#power but no direction or backbone

[anonymusbosch]

love to be employed and watch remarkable numbers of people in management or executive level positions be wildly incapable of things like "prioritization" or "foresight" or "organization" or "people skills" or "hiring women" or "having a backbone" or "firing people who are so bad they make other people quit"

[nayziiz]

Witness | CL16

Summary: In the shadowy world of Monaco's elite, the Leclerc family reigns supreme. Charles Leclerc, the charming middle son, maintains their pristine public image—until one rainy night, during a fit of rage, Charles does the unthinkable. A young woman witnesses his actions, and her terrified eyes haunt him. Consumed by guilt and fear of exposure, Charles embarks on a desperate search to find her before she can destroy his family’s legacy. As he delves deeper into Monaco's underbelly, Charles must confront his own darkness and the lengths he will go to protect his family.

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x OC (name to be revealed)

Warnings: Violence, blood, angst

Masterlist

Chapter 1

The Leclerc family was a name whispered in awe and fear across Europe. They were a dynasty built on power, wealth, and an unyielding code of loyalty. At the helm was Pascale Leclerc, a woman of unmatched grace and formidable strength. Widowed early, she had single-handedly nurtured her empire and her sons, instilling in them the same indomitable spirit that had forged their legacy.

Pascale's three sons were as different as they were indispensable to the family's operations. Lorenzo, the eldest, was the family's anchor. A man of few words, he shunned the spotlight, preferring to navigate the complex web of their financial empire from the shadows. His meticulous nature and unerring judgment made him the backbone of their financial success, ensuring every transaction, every investment, was flawlessly executed.

Arthur, the youngest, was a prodigy with a flair for the entrepreneurial. Despite his youth, he had an uncanny knack for identifying and nurturing the family's smaller, yet highly profitable ventures. Arthur's enthusiasm and innovative ideas injected new life into their enterprises, making him a rising star within the family ranks.

And then there was Charles, the charismatic middle child. Charles was the face of the Leclerc family, the diplomat who moved with ease through high society and business circles alike. He was the one who smiled and shook hands, sealing deals and forging alliances with a charm that belied the ruthlessness beneath. Charles was the family’s shield, ensuring that their operations always appeared legitimate, always above reproach.

The Leclerc brothers never got their hands dirty; they always had someone to do their dirty work for them, people who left no traces behind. Until one very rainy night in Monte Carlo when some brave soul thought stealing Charles' €400,000 Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari watch was a good idea. It was a simple enough plan. The man followed Charles as he walked out of the casino and stopped him by the car pretending to ask for directions. When Charles lifted his hand to point in a certain direction, the man saw the perfect opportunity to try to snatch the watch.

There was a struggle, and before Charles knew it, they were down a dark alley. The rain pounded relentlessly, masking the sounds of their scuffle. The would-be thief underestimated Charles. In a surge of primal fury, Charles found himself repeatedly punching the man through the face until he was unconscious and eventually no longer breathing. He didn't know what possessed him, but something snapped in his mind that night.

Charles stood there, drenched and panting, staring at the lifeless body before him. The rain washed away the blood from his knuckles, but it couldn't cleanse the darkness that had surged from within. He had always been the charming diplomat, the public face of the family. But now, with the cold rain and the colder realisation of what he'd done, Charles knew that the mask he wore had irrevocably slipped.

Charles returned to his Ferrari Daytona SP3, hands covered in blood. As he reached for the door, he looked up and met the eyes of a frightened and frozen young woman. She stood a few meters away, her face pale and eyes wide with terror. He attempted a small smile, a reflex of his practiced charm, but it only seemed to magnify her fear. The woman turned and ran, her footsteps echoing down the sidewalk, disappearing into the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

She had seen everything. She saw how Charles snapped and kept punching the man. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn't move. It was like her feet were cemented into the pavement as she watched the drenched men fight over something she knew nothing about, but she saw enough to scare her into a different dimension. She ended up cancelling her shift at work, citing a bout of vomiting as the cause for her absence. She wasn't lying. When she got back to her and her best friend's apartment, she spent the rest of the night throwing up her entire day's meals.

As Charles drove away, he couldn't shake the image of her terrified eyes. He knew that his life, and possibly hers, had changed irrevocably in that rain-soaked alley. The cracks in the Leclerc family's facade were starting to show, and it was only a matter of time before everything began to crumble.

She had heard about the Leclerc brothers a few times since she moved to Monaco, but she never saw them. They were the stuff of local legend, their names whispered in hushed tones at the markets, cafes, and in the bustling streets of the city. She knew they were powerful, influential, and perhaps even dangerous, but she didn't even know what they looked like. If only she knew she made eye contact with Charles Leclerc. If only she knew the amount of anxiety her presence caused.

For Charles, the days following the incident were a blur of paranoia and dread. He spent the following three days waiting for the police to show up at his doorstep, waiting to call Lorenzo to bail him out, but nothing. He had mentally prepared himself for the sound of sirens, the cold steel of handcuffs, and the grim faces of law enforcement officers as they took him away. Each passing hour was a test of his sanity, his nerves fraying under the weight of his guilt and anticipation.

He thought she called the police to report the murder, but nothing. The silence was both a relief and a torment. He had the body disposed of as discreetly as possible that same night, utilising the family’s network of loyal associates who specialised in making problems disappear. The rain had been merciless, washing away any other evidence of the encounter, leaving only the haunting memory of that night etched in his mind.

Yet every time Charles saw the bruises and gashes on his knuckles, her petrified face would flash through his mind. The vivid image of her wide, frightened eyes lingered, a stark reminder of his loss of control. He desperately wanted to explain to her why he did what he did, that he didn’t normally commit such heinous acts. He wanted her to understand that he was not a monster, that there were circumstances, fears, and pressures that had driven him to that moment of madness.

But how does he explain to Lorenzo and Arthur there was a witness to the murder he committed and he had no idea who she was, where she lived, or worked? The mere thought of their reactions filled him with dread. Lorenzo, with his calculating mind, would demand a solution, a way to neutralise the threat. Arthur, the heart of the family, would be shaken, his faith in Charles's composure shattered. So he didn't tell them about the murder and he didn't tell them about her. The secret festered within him, a poison he couldn’t expel.

He had to find her. The compulsion grew stronger with each passing day. He knew it was a dangerous obsession, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to see her again, to make sure she wouldn’t destroy his life. He needed to explain, to somehow make amends. The problem was, he had no idea where to begin looking for her. The streets of Monaco, once a familiar playground of power and luxury, had become a labyrinth of uncertainty.

Charles's search for the mystery woman quickly became more desperate. He trawled through the streets where he had last seen her, visited the local establishments, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. His inquiries were subtle, his approach cautious, but the urgency behind them was undeniable. His nights were restless, his days consumed by the hunt.

He had to find her. Not just to silence the witness, but to find some semblance of peace. In his world of calculated moves and controlled appearances, she was the variable that could unravel everything. And as he delved deeper into Monaco's underbelly, one thing became clear: he was willing to go to any lengths to find her, to confront the fear and guilt that haunted him. Only then could he begin to piece his fractured life back together.

He had to find her.

[jungshookz]

smitten: jungkook's date is tonight but y/n's more stressed about it than he is

➺ pairing; jeon jungkook x reader

➺ genre; smitten!miniseries!! bff!kook & smitten!y/n!! university!au!! honk honk humour!! the boo hoo angsty wattpad-energy fic of your dreams!! unrequited love!! so much pining!! it hurts so bad but that's what makes it so good!! yoongi should really mind his own business!!

➺ wordcount; 6.5k

➺ summary; jungkook's dream date with ji-eun is tonight and y/n's going to do everything in her power to make sure everything goes perfectly.

➺ what to expect; "we've been planning and preparing for this date for the past week, jungkook. i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that things go according to plan. your date is going to be perfect.”

➺ currently spinning on the record player; i wish [one direction]

➺ smitten: part one [the almost confession]; part two [the incriminating note]

»»————- ♥ ————-««

“pepperoni to garlic knot- pepperoni to garlic knot- come in- are you there?" 

the sound of the walkie talkie crackling to life makes you perk up and you reach behind to pull it out from your back pocket, pressing down on the side button with your thumb before bringing it up to your mouth

“garlic knot to pepperoni- i'm here." you bite back a grin at the silly nicknames jungkook insisted on using before speaking up again, "the last of the fairy lights have been strung up, by the way! over." 

“oh, sick!" jungkook gasps lightly, "okay, i need you to come down and help me because i've been trying to tie this tie for the last, like, half an hour and at this point i’m just going to have to wave a white flag and surrender. over.” 

"roger that. i'm coming down." you tuck the walkie talkie into your pocket again before letting out a sigh and looking around the rooftop setup with your hands on your hips 

you must admit it looks really good (as it should, because you've literally been setting everything up since this morning and it's about 5:30pm now)

the bubble tent's been blown up and you made it all comfy and cozy inside with fluffed up pillows and soft throw blankets 

you strung the fairy lights up on the clotheslines and you made sure to use fresh batteries for them so that they'll last all night 

and the little round table that jungkook and ji-eun will be eating dinner at was a little wobbly but that problem was easily fixed with some blu-tak 

the happy smile on your face twitches slightly when the realization that you spent the entire day setting up a date that you're not even a part of hits you

"…oh, you silly girl.” you can't help but snort as you shake your head and turn around to head towards the rooftop door so you can go to jungkook’s apartment, "you silly, silly girl-" 

all of this time

all of this effort

all of this everything for a boy you like who you know for sure doesn't like you back because if he liked you back he wouldn’t have asked someone else out

what exactly do you think the end result is here?

what exactly do you think you're gaining out of this?

literally nothing!!!!

so why are you doing all of this??

"because i'm a big ol' simp with no backbone, apparently-" you mutter under your breath as you open the door to jungkook's apartment, forcing the frown off your face and replacing it with an easygoing smile 

you may be a simp with no backbone but…

well, no

that’s it. there’s nothing else to say. 

"y/n? that you?" 

"yeah! sorry, probably should’ve knocked or something- also, not to toot my own horn or anything, but i did a fantastic job with the decorations! i could be a party planner or something if this whole school thing doesn’t work out-” you kick the door shut behind you before looking around for jungkook, "where are you?" 

"gimme a sec! i'm, like- i'm almost done, just wait-" 

you plop down on the couch and tilt your head back to look up at the ceiling before letting out another quiet sigh 

this is why you need to be constantly busy doing things, because if you get even a moment of peace, you start to think and think and think and you hate being alone with your thoughts because your brain starts to mock you and berate you and say things like hey, y/n? you have a paper due at midnight tonight that you're only halfway done with but instead you're prioritizing being a wingwoman to a boy who's head over heels in love with someone else-

"okay, hi!" you jolt in surprise at the sound of jungkook's voice from behind you and you're about to turn around when suddenly he speaks up again, "hold on! close your eyes until i tell you to open them."

"what? why?" you frown as you settle back against the couch again and shut your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest, “i already know what you’re going to wear, i’m the one that picked the outfit for you anyway-”

"i know, but surprises are fun-" you hear the shuffling of material and you resist the urge to turn around immediately as your impatience grows, "okay, i think that looks fine. turn around!" 

"i really don't know why you had to prepare me to see you in-" you twist your upper half around so you can finally look at jungkook and almost immediately you feel your heart skip a beat at the sight 

the crisp white button-up tucked into a pair of slacks are a stark contrast to the outfits you're so used to seeing jungkook in because most of the time he's drowning in a sweatshirt that's ten sizes too big for him and some slouchy cargo pants and a pair of chunky black stompers

but this? this is…

oh, wow.

"so?" jungkook's being uncharacteristically shy with you as he averts his gaze and reaches down to fiddle with one of the buttons on his shirt, "how… do i look?" 

"-handsome." you blurt out, shaking yourself out of your slight daze as you get up from the couch so you can go over to him, "you look- you look very handsome, jungkook. you- yeah, you look very handsome.” you press your lips together, unsure if you should say anything else because you’re not sure where the line is between being a supportive friend or just ogling your friend like he’s a piece of meat 

it's when you find yourself looking down at your own outfit (jeans and a t-shirt and socks with a hole on the right heel) that the little voice in the back of your head reminds you of the reality of the situation: that he's looking very handsome not for you, but for ji-eun, and in this moment you wish there was a way to just shut your brain off to cease all cruel thoughts 

jungkook looks very nice. just focus on one thing at a time. 

“oh my god-“ jungkook's nose immediately scrunches up before he lets out a little laugh, "you're totally hitting on me right now, you weirdo- you look very handsome, jungkook-” he mocks you in a higher voice and you can’t help but feel a little dejected that this is how he reacts to a genuine compliment from you 

if anything, it’s more confirmation you didn’t need that jungkook most definitely doesn’t feel the same way about you  

"well, i-" you stop yourself from walking any closer to him as you feel your entire face flush bright red, "i- well, i’m trying to be supportive here… you look nice, i’m not gonna be an asshole and say you look bad for this date-” you force out a nervous laugh as you reach up to rub the back of your neck, "whatever, you look fine-" 

“thank you, i just- i’m not used to compliments but anyway-” jungkook interrupts you (thankfully, otherwise you definitely would’ve continued to babble and babble and babble) to hold up a black tie, "you need to help me with this." 

"you know, i… i actually don't think you need the tie?" you tilt your head a little as you look over jungkook's outfit, "i think you'll look better without it on, and a tie seems a little too formal for the date- can i-" you shuffle forwards slightly before undoing a couple of buttons on jungkook's shirt and spreading the collar open a little, jungkook raising his head a bit so you can work your magic 

"you really think this looks better?” he asks quietly, and your eyes flicker up to meet his for a brief second before you quickly look back down at your fumbling fingers 

"yea,” you respond, pressing your lips together as you smooth out the collar before taking the tie from his hand, tossing it over your shoulder and stepping back to look at your work, "yeah. that's much better. okay, put the suit jacket on, lemme see the whole look-"

"dude, i've been, like- so nervous all day." jungkook lets out a breath as he pulls the suit jacket up off the back of the couch, "like- okay, obviously ji-eun and i get along really well in real life, but this is the first time we'll be in, like, a romantic setting, you know? like romantic on purpose.“ 

"it'll be fine. i mean, you already got through the hardest bit which was asking her out-" you shrug as you lean against the back of the couch and cross an ankle over the other, "and she said yes, so… obviously you're doing something right. you’re gonna be fine, you just have first date jitters! everyone gets the first date jitters.” 

"i know, but-" he smooths the sleeves of the suit jacket out before looking back over at you, "ah, i don't know. i just feel like i'm gonna screw up somehow, you know?" 

"you won’t,” you shake your head before offering him a smile, "just be yourself! don't put too much pressure on, like- on acting like how you think she wants you to act, you know what i mean? just be yourself. she likes you, jungkook. you're a total catch, so-" you cut yourself off before you wander into the ‘you’re a total catch which is actually the reason why i’m in love with you' portion of your pep-talk as you get up off the couch, "yeah! just- just relax. everything's going to go perfectly tonight. and like i was saying when i first walked in here, not to toot my own horn or anything but the rooftop looks immaculate.”  

“i’m sure it does! i can’t wait to see it-“ jungkook pauses all of a sudden, his eyes widening in realization, "oh, shit!"

you don't even get the chance to ask him what's wrong before he starts to spiral and you blink rapidly at the sudden change in behaviour 

"oh my god.” jungkook slaps his hand against his forehead, “i- fuck, i forgot to pick up the flowers and the- oh my god, i knew i forgot to do something today!" he gawks, pulling his phone out of his back pocket, "shit! shit, shit- damnit, i was gonna pick them up this morning and then i went to the gym and i forgot-" 

“i-" you’re slightly startled at how stressed he is over some flowers and you can’t help but chuckle, “there’s even a little sticky note on the fridge to remind you-”

"i know!” jungkook whines, “i know, i don't know, i guess it just slipped my mind because i've literally been thinking about this date all week-“ he sucks some air in through his teeth before shaking his head, “okay, i guess i can just head over there right now and then come back-”

"woah, woah-" you skid over and press a hand to jungkook's chest to keep him from bolting out the door, “what are you talking about? you can't leave now! it's- it's 5:45- and not to mention, it's literally rush hour so the highways are probably all clogged up right now and- ji-eun's going to be here in half an hour so you'll never make it back in time and your suit's going to get all wrinkled because you'll be all cramped up on the bus-" 

"y/n, the flowers and the teddy bear are two essential parts of the date,” jungkook looks at you with wide eyes, clearly desperate to leave the apartment, “i’m not gonna have anything to give her when she arrives, she can’t show up only for me to be empty handed-”

"hey, relax!” you snap, softening your tone when jungkook’s shoulders droop slightly, “listen, you are not going to leave the apartment because ji-eun is coming and i’m sure she’ll be disappointed if she finds me on the rooftop instead of you. this is what’s going to happen: you’re going to sit here and wait for ji-eun, i’m going to go and pick up the flowers and the teddy bear, and then you can give them to her after the date. it’s going to be fine, you are literally being so dramatic right now-”

"but-" 

"look, i'm sure ji-eun isn't going to throw a tantrum if you don't present her with a bouquet of flowers at the beginning of the date- if she did, that’d be kind of odd but that’s not the point- the point is, it'll be fine. you go on your date, i’ll pick them up." 

"yeah, but-!" 

"kook, i've got it, alright?" you back away from him slowly but you keep your arm extended to make sure he doesn't move, "i'll take care of everything, you know i can handle it- just- i'm gonna go now and then- i'll leave behind the rooftop door as soon as i get them, okay? and i'll text you so that you'll know they're there-" 

"y/n…" jungkook chews on the inside of his cheek anxiously, guilt swirling around in his eyes, "you've already done so much for me, i can't ask you to-"

"we've been planning and preparing for this date for the past week, jungkook. i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that things go according to plan. your date is going to be perfect.”

“are you sure? i feel bad, i feel like you did so much and-”

“i’m sure, jungkook-" you interrupt him again before turning to grab your jacket off coat rack, “the only thing you have to think about tonight is how you’re going to charm ji-eun — and to be honest, you don’t even need to think about it because all you have to do is be yourself! now sit down and try to relax. and try not to wrinkle your shirt, i spent way too long ironing it earlier."

»»————- ♥ ————-««

your nose crinkles slightly as you look up at the sky, your brows knitting together in concern at the light grey clouds hanging in the air

the forecast did say it would be cloudy today (and it has been cool and cloudy all day) but you’re hoping it doesn’t rain because if it rains that’ll completely ruin the date and jungkook will probably be electrocuted by the fairy lights if he touched them 

of course, jungkook and ji-eun can take cover in that bubble tent if it starts to rain, but hopefully it doesn’t… (why are you so hellbent on making sure this date is going to go smoothly?! you might as well plan their wedding for them as well at this rate.) 

you perk up when you see the bus you’re supposed to take rounding the corner and you fumble in your purse for your bus card, stepping up to the stop eagerly

your phone buzzes in your pocket and you pull it out once you plop yourself down in a seat in the back  

from: jungkook (5:58pm) — Holy shit I’m acc so nervous 

from: jungkook (5:58pm) — What if this goes horribly 

you can’t help but roll your eyes at how panicky jungkook is being because he really has no reason to be nervous 

all he had to do was dress himself and make himself presentable because you were the one who did all the hard work of setting up (to be fair, you insisted on setting up alone because you like things done a certain way and jungkook seemed too jittery to focus) 

to: jungkook (5:58pm) — you’re literally going to be fine

to: jungkook (5:58pm) — it’s going to be fine 

to: jungkook (5:58pm) —  you already know she likes you 

to: jungkook (5:59pm)— just think of this as another one of your hangouts but you guys are dressed more fancy and you’re on a rooftop for some reason LOL 

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — Okay 

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — She says she’s almost here

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — Do you think I should’ve picked her up instead of her meeting me here 

to: jungkook (5:59pm) — …you rented out a rooftop for her i think she’ll survive 

you pause, setting your phone face down on your lap before letting out a yawn and leaning your head against the window

you got up far too early this morning and the gentle rumbling of the bus down the highway is very soothing

google maps said the journey to your stop was about 38 minutes which means you have approximately 35 minutes to take a quick nap and the remaining 3 minutes to wake yourself up so you won’t be too groggy after hopping off the bus 

you’ve worked hard today, so you deserve a little snooze! 

your right eye peels open when your phone buzzes again

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Omg she’s here early 

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Okay 

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Wish me luck and also thank you for everything you are the best 

a smile twitches at the corner of your mouth and you can’t help but think to yourself that yes, i am kind of the best, aren’t i? 

to: jungkook (6:04pm) — yes yes 

to: jungkook (6:04pm) — good luck! 

to: jungkook (6:04pm)— :-) 

another yawn slips past your lips and you tuck your phone into your purse before leaning your head against the window again and shutting your eyes 

an additional benefit to getting some sleep on the bus is so that your brain won’t start to flood with reminders that jungkook doesn’t like you like that and that you are currently sitting on a bus going to get flowers for him to give to another girl- 

okay, that’s enough of that, your teeth grit together slightly and you clear your throat, crossing one leg over the other as you get settled into the stiff, itchy seats, a quick power nap and then the overthinking can begin again. 

»»————- ♥ ————-««

“excuse me-” 

your eyes open immediately at the feeling of someone shaking your shoulder and you sit up straight, clutching your purse tighter to your body as you look up to see the bus driver smiling down at you in mild concern 

“morning!” he jokes, raising an eyebrow before clicking his tongue and nodding towards the opened doors, “end of the line, miss. gonna have to ask you hop off.”

what? 

in your half-asleep state you can’t help but wonder what you’re doing on a bus and where you were meant to be going in the first place… is the date over? are you heading home? 

“end of the-“ your heart plummets to your stomach at the realization that you took more than just a little snooze because you are, in fact, at the end of the line when you were supposed to be at the flower shop and heading back to jungkook’s apartment now, “wait, end of the line?!”

“i’m guessing you missed your stop? happens a lot when people fall asleep on the bus.” 

“i- yes-“ you pull your phone out to check the time (and your heart nearly stops beating when you see that it’s 7:13), “i was supposed to get off at crown street, how far are we from crown street?” 

“not too far-“ the bus driver hums, “about fifteen-“

“minutes?” you get up from the seat, starting to make your way towards the door but still looking at the driver

“blocks.” he sucks some air in through his teeth, “fifteen blocks away. if you walk from here, it’ll probably take you about… twenty-ish minutes or so to get to the crown street stop-”

“twenty-ish minutes, twenty minutes is nothing, i can make it in ten if i sprint-“ you mutter to yourself, pulling your purse up over your shoulder and turning to smile at the bus driver before hopping off, “thank you, sir, enjoy the rest of your night-!” 

it’s only a second later that you find yourself sprinting down the sidewalk, your runners smacking loudly against the concrete as you keep your purse tucked tightly underneath your armpit

unbelievable! something just had to go wrong tonight, didn’t it?

and it certainly doesn’t help that it’s drizzling right now — you don’t even have an umbrella with you! 

“so stupid, shouldn’t have fallen asleep-“ you look up briefly when you hear a rumble of thunder, stopping at the crosswalk and slapping the button multiple times as if it’s going to make the walk sign appear faster, “c’mon, c’mon…”

you jolt when a flash of lightning lights up the sky before suddenly- 

“oh, come ON!” rain suddenly starts to pour down from the sky and you resist the urge to just fall to the ground and completely give up because it seems like the universe is actively trying to tell you that what you’re doing is clownish behaviour and you need to stand up 

of course, because one of your more prominent traits is your innate stubbornness, you pull your purse off your shoulder and raise it above your head as if it’s going to stop you from getting completely soaked 

rainwater starts to flood into your shoes as you jog across the street and the feeling of your socks increasingly getting wet sends a shiver up your spine 

you pull your purse back onto your shoulder and keep it tightly held under your armpit once your arms start to get sore — you’re already completely soaked so using your purse as an umbrella seems pretty redundant at this point 

“don’t know why i didn’t bring a stupid umbrella with me either!” you huff to yourself, wiping your hair away from your face as you cross another street after looking both ways (safety first), “fall asleep on the bus, gets caught in the rain- stupid, stupid-“ you grumble, reaching up to wipe under your eyes and pressing your lips together in frustration at the wet mascara ink staining your fingertips

wonderful 

just wonderful 

and now you probably look demonic as well 

you pick up in pace when you recognize the street the flower shop is on, speeding up even more when you notice someone standing in front of the doors with a set of keys in their hand looking very ready to close up shop for the night 

“woah, woah, wait! wait, please!” you call out and the person immediately stops, looking over at you and then taking a few steps back in what seems to be mild fear, “so sorry, i just need to pick a bouquet up, i know you’re closing but i really need this bouquet- and-“ 

“did you run here?” he asks, looking you up and down as he adjusts his grip on his umbrella, “…you do know it’s raining, right?” 

“yeah, i- woo, give me a second to catch my breath-“ you pant, bending over and putting both hands on your knees, wincing to yourself as your lungs constrict in your chest, “i don’t remember the last time i ran like this, jesus christ- i think i’m going to puke-“ you force yourself to stand up straight again, placing a hand on your hip as you continue to suck in puffs of air, “i need to pick up an order.” 

“oh, wait! you’re the girl who’s in love with her friend, now i remember who you are-“ his eyes light up briefly before the deadpan expression returns to his face, “sorry, champ. we close at 7:30.” 

“it’s 7:29,” you choose to ignore his first comment before holding your phone up to his face and he immediately deflates, “come on, yoongi- it’s yoongi, right? please. give me a break.” 

“i’m just tryna go home-“ 

“please, my friend’s date is tonight and he was supposed to pick up his flowers this morning but then he went to the gym so he forgot even though there was a sticky note on the fridge reminding him to-”

“wait, you’re picking up his flowers for him?!” yoongi asks, eyes widening again before he throws his head back in a laugh, “hah! oh my god, you- you’re actually kidding me, this has to be a joke-“

“i will give you five glowing stars on google reviews if you let me in-“ you pant, wiping strands of wet hair away from your forehead again, squinting slightly because the rainwater has now fully fucked up your vision and yoongi is starting to look like a dark blob, “even though your customer service skills suck because you’re clearly laughing at me and i really thought you’d have the decency to share your umbrella considering the fact that it’s pouring-“

“my customer service skills are fantastic, you should see the way i flirt with all the older ladies who come in-” yoongi jingles his keys in his hands before checking the time on his watch, “they always leave with $15 silk ribbons on their bouquets and a boost in their self-esteem-“

“we’re wasting time here, i’m supposed to be back at my friend’s place like, now-“ 

“alright, fine.” yoongi sighs, shoving the keys back into the lock before clicking his tongue, “but i’m only doing this because i feel like saying no to you is equivalent to, like, leaving a puppy out in the cold or something. or stealing candy from a baby and then shoving the baby off of its high chair. or, like, taking a chainsaw and destroying a nice old lady’s rosebush in front of her for no reason while she’s standing there with a pitcher of iced tea for you-”

“alright, i get it, you pity me, just let me into the store and give me my damn order.” 

“did you really run all the way here?” he asks, opening the door to let you in as he closes his umbrella and shakes the excess water off before shoving it into the holder

“i took the bus but i fell asleep and missed my stop. ended up at the end of the line and i thought running fifteen blocks would be faster than waiting for the next bus.” you breathe out, your shoes squeaking obnoxiously against the marble floors as you step into the shop and leave a generous trail of rainwater behind you 

yoongi deflates slightly at the mess you’re leaving behind you and he quickly reaches out to grab onto your elbow, “do not take another step. i literally mopped up before closing and you’re leaving a trail everywhere.”

“sorry, sorry…” you apologize sheepishly, taking a step back closer to the front door and looking down at the puddle growing around your feet 

you reach up to squeeze some water out of your air, freezing when you realize you’re just squeezing more water onto the ground for yoongi to mop up 

yoongi gives you an unimpressed, blank stare before shaking his head and flicking the lights on, “there is nobody in the world i would ever run in the rain for. hell, there’s nobody i would even ever run for in general.” 

“well, i’m sorry your heart is made out of literal ice and you don’t have the ability to feel love for another human being.” you respond sarcastically, yoongi turning around with raised eyebrows 

“hey, for someone with an icy cold heart, i didn’t have to let you in, i could very well kick you out right now because i already clocked out for the night-”

“okay, sorry, i’m sorry- just- if i could just pick up the order, i’ll get out of your hair, i’m sorry-“ 

“why are you doing this in the first place?” yoongi asks as he gets settled behind the front desk, switching the monitor back on, “also, i promise i’m not stalling because i also want to get out of here as soon as possible, i just need to check what your order number is-“

“because jungkook forgot to pick the order up this morning.” you respond as if it’s the most obvious answer in the entire world (because to you, it kind of is) 

“well, i get that, but you still didn’t answer the question.” yoongi hums, tapping on the keyboard and hitting the enter key obnoxiously 

“sure, i did.” you frown, “i answered your question. i’m here because jungkook forgot to pick up the order this morning. he’s on his date right now and i told him i could pick it up for him. he’s on a date.” 

“with another girl.” yoongi murmurs, propping his chin up on his palm, “you are picking up flowers for jungkook to give to another girl because…” 

“because i’m his friend.” you feel your eye twitch slightly out of a mixture of growing frustration and impatience, “you have that order number yet? i’m on a time crunch here.” 

“…okay, i think all the rainwater must’ve flushed the logic out of your head…” yoongi purses his lips as he gets up from the seat, offering you an overly polite customer service smile, “please wait here while i get your order from the back. i would offer you a glass of cucumber water and an apple rose whatever cinnamon pastry thing but we are technically closed, so you’re just going to have to stand here and wait.” 

“funny.” you raise an eyebrow, about to squeeze some water out of your top before stopping yourself (you’ll wait until yoongi disappears to the back and then you’ll do it) 

you’re picking up flowers for jungkook because you’re his friend

and on top of that, not only are you his friend, you’re a very good friend of his! 

he would do the same for you if the roles were reversed (well, if the roles were reversed, you would’ve never forgotten to pick up the flowers so jungkook would never have to run in the rain to pick them up for you) 

what does yoongi mean by why are you doing this? 

isn’t it obvious??

if anything, he’s the one with no logic in his head if he can’t grasp the simple answer to his simple question

you’re doing this because you’re jungkook’s friend, and this is what friends do when they care about each other 

“okay, one more time- what are you doing right now?” yoongi pops out from the back with a beautifully wrapped bouquet and an adorable little white teddy bear with a pink heart as its nose and you can’t help but pout sweetly at it 

you know you said the teddy bear would be a little much but looking at it now… you want one too! 

“picking up a bouquet and a teddy bear.” you point out, holding your hands out to take them from yoongi 

“picking up a bouquet and a teddy bear for…” 

“for my friend…” you trail off, making grabby hands at him only for him to pull back slightly

“for your friend jungkook because…” 

“why do you care so much about this? you don’t know me and what i do is none of your business, your job right now is to hand me a bouquet and that teddy bear and you’re not doing a super good job if i’m being honest-”

“you’re right, i don’t know you, but i’m nosy as hell and you seem nice even though you’re oblivious as hell- you’re so close to the answer, too! what are you doing right now and why are you doing what you’re doing?” 

“what are you doing right now? and why are you doing what you’re doing right now??” you snap, looking at the little clock sitting on the desk, “i’m running very late, just give me the damn flowers, man-“ 

“alright, fine.” yoongi deflates, handing you the bouquet and the little bear before shaking his head and turning around to grab the mop from the back, “guess you’ll figure out the answer on your own. by the way, let your friend know that if he wants to order another bouquet for you to pick up that we now have an online ordering form so he doesn’t even have to come in store anymore- by the way, i can lend you an umbrella if you didn’t wanna run in the rain again because like i said, our customer service is-” yoongi spins around and immediately clams up when the only indication that you were even here at all are the two dirty shoe marks staining the white marble floor and the puddle of water around them 

he shrugs to himself and clicks his tongue 

oh well 

…you still better give the store a five star review. 

»»————- ♥ ————-««

the journey back to jungkook’s apartment is a little less chaotic than the journey leaving his place, thankfully 

you managed to get to the bus stop right as the bus came, and if anything, you took that as a sign that the universe was now on your side 

it was rewarding you for being such a good friend! 

of course, you still got caught in the thunderstorm jogging back to jungkook’s building from the bus stop (according to the forecast, it’s supposed to rain all night long) and the bouquet is a little soggy and the little bear’s fur is kind of matted now, but you tried your best to keep them dry under your sopping wet jacket, “alright, kook, don’t worry, i’m coming-“ you mutter, going up the stairs two at a time and ignoring the fact that you’re leaving a wet trail behind you 

you can’t help but shiver at the feeling of cold, wet clothes clinging uncomfortably to your body, pausing when you accidentally use the bear as a makeshift towel to dry your face 

“shit, whoops-“ you pull the bear away instantly, relieved to see that you didn’t leave any streaks of makeup on it 

your legs slow down as you reach the steps leading up towards the door to the rooftop, and you pause at the top of the steps when you hear a melodic giggle from outside amongst the rhythmic pitter patter of chubby raindrops splashing against the cement

sucking your bottom lip in between your teeth as you slow your movements as to not make too much noise and ruin the moment, you press yourself against the side of the stairwell and crouch down on your hands and knees, placing the bouquet on the ground by the door and the little bear right next to it 

the only thing to do now is turn back and head home before you catch a cold from staying in your sopping wet clothes, but the sound of jungkook’s laugh makes your ears perk up and soon enough, you find yourself crawling up the additional three steps up so you can peek through the crack between the door and the frame and- 

kissing

almost instantly, your mouth goes dry and you feel a sharp pinch in your chest at the sight of jungkook and ji-eun kissing, their lips seeming to slot together perfectly as ji-eun curls up closer to jungkook and he reaches up to cup the side of her face, the two of them looking nice and warm (and dry) in the bubble tent as raindrops continue to bounce off the top of it 

your eyelids flutter slightly as your brain catches up to what you’re looking at, and just like that, everything hits you like a ton of bricks 

what the fuck am i doing?

you are crouched down in the stairwell like a creep, sopping wet from the heavy rain, still exhausted from sprinting fifteen blocks to get to the stupid flower shop before it closed, staring at the boy you love kissing someone else on a rooftop that you spent all day decorating and setting up  

you look down towards the bouquet and bear, swallowing the lump in your throat as your eyes begin to glaze over because oh my god, what are you doing? 

the bouquet of flowers is not for you 

the cute little bear is not for you 

the bubble tent and the fairy lights and the porcelain plates and fancy cutlery — all of it isn’t for you, it’s for someone else, it’s for ji-eun 

ji-eun is the one that’s kissing jungkook right now, not you 

in fact, it’ll never be you because jungkook doesn’t like you 

you turn around so you can sit on the steps properly, folding your arms over the tops of your knees and propping your chin up on top of them

jungkook does not like you back

you helped him plan this date and you helped him set up the rooftop for his romantic date with ji-eun and you ironed his shirt and you ran in the rain to get the bouquet and the bear not just because you’re a good friend — you did all of this because you are hopelessly, hopelessly in love with jungkook and you would pluck all the stars in the sky for him and put them in a jar if he’d asked 

“oh my god, y/n.” you breathe out, pinching the bridge of your nose as you shake your head in dejection, “what the fuck are you doing?”

you feel that all too familiar prickle in your nose as you get up onto your feet and head down the steps one by one, your heart heavy in your chest as you adjust the strap of your purse over your shoulder 

(and as you stare up at the ceiling when you’re in bed later that night after taking a nice, hot shower and shoving your cold, wet clothes into the hamper, you can’t help but wonder if perhaps you’ll be pining after jungkook for the rest of your life.) 

»»——���—- ♥ ————-««

from: jungkook (1:08am) — Thanks for getting the flowers and the bear for me you’re a lifesaver 

from: jungkook (1:08am) — Like actually the best

from: jungkook (1:08am) — So grateful to have a friend as good as you 

from: jungkook (1:09am) —The date went really well btw 

from: jungkook (1:09am) — Hope you’re sleeping well :) Will text you tomorrow 

🎙️ tell yoongi to mind his own business or console y/n (talk to my characters!)

📚 why not explore the rest of the library while you're here? (full fics!)

💫 or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles and mini series like smitten!)

🌟 or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits!)

[artbyblastweave]

Thinkin’ about The Siberian

I was sitting on a draft that said something to the effect of “Worm AU where Manton pulls an NBC Hannibal and moonlights as The Siberian on top of being a globally respected parahuman studies researcher. Is this anything.”

Then I thought about this a little more and realized that this might not be far off from what actually happened. There’s a throughline in Manton’s interests, in his trajectory through life, where he’s trying to figure out what you can use powers to get away with doing to people- about identifying constraints and overcoming them. 

He’s the guy who somehow credibly catalogued, and got his name associated with, the fact that powers generally can’t be used to pop people like balloons, and he did so reasonably early in the timeline, in the nineties at the latest. That’s.... an interesting direction to take your research! When people are just coming to terms with the fact that parahumans are real he’s out there taking careful note of whether they can manifest their powers inside people to instantly kill them. How did he test that? What capes did he collaborate with to test that? What did those conversations look like? Did the IRB at a minimum issue any revise-and-resubmits?

And then, of course, he gets picked up by Cauldron (also known as the infinite untraceable victim depot) to work on improving the vials- gaining a sufficiently in-depth understanding of what they are, how they’re made, and what they can do to people that when Cauldron told Legend that Manton had gone rogue and was the one creating C53s, he found this plausible. You’ve got the guy who’d later become the backbone of the Slaughterhouse 9 basically systemically cataloging every conceivable way a power could violate someone’s physiology- first from without, and then, at Cauldron, from within.

Then, when he pulls the trigger and gives himself powers, the resultant ability is essentially a distilled refutation of the Manton Effect- a minion that can obliterate anything, eat anything, delete any material from existence, viscerally dismember people in a unity of conventional and esoteric, power-enabled violence. And he’s insulated from the consequences of his actions on two levels- in terms of Siberian’s invulnerability, but also in the discrepancy between his form and that of his minion. He mixed the vial that gave him that power himself.

Essentially- I don’t think Siberian is something that just happened after a psychological break following a messy divorce. I think Manton basically pre-committed to becoming something like The Siberian, spent most of his career working towards some form of transcendence through superpowers, and the messy divorce was downstream of the cracks starting to show as he got closer and closer to what he’d been chasing.

Now to segue into a complication that’s more directly supported in the text- it’s Worm, it’s always complicated- Master powers spring from loneliness. My theory is that while Manton wanted apotheosis, and while he’d probably been gearing up for a rampage for a while, he genuinely didn’t want to do it alone; he wanted a sidekick. Hence why he bothered pursuing a family in the first place, hence why he fed his daughter a vial, hence why his own projection ended up looking like his daughter after he accidently made her explode or whatever with the bad vial- a monkey’s paw restoration, giving him back a facsimile of the person he wanted to take along for the ride, and making his capacity for violence inseparable from her presence.

This is why he joined up with the Nine rather than remaining a solo act; it’s why he engages in a bad imitation of the Parent/Child relationship with Bonesaw; and it’s why he seeks out Bitch as a candidate. His interest in her candidacy parses to me as genuine- Even moreso than Bonesaw, even moreso than Jack, Bitch has arrived at a no-frills fuck-you-I-do-what-I-want outlook that’s very appealing to Manton. He wants to have a murderer-daughter relationship!

But Rachel got where she is the hard way, by having a life that sucked a lot, by getting near-constantly kicked around! She has a clear reason to be so angry! Even if all my postulations about Manton having a long game are complete bullshit, there are several stages at which Manton had to actively opt in to the same lifestyle and reputation that Bitch was forced to adopt as a basic survival tactic. He didn’t have to start eating people! He’s a tourist! His “freedom” is inseparable from his distance, his disguise. Rachel’s “freedom” is just the freedom of having nothing left to lose.

All of this to say- In an interlude in which Bitch has an extended internal monologue about how people with families have the opportunities to be assholes and monsters to a captive audience, it is absolutely not a coincidence that she’s scouted by a would-be parental figure who proceeds to be an asshole and a monster in front of a captive audience, before trying to buy her affection with a puppy. In rejecting Manton, Rachel dodged an esoterically-packaged but ultimately very familiar bullet.

[clovertheloser]

Concept: The Three

Alastor, Husk, and Niffty are an Overlord trio. They work to run Husk's casino. Husk runs the gambling part, Alastor advertises the casino, and Niffty cleans the place and...disposes...of anyone who can't pay their debts.

They've all got a direct rivalry with the Vees, opposing businesses, with Husk's casino and Velvette's products.

Vox and Alastor keep their status as rivals, while

Velvette = Husk: The backbones, the direct owners of the businesses.

Valentino = Niffty: The muscle, disposing of any threats. Also direct parallels due to them both being bugs.

The Three also lose ownership of their souls together when Husk bets it all during a game with Charlie's Backer (NOT Alastor)

This leads to tension between Husk and Alastor, as Alastor blames Husk for chaining his soul, and Husk is pissed with Alastor for sucking up to the Backer (in an attempt to gain more power)

What do you all think?

[absolutebl]

Best Angsty BLs with Family Drama & Bad Home Lives, or Past Trauma

That still end happily. Requested by the incomparable @winterswhumpblr (Warning these all have tiggers in them mostly suicide, rape, and/or child abuse.)

Until We Meet Again

Thai 2019 YouTube

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone driven by family drauma and betrayal and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding. Discussion here.

Spin off, Between Us, also satisfies this criteria.

Blueming

Korea 2022 iQIYI

Hwang Da Seul directing this angsty BL that's a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love. But if you want your mind ever-so-slightly messed with and your intimacy hellishly sweet, this BL will do it for you in a coldly distant manner, while bitch slapping you with self worth issues. I wasn’t into it at first, but the leads are solid and by ep 5 it got really good, becoming a narrative about self discovery meets understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection, without that affection becoming the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and childhood trauma.

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Japan 2023 Viki

Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. Based on a manga, this office set reunion romance is GREAT… damn it. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other.

The Eighth Sense

Korea 2023 Viki

This feels more atmospheric gay coming of age romance than strictly BL. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. It’s a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs (do I detect a touch of Taiwan?) This one deployed BL tropes (messy eater, shoulder sleep, protective seme, there’s even some hyung-slinging) but front loaded them with painful backstory and tons angst drives the 2nd half. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it does have a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

Bad Buddy

Thai 2022 YouTube

This was GMMTV’s flagship BL and it started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Romeo masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Some of the friendship and family dynamics are overworked, but it has great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. The whole set up is build on family drama so, yeah.

Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged. NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, could have been spectacular but was the story is overworked, especially at the end. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

Lovely Writer

Thai 2021 YouTube

What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters. There is both family trauma and dram and childhood stuff.

Happy Merry Ending

Korea 2023 Viki

Stars Lee Dong Won (KNK) as an ex-idol turned wedding singer with an abusive ex and a panic disorder + the sunshine pianist who falls in love with him. Timid tsundere & sweetheart gay is an interesting match. They’re gentle together, almost kindly, and there is a calm ache to their pairing. However, it lost its way as a BL, being more about the main character’s struggle than the romance. It had a strong finish but ultimately the premise & characters meant this was never going to be one of my favorites. But if you like angst, well...

Given

Japan 2021 grey

Boy joins band, falls in love with other boy. The singing is terrible, fast forward through that but with the possible exception of the hair styles, this BL could have been made in 2015 and no one would be surprised. As such, it wasn’t ground breaking, but it didn’t disappoint either. Very much a tortured past for our singer. (More here.)

The Eclipse

Thai 2022 YouTube

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just good. We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

Love Class 2

Korea 2023 Viki

3 couples form within a semester of university: 1. a hyung romance reunion of exes, one of whom has a dangerous past, 2. a friends to lovers romance, and 3. a one night stand between a mature student and a TA (many aspects of which had me laughing). I enjoyed the characters and dialogue of this show immensely. It was a little bit more breezy and friendly than I was expecting after the first installment, Love Class (to which this bears little resemblance and no connection). I’m not entirely sure Korea can handle multiple couples like this because it definitely felt disjointed, especially with the 3rd more mature couple (also my favorite) who probably should’ve had their own series. But I enjoyed something different from Korea.

About Youth

Taiwan 2022 Gaga

A truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst and an earnest depth. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. A weak seme/uke dynamic but tons of BL tropes (both rare in a high school setting but common for Taiwan) makes this one feel both sweet and colored by an almost real world authenticity and grit. More here.

Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020 Gaga?

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

DNA Says Love You

Taiwan 2022 Gaga

DNA deserves extra marks for an upbeat approach to a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled with sadness (in the guise of realism). There is a twist, which I found predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show. The leads are luminous and engaging, and it’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The first few eps are rough going but have patiences, it's worth it as the last ones really are special and life/love affirming - and the end is big-grin charming.

My Tooth Your Love

Taiwan 2023 Viki

Earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten by an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues. They fall madly in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus crumbs = 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a unique premise, killer dialogue, there was a solid lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, delightful smiling kisses, and stinkingly cute domesticity.

Where Your Eyes Linger

Korea 2020 Viki

Ostensibly high school set about a poor kid whose been raised in a mafia kid’s family specifically to protect him (whipping boy trope, attack dog variant). Themes of codependency and survival with pretty classic Korean style romance ending.

TharnType

Thai 2019 Viki

This Thai BL has everything: university setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, and multiple BL side couples with all the issues. But when I said everything I meant it because there's also: damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them, child abuse, bullying, mental illness, rough play, dub-con, non-con, and statutory rape (by the seme/gay character).

and its spin off: Don't Say No also qualifies for this post.

In fact most Mame stuff will involved trauma & drama, specifically.

Love By Chance 2

Love in the Air (Part 2)

Wedding Plan

Some others but I'm getting tired:

I Told Sunset About You et al

You Are Mine

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Your Soul

Ghost Host Ghost House

But frankly there are a ton more depending on how you look at it. I mean, what about Why R U? FIghter's dad is the issues with him coming out, but it's not really in the plot until late so ?

Lakorn BL drama llama soaps & similar

Moonlight Chicken - review here

Laws of Attraction

To Sir, With Love - review here

Sirs not appearing on this list

Our Dining Table is driven by childhood trauma but not angsty, similar to Oxygen. Not Me is angsty and dramatic and family stuff, but that's not really the driver of the plot. Life Love On the Line is all angst but he brought it on himself.

(source)

Updated Nov 19, 2023, no intention of adding to this so if you want more, look at the comments. Someone is bound to get annoyed their favorite isn't on the list.

[usafphantom2]

The prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s ‘beautification’ of the US Air Force Museum

The B-52 Stratofortress

For more than 60 years, B-52 Stratofortress bombers have been the backbone of the strategic bomber force for the United States. The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the US inventory. This includes gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and joint direct attack munitions. Updated with modern technology, the B-52 is capable of delivering the full complement of joint developed weapons and will continue into the 21st century as an important element of our nation’s defenses. The Air Force currently expects to operate B-52s through 2050.

The B-52A first flew in 1954, and the B model entered service in 1955. A total of 744 B-52s were built, with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. The first of 102 B-52H’s was delivered to Strategic Air Command in May 1961.

The prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s ‘beautification’ of the US Air Force Museum: The story of the XB-52 and YB-52

The winning design

As explained by Scott Lowther in his book Boeing B-47 Stratojet & B-52 Stratofortress Origins and Evolution, the winning design for the XB-52, Model 464-49, transitioned to Model 464-67. While largely the same, there were some notable differences, most obviously the extension of the forward fuselage. Where 464-49 had the rear of the cockpit canopy behind the leading edge of the wing roots, 464-67 put the cockpit well ahead of the wing. The relatively vast expanse of spoilers on the wings were scaled down and the engine nacelles were reshaped. With those changes and an Air Force ‘letter of intent’ for B-52 tooling in March 1951, Boeing was ready to begin constructing two Model 464-67s.

The prototype B-52s

These prototype B-52s were given the designations XB-52 and YB-52… X for ‘experimental’ and Y being the designation for ‘prototype.’ Typically an `experimental’ aircraft is built before a ‘prototype’, but in this case while the XB-52 (serial number 49- 230) rolled out on Nov. 29, 1951, and the YB-52 (serial number 49-231) followed on Mar. 15, 1952, the YB-52 flew first on Apr. 15, 1952. This was due to the XB-52 suffering damage during pneumatic system pressurization testing which required extensive repairs.

The prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s ‘beautification’ of the US Air Force Museum: The story of the XB-52 and YB-52

The XB-52 followed the prototype into the air on Oct. 2, 1952. The first flight of the YB-52 lasted two hours and was powered by prototype YJ57-P-3 engines. Despite the difference in designations, the XB-52 and the YB-52 were essentially identical.

The prototype B-52s were largely similar to the production aircraft in appearance. An immediately distinguishing feature of both aircraft, though, was the cockpit. A tandem fighter-style canopy somewhat similar to that used on the B-47 was employed; it was low-drag and gave the pilot excellent visibility.

Pioneering the landing gear layout

The prototypes pioneered the landing gear layout that the rest of the B-52 fleet would employ. Somewhat similar at first glance to the bicycle arrangement used by the B-47, the gear used by the B-52 was quite different. Four separate dual-wheel bogies were stored within the B-52 fuselage, but instead of deploying straight down they deployed out to the sides, twisting around so that the bogies stored fore-and-aft ended up side-by-side. This gave the B-52 not a bicycle arrangement, but a quadricycle. The B-52 would comfortably sit level on its main landing gear and not tip to one side or the other. It still employed smaller outrigger gear near the wingtips, but this was to keep the wingtips from striking the ground during heavily laden takeoffs or bumpy landings.

‘Crabbing’ into the wind

Additionally, the forward bogies could rotate up to 20° side to side, allowing the B-52 to do something unique: land while ‘crabbing’ into the wind, the fuselage of the aircraft pointed well off the axis of the groundpath of the flight. This would permit safe landings in high winds.

The prototype B-52s scrapped after First Lady Lady Bird Johnson’s ‘beautification’ of the US Air Force Museum: The story of the XB-52 and YB-52

The prototypes had flapperons, ailerons and spoilers on the main wings. The ailerons were relatively small and located far from the wingtip; in fact, just outboard of the inboard engine pylon. A wingtip location for the ailerons would have given them more authority, but that would have put them in a much thinner section of the wing, a section much given to flexing. The inboard location was sufficient for the manoeuvring that the bomber was expected to perform.

Folding vertical fin

In any event, the spoilers were to take care of the bulk of the control needs of the aircraft, and the ailerons would eventually find themselves redundant. Unlike the production aircraft that followed, the prototypes did not have the capability for inflight refuelling. Neither did they, initially, have the external fuel tanks that generally graced the outer wings of production model B-52s, but such tanks were eventually added later in the testing phase.

B-52H print

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. B-52H Stratofortress 2nd BW, 20th BS, LA/60-0008 “Lucky Lady IV”.

The horizontal stabilizers were all-moving, but this was meant for trim stabilization. Actual control was via slim elevators along the trailing edge. The elevators had, through the B-52F, trim tabs. An important but rarely noted feature not only of the prototype B-52s but of all B-52s that followed was the folding vertical fin. The fin was, at least until the G-model, a vast structure; too tall by far to allow the B-52 to fit within standard hangars. So it could fold over 90-degrees, greatly reducing the effective height of the aircraft. Unlike naval aircraft with wings that fold to fit in the limited space on board aircraft carriers, the fielding fin is not a self-contained system — an external crane is needed to lay it over and raise it back up again.

Prototype B-52s were hand-made

The prototypes were essentially hand-made at the Boeing Seattle factory. Production methods were not used as the jigs were not finalized; the equipment and instruments employed were also often not what would become standard. Neither prototype was fitted with defensive weapons; the tail turrets were represented by static fairings, with the painted-on lines.

The YB-52 was donated to the US Air Force Museum on Jan. 27, 1958, having flown for 783 hours. It was on display for a time but due to a ‘beautification’ scheme orchestrated by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, both the XB-52 and YB-52 were scrapped sometime in the 1960s. Exactly how the official museum of the United States Air Force was ‘beautified’ by converting one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built into razor blades and soda cans is not adequately explained in the available literature.

Boeing B-47 Stratojet & B-52 Stratofortress Origins and Evolution is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force

B-52 Model

This model is available from AirModels – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS.

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

@kadonkey via X

[ladyiristheenchantress]

Working with Air

Welcome to the third part of my elemental series! Today we will explore some aspects of working with air like offerings, devotional activities, common lessons, aspects, and more! With all that said lets get started!

To preface: I am a devotee to water itself, I am a west witch practioner which means I work within the domain of water, the past, divination, and psyche! I also am a general elemental practioner and have experience working with all of the elements and their aspects!

What is working with air like?

While looking at verified gnosis and cultural nuance some things remain familiar, things like air being both stagnant and rushing, life giving, and more! It is a major backbone (Much like all the elements are for each other) in the way that all organisms that preform aerobic respiration (Air breathing) need oxygen, air, and a form of atmosphere including water based animals. Air does not have a concept of gender (same with all the elements), however you can always ask as a bonding opportunity or follow a cultural addition that may apply pronouns to an element.

In general, air is primordial, but it is considered one of the youngest of the elements mainly because magma, water, and a form of earth had existed before O2, and an actual atmosphere. With that in mind, the air ended up facilitating a lot of growth here on earth, and from there air has many aspects! Air has tempest, dead air, atmosphere, wind, and breath! There are plenty of types of air spirits like syliphs, Sylphons, Spirulites, and more.

Some people work with wind, air anomaly's like tornados and wind storms, and breathwork. Wind and breath teaches more gentle and peaceful lessons about how to take a step back and take a moment for yourself. Someone who works with tempest might receive more lessons relating to coming into your own power and growing a backbone. Each aspect will have different lessons and personality traits, but each of them still follow the same lessons of balance between motion and pause, and even speaking.

In your relationship you may be called to breath work, using feathers, and more that we will be discussing a bit later, however air is will see us like any other animal, and is more apprehensive to engage in a conversation so practioners may have to call out to it first. UPG: Air is really rushing and sometimes can be overwhelming, and we have had many wonderful conversations relating to hard work, taking things as they come, and not falling into unhealthy stagnation. Air has not been very direct and tends to come as needed into my space and isnt an omnipresent force! In general I have needed to call on it first for information or advice, it is also quite stoic and serious when needed but also upbeat and kind when needed.

Finally, air does have some birth connotations, but they are directly indicative of the relationships it has with other elements. Air cannot do its job in a vacuum like space until some level of atmosphere is established. However 'air' can mean different things to different people, and in a way taking a first breath is life!

What are common offerings?

People tend to keep an altar to air near doorways, windows, and living rooms because of the rush of energy as people walk through doors, the energy of change from windows, and more! historically a lot of air honoring comes from within like being outdoors, having windows open, and doing breath work in a special place because of the motion you can feel from the air.

In air practices there are heavy emphasis on working and action! this comes from most of air needing to be moved to be felt, as often times we dont notice when we are breathing or walking through the precious gas. Moving air like with breath, feathers, and fans can be really helpful.

Some common practices include meditation and breath work, energy motion, dance, song, using feathers, fans, and incense scrying are all really common aspects of work! Another aspect is action, doing divination with clouds, the sky, and smoke is helpful, and then another thing is storm chasing, tracking the weather, and observing the atmosphere can also be really good forms of connection.

What are some correspondences?

Crystals - Amethyst, Angel Aura Quartz, Angelite, Celestite, Clear Quartz, Danburite, Flourite, Green Adventurine, Howlite, Kyanite, Labradorite, Rainbow obsidian

Herbs - Poplar, cottonwood, moss, Aspen, Marjoram, Cilantro, Lavender, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Anise, Oregano, Peppermint, Fennel, Asparagus, Celery, Cattail, Hazel, Almond, Bay, Borage, Frankincense

Colors - green, yellow, white

Energy Centers - heart and sacral

Zodiacs - Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius

Tools - Feathers, fans, incense, and books

Scents - fresh, clean, lively

Resources

Tip Jar

[mixelation]

i love the minato in iwa snippet, but i gotta ask, how the hell did team 4 deal with that??? logically they know he’s a badass kage and all, but he has the presence of a baby kitten and a backbone of wet tissue paper, itachi at least seemed to be silently freaking out a bit there, but what about tori? deidara????

at this point none of them actually know what minato did, but all three of them are ready to go nuclear themselves. so when minato goes off, itachi just kind of assumes..... an itachi level of violence? he's freaked out by the sudden reminder minato could bend him into a pretzel if he wanted, but itachi also grew up with him and considers him relatively safe, so he's not as freaked out as he could be

for expediency i deleted some dialogue at the end. basically, minato was like "okay, who wants to go home, and who wants to go for a walk with me???" and deidara was like ME I WANT TO DO WHATEVER HORRIBLE THING TO IWA!!!!! and tori's exact wording was "ew." deidara is SO into fucking up iwa he gives zero thought to minato besides "cool, a coconspirator." tori does not get a thrill out of direct violence and she's too paranoid about being eaten alive to be like "oh worm you want this insane blood seal i have been able to do this whole time???" but at the same time in her brain she's still a glorified civilian and she doesn't differentiate between the danger minato poses vs itachi or deidara or even a rando jounin because she assumes once the power gap is big enough it's functionally the same as even bigger power gaps.

i think a team 4 debrief session would be fun though, to get everyone's reaction of "uuuum what the fuck, hokage-sama :)" and then also make minato unpack some of the insane bullshit team 4 did prior to his arrival. for example tori and deidara went out of their to befriend kurotsuchi, which is very darkly funny in hindsight. tori intentionally befriended mangetsu for strategic reasons and then cashed in her "manipulate the boy who likes you" card by weeping to him about how iwa kidnapped her sensei so kisame/kiri gets the story before iwa invents a justification. same people's limbs were melted off and a lot of brains were scrambled. in hindsight iwa was definitely trying to kill them IN the exam and none of them noticed until specifically asked about it. kushina reveals that despite being an active field jounin, she's never stayed the night in the hospital or had an IV, and this is the most insane revelation of the night

[pixiecactus]

one of my favourites gendrya moments that got completely eviscerated by that awful show/hbo is this one:

“Child,” said the singer, “put up that sword, and we’ll take you to a safe place and get some food in that belly. There are wolves in these parts, and lions, and worse things. No place for a little girl to be wandering alone.” “She’s not alone.” Gendry rode out from behind the cottage wall, and behind him Hot Pie, leading her horse. In his chainmail shirt with a sword in his hand, Gendry looked almost a man grown, and dangerous. Hot Pie looked like Hot Pie. “Do like she says, and leave us be,” warned Gendry.

as someone who was reading the books around the time that got's third season was airing (at least in my country was in late 2013/early 2014), even as young as i was back then i could see that show!gendrya was devoid of their book dynamic that made me ship them in the first place. if i'm being honest the only show!gendrya moment i like, is when they first meet each other on season one and that's it.

book!gendry wanted them (arya and him) to leave their little group behind because the boy could see that the other children were dead weight, he's harsh about it but it's true, and when he brought it up to arya, a girl who cares so deeply about the people around her and their suffering, they obviously have a disagreement, this gets burried by the moment that arya decides to trust gendry with her identity, because "only gendry was different" and because the queen was after him too.

i derailed my train of thought a little bit (sorry that happens a lot in my posts), but what i was meant to be writing is that, even when he was opposed to the idea, gendry protected and nurtured this group of little kids, all while being a kid himself, exactly like arya did.

book!arya stark's passing presence in book!gendry's life, changed him, for the better i may say. but i'm a book!gendrya shipper, so my opinion is obviously biased. book!gendry is devotedly loyal to arya, so much that we actually see him, going from a figure that dislikes and distrusts nobility, that helps arya realize that northern/tully men commit awful crimes against the smallfolk too, to a child soldier helping in a quest for revenge for the treason commited against the starks in the riverlands. and i'm not even going to dabble in the "look at my boy, he's taking care of orphaned children now" once again.

show!arya stark's passing presence in show!gendry's life ain't worth shit. and it infuriates me so much. they made show!gendry a soft boi, with an immense "lacking a backbone" problem. i can resume show!gendrya relationship into: "two people that met as children (even when clearly 25 year old joe dempsie couldn't pass as a 16 year old boy), little girl had a crush in the older boy, i guess you can say older boy broke little girl's heart (referring to the "i can be your family" scene), then a lot of years pass between then, not even acknowledging that they knew each other once in that time, and they meet again, older boy who is a man now gets a "wow, she's hot now" moment and they are now both sexually attracted to each other (yay! ig...) but of course little girl, who is a woman now, is a wickedly threatening force and a murderer, and man is such a nice guy that people think he could do a lot better. they fuck. man makes a godamn awful marriage proposal to woman, but she's too far gone to even contemplate the idea, and to even let herself recover from the trauma she has endured. and woman breaks man's heart"

if that's your thing and you ship show!gendrya, more power to you. it's not a bad thing at all, it's just so lackluster to me in comparison, even when book!gendrya hasn't taken a turn forward in the romantic direction yet. and to be honest, even i have to say that the actors did a great job portraying a romantic couple even with the awful writing in the show, but for me show!gendrya lacks a deeper connection between them, and i'm not even bothered over the fact that they didn't end up together

rip book!gendry, you would have hated class traitor show!gendry so much

ps: i think this need to be said in an environment as tumblr but i'm not hating at all joe dempsie and his gendry's performance, he's just an actor doing his job, he's just being told what to do.

[wizardbracket]

Who is the Ultimate Wizard?

Why they deserve to be the ultimate wizard according to YOU:

Mud Wizard:

Vanquished (so far): NZ/Aotearoa Wizard, Amaury Guichon, Orb Wizard, Vermin Supreme, Caleb Widogast, Ged/Sparrowhawk

"Actual real-life wizard beats out any fantasy/literary/tv wizard"

"real life boots on the ground cop-fighting wizard"

"he fought the police while being knee deep in mud"

"i just learned about german mud wizard but i respect his field tactics"

"Mud wizard has field experience ... mud wizard is the one you need on a battlefield"

"I'm sure the other dude is very cool but throwing cops in the mud >>>>>>"

"some choad i've never heard of vs the funniest got damn video i've ever seen"

"my boy mud wizard getting the recognition he deserves. there is a mud wizard in all of us. and it says ACAB"

"absolutely german mud wizard its not even a question"

"German mud wizard uses his powers for good"

"Mud wizard is objectively cooler"

"Mud wizard takes direct action against cops. He's doing good old fashioned wizardry ... mud wizard embraces the chaos of magic"

“Outplayed cops with mud magic.”

Ms. Frizzle:

Vanquished (so far): Fujimoto, Peter Grant, Magneto, Gonzo the Great, Miracle Max, Merlin (Sword in the Stone)

"She's got the brains she's got the iconic outfits she's got the little cute familiar she's got the eccentric personality shes got the love"

"I must choose the woman who wholeheartedly embodies a wizard in every aspect of her life"

"The bus isn't even metal. It's some kind of organic life force. Which she created and maintains"

"I’m gonna go for the lady who owns a lizard and drives a living and rapidly transforming flesh bus thing."

"only a fool votes against Ms Frizzle"

"The frizz has the vibes and also i love her"

"i WILL die for her"

"She's magic. That's all I have to say."

"let my wonderful eccentric teacher wizard be the queen of these polls. so mote it be"

"She's the most wizardly woman with modern style that ive seen as of yet ... Miss. Frizzle is very obviously all about that sweet sweet pursuit of knowledge .. the very backbone of her use of magic is academia so she's very securely a wizard"

"ms frizzle my beloved my childhood crush the dream teacher"

[klonnieshippersclub]

Besides obvious racial problems in directing🙄 why do you think Bonnie wasn’t invited to the Mikaelson Ball? I mean I personally think she would’ve ate everyone up AND be a ‘big help’ to Esther

There's no other reason besides racism. Despite Esther being Ayana's friend, Esther sees the Bennetts as the help. That's why she doesn't hesitate with expecting the Bennetts to provide assistance. Instead, she declares she has a plan that depends on their magic to Elena. Why wouldn’t she ask the Bennetts for their aid directly instead of introducing herself afterwards? Esther claims to respect the Bennetts partially because of Ayana's friendship. You never see what Esther does for Ayana but it's clear what Ayana does for her. She taught Esther magic but Esther is the one referred to as the "Original Witch." Ayana was the one who took care of Esther's body which allowed her to return. Esther does nothing but use the Bennetts which is very similar to Bonnie's own friends. The Bennetts are taken for granted and taken advantage of. Here's Ian talking about Bonnie saving the day all the time with Joseph gushing over Kat and Sebastian casually referring to Kat's ass being fat (she's his Beyoncè):

Bonnie constantly kicks ass and she isn't shown any gratitude. Elena even credits Elijah for her surviving the sacrifice. Bonnie was the one who performed the spell. John Gilbert gave his life for her. Stefan credits himself and Damon for keeping Elena alive. Why? What did they contribute? At least, Elijah shared knowledge. However, that knowledge would be useless without someone willing to die and a witch to perform the spell. Elena crediting Elijah puts Bonnie in danger and causes Damon to turn Abby. Where is the respect for Bonnie and her family? In a similar fashion, it is Bonnie who saves Klaus thus saving everyone and including him. Does anyone thank her? No one, not her friends, not the Mikaelson, not a soul thanks her for it. She's disrespected in all ways.

TVD does more work to exclude and sideline Bonnie when it would be easier to allow her in things because she’s connected to everything. Bonnie and the Bennetts are the backbone of TVD. It doesn't even make sense for the MFG to want to go without Bonnie. If they didn't trust the Mikaelsons to keep peace, why leave behind their most powerful ally? What is Matt doing there when he's just as useless as other civilians? What would the Salvatores, Caroline, and Elena do if one of the Mikaelsons went rogue by turning the ball into a bloodbath? Bonnie's power is only acknowledged by her friends when they feel the need to use her.

[wishcamper]

Heavy Lies the Crown: Rhysand, greatness, and the pressures of power

Or: the librarian’s daughter, former playwright, licensed counselor mashup of my nightmares dreams because I am vast, I contain multitudes.

No content warnings and no real HOFAS spoilers, I don't think, other than that he's in it but I feel like you know that by now. Spoilers for Breaking Bad (lol).

---

In working on my current fic (on ao3 here!) I've been thinking a lot about Rhysand and how he really goes off the rails in ACOSF and HOFAS. It's easy to chalk it up to poor writing, but I like the challenge of trying to make it make sense. What are Rhys’ motivations, truly? What would explain the vast array of heinous shit he does the text tells us is justified?

Rhys is shown over and over to be quite Machiavellian ('ends justify the means' dude, who was maybe writing satire). It's easy to list the times he shows this. The 50 year Velaris hostage situation. The bargain UTM with Feyre. The Weaver's cottage. Stealing the Book from Tarquin. CLARE BEDDOR. Infiltrating people's minds. Torture. Assassination. Allying with Kier. Concealing his wife's medical information. Being an ass to people in general. According to Mr. Machiavelli, any action is warranted if it the goal it achieves is morally important enough.

It seems like Rhys can justify anything to himself if he believes it will serve the greatest good at the end of the day. He does so many things with the air of “it’s for your own good” or “you’ll understand why one day” but that day never.. comes? Not yet anyway, which begs the question: is he that unself-aware, or is there a longer game he’s playing that all of these minor skirmishes are leading up to? What if he knows what's coming? And what kind of cause or threat would feel so great he could justify everything he does up to this point?

Okay I'm gonna talk about Aristotelean literary structure, please don't leave me.

The idea of a tragic hero is a character whose downfall is inevitable but who fights against it anyway. Hamlet is a classic example of a tragic hero, Oedipus being the de facto first, Walter White from Breaking Bad a more modern version. We see Walt learn he’s going to die in the first episode, in the middle he does a bunch of stuff to prevent his physical death (cancer) and metaphorical death (failure/obscurity), and then both his body and reputation die in the last episode as a direct result of his attempts to avoid fate. It’s blissful Aristotelean symmetry. *chef’s kiss*

Every tragic hero has hamartia, more commonly known as a ‘fatal flaw’. In Hamlet, his fatal flaw is procrastination, and his delays create space for all kinds of the fuck shit he was trying to prevent. It’s important to note that hamartia is by design a neutral term - not so much a flaw, but a trait, motivation, or decision that sets off the chain of events the character is trying to avoid. Tragedies have occurred equally from too much love as too much hate, and doing nothing is just as much a decision as doing something. The word itself comes from the Greek for ‘to miss the mark’. To try and fail, the backbone of tragedy.

One of the most common hamartia is hubris, a modern synonym for arrogance but which more specifically means an outsized belief in one’s ability to affect and control the future. Well-known tragic heroes taken down by hubris include our boy Walter White, Tony Soprano, Viktor Frankenstein, Achilles, Jay Gatsby, Kendall from Succession. It exists in real life, too: Lance Armstrong is a perfect example of a modern tragic hero brought down by hubris. And what do all these men have in common? Power, via money, fame, strength, the state, intellect, violence etc.

I’ve been enjoying looking at Rhysand through this tragic hero lens because while it doesn’t really make him more sympathetic, it does make his actions easier to understand logically, which is its own kind of humanization. If Rhysand is aware of a prophesied or fated event sometime in the future and is pulling the cosmic strings now, it must be incredibly important, like annihilation-level important, which is so much pressure. 

So he grows to maturity with an understanding that he will one day have to face this intense evil that could completely destroy his world, and it plants in him a hubris. He believes that his immense power grants him a certain amount of influence automatically. And honestly, is he wrong?

And this is where it’s important to think about how power makes people weird. Power gives people a false sense of confidence in their actions and choices, because their status and privilege protect them from so many more consequences. In this way it’s easy to see how someone can get a big ego - no one is stopping me, so I must be doing well! Or: everything is going well for me, so I must be really killing it! I know I feel that way in the first tingles of hypomania, but hypomania is fundamentally a distortion of reality and I believe so is power.

Power not only gives people confidence but also access to make decisions for others. They begin to think they should share the success they’ve found by leading and guiding others to see how great it can be if you do what they say. Just look at one of those cringe 'billionaire morning routine' videos to see what I mean. It’s a very patronizing form of altruism, because the leader genuinely believes they have the people’s interest at heart. And I use the word patronizing intentionally - leaders have often referenced feeling paternal towards their people, Winston Churchill + FDR, 'God the Father'. Power and fatherhood have been linked for a long time. And direct from our girl Wikipedia, "paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy and is intended to promote their own good".

I was talking with a girlfriend of mine recently about how I think some men don’t have the experience of other people depending on them in a significant way until they get married and/or become fathers. Like, afab and femme people learn very early to be considerate of others, to think about how others feel, to act in ways that keep others happy, etc. This plants in us a sense of duty to perform in ways that please others, to smile, to create comfort and provide caretaking in every environment we enter. So by the time we get to marriage and motherhood, we already know how to put others’ needs before our own because we’ve been doing it from the jump.

For men, however, this can be a completely novel experience. And it seems like it's SO HEAVY FOR THEM. George ‘Father of his Country’ Washington just wanted to go back to Virginia the whole time he was President. So many men talk about the pressures of being a provider and their families depending on them in a way women don’t, and I think it’s because for the first time others truly depend on them and they don’t know how to handle it.

In response, they either shove down their emotions as patriarchy demands and have a midlife crisis, or they abdicate that responsibility and go completely absent physically and/or emotionally to continue living for themselves. (Obviously there are good men and dads out there, and bless you if you’re lucky enough to know, have, or be one.)

And this aspect of power feels relevant because from the text it seems like Rhysand is unraveling. Between Feyre, the baby, the Trove, Nesta and being threatened by her power, Koschei, Bryce, the whole High King shit - I think he’s starting to crack under the pressure. And honestly, I’m kind of surprised it didn’t happen before now.

According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must:

Be significant (virtuous/capable/powerful/important etc.)

Be flawed

Suffer a reversal of fortune.

Rhysie boy definitely ticks the first two. I wonder what it would look like to get to three? I don’t think Sarah has the balls, but it’s definitely enhanced my reading experience and given me a lot of interesting things to think about.

Okay that's all I've got. Love ya, see ya soon xx

[punkeropercyjackson]

As said yes when i asked my new moot @tubvoids,here is why Percy is autistic and in fact,objectively the most autistic-coded character in the entire franchise!

'Troubled kid' literally just means 'autistic kid who faces peer abuse and even adult abuse for it'.It's Percy's entire character and lingers into his adulthood

Was a bully beater and stayed that way no matter how many times he got expelled

Ass at school but really smart in every other area

Has his intellegence insulted nonstop his whole life and just takes it despite what a strong backbone he has because he thinks he deserves it

Anger issues and general emotional regulation issues

Mama's boy who's mom dosen't quite always understand how he works or why he is the way he is but loves and is good to him anyway and considers his differences from normal people a gift instead of a flaw or something that needs to be 'cured'

Canon safe food(blue food)and Resting Bitch Face(the 'scary default expression' he inhereted from Poseidon)

Dosen't even try to understand social norms because he thinks they're stupid as fuck

Super kind and earnest in a way that gets on normies' nerves both in-universe and irl because they think he's 'corny' and 'unrealistic'

Has a beyond weird as all fuck sense of humor that's just natural instead of actively trying to be funny and always lands

Wears layers/heavy clothes all the time

Complex feelings on morality leaning towards chaotic good but he's done some fucked up shit that was technically justified in the contexts but beats himself up over anyone even though the others deserved it

Dated Rachel because she made him feel normal for once and he specified what made him love her was her brutal honesty and enthutiasm that gave way for healthy communication on both ends

Hates traditional masculinity and wants to be free of it and acts a lot like a trans femme egg,including finding hypermasculinity on men gross and unappealing and often wonders what makes people attracted to boys(Gender fuckery and also even just binary transfeminity are common combos with autism)

Very goofy,silly,chaotic and unrestrained with kiddy interests and a digust towards 'true maturity' but also loves punk shit

Can never tell when someone is attracted to him but when he loves them back he's Rizz City

Anarchist who hates the rich,privilege and power and does activism and direct action both in the mythos world and the mortal world(the former onscreen/the aformentioned bully beating and implied to participate with Rachel in her protests and charity events)

Gets along so well with younger people he basically adopts them as younger siblings and pseudo-kids(P*rcico shippers please stop being jesters,Nico and Percy are peak transmasc 4 transfem and autistic 4 autistic found family realness,they're the BLUEPRINT for it and y'all wildin' for thinking Hazel's not autistic too like hellooooooo she's literally a creepy cute middle school weirdgirl who was outcasted from other kids,even the fellow black ones?Ofc she's autistic)

Dare i say.The fandom's denial of his blatant autism is in of itself proof he HAS autism and is audhd.They're always calling him stupid and insisting it's meant affectionaly when he's stated a millions of times he does NOT like it,they turn his special interests that's so important to him for coping growing up and now too into him being a childish ass mf with no culture(that is also racist with how popular afrolatino Percy but they don't care just like they don't care about making him actually look black lmao),defang his anger issues and meaness and brutality and anti-authority mentality to turn him into nothing but an idiot and give all the credit to Annabeth(and that's misogynistic cause it makes her boring)and finally infantalizing him as if HE'S not fatherly one in the mcs.I don't even mean making him younger,i mean making him act like a little kid and his friends literally parenting him.It's all textbook rethoric and bullying tactics to irl autistic people and they only say he's allistic so they don't gotta feel bad instead of growing tf up and being nice to mentally disabled folks they can't relate to perfectly and to develop senses of humor outside of John Mulaney bits

Is literally the protagonist of a book series that's ultimate purpose is representation for neurodivergent kids as their role model that grows up with them and showed us we can live good lives like he is now????????The idea of allistic Percy is genuinely incomprehensible ong

'Good Kid' from the musical?Yeah,it's literally a song about an autistic kid who can't mask and gets abused by everybody for it no matter how hard they try to be good

I'm exactly like Percy Jackson and always have been and i'm autistic.So,autistic Percy Jackson is canon.End👏🏼Of👏🏼Discussion!!!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[la-pheacienne]

Can someone please explain to me what "soft feminine power" is? This is not a rhetoric question and I'm not being ironic, I genuinely do not know what that means. In my language we don't have the equivalent of this. There is no feminine or masculine power, there is only power, either you have it or you don't. If you are a woman in a patriarchal society you can gain power up to a certain level by using """""feminine""""" means, but that's not "soft feminine power" that's literally victimized, restrained women trying to survive with the means that they have left. It's not something one should glamorize or wish for. It is just a reality for some women. When Barbara Stanwyck in Baby Face, a woman forced to prostitute herself by her father since she was 14 yo finally gets away from him and starts having sex with men for her own profit and to forward her own interests in order to climb the social hierarchy, that's not "soft feminine power". That is what a woman had to do to survive. She sold her looks and her body and her nice words, she manipulated men and used them in every possible way in order to gain power, and she did. She didn't start a feminist revolution, no, she didn't take a gun. But there is nothing "soft" here, this is the very opposite of soft. This is an extremely determined person who is resilient and hard as a rock and cuts through life like a razor. There is nothing inherently feminine in this either. It's something that women had to do because of patriarchy yes, but it is not a "feminine" trait. What about all these men that sell sex to survive, because they are homeless or underage or immigrants or very weak for whatever reason? If you are at the bottom of the social ladder and don't have any direct power to do absolutely anything to improve your circumstances then you have got to find other indirect ways to do that and you need to use manipulation and exploit yourself and your looks in order to survive. It is a necessity. It is not hashtag soft feminine power. It is not something to wish for especially today in the sense that, oh, actually I don't want to be direct and forward with what I want and what I believe I deserve, I prefer using my "soft feminine power" instead. You don't know what the fuck you are talking about. "A lady's armour is courtesy" is not something that should be even remotely associated with hashtag "soft feminine power". It's just what Sansa has been told from birth and it's the only thing she values about herself or others. Our problem with Sansa isn't that we dislike "soft feminine power" it's that she was a bully and painfully superficial and self-absorbed and reactive and her vices as a character were one of the factors that caused the horrible ending of the first book and nothing about this is even remotely "soft" or "feminine" or "powerful" or even close to getting her any form of actual power. It is literally not about that. I want Sansa to actually grow as a person and her arc is already about that and her journey in KL was very important and kudos for her because she managed to survive but people's dislike on her has nothing to do with the fact that she keeps her "femininity" but for the particularly negative role she played in the narrative of the first book and the fact that apart from surviving, she hasn't offered much thematically or narratively, yet.

My point is, the phrase "soft feminine power" literally has no meaning and is either used to 1) glamorize the struggles of marginalized individuals to survive or 2) conceal actual character flaws like lack of backbone or extreme conformism.

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Eustass Kid/F!Darling: The Fun of Raiding

TW: Noncon, light mention of blood, cumming inside

Word Count: 2000+

Kid knew he was a sick bastard. Terror, destruction, blood and smoke, they all excited him. And others being afraid of him, THAT excited him a lot; nothing showed his strength like a bunch of corpses and people sobbing and shaking all because of him. Funnily enough, that same savagery he displayed meant he had plenty of women throwing themselves at him; nothing attracted women like power. But the faces of his nighttime lays all blurred together. It didn't help that he'd throw them off at the next port, but he never liked getting attached to anyone that wasn't part of the crew.

And yet here he was, staring at the same woman he'd been eyeing ever since he'd seen her at the dock. She'd been buying some groceries (the fuck's the point? Stealing means you get the food for free) and unlike the others who had seen the flag of the Victoria Punk, she hadn't immediately run inside or screamed for the Marines to help. All she'd done was grab a child who'd fallen down in the chaos, toss her bag onto the ground, and carry him over to their mother who'd been frantically searching for him. And when she'd spied the spyglass glinting in the sun towards her direction, she'd defiantly held her middle finger up and continued to help others that were panicking. Kid smirked--he liked it when the townspeople showed some backbone. 

Now the village was on fire, most of the Marines were dead or injured, and now that he was back in his quarters, that woman was glaring at him from his bed. She was holding a bandaged wound on her forearm while trying to hide how she was shaking. 

"You look like a fuckin' deer, shivering like that," Kid said with a grin. 

She turned her head to spit on his floor. "Bring deer up to your dingy piece-of-shit rustbucket often? Or am I special?"

"Very special," Kid countered. He tossed his coat onto the bedspread behind her and swiftly pinned her down with one arm. She fought and kicked against him, but he easily ignored her weak attempts to fend him off. "I've fucked mouthy chicks before," he added, kissing her roughly and moving his lips down to her breasts and her thighs. "And ones that acted all self-righteous, and even the occasional little shy wallflower, but one that didn't want me? That's new. Like a game."

Kid ripped her shirt in half and yanked her pants down, revealing her bare pussy. She kicked him squarely in the jaw, and he laughed before pinning her legs down. "Now I'm gonna get blood and lipstick on you," he replied, licking the red trickling down his lower lip. "Guess we're into the same shit." He lapped hungrily at her clit, grinning when she whined and bucked her hips at the sudden sensation. 

His pace was fast and sloppy, eager to get her to cum as quickly as possible. Once she came around his tongue, then he'd win her over. He eased one thick finger into her walls while latching onto her clit as she whimpered and cried out. "What's yer name, Pretty?"

"Are you fucking kidding me," she snapped, sniffling and covering her face. "Y-you're asking me this now!? You don't even care, you just…just…just STOP, let me go!"

"Uh-uh, baby. I don't leave things unfinished," Kid moaned. He felt her tighten around his finger and heard her panting faster and faster while her hips shook. "That's it, thaaaaat's it…cum for me, Pretty."

____ sobbed as she convulsed and felt Kid pump two fingers in and out of her cunt. Once her spasms had finally subsided, he held his hand up to his lips and lazily licked the arousal off of his fingers. "There's more where that came from. I'm not stopping 'til I learn my woman's name." He tugged his trousers down and rubbed the tip of his cock against her stiff clit, and he pinned her arms to keep her from covering her face any longer. 

"____," she said through gritted teeth. "My name is ____, okay? Now just throw me off this fucking boat or kill me or whatever you do to people after you…you…"

"You kidding me? I'm not getting rid of you anytime soon." Kid left a trail of smeared burgundy up and down ____'s neck. "I'm not just fucking and dumping you in one night–I'm keeping you, ____.

____ desperately tried to squeeze her thighs together, but Kid's knee managed to keep her from blocking him. "But you said you'd stop once you learned my–"

"Once I learned my woman's name," Kid corrected. "Gotta make you mine for you to be my woman." He eased the tip of his cock inside her warm tight walls, and the two of them gasped softly. "Fuckin' hell, you're tight," Kid chuckled with a shaky laugh as he rocked into her at a slow pace. "A pair of fuckin' Sea Prism cuffs couldn't keep me locked up like this, shit…" He nipped her collarbone and groped one of her breasts before giving her another sloppy kiss. "You a virgin, baby? Hm?"

____ squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out what was happening. Why did she have to get snatched up by one of the craziest goddamn pirates in the new generation? Why did he get obsessed with her, just because she didn't want him? And once he got what he wanted, would he just get rid of her? Is she gonna die tomorrow morning when he wakes up after violating her and the fun of it wears off?

"Just get rid of me already," she begged. Every time he bottomed out inside of her, she let out a small choked sob. His fingers were one thing, his tongue was another, but his cock was stretching her to her limit--and he was going slowly right now. "Find someone else and…Goddamnit, I don't care how awful it is to say, take someone else!"

She struggled to free her arms and kick him off of her. "I'm not the only woman on the fucking planet who doesn't want you! Just find someone with common sense and a functioning fucking survival instinct. Who the fuck would wanna go through this!? With you!? Sick, sadistic piece of--mmph!"

Kid cut her venomous tirade off by shoving his tongue into her mouth. Fuck, she was hot in a way he'd never seen before. She was crying, begging for mercy, and then switching to lashing out at him and fighting with all her strength…he'd turned her into a wreck. And this was just his first night with her. She could cry and whine about how he was gonna dump her into the ocean tomorrow all she wanted, but there was no way in hell he was letting her go. What good was a prize if you couldn't keep it for yourself? It'd be like getting the One Piece and tossing it the next day. 

Kid pulled away and marvelled at ____'s face. A string of saliva connected the two of them, and his lipstick was smeared all over her mouth and cheek. Tears were spilling down her face, and even when half-glazed with arousal her eyes were filled with hatred. Still…he could see the moments it'd flicker more towards fear and conflict with how she was getting closer and closer to cumming again. 

Her lips scrunched up into a cute little pout when he hit a particularly sweet spot inside of her. He cupped her chin with his metallic hand and squished her cheeks together; when she jerked her head and tried to bite his fingers, he laughed and gave her thighs a playful squeeze. "You trying to break your fuckin' teeth? I've torn through cannons with this arm, y'know."

____ freed one of her arms from Kid's other hand's grasp and clawed at his face. Kid hissed in pain, but didn't even look angry; instead, he bit his lip and went even faster. "Hit me again," he moaned. When she just looked up at him with confusion and revulsion, Kid raised an eyebrow and took her by the wrist. "Hit. Me. Again."

He let go of her hand and pushed her thighs up to hoist her legs around his waist. "I make you cum, I make you my woman, and you can't do one simple fucking thing for me? I'd think you'd want to hit me again. Setting your island on fire wasn't enough? Hauling you over my shoulder kicking and screaming wasn't enough? Maybe I should've grabbed that kid at the docks and used the little brat for target practice, would that have made you wanna hit me–"

____ scratched at Kid's face and shoulders, punching him with every word she screamed at him. "Shut--your--fucking--mouth! If you go near that boy, I swear I'll–"

"That's it, get mad," Kid moaned with a grin. The sting of her nails cutting into his cheek and the dull ache of her weak little punches against his shoulder and jaw felt almost as heavenly as her cunt. "That's when you're strongest, baby. Do it again."

"I hate you, I hate you," ____ sobbed, clawing at her captor while trying to kick at his sides while he held onto her thighs. "I'm gonna fucking–"

"Gonna fucking cum," Kid sighed pleasurably. "I bet you are too, Kitty. I can feel you getting close again. You're squeezing niiice and tight every time I hit--right–here!"

He thrust his hips forward to hit that same velvety spot from before over and over, making ____ cry out in a high-pitched squeal every time he thrust forward. He should be wrong, she shouldn't be close to cumming, she shouldn't be here in the clutches of an obsessed monster like this! And yet she couldn't deny it much longer, especially with how fast and brutal he was fucking into her now.

Kid normally pulled out when he came, just to avoid any risk of getting his women knocked up. And he didn't care about making them cum more than once; hell, he didn't even like looking them in the eyes too much when he did the deed. But with ____, he wanted nothing else. He wanted to cover her in his handprints, his lipstick, his teethmarks, his cum…he's definitely keeping her. 

For the first time in his life, he came inside of his woman while moaning her name like a goddamn prayer. He felt his cum trickle out of her as he fucked her through his climax, panting and sighing in her ear while lazily kissing her jawbone and neck. His moan died down to a low raspy murmur, and he could feel her heart racing underneath him. He smiled against her skin and moved one of his hands down from her breast to her clit one more time, spiralling his thumb as fast as possible to push her over the edge. "Cum for me again."

As much as ____ wanted to deny it, she did as he commanded. 

Kid moved his head up to admire her face as she came undone once again, all because of him. He really was an evil motherfucker to love corrupting a sweet, naive little thing like her. A few hours ago she was saving an innocent child and giving him the finger, and now she was mewling as she came around his cock. 

The two of them panted wordlessly, with only the other sound around them being the ocean waves lapping against the ship and the faint clanking of metal pistons. Kid slowly pulled himself out of ____ and turned over to lie on his back while pressing her against his chest. ____ sniffles and quietly cried on top of him, and Kid quietly threw his coat over her shivering body as he started to nod off. He could feel the faint dull pain of bruises starting to form where she'd punched and scratched him, as well as the cold air making the blood she'd drawn tacky. Despite that, or partially because of it, he fell asleep and enjoyed the best night he'd had with a woman in years.