#sure a quick google search would have given me the answer

[mrsthunderkin]

Did a new token for Issy as an experiment for the campaign visuals.

It was a success and now I need to do a whole set.

[ryo-maybe]

can u explain why AI art is bad without fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking lol

I'm going to answer in good faith, even though the tone you're using sounds like you're harboring anything but. The issue with AI art isn't specifically inherent to the tools used to produce it, because, ultimately, a tool is merely that: something devoid of will which, in the hands of a human, can produce a specific outcome. It's the human element that taints what we could otherwise enjoy for the unquestioningly fascinating topic that is AI art and, by extension, AI software as a whole.

Now, the problem isn't people, period, but the kind of people that are responsible for giving AI the bad rep it's been getting, along with the intent that goes into both the development of AI tools and the things produced by dint of said tools. I'm talking about the tech bros happily rubbing their hands, waiting to provide business moguls with a brand new means to commodify and mass-produce what artists stake their entire livelihoods upon, because when you have enough zeroes lined up in your bank account, your eyes are utterly blinded to the soul and personality that human beings put into their handiwork, and which a machine won't ever be able to reproduce no matter how much stolen art you feed it. Oh yeah, by the way, that's how AI art tools have been making the rounds: by chewing on thousands upon thousands of stolen pictures made by actual people so that they may learn how to ape someone's style and spit out absolutely soulless derivatives, while the original authors don't see a lick of recognition or monetary retribution for any of it. Do I need to tell you why stealing and parading someone else's art as your own is a terrible, vile thing to do?

But sure, you did ask me to refrain from "fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking", which I guess I've already done. So since you'd rather I skipped straight to the point in a concise manner, lemme offer some quick examples of why the culture surrounding AI art has already developed into one of the most abysmally disappointing displays of how greed and an utter lack of human decency can ruin something objectively brimming with possibilities:

Less than a week after the sudden death of Korean artist Kim Jung-gi, someone trained an AI model to mimic his artstyle, having the audacity of asking for credits if anyone wished to use it. I sincerely hope I don't have to explain to you why this is a ghoulish example of the kind of tone-deafness sported by tech bros who buy wholesale into the AI art craze.

A piece of AI art was submitted to an art contest and won. The "artist"'s work amounted to little more than picking a series of prompts and letting the machine do the work. It's as much art as googling a smattering of terms and making a collage of pictures taken from Pinterest (and even then, you would have put more work into it than this person did). That they won at all says a whole damn lot about how abysmal the respect given to artists - real artists - nowadays is.

There are a multitude of people out there already selling prints of AI-generated art. I could link some of them here, but honestly, type "ai art prints" on a search engine and you'll get inundated by them. I've seen and personally know artists who have had to undersell their works because commissions were the only thin, frayed string they could hang on in hopes of making it through the week without fucking starving themselves, but here we are: any random asshole can now yell "MASSIVE BREASTS, THIN WAIST, COCKTAIL DRESS, HUGE BADONGAS" at a computer, let it mash together a trillion of other people's hard work, and print it for easy bucks that the actual authors of the basic ingredients of their insipid soup will never, ever see a dime of.

It really bothers me that you mentioned "no bootlicking". Whose fucking boots is this side of the debate supposedly tasting? That of the artists who post every day about how angry, sad and terrified they are by the prospects of what the development of AI art will entail for their livelihood and passion? What kind of gall did your mother birth you with that you have the spiteful spunk to type that word, when you've got shit like an artist who had their sketch stolen while they were drawing it on stream, then fed to an AI and posted by someone passing it off as their own art? How does that not ignite your indignation? "Bootlicking". Like anyone's tongues have been tasting leather but those of the same tech bro chodes who kept trying oh so hard to convince us NFTs were the future while ruining the environment to make the absolute stupidest point ever made in the history of humanity.

[thewonderingbard]

how do boys react to sick s/o? With like something that doesn’t make them SICK but mildly uncomfortable, like. Hmmm… pink eye, known for itchy-ness and eye gunk. Making it hard to even open your eyes when you wake up

-🌽 anon :-)

Currently watching Ninjago , Living life rn.

Sorry it took a bit 🌽 anon ;)

(I’ve personally never had pink eye or anything like that but a quick google search shall help)

———————————————————————

Undertale Sans -Vanilla

He is tries to help but he is not great at healing magic.So he goes to the doctors for S/O and gets the medicine S/O needs. As a skeleton he can’t really get pink eye so he just uses as an excuse to lay in bed with S/O.He tries to keep S/O’s mood up by telling jokes.He also keeps getting S/O water and snacks aswell.

Undertale Papyrus - Paps

Yeahhhh…S/O is not leaving that bed until he knows S/O is better.He is actually quite good at healing magic so he uses that quite often.He can’t stand seeing his S/O in pain.When he first saw S/O infected eyes , he and S/O we’re at the doctors in record time.Once given the medication and being told it’s not serious,only then will he calm down.He ,the ever generous skeleton,puts the eye drops in S/O’s eyes.

Underswap Sans - Blue

He first thought S/O had been crying and went to comfort S/O . Once S/O tells him it’s pink eye he surprisingly is not panicking.But now S/O is forced to rest on the sofa and eat Blue’s soup…(It tastes horrible).He is right on time when giving S/O medicine.Don’t let him do the eye drops or the liquid will end up in your eye brown for some reason.

Underswap Papyrus - Honey

“Awww,Poor little Bee…”

He feels so sad just for S/O . He like Vanilla gets all the medicine S/O need sand gives it to you aswell.He also hand feeds S/O and holds the bottle of water S/O drinks out of. He is doing every for his S/O.He is such a mother-hen when it come to people getting ill or sick. Honey is not the best at healing magic but he uses it on S/O if it stops their irritated eyes from hurting.

Underfell Sans - Red

He is super weirded out! How did your eyes get like that? Why do they look that way?Once all his questions are answered he takes S/O to the doctor to get checked out.Let me give you some advice NEVER accept Reds offers to make you food.You know one time he set the COFFEE MACHINE on fire.Anyway,he is not the best at healing magic so he makes Edge help s/o. He ,like Vanilla, uses this as an excuse to nap with S/O, not like he can get pink eyes when he has sockets.

Underfell Papyrus - Edge

One of the only time you see him worried is when S/O has an illness.He is surprisingly good a healing magic so he uses that on S/O’s eyes.He literally makes S/O sleep on the sofa instead of his room but he does sleep on the floor of the living room just so he knows S/O is safe.He is very organised when it comes to giving S/O medicine and eyes drops.He even goes out and runs errands for S/O.He may or may not give S/O’s work a very rude notice that S/O is ill and won’t be coming in.

Horrortale Sans - Seaweed

He is a bit confused when S/O tells him.How are your eyes pink?They are not normally pink are they?Once S/O tells him he really tries being helpful.But he can’t go out on his own so he can’t really get S/O medicine, he can only really go and get it if S/O is up to it or if his brother will take him.Other than that he stays by S/Os side constantly, asking if S/O is okay every 10 minutes and if S/O needs anything.

Horrortale Papyrus - Papaya

Oh no.If you thought Honey was a mother-hen get ready for Papaya because he becomes the ULTIMATE another hen.He instantly knew something was up with S/O it’s like a sixth sense.As some one who takes a lot of medicine himself and makes sure his brother takes his medics what makes you think he would forget about S/Os medicine and eye drop times. S/O need water?Here have 12 bottles .Hungry? Be ready you’re getting a feast. S/O warns him to not pull his back or hurt himself and gives S/O a death glare.

_________________________

This was fun to write!

I hope it’s alright!

Thank you for requesting - Morganna

[shandit]

My Current Guesses on Legends: Z-A Starters

So with Pokemon Legends: Z-A being announced, since we now know from PLA that Pokemon will gain a special final evolution based on their new environment. I wanted to toss my hat into the ring of predictions for which 3 previous starters we're gonna get.

First off let me say which ones I'm sure we're not gonna get and why.

Gen 6 Starters

As with PLA, Gen 6's Starters will not be part of the starters in PLZA. More than likely, they will be caught in the wild just like the Gen 4 Starters were in PLA.

Gen 1 Starters

I think it's very safe to say the Gen 1 Starters are not going to be picked. But, let me explain my proper reasoning.

With the reintroduction of Mega Evolution, and the likely fact PLZA will have our Protag & Crew be the ones to discover Mega Evolution, it's very likely the Starters we get will gain Mega Forms. This said, It's very unlikely GameFreak will use Pokemon with existing Mega Forms, even if said mons get a regional form. Because of this, I can safely say Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are not going to be on the roster, and same goes for...

Gen 3 Starters

Same thing here, with the fact these guys already have Mega Forms, I find it highly unlikely GF is going to give them both a new regional evo + a new Mega.

PLA Starters

This one's kind of a given. Pokemon isn't going to reuse any of the starters from PLA cause that would just be odd to keep giving starters other regional forms (That said I am sad at the loss of Mega Typhlosion :[ )

Gen 9 Starters

The simple answer to this is just, the Paldea trio are just, too new. While I don't think that entirely rules them out. I do think it makes them less likely to be chosen for the next mainline game.

Now with the obvious removals talked about, let's go down the line of who's left and talk about why or why not they're likely to be chosen.

Chikorita

I didn't originally have anything to say about Chikorita, since I felt their odds were snuffed out by the other grass types here, however upon doing some more research, specifically on Meganium, I learned the daylily (the flower theorized to be what Meganium's flower is based on) was actually brought to Europe around the late 1750's-early 1800's. And with France's Urbanization having occured around the mid 1800's (Which is the time period people are guessing PLZA will take place in) There actually is a good chance for Chikorita to be chosen as their plant actually fits with the location and time period! However I cannot think of what type changes would make sense for this, so I do have to dock some points for that.

Overall chances - 6/10

Totodile

Totodile sadly doesn't seem like a great fit for PLZA. It is essentially just what it is, a Crocodile. And, a quick google search will show you, that besides the barren ice land of Antarctica, Europe is the only continent to not natively have any form of Crocodile or Alligator. GameFreak would have to get very creative here with something of French history or folklore to make Feraligator work for this.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Turtwig

Now Turtwig is an interesting one. Not only is there the fact the extinct turtle species Torterra is based was discovered in North-West Europe (Though mostly Germany & Switzerland) but Torterra as a Pokemon has a lot of potential when it comes to regional forms, thanks in part to the tree on it's back. France's national tree is the Yew, specifically the European or Common Yew, it's an evergreen tree that sprouts red berries (these berries are also very poisonous, meaning we could get a change of typing here to Grass Poison). I could see a Kalosian Torterra having an Ancient Yew tree on their back sporting a great harvest of berries. But, potential put aside, I don't see Turtwig being here simply cause there's another Gen 4 starter that fits the bill of this game much, much more than them.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Chimchar

Chimchar is one I just can't vouch for out of the few fire types we have here. Their Sun Wukong relevance is way to impactful on who the mon is, and Sun Wukong, while being from a story of "Journey to the West" only went to India, and never actually went to the actual west of the world. I also once again have to toss them to the side because of the face there is one more Gen 4 Starter that only makes sense to be in this game, and it's not them.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Piplup

THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE IS A GUARANTEED PICK.

Piplup is absolutely going to be the Water Starter of PLZA, you cannot change my mind about this, and for those of you not in the know, I have one name that will explain why.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Empoleon, as obvious as their name is, is in fact based on the Ex-emperor of France, General Napoleon Bonaparte. And, if we go back to the prediction of PLZA taking place in the mid 1800's... Guess what historical events seemed to also take place in the mid 1800's. Oh you know, just THE NAPOLEONIC WARS!

Piplup is my only and 100% has to be there guess, it would be a crime if they were not the chosen starter for this game. I legit would actually be angry if GameFreak missed this opportunity. As for potential typings... Water-Dark "could" make sense since Dark Type is just Evil type in Japan, and Napoleon is an evil dude in history. But I think Water-Fighting is much more likely, with Empleon probably going to take on much less of an Emperor Penguin look, and more of General Bonaparte, give him the Hat GameFreak, it would look funny.

Overall Chances - 10/10

Snivy

Snivy is also pretty much a guaranteed pick, and this is just from the simple fact of Serperior. Who is (supposedly) based on King Louis XVI of France & other European aristocrats, and that the fleur-de-lis, aka the French insignia used by many Noble families is visible in their design... Honestly, along with Piplup I would be flat out shocked if Snivy was not the grass starter for PLZA, like I would be baffled at how much of a lost chance that would be. As for potential regional typing, I could see it being Grass Ghost to represent the death of the French Monarchy... But that's it for my brain lmao

Overall Chances - 10/10

Tepig

Tepig is an odd one. On one hand, Snivy being basically guaranteed makes me obviously think another Gen 5 pick isn't going to make it into this group, but on the other hand...

Nah, I got nothing. Tepig is based way too much Chinese Culture and the tale of Zhang Fei to really fit into French culture. Just like Chimchar's inspiration from Journey to The West, it would feel wrong to change Tepig for the exact same reasons.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Litten

This one was more of a wildcard pick here for me, simply cause none of the fire types left had any real connections to France like Water and Grass had, I just found the idea of a regional form for Incineroar to be interesting. Though I had no idea how they would change a professional wrestler into something more fitting for early 1800's France... THAT IS UNTIL I DID SOME RESEARCH BABY!

So French Wrestling is actually really interesting, while it started in the 1830's, their style of wrestling, titled Graeco-Roman, was invented by a soldier FROM THE NAPOLEONIC WARS! Not only that, but it's even named "Classic Wrestling" meaning there actually is a good chance for Incineroar to be based on this style of wrestling for their Regional form! What better thing for the Wrestler Starter to use what is to many people the first style of wrestling that was used in the First ever Olympics! As for typing, Fire Normal could make some sense... I just really don't want it to be Fire Fighting, I think a lot of people would be disappointed if it somehow got the infamous Fire Starter typing.

Overall Chances - 9/10

Popplio

What can I even say about Popplio? I mean I guess maybe the fact Sirens originate from Europen folklore? But even then it's mostly Greek origins for that. There's nothing really tying Popplio in to fit the bill here, they're outclassed by a certain penguin of french origins.

Overall Chances - 2/10

Grookey

I think the Galar Starters are going to be the hardest to even justify, really the only thing any of them have going for them is the fact they come from Galar, which is based on Great Britain, a country that was France's rival in the war to own the world.

However none of that has anything to do with Grookey, the drummer monkey really doesn't have anything to offer! Rillaboom could maybe play a different instrument, but I don't think going from a pair of drum sticks to a bugle is probably gonna work out well. Perhaps though I'm just not putting my mind into it well enough.

Overall Chances - 3/10

Scorbunny

Again, I've got nothing. Realistically I guess you could make a pun here and have Cinderace being a French foot soldier. Though French hares are a common animal, and rabbits in of themselves are abundant all across Europe. I'm just personally wondering what exactly they could do with the fella that makes them properly unique enough to earn that spot, and right now I just don't see it.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Sobble

Last but not least, We have Sobble. Now surprisingly, I could actually see them being used, Intellion is based on James Bond and 007, and being a spy, well French spies obviously existed, there's also the fact a spy can also be an assassin if need be. Water Poison Intellion that shoot poisoned bolts of water from fingertips, yeah that could work.

Issue here though you have to put Sobble up against the other water types here, and well... Piplup.

Overall Chances - 3/10

And that's it! So TL:DR for anyone not reading here are the rankings most likely to least likely by types

Grass :

1 Snivy

2 Chikorita

3 Turtwig

4 Grookey

Water

1 Piplup

2 Sobble

3 Popplio

4 Totodile

& Fire

1 Litten

2 Scorbunny

3 Tepig & Chimchar

Meaning the most likely Starters for PLZA are going to be

Snivy, Litten, and Piplup.

[psychic-refugee]

Post cr to @percycloud

I’m doing a separate post to respond to @kumiho20 because there is a character limit in replies of posts and brevity is not my forte. lol

I also think this is an important point that should get as many eyes on it as possible.

The short answer to this is: I don’t know. Obviously, I don’t work for Netflix nor am I privy to anything relating to PHW’s professional life other than what everyone else sees on social media. For me, even less so because I’m only on Tumblr. I am reliant on others to post things he posts from IG.

Given that, I think the answer, the true answer for the public, is that no one knows for sure.

Presuming these pics were from Instagram or Twitter, I think people need to realize the difference between when a picture was taken vs when a picture was posted.

In this instance, we only know when it was posted. Given the length of his hair and weather wise from what they’re wearing, the picture could have been taken any time within the last several weeks. From a quick google search, IG does have a queuing feature. It’s possible that he took this pic weeks ago and is only now posting it.

As a side note, it is not advisable to post in real time when you will be going on vacation/extended stay from your house. Some celebrities have learned the hard way of letting the public know when they won’t be home only allows robbers to plan to steal from you.

At bottom, I think people need to really get it through their heads that social media isn’t real. It’s curated with purpose. People post what they want you to see.

This is where people really need to use critical thinking skills and not just knee jerk react to things posted and take everything on social media at face value.

This is not to say he is definitely in the second season, again I do not know. I will not, however, make presumptions based on social media posts or the lack thereof.

Given the harassment, I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued to lay low. He also has a film festival to think of. I think if there was proof either way of his filming for Wednesday, it would overshadow the premier of WSSF.

It could also be that he was let go from the series and is trying to enjoy time with friends rather than sulk or brood in the unfairness of the decision.

Either way, I’m going to respect his decision to not confirm either way. He and Netflix are doing things this way for a reason, and in the end I hope PHW is protecting his peace above all else.

[krytus]

quinn what happened to the hot king

short answer: he died

long answer:

it is august of 2018 — no actually. our story begins in september of 2017. voltron: legendary defender is released by netflix to widespread acclaim. a community forms on tumblr, and then immediately shoots itself in the foot face and ass as horny people move to make suggestive content of this preteen space lion show. the community not only splits, but implodes and descends into rabid frenzy. in the year that follows, and as the quality of the source content declines, death threats and callouts and blacklists become not only ordinary, but daily. but, as einstein or some other guy said, matter and energy cannot be destroyed and this rabid energy of hundreds of annoying gay teenagers must be redirected — somewhere close, and quick.

enter me. one of them. not doing great in college. yes, academically i was excelling but socially isolated. lonely. i needed some distraction. netflix releases a teaser for an upcoming animated show. the look of it — dramatic set pieces, colorful magic use, armored knights — piques my interest. i haven't had any good medieval content since kalots's release in 2017. the teaser is short, provides only a taste of whats to come in the approaching season. some words, some characters.

one character specifically grabs my interest: the king. i look online, searching for a name to the beautiful face. i find none. not quite discouraged, but rather engaged, i decide he will be my favorite. the other characters are children, and this man is beautiful. i cannot resist the allure. i find like minded individuals. we are all love the unnamed dragon prince king. and this is where i must remind you of the reformed voltron gays. we'd been slighted. we'd been hurt. netflix cartoon had already broken our minds spirits and sanity once, but this was a different netflix cartoon, different animation studio, different creative team. in fact, it was the child show of the men who created avatar: the last airbender, which i had not watched, but which i know was beloved. i had faith. i had trust! surely, this unnamed king would be given grace and dimension! surely, they would not waste such a great design with shallow writing and a cold hard future in the fridge! <- this is what we in show business call foreshadowing.

days pass without a name for the king. not unexpected, netflix puts out only minimal effort in promoting a series. its usually up to whoever created it to hype it up. in this case, the offender is wonderstorm, who quickly realizes there is a large, jilted audience in their target demographic (teens and teens adjacent) itching for a new series to latch onto, like eels being given a pizza. they get to work, setting up both a twitter and tumblr account. here is their best work, and arguably the peak of the entirety of the dragon prince experience: the hype harvested by the dragonprinceofficial account before the release of the show.

see, they'd done their homework, learned from the blunder misstep and nuclear detonation of voltron's more than lacking, downright insulting pr team. dpo baited. dpo waited. they released bits and pieces. hints and riddles. they were tuned into the biggest memes of the moment. they capitalized. and i was not immune. at the time, it was fun. thats the first tragedy, i think. the pre-show era was actually fun, while the show itself became such a slog, a heavy weight on the experience when it should have been the reward it was promised to be. but, im getting ahead of myself. show release is still a few paragraphs out. we finally get a name for the face: king harrow. a frantic google search for the etymology of the word harrow leaves us worrying for this guy. the king, the father, associated with such a negative connotation.

nonetheless, we stan. edits and art and even some fics — mind you, we still only have the name and a brief teaser, nothing in the way of actual characterization — sprout. hype builds. the first episode is screened at a convention and i turned into fucking sherlock holmes finding posts and tidbits about it. about my beloved harrow. i am able to sleuth. the man has promise — a king who made a mistake so grave it'll send him to his. in this day and age we'd call him doomed by the narrative. its wonderful. im latched and hooked and pack bonded. and in this looking around, i find something else that's interesting: a character by the name of viren. someone we haven't seen, but who has an important dynamic with the king. im 👁👁 because the only thing better than a good character is a pair of them.

anticipation continues to build. the delirium only deepens. news about the show is promising, engagement with dpo is rewarding. golden age. the good old days. the official trailer comes out, and, to put it biblically, i go batshit. here, finally, more harrow. some viren! drama! call me a tick, call me a feral cat shown kindness because babey i form some unhealthy unbreakable unshakable bonds. i turn into wonderstorm's bitch. "the king is in danger" some promo material warns, but do i miss the red flags? baby, i miss the entire red dawn. my faith is will be rewarded. there is no doubt in my mind: harrow will be fine. he's a good father, great man. the power of love or friendship or some other adolescent bullshit will save him.

i have hope.

and then, right on time at 12:00am PST, Friday, September 9th, 2018, the series is released.

google, look up synonyms for disappointment. no, that's not fair. disappointment is too mild a term, too mild a feeling for the experience. it was brutal, gutting, a crucible of fire and blood that only made me worse. i stayed up until 4am, swallowing as much of the show as i could stomach. i didn't even finish that night. i could have, but i was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation and, much worse, the pain and embarrassment of being so completely and utterly wrong.

in the nine episodes of wonderstorm's the dragon prince season one, harrow is in three of them. technically, his lifeless corpse is in the fourth, but exists only to be desecrated and disrespected by his white friend.

harrow is a frustrating character — given the illusion of depth, but given little to do with it. he's more plot device than person, here to die to kick off the story, to launch character arcs, to be the big sad tragedy that everyone brings up every other episode. he becomes an abstraction, his death used as motive and purpose. he dies to showcase that this isnt your dad's animated series! suck our dick nickolodeon! see we have depth!

but, despite this, his death feels temporary. there is ambiguity, shadows, a fade to black that leaves us with a wink and promise. he dies, but we're told he dies, never shown final moments, never confirming it for ourselves. like yesterday's leftovers, he's shoved in the fridge.

to give a name to the tactic, i'd call it shrodinger's representation. its the writers putting a foot in two doors. we didnt kill the kind black father, they say, because he isn't dead! but at the same time, frustratingly, we're told there isnt a way to bring the dead back to life. viren rushes to cremate the body, and you think ah there is more afoot but there is nothing afoot. there is no mystery to solve. in the same breath that they ask us to look more into harrow's death, they also say, without question, that he is dead. he has to be dead for the story to work sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ nevermind that several, MOST other characters cheat death. the writers ask, beg, and whine for you to pay no mind to these future instances. harrow is dead.

harrow dies less than sixty minutes into the saga, and my interest in the show hould have been taken out into a patch of quiet woods and killed as well, but it isnt. having nothing else do to, i engage in behavior that can only be described as Bitchless. which nets me two thousand followers and a callout post but hey. i have my fun in the month after the show is released. making gifs making theories getting into scraps in the tag. its a different kind of experience than before. i may have lost the rosy film, the romantic lens with which i viewed the show before it was released, but nothings so broken it cant be fixed. tdp would get another season, there was a plan, there was the chirpening theory, there was angst to write. viren was a weak, confusing character, but i could fix him. i could take out the interesting bits, polish them until they shined.

i was promised everything, and given nothing, but that didnt stop me. because im a dumbass.

months pass. s2 looms as a threat. i try to move onto other things but its only a few, short months before the new season is released. i go in knowing harrow is dead, but, unfortunately i also go in knowing there will be flashbacks with him.

even worse: flashbacks with him and his wife.

queen sarai. i must at this point remind you i am a lesbian so you see the kind of strain i was under. trapped between a beautiful man and his epic wife. i never stood a chance. and she was [unintelligible gibberish]. another of tdp's weak characters with some interesting attributes. her relationship with her husband was at points stupid, but they loved each other and Did I Mention I Was Lonely. throw viren into the mix and baby. unhealthy coping mechanisms thy name is quinn daggerons. it was at this point i divorced canon for the most part. i took these three characters, all the characterization that tickled my brain, and just went hog wild with aus. second golden age. sure, sarai was dead, harrow was dead, and viren was [unintelligible gibberish, sounds of violence] but that didnt matter. here on tumblr dot hell they were alive and well and i wrote a 20,000 word, four part au where they were the main characters of the series. next level brainrot. multidimensional brainrot, even. embarrassing.

anyways.

by the time season two's ending credits rolled, i had given up on the show. another season or four was something that was going to happen, but not happen to me. and mix in some Controversy: a fun little case of bury your gays, some elements that felt racially insensitive, white men showrunners behaving like white men and i was ✌️ checked out. i would keep these characters, thank you very much, but i would not say anything nice to the people who made them.

s3 unfortunately, eventually came out. more of the same. viren was.... doing Something. what? i didnt care. harrow was still dead. someone told me there were some flashbacks with him, again, and i was like good on luc roderique getting that netflix money. genuinely hope he has good luck with other projects, he was too good for this show.

but i sat my ass down and watched said flashbacks. they were alright. thanks for giving us harrow depressed about the death of his wife. im gonna hit you with my car aaron ehasz. viren's fun time war crimes happen. it sucks knowing the thing that will eventually get harrow killed wasn't even something he wanted to do. it was something he agreed to only after having his grief for his dead wife exploited by his white friend. i giffed my beloved man one last time. and blurred out viren because it was funny.

so, to answer your question, dear friend. what happened to the hot king? he lived, he served cunt, he died, and then his corpse was dragged around for the rest of the show.

[random-thought-depository]

I am curious what percentage of the population fits Jacopo-Belbo's definition of a functional adult (or, at least, the part of their definition they communicate in that post).

Jacopo-Belbo's declared standard for functional adulthood, in case you don't want to click the link (I'm not reblogging their post or tagging them on this because I judge it likely they'd be annoyed by that):

Re: ongoing first aid kit discourse, if you don’t have the following you’re not a functional adult: in-person Stop The Bleed training (USA, I don’t know about equivalent training in other countries, Google is free, stop asking me), NAR combat application tourniquets, Celox z-fold gauze, TacMed OLAES pressure dressing, NAR chest seals, and an annoying little bag to carry it all around in.

My offhand guess is that most people are not "functional adults" by this standard, so "if you don’t have the following you’re not a functional adult" here is roughly equivalent to "if you're a good person you wouldn't eat meat"; you can't really prove it wrong because of the inherent subjectivity of moral statements, but you can correctly point out that it's detached from the material conditions and normal standards of the society it was made in (and the person who made it probably knows that, and the statement reflects their belief in the superiority of their own standards over the normative ones of their society) and that lots of people who aren't "functional adults" by Jacopo-Belbo's definition are functional in the sense that they're getting by.

I don't actually have much data to back up that guess though, just some observations and inferences from my own experiences. So I decided to take advantage of Tumblr's new poll function to make a little calibration test of my intuitions. Also, that post does seem to have a lot of notes, and I'm curious how much of that is full agreement vs. reblogging to spread around the links and partial agreement but not fully endorsing it, and I think this poll might give me some sense of the probable rough breakdown of that.

I know Tumblr polls can be pretty unrepresentative because of social network effects, but I think this matter is probably going to be pretty orthogonal to the ways people who read my blog are likely to be unrepresentative of the general population.

Of course, one possible biasing factor is the post this is responding to stigmatizes not having this sort of preparation, and my poll question reproduces their framing for brevity. If it helps, a quick Google search says votes in Tumblr polls are anonymous, so you need not worry about being embarrassed, and you are completely free to reject Jacopo-Belbo's moral judgment about what answering "no" would say about you as a person (your thoughts are your own, after all). I'm not particularly interested in having a discussion about the reasonableness of their standards (which is why I haven't given my "take" on that question here), but I will note that at least in the richer and more stable countries nowadays most people will never have to treat a serious wound without assistance from medical professionals and this sort of wound-care training and supplies is one of those things where you'll probably never use it, but it's better to have it and not need it than to encounter a situation where you need it and don't have it. I'll also note that I suspect that post has an element of staking out a maximal position in response to maximal positions in the opposite direction (original discussion is here, here, and here if anyone wants to review it, I confess I have not done so because... well, look at the note count on the first one) and I'm not sure whether it's fully unironically endorsed by its own maker (the last criteria seems a little tongue-in-cheek).

Please note that I do not intend this post as an incitement to send internet hate mail to anyone; if you disagree with one of the participants in the linked threads and want to express your disagreement directly to them that's your right, but, like, I'm not encouraging that and if I wanted to start an argument with someone here I'd have reblogged or @ them. You do have my permission and encouragement to reblog this post to increase the sample size of my poll, though I'd prefer if this didn't get spread around too much.

I might pin this to the top of my Tumblr for a little while, to increase my sample size.

I think I forgot to switch the poll duration from 1 day to 1 week in my previous version of this post and I can't edit the poll once I've posted it, so I deleted and reposted with a 1 week limit. Sorry! However, @aurpiment already responded to my first version of this post, so I preserve their reply here:

Oh that’s my mutual! They were using hyperbolic language in frustration with another post on which there was discourseabout whether it’s reasonable to expect a household to have a first aid kit. Some people on that post thought first aid in general was unnecessary. I think you’re rather focused on the functional adult terminology. The spirit of their post is “of course you should know basic first aid, are you kidding me? It saves lives. It’s embarrassing to say first aid isn’t important. Go learn first aid for serious physical trauma.”

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

First, rfuah shleimah on your surgery! I had a very similar one and can empathize... praying for a quick and complete recovery for you! Second, I realize that this is a random and personal question, so feel free not to answer ofc, but I was wondering if you knew of any good resources to learn more about teaching in frum schools? For context, I'm a BT who got a little stuck in my jewish journey during the pandemic. I'm a licensed math teacher & taught public school, but want a job that can align better with the Jewish calendar and my values. I'm really considering looking for secular studies or special ed teaching jobs in Jewish schools on the recommendation of some Chabad friends, but am not sure where to start as a young single woman and a BT. I also assume it differs greatly by community.

I guess this is all to say... what are your thoughts on working in vs outside the community as a BT? Is teaching (e.g. math or special ed) at a girls' school a viable career for women, and do you know of any info or resources on how to get started? Sorry, I really did google all of this and asked my irl Chabad friends, but they weren't sure and frum communities are so word-of-mouth that i couldn't find much online. Moving to a more frum neighborhood and getting a jewishly-accommodating job is such a chicken and egg situation too... anyway sorry for the lengthy ask and feel free to respond late or not at all! Most of all, I wish you a quick and easy recovery 💙

Sincerely,

A long-time follower

Amen, thank you!

I'll be honest, I'm not in the education world and I don't really know much about careers in the Jewish education world, so not sure how helpful I can be here. There are plenty of young single women working in frum education, and with a degree in such, you're probably better qualified than most of them. In general there is a teacher shortage so I don't think you'd probably have trouble getting hired somewhere.

As far as whether it's a viable career that's going to depend on you somewhat. It's definitely not a career to make bank in, but if you've already been in the teaching world I assume you know that and aren't in it mostly for the money. Sometimes employees of frum schools get tuition discounts, and of course if you work school hours you'll be available outside of school hours and during school breaks for your future kids, which isn't relevant to you now but could be very helpful longterm (given how expensive tuition can be and how many days off frum schools tend to give).

If you for whatever reason aren't interested in pursuing teaching at this point (since you refer to your public school teaching career in the past tense), but still want a job with a Jewishly-aligned work calendar, looking at careers in the Jewish nonprofit world or frum-owned for-profit businesses could also be an option, though obviously your prospects in those categories will be much more expansive in a place with a large frum population than in a smaller community.

I haven't worked outside of the frum world since I graduated college in 2013, which should probably tell you that I do personally prefer the advantages of working in the community. At this point it would be difficult for me to go back to being in a position where I had to use all my vacation days for the chagim instead of for actual vacation (although every job search I have applied for positions outside the frum world nevertheless).

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Lee Soo Man (SM) recently stated that he feels K-pop can achieve what religion has failed to achieve. Do you agree or disagree? Is this a dangerous statement to make, or unsurprising given K-pop's accoutrements? Is a secular, pop-culture-based religion such a bad idea?

Thinking of how to possibly give an answer to this, I was reminded of a famous Malraux quote in which he said "The 21st century will be religious, or it will not be at all." It could have been a good introduction for our discussion, except Malraux never said nor wrote that statement. Bear with me through this short explanation before I actually get to the words of another great (!), that is, Lee Soo Man.

I decided to do a quick google search in order to familiarize myself again with the various interpretations of the supposed quote because I wanted to be sure if it would make sense in using it in my response. I was surprised to find out that it has been made up somehow, a combination of other statements. To think the quote was also used in my high school history book and how fascinated I was at that time (or mostly confused, I wasn't really sure what it meant). How easy it is for the wrong information to be spread and become widely accepted. And I was nearly the point of contributing to that myself! It appears that the quote is actually a one sentence summary of some ideas Malraux indeed had about religion and how it will change in the 21st century. An actual quote sounds like this:

"The central problem of the end of the century will be the religious problem - in a form as different from that which we know, as Christianity was from the ancient religions. "

I will link the article which explains the common misconception and everyone is free to explore and read more about Malraux, The Human Condition and other philosophical themes related to humanity and religion.

In this particular case, I will take the freedom of coming up with an argument based on the actual quote, with the risk of maybe grossly misunderstanding it. But, as much as I've wrote a few paragraphs already on something unrelated, this is merely a BTS/K-Pop tumblr blog, so please be understanding with me.

So, the question is, is the 21st century religious? It is, it just changed its gods. Just as politeism was replaced by Christianity in some parts of the world and then Christianity losts its importance that it once had several centuries later, we are now facing a world in which I might suspect, we found our gods among us. Of course these gods are on some higher level, but they're not quintesentially different from the rest of us. They may remain gods forever, or easily stripped of that nature in almost an instant. Becoming a god is possible and the concept is sold as being attainable for everyone who wants it and works hard enough for it. I'd say even Warhol predicted what Malraux said in a way, with his ideas on everyone's 15 minutes of fame. We are living individualistic times in which we are told that we are important and special. Except we also love to worship others who are somehow a bit more important and special. We each have this need to believe in something, someone. For some it's Jesus Christ, while for others is Britney. We need them because they inspire, they bring comfort, they are doing things and are able to reach masses of people in a way that regular folks cannot.

And finally, Lee Soo Man is right, but also wrong. The idols he helped create and the culture of idols are some equivalent of gods that are worshipped, but they did not replace religion. They are religion. I don't think religion has ever failed. Some forms of religion may have failed or have been replaced, but the concept itself is ever present. One could say they're an atheist and they don't believe in a Christ or Buddha, but what about the shrine in their room containing albums, posters, photocards, merchandise? Listening and watching regularly to what the idols say and do? Preaching and praising them to the masses on social media? That's a form of religious worship. And it's not surprising because idols are meant to be worshipped. For their skills, talent, personality, beauty. It's all we talk about everyday. And some are religious extremists while others see it as something more casual, situating idols in a row with liking actors, writers, sportsmen, thinkers, gurus, youtubers, their own self.

[glassprism]

Question about Takarazuka productions: is this reason they've only put on Phantom and not POTO related to a) licensing costs for POTO and b) Shiki Theatre having that established history of POTO production and Takarazuka doing POTO would be a competitive/marketing issue? Would Shiki putting on their final POTO show in 2023 make the odds of a Takarazuka POTO more likely?

So full disclosure, I really don't know a lot about Takarazuka beyond a quick Google search and what people on the Internet have told me. However, while competition and licensing costs might be part of the answer, I don't think it's the whole answer. On the competition end, while there is the possibility they don't want to complete with Shiki, that hasn't stopped them with shows like Elisabeth, where they've had the Toho and Takarazuka productions both around for years, even sharing actors. And it didn't stop another company from putting on their own production of Yeston and Kopit's Phantom (the version directed by Yu Shirota). Now these might be different cases, this might be because Takarazuka has different relationships with these other companies, but still, they are counterpoints to the argument that fear of competition is the reason.

I also don't think licensing costs would be a problem, given Takarazuka's history (its over 100 years old), its prestige (it has a seriously competitive membership) and its tendency to put on very lavish shows, which they almost always professionally film and release, that often outdo the original production its adapting from. I suppose that doesn't mean that they can afford it, but again, it doesn't seem like money is the key reason here, either.

Without knowing more about Takarazuka, I can't say for certain, but at least part of me thinks that licensing is a reason, but not because of cost; it's because Takarazuka is an all-female troupe that will make changes (sometimes very heavy changes) to their shows, often to more heavily feature the otokoyaku (women who play male roles) or to make the tone more appropriate for the kinds of shows Takarazuka is known for ("pure, proper, beautiful"), and the higher-ups in charge of ALW's Phantom are very averse to that. Changes to the blocking and design, sure, but the music, lyrics, and story are basically set.

So you know, I can see how shows like Yeston and Kopit's Phantom, which is much lesser known and gives the Phantom a lot of stage time, or Elisabeth, which changes its own productions every few years, can do well with Takarazuka, but not ALW's Phantom. Imagine Takarazuka rewriting ALW's Phantom (who has maybe 40 minutes of stage time in a 2 hour show) so he gets a bunch more solos and probably also steals 50% of Christine's lines. Imagine ALW's Phantom ending with an out-of-context chorus line of all the major numbers (actually that would be pretty entertaining, even if it wildly breaks the mood of the final scene). Imagine the Phantom and Christine, or Raoul and Christine, not actually kissing! (In the Takarazuka Revue, the actresses will sort of turn their faces away during kisses because, well, they're not touching each other's lips.) Though on the other hand, imagine how pimped out they'd make the costumes, not to mention all the proshots...

Well, anyway, like I said, I know little about Takarazuka, so this is just my wild guess. I'm sure others know far more and will add their commentary here.

[supervillainny]

Some interview advice

My sister has asked me to help prepare her for a job interview, and I kinda ended up writing a guide to answering common interview questions. Thought some of you might find it useful. XD

Key advice? Write down examples they are likely to ask about, or times you have used the skills outlined in the person spec. It’s not cheating; they are often impressed that you’ve prepared!

Interview questions:

Likely questions include:

Describe a time when you have worked as part of a team

Describe a time when you have worked independently

Tell me about yourself

What can you bring to the company?

Why do you want this job?

Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced at work, and tell me how you dealt with it

How do you prioritise your work?

What’s your greatest weakness?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Do you have any questions for us?

Describe a time when…

Have specific examples of times you have done things, especially working independently, working as part of a team, and liaising with other teams or departments. Focus on the way you personally contributed to the success of this thing. Talk about the skills that you have used in order to create that success.

Independently - pick an example where you had to prioritise a workload, make a decision or deal with an issue/challenge

Team - pick an example where you helped someone else improve what they had done, or facilitated a decision-making process

Liaising - pick an example in which you were able to communicate effectively, establish the other team’s needs, and get everyone what they wanted. 

Tell me about yourself/what can you bring to this company?

Focus on your strengths here, and where possible tie them directly to the role and the person specification that you have been given. Make every hobby a point that you are making. E.g. “I really like to be informed about current events, so I listen to podcasts regularly. I’m a quick learner, so I find this really allows me to find new areas of interest.” It’s an exaggerated example, but that kind of thing, where everything becomes about how your hobbies develop your skills, and how your skills will serve the company. “I really enjoy collecting clothes and when the amount becomes overwhelming I really enjoying selling them on vinted and depop. I’ve managed to develop my skills in photography and communication because of my experience selling, and it’s developed my use of search engine optimisation.” That kinda thing. But, like, subtler. :D 

Why do you want this job?

Be specific here. Use some research. Tell them something they’re doing that you’re excited about, and what you might have to offer within that field. Think about what your place could be in contributing to that. Healthy balance of ‘what the company is doing that I’m interested in’ and ‘here’s what I can offer in that specific area’ here. 

Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced and how you resolved it.

Honestly one of the best pieces of advice I’ve got here is to tell them you’re not afraid to ask for advice, to Google, to watch a YouTube tutorial, to read blogs of people who’ve dealt with this and learn from them. They want to know that you’re not going to be paralysed with indecision. Emphasise the ability to keep calm in a crisis, work under pressure, and provide the best solution in difficult circumstances. It’s entirely possible that they’ll tie this question into the pandemic, so think about how your work has changed and how you’ve handled those changes. 

How do your prioritise your work?

This is one for you to answer, but I would suggest making sure that company policy/current priorities/time pressures are good things to think about. 

What is your greatest weakness?

And we come to the humblebragging. :D The thing is that interviewers know a humble brag when they hear one, so saying something like ‘sometimes I work TOO hard’ is not going to fly. Instead, give them something that you can then talk about how you’ve progressed and put in strategies to deal with it. An example: I mentioned that I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and that can mean I spend too long on things trying to make them perfect. To counter this, I set myself criteria that will be ‘good enough’ and a deadline by which to try to meet this; I can then use any additional available time to add the bells and whistles. Shows you’re reflective, and always working on improving, which are excellent qualities for an employee. 

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Ugh I hate this question. Talk about developing, talk about advancement within the role you have applied for, try to make it specific to the job. 

Do you have any questions for us?

Make sure you have some. I tend to go with ‘how will you develop me within this role’, ‘what’s your employee retention like’, ‘how do you think your employees would describe you’ that kind of thing. Get a sense of them, but also show that you’ve thought about what to ask and prepared for this. :) 

[claraswritings]

All I Want

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader (Andrew Garfield Peter/TASM Peter)

Warning: Bit of angst, no spoilers, not one of my best- might delete.

Notes: I’m not entirely sure if I like this one or not.

***

You’d first become friends when he’d awkwardly asked to sit next to you in a library. You were reading a book but had a notebook open in front of you with jotted down quotes and snippets of what Peter assumed was your brainstorming

“Can I…”

You looked up from your book. “Sure,” you shrugged and whilst going back to your book you held out a bag of sweets

“Want one? Help yourself. You’d be doing me a favour if you ate the green ones though, ever since they’ve swapped from apple to lime they’ve gone down”

Peter smiled “Green happens to be my favourite,”

“I would say you have terrible taste but you’re probably the best person to share a pack with in that case. I’m [Name],”

“Peter Parker” he offered a half wave.

A copy of the Daily Bugle folded under his arm caught your eye.

“You read that crap?” You scrunched your face up “Jameson is the worst,”

Peter raked a hand through his fluffy dark hair “Yeah… he’s…something alright…You’re not a fan?”

“Hell no” you snorted. “Guys a loon,”

“You’re telling me? you ever met him,” Peter shared a wry smile. Jameson was indeed a bit of a loon. He’d on one occasion thrown Peters stack of images out of the window all because he didn’t manage to get a picture of Spider-Man “helping” the getaway driver. Jameson had convinced himself that by focusing on catching the robber with the money rather than the man in the idling truck, Spider-Man was involved with the robber

“God no,” you cackled “I don’t think J Jonah Jameson and I run in the same circles, thank god, you don’t look like the kinda guy who’d read this,” you joked.

You nodded at the research notes he’d also had placed on the table between you.

“You have all those science looking notes, you gotta be smart”

“Im…” he protested quickly “I’ve erm…just got a second job working for him… freelance photography…but it’s extra money, I help my aunt out and…” he trailed off “rents expensive”

“Oh shit I’m sorry” you stated so matter of factly that it took Peter a moment to click you meant “I’m sorry you have to work with that guy” rather than “I’m sorry your boss is insane,”

You’d realised you lived close in the city and you’d been friends ever since…and Peter had liked you as more than a friend since about a week after that.

***

You were soon inseparable, you’d go out for food, for walks, to movies. Hed come over to yours and often fall asleep on your couch and wake up the next morning with a perfectly timed coffee and a blanket over him.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by May that he’d made a new friend. She was grateful he was finally doing something other than work and visit her. You’d picked him up from her place once and May was quick to notice the reaction her nephew had to you. She hadnt seen him like that since his former girlfriend. Given how she’d passed and how Peter seemed to avoid any sign of romance, she was a little surprised.

When he’d returned for dinner she’d invited you in and whilst you were parking, she gently pried to see if there was something more but Peter had just shrugged and told her he didn’t think you liked him that way.

By the end of the evening, she knew the answer. Long before you did.

***

The day you told Peter you were going on a date, he felt an ache in a part of his heart he’d thought was long since numb to any semblance of heartbreak.

His name was Liam Parsons. You’d met in a coffee shop.

The second he’d arrived home, Peter had fired up his laptop. From looking at his google search results, Liam was a once divorced art dealer, 6’2”, blonde hair slicked back with almost an entire tub of hair gel. He seemed to wear almost exclusively Hugo Boss suits and Rolex watches. He had a Porsche, a speedboat and a holiday home in the Cayman Islands.

Peter slammed his laptop screen shut with more force than necessary and took off into the night to patrol the streets. In a rare moment of peace, he found himself swinging over to one of the penthouses Parsons lived in and staring at the shadows moving inside.

It was 11PM and he wondered if you were one of them and shook the thought from his head. The implications of you going home with Liam was not something he wanted to think about.

He wondered what you saw in Liam. You never were impressed by rich, flashy guys so what did this guy have? Peter couldn’t decide what would be worse. Liam being a good guy as well as having everything or if you were just dating him for the fun lifestyle that he could never ever offer you.

He didn’t care. Liam could keep the nice car and the fancy penthouse, the seven figure salary and the beachside villa. All Peter wanted was you.

***

That night Peter watched you from a rooftop, Liam was beside you, one arm casually over your shoulder as he chatted to another man in a suit with a too tight shirt.

You looked beautiful in that black dress. You always looked beautiful. Peter couldn’t remember a time when you weren’t the most lovely person he’d ever seen. It would have been before he met you.

Even from a distance he could picture the favourite red lipstick you’d have worn, from how often he’d looked at your lips, he could pick the shade out of a million. He knew the way you’d have curled your hair carefully but you could never get that one bit right first time, so many times he’d wanted to be the one to reach over and fix it back for you.

You looked cold and uncomfortable and Peter could tell by how you were shifting that your feet were starting to hurt in your heels. He felt a pang of annoyance he knew was unjustified. Liam was still talking away, whilst you rubbed your arm, awkwardly.

If he was your boyfriend, he’d offer you his jacket and carry you home. Unable to watch anymore, he leapt off, swinging into the night.

He loved you for your details. The way you pinched your ear lobe when you were nervous, the way you had five different smiles depending on your mood or who you were with, the way you were so unashamedly honest, the way you once told him you hated an iconic movie for ending on a cliffhanger in such a casual way, the way you went out of your way to help anyone who needed it without having to be asked.

Watching you with another person was like the worst gut punched he’d ever felt.

***

He took to watching Liam from a distance. Sometimes you were there, sometimes he was just making sure Liam wasn’t some sort of criminal. A part of Peter wished he was. The jealousy was unbearable sometimes. How cruel was fate to give him his perfect match in every way but he couldn’t.

Why didn’t he kiss you on the evening when you’d sat together watching the sun come up after a night of watching lame movies. Why didn’t he pull you in closer when you’d fallen asleep on his shoulder when you’d had a picnic in Central Park. Why didn’t he tell you how stupidly, insanely, irrevocably in love with you he was when you’d sat on his fire escape with him for three hours because he’d couldn’t sleep. Why didn’t he thank you for being the best thing in his life when you comforted him over the phone when he spent nights reliving the worst moments of his life.

***

It carried on like this, a week, maybe two passed, and you’d visited his as normal and the whole way through the time you spent together, Peter could barely concentrate. Each minute ticking closer to when you’d leave felt like a step closer and closer to losing you.

He feared when you’d step out the door, he’d never get a chance to say what he needed to.

So he acted on instinct to stop you going.

“Don’t go”

Flicking your eyes from your hand now webbed to the door to Peter and back, Your expression was one of pure shock, Peter could almost see the cogs turning, processing every clue he’d ever dropped.

“It’s you,”

Peter nodded once. “Yeah, it’s me,”

“What the FUCK,” then you tacked on “I don’t know how I didn’t notice”

“I need to tell you something…I forgot…” he hesitated. He could hear the cars below and the neighbours and the blood rush in his ears. “Actually I remembered what I had to say,”

And with a surge of confidence he kissed you, one hand in your hair. “I love you”.

It was short but passionate and said everything he could ever need to say and when he pulled back, you were a little breathless

“So… any thoughts… can you say something… anything about any of this?”

“You’re Spider-Man? And you’re in love with me?”

“Yes” Peter “to both. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I didn’t want you to get hurt but…” his eyes searched for a reaction in your face “Don’t be with Liam, leave him, be with me, I know it’s selfish but I don’t care… I love you, You’re the first person I think about in the morning and the last person I think about at night, All I want is to make sure you’re safe, All I want is you to be happy, I never ever want to spend another day without you as my girlfriend, I’m so so so crazy about you, You’re it for me, I never thought I’d ever love someone again, until I fell in love with you,”

“Pete” you stared at him then started laughing.

“What. What’s happening” he was panicked now. “Shit did I say too much”

“I ended things with Liam. Last week. He was nice…but I ended things because I couldn’t ever see myself in love with him…mostly because I’m in love with someone else,”

“Oh..Oh,” Peter raked a hand down his face “Well I erm, I hope he’s good enough for you or… yknow, I’ll have words” he gestured

“he’s tall, he’s dark haired, total science geek- i love listening to him talk about experimenting even if I don’t understand it, and he reads every single draft poem I send him, he’s my best friend, he helps people, everyone and asks for nothing in return, I never cared about falling for someone or finding love until I realised that was because I was already in love with someone, him”

Peter was staring at you and a smile spread over his face.

“You… you mean me right”

“Of course i mean you, you idiot” you joked

“I love you,” he stressed again “I’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up,” he stepped in close and pressed his forehead to yours.

“I forgive you” you teased “Now can you get my hand off the door? I think we have some making up for lost time to do”

[helloalycia]

my patient’s neighbour [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: whilst caring for a new patient of yours, you definitely didn't expect to fall for her cute neighbour, Wanda Maximoff

warning/s: very minor mentions of injuries and death

author's note: okay so firstly, buckle in, folks, this is gonna be like 6 parts long lol. Also, I google translated all the Russian bits so i apologise if they are incorrect! okay, you may enjoy now :)

part two | part three | part four | part five | part six | part seven | masterlist | wattpad

"38... 38... 38..."

I scanned the doors to the many apartments in the hall, hoping to find the one that belonged to my newest patient – Anna Pivec. As a nurse, I was always given new patients to visit and tend to until they no longer needed it or chose not to have me around. I'd just been assigned a new patient, Anna, and was excited to meet her.

"38!" I said to myself, spotting the door at the end of the hallway. I knocked on before waiting patiently, hoping she wasn't sleeping or anything. It wasn't too early – 10AM – and she knew I was coming, so finger's crossed.

The door opened to reveal a short, old lady with grey hair and a cane in her hand. I smiled kindly, meeting her cloudy gaze.

"You must be the one my granddaughter is paying to look after me because she can't do it herself," the woman spoke before I could introduce myself. Stepping to the side, she motioned with her cane. "Come on in."

My smile dropped at her abruptness. "I, er, yeah, I guess that's me." As I walked in, I said, "My name is Y/N Y/L/N. The nurse from–"

"Yeah, I know where you're from," she cut me off, closing the door and heading further into her apartment. "They sent me a brochure, milaya."

I followed after her, surprised at how quick she was for an old lady with back and heart problems. She was leading me into the open plan living-room and kitchen.

"I'm sorry – milaya? What does that mean?" I asked politely, hoping I didn't come across as rude.

She waved her hand dismissively, mumbling something to herself in what I think was Russian. Her profile did say she was from Sokovia, so maybe that was it.

"Okay, erm, well, as I said," I changed the subject, figuring she wouldn't give me an answer, "I'm Y/N. I'll be here five times a week and basically be doing anything you need me to do. Of course, I only want you to be comfortable in your own home, so if you ever feel anything but, please let me know."

She hummed in acknowledgement before motioning for me to follow her. I set my bag on the kitchen counter before sitting on the couch as she did so on the recliner. She sighed with content as the pain on her back was eased from taking a seat.

"Tell me about yourself," she said gently.

I smiled with amusement. "That's usually what I ask my patients."

"Do forgive me, milaya," she said, and I made a mental note to bring a Russian-English dictionary with me tomorrow, "but you're a stranger in my home. I'd prefer to know about you before I let you take care of me."

I nodded, slightly impressed. Her profile didn't do her justice. Usually, the elderly I cared for were quick to allow me to do my thing, never really questioning who I was or what my intentions were. I was starting to get the impression that Anna was a strong, stubborn woman in a little old lady's body – definitely not one to mess around with.

"Okay, well, I'm a nurse," I began with the basics, and from there, went into a long ramble about my job, how I got into it, what it consisted of...

Anna was full of questions, taking the time to get to know me and I her. Once I had told her everything I could think to, she told me about her life. How she lived in Sokovia up until she was thirty-five years old and had to flee with her husband and daughter because of the war. She gushed about the both of them, a twinkle in her eye as she recalled their livelihoods like they were still alive. Her husband had unfortunately passed many years ago due to liver problems – "All that drinking, milaya! Us Sokovians are a force to be reckoned with!" – and her daughter had passed in a car accident not long after.

It was a tragic tale, but she didn't let it bring her down. In fact, she seemed grateful to have lived it and I couldn't help but smile as she shared it with me.

I noticed she would speak short phrases in Russian mid-conversation, without realising, which didn't make it easier for me to understand, but I couldn't bring it in myself to interrupt her to ask what they meant because she said it with such sincerity that I figured it reminded her of her home.

After our conversation, I made her lunch and gave her her medication before watching some TV with her and pretty much talking to her once again. She was quite an interesting woman, different to my usual patients, and I was enjoying our time together. After spending the day there, I wished her a good night before leaving.

When I returned the next morning, I let myself in with the key Anna gave me and called out a good morning.

"In here!" an unfamiliar female voice called out.

I furrowed my brows as I took off my jacket and headed into the living-area. Anna was sat in her recliner as usual, but she had a guest sat on her couch. A young woman, possibly my age, with long dark hair and a friendly smile on her lips was sat comfortably; she had a cup of tea in her hands and her legs pulled up on the couch like she lived there.

The stranger and Anna exchanged words in Russian briefly before the former stood up, about to introduce herself.

"Oh, are you her granddaughter?" I asked, putting two and two together. It was the only explanation I could think of for how comfortable she was and the fact that she was also Sokovian (I assumed, anyway).

The girl laughed, her green eyes sparkling as she shook her head. Putting out her hand, she said, "I'm Wanda Maximoff. Anna's neighbour."

Slightly embarrassed by my mistake, I smiled awkwardly and shook her hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have– I just thought because you were speaking Russian that–"

"It's fine, no harm no foul," she put me at ease quickly, before taking her seat again. "I've lived next door to Anna for about a year now. Sometimes I keep her company on my days off."

I set my bag on the floor before taking a seat on the couch, leaving a gap between Wanda and I.

"That's nice," I said with a smile before looking to Anna. "How are you feeling this morning, Mrs Pivec?"

She sighed, waving her hand dismissively, before saying something to Wanda in Russian who was listening intently. Nodding her head, Wanda looked to me with amusement.

"What did she say?" I asked, quirking a brow.

"She said she told you to stop calling her Mrs Pivec yesterday," Wanda translated, trying not to laugh.

"Just call me Anna, Y/N," Anna added with a nod. "And I'm fine. Just had breakfast with Wanda here."

"Breakfast," I repeated slowly. "How long ago was that? Just gotta make sure you get your meds."

"Shoot, am I doing your job?" Wanda asked, slightly panicked.

"No, no, you're not." I laughed at the way she scrunched her nose. "I mean, it would help if I could have breakfast with Miss– Anna, so I know when she has her medication. But it's all good."

"Are you sure? I can leave if I'm in the way," Wanda said with a frown.

"No need," I reassured her. "If Anna doesn't mind your presence, it's all good. I'm just here to look after her, clean up, make sure she eats, has her meds."

Wanda looked to Anna, who seemed unbothered by her presence.

"She can stay," Anna said with a shrug. "Makes it feel less like I'm a pet."

I opened my mouth to say something, possibly make her feel better, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"Don't mind her," Wanda reassured, giving Anna a knowing look before shooting me an easygoing smile. "She tends to speak her mind exactly as it is. No filter whatsoever. And very stubborn. You may have noticed."

I cracked a smile, feeling better knowing that it wasn't just me who noticed Anna's unique personality traits.

"Hey, that stubbornness and lack of filter is exactly how I beat my husband and his friends in every poker game back home," Anna said with a playful smirk.

Wanda and I chuckled, before the brunette leaned on the couch comfortably and looked to me.

"We finished breakfast, maybe, ten minutes ago? I made us eggs and toast," she answered my question from earlier.

I hummed before getting up with my bag and heading to the kitchen. Setting my bag on the counter, I grabbed my diary and also Anna's medication from its place on the kitchen counter.

"I'll give you your medicine now, Anna," I told her, already grabbing a glass of water for her.

"Thank you, milaya," she called back, and I spun around, immediately going to get my Russian-English dictionary from my bag. "Wait, I know what that is!" I flicked through the pages and scanned it eagerly. "Milaya... milaya... milaya! Okay, it means... sweetie."

"Sweetie," Wanda said at the same time, and I looked up to see her watching me from behind her cup of tea, trying not to laugh again.

"I guess another perk of your presence is being the translator," I said sheepishly, realising just how eager I was a second ago. "Anna likes to speak Russian a lot, which I'm fine with of course, but..." I waved the dictionary in the air.

"It's funny watching tvoye lichiko, milaya," Anna said with that same mischievous smirk on her face.

I looked down to my dictionary, struggling to pinpoint a single word in her sentence that I could search. It was overwhelming, the words going in one ear and out the other.

"She said it's funny watching your little face, sweetie," Wanda translated upon seeing my frozen state.

I relaxed my shoulders. "Thanks." Then I realised what she said. "Hey!"

Anna laughed as Wanda grinned, and I was suddenly glad she was here. I grabbed Anna's meds with a glass of water before giving them to her. After making sure she swallowed them properly, I put the glass to the side and took a seat on the couch again.

"So, you said you visited Anna on your days off?" I asked Wanda, intrigued by why a neighbour would be so interested in another. It wasn't very common in today's day and age.

"She's almost always here," Anna answered before Wanda could speak. I looked to her as she continued with a grateful smile. "Helps me with everything. Groceries, cleaning, my medication."

"So basically me but unpaid," I joked, and Anna laughed.

"Exactly," she agreed, and I looked to Wanda to see her blushing, eyes avoiding mine.

"That's really sweet," I said gently, earning her attention. "You're a really good neighbour, Wanda."

Wanda ran a hand through her hair. "It's nothing. If anything, I enjoy being here. Anna reminds me of Sokovia and my family and, well, home."

"Oh, so you're Sokovian, too?"

She nodded before smiling playfully. "Did the accent not give it away?"

I hid a smile. "I didn't want to assume. I mean, you could've been Czech. Slovakian. Basically anything else."

"Okay, I'll give you that," she gave in, tilting her head to the side, smile widening.

It was then that I learnt her smile was extremely contagious.

Same as yesterday, my plan was to stay the day with Anna, though this time Wanda also kept her company (and me, too). After lunch, I left the two of them to watch some TV as I excused myself to change Anna's bedsheets in her room, ready for bed tonight.

As I was doing so, I heard the door open and glanced over my shoulder to see Wanda entering the room. I gave her a smile before continuing to replace the pillowcase.

"Here, I can help," she offered, and didn't give me chance to decline as she grabbed the pillow on the other side of the bed and began to change its case.

"You sure? You know it's my job, right?" I teased, looking up at her over the bed between us.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm aware. Just thought I'd make it a bit easier for you."

I chuckled. "Well, I appreciate it... how is Anna?"

"Dozed off," Wanda quipped with an expectant nod. "Same time every day. Like clockwork."

"Huh." I thought back to yesterday and how she ended up taking a nap after lunch, too. "Noted. Thanks."

Wanda smiled before putting the pillowcase on the pillow and puffing it with her hands. I did the same, content with its appearance, before moving to the duvet. Wordlessly, Wanda grabbed one end and began to help me put it on, which I appreciated. The duvet was bigger than I was and definitely a two-person job.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I spoke out of the blue as we were putting on the duvet cover.

"Go for it," she said encouragingly, glancing sideways.

"Of course, you don't have to answer, but I thought I'd ask since I'm going to be looking after Anna for a while," I gave a little disclaimer, before saying, "She makes a lot of snide remarks about her granddaughter. Do they not get along?"

Wanda sighed quietly. "Her granddaughter doesn't really visit her here. She rarely calls."

"Her daughter's kid?"

"The only one," Wanda confirmed. "She keeps her distance, ever since her mum – Anna's daughter – passed. She just pays for, well, you."

I frowned. "That's sad."

"Yeah," Wanda agreed, breathing out.

The two of us spread the duvet over the double bed before I looked to her with a small smile.

"At least she has you," I pointed out. "It's nice you give up your free time to spend it with her."

"Like I said, it's good for me, too," she reminded me, returning the smile.

"So what do you do when you're not here keeping her company?" I asked curiously, moving to Anna's bedside to clear it up a little.

Wanda hid her smile behind a look of confusion. "Do you not– don't you recognise me?"

I quirked a brow, pausing my actions. "Am I supposed to?"

She snickered, shaking her head, eyes falling to the bed with mild disbelief. "I mean, I guess not. I'm–" She chuckled, looking to my confused face. "I'm one of the Avengers."

I studied her, her words not quite settling in. But when they did, I realised I actually recognised her and she was one of the Avengers.

"Oh my God!" I blurted, the penny finally dropping. "The one with the weird red energy powers! I mean– not weird but– the magic!"

She stifled laughter, nodding her head. Just like her smile, her laughter was contagious, too.

"Yeah, that's me," she confirmed.

I made a weird motion with my free hand, like I'd seen her do on TV when saving the day. "Does Anna know about your y'know?"

Wanda crossed her arms, raising a brow and watching me with a humoured gaze. "Is that supposed to be my powers?"

I stopped making the motion and felt my neck heating up. "I– yeah."

Laughter spilled from her lips yet again, automatically making me smile. I didn't mind that I'd made a fool of myself all of a sudden.

"Anna knows, yes," Wanda said with a bright smile. "She actually recognised me straight away. Much quicker than you. And she's eighty."

Waving my hand to distract from my flushed cheeks, I said, "Pfft, she probably confused you with someone else and played along when you told her who you were."

"Yeah, I'm sure that was it, ty milyy maneken," she retorted with her piercing gaze.

"No fair, my dictionary is in the other room," I said with a pout, and she only laughed even more.

"Guess you'll never know," she teased with a smirk, making me roll my eyes to distract from the way it made me feel when she stared at me like that.

It was much later on when I learnt that she had called me 'a cute dummy'. And that was the beautiful start to Wanda and I's introduction into each other's lives.

—

From then onwards, about eighty percent of the time I would go to care for Anna, Wanda was present, too and I didn't mind one bit. Not only did she keep Anna company, but she made my job a lot easier whilst keeping me company as well.

I was beginning to look forward to seeing her whenever I would open the door. Whether she was cleaning something up, playing board games with Anna or simply having a tidy up around the apartment, she'd always stop what she was doing and help me with whatever was in my hands as she greeted me at the door. It was adorable. She was adorable.

The few times she wasn't present because of work only made me miss her, the apartment feeling emptier than usual. Even Anna agreed, the two of us making up for the lack of the Sokovian girl's presence by distracting ourselves with other activities.

I was convinced Anna was warming up to me as she freely let me care for her without resistance. Obviously, she wouldn't be Anna if she didn't throw funny remarks my way or speak to me in Russian, knowing I didn't understand her, but it was tolerable. And I was liking her, too; she was easily becoming one of the best patients I cared for. There was just so much personality to her that I couldn't help but smile whenever I spoke to her.

One time, I was helping Anna out at her place when Wanda wasn't present. I was leading her into her bed when I decided now was a better time than ever to ask her about her birthday on Sunday, which I knew was then because of her file.

"So, I'll be seeing you in two days next," I told her as I pulled the duvet over her. "And a little birdie told me it's your birthday then. Eighty-one, Anna! That's amazing!"

She smiled but seemed embarrassed that I knew.

"Tell me what you want and I can make it happen," I said promisingly, smiling down at her.

She waved her hand. "I don't want anything, milaya (sweetie). Your presence is enough."

I chuckled. "As sweet as that is, I know everybody wants something for their birthday. Now please, Anna. What can I do to make the day a bit more special?"

She pondered my question momentarily and I waited for her to speak, hoping it was something doable.

"I would love to have a traditional Sokovian meal," she said reluctantly. "It's been a long time."

I breathed out quietly, patting her hand gently. "I can do that, Anna. Don't you worry."

She smiled genuinely, before shooing me away. "Okay, enough sappiness, ty mozhesh' uyti seychas (you can leave now)."

I laughed, standing up and dusting my pants off. I only knew what that phrase meant because she said it almost every time before my shift ended and I left for the day. I knew she didn't mean it as harshly as it sounded.

"I'm going, I'm going," I said, already heading to the door. "I'll see you Sunday, birthday girl."

She groaned quietly, making me grin, before I double checked everything was okay in the living-area and grabbed my stuff to leave.

As easy of a request that it was, I knew absolutely nothing about cooking a traditional Sokovian meal. But I knew of one person who did and instantly headed to Wanda's apartment next door to see if she was home.

With a quick knock, I waited patiently. I wasn't sure if she was even home since she hadn't visited Anna today and she usually did so if she was. When I was beginning to think she wasn't, I told myself I could Google a recipe and put something together, but then the door opened and revealed a tired-looking Wanda.

"Y/N," she said with surprise, but a friendly smile was on her lips nonetheless.

"Hey, I'm so sorry to disturb you this late, but I wanted to ask– wait, what happened to your face?" I stopped speaking and lost my own smile when I noticed the faint scratches and bruises dusting her skin.

"Oh, it's nothing–" she started, raising her hand, fingers wavering over her head, but I cut her off.

"Shit, Wanda, what happened?" I reached out, taking her hand in mine and studying the cast that was around her wrist. Concerned frown on my lips, I glanced up at her. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine, Y/N," she tried to reassure, but I couldn't help it as my worry got the better of me and I studied the cuts on her cheek. "I just came back from a mission. Minor injuries. Honestly."

I let go of her hand, realising I was still holding it, and nodded slightly. "Right..." Realising she must have been exhausted, I awkwardly stepped back and shook my head with realisation. "Sorry, I should go. I didn't mean to bot–"

"You were saying something," she interrupted, nodding encouragingly. "You wanted to ask me something. What is it?"

I paused, nodding. Admittedly, I was still worried about the bruises on her forehead. I knew she was an Avenger and this was probably the norm for her, but to me, it looked like she'd just got mugged. And the irregularity of that worried me.

"Yeah, I was saying," I finally found my words, trying to ignore the way her tired eyes peered at me hopefully. "It's Anna's birthday on Sunday and she wants to have a traditional Sokovian meal to celebrate. The only problem is, I don't know what that is." Wanda cracked a smile as I continued. "Do you, maybe, have a recipe I could use?"

"Of course," she said before motioning for me to follow her. "Come on in."

I followed after her, closing the door behind me, and stopped at the kitchen counter patiently. As she searched for a notebook in her drawer, I subtly glanced around, taking in the inside of Wanda's apartment. I'd never actually been in it before, but the minimal décor was very her. She didn't have many knickknacks and everything on display served a purpose.

"There's some recipes in here," she said, grabbing my attention. She slid the notebook across the counter and leaned forward with a smile. "Take your pick."

I flicked through it briefly, smiling at the notebook filled with recipes, all in Wanda's neat, cursive handwriting.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, looking up and catching her staring.

She perked up, clearing her throat as she nodded in response before looking the other way. Cute.

"Are you working on Sunday?" I asked with a raised brow, before rolling my eyes playfully. "What am I saying? Of course you're not. Not with that wrist."

She chuckled, still avoiding my eyes. "I'm not."

"Well, why don't you come over for her birthday? You can help me cook her a meal. Or rather, I can help you cook it since I'll probably screw it up."

Finally meeting my eyes, she smiled with amusement. "Are you sure?"

I gave her a knowing look, ignoring the butterflies swirling in my stomach as she held my gaze with her intense dark eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Anna will love to celebrate with you. And..." I pursed my lips, taking a leap of faith and adding, "and I'd love it, too."

Wanda let out a quiet laugh. "You would, would you?"

I straightened up, smile widening. "Yeah, I would."

She tilted her head, studying me with a curious smile. "Well then, I clearly can't say no."

Something stirred in my chest the longer she watched me and I oddly liked it. It was obvious that Wanda was a beautiful girl with a heart of gold, but I guess I hadn't really acknowledged that I may have had feelings for her until now. And I didn't mind one bit.

"Great," I finally found my words, nodding slightly. "I'll see you Sunday."

She mirrored my expression, saying, "See you Sunday," and I knew I couldn't wait until then.

[selkierr]

Heya! So, as mentioned in the tags of my most recent art post, I’ve finally gotten around to watching Ducktales (2017)!

Tonight, I just watched The Golden Spear! (Season 2, Episode 11), and as much as I love Della’s mission to come back home, I’m also HUGELY freaking out over Ducktales finally showing molting!

Google’s Definition:

Molting; (of an animal) shed old feathers, hair, or skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth.

I LOVE it when ducks do duck things!! A quick elaboration — I love it when animators and writers take the time to add basic quirks from real life animals and add it to the animated character. In a way, I believe it makes the character more “real” and it’s honestly so satisfying to see.

Just got out of a lake for a swim? Rapidly shake to get rid of the water sitting on your feathers. Are you super excited to see someone/something? The tail is wagging super fast because you can’t contain it!! When given certain feral aspects, I really think that it makes the character more whole. From humans, we can expect regular, or overexaggerated behaviour. However, if you see a character do a small quirk, like Dolores (From Encanto) walking quietly as to avoid too much noise, then it’s a quirk that adds to their persona. It works for animated ducks just as well!

Some quick Google searching can tell you that ducks molt because they’re shedding old feathers to create new ones, just like how a lizard sheds its old skin to create newer, healthier skin. By molting feathers, it helps to replace damaged feathers that could negatively affect the insulation and water resistance they provide. Plus, newer feathers have brighter colours, which aids in finding new mates.

However, this episode focuses on stress molting. I’ve tried looking around for some information, but it appears I’d have to do some deeper research if I’d want to get into specific causes from the body itself. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do that right now. The way I think of stress molting is like when humans lose their hair because of stress — It’s just a natural reaction to a stressful environment. However, I don’t know the different sciences behind each stress molt, so I’m not sure there’s any connection. It’s just seemingly similar circumstances to me.

Anyways, the point I’ve been building up to here is that while I’m sad that Donald is overly stressed in this episode to the point where he molts, I’m ecstatic that they’re finally including features like these! In my free time (and admittedly some of my not-so-free time), I’ve had a lot of ideas about how molting would work for Disney ducks. So now that I get to actually see evidence of it occurring canonically, it’s really exciting!! I have a ton of questions that I wish I could find out the canonical answers to. For example: Do ducks isolate when they molt, or is it so common that the public is unbothered? Maybe they try to cover up exposed skin? When molting, would there be any factors that could affect the mood of the molting duck? Things like that, plus simpler ones like if a duck is molting, would they keep some of their feathers for sentimental value? Even if I don’t get the answers to these, there’s always headcanons.

It doesn’t stop at molting, though. I also have a soft spot for when the characters make reference to their bodily features, like their tail or their bill, like it’s just everyday talk. That’s because it is for them! They’re anthro ducks!

“I’m freezin’ me tail feathers off!” - Glomgold

This is from Raiders of the Doomsday Vault (Season 2, Episode 13), and I’m crazy about it already. I can’t wait to see what else the upcoming episodes hold in store!

[shotorozu]

Hi! Before anything I wanted to lyk I've read through some of your work and you've easily become one of my favorite writers :) I was wondering if you could do a bit of a comfort post? If not that's totally okay! If so, could it be hcs for Bakugo, Shinso, and maybe Aizawa (but not in like a relationship kinda way for him, like a student opening up to their teacher) telling them about being gender fluid? What would be their reactions? How would they adjust to the name change and using different pronouns? I recently told my bf and he didn't seem too up for it, eventually I told him to use my given name and she/her, kinda bummed lmao. I totally understand if you don't want to write for this, tysm either way! Have a great night/day :) (I'm so sorry this is so lengthy lmaooo)

reader coming out as gender fluid

character(s) : bakugou katsuki, shinsou hitoshi, aizawa shouta (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name, D/N = deadname] gender neutral, quirk not specific

headcanon type : hurt-comfort, fluff (x reader; platonic)

note(s) : first of all, i’m sorry about what happened with your boyfriend, if he cares about you, then he should’ve been supportive. it’s disheartening knowing that you decided to have him address you by your birth name, and by she/her. it should never be that way, especially when you felt comfortable coming out to HIM as gender fluid.

anon, i really hope this post gives you comfort, and if you want to talk— my dms are open!

»»————-　♡　————-««

bakugou katsuki

he wasn’t so sure on why you were acting all skittish all of a sudden, and he just wished you told him what was up

as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, katsuki really hates seeing you this down— and if only he could ‘kill those pesky emotions!!’

after a long day at school, katsuki decided to demand an immediate answer, on WHY you were acting like this

you express your concern, and even though katsuki’s rough words say otherwise— he’s willing to help (as much as he could)

but he wasn’t expecting you to come out as genderfluid

the entire pronoun thing had him confused, and it wasn’t in the “huh?? why would you want that?” type of confusion

it was rather like the “i thought they/them were plural pronouns?” confusion, but don’t be misguided! a quick google search fixed it up, and now he gets it.

with the name thing,, it took him two tries for him to get it right— but he’ll treat you like royalty if he accidentally slips up. he doesn’t mean to disrespect you

out of everyone here— he would be the most confused at first, since he hasn’t had anyone come out to him in like,, ever

katsuki feels so honored to have you feel comfortable enough to come out to him.

everyone is so intimidated by his short-tempered demeanor, to the point that no one has shared such an important, and personal detail to him

he’ll pull you in for a hug, large warm hands rubbing your back— and he’s trying to be gentle, okay?

“you really thought i was gonna say some bullshit about this, huh?” was what he first said to break the silence “i could care less about what you fucking identify with, you’re still you.”

and he means it

if anyone disrespects you, he’s blowing them up into space— enraged that anyone would try to disrespect you.

katsuki’s also very quick to correct someone if they ever deadname you “IT’S Y/N, NOT D/N!”

rip to them

shinsou hitoshi

as soon as he notices that something’s wrong, his eyes will be on you— and only you.

he wishes he had some sort of mind reading quirk— he wants to know what’s on your mind, just so he could help you

hitoshi doesn’t want to be pushy, so he can only wait for you to come to him— but he will leave subtle hints that you could tell him anything that was on your mind.

so that’s when you decide to tell him your worries, and everything— feeling that you’re ready to come out to him as gender fluid

a small genuine smile will grace his face, pulling you into a loose embrace— “thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell me.”

the next thing he does is ask you if you want to go by anything else— just in case you do want to be addressed differently.

you’ll still be his kitty anyway, so it’s not like this change would negatively affect him.

you’ll never catch him slipping up

i’m sure he’s probably familiar with different types of identities— so gender fluidity isn’t a stranger topic to him

so because of this, he adapts pretty easily— cooperating with the new revelations with ease

rip to anyone that has the audacity to deadname or misgender you, it’s not something he takes very lightly similar to bakugou and aizawa

he’ll understand if it’s a innocent mistake, but he still won’t be pleased with the offender— that’s strike one for him

i swear— his glare will make anyone shart their pants in a second. it’s ruthless

hitoshi won’t hesitate on using his quirk on anyone that purposely disrespects you— and for once, he doesn’t care about what others will say about him.

they shouldn’t have disrespected you 🤷‍♀️ just saying

if you wanted to buy clothes that were a lot more gender neutral, he’s perfectly fine with that too!

hitoshi doesn’t care if you strip him of every single penny and dime that was in his wallet for hoodies and sweatpants.

he just wants your happiness to be at it’s highest at all times— because a happy Y/N makes a happy hitoshi <3

aizawa shouta

even though he has to take care and supervise 23 growing teenagers, he still manages to notice if something’s wrong with one of them it’s impressive!

of course— aizawa’s a busy man, and he’s constantly tired. but, it would make him feel a lot better if all of his students were content with themselves

so seeing you down was something he noticed since the moment you came in

it’s not like he could FORCE you to tell him what was wrong, that’s not the approach he’s looking for

and besides, if you told him that everything was fine, then he couldn’t really push it. his concern didn’t really die down though

a few days later, aizawa decides to talk to you again— basically consenting you to come talk to him when the time’s right

but he didn’t see this coming

so that’s when you decide to come out to him first, spilling out your concerns, and the worries that plagued your mind— worried that people wouldn’t accept your new identity as a gender fluid person

now, aizawa has met a lot of people in his life. from different ages, people with different quirks, and of course— different identities

he asks you why you decided to tell him first, and you told him that it’s because you felt comfortable knowing he knew first

“thank you for telling me, Y/N” he thanks you calmly with a comforting hand on your shoulder “i’m proud of you.”

he asks you if you want to go by a different name, and he’ll make sure to start calling you by that name (even though he calls all of his students by their last name)

oh, and he immediately switches pronouns! i know that should be expected but,, it’s so natural wow

of course, he won’t out you to anyone if you’re not ready to come out to the rest

and because of how natural the pronouns switch is, no one notices it when aizawa started addressing you with they/them

but if you’re ready to come out, he’ll be there— silently making sure that everyone accepts you.

okay but he’ll get so defensive if anyone misgenders you or dead names you— his capture tape will start floating, and his eyes will shine red

which is weird because.. who has the guts to dead name/misgender AIZAWA SHOUTA’s student?? anyone that does that in front of him is INSANE

in short, he’s very supportive— he won’t blow it out of proportion, because he knows how uncomfortable that’d feel if he did

but he’s glad to know that you decided to share such a important detail to him— aizawa might be always tired, but he wouldn’t dare to forget such detail

you’re his student after all, he cares about you lots— if you’re content with yourself, then that’d bring him inner peace

»»————-　♡　————-««

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do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[misnomera]

On racial stereotyping of the Haans in TMA...

Right so as someone who is ethnically Chinese I have NO FUCKING clue how I didn’t notice this more distinctly in my initial binge of tma (going too fast and not paying closer attention to character names and descriptions, probably) but the Haan family storyline is, all horror elements aside, pretty fucked up in terms of racial representation re: stereotyping. This got long as hell, but please please please take a moment to read through if you’ve got time for it. thanks.

To start off, the Haans are one of the few characters in tma with an explicitly specified race and ethnicity—Chinese—and pretty much the only explicitly Chinese characters in tma, other than the mostly unimportant librarian (Zhang Xiaoling) from Beijing. But like, Haan isn’t even a properly Chinese surname, at least not in the way that it’s spelled in canon (it should be Han, one a. A quick google search tells me that Haan as a surname has...Dutch origins??).

Of course, that could be chalked up to shoddy anglicization processes within family histories, which certainly isn’t uncommon with immigrant families, so I’m not going to dwell on names too much (although I also find it interesting that John Haan’s name is so specifically and weirdly anglicized that he changed his own surname?? Hun Yung to John Haan is a very big leap of a name change and frankly not very believable. ANYWAY, this is not that important. I don’t expect Jonny, a white Englishman, to come up with perfectly unquestionable non-Cho-Chang-like Chinese names, though it certainly would be nice. Moving on).

What really bothers me about the Haans is how they almost exclusively and explicitly play into negative Chinese immigrant stereotypes. I don’t even feel like I need to say it because it’s like...it’s literally Right There, folks. John Haan (in ep 72) owns and operates a sketchy takeout restaurant. They’re all avatars of the Flesh—and John Haan is Specifically horrific and terrifying because he cooked his wife’s human meat and fed it to his unknowing customers. Does that remind you of any stereotypes which accuse Chinese people of consuming societally unacceptable and ethically questionable things like dog/cat/bat meat (which, if it’s not already crystal fucking clear, we don’t. do that.), which in turn characterize us as horrible unfeeling monsters? John Haan’s characterization feeds (haha, badum tss) directly into this harmful stereotype that have caused very real pain for Chinese people and East Asians in general. 

And Jonny does nothing to address that from within his writing (and not out of it either). And, speaking on a more meta level, Jonny could’ve easily had these flesh avatars be individuals of any race (like, what’s Jared Hopworth’s ethnicity? Do we know? No? Well then). Conversely, he could’ve easily, easily had a Chinese person be an avatar of any other entity. So why did he have to chose specifically the Flesh?

(This is a rhetorical question. You know why. Racial stereotyping and invoking a fear of the other in an attempt to enhance horror, babey~)

On Tom Haan’s side, Jonny seems weirdly intent on having other characters repeatedly comment on his accent (or rather, lack thereof) in relation to his race. Think about how, in ep 30 (killing floor), the fact that Tom Haan had spoken a line to the statement giver in “perfect English” was an emphasized beat in that statement, and a beat that was supposed to be “chilling” and meant to signify to us that something was, quote-unquote, “not right” with Tom Haan. Implicitly, that’s saying that it was unexpected, not “normal”, and in this case even eerie, for someone who looks Chinese to have spoken in fluid, unbroken English. Mind you, the line itself was perfectly scary on its own (“you cannot stop the slaughter by closing the door”), so why did Jonny feel the need to note the accent in which it was spoken in? Why did Jonny HAVE to have that statement giver note, that he initially “wasn’t even sure how much English [Haan] spoke”? 

This happens again in episode 72 with a Chinese man (and again, his ethnicity is Explicitly Noted) who we assume is also Tom Haan. This one is rather ironically funny and kind of painfully self aware, because the statement giver expresses surprise at Haan’s “crisp RP accent” and then immediately “felt bad about making the assumption that he couldn’t speak English,” and subsequently admitted that thought was “low-key racist.” Like, from a writing perspective, this entire passage is roundabout, pointless, and says absolutely nothing helpful to enhance the horror genre experience for listeners (instead it just sounded like some sort of half-assed excuse so Jonny or other listeners could say “look! We’ve addressed the racism!” You didn’t. It just made me vaguely uncomfortable). And again, having other people comment on our accents/lack thereof while assuming we are foreign is a Very Real microaggression that east asians face on the daily. If Jonny needed some filler sentences for pacing he could’ve written about Literally anything else. So why point out, yet again, that the crazy murderous man was foreign and Chinese? 

At this point, you might say, right, but yknow, it was just that the statement givers were kind of racist! It happens! Yeah sure, ok, that’s a passable in-universe explanation for descriptions of Tom Haan (though not John Haan, mind you), but the statement givers are fake made up people, and statement’s still written by Jonny, who absolutely has all the power to write overt discrimination out of his stories. And he does! Think about just how many minor (and major!!) characters are so, so carefully written as completely aracial, and do not have their ethnicity implicated at all in whatever horrors they may or may not be committing. Think about how many lgbtq+ characters have given statements, and have been in statements, without having faced direct forms of discrimination, or portrayed as embodying blatant stereotypes in their stories (though lgbtq+ rep in tma certainly has their own issues that I won’t go into here). Jonny can clearly write characters this way, and he can do it well. So why, why, am I being constantly, repeatedly reminded in-text of the fact that the Haans are East Asian, that they’re from China, that they’re Chinese immigrants, that they’re second-generation British Chinese or whatever the fuck, and that they’re also horrifying conduits for blood, gore, and general fucked-up-ness? It’s absolutely not something that is Needed for the stories to be an effective piece of horror; the only thing it does is perpetuate incredibly harmful and hurtful stereotypes.

And listen, I love tma to bits. It’s taken over my blog. I’ve really loved my interactions with the fandom. And I am consistently blown away by Jonny’s writing and how well he’s able to weave foreshadowing and plot into an incredibly complex collection of stories. But I absolutely Cannot stop thinking about the Haans because it’s just. It’s such a blatant display of racial stereotyping in writing. And I’ve certainly seen a few voices talking about it here and there, and I don’t know if I’m just not looking in the right places, but it certainly feels like something that is just straight up not on the radar for a lot of tma fans. And I’m disappointed about that. 

Just, I don’t know. Take a look at those episodes again and do some of your own thinking about why these characters had to be specifically Chinese (answer: they didn’t.). And in general, PLEASE for the love of god turn a critical eye on character portrayals and descriptions whenever they are assigned specific races/ethnicities (Some examples that come to mind are Jude Perry, Annabelle Cane, and Diego Molina), because similar issues, to an extent, extend beyond the Haans, though I haven’t covered them here. 

You shouldn’t need a POC to do point out these problems for you when they’re so glaringly There. But for those of you who really didn’t know, hope this was informative in some way. I’m tired, man. If some of the only significant Chinese characters you write are violent cannibalistic men with a perverted relationship with meat, just don’t do it. Please don’t do it. 

EDIT: Since the making of this post Jonny has acknowledged and apologized for these portrayals on his twitter and in the Rusty Quill Operations Update, which went up September 2020. A long time coming, but better late than never. This of course doesn’t necessarily negate the harm done by Jonny’s writing, and doesn’t make me much less angry about it, but is appreciated nonetheless. For more on this topic there’s a lot of productive discussions happening in my “#tma crit” tag and in the notes of this post