept the promise- whatever it is, I mean."

"Mm," Dazai nodded once, slowly. You weren't certain that he'd absorbed the words as you'd intended.

"I'd have liked to meet him. Do you think we'd have gotten along?"

"...yeah, I think...I think he'd have liked you." For the first time since arriving at Oda's grave, Dazai smiled. It was a small, sombre smile, but it was vastly better than his empty expression from moments ago. "In some ways, you remind me of him."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, for one, he was never so enthusiastic about my interest in suicide." Dazai said this like it was a tedious inconvenience, but in his eyes it honestly probably was.

"He sounds like a sensible person," you told Dazai.

"He was pretty sensible, actually. He adopted some kids who were orphaned as a result of the Dragon Head Conflict."

"...the what?"

"You might not have been in Yokohama at the time- I'll explain it all later. Anyway, it was pretty gruesome, and a lot of people were slaughtered. Odasaku saved some of the children who were victims and helped raise them."

"That's so sweet. How are they now?" You asked.

A moment of silence passed.

"They were all killed, not long before Odasaku was."

You wondered if Dazai's past could possibly get any more tragic, before dismissing the thought. Absolutely, it could. Meeting Oda Sakunosuke was likely barely scratching the surface, but you felt that you were ready to learn everything about Dazai's story: even the more unpleasant aspects.

"That's awful...children being wrapped up in all this? That's sickening." You heaved, voice almost cracking. "I can't believe that you- and he...I'm sorry, Osamu. I wish I could have been there for you."

"...when he died, I think I was kind of mad at him, because at the time I felt like he was leaving me behind. I'm still here because of him, though, and for a long time it felt...almost pointless. Nobody was ever as important to me as he was until..." Dazai stopped himself, before drawing a silent breath. "Until I met you."

Something shifted within you, and you felt tears burn the lines of your eyes.

"Without Odasaku, I might not have met you. And I'd hate to think about how my life would be if that were the case." Dazai wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close, kissing the crown of your head. "I don't want to lose you, too."

You cast your misty eyes to the headstone, feeling almost as if it were staring right back at you. You gripped Dazai's coat as you hugged his torso.

"I don't wanna lose you either," you said, finally letting your tears spill down your face. The breeze whistled in your ear. "I don't know how I'd...I couldn't do it. Please, don't leave..."

"Of course I won't," he responded softly. "I'll always be there for you, my love."

Dazai eyed the name carved into the headstone once more as you quietly sobbed into his chest. His jaw tensed as his other arm enveloped your waist, pressing your smaller body to his. It almost felt to him as if he weren't just promising his love to you, but to Oda as well. He would do for you now what he couldn't do for him then, and this time he'd do anything to guarantee it.

i deadass can't remember if Oda's grave is atop a hill near the sea 💀 sorry if that's inaccurate. uhh just pretend for my sake pls. also i don't mean to make it seem like it was Dazai's fault Oda died? i just think in Dazai's mind that's probably how he feels to an extent. idk love you bye x

[gilbirda]

what are your thoughts on watcher’s new announcement?

So.

I've been watching the Boys since they started back in 2016 (i think around that era), and honestly I'm very conflicted about the decision. I've read so much stuff in favor and against the announcement and I don't know if my answer will satisfy you.

I have managed a community and I have the blessing and curse of being somewhat of a Name, experiencing the ordeal of being Known, and I can tell you that 1)you can never please everyone 2)people will always rush to crush you the second you do something they don't agree with 3)people will always twist everything you do with the worst faith in mind and 4)fandom forget very quickly that at the end of the day you are just human.

I think they made a calculated risk based on a purely economical viewpoint. I think they considered their loyal fanbase and how willing people have been so far with spending extra cash to support them — The live shows, the exclusive streams (like the Valentine's Too Many Spirits) and Patreon. How much of their fanbase was the "broke students" tumblr claim they are and how much was people with spending money willing to pay extra for them.

I also think that the decision seem stupid if you look at it from the perspective of "why the hell would I pay $6 to watch such little variety of content?" and that's a Correct Assumption, but Observe — they have been very slowly pulling everyone that made Buzzfeed famous and enrolling them in. Very recently they gathered the Worth It boys, the second show that kind of carried Buzzfeed back in the day (apart from the Try Guys). I think they can't talk about it right now, but the goal is to relaunch Buzzfeed but without ads and without making it the soulless content machine it became. I think their dream and goal has always been making what Buzzfeed could have been with better management, kind of like "If I was the Management in this company, things would have been better" dream fulfillment. That's why they made the direct jump to a streaming service instead of the logical steps of Patreon-exclusive content or even jumping to Nebula like other youtubers. It was never meant to stay one single channel, it was supposed to be bigger.

Is the projection of making a "better Buzzfeed" worth risking this step? Time will tell. I don't know. I personally never cared about anyone except Buzzfeed Unsolved. I still watch Unsolved on repeat. Is my comfort show. Maybe they are overestimating how much people care about other shows not hosted by them.

Although they did hint that "we want shows not hosted by us". This tells me that they are settling down, they want to ramp down a little bit, do the hook with Ghost Files aka Unsolved Supernatural Lite for the streaming service, and once people are hooked, launch more shows by the old-school Buzzfeed people. Won't be as big as a show hosted by Shane and Ryan, but it will still make people feel like they are getting their money's worth.

I would forgive all of this if only they didn't use the excuse of "if we want to do Netflix-level productions we need money". I'm sorry but that means nothing to me. We loved them when it was a powerpoint slide show with 2 idiots in a set. We didn't fall in love with the toys or the trips or the high tech. We didn't fall in love with the fancy animations at the beginning of Ghost Files episodes that they are so proud of. That was all their idea.

I've seen this trend of content creators ramping up their creations to an unsustainable point, completely crash and burn and then having to apologize about having to step back. Then making it the moral trap of an argument that they have been doing their best to bring quality content to their audience, and of course making it impossible to argue against. If you speak up and say "well we never asked you to break your back" then you are ungrateful audience. That's exactly what's going on in here with the Watcher announcement — "true fans" criticizing people who point out the fact that they created this money problem on their own. Is not the fanbase responsibility to cater to a company's bad money decisions. Is not our fault that they decide to scale up their operation to a point they "haven't been making a profit for 2 years". It's unfair that the fans are at each other's throats for daring stepping back and saying "I don't want to be part of this".

I don't think Watcher Entertainment is actively wanting to collapse their fandom like this. I don't think this was a calculated move. But I do think that they are a group of adults trying to make a career of something they enjoy doing. I think they made this move with the perspective that fandom is not end all and they can always rebuild it.

— And that they are planning on making a machine that can work without them, and that requires breaking something in the fans, it requires kicking themselves out of the pedestal fans have put them on. They know they won't be allowed to have a normal life until people stop looking at them waiting for them to say their phrase.

In conclusion I think they made a choice that made sense if they are planning on separating Watcher Entertainment from "The Ghoul Boys" fame, and it makes sense if they are aiming at something bigger than what they've been doing now. Money of course is the goal and the reason presented, but there's a lot that they are not saying and we will not know until it happens.

Until then, it does feel like they have just shot their careers in the foot.

Also I'm salty that I can't join the service because I'm outside the US.

[frost-queen]

Claiming what is mine again (Reader x Peter Parker) TASM

Requested by: anon, Forever tag:@missmelodramatic, @merlin-dahlia, @alex–awesome–22 @elllie-does-the-posts, @floatlosers, @merlieve, @queen-of-books, @glimmering-darling-dolly@denkisclown, @wildieflower, @meyocoko, @bubblybrianna, @justanothercoco,   @subjecta13-thefangirl, @m-rae23, @harleyquinnswifeyfrfr, @swampthing07, @melsunshine

Summary: You are an intern at Oscorp where you somehow surprisingly catches Peter. Your ex, due to an argument over Gwen things ended. In the elevator there is an awkward tension between you two. When a small confession has been made, it brings you back together.

You took a deep breath, waiting for the elevator to get on the right level. In the elevator was a mechanic as well. He tapped his finger against the toolbox he was holding, watching the numbers go up. The elevator reached its level, announcing it with a loud ding. You moved further back, noticing the man had come to the front. The doors swished open. He tapped his working hat, saying goodbye. You smiled politely back, watching him step out.

There was no one waiting for the elevator, so you decided to speed up the process and close the door. Pushing the button as it set them in motion. Setting your nameplate right, you took another deep breath. The elevator went further up. You stroke your lab coat to remove any wrinkles when you were close to the level you needed to be on. Ding.

The doors swished open as you got out. Two ladies passing you as they entered the elevator. You went straight on, passing by other scientist at Oscorp. Moving into the open space, you lifted your head up with a nod, noticing one of your partners wave at you. You quickly made your way over to her. – “Good to see you Y/n. Do you have the report?” – she asked, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

“Good to see you as well Rose.” – you answered, laying the file you had been carrying around on her desk. – “Straight from the boss himself.” – you said tapping the file with your fingers. Rose smiled taking it from under your hand. She sniffed it making you chuckle loud. – “It smells like excellence.” – Rose stated, hugging the file.

You placed your hand down on her shoulder. – “I am glad this report gives you much comfort Rose.” – you answered. Rose placed the file down. – “Of course.” – she turned more towards you; hand pressed on her desk. – “It is the very essence of our work. If I lack the data and numbers, we will get nowhere. Reports are the base of any good scientific discovery.” – she explained so passionate.

Smiling at her, she opened the file, reading through it rapidly. Absorbing as much information as she could. Pulling a stool back, you went to sit down on it. – “If there is anything uncertain, let me know so I can communicate it to our boss.” – you told her. She quirked her eyebrow up. – “I don’t know how you do it. Working for mr. Osborn so closely. I’ve heard he can be a difficult man.” – she told you.

You hummed softly. – “Under stress he can be, but Harry is not difficult to work with.” – you answered. Her eyes widening with twinkles. The way she stared at you, weirding you a bit out. – “What?” – you asked. She came rubbing her shoulder against yours. – “You called him by his first name. Sounds special to me. Is something blossoming between you two?”

You laughed loud. – “Me and Harry?” – laughing once more. – “No, nothing happening. I simply get to call him by his first name since we work so closely besides…” – you continued, attention drifting away to the people in front of you. It appeared they were giving another tour of the lab. – “Besides…” – you repeated trying to remember where you were going with your sentence. – “Besides?” – Rose said after not receiving more intel from you.

Eyes suddenly widening as you spotted a familiar face through the tour guests. Heart beating just a little bit faster at old memories. – “What is he doing here?” – you blurted out. – “Who?” – Rose questioned, getting on the tips of her toes to look around. You did not expect at all to see Peter Parker walk among the guests. Reminded clearly of the history you had with him.

He still hadn’t spotted you and that was good. Till. Gasping loud, you ducked down. – “Y/n? What are you doing?” – Rose asked, lowering herself to look under her desk for you. – “He saw me.” – you whispered out in a panic. – “Who?” – Rose asked confused. – “Peter.” – you told her. Rose gasped loud. – “You mean Peter as in Peter Parker your ex Peter Parker?”

“Yes!” – you groaned out. Rose looked back up, smirking. – “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind then that he is coming over.” – she said. – “What?” – you called out, bumping your head against the desk from being too startled. Rose waved flirtatious at him, luring him over. – “Rose, no!” – you shout-whispered not wanting to be discovered. – “Hi.” – you heard Peter’s voice nearby, making you panic. – “Is Y/n here? I saw her dive down.” – he told Rose. You couldn’t take it anymore, taking a run for it.

You moved from under the desk, running away towards the elevators. – “There she is.” – Rose laughed out, pointing in your direction. Peter saluted her, going in pursuit. You were desperately pressing the button for the elevator to come down and open. – “Y/n wait!” – you heard from behind. Attacking the button, you nearly broke it from being too desperate. The doors opened, two men getting out. You squeezed yourself through them, jumping into the elevator. Turning around you saw Peter move closer, calling for your attention.

Face contracted with panic; you started molesting the close button. Begging for them to close before he could reach it. The doors started to close, making you exhale loud. Body falling against the back as the tension faded out. Inhaling sharply through your nose, you couldn’t believe Peter jumped in between the doors closing just in time. You tried to head for the panel to open the doors once more, but he was standing clear in the way.

The elevator moved, making you nearly stumble to the ground. No escape now. You moved to the side, avoiding him. Peter came standing beside you, taking a deep breath. He tugged his hands in his pocket, looking up to the ceiling. This was awkward. This was so awkward. Swallowing nervously, it felt weird being in his presence. You noticed him glancing your way, making him immediately look away.

Peter cleared his throat awkwardly as the tension was too embarrassing. He focused on the numbers going down. Taking a deep breath, he decided to cut through the silence. – “I…I’ve missed you, Y/n.” – he told you, scratching the back of his head nervously. He quickly looked away, too bashful to look at you. You swallowed, thinking back of the stupid arguments you had with him about Gwen.

“I’ve missed you too Peter.” – you answered, pushing back the memories. That was all in the past now. The present was right in front of you at this very moment. Peter smiled softly, taking his hand out of his pocket. He subtilty moved closer to you. Your eyes widened briefly when he took your hand in his. You didn’t even protest once. Both watching the numbers of floors go down till you were close to zero.

Peter took a deep breath as the elevator reached level zero. Ding. He turned round, holding your cheeks, pressing his lips on yours. The doors opened, making those who were waiting to enter, stumble back in surprise. Peter smiled against your lips once you had kissed him back. The doors slowly closing once more.

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Read more of my fics on my Masterlists!  

[bunnyluvs-blog]

Underwater

Leeknow x reader (yandere)

Minho has beed your best friend for years. Always refusing to leave your side. What happens when he forced you to stay by his?

Tags-- Yandare!leeknow, collage!au, mentions skz members, jealous leeknow, angst ? fluff ? no smut, Jeongin is mentioned a lot, mention of Leeknows cats, Sweeney Todd spoilers, words in red are lyrics

Theme - Underwater by Red velvet on Chill Kill

“Yeah, all I need for you’s to stay. And forever you will stay.”

Minho was someone who always seemed a little too close for comfort. It started with insisting on having life360 on each other's phone for “protection”. Then when he was with you, you guys always had to cuddle. Otherwise, he would pout and throw a fit. Granted you and Minho have always been friends. Before middle school, you and Minho would never leave each other's side. Of course, Minho got his friends, and you had yours. But Minho had to meet your friends, even though you never met his. Now that you both attended the same college. That Minho said you two had to go to. You and him ended up in the same friend group. 7 lovely guys all with their personality traits and attributes. 4 of them lived together, Chris, Changbin, Jisung, and Hyunjin. The other 3 also lived together, Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin. When you went into college, Minho said you and him had to live together. He claimed that he could never deal with a roommate and that you were his best friend so it was different.

Today was just like any other normal Sunday. All of you guys were hanging out at “3rachas + hyunjins” dorm. Watching whatever silly romance drama Felix and Jisung were hooked on this time. Minho texted the group chat saying he had to pick up more cat food.

“So wait, you telling me Minho doesn't cling to you guys?” you asked Chris you were confused when you were telling him he could sit next to you because Minho likes to cuddle you while hanging out.

“Minho? The guy who hisses when one of us even gets too close? I think he would kill us” Changbin laughs.

“I think he might have something for you” Jeongin chimes in. Which makes you blush. You always had a thing for your cat like best friend. Of course, you never brought it up! You thought you would ruin the only best friend you've ever had if you even hinted at liking him.

Outside of the door, Minho was watching. What was so flirty that you blushed at Jeongin? Does he know? Can't he see that you're Minhos? Maybe you’ve forgotten how much he has done for you. Maybe he will just have to remind you.

“Aren't you curious about what kind of me I am, far underwater?”

It took a while for Minho to find a place to keep you. He could just lock in the apartment, but then that would be the first place people looked. He didn’t want to keep you forever, just long enough so you knew who owned you. he did

Minho wasn't around as much. And it didn't go unnoticed by you. You and him did everything together, why is he suddenly so busy? You tried to bring it up many times, claiming you missed him. To which he would baby you for the night, and then the cycle would repeat. A whole month and a half of this happened. Just like before you brought it up to him.

“Minho where are you?” you spoke to him over the phone

“Y/n-a, I told you I picked up more hours at work. You know how food prices are going up,” he explained to you. Could that just be it? Were you reading too much into it?

“I just..” you took a deep breath. “I miss you, like a lot” you repeated to him for what seemed like the millionth time.

“How about tonight once I finish up, we watch Sweeney Todd?” He offered. It was your and his favorite movie to watch. Often joking about how he was Todd and you were Ms. Lovett. It made you sometimes hope that he liked you just a bit. Even though Ms. Lovett dies at the end.

“Yeah.. yeah that would be nice, but!” you explained. “I want snacks so pick some up!”

He chuckled on the other end.

“Yaaa I’ll pick up snacks for us. I’ll be home soon so take a shower and get comfy.”

You both said bye and you went to take your shower. Minho did intend to watch the movie with you, he just has an extra idea with him.

It didn't take Minho long to get home. He was a lot quicker than you thought, almost like he never really left. Of course, he brought the snacks as he promised. Both of you cuddled up under a blanket and watched the movie. The movie turned into full volume since it always played so quietly. You being you, you ended up falling asleep. Which was just what Minho wanted. Maybe you would call him crazy, or reject him. This was the only way. All he could do was pray you understood why.

“All the feelings I awakened are true, I can't wait, babe, what’s it gonna be?”

You woke up in a dark room, chained, trapped. You wiggled your arms around trying to break free. Which only seem to alert the thing that brought you here. Fuck, you just wanted to be home. Home with Minho. How did this even happen? Was your night with Minho only a dream? Your thoughts were interrupted by a voice, but you’ve heard that voice before?

“I'm sorry I had to do it like this. I envisioned our life together a lot differently y/n-a” Minho spoke in a low tone which sent shivers down your spine.

“Minho..what the fuck is happening? How did we get here?” you ask softly. Scared the man who brought you guys here was going to come back any minute. Maybe you should have thought a little more.

“Silly..I brought you here” Minho confesses. “Please don't get the wrong idea” He continues. “I only want us to be together forever, your mind, and I thought you knew that.” the sadness in his voice pains you a bit, almost as if he didn't just admit to kidnapping you. “I saw the way Jeongin made you blush last month. And I- I couldn't stand it!” Minho yells as he punches a wall, making you flinch. “I couldn't understand how you could fall for him! We’ve been through everything! Your mine, fucking mine.” He couldn't stop rambling. His? You two weren't dating. What did he even mean?

“So I decided to take you. Here. where you are safe from him, from all of them. Don’t worry y/n-a, I would never hurt you.” He rubs your left cheek with his thumb.

“Minho.. I think you have the wrong idea” you start to explain as Minho perks up. “I don't like Jeongin- “DON’T MENTION HIS NAME” he interrupts. The very thought of the thing trying to take his love away makes him turn red with anger. You try to explain again.

“I don't like him- I’ve been in love with you.” You say with a soft voice, scared to anger him again. You were never good with yelling and Minho knew that. You just hoped he wouldn't do it again.

He laughs. Fear fills you. This wasn’t Minho, no no it couldn't be.

“You’re right,” he says, the voice of the devil itself leaves his throat.

“Besides, Who could love you like I love you?”

It's been 3 months with Minho. He still keeps you here. But you are not trapped in the basement anymore. He tells you about the guys and how they are doing. Still refusing to mention Jeongin by name. He told them all you moved back in with your parents since your mother was sick. Surprisingly no one questioned it, or maybe Minho didn’t let them. However, you weren't unhappy. Sure you missed the sun and your friends. But Minho took care of everything for you. You were now his “partner” officially. Slowly you were getting used to this. Maybe living underwater wasn’t the worst.

“You want me endlessly (I want you endlessly)

Digging into your heart without any gaps

You get to breathe like me”

[lillianofliterature]

Hi Lillian! If your preferences are still open, could I please request a preference for what the LOTR Fellowship think of a modern woman appearing in Middle Earth and developing feelings for her? Thank you!

LOTR PREFERENCES || 3/?

a/n: hi, love! thank you for your request! I’m delighted to do it! 💚 Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I’ve been working on this on and off since it was sent in to be sure I wrote a good amount for every character (although my favoritism is palpable, oops). I would get through 1-2 characters and then my brain would shut off for a while. Very convenient of it. ¯\_( ◉ 3 ◉ )_/¯

DO NOT REPOST MY WORK.

if gifs are not sourced, they were found ages ago on Google and have sat dormant in my gallery since. if they’re yours, lmk and I will credit or remove them!

some of my preferences are written like imagines, some are written like headcanons. this particular request fits the headcanon format best!

each character varies in length (I mean, some of them have A LOT and I hope you don’t mind, I just like to include everything I think of for headcanons!) and some ideas or descriptors may have been repeated a few times due to there being so many of them! On this particular request, it was so hard to make everyone’s unique because they’re all so kind and good? I feel like everyone would just dote on you and take care of you in their own way? I hope they’re unique enough!

I do my best to keep them gender-neutral for everyone! <3

warnings: repetitive ideas I’M SORRY I TRIED I PROMISE, some injuries and light gore mentioned, mental health issues implied (depression, anxiety, etc.)

(preferences below the cut-off)

| how they would react to developing feelings for someone from the modern world

aragorn | word count: 1.3k+

Aragorn was no stranger to forces of magic and otherworldly power he didn't quite understand, as he was exposed to such truths all of his life, so he wasn't as untrusting or suspicious of you as some of the other folks of Middle-Earth might be to someone claiming to be from another realm of a far advanced make and age. 

He wouldn't develop feelings for you right away, he's the slow and steady sort who must get to know and become familiar with someone before even entertaining fonder, sweeter thoughts, much less full-fledged feelings. But you did have that mysterious air about you, being a stranger to his world, the era and its customs, and he always wished to understand you from the moment Elrond had introduced you to each other. You were intriguing, to say the least.

To be fair, you were slow in trusting people completely, just as he was, so your path in developing feelings for each other was equally stubborn and forgiving. He believed your story, of course, about how you'd come from another land that was quite different from his own, about the strange humming you'd heard one night and the stinging you felt in your toes and fingertips, about how you'd ended up in a forest somehow and had followed the Ford of Bruinen into Rivendell. 

He was the first person to truly believe you and not just try to assuage your questions and anxieties passively. He made a point to validate that you weren't crazy or dreaming it up; he did everything he could to help you feel grounded and understood. Aragorn was humble enough to admit he didn't understand everything—and that he especially didn't have to understand something in order for it to be true. 

At Elrond's request (and largely due to his own curiosity), he'd agreed to help you learn about this strange new world and its history and customs. Why he'd been tasked above any other elf of intelligence in Rivendell to be your guide and tutor, he hadn't the faintest idea, except for the fact that perhaps since he traveled more than those who dwelled comfortably in the elven lord's domain, his experiences might be of more value than knowledge gleaned solely from literature and speeches.

He was quizzical about the strange things you would do, the habits you admitted were hard to break. Such as how you would rub your knuckles against the wall by every door frame when you entered a dark room, presumably looking for "light switches''—and the way you searched for "buttons and knobs" when you entered a kitchen and asked if there was such a thing resembling a "refrigerator" or an "icebox" in this world. Whatever phantom switches and objects you were after, he found it amusing to see you chastise yourself for looking for things that weren't there in Middle-Earth. (But he also realized it must be difficult to enter a realm where nothing is the same and everything is new to you, even down to the most basic aspects of daily living.)

There was also the way you were afraid to drink from rivers and skeptical of sleeping on the ground and accepting food from people you hardly knew and constantly asking what it was you were eating or if it was cooked all the way through. He knew there was some wisdom to caution, but your caution seemed extreme, which made him wonder what sort of world you hailed from that food and drink could not be trusted and one would not be accustomed to natural resources and living off the earth.

He never once made you feel silly or cowardly, though, for whatever you discovered or worried about that made you feel squeamish. He merely taught you his own ways with generous patience; he taught you to hunt and forage, how to protect yourself from insects and parasites with herbs and salves, to trim your hair with shears, and use a specific type of tree branch to clean your teeth (you couldn't just pick up any stick on the forest floor, you know), and how eucalyptus was especially soothing for the scalp when washing your hair (so long as the water wasn't too cold when you rinsed, which you learned the hard way after bathing in the river after he concocted something resembling shampoo for you).

He'd been the one to hold you that night on your travels across lands (an idea Elrond had had to get you used to the world you'd been brought into, teaching you with firsthand exposure or something of the sort) that you'd finally broken down into tears after weeks of trying to make sense of your predicament. He'd sang to you in his elvish tongue until you'd fallen asleep in his arms under the warmth of his furs and winter coat. You missed your family, your friends, and some of the beauties and conveniences of your own land. People and things he couldn't replace. He did his best to calm your aching spirit. He knew what it was to miss people, to ache for them, to reach out and not find them reaching back, to not feel your mother's warmth any longer–no matter how much you longed for it.

It was that kind of sweetness, how in touch he was with his emotions and how readily he extended his compassion, that made you realize how special of a man he was. 

And after months of helping you along in Middle-Earth and watching you blossom and grow with the changing seasons, essentially becoming part of his world, Aragorn began to feel deeply towards you. Not just his protective instinct that he'd developed for you since he'd been your confidante and ally since your arrival (he once compared you to a fawn just learning to walk in the afterbirth or a little bunny hidden away in a burrow that he had been tasked with - and obliged - to help grow and adapt) (all until you asked him to stop comparing you to wild animals), but also these funny little bouts of fluttering in his stomach and an innate need to be near you. The reprieve your mere presence gave him. The pure happiness your eagerness to learn and understand him and his world offered him. 

It would be difficult for him to act on those feelings at first because the last thing he would want to do is add more pressure or discomfort to your already convoluted burdens. But when he did, after weeks of pining for you and feeling himself smile (momentarily free of any heavy thoughts or worries of his own that often tugged that smile flat) after your many failed attempts to mimic or poke fun at him for his quiet, mysterious "Strider" persona.

Luckily, Aragorn was not alone in his feelings, and his only regret was not telling you sooner.

Neither of you knew if your returning home was a possibility or not, nor especially how such a thing could even be done, but he hoped that the day would never come when you would disappear from his life. It wasn't that he wished you never to return home to your loved ones and your comforts, but that he needed closure of his own. He needed warning in order to prepare himself to lose you if he was fated to–not that any amount of preparation can teach someone how to nobly lose their soulmate. Or perhaps he needed at least enough preparation to follow you into that world if he was ever given the chance. 

And if you were to stay in Middle-Earth until the end of your days, he vowed to help you in whatever endeavors you faced, as long as he could be by your side for every one of them. He would gladly go on teaching, guiding, and needing you.

boromir | word count: 1.8k+

Boromir was definitely skeptical of you, not only because of your sudden appearance in his father's city, but also because of your explanations to their inquiries of who you were, where you were from, and how you had come to enter the steward's palace without having alerted any guards or centremen were never quite believable. It seemed as though your answers just brought on more questions, which only made his father's temperament even more fragile than normal.

For his father's sake, Boromir would take over the situation, reprieving him of any responsibility of having to deal with the "nuisance of a wench" that Denethor, Steward of Gondor, had so politely referred to you when you didn't admit to his accusations of your being a spy from Edoras or some sort of conspiring assassin having come to usurp his throne (because you weren't one and in light of your very sudden and confusing teleportation into an entirely different realm, couldn't care less about some rickety old man on some throne you didn't even know about, much less want)

(which you told Boromir to his face once he'd come to visit you in your holding cell to interrogate you further).

Your relationship was a rocky start, to say the least. There wasn't torture involved or anything, you were kept fed and hydrated from within your cell, and the cell itself was much more quaint living space than the stuff of dungeons. The door even had a lock on the inside to ensure your privacy as an individual, although there were guards placed outside the door and the windows were too narrow and too high to even see out of, much less clamber out of to escape further out into a world you didn't understand. In all actuality, as the hours wore on and no one came to remove your fingernails or dunk you in a barrel of icy water until you spoke, you began to realize that the steward's son–Boromir, you think it was–had most likely placed you in the guest or servant's quarters. There was no way that this room, furnished with a single bed, a vanity, a well-stocked bookshelf, a wardrobe, and even a small washroom was in any way dungeon quality. Where was the hay all over the floor? The rusty cell bars? Mice scurrying over your feet? Mushrooms and mold growing in damp corners?

So, had he lied to his father? Gone against his orders to let you rot in a cell for your lying impotence and instead given you room and board?

As the next day dawned and Borormir came to speak with you privately, he was an entirely different person than what you'd expected from your brief encounter in the throne room. Out from his father's scrutinous and demanding gaze, Borormir was much more agreeable and even somewhat patient. He wasn't quick to condemn you as a liar or some manipulative traitor, although he obviously still did suspect it. He was commanding, but he wasn't dominating.

In short, romance wasn't even on the map for either of you due to the circumstances of your meeting. No one falls in love with the man interrogating them for days on end about losing everything they ever had in an instant, about walking into an old alleyway back home to escape the rain, only to find yourself walking into the halls of some grouchy old steward who accuses you of treason and attempted murder. And no one falls in love with the person skulking through their father's halls unannounced and dishing out insults to that said father and kingdom at first glance, wounding their pride and dignity in one fell swoop.

In fact, he'd even chastised you for speaking ill of his father.

"You mean the man who just called me a nuisance? And a wench?"

Your pension for being very...communicative despite speaking to the son of the steward shocked him to say the least. Boromir wasn't used to being spoken to with such reignless freedom—especially not from strangers under lock and key.

He apologized for Denethor's crass and demeaning insults. You wouldn't have accepted his apology if it hadn't been for the forlorn sincerity in the man's eyes when he explained that his father was a changed man–and not for the better. Regardless, he asked that you respect the steward and his position of power, but even more so, respect that he is his father and he couldn't tolerate ill words being spoken about him.

You agreed to speak no such insults in his presence out of respect for Boromir in return for the patience and hospitality he'd shown you, but you made no vow to be tolerable of Denethor himself. He found that agreeable.

As the questions wore on and your answers remained much the same, Boromir realized that this story you kept explaining, about the alleyway and the rain, the smell of the bakery across the street, the soggy socks in your shoes, it was obviously what you believed–even if he wasn't sure if he could believe it yet. It was hard for Boromir to believe without seeing for himself. It's ye old "I believe that you believe it happened," two hairs shy of calling you crazy sort of response.

That is, until his brother gets word of the new visitor a few days after your arrival. Faramir was his name. He remembered how strange that passageway deep in the stone walls of the palace near the eastern wing had always made him feel when he passed through it. And when he heard of your predicament, he actually seemed rather aware of some sort of power or legend that once spoke of beings traveling between realms in some rare instances. Apparently, Boromir was much more trusting of his little brother. He took Faramir at his word, especially once shown several tomes and scrolls from across the ages of rare but unexplainable instances such as yours.

With Faramir's help (whom you found much more agreeable than his suspicious and impossible older brother), Boromir actually believed in what had happened to you. Not just that you thought it was true, but that such strange things do happen, things even the bravest warriors from great kingdoms cannot explain away.

When it was revealed that it did make factual sense, given your odd apparel that day you'd arrived and the baggy "sweatshirt" you'd refused to let them confiscate, the difference in your accent and dialect, the contrast to your world and Middle-Earth, how very little you understood about his kingdom and the way of basic living, you were then given a proper room in the guest housing just outside the palace courts, a few blocks from the courtyard and stories above the inner city.

You were viewed as an intellectual advantage (or at least that was how he explained it to his father in order for it to make sense to the paranoid steward to keep you nearby), given access to the libraries and studies under Boromir's supervision, and were assigned servants to help you learn to bathe without running water, how to brush your teeth without paste and a brush, how to lather your hair with only water and sweet-smelling oils and rinse within a basin, and a myriad of other daily changes you needed to adapt to. When you refused assistance beyond being taught how to live and function in his world, Boromir found it almost insulting–but it made him curious.

He'd never gone a day without servants, almost like shadows ushering about him, unseen and avoided beyond what they were needed for. He appreciated his people and had great pride for them, but your point of view (from someone of the working class) helped humble the entitled nobility woven into his countenance.

As time passed, Boromir found that it was he who took you for walks throughout the palace courtyard rather than silent guards or obedient servants under order; it was he who excitedly showed you his prized steeds and explained each of their individual personalities, who insisted that you venture into every reach of Gondor until you are as familiar with its villages and rivers as you are with the backs of your hands.

It was his idea, then, to show you parts of Gondor you'd never seen. Forests, plains, meadows, farms, and mountain passes, even the distant horizon of a vast beach shore toward the south. All of it grand, all of it foreign, all of it breathtaking. It was there, on horseback and walking through his father's kingdom, that you really saw who Boromir was. Free of armor and duties, he was just a man desperately in love with his country and his people.

He was flawed, yes. Greatly so. But then again, everyone bears flaws as much as any other person. Some are just skilled at hiding them from the world. Others use them to their advantage. But Boromir–Boromir just seemed like a boy some days when he was beyond the walls of Minas Tirith. The tours he gave you of his beloved land, free of expectation and any sense of obligation, were what allowed you to see everything differently, everything way back to the beginning, to months ago when you'd stumbled through those passageways between royal chambers.

And evidently, Boromir had started to realize much the same for himself. He wasn't one to take ladies for strolls about courtyards and offer them wildflowers that he nearly trampled under his boot; it wasn't like him to look forward to the days when he could spend his time riding into the villages and forests with company rather than being alone; it wasn't like Boromir, son of Denethor, heir to the stewardship of Gondor, to find himself lost in laughter as he tried to teach you how to start a fire without a "lighter" contraption that you were used to and watching you fail miserably into the evening hours and cursing under your breath with risqué words he'd never heard. It wasn't like him to feel such relief, to feel so light and free of his father's burdens.

But love comes when you aren't looking for it, and it often brings people together who would never have noticed one another in any other circumstance.

So maybe that's why you were brought to Middle-Earth, to Gondor, to the halls of his very home, out of all the places and realms you might've ended up in. Whatever might've happened, it must have been fate, or some destiny tied to love. For Boromir, the greatest warrior of his father's vast army, to find himself believing in miracles and accepting the truth of the unknown and uncertain–it could be little else but love. For the first time in his life, not knowing was enough, as long as it meant having you.

faramir | word count: 1k+

Your meeting would definitely be in a forest somewhere, perhaps in Gondor or somewhere you can't even pronounce when he tells you. He's with his rangers, scouting and securing the borders of his country–but truly, his purpose for being all the way out there was to be far away from his father to drown out his disdain and favoritism.

The way you would meet would provide him with comical relief somehow, I just think that's something that would give your relationship such a different beginning than all the other people in his life. Not bound by blood or duty, just victims of circumstance, although he wouldn't want to say he was any sort of victim in having the privilege of meeting you.

He would be knelt by the river, scooping crisp water with his hands and sipping it as his men are some ways down the bank, offering him a moment of silence and reprieve from his own duties. His men, the rangers he lead as their captain, were more than just his "Inferiors" (as his father put it), they were his friends and most trusted advisors. They weren't sworn to serve Faramir, son of Denethor, younger brother to the great warrior Boromir, only because duty and station required it of them. They were both fond and loyal to him, to his humility and wisdom, to his feeling nature. His strength was different but no less honorable. So when their captain wandered off alone, they knew him well enough to give him space.

Although, that's not exactly what he would get.

One moment, you were on the hiking trail you'd taken near your local park for the scenic terrain and perfect reading spots when suddenly the trail had twisted in a way it hadn't before until it had completely disappeared from beneath you in the rapidly appearing overgrowth. Now in a forest you didn't recognize, with panic and anxiety pulsing through your body, running back the way you'd come from in desperate search of the trail you'd been vigilant not to wander from.

That's when Faramir hears the rustling in the forest behind him, he stands as he shakes the water from his hands and poises his bow, knowing his men would never rush him unexpectedly while in the wild (and they weren't even in that direction as far as he knew from where he left them). Before the poor man can react, your bodies collide as you appear out of the thicket and slam into him. I mean, you absolutely take this man out.

You'd both crash in a heap by the river, sliding down the bank and into the shallow edges of the freezing water. Your comfy tennis shoes? Sopping wet. His cloak? Might as well hang it on the laundry line next to the linens.

You'd scramble to your feet, still rushing from adrenaline, while he'd take his time getting up as he rubbed the sore spots you'd brandished him with. With one look in your direction, he'd do a once over and a double-take, completely befuddled by your apparel and whatever reflective material your tight leggings were made of. Not to mention the strange device in your hand with a long cord dangling from its end and the sack of books that had tumbled into the damp dirt at the river's edge.

Once he regained his footing with an adjustment of his jaw and posture, he'd be bombarded with your frantic questions of where you were, where the trailhead was, if his "phone" device had any cell power (whatever that meant, he hadn't a clue) or if he was a "LARPer" based on his apparel (which, mind you, he had several questions about your very strange clothing of choice as well). Simply put, you were quite confused by one another.

Much akin to how he would be of aid in Boromir's version, Faramir would be adamant in his studies and knowledge of many mysteries and forces in his world, from long ages past. He was quite the scholar, given his neglected childhood. He would at first be skeptical of your explanation, but it wouldn't take him as long as his brother to believe you. Faramir could sense things about people, he had that sort of discernment that helped him know whether people were honest or insincere. And you were honest.

He would be very empathetic to your situation. He would offer himself as a guide and a protector, teaching you gradually how to arm yourself in the wild during the long trek back to his home of Minas Tirith. Once there, you would be kept out of his father's reach and safely somewhere you could be comfortable and adjust to the changes of his world.

Apart from being a very mature aide to you in your time of crisis, Faramir would be as excited as a kid in a sweet shop. Your presence in Middle-Earth, the circumstances which brought you to him, were absolutely incredible. It was as if his whole life sort of made sense—all the hours spent with his head in the clouds and books upon books flitting through his hands as a young boy and into adulthood, it had all prepared him for you. This fantastical miracle that came hurling at him by some stream in the eastern forests and defied any and every law of science and physics he'd ever been tutored about.

Over time, once his feelings matured into something more than honorable duty (and giddy curiosity), he'd be absolutely devoted to you. He would spend his life trying to find the answers you needed, even if it meant finding a way for you to get home, despite how much he wanted you to remain in his life. He would cross seas and brave mountains to seek out others who knew of anything like your situation, he would risk himself to keep you safe. 

Faramir would do absolutely anything for you, at all times, with the utmost sincerity and adoration from the deepest parts of himself. He would vow himself to you and leave you no room for doubt or insecurity.

eomer | word count: 800+

Eomer, Lord of the Mark and future King of Rohan, would definitely place duty above curiosity and emotion when first meeting a stranger claiming to hail from another much different world completely unrelated to Middle-Earth in its entirety. Albeit a respectful and honorable man, he would have his suspicions about whether or not your predicament was at all possible. And if possible—that was a big if—he would doubt your sincerity (if it had really happened or not). He's the type to need proof and evidence so he can work out how to respond and execute a plan of action. He wasn't one to meddle with ancient powers and mysterious magic—he was a man of law and combat.

What you don't know for the first few weeks, though, is that there's a reason behind his doubt and scrutiny of you, his blatant distrust and sheer callousness. He'd seen what the dark powers of wizards and warlords had done to his uncle Theoden. He'd witnessed firsthand how it had torn his family apart, stricken with grief and remorse. His sister had been plagued and stalked by one such man who was an ally to such dark arts. Magic and powerful entities had never brought Eomer or his people anything good.

Eventually, when you learn about all of this, you're more compassionate to his point of view and not so frustrated with him for being so darn suspicious all of the time.

However, despite his reservations about your situation, that would not affect his efforts in helping you (after you've been ruled out as a threat). You would never be treated like a prisoner or an enemy, nor as any sort of asset or property. You were simply a traveler, a person in need, and eventually a friend to Rohan and the people that dwelled within Edoras.

Something you noticed early on was his absolute devotion to his family. Not just his lineage or his people, not solely to the crown that still sat upon his uncle's head. His sister was his closest friend (and she soon became yours as well) and there was a bond between them you had never born witness to in your disconnected world. The loyalty and affection he showed freely were quickly one of the traits of his character that attracted you to him, as well as his consistent sincerity—there was never a word uttered from his lips that he did not mean or a promise that he failed to keep. He spoke with bluntness plainly, you never had to solve any riddles or secrets. There were never any tiresome games. He just was. The "once loyal, always loyal" sort of person.

And as someone used to a world full of people more concerned with themselves rather than those they claim to love, it's refreshing.

Because of Eomer's need for proof and evidence to be able to believe and understand things that were presented to him, your relationship was also rocky at the start. Yes, you knew he was trustworthy and you felt safe under his care as his sister showed you the ways of their people and clothed you in their garments. You knew no harm would ever come to you as long as Eomer kept watch over your wellbeing. But there was the disconnect between you where emotions and souls come into play–a need for him to have faith in your story, a need to be trusted above reason and common sense.

That would be the great battle throughout your developing feelings for each other; to understand and accept each other and your very different origins. It would be that discourse and the eventual change of heart that would convince Eomer he was in love with the one person who had appeared wandering aimlessly across the Riddermark. And when he was able to accept the heavy truth that you spoke—that not only were the myriad of powers and mystics of his world very real and prevalent, but there was another realm far beyond his own—it would not only prepare him for the throne he would one day succeed, but open his heart to the reality of love itself. That there is more beyond honor and duty, beyond loyalty; there is love, devotion of the heart, and the binding of one soul to another.

Truly, your crossing into Middle-Earth was more than mere chance. It was the dealings of fate, the weaving of a tapestry that spans beyond lands and stars, that brings union and contentedness to those it touches.

To Eomer, you would become more than a dangerous risk or a misunderstanding or a wearied traveler between lands. You would be his life source in a more intimate way than even what he had always known with his family–the love of one's life is one incomparable to all else. His fierce loyalty that you'd observed since your first meeting had become an unsplintering shield. You were now bonded by that same sort of unwavering devotion.

eowyn | word count: 800+

Eowyn, Lady of the Mark, would react much like her brother at first. Suspicious and protective of her people, she would do all she could to ensure that those around you were taking all precautions necessary when you are first brought before the throne. She wouldn't take as long to come around to you as Eomer would, however. She was more prone to trust people and offer them a chance to prove themselves.

You see, Eowyn has a sense about people. She could always read them like an open book, whether they meant to be read or not. And you? Well, she had a feeling you were a good book. Shrouded in mystery and understandably met with fear at first by most of her kin, Eowyn would be the first person of her people to reach out to you as an individual after the initial shock of your sudden arrival and concerning origins.

She'd be the one to bring your meals and stuff extra pastries under the napkin for you (she'd conceited her brother and his men to allow you a room with humble furnishings rather than a cell until they were sure you would not pose a threat) and offer up small talk as best she could. Eventually, though, that small talk turned into stories and memories shared between two fast-growing friends. You told her all about your world, about your home, about the technology and amenities you missed, about the pretty lights of the city at night and the twinkling strings of lights decorating your bedroom walls.

"They're like little bursts of fire within tiny shards of glass, led along a wired string of sorts", you'd tried to explain. You loved the way she listened to your every word, her smiles growing bigger and her eyes reflecting the warmth of the hearth.

You told her about your family and friends and some of your most memorable moments with them. Several of which derived a very contagious laugh from the fair Lady of the Mark. "Tell me more about your homeland!" She would exclaim, offering an encouraging nudge to your knee.

She would spend hours helping you adjust in whatever way you needed. Didn't know how to brush your teeth the medieval way? No problem; Eowyn walked you through the steps. Kept burning your fingertips while trying to light the lanterns and oil-glazed candles? She'd show you how she got around that herself as a child. Wonder what it would be like to fight like the soldiers training in the yard? Eowyn would teach you better than any man could.

You'd always wondered what it was like to experience that best friends to lovers sort of romance—and that's exactly what you found in Eowyn. Although her protective loyalty had set a boundary between you for the first week or so of your unexpected arrival, that loyalty was soon extended to you. She'd be the first person you would really trust, the one you would call for when your dreams turned sour or your loneliness weighed too heavily in the night. She'd be the one who would lead you around Edoras, showing you the beauty of her home and people. She would teach you to bond with your own horse and train you well to become a proficient rider yourself.

The horses (and Eowyn, of course) were really what made you hesitant to ever leave this realm called Middle-Earth if you could. Rohan, their whole culture, was surrounded by the rich history and generous communion with horses. Everything here was tied to legend or powers beyond humanity's limited understanding—but everything was beautiful and enchanting. Their ancestors resided in great halls of kings in the stars. Everything about these people was so rooted in family and kinship. You'd never known anything like it back home.

People in Edoras were kind to each other, save the occasional drunkard. And Eowyn—Eowyn was the brightest star among them all. Compassionate, loyal, and brave. Those were the words you thought of when she came to mind (which was more often than not).

It wouldn't be long after becoming best friends, perhaps a few months, that you would feel things slightly shift between you, and she, you. You wanted more of Eowyn. More hours spent riding together across plains of tall grass and wildflowers. More evenings unraveling the debris of the wind from her unkempt golden hair. Eowyn wanted to share with you her greatest secrets and desires, her darkest fears. She wanted to sleep alongside you, her hands entwined with yours, to ward off the nightmares she often suffered. Eowyn found herself always in want of you; your voice, your presence, your scent. You become her comfort.

No matter how harrowing your appearance had been and the implications of other worlds beyond hers—Eowyn would never once wish that the fates or ancestors hadn't brought you to her across realms. You were everything she'd needed and yearned for in a friend and a partner her whole life, just for someone to see her and hear her.

You'd become everything to each other.

elrond | word count: 1.1k+

The Lord of Rivendell would be no stranger to mysterious visitors happening upon his halls unannounced. In fact, he'd begun to think it almost routine at the rate hobbits, dwarves, and all manner of beings showed up on his doorstep. But there was definitely something different about you, the visitor who claimed to hail from another land—no, you clarified, not just another village or region; another world.

Where cars and trains and buses rattled the bones of the earth and ushered time and society forward at a harrowing speed. Where kingdoms and governments warred endlessly and stars were a rarity to see above the lights of growing cities.

He would be interested in this "advanced" world of yours and desired greatly to learn more about its vast variety of life—but not as much as he was interested in making sure you were acclimating to such a drastic alteration of life itself.

He would be wary of you, due to his wealth of knowledge on all manner of strange magic and ill-boding omens (do you know how many peddling sorcerers and distasteful necromancers this man has had to turn away at his doorstep?). However, Elrond would be much more hospitable from the very beginning than any of his kin. He wouldn't be as off-standish or suspicious of you—at least, not to your face.

You would be given lodging and hearty food almost immediately rather than a cell and modest portions, as well as a servant-guided tour of Rivendell and access to most of the beautiful city (save for the sacred archives and private chambers). He would not only meet with you in the hours he could spare each day to decipher your journey into Middle-Earth, but he would recommend several pieces of history and literature to get you acquainted with the customs and cultures around you. He would let you into the library at any hour you needed, even in the wee morning hours when you couldn't sleep.

A gentleman through and through, your experience with him would be much different than with any other host you might have stumbled across.

He would be undeniably patient as you're thrust into an entirely different way of living in every possible aspect, down to the very brass tacks of human nature. It feels like you're having to be raised again, like how children are taught to take care of themselves and understand the way things and people around them work and operate. There is never a grievance expressed or muttered from him as you excelled with some aspects and struggled through others.

His graciousness and soft-spoken wisdom were just the cusps of how intelligent and tender-hearted the kind elf truly was—all of which you would come to know well when he had had plenty of time to adjust to you. His introvertedness would definitely be a bit of a stunt in the development of your relationship from acquaintances to romantic partners.

He wasn't one to speak just to engage in conversation and keep busy; he only spoke if he truly had something worth saying. That of course makes it difficult for you to try to communicate beyond discussions about your unprecedented situation. But if you asked a question or politely pressed for conversation, he wouldn't deny you his attention either. While this leaves you being the one to strike a majority of the conversations between you (outside of his devoted interest in learning about your situation), you don't mind all that much. You could push through your own social anxieties as long as the person was receptive and open to engagement, and Elrond certainly made extensive efforts to be as much and more.

You liked his quietness, though. It was attractive in a way that made you hang onto every word he did decide to share. It gives you a sense of comfort. It's startling at first, the way you're able to trust him so fast, especially given the absolute madness of your traveling between realms themselves. Surely it was wiser to have your guard up at all times when in a strange new world with such stark contrasts to your own, right?

But you just couldn't bring yourself to doubt someone so compassionate and sincere.

All the while you're slipping fast into fonder feelings with every day that dawns over Rivendell's many waterfalls and etched forests, Elrond is slowly dissecting every thought pertaining to you as it surfaces in his mind. He had already had one great love in his life, the mother of his sons and daughter, a loving lady who had led their kin alongside him. He would feel such a heavy burden of guilt when he realizes the same patterns of infatuation and fondness start to swell over him. The same fluttering, freeing feelings that he had felt with his wife in their early years together. The same wandering of thought, despite his very disciplined nature. The instinct to return to your side when he wasn't busy, as if that was suddenly where he belonged more than in his study or his chambers.

Within a mere few months, it was Lord Elrond who was escorting you to peer at moonlit waterfalls and forests set ablaze with fireflies and starlight. It was he, rather than a servant or guard, who taught you how to mount a steed more than half your height and ride with all the elegance of an elleth. It was he who felt his zeal for excitement return to him when you dared to race him beyond the forest and across the rushing ford. It was Elrond who sat with a smile on his face as he listened eagerly to the cultures that thrived in your world, specifically the details of your own home and heritage.

Although it took time to trust his own heart enough to feel more than politeness for someone, Elrond was no stranger to love or what it felt like. That's probably what would scare him so much when he first starts to feel himself becoming attached to you—the realization that somewhere along the discussions about your homeworld and the hours poured over tomes and memories...he was falling in love again.

Another facet of your growing relationship that would shock him would be the fact that he'd fallen in love with a human? Of course, he was the most tolerant of the race of men across all of his elven kin, but even that tolerance hadn't prepared him for the day he would face the same risk of love that his daughter had faced (you know, the courtship with a human that he'd told her to leave behind for immortality? Well, now he's facing the same question, darn it). He would absolutely need the approval of his children before even making a single stride in pursuing something beyond friendship with you, something permanent (spoiler alert, they would absolutely bless your courtship).

arwen | word count: 500+

Arwen Undómiel would be very open and intrigued by your arrival, especially when she notices how out of place you seemed to be, not only among her people but with the way of life itself in Middle-Earth. It isn't until she inquires about your odd behavior (the asking about cellphones and electricity and other foreign amenities) to her father that she realizes you had hailed from another world entirely—not just another region or from somewhere beyond the mountains. Learning this, her intrigue only grows.

She was a lady who adored her people and the comforts of her home, but was not a stranger to adventure and the restlessness that accompanies a free spirit. Because of her love for exploring and learning, you're like a perfect mixture of mysterious and confusing. She might not have understood how travel between realms was at all possible, but she didn't mind not knowing. After all, many of her kin were gradually departing to the Undying Lands beyond the sea—a place that, in its simplest explanation, was a sanctuary divided from the common world of Middle-Earth. If such a place as that could exist just beyond the western horizon, then surely it was not so outlandish to think that there were even broader realms beyond that.

Arwen, as stated before, is a very open individual when it comes to expressing her feelings and saying exactly what she means. There is no loitering about wondering about this or that—when Arwen desires to become your friend rather soon after your arrival in her father's halls, she does just that.

She would help you adjust to things with an abundance of patience and sincere interest. She would be excited to teach you about her people and her world—about its histories and legends. But even more so, Arwen would be of even more aid when it came to helping you work through your sporadic emotions as the shock and remorse of your situation became clearer with each day. Of course it was exciting to suddenly find yourself in a world as illustrious and peaceful as this one—but there was a home, a family, and a slew of friends and interests that had been left behind without warning. She doesn't belittle or rush your grieving process, and instead becomes your confidante and place of refuge.

She would speak on your behalf to her father, about what you might need or what you were struggling to understand. She would be your voice until you were able to get your bearings and become more and more comfortable while so far from everything you once knew to be true.

In short, she isn't one to be afraid of her feelings or have any reservations of expressing them the moment she becomes aware of them for herself. Because of that kind of communication and the way she would devote herself to helping you from the very first day, it doesn't take long before she confesses that she harbors a fondness for you, like how the moon has a fondness for the sea; how her father harbored a fondness for her mother, and still does.

It's her openness and her lack of fear in expression herself that draws you both together from the first moments you share. From then, your friendship developed naturally into something of romantic permanence. As your place in her world became cemented, your place in her heart flourished with unabashed sincerity.

legolas | word count: 500+

Legolas would be very suspicious and observant of you for quite some time before even engaging with you, much like his friendship with Gimli. Already being someone of very few words, Legolas would take his time in getting to know you before having even said a word to you. He was raised to be suspicious and discerning of "outsiders"; woodland elves, specifically those native to Mirkwood, were known for their suspicion and distrust of others, even their own kin.

So getting acquainted and close to someone who's not only not an elf or from Mirkwood, but also not even from Middle-Earth itself? That's gonna be a big barrier for him to get around and it's going to take time to achieve that familiarity and comfortability around you.

But when he does—it comes from seeing how you are with his friends, such as Aragorn and Gimli. His gradual trust builds up not from interacting with you for himself, but from observing how you communicated with others and treated his friends and allies. When he's more or less sure of your character, he would then venture into becoming friends. What he doesn't expect, however, is how quickly that friendship became something so much more to him.

Perhaps because he'd been getting to know you from afar and seeing how kind and generous you were with his loved ones despite the sheer confusion and fear you must be feeling every day in his strange world. It was one thing to venture away from home in search of adventure, even among unfamiliar faces, like he had. It was another entirely to be ripped from your world and everyone you knew, away from your kin and your people, away from your family, without any sort of warning or choice. He comes to admire you and the bravery you displayed every day just by choosing to exist in his world and trying your best to become a part of it.

Then he would notice how you'd been taught to fish with just a shaft and some thin twine by Aragorn's hand. How you kept absorbing skills as though you were a sponge, desperate to cling to any sort of help. This is when he would reach out and offer you archery lessons because "everyone should learn to have some skill with either a blade or a bow. It is better if you know both—but in your case, I think we should start with one." And you chose the bow, telling him how you admired how beautiful of a weapon it was, how graceful. You'd seen it in movies and read about great archers—you'd always wanted to be one. And so Legolas, though he had no idea what a movie was, vows to make you proficient with a bow.

It's really your devotion to learning about his world, about his friends, and eventually about him that really snares him in the end. The way you refused to wither and panic within the shelter of one of many great cities in Middle Earth, but instead wanted to see the world and get your bearings, despite how obviously unsteady it often made you feel. For you, you'd not only been brought to another world, but a world that was supposedly far behind in its technology. Everything had completely changed for you and yet you still worked hard to make something good out of your predicament. It's that bravery that pulls him to you.

galadriel | word count: 300+

Someone as wise and clairvoyant as the Lady of Lothlorien would not be surprised at your unprecedented arrival across realms. She had probably (listerally) seen you coming long before your arrival (remember that magic basin of psychic water she traumatized Frodo with?). Her ability to read the minds of others offered her an immediate leeway into your intentions and sincerity. This meant that while she was still careful with you, she was well aware that you posed no threat or harm to her people.

You, on the other hand, were more than wary of her upon your first meeting. It wasn't just the shock of entering a new world that made your heart uneasy to trust—but something about the ethereal, untouchable power about the Lady Galadriel herself that left you teetering into doubt and discomfort. While her beauty and gentleness made her alluring and with time to develop that trust, your doubts faded. Her goodness and generosity proved time and time again that her power wasn't something to fear.

Something that made her so wonderful once you grew trusting of her was how much she believed you—largely due to her ability to read minds and people themselves—and never doubted your character or motives.

Hailing from a world hewn with distrust and malice, the calm pace and sincerity in which Middle-Earth (and Lothlorien especially) was governed made you hopeful for what sort of life could be made there.

With the help and generosity of your hostess, you soon considered Lothlorien your home. Not just for its beauty and its sort of magnificence that you'd never seen in your world before—but also for the lady who watched diligently over her forest and her people. In time, you came to consider her your closest friend, someone you could wholeheartedly trust with your life.

Galadriel would find your naivety of her realm intriguing and would be more than happy to offer herself as your guide. She would find your tendency for loud bursts of laughter and curt outspokenness refreshing in a culture of hushed voices and gracious tones.

All in all, you're both quite a mystery for each other to solve. Luckily, neither of you mind the adventure of getting to know one another.

haldir | word count: 600+

To say that your first meeting had also been a bit of a rough start was the understatement of the century. I mean, who would react well to having a dozen arrows poised inches from their face while trying to find their way out of an unfamiliar forest? Your fear had quickly turned to frustration and anger, despite the threat of being pierced with the polished shafts of their arrows. Your quick turn to anger stunned the very poised marchwarden—it wasn't often that intruders grew hostile when threatened at the neck. Typically, people would stare back in silence like a doe stunned by fear.

A mixture of terror, exhaustion, hunger and dehydration had driven your more cooperative senses from your caliber of responses, evidently.

After you'd recovered well enough to be questioned over a generous meal, it was very obvious you were simply lost. Very, very lost. Of no threat to his people or the sacred forest they dwelled in, Haldir would have no issue in setting his pride aside to apologize for frightening you.

Soft-spoken and introverted, Haldir would have that wall of kind politeness that was at first almost polarizing to someone who'd just had the shock of their life by entering an entirely new realm in a split second. It would be many awkward attempts at sifting through your explanations and anxious emotions before Haldir was able to gauge how you would feel more inclined to trust him. And in order to achieve your trust, he would need to let you (a stranger, mind you) break through those carefully learned guards to see the real him behind the graceful countenance and elegant sentences.

It was your desperation to find answers, to understand if you had gone mad or if something so radical could have truly taken place, that sparked in Haldir the great need to console you. Generally, elves were calm and uninvolved beings—to those not understanding of their ways, they might even appear void of emotion. But that couldn't be any further from the truth. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

As your time in his homeland spanned from weeks to months, Haldir grew more and more attached to your side. Devoted to your wellbeing, he became more of a confidant and friend than the simple guide he had volunteered to be for you at the start. The softhearted nature that flourished within him bloomed around you, finding a home to take root in.

Your knowledge and straightforwardness about what you needed at any given time, whether it was a hot bath or an audience with the Lady Galadriel herself, struck a chord of admiration with Haldir. He didn't like having to piece together the riddles that strangers often gave when they were prejudiced or distrusting. Your sincerity in such matters, no matter how embarrassing or seemingly insignificant, quite honestly inspired the skilled marchwarden. With such honesty, he didn't have to work so hard to get the answers he needed to best help you.

In return, it's his diligence in his help that draws you to him. The absolution he promised with every request he listened to—there was never a question or a need he left unresolved for you. If you'd asked for your favorite meal from your world, he'd find some way to have it made for you. If you'd gone to him in a fit of tears and in need of comfort, his arms would be the first to be open to you.

It wasn't that you were a basket case, mind you (and if you were, he'd never let you or anyone around you use such insensitive terminology for your very validated expressions of distress). It was simply that you'd never been so vulnerable and in need of someone before. And Haldir, well...Haldir had never felt so inclined to a soul before, so effortlessly devoted and tethered as if some string was being pulled taught between you.

Haldir relished in being able to be of service to you.

And you held fast to the curious needing you felt for him.

gimli | word count: 400+

From the moment he met you, Gimli knew something wasn't quite right. Sure, you weren't waving the tips of pointy weapons or spitting out slews of evil curses at people—but you were like a shard of sea glass among grey stones. Everything about your stature, the way you spoke and carried yourself, the way you interpreted the world and its people around you...it was all so different from anyone he'd ever met before.

For starters, you're much more outspoken than anyone he'd come to know. You weren't afraid to speak your mind (and even include the occasional profanity to get your point across) in any given occasion or setting, even among elven nobility. The time you practically cursed his fair-haired elven friend Legolas out was an afternoon he'd not soon forget. Especially since the whole ordeal, which he conveniently didn't recall the details of, had most definitely been Gimli's fault rather than the prince's.

He wasn't too keen on trying to understand all the details about your predicament or how you came to be in this realm of all places. Gimli never asked for more of an explanation than you were willing to give, which was something you found quite refreshing amidst a slew of people who had been asking questions upon questions since your peculiar arrival to Middle-Earth. You knew you didn't have to explain yourself to him or try to make sense of it all in order to be believed—the red-haired dwarf simply nodded through his pipe smoke and moved on.

In all honesty, Gimli hadn't thought much of you at first, the same way he didn't think much about anyone until it was apparent their paths would cross more than once. He didn't give much effort into friendships that weren't of substance, despite the loss of much of his kin. If anything, it was harder for him to attach himself to friends now than it ever had been before due to the great losses he had suffered.

But when he does get accustomed to you, it's all over for him. Once Gimli gets attached to a friend or partner, his dwarven passion for loyalty and honor kicks in. He understands you're not familiar with this place, whether that meant Gondor or Edoras or any other region beyond Middle-Earth, and that's enough for him to believe you and offer some sympathies to your situation. He was kind of the same, you know. Far from home without any of his kin left to visit or send word to.

All in all, Gimli likes your modern gumption, your fighting spirit, and that occasionally sour tongue of yours. And although it's obvious he didn't have to protect you when you were very efficient in doing so for yourself, he would gladly spend an age or two by your side offering his services as a companion—and someday, perhaps as much more, if you'd allow it.

frodo | word count: 400+

Somewhat of an expert in the joys and terrors of adventuring, Frodo Baggins would be a most empathetic and compassionate companion to have upon crossing into his realm from your own homeworld. More than anyone, he would understand the pressures of having to keep it all together in the presence of unfamiliar faces. When he had been the ring bearer, shouldering an object with the very sentience of darkness within it, the fear and desperation had nearly overtaken him as he traveled into forests and mountains he'd never ventured to before. He couldn't imagine traveling between worlds—realms of existence entirely. 

He would value the trust that you placed in him, handling it with the utmost care. His skill for listening is unparalleled, as is the wisdom he offers in return for your woes. 

Frodo would find your situation extraordinary and fantastic. He wouldn't be able to resist asking all of his questions and brimming with excitement about this realm of yours beyond his reach. He would, however, do his best to temper his ecstatic humoring in favor of handling your delicate situation with attention and care. He found himself reminded of the years he spent as a young boy listening to Bilbo's stories of his grand adventures with goblin kings and dwarf lords and fire drakes from the north. 

Imagine hours of pouring over books and scribbled notes his uncle had left behind for him, huddled near each other by a warm fire in his home. Papers and stacks of sifted lore and myth, anything pertaining to what had brought you to Middle-Earth, littering the floor around your folded legs and shared quilt. He would dedicate himself to helping you find the answers you were looking for, even in his small corner of the world (don't worry, he has this friend who's a king somewhere out on the southern plains who would be more than happy to lend some scrolls and tomes).

To Frodo, your mere existence is illuminating. Just having you pop up in his favorite glen while he was spending his usual afternoon reading was enough for him to strike an interest in you. You were yet another adventure, living and breathing, waltzing into his life. Sure enough, you become an answer to the hobbit's dwindling hopes for normalcy, thinking perhaps he was destined to the fate of bachelorhood and haunted memories, the same as his uncle. 

You show him that it is possible for Frodo to have another adventure—one that won't cost him his soul or his life. (Just maybe his heart.)

samwise | word count: 500+

Samwise Gamgee knows a fool when he sees one—after all, he'd grown up with Merry and Pippin in his circle of friends. So when he's the first to believe you out of the tale-spinners and prank-weavers of the Shire, it's a relief to say the least.

He'd invite you into his home, seeing as you were so far away from yours and had no way of going back. He would offer you his pantry, his sunroom, his best linens and finest silk nightgown. There would be afternoons of gardening and learning a trade for yourself that would both provide food on the table and a bit of coin in the markets. Sam would be more than delighted to have a houseguest to cook for, seeing as his Old Gaffer wasn't one to spice up the recipes very often. But for you, Sam would cook a feast. He'd even sit down with you and help you write out recipes that reminded you of home, meals that wrapped around you like a warm blanket on a cold day. He'd grow flowers you remembered seeing in your mother's garden.

Somehow, even so far away from your world and your home and your friends and family, Samwise Gamgee would give you a sense of home you'd never encountered before.

It was so exceedingly rare to find people so willing to lend such a selfless hand to others in need. Helping a strange person he'd never met find their way through Hobbiton was one thing—but inviting them into his home and giving them a place to stay and warm meals to eat without anything in return? Quite literally offering the (night) shirt off his back? You'd never been extended such kindness before.

When Sam realizes how much of a stranger you are to such hospitality, he would go all out with everything he possibly could. Finding it rather sad that you'd come from such a dismal world that was void of such simple acts of kindness, Sam can't help but want to display every possible act of kindness he can think of.

And Samwise found in you the purpose he'd yearned for all his life—the chance to be something for someone that no one else could, the chance to make a difference simply by being himself and doing what it is he does best. Although it was difficult for you to navigate through the differences and the culture shock of his world and his land—there was really very little to complain about when you find yourself in the Shire (except maybe those pesky neighbors who have nothing better to do than to stick their noses in your business between meals).

Eager to be at ease and belong, you are more than willing to learn all that Sam can teach you and his way of life. Your acceptance and sense of humor, joking about things he didn't quite understand (What was that you'd said about looking "at all those chickens"? Those had definitely been ducks swimming in the pond that day), worked together to win Sam's heart in no time.

It really didn't take long before Sam was fonder of seeing you disheveled in the mornings and in his borrowed nightgown than fixed up for the day ahead; for him to cherish those small domestic moments you'd both begun to share as time wore on. Before long, Sam found himself daydreaming of dances and the music of flutes and fiddles to set the pace.

merry | word count: 500+

This rascal would absolutely not believe a word that comes out of your mouth about whatever peculiar land it is you keep droning on about. Automobiles? Airplanes? Lanterns that work without fire? Portion control and food pyramids dictated by the government? What the bloody hell was all that nonsense? (Dark magic or the result of some soured Old Toby, he was sure of it.)

He'd volunteer himself to be your official tour guide to Middle-Earth, claiming he'd been as far as Mordor once (wherever that was, you had no idea) and was, therefore, the best guide anyone could ask for this side of Brandywine River.

For the longest time, Merry really thinks you're spinning tall tales about this world you came from with all these fancy doohickeys he hadn't a clue about. As someone proficient in telling exaggerated memoirs and pulling indulgent pranks, he would for the longest time assume that your explanation of origin was one and the same. Listen, he'd seen the weird stuff out there, probably as much of it as there was to see, and there definitely wasn't any Europes or Americas or Indias or anyplace else you kept mentioning.

When he's taking you on a stroll along his favorite trade route all the way to the Breelands and back home, any mention of your predicament (beyond being a lost traveler far from home) was met with a mischievous scoff and a twisted grin. Once, with a mouthful of fresh summer berry bread, he'd made such an expression of dubious skepticism that he hadn't needed to even utter the "uh-huh, sure" along with it.

He meant no harm in his teasing disbelief, of course, but sometimes the gradual accumulation of it got on your nerves. While Merry was fun, kind, and a very joyful and admirable hobbit to be around...sometimes it felt as though you were trying to convince a toadstool that its colors were indeed brown and not blue.

He's fond of you already, of course, nearly upon the moment he met you—who else was he taking on his little adventures across the many borders within the region of Eriador apart from Pippin and a batch of Old Toby?

As weeks pass and one day, his distrust in your explanations pricks a little too far beneath your skin, your bout of aggravated and fearful tears came as a shock to the hobbit. It's in that moment sat across from each other with a small campfire between you that his carefree persona faltered with guilt.

Oh, he thinks. You're telling the truth about all that.

From that moment on, he would be the most expressive and compassionate person you had ever met. He'd be sure you were getting your daily dose of sunlight and ale for the day, as well as whatever desserts or hearty meals you felt inclined to indulge. You'd become attached at the hip and wherever Merry (and usually Pippin) went, you were there with him (them). He'd already been welcoming and friendly to you, but now he had this sort of tenderness in his gaze that you thought might melt you through like a chocolate drop in the oven. And if anyone were to express the same sort of doubts or contribute to the rumor mill around Hobbiton about you, he'd put an end to it before it had gone beyond the hedges of Bagshot Row.

pippin | word count: 400+

Much like his rapscallion counterpart, Pippin's first impression would be that your whole story about arriving from another realm was a fabrication of your very active imagination. He and Merry had spun their fair share of tall tales and mischief as far and wide as the town of Bree and the little villages along the Brandywine river.

Unlike Merry, though, Pippin's reason for skepticism wasn't even so much skepticism as it was ignorance. He'd never knowingly poke fun at what you were going through, whether he thought it exaggerated or not. Pippin just truly didn't think it was at all possible for other places to exist. He really thinks you're joking or unsure of what you're even saying for the longest time.

But when Pippin figures it out after you become a sordid mess of blubbering tears over a pint of ale outside the Green Dragon Inn, he realizes everything you'd been trying to explain hadn't been a "really wonderful story" you'd been working on. It was how you'd come to be in the Shire, in Eriador, in Middle-Earth at all.

"There's no use cryin' ov'r a pint, (Y/n)! Ded someone let the barrel sour?"

You sniffled, trying to dry your eyes with the back of your hand before they were too heavy to extinguish. "It's not—it's not soured, Pip."

"Oh. Then what—?" He took a moment to understand. You'd been talking about a dog with two mismatching socks on its paws. A bedroom with fairies for lights and walls made of printed paintings. The way you'd been describing everything was almost too detailed to be off the top of your head...and then he realizes.

Pippin would buy you another pint, one untainted by salty tears. He'd do his best to listen more, although he still misinterpreted much of what you tried to explain. But it was better now, knowing that he was trying to comprehend this world of yours, rather than committing it to his memory as a tavern story.

He'd be excited to learn about what sort of drinks and food and pipeweed you had in your world and what sort of music your village danced to at seasonal festivities.

While Pippin may not be able to really grasp the extent of what you're explaining, that perhaps entire realms exist beyond the very vast one he had traveled across himself, you are reassured that he does at least believe you and understands the jest of it. And somehow, that's all you really needed—someone to just listen to what you were trying to say, to take your truth for what it was.

(Of course, this confirmation that you're really an "other-worlder" as he coined it means that he's designated himself to acclimate you to the life of a hobbit to its full extremities. This includes seven meals a day, which you're more than happy to oblige.)

TAGS:  @moony-artnstuff @wellfuckmyexistence @tessaem @izbelross @bloodblossom73

[wolfthatroamsshadows]

Watched Hazbin Hotel, read Chaggie fanfic, and must've turned a wrong corner because I found myself back with Carmen Sandiego and Carulia. How did this happen?

Anyway... I wrote this short snippet. Takes place directly after the very last shot of the vary last episode of Carmen Sandiego. Cause, let's be honest, Carmen and Julia not ending up together... makes me sad. This is just a little, probably ooc, goodness. I don't even know if I should put it up on AO3.

Fandom: Carmen Sandiego (2019) Ship: Carmen/Julia Words: 709

Julia let out an exhausted sigh as she stepped out of the hotel's elevator. She had called it a day after they had brought in Paper Star. The paperwork would be there for her in the morning. She just wanted to get to the hotel and relax. It had been a few hectic days.

She unlocked the room and stepped into it. Closing the door behind her, she unbuttoned her blazer and discarded it on the back of a chair next to a bright red coat, before even acknowledging the figure lounging on the bed.

"Thank you for the gift. Nice wrapping." Julia smiled at Carmen.

"Just thought you guys would appreciate it." A lithe movement and Carmen stood in front of Julia, her hands on Julia's hips.

Julia looked up into the steely grey eyes of her companion. "It was. But you know what I would appreciate much more?" She leaned closer and put her hands on Carmen's chest. "Visiting a museum when it's actually open." Julia shoved Carmen back onto the mattress and straddled her.

"And whose fault is that Miss I-have-to-work?" Carmen laughed her hands settling on Julia's thighs.

"Oh, shut it you." Julia said good-naturedly and leaned down.

The door behind them burst open. "Carm!"

Julia sighed and dropped her forehead onto Carmen's chest. She had hoped she'd had more of a head start, but she should've known the twins' aversion to paperwork would mean different.

"Oooohhh! Are we interrupting something?" Ivy sing-songed teasingly.

Julia could practically hear Carmen's eyeroll. She sat up and swung her legs over to sit on the edge of the bed looking sternly at her colleagues. "Not anymore, you aren't. What do you want in here anyway?"

"We wanted to say hi to Carm. We missed her." Zack said with half a snack from the minibar in his hand.

"We just hadn't realized you had called dibs on her first. Should've put a sock on the door handle or something." Ivy smirked.

Julia sighed. She liked the twins, really, but she didn't know how Carmen had put up with their antics for that long. "Zack, please don't empty the minibar, ACME doesn't cover the bill and I doubt your paycheck allows for it. And Ivy, I did not call dibs…" She was getting worked up, but Carmen put her hand on the small of her back and she found her calm again. "…because I simply didn't feel it necessary to do so. I thought it was obvious. At least to two people who claim to be as capable as they are as Agents."

That got the attention of Zack and Ivy. They stood up straighter, ready to defend themselves. "But I must've been mistaken. Maybe you spent too much time with Devineaux. Who knows. He, at least, has learned to knock before entering a room." Julia smirked. Devineaux had learned the hard way to knock before barging into a room, after he had walked in on Carmen and Julia once. That was an occasion none of them wanted to ever repeat.

Julia got up and walked to her suitcase. "I'm going to change into something more comfortable. And then I just want some dinner." She straightened again after grabbing her clothes and looked at the other three in the room. "With my girlfriend. Alone. Understood?" Her eyes fixed the twins specifically who nodded and swallowed. She turned and entered the bathroom. Closing the door behind herself, she smiled. Being a senior agent had some perks. Or it was just that Zack and Ivy had realized, after working with her, just how much damage Julia could've done to their operation if she had wanted.

She could hear the excited talk of the twins in the other room. A fond look stole itself on her face. For all the teasing and jabs that happened, they were still family. Somehow. She shook her head and left the bathroom after changing.

"Where do you want to go?" Carmen asked.

"I don't know. Let's just see where we'll find ourselves."

Carmen offered her arm, Julia accepted.

Carmen leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You alright, Jules?"

"I am now. Thank you." Carmen pressed her lips to Julia's temple, before they left the room together.

[renazuku]

forever and always.

a collection of stories based on the songs featured on folklore and evermore by taylor swift.

gosh! i am so excited to start this up! if you would like to be added to the taglist, please REPLY TO THIS POST. do not send in an ask! all works will be gender neutral!

my hero academia and lyrics used belong to their rightful owners. in no way am i claiming ownership to the series or taylor's lyrics.

right where you left me; aizawa shouta (coming soon!)

after the death of his beloved spouse, aizawa just isn't sure what he should do now. eat, teach, sleep, repeat. aizawa is on autopilot, but there's one thing he never forgets to do every week; visit your favorite restaurant. he's right where you left him. "help, i'm still at the restaurant. still sitting in a corner i haunt."

the 1; takami keigo (coming soon!)

breakups always hurt, especially when the two of you never went further than a situationship. it only hurts more when you see each other again 2 years later, and you realize that things could've been different. maybe, he would've been the 1. "rosé flowing with your chosen family. and it would've been sweet, if it could've been me."

cardigan; dabi (coming soon!)

contains spoilers for season six. if there was one thing you remember about your childhood, you remember a certain white haired boy. most of your memories with him were happy, and filled with puppy (or maybe real) love. well, until the incident. so imagine your horror when you turn on the tv for the night, and there he is. "i knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs. the smell of smoke would hang around this long, 'cause i knew everything when i was young."

mirrorball; kaminari denki (coming soon!)

why is everyone making fun of him? why is everyone laughing? his head is pounding from overusing his quirk, and they're laughing? maybe he is useless after all. or maybe, with a little bit of your comfort, maybe he can see what you see in him. "and i'm still a believer, but i don't know why. i've never been a natural, all i do is try, try, try."

this is me trying; bakugou katsuki

bakugou hasn't had the brightest past. in the moonlight, his regrets seem to cut a little deeper than usual. after failing to get his hero license, he can't help but feel lackluster to everyone else. he just wants people to know that he's trying. "i was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere. fell behind on my classmates, and i ended up here."

august; todoroki shoto

the summer before shoto entered U.A, he met someone and had the time of his life. unfortunately for him, summer loves don't always last. "so much for summer love, and saying us, 'cause you weren't mine to lose."

invisible string; midoriya izuku (coming soon!)

you and izuku have been attached since your toddler days. no matter what happened, the two of you knew that you'd always have each other. "isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?"

champagne problems; iida tenya (coming soon!)

it's been three years since you and your classmates graduated from U.A. your longtime boyfriend decides to throw a dinner party. you didn't know he was popping the question. he didn't know that you'd answer like that. "love slipped beyond your reaches. and i couldn't give a reason. champagne problems."

illicit affairs; shigaraki tomura (coming soon!)

maintaining a secret relationship with one of japan's biggest villains is hard. knowing that you'll always go back to him only makes it harder. "don't call me kid. don't call me baby. look at this godforsaken mess that you've made me."

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

I nearly lost my mind at the latest WIB chapter!! You’re right, she’s a big one and a beauty at that.

Oh gods where to start?

My take on Alys’ character here is that it may come off as self-serving but she’s only done what it took to survive. Even wifey herself acknowledged the possibility of her doing the same to Daemon should the need arise. But Aemond, well, I have no words. He said he was scared and the first time they did it was apparently necessary to get him to calm down. But as Alys narrates, the other times he needed her vision possibly didn’t so I don’t know whether this means Aemond sought her out himself or… but I do like to think that she made him believe it was necessary to ensure her survival. I also believe her when she said she doesn’t love him, again, I’m choosing to believe she does it not because she wants to harm wifey but because it’s the only way she’ll survive until the war is over. Hence why she chose to withhold sharing the information wifey had a delicate pregnancy because it meant Aemond would have returned to wifey and not come back, thus possibly jeopardizing Alys’ situation. I mean if anything it seemed people at Harrenhal defers to Alys.

As for Aemond, despite Alys claiming he doesn’t love her, I can’t tell if he has feelings for her or if it is out of consideration for his child with her. It seems his actions are contradictory because as wifey observed, Alys resides in servant’s quarters but likely a steward’s implying she does rise above her station but not quite to raise suspicion, he called her to his rooms, frequently but didn’t stay with her, he spilled his seed inside her but didn’t think of the consequences.

Also, he intended to bring back Alys with him to the Red Keep as a wet nurse. Their physical affair would end BUT she would likely raise both wifey and her children. So it is a win-win for him because he’d know all his children while wifey remained oblivious and Alys would finally get out of Harrenhal. But I’d like to say he repeated Visery’s mistake.

In connection with that, I’d like to point out that flashback where Aemond felt apathetic towards his father because he refused to mete out punishment for his eye. I think it’s a bit of dramatic irony because while he swore he’d never subject his children to that kind of treatment, hence why he’s shown or implied to care for his bastard but in doing so, it also condemned wifey. And I think what hurts more is that wifey IS the wife, one he claims he so loves. But in his desire not to be neglectful as his father he ironically ended up becoming the same person because he wanted to have his cake and eat it without consequences. What’s even more hurtful is the fact that while Alicent and the Green kids played second fiddle to Rhaenyra and Aemma’s ghost, it is somewhat understandable considering they were sort of the second family. Not saying they deserved Visery’s neglect or I’m justifying it but sometimes these things CAN happen whereas wifey should be the first priority but she’s made to feel like she isn’t because she’s been played a fool. It doesn’t help that Alys presents an air of benevolence and sympathy, and her saying “He does love you, princess. Very much. I’m sorry that I have made you doubt that” is just “conseulo de bobo” in my opinion. If I’m not mistaken it means fool’s comfort or mock consolation. In my country, this saying is often used as a band aid gesture if a person lost (i.e. election, race, etc) and they don’t want to make the person look stupid.

Basically Alys saying it feels inconsequential in the grand scheme of things because really, it sounds like a mockery after all that’s happened because “oh don’t worry, i’ll live in the red keep nursing my child and yours but don’t worry! Aemond still loves you!” It would also leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

Lastly, it seems wifey is due for a miscarriage induced by the sheer emotional stress she went through, similar to Rhaenyra losing her daughter. But a small, wicked part of me wants her to lose it so she can get that annulment, cite her inability to produce an heir, and spill the beans that Aemond already has a backup so there’s no need for her. And she should run off to the north just to spite Aemond hahaha. I don’t know how they’ll move forward but I know I’ll be in for a treat 😜

I was SO excited to see such a long, detailed ask! Thank you so much! I'm gonna go through this point by point.

You're spot on with the first paragraph about Alys!

Aemond definitively does not have any affection for Alys. Everything that seems intimate was 100% for the baby’s sake. The new fancy digs for Alys and all the baby tricks he learned. He probably did have a panic attack at some point about not being able to do it with Wifey, but Alys assured him that she had her mother and siblings and stuff, so she’d be fine. It didn't totally make him feel better, but it calmed him down enough that he didn't run home.

I love the analogy with Viserys! He kind of did it in reverse, though. Vizzy neglected his second wife and his children with her in favor of his daughter by his first wife to make up for what he'd done to Aemma. Aemond neglected his wife and her children, not really in favor of, but out of consideration for his bastard child with a mistress, because he didn't want to subject anyone else to the neglect he faced.

The apology Alys gave was genuine. Like she said, she didn't regret the affair because in her mind, it saved her life, but she does regret that it caused Wifey to suffer. If her visions had shown her that all this suffering would happen, maybe she would have tried a different route? Maybe she would have deemed it an acceptable price. We'll never know...

[lefluoritesys]

TW: ableism, discrimination, eating disorders, strong opinions

"Oh, DID/OSDD is so difficult to understand, though!"

The more I live with it, the more I realize that no, it isn't. The problem here isn't that DID/OSDD is a "difficult" disorder, the real problem here is people refuse to understand that things apart from what they're used to are also, in fact, normal. They come up with excuses for why they can't understand it and attempt to push it down due to ignorance and plain lack of desire to actually make an effort to understand (which is, by the way, manipulative).

It's as easy as coming up to someone and saying you have a common physical medical condition. You don't have to understand it fully to realize that same person with asthma has limited physical abilities and needs an inhaler from time to time. Or that someone with allergies can't eat certain foods. Or that a person in a wheelchair most likely cannot walk at all. For singlets, there is no "digging deep into it to understand," this "understanding" of disorders is something we came up with as an excuse to brush off other people's experiences.

"I just don't understand why the littlest of things can send you into a breakdown," said to people with BPD, autism, ADHD, etc.

"Why is this noise bothering you so much? It doesn't bother me. I just can't relate," said to people with misophonia and sensory issues.

"Why can't I talk about this? How can it even be a trigger?" said to a person with PTSD/C-PTSD, and continued talking and mentioning said thing.

"Why can't you get out of bed? I just don't understand you. You have so much stuff to get done, so many things to look forward to! I think you're just being lazy." said to a person with depression.

"Why are you so worried about your weight? You look amazing! I wish I had as much self-control as you do and look like you! You should feel lucky for knowing when to stop eating!" said to a person with an eating disorder(s).

It's as easy as avoiding a subject because the other person doesn't want to talk about it. It's as easy as explaining your actions a little more and clarifying your words in a conversation because the other person is more sensitive to rejection/certain topics. It's as easy as coming up to someone and going "Hey, I do not like this thing. Can you stop doing it/do it differently?" "Yeah, sure, thank you for telling me!"

And it's as easy to understand DID/OSDD as saying "Hey, I have multiple (semi-)distinct personalities called alters, AKA alternative states of identity, all of them are different people with different roles to keep the body alive. They formed during my childhood due to prolonged/repeated trauma, and they keep that trauma away from me. Together, we are called a system." "Okay, cool! I accept you for who you are. Although, I haven't had experience with systems before, so I would need to learn. I will be patient with you, and I hope you can be patient with me. Walk me through it?"

I used to think that my DID/OSDD was difficult for people to understand, and I drowned in the thoughts of how much of a burden I was to singlets. Or, really, everybody in that case, because that wasn't just about my DID but any medical condition we have. We used to mask as a singlet even around people who we came out to, and they seemed more comfortable with us going by our deadname and pretending to be one rather than who we are, claiming they just feel "weird" and "awkward" because they don't have other friends like that. Until I began realizing that the only reason people don't "understand" is because they simply don't want to.

Yes, you may not get something right off the bat. And that's okay. But it isn't difficult to understand. You are not difficult to understand. It's other people who are ignorant enough to make you feel like crap to avoid being a little open-minded and kind. It just lies a little out of their comfort zone where they have stayed comfortably their entire lives.

It is that easy. It is that simple. Only thing you have to do is hear the other person out when they're talking about their DID/OSDD. Negotiate and/or find compromises when necessary. Learn, research, interact, ask questions, and most importantly, take it as it is. No questions asked unless they are clarification and curiosity. If you have questions you count as disrespectful or out of line, either keep them to yourself or warn the system about them and give clarification on what you meant. Give trigger warnings.

You are not difficult for having a disorder or a medical condition. It's other people who are difficult due to their ignorance.

[yusakiiiii]

The Fable of Skizz’s Raid

—

It’s on AO3 if you’d prefer to read it there.

—

There was once a Minecrafter known to one of his friends as Skizz Le Man, but many simply knew him as Skizz.

One day Skizz was happily working on a building project when a Pillager patrol snuck up on him. But being a Minecraft veteran, he was able to quickly deal with the patrol.

After defeating the final Pillager, the captain of them, he suddenly got a Bad feeling, like an Omen of ill tidings to come. In hopes that the feelings would fade with time, Skizz logged off for the night.

When Skizz returned to the server the next day, the feeling was gone, but a horn was sounding, and not a horn that imitated an inappropriate sound bite of one of his friends, a horn calling people to arms. And Skizz found himself suddenly surrounded by more pillagers, far more than was in the patrol, he had summoned a Raid. In a panic Skizz flew away to the top of his pyramid where he surveyed the situation.

As he overlooked the Pillagers ransacking his base, two of his friends and neighbours came and joined him on his pyramid. There he recounted to them his troubles and the fact he had left in such a hurry he didn’t even have weapons to fight off the Raiders.

In response to this, one of his friends, Grian, said, “If you just ignore the problem, it will go away.”

Skizz responds to Grian, repeating what he had said earlier in his retelling, “I tried to ignore the problem when I left yesterday but… that went poorly.”

Grian doubled down, “You’ve really got to ignore it for longer. With long terms issues you’ve really gotta commit. Just don’t come back for, I don’t know, a couple months.”

Skizz was very indignant at this suggestion and barked back at his friend, “Oh come on! That’s too mean.” Before whimpering, “What are we gonna do?”

Skizz’s other friend Gem then spoke up, “Well you’ve gotta kill them Skizz.”

Grian quickly interjects, “I told you what to do! Leave it! Ignore it! It’s only your problem if you claim it as your problem.”

Gem remarks looking at the Raiders and their proximity to other peoples builds, “Are they gonna kill Impulse’s villagers?”

Skizz, worried for his friend’s villagers responds, “Well we gotta go down there!”

And as he starts to fly from his pyramid, Grian grabs him by the arm and says, “You’re not understanding what I’m saying. I can’t help but think you aren’t hearing my words.”

Skizz complains with this particular bit of advice, “So I just can’t go over there? Can’t go in my home?”

Grian shakes his head vigorously, “It’s not that you can’t go over there. It’s that you don’t. In fact, why don’t we just turn this way?”

As he says this he grabs Gem and Skizz in each hand and turns them to look away from Skizz’s home and towards the homes of Tango and Pearl, their good friends across the way.

Gem and Skizz breathe a comforted sigh seeing their friend’s beautiful buildings, and then Grian breaks the silence with a, “Gone! See! The problem’s gone! I see no problem here!”

As Skizz wallows a little at this less than perfect suggestion, Gem tries to comfort him saying, “If we don’t want to go with Grian’s suggestion, instead, we can kill almost all of them except one and bury the last one in a hole.”

You see, it was a little known quirk of Illager culture that if an entire first wave of a Raid had been wiped out, others would come as an act of revenge. But if one survived, the Raiders would see this as an act of mercy and not send any more Raiders to attack. And this is the course of action Gem suggested.

Skizz, much happier with this suggestion commented, “Ooh, that’s good. That *is* good!”

And once more as Skizz headed to the edge of his pyramid to fly off, Grian planted his palm in front of Skizz’s chest to stop him saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second.”

Gem interjects before Grian can say any more, “He likes my idea better.”

Grian carries on, ignoring Gem, “Well what looks like is happening, is you’re falling into the trap, of doing something. See, I’ve fallen into that one before. Here’s the thing, you don’t need to do it.”

Gem counters, “But we could also just be proactive and handle the problem. Trust me, you can take them out. You can handle this.”

And trust her he did. Skizz and Gem flew off to fight the Raiders, and helping eachother they were able to, with some injuries, defeat all but one Pillager. But as they were trying to trap this remaining Raider in a hole, Grian, angry they had not heeded his advice, shot down the final raider. He then jeered at Skizz and Gem, “This is what happens when you sort out your problems!”

And not long after, another horn sounded, this time bringing a raiding force filled with the wish for revenge, a raiding force far more deadly than the last. But Gem is well known for her battle prowess, and was able to corner and capture one of the raiders early on, leaving the rest to be defeated by her and Skizz without need to hold back. But just as they defeated the final free Pillager, they turned back to the one they had trapped to see Grian pointing his bow at the helpless Illager. And he released the arrow, along with another wave of angry Pillagers.

Twice more this happened, the brave Minecrafters barely battling their way through the bullish Ravagers and the daggers of Vexes. Until there was only one Raider left. It was then that Grian called out, “Well this is a good spot to just leave the problem now. We can trap this last guy if you want.”

But seeing Grian’s vengeful spirit in him not listening to him earlier, Skizz ignored these words and landed the final kill on the pillager. No horns blared, no Pillagers came. They were finally free from the Raiders. At the end of the Raid there was simply, peace.

—

The above short story is an unreliable narration of part of GeminiTay’s Hermitcraft Season 10 Episode 13. It is loosely following the story of Pandora’s Box (Which was originally Pandora’s Jar until a mistranslation by the way.), but all Fables are meant to have teachings in them, so just as many scholars have debated the meaning behind Pandora’s Jar for centuries, I shall leave you to ponder the Fable of Skizz’s Raid.

[karenandhenwillson]

Some thoughts about learning and communication

I wanted to start this post with a screenshot, but I can't find the post in question anymore. I thought I had seen one of the people on the side of the call out posts making a post asking if no one had learned from the situation two years ago. Maybe it was a tag or a comment on a post instead, but I can't find it again. Wherever I saw the question, I still want to answer it.

(Continue under the break again.)

The simple answer is: No, you (specifically you as the person who posted this and their friends) have not learned a single thing from the situation two years ago. Your half-apologizes, or your refusal to apologize, and the way some of you are painting themselves the victims in the first place or of now being hit by the backlash also tells me already you haven't learned from this time either.

Two years ago the whole mess finally died down for the most part after a Black author was horribly hit by the whole the general fear and haste to appear to be on the "right" side that this fandom had fallen into at this point and she was very loud and outspoken about it so that some people finally recognized the mistakes they were making. Before this Black author, there had been a Black teacher who spoke up about the whole situation, who was trying to caution the mob to calm down and trying to teach about how to approach a productive conversation about racism. 

I'm not going to dig up those screenshots, but I still want to remind everyone of her. Because she was a very outspoken and for a time loud voice, who didn't even say that all or any of the accusations where wrong but just said that the approach to all of it was wrong. She was hit with hate and messages that contained sui baiting (Feel free to DM me if you don't know what this is, it took me some time to get it, too, when I joined tumblr.) and other threats or demeaning comments or accusations she would support the racists. Some of them weren't even anon because some people claiming to be on the "right" side were horribly comfortable attacking a Black person. In the end, her voice was silenced. 

I'll repeat that last sentence again, because I think it's important: In a debate about racism in this fandom, a Black voice was silenced by the side of the crowd who claimed to be fighting against racism.

I believe she said a lot of important things. Most of them can be boiled down to something an anon said in this debate and that I already quoted in the other post:

I've realised that I will never convince anyone by publicly shaming them. I might be able to silence them, but I won't convince them.

The communication both this week and two years ago failed completely. In parts for the same two major reasons we have seen this week, too:

1. Some of the people involved have taken everything said to them in horribly bad faith or willfully misinterpreted things that were said.

2. The artist in this case barely speaks English and needs a translation tool for all their communication. Two years ago from the very beginning, people were involved on both sides whose first language isn't English either and no matter how good they are at English or how much they write in their free time, it's still a barrier. (I'll detail an example for this later on.)

The first point compounded with the second point led to people, especially on the side of those accusing others of several things, twisting the things that were allegedly said in a horrific way. (As already mentioned, two years ago the accusation of racism wasn't the beginning but just the thing that "finally" found traction. I'm not sharing the screenshot of that here either because no one who was hurt two years ago deserves it to be brought up again more than it already has been. But I have proof that this didn't start over Chimney, that the very first iteration of the lists that were eventually created and widely shared was all about Maddie.)

We have seen this in a very glaring example this time. The artist was accused of claiming Jee-Yun had lighter skin than either of her parents, but when the screenshot of that part of the conversation was eventually shared, it turned out the artist was much more likely talking about a child she knew who she had brought up as a reference in the sentence before. I also fully believe the artist when they say the next part about "her skin getting lighter when she gets older" (again in reference to the child they know, not in reference to Jee-Yun, as was claimed long before that screenshot was shared) to be a mistake of the translation tool used. I've seen these kinds of mistakes in the artist’s post, and also in the private conversations I've had with them in the meantime.

I promised to share an example of how communication can be difficult between people with different first languages. There is, of course, the whole cultural side of it all that the artist already pointed out in their last post about the debate. There is the whole thing about different mindsets, about experience and perceiving the world, about how different cultures will view things differently without being aware of the differences even if they are aware to generally not know much about the other culture they are meeting.

These differences will be found in the language and how each of them uses them, too. And I'd not hesitate to bet a lot of money that most people never think about some of these differences in the use of the very same words if they aren't linguists.

English isn't my first language. I've had, in fact, a very difficult time to learn English at all. But I'm still interested in languages for several reason. When I was a child, I spent a lot of time with Czech friends, so I learned a little Czech from them. I didn't really keep any of it into adulthood because the friends moved away. I've learned French and Latin in school beside English, and after school I spent a little time learning Korean. So, I think I can safely say I've gotten familiar with more languages than many people.

I was still completely ignorant of some translations errors specifically concerning the discussion about racism until I started to get involved in English conversations about it.

There is no word for race in my language. But there is a word that sounds nearly identically, that has the exact same linguistical root as "race", but that has historically a completely different meaning. This word, my teachers would call it a false-friends as it sounds so similar to race, is one of the most horrifically racist and dehuminzing words you can use in my language while talking about another human being. 

If you put that word in any translation tool, it will come back as "breed" in English. But it also will come back as "race". So of course, when I started to breach this topic in English, I assumed race and the word in my language to mean the same. Very, very slowly the English word "race" is adopted into my language so we'll have a word with the same meaning in our language without having to invent something completely new. Because there is no way to rebrand the similar sounding word of my language.

Can you imagine how I felt about using the word "race" for a very long time? I felt so horrifically offended every time it came up and tried to tell myself that, of course, in other parts of the world the history was different so using that word while talking about humans wasn't the tabu I had grown up with. But using the word still made me sick, so for a long time I talked around it, used other words (ethnicity as an example, because the direct translation of that is what my language uses mostly to get the same meaning across as the English "race"). 

No one ever called me out for it. But since I stumbled by pure chance about an article describing the differences between the two words, I'm wondering what people thought about my word choice. Did they think I was just bad at English? Did they think I was uncomfortable with the topic as a whole? Did they think I might try to hide that their opinion about equality was different from my own? Did I ever say anything horribly offensive without being aware of it because I was trying to not use the word "race"?

I never asked anyone about it, either. I'm also still often feeling uncomfortable using the word "race", but I think I've gotten better in expressing myself.

There is a similar problem with "racism". There is a word for it in my language in this case. And again, it sounds very similar. Just as race and racism have the same linguistical root, the two similar sounding words in my language have the same roots as well. And still in the case of racism, the word in my language actually has the same meaning.

But here is the problem: English also has the word "bigotry" and my language uses the similar word to racism with both the meaning of racism and the meaning of bigotry depending on the context. That's also something I didn't know for a long time until a friend once said there was a difference between racism and bigotry and I went to look it up because from the translation into my language I thought them to be synonyms.

Those are things I learned because I was actively participating in conversations about racism in English speaking spaces and exposed to those words. But it took me years to learn it, long after I considered myself mostly fluid in English. I honestly don't know how I should have come into that topic and known that there were these kinds of very subtle differences I needed to learn about.

It's a lesson that stayed with me in a very permanent way. It's a realization I won't forget for the rest of my life, I believe. Every time I talk to a person who hasn't grown up with the same first language as me, I am very aware of this lesson. And I try to use that lesson in every single of these conversations, though especially when emotions run high that's not always working.

Maybe sharing this lesson will be enough to raise awareness for the ongoing language barrier between non-native speakers of any language no matter how well the foreign language is spoken. Maybe my experience can teach others to be gentler in all their conversations and in how they react to things that appear to be rude at first.

There has been a lot of talk about teaching and learning. Two years ago, and now again. And I believe with my full heart that nothing that was said from the people behind the call out posts to the artist was teaching at all. I my opinion, it wasn't even an attempt of teaching. The following are my thoughts as a teacher in a family of teachers. (I have a wealth of sources, but I really don't care to put the work into finding the English version of it to provide them for you. Please do your own research.)

Teaching is about exchange, about talking freely, about asking questions from both sides and discussing the answers to those question. And maybe sometimes even about not answering the questions but letting the student discover that answer on their own. Teaching is about respect, and about giving room to grow, and about working with the student instead of against them.

A student has to be able to ask questions, to voice their thoughts and opinions without fear. Without fear of being ridiculed, of being lectured, of being punished, of being abused verbally or physically.

Student and teacher both have to have room to make mistakes, to backtrack their steps, to even lose progress. In an ideal situation, the teacher learns just as much about the student as the student learns about the subject. 

The teacher learns how their student thinks and processes input, they learn how their student learns and how they talk and hold their body if they are sure or unsure of something. The teacher finds new ways to explain something when every other explanation that helped other students fails. A teacher takes on the responsibility to stay calm and understanding, no matter how often their student fails.

If you don't give a student this freedom of fear, if the teacher can't muster that patience with their students, you end up in a situation where no one learns anything. If the teacher expects the students to just take everything they lecture about, to never question it, to never discuss it without using the exact same phrases they taught it in, what you are ending up in is a dictatorship. A place where some leader tells everyone else exactly what they are allowed to think and feel and say. And everyone who steps out of that approved way to think and feel and talk will be perceived as a danger and be punished. It will create an atmosphere of general fear.

You don't teach people by shaming them and attacking them. That will only make them hate you and believe your cause to be faulty if not outright wrong by default. You teach them by keeping an open mind yourself, by listening to them as much as you expect them to listen to you, by not finding the most horribly way to understand their words but by giving them the benefit of the doubt, by admitting that you can be wrong, too, and by taking responsibility if you are wrong.

There are so many places, so many topics where people are hurt, where people have to fight every day for their basic rights. You aren't making the world a better place by bringing more violence into it, no matter how much you claim to have good intentions.

[lily-orchard]

The way your stalker switched their story- and/or keep worsening your "crimes" made me have a dawning that not only how utter bullshit it is but also that I've gone through a similar situation.

(sorry it got so long...)

Had a boss (manager- a woman) openly flirt and make comments of that nature to me. At the time I was 20 this was my first job (at a gas station), she was about twice my age when I rejected her with the "I have a boyfriend" suddenly my job got a lot harder. I wasn't taught/shown how to do stuff (not that she really did that before but now I was getting nothing) and was shoving me on shifts by myself for 9+ hours. It got really bad that ultimately boiled over with a claim from her that was a stealing money- but also 20 yr old me somehow edited the system I barely knew how to work to erase all evidence of it other than her word with "counting the money".

There was never any real proof but I was fired anyway- fast forward to a month after that and she is slandering me at this place to the point I'm having other adults (some around my age some older) verbally attack me and stay some character damaging things to my friends and family. But the accusations kept getting worse...

First a stole

Then I was arrested

Then I was arrested multiple times

Then I was stalking her

Then she had a restraining order against me

ALL UNTRUE.

It ended when she fired and arrested for stealing and harassing employees the same things she was accusing me of.

Which made me start thinking, that your stalker escalates pretty quickly- which means they're getting too comfortable in what they're saying. Which means eventually (and probably shortly from the looks are it) are gonna "mess up" get sloppy and give others the proof that they're doing all of this and not you. It's all a projection because they're like that not you.

What I was just trying to make with long-winded ass was that most crazies who are making up horrible lies about you get too comfortable at the thought that everyone is staring at you and not them and end up doing something self-destructive and outing themselves so hard as the real crazy when they were always pointing at you for being the crazy. I think your stalker has gotten too comfortable and that's why this already destructive behavior is getting worse.

Indeed they are quite comfortable. Most people who don't like me don't actually follow them. They just repeat "Lily wrote pedo fic" or "Lily molested her sister" off-hand when they hear my name because they heard some other Youtuber say it. But they didn't keep up with it enough to know things like "All we have is their word that Lily wrote that" or "The Youtuber retracted that video of Lily's sister" and the like.

The upside is that, individually at least, it's easy for people to set the record straight one person at a time.

But it seems more and more people are pressing them for actual proof, more people are starting to say "No, you need more than trust me bro." Hell they're getting really bitchy that now they have people putting pressure on them AND ratting them out to me with actual links so that the rest of my audience sees what lunatics they are.

That's the part they don't like. They can't delete an archive link, and a much bigger audience is seeing them fuck up now that I keep answering these asks.