#so i don't have to consider a potential conversation about mutual interests)

[darchildre]

It's really a terrible thing when you and one of your least favorite library patron have extremely similar taste in movies.

Something interesting shows up on hold for somebody and I think, "Oh, I should check that out myself when this person is done!" And then I scan it for the hold and realize that it has been requested by one of the worst people I know.

It shouldn't, of course, but it always has the effect of making me less interested in the movie in question, solely out of a desire to have less in common with this terrible dude.

[shininas-ideals]

hi there!! i just wanted to ask what makes ppl in the fandom ship kunichuu?? im new to the fandom and fairly curious lol

Hi hi!

I'm fairly new to the fandom myself as I only watched the anime last year! but to answer the ask, idk I guess something in me just clicked

The idea of Kunikida and Chuuya interacting came to my head in that helicopter scene, where the PM saved the ADA from the Hunting Dogs (you can imagine my disappointment when they didn't so much as aknowledge their existence). When I saw them in the same space together I thought "huh, would you look at that, the two partners Dazai has had... I bet they got a lot of venting they can get over with a good drink"

Continue under the cut!

I've already made a post with my main points for how their dynamic would work, but just to expand on that (and bc I love talking about them):

• Like I said, they can have a funny lil moment to breathe and just complain about the living hell that is dealing with Osamu daily

• As an aftermath of their characters being created to bounce off of Dazai's antics, they have quite a bit of similarities between them that they can both help enhance mutually; like being hardheaded, both being excepcional physical fighters, both wearing their heart on a sleeve, both being destined to be the next big honcho of their respective organizations, both doing things that would be considered contradictory to their line of work, and many little details more

• I've also begun to think of many, many alternative scenarios where these two can make for an interesting plot, mostly, like I said, a post canon/future part where they've both inherited they positions as boss of the PM and president of the ADA respectively, making for many meetings that develop into a sorta kinship on their moral code as leaders of two important groups: as Chuuya, being a high rank of a criminal organization, doesn't actively enjoy killing and sees his men as the living humans that they are; and Kunikida isn't opposed at all to bend the country's rules and do some shady stuff if it's for the greater good of the people

So it's mostly just potential and parallels between their two stores that keep me wishing for at least a conversation that lets them see a bit further from the surface of their personalities and the rolls they play in the BSD world

Or it's just that I love Kunikida and I don't see the appeal in romantic Soukoku lol

Plus they have the potential to make a compelling duo that gets Dazai absolutely jealous and makes him lose his shit, cuz sure, he can take them one on one, but with both of them partnered up against him? Yeah, no shot

And can you imagine a fight scene between them? No Arahabaki, no abilities, just pure hands, mano a mano

[lex-confessions]

I'll say this: When Feyre talks about Elain and Azriel, she suggests that Azriel might be what Elain needs, but she doesn't confirm that Elain is what Azriel needs. They are just two people who are close in proximity, tend to be comfortable around one another, and yes, there's mutual attraction. However, that's because Elain is described as objectively beautiful, and so is Azriel, so it would be weird if they weren’t attracted to one another - at least aesthetically.

---

Now, I can’t remember if I read it in the books or maybe saw a comment about it, but I know there’s one scene—I think it’s in A Court of Frost and Starlight—where Azriel tells Cassian to wait because Elain isn’t at the table. Like I said, I couldn’t remember if it’s in the books, briefly mentioned somewhere, or just an afterthought someone had.

But hear me out: Azriel’s attraction to Elain might be because she reminds him of his mother, and he’s confusing familial love with deep romantic love. Actually, I know he is because not only are they not mates, but they haven’t been around each other long enough to fall in love like that, especially with Elain being practically comatose during the first half of her experience in Prythian. Obviously, they converse and hang out, but I think their knowledge of one another is not as deep as either Azriel projects it to be or as some Elriel fans perceive it to be.

This doesn’t mean I don’t think they may get together, although I would hope not. Considering the situation, it’s just too messy. There’s so much at stake to want to try to figure things out with Elain right now. It’s not the right climate for this, and I hope Azriel wouldn’t pursue it. If everything we’ve learned about him is true, I don’t think he would do it anyway. Even though Rhys explains the complexities involving the mating bond with the Autumn Court and the potential for Azriel and Lucien to challenge each other, it’s too much to handle. We’ve just finished a war; Rhys literally died. The way people act like Rhys was unreasonable for saying that baffles me, but it makes perfect sense. There’s too much going on for Azriel to be messy, especially when Elain isn’t even his mate—she’s someone else’s mate.

If Sarah decides to explore their dynamic on that level, I think they might be each other’s lesson. In A Court of War and Ruin, Elain was still completely brokenhearted over losing her human love. To pivot to Azriel that quickly—come on, we’ve all done it. We pretend the rebound guy is some great love, and then when the actual love happens, we think, "What was that?"

Azriel has a terrible sense of self-worth, which is why he goes after unavailable females. He’ll never actually have to confront feeling worthy; he can just fulfill his prophecy that they won’t want him by choosing unavailable females. Putting Elain and Azriel together would stunt any sort of character growth. If Tamlin, for God's sake, gets character growth, then Elain and Azriel should too. Otherwise, it’s just fan service.

---

Now, when talking about Azriel and Gwyn, I noticed that they complement each other really well just in their abilities alone. Gwyn seems genuinely interested in getting to know Azriel—not just staring at him or sitting next to him in silence, but genuinely asking questions and waiting for his response to build on what she knows about him. One of them is humanizing him, and it’s not Elain. I think Azriel has spent most of his life, especially his childhood, being dehumanized. The way Gwyn chooses to humanize him is not a coincidence, and I don't think it’s unimportant. If it were, Sarah would not have written that bonus chapter. But she did write the bonus chapter and gave it to us to read.

I get confused when people pull up interviews and say that Elain and Azriel are endgame when Sarah has put in so many different things to suggest otherwise. I don’t know why people negate the bonus chapter or argue that Elain and Azriel should be together just because they kissed. Maybe they don’t finish it, because the ending of that chapter is far more important than a heated secret kiss in the hallway. It's similar to how in "A Court of Thorns and Roses," Rhys’s intervention ended up being way more important than Feyre and Tamlin’s heated secret kiss in the hallway.

[rowanwritestoomuch]

An Introduction to Small World Theory

aka my favorite theory to write with

I don't see this one talked about often, and I don't even know if its a real theory for literature or just something my mentor shared with us, but I am going to introduce you to it now if you have not considered it before.

Many books begin with two characters meeting for the first time. Often plot points, especially in romance, include meeting each other's extended social groups, friends and relatives, all of whom do not know the other party to any extent so they are forming opinons of each other for the first time.

But there are lots of pieces of media that work *because* the characters all know one another from the start, in a variety of ways. Consider the primarily comedic How I Met Your Mother or Friends. Often when a new character is introduced, the conflict or rising action of their introduction is pointing out their connection to another character where in the introducer did not know that the introducee knew an adjacent member of the party. This is a very direct way to use Small World Theory and is the most common.

But my mentor taught us a more subtle way, and it is my absolute favorite--- the indirect method. Consider this; in the place you live, you are only ever 3 people away from someone you know, whether its a friend or your doctor or a worker at the gas station you frequent. When you travel to a place you don't live (within your country/state of origin), you are generally still only about 7-10 people away from someone you know, potentially even less. Often these connections are not something we think about or even know about one another; a mutual friend who is important to one party but simple an acquaintance to the other can still make for compelling conflict if one is wronged by the other and the middle person has to consider which relationship is more important to them-- or they find out that this conflict exists, and it changes their perspective on one party.

The connection can be even more subtle than that. You can reveal a lie by indicating that one party seems familiar or alluring to another party, and then later explain to the reader that the liar seemed familiar because the pov character caught them in the lie BEFORE they knew who they were, witness-of-the-crime style, but this can be used for anything not just real crime. See, we observe other people's lives every day and barely notice, until something sticks out to us when we gain information we didn't have before. Perhaps the liar suggests they had a good relationship with an ex lover, but the MC witnessed the liar and their ex in an altercation outside a restraunt weeks before, only now realizing these two situations are connected.

Even further than that, you can give your characters a mutual motivation or development. Have one be taught by an influential teacher who later moves after the character has graduated and is again an influential figure for another character, giving them an intertwined sense of morality, or perhaps an inverse form because they were influenced by this character at different points in their lives. More options; you could make two characters familiar with one another in a way that the other characters don't immediately understand, to the point where it becomes almost bothersome, and they have to confront their nagging interest with a conversation, only to find out these characters they thought were just friends are actually blood relatives or co-workers, or even dating without anyone realizing.

These are all ways we can realistically create connections through individual characters in subtle ways, which is the meat of our theory, but what is the meal? What is the big picture? Make them all connected.

If Character A is connected to Character B then Character B must be connected to Character C who is connected to Character D and Character D connects back around to Character A. That is the 3-person adjancy we see in our real world. For maximum effect, rather than making these connections unique between each individual pair, instead have them all connected in different ways to a fifth Character E. If Character E is the ex lover of Character A, but also the co-worker of Character B, the acquaintance of Character C and the current lover of Character D, then you have motivational connections between all of these people around the same topic. If the conflict is that Character D and Character A are at odds, then Character B might be on the side of Character D due to their bond with their coworker, or they could be on Character A's side because they can't stand their co-worker. Character C might be annoyed that they're dragged into a situation about someone they barely know, or they could be a drama-hound who loves to eat up the details of other people's lives. Character B could be a gossip, Character D could be in an unwittingly abusive relationship, Character A could be an empowered victim, Character C could be an unbiased observer. All dancing around the same central point; how did Character E affect us?

Small World Theory explores the intimate connections that we have with other humans, even when we don't realize it. It helps us craft backstories for our characters that take place moment by moment, instead of years or decades at a time of doing the same thing. It begs the question; who do they know that's off screen and how would knowing that person affect the story? How can we make characters have rich, intriguing and complex lives without showing the reader every moment, every acquaintance, and without beating them in the head with exposition? Through connection. You don't even have to fully explain any of these connections, but knowing they're there can really change how you view your plot, your character's motivations and their personalities.

Always remember, write because it hurts if you don't.

til next time

[ro-botany]

I want to know who, if anyone, you ship Freddie with. I wanna hear all ur Frederick Fired Emblem opinions tbh--

HELLO I HAVE SO MANY OPINIONS ON THIS MAN

Probably too many opinions to fit in one ask!! To be honest!! I don't even really know why I imprinted on Fred so hard. It was the meme quote and the horse backflipping at first but at some point it became genuine fhdsjkfhds

Given that Fred strikes me as one of the older members of the cast his ship options were a bit limited for me lmao. But I ended up going with Fred/Cherche in my playthrough, and I stand by that! They don't have the most exciting support chain, I suppose, but there's so much mutual respect there. They meet each other on even footing in so many respects, and their S support feels like a very natural extension of the supports before it. Idk it's just cozy. They'll terrorize new recruits together forevermore.

Though I could easily leave him single, too. He strikes me as acespec, and while he can be a sap in S supports I also think he could be perfectly content never having a romantic partner. Maybe's that's me projecting but eh.

Some other opinions that I may elaborate on sometime include

I may not consider the spotpass chapters canon but I WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM HIS IN-BATTLE CONVERSATION WITH EMMERYN. I AM INCONSOLABLE...

I know we all joke about his out of left field arson streak but LISTEN. LISTEN TO ME. THAT CAN BE SO COMPELLING IF YOU TAKE IT SERIOUSLY FOR A SECOND. He may not necessarily have full blown pyromania, but if you humour that he might... Pyromania is an impulse control disorder. And often for someone with pyromania the starting of fires is a way to release tension or anxiety. Do you see how interesting this could be combined with how neurotically worried he is about the safety of his people, and how rigidly he controls himself, and how he keeps himself busy literally every single waking moment?

Between the potential pyromania (often caused by childhood abuse and neglect??? hello??) and the wolf attack trauma and the fact that he's now the razor-witted right hand of the goddamn prince, I'm super interested in this man's backstory. And the fact that 90% of the content we have about him is variations on being comedically overprotective of the royal siblings pains me sometimes. I love how ridiculous he is too, and I know flanderization is the curse all fire emblem side characters bear, but you can't just put these interesting breadcrumbs in front of me and expect me NOT to want to eat the loaf of bread they came from! I'm over here having to re-engineer this bread recipe my damn self! Give me the forbidden Fred lore intsys!

Frederick and Robin enemies to besties arc is criminally underutilized in fanfic and I need this problem resolved yesterday.

The fact that Frederick and Validar share their english voice actor is criminally underutilized in fanfic. We can use this as an excuse to make them sound similar in-universe! We can do angst with this, people!

The fact that his main hobbies are knitting and mushroom picking is adorable, actually. He's like if a grandma was capable of felling entire armies with a greataxe.

This is getting so long so I'm gonna stop there but listen. I will always answer questions about Frederick Fire Emblem. He is my boy and I love him.

[lady-shadow-and-darkness]

"I have no friends 😔"

I don't know who needs to hear this, but friends would like to be talked to everyday (ideally). You have no idea how many people have ignored me for days, weeks, MONTHS on end and then showed up again with 0 explanation, multiple times.

I'm a person too. I'm not just your friend, you're my friend too. I would like to be talked to as well. I would like attention and conversations when I can have it as well. I would like a person to share my day with as well.

I don't believe people should always talk to you/respond to your texts right away, there might be multiple reasons why they can't do that. But when it becomes repetitive and remorse-less, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE FRIENDS. DEAL WITH IT.

"I'm studying for an exam" So am I.

"I'm busy with college." So am I.

"Oh well I'm working." .....and you think I'm just chilling unemployed at home?

"I'm studying, I can't talk" for three months? I can see you talking to others.

The MINIMUM I ask for is once every week, and a conversation about things that aren't exclusively about you and genuine interest in my life. That's what a friend is to me. And no, I don't care what you think otherwise. For me personally, I need to talk to a friend at least once a week for them to BE CONSIDERED my friend.

People I've met in passing? No relation. People I know at school? Classmates. People I talk to occassionally at school about school? Acquaintances. People who know a little more than acquaintances? Friendly acquaintances. People I've had friendly interactions with online? Mostly mutuals.

The term friend has been overused and I'm sick and tired of it. I don't deserve to be treated like some sort of digital personal assistant who you can talk to whenever and expect a cheerful and enthusiastic response.

I don't currently know anyone like this. But by God believe me, I used to, and it SUCKED. ESPECIALLY IRL. So I stopped. I don't talk to people who treat me like a listener anymore. I have two friends and I enjoy talking to them (when we're both available of course).

Oh and to the people online who may have treated me like this in the past, who are for some reason not blocked, if I've ever ignored you, it's because I'm giving you a taste of your own medicine. Because I'm busy too. I work everyday. I'm studying for my competitive exam everyday, I cook everyday, I do chores and dishes everyday, I do assignments and records and study for school tests every damn day. And I still make time for you. You know why? Because I give a damn. I think you're worthy of deserving a response as soon as I'm available. I enjoy talking to you.

So PLEASE, for me at least, if anyone wants to call themselves my friend, THIS IS THE REQUIREMENT. You may require more time and space, but communicate that beforehand before I start thinking of the potential things I might've done wrong or said wrong to upset you. You may very well take months to respond, but find a friend who'll be okay with that. Because I'm not them.

[your-devoted-domme]

About me

I'm an introvert who is a huge dork at heart. I love spending time in nature (particularly the forest), reading and writing, learning new things (particularly about languages/linguistics, anthropology and history, mythology and different religions), going to the theatre and opera, listening to outdated music and playing with my dog.

I consider myself a (female) bisexual dominant stone top, meaning I like being in charge and making my subs feel good but I do not enjoy being on the receiving end of any sort of penetration and most other sex acts. I'm interested in both male and female subs with a preference for other women.

What I'm looking for on here:

Friends or a long-term romantic relationship (I'm not interested in polyamory but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if my partner was). I'm not interested in casual play at all and I will only engage in D/s with a romantic partner.

What I'm looking for in a partner:

looking for a long-term romantic relationship

in my age range (~ 21-35, roughly)

I'm very attracted to people who are just good (kind, helpful). I don’t need someone to be the smartest person or the most confident or the funniest, just try to be the kindest version of yourself you can be.

good communication, willingness to listen and speak up if there are problems

mutual respect (especially when it comes to personal boundaries) and trust

willingness to compromise

strong sense of self and independence, maturity

overall emotional connection

I adore gentle people and even those who are a bit shy.

"naturally submissive" as in not just looking to have a certain kink fulfilled but who is happy to let me take charge in the bedroom

feminist/feminist ally

has done their homework with regards to kink -- it's fine to be inexperienced (I am as well) but I would hope any person wanting to engage in kink has at least done some research

someone who doesn't view me as a "kink dispenser" and sees me as a human being who is flawed and imperfect just like everyone else

Me as a partner:

Of course, it's a bit silly to just write a whole essay about what I am like in a relationship so I'm not going to do that and just hope my positive qualities will become clear during actual conversation. :)

That being said, I try to embody all of the traits I look for in a partner myself (kindness, empathy, independence, maturity, mutual respect, loyalty, honesty...). Since my biggest love languages are Acts of Service and Quality Time, it's important to me to put aside time for my partner and really focus on them as well as performing small acts that make them happy, such as getting their favourite drink from the coffee shop or helping them with a task they've been struggling with.

I also try to actively improve myself, mostly by journaling (doing shadow work), meditating and going to therapy.

One of the things I'm still working on is my tendency to withdraw when I'm stressed and wanting to solve all my problems by myself.

I'm also still finishing up university right now, so in case of a potential long-distance relationship, I don't know what my situation will look like in a year or so. Ideally, my partner would be open to re-locating to Germany.

One last thing to note is that I've only had relationships with other women before but I am bisexual so I'm open to men as well. I've mostly avoided dating men because I am a stone top and I figured most men wouldn't be into that and because I don't enjoy all of the gender roles and expectations in straight relationships. Let me buy a beautiful boy flowers if I want to!

Me as a domme:

I don't have much experience with domming per se but I have been a stone top in all of my previous relationships. I learnt that I like being the "active" partner, the one who does things rather than being the one who gets acted upon. I don't enjoy being penetrated at all, I would be okay with receiving cunnilingus but frankly, my sexuality is more focused on my partner and making them feel good. That's why long-term chastity/orgasm denial doesn't interest me, I enjoy making my partner come too much to be satisfied with that.

In general, I would consider myself more along the lines of a gentle domme, I'm very into giving praise and taking care of my partner in the bedroom. I don't like being harsh at all and I do not want to insult/degrade my sub (making them fell embarrassed is another matter entirely -- especially if my sub becomes flustered because of the praise I heap onto them).

I think there are two overall "schools" of femdom, with the focus either being on the sub or the dom and of course most people fall somewhere in the middle. I consider "dom-focused" to be acts like a sub attending to their domme in the bath or performing body worship on them or admiring their beauty while "sub-focused" would be the reverse of that -- it can also be a dominant act to want to care for a sub. I'm more in the latter camp, I want to adore my sub and it's important to me that they are okay with being the object of my affection (and desire).

My ideal dynamic:

The most important thing I crave in a dynamic is being able to feel like I'm taking care of my sub in some manner. I love providing pleasure and making them feel 'safe'.

I'm also looking for a mostly bedroom-only dynamic. I don't mind having a couple of general rules if that's something my partner is interested in but I don't think the 24/7 high protocol life is for me. I want my partner to still feel like an equal outside of kink.

My ideal dynamic would involve a lot of mutual reassurance and communication. I would love to be with someone I feel safe exploring with, someone that makes it easy to just be myself and where I don't have to worry about not meeting their expectations. I also want to hear my partner's thoughts about everything, they need to let me know what they like/dislike and generally have an open communication style.

I also like it when my subs show some initiative, especially in the beginning when we're both still trying to figure out the other I think it's so important to know that this is what they want.

Occasional bratting can be fun but more for when the dynamic is actually established. Right in the beginning I think I would lose my confidence as a domme too much if my sub constantly sassed me and I felt I had to always "make" them do things rather than them being excited about obeying me. I'm also more generally interested in obedience, there is something very beautiful about someone giving me this "gift" of their obedience.

Now for some specific insights:

a dream would be to be able to dress my subs, decide what outfit they'll wear for the day and what clothes to buy when out shopping. For long-distance it would even be fun to receive an "outfit of the day" selfie

I'm looking for a good girl/boy to shower with attention and take care of (while they are still a mature/capable adult outside of the bedroom)

I love obedience and "casual" non-sexual submission, especially a sub kneeling before me while I run my fingers through their hair, maybe hand feed them a snack if they get hungry.

I don't really like gender roles, I look quite traditionally feminine and I'm usually attracted to feminine women and masculine men but when it comes to behaviour, I do not like to stick to certain requirements. I like opening doors for my sub but I also love it when they offer me their arm so I can hold it and steer them where I want to go

I enjoy giving a lot of praise, maybe even in a slightly patronising/condescending way during a scene but I'm not overly fond of degradation. Some slight verbal humiliation would be okay for me but I honestly prefer giving praise.

Kinks

praise

pegging/strap on use

toys

spanking

fingering

overstimulation

edging

pet names

collars/leashes

kneeling

handcuffs/soft bondage

shibari

obedience +devotion

shy subs

body worship (giving)

size kink

fingers in mouth

marking/biting

fucking machine

remote controlled toys

anal

free use

...

Limits:

ABDL, age regression

incest (simulated or otherwise)

watersports, scat

feederism

sissy, feminization (not because I don't like feminine men but because it often tends towards being misogynistic as in "being feminine makes me feel submissive")

cuckolding

forced bi

chastity (short term denial or edging is okay but I would lose interest if I didn't get to see my sub come regularly <3)

degradation (I don't mind making a sub feel embarrassed about something but I prefer praise to insults)

any fetishes that are based in misogyny, homophobia or racism

[queen-mihai]

I wanna talk a little bit about the concept of "want"

Mutuals, I urge you please to reblog this and maybe we can get a conversation going. Could be interesting 🥰🥰 ily ❤️

So the topic here is the concept of "Want" and the part that it plays in building and sustaining a functioning society. Some philosophy might say we all "want" the same basic things. Food, safety, shelter, friends, and fun. Those people might say that we should develop our society around giving people the freedom to "do what they want" with the understanding that those wants will inevitably bring society to a good place anyway, so why stop them.

Others will point to more obscure and extreme desires like murder or rape or defrauding the public to say that you can't just give people what they "want" or society would fall apart.

One person will say "it's not about what you *want*. It's about the LAW" As if the law isn't based on our mutual desires as a society.

Take murder for instance:

Murder should absolutely be illegal. Definitely not something we should allow as a society.

But the writing of a law banning murder isn't anything more than enforcement of something we don't WANT to see happening.

The argument "it's not about what you want, it's about the law" falls apart pretty quickly if you imagine the following scenario:

What if the law demanded that "each person, upon the eve of his 21st birthday, must commit one murder. Failure to comply will result in a $250,000 fine and up to one year in federal prison"

People would be clamoring to find every loophole imaginable. "His" 21st birthday? Looks like there's going to be a lot more 20 year old transfem people.

The "eve" of his birthday? Every single person with a birthday before the day this law goes into effect will be signing affidavits stating that their birthday is before the law was enacted and thus can't be held liable under this dumb law.

Guaranteed people would be suing the government left and right as to the constitutionality of the law and fighting it tooth and nail.

Why?

Because most of us don't WANT murder to be a thing. Most of us WANT to avoid it at all costs, and being forced into something so abhorrent would cause no end of distress.

So the argument "it's not about what you want, it's about the law" isn't a good argument. Because the answer to that argument is "it very much depends what that law says"

Let's take something much less serious. Speeding.

We humans pretty obviously *want* to go fast. However, conversely, we also want to be safe. So we hire a bunch of scientists and lawmakers to tell us the maximum amount of fast we're allowed to go on any given road.

If you don't think so, then why are speed limits even a thing? If we didn't care, you wouldn't ever need a speed limit sign. We'd all happily cruise along at, maybe 30 km/h everywhere we go, and everyone would most likely be safe all the time. This isn't how it goes because that's not what we want.

Consider: a dodge challenger with 707 horsepower successfully escapes the police. We'd all cheer because fuck the police.

A different dodge challenger with 707 horsepower tries to escape but gets caught. We'd all cheer because fuck that dude, don't run from the cops.

Why are both of these nearly equally satisfying? Because we enjoy both the act of someone using massive power to escape from what we know is a corrupt legal system, AND we enjoy the thought that no matter how much go-fast you have, you can't escape your crimes.

Both things are objectively true, and they're both things that we want. Going too extreme in either direction seems a betrayal of some deep part of our human values and we try to find a middle ground that doesn't give too much power to the police OR the criminals.

OK let's change gears again. What about having children? For the most part, anyone can potentially have children "if they want to".

Lawmakers in every country in the world are worried that we're not keeping up having babies at the "replacement rate". People don't want to bring babies into the world when they can hardly afford to eat. But companies don't want to pay people higher salaries because their CEOs and executives don't want to give up their salaries.

CEOs abs executives getting paid exorbitant sums of money for almost no work are choking the life out of our society, but we don't write laws to ban the practice of overpaying someone 60,000x what their employees earn because lawmakers don't WANT to.

And those same lawmakers will argue, faced with these facts, that "you could become an overpaid executive too, if you wanted to".

They don't want to face the fact that a major problem in our society is executive salaries. They'd rather imagine that what we want is to BE the overpaid executive. Because that means they don't have to do anything and can blame our lack of sufficient money to a choice to not follow a certain career path. They don't want to do the work to change the law. So they imagine that the problem is we just don't want to do the work to become an executive ourselves.

What about something you don't get to choose? Like being a person of color.

Laws are made all over the world to discriminate against people of color. Why? Because a certain group WANTS to pretend that they are the majority. They have the power and they want to keep it. So they write laws that hurt people of color and then tell us if we *want* our lives to be better, we can just work harder. They'll point to successful people of color as proof that "you could do it if you wanted to". I don't doubt some of them may even point at me as proof that a transgender person of color can absolutely succeed. And they'll say to a transgender person who didn't have my upbringing, or my education, or my opportunities, or my luck, "you see her? She did it. You must just not want to"

And we don't want these laws to be a thing, but there aren't enough of us taking up positions at lawmakers to change enough of these laws. It's not like I'm about to quit my career to go be a lawmaker somewhere because that career path is not something I want. But I do want *someone* who is black and transgender to *want* the job of a lawmaker because it would benefit a lot of people.

Speaking of transgender, being LGBT is often talked about as something you're born with, and not necessarily something people "want". You're born this way. And that argument has a lot of merit. However, I would also argue that you absolutely *should* be ALLOWED to live out your entire life as a gay man or woman or enby. Or be allowed to transition JUST because you *want* to. We can squabble all day about consent and age and people knowing what they're getting into or whatever, but in the end, no matter what, once someone has read all of the books, digested all of the science, considered all of the opinions: the question of "will you have sex with/kiss/marry someone of the same gender" or "will you trans your gender" STILL boils down, in its most oversimplified state, to... "do you *want* to?"

How the law plays into all of this really matters, and is the point of this whole post.

We write laws because we want to. We run for office because we want to. We elect lawmakers or don't vote for lawmakers because we want to.

At some point, "want" becomes "law", but I think it's worth remembering that all of our laws are still WANTS in the end.

Because what you want DOES matter.

Now

I *want* for this to get lots of engagement. I want lots of people to reblog this with their own insightful opinions. But obviously no one needs to interact with this post or any of my posts... if they don't WANT to.

I want to be an engineer.

I want to be an author.

I want to be perceived as a woman, transgender or otherwise.

I want to be successful.

I want to inspire good and positive thinking in people.

And I want people to be happy all around the world.

All I can do is try my best to be as kind as possible and spread love and interesting thoughts as much as I can. How the world wants to react? That's up to the world. I hope you're having fun. I love you

[femmefatalevibe]

Hey, I need some advice. How do you deal with loneliness (not in a romantic sense)? To be fair, I'm very confident in myself. I've been on my own since I was 10, I've had friends, but everyone's been temporary. They come and they go. Nobody's stayed with me longer than 3 months tops, and I've never trusted anyone enough. The only ones that have stayed are online friends, but they have their own lives and their own friends, so they're hardly online.

I've always been okay with being alone. I like and enjoy spending time with myself most of the time. But rarely (it's happening more often lately), I get this crushing feeling of loneliness that just ends up with me staring at my ceiling.

I never feel like I connect with people. I always think there's someone they're better friends with. If I consider someone my best friend, then I'm sure they don't see me the same way. There's always someone who's a better friend than I am. It's suffocating, and I hate this feeling. I'm always watching friends tag each other on stories and post pictures of them hanging out. I like staying at home, I prefer to read than to talk to someone nonstop.

If I say "I don't have friends," then everyone takes offense, and they'll say, "I thought we were friends," but then those people won't speak unless I speak to them first or hang out with me. I sit in groups and don't even try to fit in because they'll find someone to replace me with, so what's the point. I can't make friends with juniors at university because they're already in their own friend groups. Seniors are about to graduate. People in my semester think I'm too cold and intimidating, that I keep people at a distance, which is true. There aren't many clubs at uni that are interesting, so I can't do that either.

Hi love! I'm sorry to hear that this chronic loneliness and self-isolation putting you in this negative headspace. Totally makes sense! Know that you're not alone in having this feeling – so many of us get lonely even if we don't admit it to other people. Consider these two thoughts when evaluating your friendship history and status to make more intentional future decisions regarding these types of relationships:

Are you more afraid of someone getting to know you and potentially hurting you due to this vulnerability, or are you more afraid to be alone forever? You need to decide for yourself which risk is more worth taking, personally – no one else can decide this.

Why are you cutting off potential connections because their personal friendship webs look different than yours? We all have different day-to-day lives, interests, hobbies, career paths, social histories, etc. It is okay for someone you consider to be a best friend in your mind to think of you as a close friend. While you want to gauge how close they feel to you to ensure you're not oversharing and potentially having your secrets exposed or overwhelming them, it is perfectly fine to find a connection more enriching than someone else. The older you get, the more you realize that others can have stronger connections with others purely based on their pasts, lifestyles, and future goals – as long as they're trustworthy, integral, and positive people, there's no reason to write these people off as not good enough because you're not mutually "best friends." This is such a high school-level mentality.

Saying you "don't have friends" is best saved for a therapist's office. These negative comments are unproductive and will drive others away. Try to add a positive comment to a conversation you find engaging, open up and relax your body language, and show genuine interest in your conversation when you're enjoying them. Try to find clubs outside of school if university ones aren't of interest – like a local informal sports league, a book club, find a study group, or search meetup groups in your area for college students/young adults in your areas of interest.

Whether you have all of the friends in the world or find yourself only socializing with a screen all day, it is never too late to get out there and make incremental changes to your social life if that's what you desire. Don't give up on yourself.

Hope this helps xx

[burr-ell]

Honestly, imodna would be a good ship if the shippers/stans weren’t so damn insufferable. I also hate how they act like they are already canon and you can’t ship Imogen or Laudna with anyone else in the group. People got so mad when the conversation in the dust storm happened with Ashton and Laudna because people thought they were flirting. Or when on the first episode of 4 sided dive Marisha asked Robbie if Dorian’s crush was on Imogen, people got so mad at that! I also hate that they call them lesbians when THEY HAVE BOTH EXPRESSED HAVING FEELINGS FOR BOYS! Why can’t they be bi? Or Pan? I also hate how people read into Laura’s micro expressions/ movements, like last episode with the whole leaning shit “oh what was that lean Laura?!! Imogen wanted to kiss Laudna because look at Laura’s lean!” I dread the day that Imogen or Laudna fall in love with someone that’s not each other(especially if that person is a man.) because Marisha and Laura will harassed and hated because they didn’t give the people what they wanted.

oof. that's some frustration you really needed to vent, nonnie, and honestly i get it. full disclosure—my mutuals who are into imo/dna are all lovely, and none of them engage in this behavior. if imo/dna becomes canon, i'll be happy for (and potentially even happy with) fans like that. but enough shippers are doing things like this that it's becoming more and more of a source of frustration and friction as the campaign goes on.

i think a lot of fandom—in general, not just cr—still doesn't want to acknowledge that at the end of the day, they are looking at things like shippers, with a particular kind of confirmation bias. it doesn't make them necessarily wrong or right, but as easy as it can be to get swept up in it, i think it's important to take a step back every once in awhile and re-evaluate.

now admittedly, generally speaking, it takes a lot for me to get really invested in a ship; i usually only have one or two per fandom, even fandoms with tons of characters. i'm generally pretty passive about most ships if it's not the otp; like, vax/leth and pike/lan, for example, didn't need to be romantic endgame for me to enjoy CR1 (and honestly might have been more interesting to me if they hadn't), but perc/ahlia absolutely made the show for me and i honestly think them being together actively strengthens the narrative as a whole.

i say all that to say that for the most part, i very much consider myself to be along for the ride with respect to most relationships in most fandoms. if such-and-such pairing happens, great; if they don't, okay. and with CR in particular, it's such a long-form medium that i know going in that any romance is going to take a while, and most of them probably won't just reach out and grab me.

and as such, it absolutely baffles me to have seen shippers insisting, from the moment the characters first appeared in episode 1, that not only are imogen and laudna canon endgame, they're basically already together and just haven't admitted it yet. i feel this way about dor/ym and callow/moore as well—i saw a post making the rounds that claimed that all three of those ships are "not canon YET but let's be real" and like...why would you set yourself up for disappointment like that? because yeah! all three of those ships could be endgame! but they could also not be endgame. we're less than 40 episodes into a campaign that'll probably run well into the 100s.

i also fully agree with you re: the microexpressions and the cherrypicking, and i feel like a microcosm of this issue can be found in a conversation imogen has with orym early on—shippers latched onto the fact that imogen compares laudna's thoughts to music, something that finally brought her peace after the chaos of the world around her, and completely ignored the part immediately after where imogen says that the rest of the party also feels like that to her. i didn't even know that imogen said that about the whole party until i watched the episode, and to me it's an example of how shippers tend to warp canon interactions to suit a particular narrative in such a way that they become almost entirely divorced from their context.

and from the outside looking in, what confuses me about this sort of thing is like...didn't y'all already go through this? because if my understanding is correct, c2 ship discourse was full to the brim with beau/jes and wido/jest fans dissecting "laura's microexpressions" to prove that jester was for sure in love with our fave, really you guys we swear...and then not only was that not true, but jester also didn't even know about beau or caleb's feelings to acknowledge them at all, and from the actual words that came out of laura's mouth in various OOC moments like on TM, laura just...really really wanted to romance her husband's character in her dnd game and like, that's it. there was never going to be another romantic option for jester as long as fjord was on the table, and that was something that shippers always should have been taking into account.

laudna and imogen are canonically deeply important to each other. they love and appreciate each other very much. that love and appreciation could turn into a lovely romance with a great dynamic, and i certainly don't blame people for being invested in it. but it also could not be romantic endgame, and they remain friends or even get with other people. and as you said, fandom can and will turn nasty about their ships being sunk; we've already seen it happen. there's a certain smug, entitled undercurrent from that particular corner that i have very little patience with, and while i think there's something to be said for deciding to enjoy things in spite of the fandom and just be a cranky old curmudgeon shooing the wank out with a broom, i also understand the response of just "...aight, imma head out".

[fullofsunsetwhispers]

Thank you for salvaging Seiko's character. Definitely did not like that one scene in Chronicles with her (or most of xc in gen), but the idea of the real Seiko being a third member of a trio and still being a huge nerd about swords is cute. Makes me wish for an episode where a Shen Gong Wu is in Japan and the girls get to reunite and meet the monks.

Right!? That part with 'stealing the boyfriend' was really unnecessary (just like repeating the same thing that happened in xs in the shadow of fear episode but with different fears. Why did they make the squirrel a ninja? the design of furious squirrel from xs was better. what was the reason for changing clay's grandma's design?)

Kimiko's fear in XS was more authentic. Idk what that scene in the chronicles was supposed to achieve. Did the show want to show us Kimiko at some point snaked someone else's boyfriend? Was that really necessary to discredit her this way? Or maybe it was just really the misunderstanding, Seiko got it wrong and started hating Kimiko for that and hence, Kimiko can't forgive herself for this happening? If the latter one, then maybe OK, some angst fuel if we really consider they are ex-friends. However, Seiko-gal has big anger issues, which is off-putting.

So, it really means much to me that 'Seiko is one of Kimiko's besties' scenario is commended! As much as I hated the appearance of Chronicles!Seiko, well I could see a little potential? Coz, yo, a lady who can professionally swing the sword!? Seiko in my eyes gave off big Katana vibes (especially if we take into consideration Katana's design in Batman The Brave And The Bold). I hc Seiko's fascination with Japanese weaponry is due to her father's job - he's a museum guard, but he owns his own katanas, which have been passed down to him. Little Seiko loved her father's stories about their samurai ancestors, so she wanted to become one, hence her training!

As for the Japan episode - anon, I couldn't agree more! Keiko would hug the hell outta Omi. Seiko, contrary to Keiko, was never up to conversation - she's very reserved, so when Raimundo tries to start a conversation, he immediately regrets that choice xD

I don't know why this idea came to me, but it would be cool if this time the main villain would be Tubbimura. Instead of the magical showdown, the episode would end with 'regular showdown' between Seiko and Tubbimura. Samurai girl vs ninja. It's not even about winning the wu anymore. It's about honor! The episode would build up with Tubbimura taking interest in Seiko's agility and swordsmanship only to reach a climax in which both Seiko and Tubbimura want to fight in order to test each other abilities. Dojo would 'boo' that solution, claiming regular showdowns are boring. But he shuts up immediately he feels Seiko's cold gaze upon him.

I want Seiko to win because that would result in mutual respect between the two warriors ok? For the comedic effect I would want the episode to end with Kimiko and Keiko finding out Seiko and Tubbi are pen-pals now haha

Kimiko: Hey I've seen you accepted Tubbimura's friend request. Can I know... why?

Seiko: Oh, we're friends now.

Keiko, who snorted out the soda she was drinking through the nose: !!!!!!!!!!!

Kimiko, visibly shocked: Erm... That's good, I think???????? But what do you usually talk about???

Seiko, pokerface on her face: ABOUT THE PASSION FOR THE CRAFT. ... And sometimes about healthy diets and his dog. I don't like pets in general, but Muffinface is precious and I would protect them from any harm.

Kimiko, confused but supportive: yeah, the doggy is sweet!

Keiko, trying to clean herself up: !!!!!!!???? Girl, you crazy?!

Seiko, blatantly: So, you want the evidence in a form of 32 photos of that dog!? Sure, I can provide fight me.

[dgalerab]

Honestly I never thought about Dadzawa in the context of like... being obsessed with the nuclear family structure 🤔 that's an interesting way to think about the fandoms interest in it.

For me personally (as someone who does like Dadzawa), it's always been more of a reflection of my issues with my parents growing up and how I experienced parentification in addition to a deep innate desire to have had someone who would have literally sacrificed themself for my well being at that age like Aizawa does for 1-A. Plus I really love the dynamic between Aizawa and Midoriya. The complexity of the way Aizawa sees Shirakumo in Midoriya and how it influences the way he interacts with him and looks after him is just so interesting to explore and Aizawa acting as a parental figure to him is a vehicle in which to do that.

I'm with you on the not getting the obsession with having him adopt 1-A kids though. Don't get me wrong I'm not against him adopting if it makes sense in the context of the story being told but sometimes it feels like it happens for the sake of checking off that list of things successful adult lives need to accomplish and as a result can feel so forced. We can have Aizawa being parental and forming a deeper bond with one of his students without him needing to make them legally his. Family is deeper than some paperwork and the obsession with this possession is really uncomfortable to me. Why can't found family just be a mutual understanding and love of one another without needing to make it 'official' anymore haha.

So I definitely get where you are coming from with regards to the obsession with making the Erasermic family into a nuclear situation. I feel like it extends past the whole Dadzawa situation and into the way Aizawa and Mic are depicted. I cannot read fics where Aizawa and Mic's characters are diluted down to talkative flamboyant husband and unfeeling angry husband, not only because it does a disservice to the depth of their characters but because when people write them like that they are specifically doing it to make Mic coded to be the 'wife' of the relationship and it's so obnoxious. They can be in love and not fill the typical heteronormative roles in a relationship y'all. They are just two disasters 🫡

Sorry that was super longwinded and I hope it didn't come off as me trying to convince you to like Dadzawa because that is absolutely not what I was trying to do. I just thought the way you interpreted the interest in Dadzawa was insightful and had never considered it before and wanted to share my perspective! Also I like having in depth conversations about BNHA lmao. Hopefully that's okay! 🫶 Feel free to ignore this if you want.

oh god oh no the consequences of my actions haha

see, whenever i'm bitching and hating on fanon takes i always feel like i'm reacting to those ubiquitous "everyone knows this is canon lol" takes. i think any hc can be valid and from a place of someone genuinely exploring a potential story that speaks to them and like. let's be real canon is just not important enough to overwrite that potential, even if it's not necessarily "in character."

but i think a lot of the time you walk in to a fandom and everyone's just like yep this is The Take. and you're like. why. that's weird. and then i go and write a post being like EXCUSE ME YOU'RE ALL WRONG. and then inevitably it ends up landing on the people who are like. genuinely thinking about the characters and want to explore certain tropes and they're like. oh no. am i wrong?? and i have to be like nooooo not you you precious angel.

gonna be so real i forget it's not just my 10 reliable likers and mutuals who see my posts. ain u have nearly 3k followers pls.

anyway i think that fandom ultimately likes to have like. a lot of quick-start hcs. like a lot of the same-yness of fanon comes from the fact that sometimes it's just a social endeavor and not a literary one, and so there's a little bit of a speed dating type "here are the vibes let's chat and make things" element to fanon. but i think that also crosses over into really flat and sort of... idk if i want to say conservative but stereotypical takes? it's a fascinating phenomenon and it's both a boon of fandom bc it makes things very social and communicative and also a bit of a failing bc that sort of shortcut characterization does land on a lot of like. preconceptions that can be shallow or toxic or whatever

anyway this is a very round about way of saying tl;dr: you're totally valid and i just yell about certain attitudes being the fandom standard bc after a while my patience wears thin seeing the same take i think is wrong and i'm here on main being like NO. I DON'T LIKE THOSE STANDARDS. AND ALSO YOU'RE GOOFY.

[sylviakent]

How Hinge Disrupted Online Dating with Data

The sites below cater to an older demographic and make it easier for seniors to try online dating. Action Step: If you’re looking for love, make sure to mention it on your profile. They're just looking to hook up. You can specify the age range of people you're looking to meet in your profile, and you can even see when potential dates were last active on the site, saving you from messaging dead accounts. It depends on how long the long-distance thing is going to last. Which of the following romance movies are you going to watch? For sure, but it's much more practical than romance movies would have you believe. How much jealousy are we talking about here? Too much drama to keep straight. נערות ליווי במרכז Yes, I keep in contact with all of them. No, I don't keep in contact with any of them. Since November 2014, contact and interaction beyond the first message per person requires a premium (i.e., paid) subscription. So if you're curious about what type of person you should be dating, then take our romantic relationship quiz right now!

If you don't sense this kind of "fireworks" feeling after the first few dates, then they're probably not the ideal person for you. Then we agreed to meet for happy hour drinks that weekend. Signing up to the service is pretty easy, all you need is an Android or an iOS device and the app itself. Users typically reach out to the company, often through Support, when they need to fix an issue. What stood out about them? It's out there, but most people will never find it. The next time you find yourself engaging in one of the following behaviors, consider how you could turn the situation around and approach it from a more mindful perspective. I could have drawn them separately, but it will turn out that presenting them as overlapping bars makes it easier to think about the overall fraction of Democrats voting for the Civil Rights Act. Well, think about someone that you may have been attracted to in the past. These types of people will not only grab your attention, but they may be the key to making your ideal relationship an everlasting one. Nora DeKeyser is a professional matchmaker and relationship coach and has helped over 20,000 singles.

This is referred to as "romantic chemistry," which is the spark between two people in a relationship. Sometimes, this spark is ignited through mutual interests and in-depth conversations, but some people can simply feel this through their instincts. If you’re an active blogger (i.e. at least once a month) yet don’t feel like you would call yourself a creator, it would still be great to have you participate in IndieWebCamp. ’ or ‘Would you feel comfortable if I kiss you? Yes, but I don't take it that seriously. But understanding what the heart and mind require to work through the process can help when figuring out the next steps and finding the courage to take them. Maybe you're a geek in the streets and a freak in the sheets - there are plenty of apps where geeks can just find a hookup, too. We have a lot of options and lists from which you can choose from, you are welcome to click here and find out why we are the best dating service in town. Vangelis himself was absent, due to influenza, but the doors eventually opened and the guests were welcomed in with champaign and delightful little snacks including little balls of chocolate that were so good they're actually worth mentioning here.

A good profile also increases your chances of meeting someone special sooner than you thought. Would you classify them as a nerd, athlete or someone who is just plain popular? But, have BTS had any girlfriends and if so, who were, or are, they dating? So, what do we mean by "types" of people? Dua's boyfriend is a professional model, so, what better excuse to get him in her music video? Which of these would you call your famous boyfriend? Yes, I'm so ready for this. Yes, a few times. It's really nice, but I wouldn't say it's phenomenal. He went on to say that Filipina girls are not materialistic and were only concerned that their partner be truthful, responsible and devoted. Flamingoes because their mating dances are lit. When it comes to the dating world, guys and gals are often spending time with people who aren't their type. Who knows what happened. It depends on who I'm around. It depends on why they aren't family-oriented. Q: Why does this cost $25?

[shingor777-blog]

Design Agency Journey #001

When I started preparing for this assignment, I was actually a little confused by the brief. I was under the impression that a design agency was supposed to be a commercial design service entity, whose style was determined by the commissions they were able to receive, and that they would slowly develop a portfolio of work that would acquire a degree of 'style'. This time, however, we needed to decide on our manifesto from the outset and to have a certain sense of responsibility to have a positive impact on society. To be honest, we were all first time Chinese in the UK, and it was difficult to find our way around due to the clash of cultural backgrounds and communication contexts.

In the first concept brainstorming session, we preferred to think about many potential themes in terms of our own cultural premises: discussing cultural conflicts? Dispelling cultural misunderstandings? Finding joy in design? Focusing on dietary differences? However, these propositions would only appeal to people from certain backgrounds and have no real mass appeal. After all, the exchange of cultural clashes is inherently what keeps diversity alive, a motivating source of conversation that promotes mutual understanding.

"If you want to talk about things on the margins, why not turn to the parts that everyone is involved in? Like posters?" As I thought of this, two interesting posters I saw on the road the other day suddenly flashed through my mind: One poster is about a football team that is recruiting and the other is an advertisement for some night club.

The one on the left would reasonably be considered the work of someone who "doesn't know how to design" - white office paper, straightforward and uninteresting choice of images (the two footballs could have been direct material on Google Images), wrong logo placement, overly tight paragraph layout, unartistic choice of fonts, confusing colors... The one on the right has clearly been professionally created, the choice of paper, the design of the fonts, the collage of textures, the contrast of colors...

Hilariously, I only saw the poster on the left at first glance and knew exactly what message he was trying to convey: I could tell from a distance that it was a sports-related student poster just from the two football images, and the poorly centered typography didn't deter me from immediately knowing the 3 ways to contact them, as the grid was instantly visible with the presence of the frame. Even though I don't care about football, I have full confidence that the rest of the top must have all the information a football fan needs, as there is a student union logo in the top right corner - even though it is placed in the wrong direction, in clear violation of the visual norms that brands generally adhere to so strictly.

Conversely, the night club ad doesn't convey a quick message beyond its visual beauty, and for a moment I had a hard time telling what the poster was about: was it about feminism (an illustration of a female figure)? Is it about Oktoberfest? (an illustration of beer) or a general art festival with more cultural and creative activities (a speculation triggered by the vibrant colors, the delicate font)? Only when I looked closer did I see a series of guest lists, which revealed what it was really trying to convey.

Which poster was the more successful? Despite being a fan of aesthetics, I would still give the award to the poster on the left on the criterion of 'visual communication', simply because it is functional and eerily forms a cheap alternative aesthetic, a kind of creativity that belongs only to ordinary people who want to try hard and get things done in a fun way.

I immediately talked to the group about this and suggested that our group could take some inspiration from this point - that perhaps what is generally considered ugly and cheap has a meaning and a story behind it, and that we should not judge people by their appearance and follow mainstream approval. Sometimes stopping to look at things that go unnoticed might unearth something more interesting? I wasn't sure at first if people would find this behavior silly, but surprisingly, everyone found the whole thing interesting and approved of my idea and started discussing what name would be most appropriate if we took this starting point.

The idea was to start with the same group name we started with: "In-joy" is a bit random, how about using the concept of "discovering what's interesting about marginal narratives" and finding words that relate to "joy"? 

"Maybe we should focus on the point of non-mainstream narrative, joy isn't the most important thing is it?" So more related terms were discussed: 'edgy' 'potential' 'exploratory' " experimental"... Until "marginal" was written on paper, and I was staring at the page with the paper in my hand, when "margin", a word I had come across when I was studying typography, popped up.

The "margin" is the distance between the centre of the page and the page. The centre of the page is the carrier of the main content of a page; content outside the centre of the page is considered "empty", "nothing", "meaningless", or may be considered by the designer to provide the centre of the page with "The content outside the centre of the plate is seen as 'empty', 'void', 'meaningless' or as a secondary negative space that the designer considers to provide the centre with a 'sense of breath'. In reality, it is something very meaningful.

A perfect metaphor! "Let's call it margin!" I said excitedly.

[narcoticwriter]

The Wonderful Work That is 'Unfocused'

To my current understanding, there's little-to-no chance of the author seeing this, but on the chance they do, thanks for writing this!

This fanfiction surpassed all of my expectations, from the premise to the thorough character analysis to the speculative worldbuilding, and finally to the critical points in the work. I was genuinely not expecting to be floored on my ass from the sheer emotion and feeling I experienced at the hand of the words. It was refreshing! 'The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Unknown' indeed. Other folks call it the Hedgehog's Dilemma.

So in genuine thanks, have my two cents:

MUTUALS THERE BE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIC BELOW

So if you want it, here's the sauce.

Now, I wanna talk about a few of my favorite moments in the fic. There are tons of them, but these ones resonated with me the most:

Chapter Two - Won't Sucrose Consider Being the Chief Alchemist One Day?

This exchange between Sucrose and Albedo set up the unique premise of why Sucrose engages in the type of alchemy she does as well as the beginnings of a certain dynamic that could potentially change in Sucrose and Albedo's relationship.

Sucrose had just broken her glasses and accepted Albedo's help.

It is revealed that Sucrose would rather pursue her own goals in alchemy than become the Chief Alchemist and gives us her reason why (to create a perfect paradise as per her lore).

This is a much deeper look into her most secret wishes than I believe she had given anyone else (to live the fairy tale she dreamed).

Albedo is open, receptive, and supportive of this goal, a wonderful surprise to Sucrose.

In the midst of this conversation, we get this wonderful tidbit:

"But the thing that makes a fairy-tale is the idea behind it […] well, I guess you could call it a promise! A promise that you can always learn from your past mistakes, or that tomorrow will begin anew… or… something like that… I mean, of course, it’s all up for interpretation anyway… but… that’s how I like to interpret it."

Beautifully inspired quote, you guys. You don't understand how much I love this line of text.

It also does a great deal of foreshadowing for the later chapters.

"Miss Sucrose". That is all.

Chapter Eight - Albedo Grapples With Feels and Sucrose Grapples With Herself

These two chapters contained some of the more pivotal moments in the fic, as it deals with some important things within both respective characters.

Albedo is at the halfway point of catching feels and passing them off as them just becoming closer as coworkers. ("It's a normal interest for Sucrose, I swear.")

Kaeya and Venti, of course, do not buy that bullshit and poke for a little while.

Then the event that warranted the mature rating happened.

The conflicting hurt/comfort and the sheer disconcertion shone through in the choppy flow and the dotted and uneasy dialogue.

This line of text from the day after as Albedo was listening on a conversation he wasn't supposed to be privy to promptly caused to lose my shit and almost cry:

“I know. It wasn’t nice or romantic but… I don’t know how to feel. On one hand, it was disgusting and it made me feel awful afterwards. But on the other hand, I – well… no one has ever even said anything like that to me before and I know all kinds of girls who’ve had to face that kind of thing every day. So, when it happened to me, I felt sort of like I was… like I was someone who could be desirable.”

This is another peek into Sucrose's inner mind that he wasn't supposed to hear this time, but it tells us a great deal about her.

We also get a peak into how Albedo's mental process works when it comes to his emotions: "The fact that [Sucrose being comfortable with him] even mattered to him, was what disconcerted him the most."

Chapter Nine - Albedo Officially (& Rather Publicly) Loses His Goddamn Mind

In summary, Albedo forgot that Sucrose visited her parents during the weekend and, with the added context of the last chapter, goes into his controlled brand of panic mode.

I'm just gonna put some particularly memorable quotations because I can't do this enough justice myself.

"After half an hour of waiting and with Sucrose still not in the lab, Albedo’s sense of anticipation turned to one of concern."

“I just came from the lab,” said Albedo. “I came here because I was waiting for her.”

This whole paragraph's worth of intrusiveness and overthinking was brilliant.

"Albedo nodded, his mind was racing, wondering where exactly had Sucrose gone. It wasn’t like she was someone who left without notice, being his assistant, it was her duty to tell him when she was going to be away. Maybe it was different now it was the other way around, but though Albedo often took long sabbaths, Sucrose was always the one person who he told where he was going to go. He would have expected the same of her. Where could she have gone that she couldn’t tell Albedo about it?"

"I know you’re worried, Albedo, but most likely she just went somewhere and forgot to tell you."

And the rest of the chapter after that quote is an absolute riot.

Chapter 13 - Sincere Words and Genuine Compliments Take Sucrose Out

I was reeling along with everyone in the vicinity at this chapter because wow, you really wanted to make the point of words of affirmation as one of Albedo's love languages and I respect that.

I'm just going to leave this wonderful piece of affirmation and foreshadowing here.

“What you’ve just made might not seem like much to you, but it’s truly beautiful. Do you see the way the light seems to shine from the veins in these petals? The way it even smells different? It’s a remarkable piece of alchemy. It’s why I wanted you to demonstrate it. This is what it means to understand alchemy, and there's not a lot of people who would be able to think of half of the things you’ve come up with.” 

"This Sucrose looked like she was trying not to let the smile show on her face, but in the end, she couldn’t help it." She feels good about herself, you guys. She's proud of herself. I'm crying.

Chapter 17 - The Magnum Opus

"This was the end goal of all alchemists, to create something equal to the desires of the soul, something that, when created, the transmutation was a reflection of the alchemists’ truest desires."

The entirety of the conversation and the closeness the two of them have in terms of this quote is beautiful and well-done.

"That’s right, thought Albedo.  Her only goal as an alchemist is to create a space where her and her loved ones can remain, happily. Where her heart doesn’t have to be closed off to the hurt and the pain of losing someone close to her. This flower must have the potential to do something like that for her... I... will help her... if this is her heart’s desire, then I will see it come to fruition."

I could tack on pages upon pages of words to describe this scene to me. Seriously read this fic, please because it was powerful.

Chapter 19 - Albedo Fucks Up Big Time and Sucrose Relives Her Childhood Trauma

The chapter's right there, but I'll break it down further with some of what I was able to interpret:

Albedo loves Sucrose so much. I mean, he genuinely told the truth of his existence and pushed himself away from her out of love, however wrong it was, however much it would hurt him, and however much Sucrose would hate him for it.

“It’s unfair to let you go through this without understanding what’s going on. I had to tell you. If my desire for you is that strong that you would sleepwalk towards me and hold me without your knowledge, then I am to blame. I will sever this mentorship and you will never have to see me or speak to me again.”

Mans really didn't get that Sucrose had her own emotions, huh? But of course, he didn't at the time. Because of this.

“I… I am tethered to you Sucrose. Even if I left you – even if I wanted to, I would still hurt. You’ve changed me. Being around you… it’s like a transmutation… or a painting. Before all of this, I was an empty canvas. And now… I am your masterpiece.”

He did not comprehend that he was capable of change. This hits me particularly close. Excellent interpretation of character here.

I would also like to point out that Sucrose got angry.

This is extremely well-done because all of these feelings are out in the open now and she'd be damned if she didn't let Albedo know exactly how she felt.

"Albedo didn’t know how she could have so much clarity in her anger, Maybe it was from experience. Maybe that was how she felt when her friends left her. Did she feel like that when she met Albedo too? And she was right. Of course, she was right. How could she be anything but?"

"And because she knew that, it terrified him."

Take the award and leave, OP because you just took my scalp without flinching, huh?

This was rawer than a cow that has yet to be shipped off to a slaughterhouse and I commend it.

And he immediately burdens himself with the feeling of deserving her eternal hatred. Masterful work.

Honorary Mentions - I Loved These Moments to Death, But Cannot Do The Words to Justify Them

The entirety of Klee's troubles concerning solitary confinement and the lengths Sucrose and Albedo go to lessen them.

Sucrose unintentionally brings Albedo home to her parents Marigold and Sage.

Klee kicking Albedo's shin and wanting to blow him to smithereens

Speculative Rhinedottir/Albedo lore.

Every time Sucrose and Albedo accidentally touched.

"Qiqi won't remember a thing."

Every time Lisa hints at anything remotely related to Sucrose and Albedo.

The eternally confusing state of the textbook definition of a homunculus versus the first-hand experiences and observations of a homunculus and every time it fucked Albedo up.

"He wondered if those feelings were like making a mistake with a stroke of a paintbrush on a canvas. The more he tried to remove it, the more it would smudge. The bigger it would grow."

This progression took two weeks.

“Just... a word of advice... don’t try to distance yourself from her, alright. She doesn’t need that happening again.” 

The emotionally incompetent yaksha giving the emotionally confused homunculus a pep talk.

A side note: Sucrose's bitch-ass ex-friends acting like they couldn't bother to contact her despite keeping in contact with each other for all these years and them just laughing it off like it was nothing was a slap to the face for me. I was about to read into the HTML and clock them. Excellent fucking job.

And now, without further ado, my favorite chapter in the entire fanfiction.

Chapter 22 - A Heartfelt Apology More Emotionally Gratifying Than Some Ragbros Reconciliation Fanfiction

No hate, no hate, no hate on the Ragbros enthusiasts as I am one of you, but this chapter threw my emotions into a washing machine with the spin setting on max.

Sucrose went to talk to Albedo herself. This is the first time she prompted herself to do anything like this on her own. Character growth, we love to see it.

He apologized. Multiple times. And he tells it like it is finally.

“I love you. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with those feelings before. But I understand now. I understand you, Sucrose. I understand you.”  

The excerpt below is standing on its own because it needs to.

“I know you love me. That’s why you left. That’s why you avoided me. You didn’t want to figure anything out. It was only until Xiao came to talk to you that you managed to figure out anything for yourself, right? You didn’t listen to me when I wanted you to stay, but you listened to Xiao? You don’t even know him, yet his words carried more than mine?”

“I should have. I should have listened to you. I should have listened to myself, from the very beginning. I shouldn’t have thought these feelings were wrong. Or they were bad. How can love be bad? But how could I have known that wanting you, needing you, when... when you were all I could think about, that that was natural, that I couldn’t get my thoughts – for a single second – to stop revolving about you? There are even humans out there who don’t feel like that, even around the people they love. I’m a homunculus, we’re not supposed to love. But I do and I love only you. You’ve changed me, Sucrose. My heart – it’s like I can feel it beating when I’m around you. You’ve turned me into someone capable of this. And... I was wrong to abandon you like that. I was wrong to let you leave. I regretted it since that very moment, and I’ll regret for the days to come, whether you accept me or not.”  

“I... I knew that you loved me. I could see it ever since that day we went searching for Cryo flowers. When you helped me into the carriage that day, when you hurt yourself on your sword. You seemed different, more nervous. Less... yourself. And I know that was when things all started changing for you. You couldn’t hide it at all, Mister Albedo. But... I was experiencing the same things too. I felt different around you. I woke up from dreams about you, Mister Albedo. I had to go to the lab everyday pretending like nothing was different because... you’re not the only one who is new to these feelings. The way I felt – the way I feel about you... the intensity, it was more than just love. It was an understanding, where you could see me and I could see you. I – I... I don’t know how you could have left so easily. No matter how far you went, you wouldn’t have been able to end it. And I... I didn’t want to wake up one day and see that you’re gone. I didn’t want you to leave me. And then you did. You left me.”  

“I won’t leave you again. I won’t."

And people seriously wanna complain that the Genshin Impact fanfiction community only consists of textfics and smut when this exists. How disappointing and utterly shallow of them.

I was moved and profoundly so, but then it got better!

Because maybe the real magnum opus was the one they made together all along.

And as such, the dynamic of focus finally shifts back into place, hence my realization of the name of this fic.

There you go.

You single-handedly managed to convert me from a casual Alberose fan to a hardcore Alberose enjoyer in less than 24 hours.

Take it. Take my weave. My scalp. My whole heart. My emotional validation.

It's all yours.

Hats off to you, and thanks for taking all 92,824 words and composing them into this beautiful story. If you release another fic in the near future, don't be surprised to see me in the comments.

Until the next time, I suppose!

[doomedship]

Lucy and Tim would have so many obstacles to work through before becoming a couple, especially work related stuff with the supervisory situation and Lucy's concern about her career if dating another cop. I can't imagine what doing a repeat of Rachel/Emmet will accomplish. It just seems a waste of time. Time I'm afraid they don't have much left. Sorry, I'm not bringing anything new to the conversation, just venting my frustrations...

This is basically what has been in the back of my mind since episode 9 last season.

I considered that a kind of day zero for Chenford's future relationship since that was when they were no longer rookie/TO and were (we assume) single. I then thought through all the things you'd need to get through before a meaningful "getting together" moment would make sense. For me it's things like:

Showing outside work friendship building

Showing emotional support through difficult storylines

Showing other characters noticing that there's a vibe and commenting on it

Having awkward moments of sexual tension and close shaves

Acknowledging a mutual attraction but deciding not to act on it because of career concerns

Declining a third party's romantic interest due to feeling conflicted/loyalty to the other

One or both in danger = feelings come out

And I was expecting late S3 and S4 to deliver on these milestones steadily so we could build to a late S4 getting together moment.

But we have effectively hit none of these so far, which means we're still at day zero. Or actually, worse than day zero, since Tim is apparently now not even single. Again.

So I share your pain. I'm sad about it. There was so much potential that's being wasted and who knows how much sand is left in the hourglass on this show.