#then i'm not the one without empathy asshole

[whitesunlars]

someone legitimately came into my ask box and said i don't have empathy because i *checks notes* care about the Israeli people and the rise of antisemitism and have spoken out about those issues

[inkskinned]

it's hard to explain because inevitably you sound like an asshole, but some people are allowed to lose their temper, lose their mind - you're not, though.

when your friend never texts you first and misses your birthday and never makes an effort; you don't mind. you know she's struggling, and you want her to get the help that she deserves. you give her every excuse and every chance.

it shouldn't matter to you so much that people are always coming through for her. you want her to be happy, you love it for her. you love that her community rises up to the occasion. why does it bother you that when she snaps at someone, says horrible mean things - but two hours later, everyone is comforting her while she's crying. you know she's stressed. why do you kind of hate that she is welcomed back to her job, that her parents are endlessly wiring her money.

and you're - fuck, are you envious?

but when you don't text back, someone sits you down and says i know you're struggling, but you're being a bad friend. when you're too numb to show up for work, your boss just shakes his head. i'm sorry. i can't approve more time off. we have the company to protect. when you finally snap back at your family for making that shitty comment again, you're forced to apologize for being too sensitive.

god forbid you need something. people aren't used to you being the one asking. you're the giver like the book you hated; your pages all open and rumpled. you always have the answer, always have the solution. you are reliable, trustworthy. people like you don't struggle with things. you're supposed to be lifted by tragedy. you are given a maximum of 24 hours to grieve, and then you need to just behave at the party.

you can't read the giving tree without feeling like crying, and even that feels like it's too much emotion. like, nobody looks at you and assumes you're the tree; they'd name five other people before even considering you in the running. you're just there, never-asking.

your friend gets to say mean shit, that's just her personality. when you make a snide comment, you're just being petty. people laugh when your friend stands you up for another event; they say she's just like that. you were 5 minutes late to a meeting with friends and they were mad about it for the rest of the evening. your friend sets everything on fire; everyone applauds her through the ashes. you so much as light a candle: and suddenly now you're an arsonist.

you don't want your friend to suffer, though. the thing is that you just wish that the empathy and kindness your friend gets - you wish you had that option, that everyone offered you grace and money and a gentle reception.

the other day you were fighting down the bad urge; the void call, the end note. you tried-anyway. you went to the family event, tried laughing at the right moments. nodded and smiled and all of it. one of your siblings threw a fit, but she's allowed to, so everyone just rolled their eyes about it. you took 3 whole minutes to stand outside when you got overwhelmed. you literally set a timer about it.

in the morning you woke up to a text from your parents: you were a complete disgrace last night. idk what your attitude problem is, but you really need to fix it.

[lisenberry]

141 when they find out reader has been crying:

(an earlier brain worm had me expanding this to all of them)

Price: He pulls you into his office and shuts the door. It barely closes before he turns on you, crossing his arms and looking down with his chin tucked against his chest. He rocks back on his heels once, twice, while he waits for you to spill.

You can only blink up at him, willing your tears not to fall while he's watching you so intently.

"What is it, sir?" You finally chance the use of your voice, but instantly regret it. Your miserable croak isn't hiding anything.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me why you've been crying." His tone is gruff, like sandpaper over rock salt, but his eyes soften imploringly.

For a minute, you want to tell him everything, but instead you just give in and cry harder. For a moment, he looks disappointed, but he simply pats you awkwardly on your shoulder and grabs a box of tissues from his desk drawer.

He motions to the sofa in the corner where you sob quietly for a half hour more while he finishes his paperwork. He doesn't know what's going on, but he's not going to let you do it alone.

Ghost: It doesn't matter where you hide, he finds you. The kitchen? He's in and out three times. Tea, a spoon for his tea, another tea. He crowds your space each time, no matter where you stand. Forcing you in circles as you try to keep your face averted.

For a silent man, he manages to make as much noise as possible to distract you to the point of almost asking him, "What the fuck, Simon?"

You finally move to a bathroom stall, but before long you hear the door open and two large boots stop just beyond the door. You know it's him by the size alone.

You hold your breath for a beat, and then two, so long that you wonder who is going to give in first. You know you've got about 3 minutes before you pass out. But just as you're about to stand up and face him, he turns and leaves without a word.

Exactly ten minutes later, he finds you in the rec room, dragging someone by the neck. It's not until Ghost kicks the man's knees out from under him, forcing him to kneel in front of you that you realize who it is. Some asshole from the other team who was giving you a hard time in training this morning.

With Ghost's knee pressed painfully between his shoulder blades, he grits out, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! It won't happen again!"

He's not the reason you're crying, but watching his face turn ten shades of purple does make you feel a little better.

Gaz: He keeps his distance and hates to see people cry because it always makes him cry, too. He doesn't know why. Movies, talk shows, commercials, they just get him right in the feels.

But every time you look up, his golden eyes meet yours, glistening with empathy. You simply shake your head at him and go about your day, until eventually, you get a text.

You mad at me?

-No, I'm fine.

You sure?

-Yep.

Fucking xxxx again, innit?

Of course he'd be the one to guess right. He paid the most attention, listened when you talked and remembered every detail. To be honest, he'd been the one you confided in the most for that reason.

He took your silence as a confirmation.

I hid some ice cream in the freezer. Unless Soap got to it first.

Soap: You head back to the kitchen again in search of the contraband ice cream, hoping it's the good mocha chip flavor you love, only to find Soap has beaten you to it. He innocently scoops out the last bite before seeing your face crumble and guiltily tosses it into the sink.

"Och, shit. Was that yours?"

"No, it's okay." Could this get any worse?

After dealing with these four, you just give up and slink back to your room.

"You know what you need?" He charges you before you can get any further.

"No, Johnny, don't!" Not one to listen, he pulls you up over his shoulder in one swoop and fireman carries you out to the gym.

"We're going to sweat it out, yeah? Always makes me feel better. Whether it's fighting or fucking is up to you."

You finally laugh at the absurdity of it, for the first time all day.

[h8ani]

Prompt #21 with Sasuke from Naruto please! 🥰 Surprise me!

Part One → Part Two → Part Three → Part Four

Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha x Reader

Anime: Naruto

Word Count: 3k

Synopsis: you hate him and he hates you, but when he shows up out of nowhere demanding to speak to you all of those years of pent up hatred come out

Warnings: this is the first smut I wrote in years so that’s a warning in itself, rough doggy, all characters are of age/aged up, dirty talk, angry sasuke, oral (female receiving), missionary for 2.5 seconds, angry reader at sasuke

Prompt: “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

A/N - look I actually tried really hard on this and I lowkey wanna make a pt2 to this so please tell me if y’all would want it! Feel free to request a prompt!

"Isn't he so cute!"

"I'm going to marry him someday."

"Sasuke is so cool!"

Hearing his name you couldn't help but roll your eyes. You couldn't stand his attitude even at your young age. It was always someone trying to one up the other, whether it be you excelling in your chakra control or him beating someone else in seconds in a sparring match. You hated him, you hated his attitude and you hated how every girl would throw herself in front of a kunai for him. You hated Sasuke Uchiha and he hated you.

Your feelings towards him weren't one sided either, he could've left you alone but no, he had to bother you any chance he got. Clearly he developed damage to his brain where he can't learn to develop the skills of empathy and self control.

The teasing wasn't that bad, it was the shitty tricks he'd pull and act like it wasn't him. If you wanna pull a prank on someone at least take ownership instead of being a pussy. Did you just call a 12 year old a pussy? Yes. Yes you did. Sasuke Uchiha at 12 years old was a pussy and you've told him that to his face too.

                                          ~~~

"You're leaving." You say as more of a statement than a question. You look at the brooding kid in front of you, his hand on his backpack strap tightening as he stares angrily at you.

"What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't but-"

"Then shut up and mind your business." He interjects quickly causing you to stare daggers at him.

"You're a pussy." You push off from the wall you were leaning on and brush past him. "You were weak during exams and you're weak now." You begin to walk away past him when his grips the collar of your shirt and slams you back into the wall you were on. "Hey asshole!-"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." He cuts you off, his face only mere inches from you.

"You wanna kiss pretty boy?" You shove him away as hard as you can creating some distance between the two of you. "Just get the fuck out of the village already."

And so he did.

You couldn't feel any happier once Sasuke was out of the village. The pain in your ass wasn't there anymore and you felt like you didn't need to prove yourself as the top of your class anymore even though you have been graduated from the academy for over two years. You were perfectly fine without him, everyone else he supposedly made 'friends' with, if he was even able to make actual friends that is; they were worried, suddenly wanting to go out and retrieve him like he was taken. Once again Sasuke was the top priority to everyone minds.

You couldn't care less about Sasuke Uchiha.

                                      ~~~

He hasn't crossed your mind on your own accord in years. You hadn't seen him in years, you know he's still a topic around the village but you tend to zone everyone out when he gets brought up and at this point in time it's been working. Out of sight, out of mind, he could have gotten himself killed in a random battle and you don't think you'd shed a single tear for him.

You hear a bang at your front door which catches your attention immediately, you go to ignore it thinking it's the neighbor's kid across from your apartment kicking the ball they had against your door until the banging becomes repetitive, the more bangs coming from the other side of the door the louder they became. You swing the door open looking to see who or what was the cause of the annoying noise only to be shoved to the side into the door frame. "What the hell!" You raise your voice grabbing the wrist of who barged in, you get overpowered and pulled back into your apartment and the door gets slammed. You look up at the intruder who shoved his way into your home and see him. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looks frustrated to say the least. He has the same signature scowl he's always had on his face and the same posture with his arms crossed over his chest while looking around your apartment. There doesn't seem to be a difference in the way he looks at you either, the same hatred behind his eyes as always, even with him being the one rudely shoving his way inside.

"(Y/N)." He said simply with nothing coming after. You waited a few moments if he was just trying to be dramatic with his entrance. He never said anything after that.

"Why are you back in the village?"

"I'm not." You roll your eyes and huff a sigh.

"Why are you here in my apartment then?" You mimic his body and cross your arms over your chest, his head turns to face you and his eyes stare at you intensely. You'd say you were used to this but after so many years you've grown unaccustomed to the look he used to give you because it was nothing like this.

"I'm here to talk, I need to-"

"Why am I supposed to care what you need?" You  insert before he's done speaking. He huffs a breath and soon enough his eyes shoot the daggers you remember.

"I don't expect you to I just need-"

"How about you tell me why you left the village in the first place?" You cut him off mid sentence once again. You don't care about his needs, you don't care about him at all, but you'd like some answers. "Was it like everyone was saying? That you just wanted to grow stronger? So did you find it? Did you get stronger like you wanted?"

"That doesn't matter I don't need to answer that right now, you clearly already know the answer to that." He rolls his eyes and let his arms fall from his chest.

Sasuke was never a man of many words, he was never a man at all he was just a little boy, but with his responses you can't help but bug him about it. Call it being nosy or call it you always zoning everyone out the second you hear his name so you never actually found out the reasoning for him abandoning the village.

"So you're still weak? You're still that little kid who does nothing but bitch and complain about wanting revenge. You may have grown up in these last few years but you're still that sad, pathetic, weakling-" Your shoulders are shoved and pinned to the wall behind you in a moment, you gasp out at the sudden jolt in your back and look up at the angry ravenette.

"Shut up." He growls lowly and if looks could kill, not that he could but you'd probably drop dead if he wished it.

"Make me you prick." You look at him, your stare unwavering as the pressure on your shoulders feels tighter.

There is no sound in your home but everything seems to be buzzing in your ears. Sasuke's face only inches from yours, seemingly just like when he left the village. You feel a sudden wave of nostalgia if you can even call it that as it wasn't a fond memory to think back on. You wait for his response, you look into his eyes and can't decipher what's going on in his head. His grip on your shoulders loosen before he crashes his lips onto yours, his hand now finding a place onto the back of your neck to pull you even closer to him.

Your eyes widen in shock as you don't kiss him back. The kiss surprising you but what is even more of a shock is who is kissing you. You feel him pull away and the look he gives you is mixed with annoyance and frustration. "Just kiss me back." He pauses and smirks, "Or are you too much of a pussy." Your eyes darken with anger as he used your insult to him against yourself. He doesn't wait for your answer before he pulls you back to his lips, you instantly kissing back.

The kiss was hard and the only emotion behind it was the hatred you feel towards him. Your lips molded together as you two kissed, his hand found it's way from the back of your neck to tangling itself in your hair while you felt his grip tighten sending a tingling sensation to your scalp. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue in heating the kiss up in an instant.

You could feel him press against you, his leg sliding between yours and pressing against your clothed core, a small sound comes out but is quickly swallowed down by him. His lips leave yours to slowly kiss down your jaw, it was excruciatingly slow the way he kissed you, from your jaw to your neck to the sweet spot he found almost instantly. You bit back a moan but he made sure to take his time marking up your neck.

The feeling of his thigh was hard to push to the back of your mind, all you could feel was Sasuke and what he was doing to you. You hate him, you hate how he's making you react right now and you hate at how good he is and neither of you have even taken a single piece of clothing off of each other yet. You hate even more the needy words that come out of your mouth next.

"Bedroom." You say almost breathlessly, you could feel the smirk he gives against your neck before quickly going back to your lips. His hands slide to your waist and pull you to him and walk you back not daring to break from the kiss. He pushes open one door and you feel your ass bump into something hard and cold, you pull away from him to see you backed up against your washing machine. "You idiot, this is the wrong room." You roll your eyes and walk past him going into your bedroom.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that it's not like I've been in your apartment." He scoffs following you and kicking the door shut.

"Oh I bet you must've dreamed-" your words were short lived as he spun you around and kissed you quieting you down.

Kissing Sasuke wasn't like all the books you've read, it wasn't sweet, it wasn't like being with your ex's when you were in love. His kiss was full of passion, it's a kiss of desire and a feeling of pent up frustrations he nor you have been able to let out. Frustrations at each other, at the world, at everything. Sasuke was a damn good kisser too which annoyed you even further.

His lips left yours to tug off your top, the fabric quickly being discarded to a random corner in your room. His eyes ate your figure up, seeing how your breasts layed there perfectly in your bra you were wearing. A low groan left his lips as he went to kiss up your chest, his fingers hooking onto the waistband of your skirt and started to tug it down past your thighs pooling around your ankles. You quickly kicked them away and pulled at his shirt. "Off." You demand and he takes no time in removing his shirt before pushing you back to the edge of the bed and dropping to his knees."

"Spread." He now is the one demanding. You go to spread your legs before pausing and closing them causing a confused look to cross his face.

"This doesn't change anything between us. I still hate you." His confusion quickly deadpans before shaking his head.

"God shut up." He spreads your legs and pushes your panties to the side before slowly swiping his thumb along your slit and pressing it to your clit causing you to gasp. "You're soaked." It was more of a statement than anything but feeling his thumb start to roll little circles on your clit sent a shockwave up your body. You watched him as he stared at your pussy.

"Are you going to sit and stare or are you going to actually do something pretty boy?" Your words rang in his ears and he slowly looked up at you, the same irritation growing in him like it did all those years ago when you'd call him that name. His thumb left your clit and his index and middle finger slowly pushed it and curled causing you to let out a small moan. He could feel you already clenching around them as he started to pump them in and out of you. "Stop calling me that." His head dipped down between your thighs and licked a long swipe before settling on your clit making you let out another moan.

"I can't help it." You say running your fingers through his hair. "You're a pretty- ahh fuck..." Sasuke sucks on your clit harshly, his fingers curling and uncurling from your gspot making your mind go fuzzy with the pleasure he's giving you. Your fingers tighten in his hair tugging slightly, "Fuck Sasuke." You throw your head back taking in the feeling of his tongue and fingers working on you. You can feel the coil in your stomach tighten up and you screw your eyes shut feeling the pleasure hit you. You feel dizzy and can't focus on anything but Sasuke. He tugs your panties down past your hips and tosses them to the side before finally undoing his pants. You fall back against your bed, chest heavy as that was one orgasm that knocked the wind out of you.

You feel the bed dip down before you're turned over to your stomach, a harsh smack heard before you felt his hand come across your ass. "Ass up." He says, his voice low as he picks up your hips positioning them to his liking. You feel him bring the tip of his cock up and down your slit causing you to shiver. You can just feel the smirk on his face before he pushes in giving you no moment to get adjusted. You let out a mix of a moan and groan feeling him stretch you out, you not having any sort of sex in a while is the excuse you'd like to give but you also didn't expect Sasuke to be big in the slightest.

His hands gripped your hips and brought you back with each thrust, you arched your back and dropped your head letting out small moans as he hit a spot in you that you haven't felt before. "You ever felt this good before with anybody else?" You could hear the smugness in his voice. "You're so fucking tight, don't tell me, you weren't saving yourself for anyone were you?" He chuckles as he thinks what he's saying is funny, you throw your hand back ready to smack him but he quickly catches it and pins your arm behind your back pushing you further into the mattress as he slams into you at a slower pace. "Of course you weren't, you take my cock too well."

You could feel every inch of him with every hard thrust he gives you, feeling him deep in your stomach as you grip the bedsheets tighter and tighter.  "Please go faster." You whine out without meaning to. Sasuke pulls out and flips you to your back before slowly pushing back in making you moan. He leaned forward his thrusts picking up pace and making you look at him.

The close proximity of him making you nervous all of a sudden, missionary was for eye contact, kissing, all of that intimate shit. Doggy style is much more your style with Sasuke. You don't have to look at him. The smirk on his face makes you question him before he speaks. "Who knew you were such a needy sub." Your eyebrows furrow as you go to speak but the words died on your tongue when Sasuke brings his fingers to your clit again bringing you close to your second orgasm. "You're just taking my dick like a good girl, aren't you?" You shake your head refusing to listen to him. His fingers move faster on your clit giving you the perfect amount of pressure to send you back over the edge. Your eyes squeezed shut and head pressed back in your mattress as you orgasmed for the second time in the night. You can feel Sasuke's hips stutter as he fucks you through your orgasm, his pace quickening even more before you felt him stop and let out a low groan as he came inside you.

Your eyes shoot open as you smack his arm, "You did not! Not inside you idiot!" You shove him off of you as you quickly go to your bathroom that's connected to your room.

Sasuke chuckles to himself before letting out a small "oops." He sits himself up on your bed and gets himself dressed. He can hear you grumbling in the bathroom and the shower starting to run as he gets finished. He stands up and makes his way around your room walking to the door before his eyes laid upon picture frames on your dresser. He can faintly see pictures of your closest friends, some recent and some old but what catches his eyes the most was a picture taken when you were in the academy. It was when the top of the class got a picture taken and both you and Sasuke tied for number one. Both of you were upset that you had to take a picture together and it was evident on your faces. Your arms were crossed while glaring at the camera man and whoever had to have forced the picture and Sasuke was looking over to the side, his hand on his hip and looking as annoyed as ever.

Out of all the photos you put in a frame you put that one even as you hated him.

Hate. It's a funny emotion. Isn't it?

[freakadr0id]

Oh my GOD, I just realized why Donnie acts so weird in Man vs. Sewer. I always thought his behavior was odd in that episode, particularly in his nonchalance towards finding and saving Raph - but I had the most random thought occur to me during work that TOTALLY explains it. I'm sure some people have probably pointed this stuff out already, but I wanted to put this out there anyway.

The episode 'Man-vs-Sewer' is a personal favorite of mine. I love the episodes where the boys are just goofing off, and this episode is that plus some. We see get to see the boys having fun for a bit at the start of the episode, but it also adds a bit more depth to some of the turtles. We see a really surprising side to Raph's character with his fear of being alone, and Leo gets to shine a bit as a leader and hint at his true potential.

However, I was always a bit puzzled by the way Donnie and Mikey were written in this episode. As a rule, Rise is pretty good about keeping its characters, well, in character, so their behavior struck me as kind of strange, particularly Donnie's.

If there is one thing Rise NAILS about Donnie's character is showing that despite struggling with emotions and empathy, he is still NOT AN ASSHOLE. Donnie genuinely and deeply loves his family - he just has a hard time expressing it externally.

'Man-vs-Sewer' kind of stood out to me as an exception to that, however. At this point, Donnie's care for his brothers is an undisputed fact, so why does he seem so unconcerned about finding Raph after being separated? Even for Donnie, this seems like an ooc level of indifference towards the well-being of his brother (at least that's how I saw it).

Except, it isn't. In fact, this episode only reinforces that Donnie does care for his family, it's just a *bit* harder to see here.

One thing many neurodivergent people struggle with is a sudden change in plans. When they expect to do something that day it can be very difficult for some neurodivergent people to deal with it emotionally and can lead to immense frustration or even shutdowns. Since Donnie is confirmed to be, at the very least, autistic coded, this would absolutely apply to him as well.

The turtles planned to have a nice, relaxing day floating along New York's sewers and enjoying a small break from all the stress of finding the Dark Armor. No fighting, no mystic metal, no foot clan. Just a calm day of fun without a care in the world - only for it to be ruined by a bad pass and a lost brother.

I know if my plans were ruined like that, I would be in an absolutely FOUL mood. It can be hard to transition into a different mindset when the expectations for the day change like that, and it can make anyone frustrated, but Donnie doesn't appear to be that way. In fact, he's acting extremely casual.

Even though everything he was going to do today was upended and his brother is now missing in the New York sewers, why does Donnie seem so unconcerned about the whole situation?

Answer: It's a coping mechanism.

It would be very easy for him to be a bit more annoyed and frustrated at the whole situation (I definitely would be), but he isn't. Instead, he avoids getting overwhelmed and emotional by continuing through the day as if nothing has really changed.

The whole time they are finding Raph, Donnie behaves as if they are still on a peaceful, carefree mini-vacation. He makes snide jokes and jabs toward Leo, enjoys the drinks he brought in his shell, and constantly reminds the others that it is his "day off." If he can act as though he's still relaxing, it becomes easier to adjust to unexpected alterations in his day. This isn't Donnie being willfully inconsiderate towards Raph being lost and alone, this is just him trying to manage with the sudden changes the best he can in that moment.

If Donnie really was an uncaring asshole (as some may be inclined to believe given his apparent lack of empathy), he simply would have resumed their original plans, or been more vocally resistant to going after Raph. Instead, he joins his brothers in their search, and although he may not provide the best input for finding Raph because of his coping method (his brain is in "day off" mode which is why he keeps missing clues about Raph), he is still making an effort.

In a way, the episode which I thought portrayed a slightly out-of-character version of Donnie actually provides yet another example of how Donnie really loves his brothers, despite how it may seem on the surface.

~-~-~

(Actually, depending on the way you interpret his character, the same can be said for Mikey in this episode as well. Mikey is always a bit of a goofball in the show but in this episode, it is dialed up to 11. He also doesn't seem to much care or effort into finding Raph and acts like a child who managed to snag one of their parents' energy drinks. If we consider that maybe he is also struggling to adapt to the changes of the day, this could be him adopting a similar coping method to Donnie, it is just amplified because of his hyperactive behavior and personality.)

[sexyandhedonistic]

A word to some LOA blogs. You will know this is directed towards you when you read this.

The amount of times I have heard of a blog being rude and disrespectful to their followers is starting to become concerning and this is why I'm writing this currently, because it looks like a lot of you are letting your platform overinflate your egos and you do not know how to act as a result.

Not everyone needs to run a LOA blog.

I have reiterated time and time again regarding the fact that a lot of people join the community without knowing the first thing about the law of assumption which evokes confusion in so many people as a result. That is only one part of my issue with just anyone creating an account and starting to post literal gibberish (but that's a discussion for another day).

The other is the lack of basic empathy displayed by some blogs on here. I understand that the spectrum of questions in our inbox can range from very insightful epiphanies our anons have to hate to confusing questions to straight up irritating nonsensical ones, but that doesn't entitle you to be a piece of shit to your followers whether it's to their face or to your loa friend group regarding them asking you a genuine question they confided in you with.

As a blog, if you do not want to help someone, your options are the following:

Not respond.

Tell them you are unfit and redirect them elsewhere.

Running a law of assumption blog, much like indulging in any other task or hobby in which you have to help people, requires you to have three very important traits and those are:

Patience

Empathy

MORE patience

A lot of you guys are simply not built to be running a platform that is specifically intended to help people. If you're gonna be constantly belittling them, invalidating their honest questions then why are you here? There are principles of the law that we learn and talk about and you need to familiarize yourself with them before you run to point and laugh at someone who's asking for your help. You do not get to make fun of people's questions just because your understanding of the law of assumption is deeply flawed and cherry picked.

You are always welcome to be a lurker in the community and read what other blogs say, but if you have nothing to contribute except shitty responses and unwarranted mocking maybe you should reevaluate your decision to run a law of assumption blog.

To my followers, I am sorry if you've ever dealt with a rude blogger before. You do not deserve to be treated with disrespect LOA or not. This is supposed to be a community where everyone is welcome to learn about the law and discuss it accordingly. I hope you guys are able to find a blog that resonates with you and can answer your questions in a kind and digestible way, but please do not humor some of these awful people.

This is alI have to say about the matter for the time being. If you felt like I was talking about you I most likely was. Apologize to your followers for being an asshole, deactivate your blog or leave the community altogether. Any of these options work.

[neuroticbookworm]

FRIENDS. FRIENDS.

Cooking Crush is undoubtedly one of the best shows airing at the moment.

Today's episode gave me so much life that I don't even know where to begin, but I'm gonna try my best to pull two (2) coherent thoughts out of my melting brain.

1. The Three Must-Eat-eers Conflict and Resolution:

Last episode had set up such a perfect conflict that's rarely handled well in any media: the bruised feelings of the single friend when the rest of the gang gets into committed romantic relationships. Most of the time this scenario shows up in media, one party will be framed as selfish and/or jealous. None of that nonsense here; Cooking Crush has always taken the friendship of its characters very seriously, especially Prem, Dynamite and Samsee. Samsee’s feelings were hurt not just because of his own fears of being abandoned by his friends, he was also (rightfully) mad that he ended up as the only friend who was kept out of the loop of knowing that his best friends had boyfriends now. But Prem and Dynamite did not intend to do this, and they were also right to set their own pace in making their relationship public, but it’s just that the string of accidental reveals happened in an order that made Samsee feel like a third-wheeler in his own home, twice over.

Cooking Crush treats its characters with a lot of kindness and empathy and it shows. Prem and Dy wanting to keep their relationships under wraps for the time being is valid. Samsee feeling hurt and lost, and opting out of the competition is valid. This episode begins with the drama of the cooking competition and works its comedy (thank you for the chuckles, wildly gesticulating White Man) and romance (my poor heart swooned all over my rib cage when Ten helped Prem into his chef clothes). And when the time came for the big reconciliation, the show does not sweep away Samee’s very hurt feelings just because Prem and Dy struggled without Samsee for most of the first round of cooking. He apologizes for ditching them and Dy was having none of it.

(Dy, my perfect child, oh how I love you with my entire heart)

Perfect resolution. and a well-earned, most adorable group hug to bookend it. I truly could not be more in love with this show. Or can I?

2. Miscommunication? Nah.

Well, this episode also featured the Annoying Asshole Chef dude who’s determined to pursue Prem even though it is very clear that Prem is not interested and would reject his advances, if only he stuck around long enough to actually get rejected and not run away from him like a goddamn coward. I was furious when he positioned himself as an actual option for Prem to Ten in this episode, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment Ten chose to call him out on his bullshit.

But y’all. The very inappropriate hug. The well-deserved punch to his stupid face. The storm-off. All of it had me very concerned that this is all barrelling towards a classic miscommunication moment.

BUT NO.

THE SHOW SAID THERE WILL BE NO STUPID MISCOMMUNICATION.

NOT IN THIS HOUSE.

My problem with the miscommunication trope is that it ultimately positions the couple we are supposed to be rooting for as a weak team. Honest communication and vulnerability in a new-ish relationship is not easy, and it takes a lot of courage to take that step to be the one to spell out the facts, and trust that the other person likes them well enough to keep an open ear, and believe them when they say a meddling cowardly asshole is trying to get in the way of their relationship. Ten’s bravery was perfectly contrasted with the sliminess of the Annoying Cowardly Chef (I refuse to learn his name, he is not worth my braincells).

Oh but Ten wasn’t done yet!

I absolutely adore how he moves the conversation away from that pesky little pest of a human towards something that matters more: his desire to make things official with Prem. The Annoying Asshole Chef was not the focus of the conversation, Ten and Prem are. And it all culminates in an incredible kiss and a camera swoop that already has a permanent little shrine in my silly little head.

TAKE MY HEART, COOKING CRUSH. TREAT IT WELL.

[luvangelbreak]

Deprived | Thirteen

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: swearing word count: 2.8k a/n: y'all.

pov: matt

"Stay here and get rid of that. I'll go talk to her," Allie stepped in front of me when I tried to follow after Layla but I pursed my lips, letting out a huff before nodding. She ran off after Layla and I turned around looking at the hateful writing on the locker.

On a whim and poor decision-making, I stepped in front of the locker and looked around the hall of people surrounding the locker before yelling, "Whoever wrote this I will beat your fucking ass. You can all fuck off now!"

With that, a few people scattered away quickly while other's eyes lingered, pretending to talk about something else but it was clear they were still looking at me in front of the locker.

"Bit dramatic," Chris raised his eyebrows as he looked at me and I furrowed my eyebrows further, my nostrils flaring in anger.

"Do you see what they wrote Chris?" I pointed to the locker behind me angrily, "People should be glad I'm not fighting every single one of them to figure out who did this."

"People are dicks. Layla knows that," he shrugged and I rolled my eyes at his lack of empathy.

"She has to deal with people whispering shit like this about her all day every day. Now it's plastered on her fucking locker and all you have to say is 'people are dicks'?" I looked at him in disbelief and he dropped his head, "Get the fuck away from me, Chris. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"No need to be an asshole about it," he mumbled as he walked away towards his locker and I balled my fists trying to keep myself calm. I had never felt this type of anger on someone else's behalf before but I felt like I couldn't control it.

"What did you just fucking say?" I asked him loudly making him turn around and I stepped towards him. I felt eyes turn towards me again but I brushed them off.

"Matt," Nate stepped in between Chris and I, "I get that your pissed but Chris isn't the person you're mad at right now."

"It sure feels like it," I said through gritted teeth and Chris shook his head, walking further down the hallway as I bit my lip.

"Listen to me," Nate shoved me backwards to get my attention, "We're gonna get rid of this before Layla gets back and then we're gonna figure out who did this. Then, and only then, you can beat someone's ass and it's not gonna be Chris's."

I clenched my jaw, looking down at him with pure anger but I let it slowly subside, knowing that I looked like a fucking psycho getting so aggravated about this. I let out a heavy breath and suddenly Nick returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cloth.

"Where did you even get that from?" Nate asked in confusion as Nick handed me the bottle and cloth.

"Nurses office," he shrugged and I gave him a thankful nod. I began scrubbing at the letters drawn on the locker, trying not to think about it too much knowing it would send me into a fit of rage. After a couple minutes of using elbow grease and pure determination, I managed to get it all off without a trace. Just as I closed the lid on the bottle, the first bell rang for everyone to head to their classes and our peers dispersed into the classrooms.

"I'll take it back. You can go to class and make sure Layla's okay," Nick offered and I gave him a thankful smile and nod before handing him the bottle and cloth.

I quickly walked to my locker, threw my backpack inside and grabbed my book for my English class. I sped down the hallway, swinging the door open to see Mrs P staring at me with an unimpressed look.

"Matt, you're late," she said blandly, a slight shock on her face at me being late to class.

"Sorry, I was dealing with something," I answered as I closed the door behind me.

"Take a seat please," she said kindly and I nodded, walking to the back of the class where I now always sat. Layla was in her seat, hood on and head down in shame. I felt a wave of anger fall over me again seeing her upset but I didn't let it show as I looked at her, "Layla. What did I say about your hood?"

"Sorry," Layla mumbled so quietly I wasn't sure if Mrs P had even heard her before she slid the hood off of her head. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy, my heart breaking inside my chest that this had gotten to her so easily. I hated seeing her sad, it made me want to wrap her in my arms and keep her safe from anything that could upset her ever again.

I ignored Chris who was to my right as he worked on his English paper and I looked over at Layla before I leaned over whispering, "You okay pretty girl?"

She nodded in response while looking ahead. To most, they would think her expression was blank and unreadable but I had spent so much time just looking at her that I knew her mouth was twitching ever so slightly because she was upset. A heavy weight fell on my chest, feeling helpless that I couldn't do anything to make her feel better.

"You wanna get McDonalds at lunch?" I asked her again quietly and she shook her head, still not speaking. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, falling back into my seat. I ripped a piece of paper off of a blank page in my notebook, scribbling what I wanted to say quickly and hoped she wouldn't judge my third grade hand writing.

I slid the paper over to her and I studied her reaction, my heart warming when a glimmer of a smile peaked onto her lips. She quickly wrote something beneath what I had written before handing the note back to me.

I grinned at the paper before folding it up and placing it into the pocket of my jeans, feeling like a kid in middle school handing notes to his crush. I barely did anything the whole lesson, stealing glances at Layla any chance that I could without her noticing.

She caught me one too many times but it only led me to look at her more when I saw a smile peak through her pink lips once again. She covered her face with her hand a few times and I bit my lip to hide the goofy smile that was threatening to invade my face.

I was sure to Chris I looked like a lovesick puppy, I could feel the judgement radiating off of his cold heart. I was never like him with girls, he could fuck them once and never speak to them again. He could fuck them multiple times but still act like they'd never met around other people, I never understood how he did it, how he was so detached. It wasn't that he didn't love people, he loved our family and friends so much it often scared me what he would do for the people he loved, but he'd never been in love. He never seemed to care about romance or a girlfriend, he just wanted a quick fuck and nothing more.

I couldn't do that, I tried it twice and I regretted it every day of my life. I got too attached to the people I loved, I couldn't just leave and not think about it again. I didn't like a quick fuck, I wanted it to mean something. I wanted the person to mean something to me and I wanted to mean something to them.

I hope I meant something to Layla because she sure as hell meant something to me.

+++

She had disappeared again. I didn't see her for the rest of the day, not even after wandering around the school at lunch to check if she was smoking a cigarette in the snow.

"You find her?" Nate asked when I walked back to our table at the cafeteria and I shook my head, sighing as I sat between Nick and Mia.

"She's a big girl. She'll get over it," Mia rolled her eyes and I shot her a glare, not having any patience for her bullshit today.

"I probably should've mentioned this earlier," Allie started and I turned my head to look at her as she cringed slightly, "ButImayormatnothavehernumber."

"Allie!" I yelled dramatically as I threw my hands in front of me, "You couldn't have told me that before I wandered around the school for 20 minutes?"

"I didn't think you were serious!" she defended and I closed my eyes, letting out a huff but I couldn't stay mad at her, "I'll send it to you now. I'm sorry."

"You should've seen him during English," Chris spoke up making me look at him as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, "Bro looked like Tom and Jerry floating towards a pie on the window with the heart eyes he was doing the whole time."

"Are you seriously gonna call her?" Mia asked, her tone annoyed and I pulled my phone out of my pocket, not sparing her a glance as I quickly clicked on the contact that Allie had sent me before it began ringing.

"Hello?" her soft voice rang through my ear and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Layls, where are you?" I asked immediately and there was a brief silence on her end of the line.

"Matt, how did you get my number?" she asked quietly and I shook my head, ignoring the fact she couldn't see me.

"Allie gave it to me. Where did you go?" I asked again and she once again fell silent, "Layls?"

"I went home," she mumbled before I heard a sniffle and my face dropped, "I just didn't wanna be at school."

"Are you okay, pretty girl?" I asked softly earning an eye roll from Mia, a gag noise from Chris and a frown from Nick in disgust. I threw up my middle finger before I got up and walked into the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled again and I sighed, throwing my head back onto the wall behind me, "You don't have to worry about me. Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"It's fucking bullshit," I grumbled before I let out a breath, realising that my anger wouldn't help her right now, "Can I come over?"

"You should stay at school," she answered quickly and I once again shook my head.

"Layls I wanna make sure yo-"

"Pretty boy," she cut me off, the nickname making my heart swell in my chest, "I'll be fine... Can't be too bad of an influence on you and make you skip all your classes."

"What about after school?" I asked and she hummed. I knew I sounded needy and annoying but I wanted to see her, I wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Yeah," she answered in almost a whisper, "My dad's staying out tonight so you won't have to jump the fence or anything."

I chuckled to myself before I nodded, "Okay. I'll see you soon, pretty girl."

"Bye, Matthew," she said softly before she hung up.

+++

The rest of my classes were spent waiting for school to finish. I practically ran to my car, impatiently waiting for Chris and Nick to arrive. They soon jumped in the car and before either of them could even close their doors fully, I was pulling out of the parking space.

"Dude I haven't even put my bag down yet!" Chris screeched as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Nick asked from the back seat before I heard his seatbelt click into place followed by Chris doing the same.

"I'm dropping you guys at home," I answered quickly as we made our way back to our house.

"I wonder where he's going after," Chris rolled his eyes dramatically but I ignored him as I sped down the road. After 5 minutes of driving in silence, I pulled up to the house and Chris jumped out without another word.

"Let us know if she's okay," Nick said before he jumped out of the car, sliding the door closed behind him. I took off down the road once again and before I knew it, I was at Layla's house.

I grabbed my backpack, remembering that Layla said not to leave anything valuable in the car. I made sure I had my phone and keys in hand as I jumped out, locking the door behind me.

I walked up to the door, sudden nerves hitting me as I stood on the front porch. I knocked twice and fiddled with my keys before I heard the quiet thud of footsteps. The door opened to reveal a tired-looking Layla and I smiled at her.

"Hey," I said softly and she swayed on her feet in my hoodie and the shorts she had worn when I came to pick her up before the game.

"Hi," she answered in the same tone before looking around outside, "You should come in before you get kidnapped."

"Right," I answered quickly as she stepped behind the door and I walked in. She closed the door behind me before locking both locks and spinning around to look at me.

"Stop being so nervous. You're freaking me out," she said with a frown and a slight smile.

"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you're okay," I pursed my lips before she smiled at me fully. She walked past me and down the hallway as my eyes couldn't help but travel to the small shorts she wore peaking out from under my hoodie.

God, she looked so good in my clothes.

"You gonna stand there and stare at me or follow me so I can get into bed? I'm freezing my tits off right now," she called, snapping me out of my trance and I coughed into my fist before nodding, following after her. She entered her room and I joined her, closing the door behind me.

"Do you have a heater?" I asked her and she nodded, jumping into her bed before pulling the covers over herself.

"Yeah but we can't afford to use it," she explained and I nodded understandingly, kicking off my shoes and sliding my backpack onto the floor beside them. She patted the space beside her and I smiled, sliding my jacket off before placing it over the covers on her, "Corny."

"Apologies for not wanting you to freeze to death," I answered as I rounded the mattress, sliding under the covers next to her. She took me by surprise when she wrapped her arms around my torso, pulling me closer to her as she laid her head on my chest. I smiled to myself as I wrapped a hand around her back, my left hand placing itself on her lower back.

"I hate people," she mumbled and I bit my lip, looking down at her. I looked at her rosy cheeks, the soft pale skin tinted red as her eyelashes fluttered with every blink.

"I know," I mumbled, my thumb running small circles on her back and she looked up to me, her calm expression bringing me a sense of peace.

"You make me hate people a little less," she said softly and I smiled down at her, my eyes glancing at her lips.

"I know," I whispered and she smiled up at me, my heart warming to see that she was feeling better, "You're so pretty."

"You're so corny," she giggled, still looking up at me with a light in her eyes I hadn't seen before, "But thank you."

"Look at you. Finally taking a compliment," my smile widened when she bit her lip and shook her head. I reached my hand forward, pulling her lips away from her teeth with my thumb while I held her chin with my index finger.

She looked so delicate when she was comfortable, when she didn't have her guard up. I wanted to see her like this all the time, I missed her when she put up her walls and I knew she wasn't like this with anyone else, at least for my own selfish reasons I hoped she wasn't. I left my hand under her chin, my thumb ran across her rough lips as I stared at her intently.

She had a small smile across her face, her breathing steady as her head tilted up towards me. I pushed my tongue between my lips to wet them and I caught her staring at them for a moment longer than usual. I instinctually leaned forward, my nose nudging hers as she let out a breath.

I let my eyes flutter closed for a moment as I whispered, "You don't know how beautiful you are, Layla."

A brief pause of silence filled the room and I prayed I hadn't pushed too far, scared that she would build her walls up around me again and trap me in my own mind. You could hear a pin drop, the tension was so thick I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Until she leaned forward, her lips brushing against mine and finally, I could breathe again.

tags:

@dsturniolo @chrisstankyleg @lov3bug @pinklittleflower @thatcrazybitch-69 @trinity2058 @alorsxsturn @ilovechrissturniolo1 @sturnfix @lilsstvrn @sturniololol @sturniolowhore @leprechaunbirthdaygirl

[aha-chuu]

Alhaitham and Kaveh's dynamic is interesting, because I've seen a lot of people say either "oh my god Kaveh is so mean" or "oh my god Alhaitham treats Kaveh terribly". But, quite importantly imo, in this quest Paimon remarks that she "doesn't know which one of them is more problematic".

I think when considering their relationship you need to look at intention. Do Hoyo want to villainise one of their popular husnandoes as a toxic asshole? No. Even the "villain" playable characters like Childe and Wanderer are nice/funny on occasion. Kaveh and Alhaitham's interactions are intended to be humorous, to make you gasp and say "oh wow I can't believe he just said that!".

Like, during the most recent story quest, for example. Kaveh accusing Alhaitham of having no empathy when he's clearly pretty emotionally stunted and decently moral is mean. But saying "At least I'd be a fungus with empathy!" Undercuts that - it's clear neither Alhaitham nor the player are suppose to take those words seriously.

Alhaitham dismissing Kaveh's field of work with "you work yourself to death just for a smile" is so belittling, but it's a retort to Kaveh saying his scribe job is at "rock bottom" in the Akademiya. Alhaitham isn't lashing out or trying to demean Kaveh in front of others (this interaction happens after the player has "left"); he's just continuing their verbal sparring match. I think people take this jab so seriously because it can be seen as a jab at a lot of people working out of passion, but in the context of the dialogue we're not supposed to regard it so deeply.

It's also fairly clear that nobody in game takes them seriously either. Tighnari says Kaveh is "as pent up as an anemo slime" in his Alhaitham voiceline - another funny quip - and Collei details how hard it was to suppress her laughter when Kaveh was talking about Alhaitham. Nobody thinks they're genuinely bad for one another, or that getting them separated is all that crucial.

Even the interactions in this story quest are just so silly and domestic: Kaveh can't get the painting straight, Alhaitham buys ugly furniture, they're arguing about rent and drink tabs, Kaveh is doing an unfair amount of housework and Alhaitham fucks off without entertaining his own guests. it's funny, or at least it is clearly intended to be.

I've heard that in the other dubs the VAs tones are different and it makes the lightheartedness clearer. Personally I've thought since their first interaction in the AQ that Alhaitham is having fun during their quarrels, and Kaveh is just melodramatic enough to act traumatised even if he isn't truly offended.

Then when it comes to whether their dynamic is supposed to be read platonically or romantically... Well Hoyo won't do anything canon, but it's hard to argue that there is no intentionality in how their relationship is portrayed. What other character(s) has an idle animation directly referencing their relationship with another character? How many other voicelines explicitly reference two characters as a pair? Nahida's Kaveh voiceline, Collei's, Tighnari's - I'm sure there are more. "Roommates" "senior & junior" "academic rivals" -> certainly there's a case to be made that they're just very close, but Kaveh and Alhaitham getting fifteen minutes of epilogue interaction in two different quests (where none of the content is related to either quest) says something. Fanservice, quite possibly.

Also Kaveh's line "We used to be friends, but not anymore"; I've seen plenty of people interpret this as "oh we're not friends, we're dating*". I think this is fun in fanon, but on a canon level it's basically a promise by Hoyo to fix (or explain) their current dynamic. Hoyo, for all their many faults, are detail orientated enough to follow up on such a line. Perhaps it will just be in Kaveh's voicelines/character stories, but I anticipate a future event or Kaveh hangout in relation to their bond. Nothing explicit, but more exploration. It's fairly clear Alhaitham and Kaveh are popular enough characters to warrant it.

All this to say: I have lots of thoughts. I have seen people call them toxic and (while idm the drama of that in fanon shipping) that isn't really the intended case in canon. Or, at the very least, the intention is not to to take their squabbling so seriously.

[storiesbyrhi]

warnings: smut, sub/dom dynamics, 18+, no beta/literally just typed into tumblr without proof reading

I've this very specific mid-20s, post-the upside down, traumatised eddie thought in my head. you move into the trailer park, and befriend eddie. he's a bit mean, he's grieving wayne's sudden heart attack death, he's got no friends, and gets fucked up a lot. you're not really like that. by no means are you purity on legs. but you're not... whatever he is.

eddie flirts and you love it and it's fun and nice and you think he's someone you could, you know, trust. you spend a lot of time together and you feel special that he does bite at you like he does others.

something bad happens and you call him. he comes over and is so good. the crying and the anxiety don't seem to shake him. he holds you and is all softness and empathy. but then in the days after, he's standoffish. maybe he's even an asshole. so he thinks emotions are unsexy, you think. it got too real.

then you notice he keeps bringing girls home. girls with the same hair as you. girls that kind of dress like you. but you're right fucking there so what the hell, right?

one day you come home and are about to walk the steps into your trailer when he comes out of his, sucking face with yet another you-look-a-like. you can't take it.

you go over and yell at him. what the fuck is wrong with him? what happened? what did you do? what's with all the girls that look like you? what the absolute fuck?

he tries to calm you down but you tell him to fuck off. whatever he's hiding, you see it for a split second. it flashes across his face. you go home fuming. he calls a taxi for the girl.

the next night, his music is so fucking loud nobody can sleep. finally, you can't take it, you barge your way into his trailer and dramatically push the needle off the record. eddies on the couch and he hardly reacts. when you look at him, you realise he's drunk. like... completely out of his mind drunk.

he can't lift himself to sit, so he stops trying. instead he just grins at you.

"fuck you,"

"seeeeeee," he slurs "tha's the fuckin' problem... can't now... can i?"

you don't know what he means. he laughs but it sounds bitter and sad. you go and kneel on the floor next to the couch.

"what the fuck is wrong with you, eddie? what does any of that even mean?"

he kind of looks at you, through you, tries to touch you but you swat his hand away.

"think i'm in love with you,"

"get fucked," you snap

"an' now i can't... can't be in love with and fuck you."

you're angry but you're more curious. it takes a lot of questioning, but you figure it out. he says he doesn't know how to have 'normal sex'. he just wants to ruin people. rail them into the mattress. make them scream so they can't breathe. he's all messed up about it. thinks it's too violent and that he's evil, like everyone says. but now he's seen you vulnerable, and he knows he loves you, he won't do that to you. and that's fucking him up more.

"eddie, there's like... twenty different things wrong with you. but i don't think this has to be one of them."

you leave him with a glass of water and some aspirin. he's not your kid to baby.

a couple days later, you leave a book on the couch outside of his trailer. a kind of sex bible. he needs to learn about boundaries and safe words and aftercare and subspace.

he's knocking on your door too quickly. he's read the book cover to cover twice.

"you do this stuff?" he asks. but you're so sweet? so normal? put together?

you tell him that it's not an all-or-nothing thing. you tell him that life is hard and you've had to be in control of yourself and everything else so much for so long, that sometimes relinquishing control is what you need. you need to be pushed and pulled into that sticky space where you can't think even if you wanted to. you need to be wanted so badly that it's primal and hard and rough.

you tell him that he's actually like, alright. that he's going to be alright. he just needs to figure some shit out.

he sits on your couch and lets you straddle him. you don't want him to use your name, so he lists off titles until one makes your breathing hitch. you do the same for him. you tell him not now, that he can invite you over once he's thought about it more. he needs to be prepared. everything has to be ready, especially the aftercare.

when he does invite you over, he already seems less angry at the world. you watch the evil dead and giggle. then, he takes you to his bed. he's a fast learner. you guide him where he needs it, but he mostly doesn't.

he fucks you like he thought he couldn't. maybe, it's even worse, which is better. you sob for him. you're pliable. you preen and glow and whimper and beg.

he is most nervous about the aftercare, and so it's a little over the top, but it feels like love because it is.

eddie goes to therapy. he's lost a lot. he's been abandoned and misunderstood. he's unlucky. poor. high school dropout. weirdo. freak. but he's also yours and he's gonna be fine.

[traincat]

You know something I just noticed? I don't... actually like Peter Parker.

No, seriously, I like the CONCEPT of Spider-Man and yeah, he's funny at times, but... I can't actually get invested in his canon self. It's ridiculous, it feels less like he's an interesting character and more being a superhero is the ONLY way to make him interesting (I know that's the charm), but...

Like, his phrase, "With great power comes great responsability", it feels... I don't know, childish? I like that nobody's FORCING him to be a hero, but he ALWAYS finds a way to make himself feel guilty over something and his assholeness is funny, but... not necessarily healthy?

The only thing going for him is Spider-Man, which ALSO destroys his life and I know that's somewhat unintentional, but I'm kinda tired of him angsting all the time. For instance: him not killing is Noble, him comiting to his City is admirable. It also makes it so he doesn't really prioritize people unless they had a HUGE impact in him and him not killing, makes the WORST consequences imaginable at times.

Or his "I know better" catastrophic. He's a good character for sure, but... I wouldn't want to be him. Like at all, his powers are cool, yet... that's it. I like his concept more than his canonical self (hell, I prefer his FANON self), the only somewhat exception is his Lego version, but that's cause everyone's sillier.

It's that weird or something? 😶

Anon I sincerely mean no offense but there's two explanations for this ask and one is that you're trolling me and the other is that you haven't really read much Spider-Man. I'm going to assume it's the second to be nice and because you've kind of hit two points that bother me in this fandom and thrown them together in the wash: the first is people forcing themselves to like Spider-Man because they feel like they should and in the process forcing him into this little box of bland and inoffensive likability (fanon Peter) and the second is just. being wrong about basic facts about Spider-Man but assuming they're right because Spider-Man being one of the most popular IPs in the world means everyone thinks they know everything about Spider-Man based on one catchphrase and half a Raimi movie.

And it makes me feel like this.

Like this is not your fault! These assumptions you've brought into my inbox are not your fault. Spider-Man marketing is set up around making people feel like they know Spider-Man and it's a fucking problem because it means people come into a six decade long soap opera with hardline beliefs already stamped on them and it is really hard to get people to change their opinions. I know! I was there! I was one of those people! Every day I'm thankful I didn't post fanfiction when I was in my early Spider-Man days because it would make me look like such a hypocrite but also I didn't know Spider-Man until I committed to reading eight thousand comics.

"Him being a superhero is the only way to make him interesting" potentially yes because one thing about Peter Parker that canon makes abundantly clear is that without Spider-Man he is a miserable fucking bastard. Like he sucks so bad. Spider-Man unleashes a deep well of empathy and kindness in him that might have existed but would not have surfaced without his experiences as Spider-Man because it was locked behind a concrete wall of bitterness twelve feet thick.

(Amazing Fantasy #15/Sensational Spider-Man #41)

"Him not killing is noble but" you're thinking about Batman. You are thinking about Batman. Spider-Man "doesn't kill" the way I'm "not writing this post right now." Peter aims not to kill. Peter talks a whole big game about not killing. His track record on that goal is not great. I have a whole post about that here. (cw for discussions of suicide related to Spider-Man vs Wolverine.)

Like, the thing about Peter and I think this is actually one of the biggest things about Peter is that you can't take what he says about himself 90% of the time too seriously. He is NOT an unbiased narrator of his own life. He will say one thing in his own internal narration and then you will be shown something completely different and you need to trust what you see and not what he tells you.

"Gee whillickers I've never done any crime" says man who literally only does crime. (Web of Spider-Man #43)

Two things can be true simultaneously: Peter can have a no kill rule and Peter can be spectacularly bad at enforcing himself on this rule, because he is a giant hypocrite who believes in double standards for himself first and not for anyone else ever after. This is part of what makes him an interesting character -- it is not hard to push Peter over that no kill line. The character will go there. It's up to the writer, then, to keep Spider-Man's I would say unearned squeaky clean no murder image by throwing a wrench into his plans.

(ASM #595/ASM #637/ASM #542)

This is not the place for my unhinged powerpoint presentation about how Marvel has backed themselves into a corner on reversing One More Day because to do so with the appropriate narrative weight calls for Peter to kill the Kingpin. He SAID he was going to kill him. And he IS. (He just didn't say he would do it right now.)

"I wouldn't want to be like him" neither would I!! But I am going to argue that this is where Spider-Man marketing has failed everybody because, while there are certainly traits about Peter you're supposed to admire (for all I have been and will keep ragging on him he is without a doubt a bottomless well of goodness and he is one of the most deeply kind, if not nice, characters in the American pop culture landscape), whether or not you want to be a character is not a good litmus test for what makes a good character.

"With great power comes great responsibility is corny" is like. Did you know that the phrase doesn't originate with either Peter or Uncle Ben. The origin of the phrase is in the ending narration of Amazing Fantasy #15, after Peter stops himself from killing the burglar who killed Uncle Ben. It is literally Stan Lee and Steve Ditko making a point to the audience, and that point was later put in Uncle Ben's mouth. Is it corny because it's actually corny? Or is it corny because it has been so endlessly parodied by bad faith actors that its meaning has been diminished? Because all the phrase is doing is pointing out that people with more power (be it physical, economic, or societal) have a greater responsibility to those with less power than them. Because Peter has these gifts, he owes it to other people to act responsibility. You can sum up Spider-Man as a story about power and abuse: the villains abuse their power. Spider-Man is different than the villains because, though he has great power, he chooses not to abuse it. Spider-Man as a character is a distillation of Tikkun Olam, a Jewish principle that means "healing the world." "You do not have to finish the work, but you cannot abandon it." This is why Spider-Man is street level. He doesn't have to finish the work. He doesn't have to save the whole world. He just has to do what is in his power to do, every single day, and that's where the conflict comes in, because it would be easier for him to walk away, but because he has the power, and because he is an ethical man, he can't. And this concept was distilled down very, very well in "with great power comes great responsibility" because it's a very simple phrase that takes a complex ethical issue and makes it easy to understand.

"Ordinary. Saddest face I ever saw. He tries to smile, but I know it hurts. This is all for my benefit. He wants me to be okay, and he's giving me this." (Spectacular Spider-Man v2 #14)

Spider-Man is not a faceless cardboard cutout you're supposed to endlessly project on and the Disneyified marketing's insistence on that is what ends up with people insisting that a character who has remained popular in the culture for six decades has zero actual personality traits and is instead just some mirror to hold up against the viewer, letting them reflect whatever they want back on him. And it sucks.

And then I, as a person who loves canon 616 Peter and think he's one of the most complex and realistic characters ever written specifically because he is so flawed, end up writing these screeds even though I told myself I wasn't doing Spider-Man discourse any longer.

me @ myself.

But like here's the thing about the second point: you are not obligated to like any character. This has been bothering me about greater Spider-Man fandom (and adaptations) for years because I think there's this incredible push for people to like Peter Parker. There's this feeling like, yeah, you have to like this guy, because he's so popular, and because so much of the marketing is based upon everyone liking him. The truth of the matter is not every character is going to resonate with every fan and that's totally normal. But there's this idea that you have to like Peter Parker especially, because he's the relatable superhero, but no one character is going to be relatable to everyone, and in order to make him more relatable to the widest audience possible (the most desirable to advertisers audience possible) (white cis goyishe straight men ages 8-40) (who might buy a sportscar) his actual personality has to be watered down as much as possible so he can be used, essentially, as a mirror to reflect the audience, instead of as a fully developed character that the audience can empathize with if not relate to. This is why the MCU movies look like that. It's why the last few comic runs have looked like that. You are not obligated to like Peter Parker if he doesn't work for you. There is literally nothing wrong with that. But so much of Spider-Man fandom is built on people who don't like canon Peter and instead erode his personality in various ways to fit him into neat little boxes which is how we end up with fanon Peter, who resembles, in practice, what you're describing a lot more than canon Peter does. And if you like fanon Peter, that's fine. Lots of people like fanon Peter! That's why he's so widespread, because he's much easier for fans to project whatever they want to on him. That's not an insult, but an observation, because I think he serves a purpose. It's not canon Peter's purpose, and it's not a purpose I personally am interested in, which is also fine, because not everything works for every person.

Canon Peter is complicated, and he doesn't always do the most likable thing, and he has a lot of flaws, but that's what makes him interesting and so fully developed. And a fully developed character is one not everyone is going to like. There's literally nothing wrong with that.

(ASM #129)

[greenerteacups]

also just read your favorite weasley post and !! love that Ron is your favorite he gets so much bashing in dramione works im like grrggr he’s not so horrible omg! he has his shortcomings but if you’re literally diving deep into draco as a character who in canon is overtly an ass then why are we destroying Ron’s character to justify the dramione relationship TT poor story building imo, but to each their own!

love your work, excited for what’s to come!!

I think Ron would've had better reception in the D/H fandom if — I mean, for one, if he wasn't a major obstacle to their ship going canon, which is like, not his fault, but also means he's never gonna be the most popular dude on the block — but also if the later books hadn't done him a bit dirty. Without even getting into how their characters change, Hermione becomes a lot more likable in later books when her enduring flaws of bossiness, paranoia, and know-it-all-ing become incredibly useful and appropriate in a literal war. Ron, in contrast, starts as an almost idealized "hero's best friend" archetype, friendly and witty and loyal, and then gets his flaws uncovered slowly. Whereas Hermione wears her faults on her sleeve from day one, Ron's self-esteem issues and empathy problems emerge realistically over time as the plot brings them to the fore. But because JKR doesn't conclude emotional arcs, he doesn't get an actual moment to overcome those flaws and triumph, restoring audience faith and making himself more likable by having overcome struggle.

Draco canonically exists to be a bully and antagonist. The stories are not terribly interested in him beyond that role. But there's something honest about that, since the reader never feels like the text expects you to like him. Draco is awful and owns it. He's narcissistic, cruel, and mean from the first interaction, so he has nowhere to go but up. If you like him, you like him because (probably) you're interested in where he could go in the future or in alternate universes, and how he could overcome his faults (making him extremely likable, because we love characters who struggle and win). He's not a three-dimensional character so much as he is the possibility of a three-dimensional character, and all that potential is really easy to like. Meanwhile, Ron is a three-dimensional character, full-stop. He fucks up sometimes, but in general, the text wants you to like him — problem being, the text doesn't always know how to make that happen, and sometimes it fails. Which can be doubly annoying, because then you feel like you're watching a character getting rewarded for bad behavior.

Now, me? I'm a consistent bitch. Blond or ginger, I'm equal-opportunity: give me a witty asshole with empathy problems and a fanatical devotion to the people they love, I'm locked in. I like Ron and Draco for a lot of the same reasons. I think they're very similar in a lot of ways that get overlooked. And if you ship Draco/Hermione, that should be great news, because you might suppose Hermione has a type.

[hoebiirama]

✑ Anonymous sent : "Hey, Anli! I hope you're doing well <3 if ok with you, can I request some hcs for Madara and Tobirama with a fem friend who has Kamado Tanjiro's personality (from Kimetsu no Yaiba tho if you haven't watch it yet then someone who's just really kind, innocent in some way and respectful) some friendship hcs would be interesting. Thank you in advance if you accept my request! Take care 💙" ✑ Anli's useless comment : I am indeed unfamiliar with Kimetsu no Yaiba so I went off of the description you gave me, so I apologize if I didn't go in depth enough ! 😭😖 Thank you so much for requesting though 💚

Masterpost | Rules | Send a request | Works in Progress

うちはマダラ • Uchiha Madara

SFW

↳ Madara would be concerned for you. I don't think he sees all types of kindness as weakness (showing mercy to your opponent is the type of "kindness" he considers weak), but in your case, it's different. The fact that you always assume the best in people deeply unsettles him, and he's always worried that someone will take advantage of you one day because you're too friendly. Your willingness to help others is both your strongest and weakest asset. He doesn't like that.

↳ I feel like he would scold you like a strict dad. A lot. Because he grew up being told to constantly hide his emotions, he never learned how to properly express them, so it often comes out as anger or frustration. Is the scolding annoying ? Yes. Do you understand why he's like this ? Also yes. You wouldn't have a problem telling him off, but this man invented the concept of being stubborn, so your words would have virtually no effect on him.

↳ It's a different story entirely when that kindness is directed towards him. Madara is used to people feeling extremely intimidated by him, never looking him in the eye, never approaching him unless it's absolutely necessary, and being overly polite out of cautiousness and fear of summoning his wrath. And I feel like your kindness and positive attitude towards life would both feel like a breath of fresh air and very unnerving (definitely at first). He probably wouldn't know how to deal with that.

↳ But that's also the reason he came to care about you, because no matter how much of an asshole he was to you at first, you never reciprocated the sentiment. You were always nice to him. You never took anything he said personally because you understood why he was so guarded all the time and that alone was enough to make you special in his eyes. Madara has never received any form of empathy from someone other than his brother.

↳ Your kindness is pure, and he would feel it. You're not nice to him out of caution. You don't show him respect because you fear him. It's genuine. It's something you can't fake. And while he'd definitely be thrown off at first, he'd warm up to you and eventually come to deeply care about you, even if he has strange ways of showing it.

↳ What I'm saying is, Madara is biased. Showing him kindness and openness is fine. Encouraged, even. But towards others ? Hell no. That won't pass. And yes, it is partly due to his possessiveness. Because if you think that's just something he'd display with his s/o, you'd be deadly wrong. Whether you're his friend or his lover, you're still his, period. He'd be able to put up with it without too much complaining if it's with Hashirama, but with strangers and Tobirama especially, he won't stop himself from making some kind of comment about how they (read : Tobirama) don't deserve you being nice to them.

↳ Pro tip : a good way to shut him up if he starts lecturing you again is to tease him a little and tell him "well, I have you to protect me, don't I ? Why should I worry about these things when you're there ?" and his brain might just stop working for a hot minute, lol.

千住扉間 • Senju Tobirama

SFW

↳ I feel like Tobirama would share some similarities with Madara, but not even nearly to the same degree. He'd also be a lot more comfortable expressing his feelings through words, so he wouldn't get frustrated the way Madara would. It's just that sometimes he thinks you're being too trusting with people you should absolutely be wary of, or going too soft on people who don't deserve it.

↳ Thankfully, Tobirama is always ready to defend you from anyone who tries to imply that you're naive or easy to manipulate, because he knows it's far from the truth. You're no pushover; unfortunately, in the world you live in, it is often seen as a bad thing to be kind. Tobirama would have no qualms telling people off for you if need be, and by that I mean that even if you can stand up for yourself, you're not as harsh on people as he thinks is necessary, so he takes it upon himself to finish the job, lol.

↳ This one is obvious but I still have to say it : he'd also absolutely hate seeing you being friendly with Madara. I feel like all of the concerns Madara has in general would apply to Tobirama in this specific scenario. He'd be worried sick that the man would end up hurting you in one way or another (he feels the same way about Hashirama's friendship with Madara). Tobirama knows better than to straight up just tell you to stop talking to him, but if he catches you with Madara, he'd probably find any excuse to pull you away from him.

↳ Your friendliness and kindness also reminds him of his brother, and he'd definitely have a soft spot for it. I feel like he'd ask you a lot of questions to try and figure out why you're this way and how the world you live in hasn't seemed to completely ruin your innocence. It would be such a wild concept to him, and as the curious mind he is, he'd definitely try to understand your point of view.

↳ He would definitely come to you for personal advice if you're close enough. You'd be easier to trust than most people and not as biased as Hashirama would be (and, let's face it, if Tobirama comes to you with a personal problem, 99% of the time Hashirama is somehow involved in it), and you'd likely be one of the few people who could make him genuinely laugh. (Making him smile is easy enough. Just look at any picture of him with his students when they were children. Or how he was looking at Sasuke while fighting alongside him during the war. Man's not as stoic as people think he is — but you have a better chance at beating him in a footrace than you have at making him laugh.)

↳ Tobirama would love having you around, tbh. You're not as blindly optimistic as his brother is, but you're still the kind of positive presence he desperately needs in his life. He wouldn't fear negative judgement from you, and he knows you always mean well. You're probably the only person he can talk to about his students who'll get just as hyped as he is and not make some comment about how it's "unlike him to be so soft" and ruin the moment.

↳ 12/10 friendship, would recommend. For his sake. Please. The poor man desperately needs a friend.

[hazelnut-u-out]

Hi! Me again! So, why exactly do you like Rick? Im not insulting you at all! He's my absolute favorite character, but it's kinda hard to believe you love him when looking at some of your posts, not that I blame you though because I'm the same way! I love him because of his character development, he's funny, interesting and fun to watch and he's super complex ! Sorry for the kinda long ask! Love your posts!

To be honest, I have a hard time finding sympathy for Rick. A lot of abusive people tend to cite their own trauma as excuses rather than reasons and, while I wouldn’t argue that Rick himself explicitly does so, I do think he sometimes views his own experiences through that lens. That can make it a lot more difficult for me to find him sympathetic. I have a lot of empathy for Rick— as in, I can feel his pain, anger, frustration, etc. At the same time, I have a hard time understanding how that makes his actions in the present (specifically in his relationship with Morty) acceptable. I cannot separate Rick from his actions because, to reference Bojack Horseman, people are what they do, intentions be damned.

I mentioned this somewhere a while back (I think in the tags of a post I reblogged), but I think you can have genuine personal criticisms of a character and still love that character. In fact, I would go as far as to say that my issues with Rick are what make me love him, because a character’s flaws are part of what their character represents in context.

I love Rick because he’s given me something to root for. Morty deserves a good grandpa. So does Summer. Beth, who also isn’t immune to my criticism, deserves a good dad. From Season 1, you can see the good in him just begging to peek out from behind the facade, trauma, and bullshit. Furthermore, in context, he shows us that taking accountability might not always mean you’re entitled to forgiveness, but that a lack of forgiveness doesn’t mean trying and moving forward is pointless, as well.

None of us are perfect, and Rick isn’t either. Like you said, he’s complex, funny, dynamic, etc. People are not without nuance. None of us are, whether we like it or not. No one is entirely good or entirely bad. We’re all mixed bags of trail mix. We’ve all got our raisins. (Unless you like raisins. Then my joke doesn’t land.) The point of working on yourself isn’t to be perfect, or even to be forgiven. It’s just to work on yourself— to try; to fail; to keep trying.

I don’t think I’d like Rick as a person if I met him in real life, to be honest with you, but I love him as a piece of art. That’s what I think characters are! Art can be grotesque, appalling, fucked up, and offensive, especially when there’s a message behind that.

Characters can’t exist in a vacuum. I mean, would we even be interested in a show where Rick realized he was an asshole in the pilot and was The Perfect Family Man for 10 seasons without anything challenging that? Probably not.

Also, he’s just a silly guy, and I like ‘em silly.

[sleepy-the-loz-enthusiast]

Hey' I'm the one who sent the ask about modern au Four. It's fine that you lost the ask. I'm just excited for the you to share stuff about Four.

Aaaaaaa you're too kind thank you-

Here's the Four stuff you've been promised !!!

Just to preface, Four does not have DID or any similar conditions, just for the reason that I don't know enough about it to be able to potray it in a respectful and accurate way. If you do imagine Four with DID, that's valid, but they aren't here.

However, Four does categorise their thoughts into four categories-

Red: red represents emotional intelligence, compassion, and empathy

Blue: blue represents passion, protectiveness, and fury

Green: green represents loyalty, courage, and leadership

Violet: vio represents intelligence, knowledge, and dedication

Four just finds it easier to deal with conflicting thoughts by giving them names to better identify how they're feeling.

Anyways

Four is 15 in this au, though mistaken for much younger. He used to date a mysterious guy who called himself Shadow, but he went missing without a proper goodbye. Four's determined to find the cause of it, and so has developed an unhealthy addiction to true crime podcasts and researching similar macabre things. However on a different note, they also love fairytales and researching old folk stories. They pull a lot of allnighters... and have suffered a few broken toes for it.

Speaking of, Four lives with his Grandfather in a forge. After their father died at war and mother died in childbirth, Four's very close with his Grandfather and often helps out in the forge. Don't be fooled by their height or age; this fella's got biceps for days and is a very proficient blacksmith. He helps his Grandfather make weaponry for the Royal Family.

Four's also best friends with Dot since childhood !!

They have chronic migraines and hate it. Like, to the point where at worst he will be knocked out for days at a time, only waking up to eat, drink, and use the bathroom. They like to hide in the basement when this happens, I know there's nothing in canon about a basement but creative liberties?? because it's quiet, dark, and he doesn't need to move much. Their Grandfather's gotten pretty good at playing nurse while also working. At best it doesn't come to that, and Four's just heavily fatigued for a day and hates being around people. Oh, and he's developed a strong tolerance for most painkillers, rendering them ineffective. Poor guy.

Four's good friends with Wild, Legend, Hyrule, and Ravio at school, despite them being a year older. He's also friends with Wind and acts as a scary older brother figure to ward off anyone who tries messing with him. Despite the fact that Wind is taller and very capable of standing up for himself.

Four's also incredibly smart and fairly athletic, so they're pretty popular with students and teachers alike. People joke about them being able to read minds, but in truth Four's just observant and quick to make connections. He's won the school many prizes for maths and science. Buut Four's attendance isn't the greatest thing ever, and at least where I'm from teachers are kinda assholes about that. At least his grades and general attitude make up for it.

Four and Ravio have gotten into a physical fight over Monopoly before.

Aaaand with that, ramble over !

Thank you for the ask and I hope you liked reading this, have a great existence !!!!

[rockanroller]

i think one of my biggest concerns about viv's content (which has become heavier since seeing how she and raph have reacted to push-back against viv's mis-matched portrayals of SA overall but particularly both viv & raph's portrayals of SA in episode 4) was that she never actually had "good intentions" for what she's trying to say. or maybe she did at a point, but it got lost/blurred over time.

yes, it *is* a good message to attempt to give support to the "imperfect victim," the assholes who need a little empathy despite their bark and bite, bc they all still suffered horrible things that are unimaginable to some of us, and they deserve the love and healing they were denied just as much as the "perfect victim" does, but...

the risk that message can come with is emboldening assholes and "imperfect victims" who have no intentions of changing, who want to be and act horribly to others and/or themselves without consequence, who continue the cycles of abuse put upon them. tbf, this is generally unavoidable, but handling it poorly can amplify the numbers or confidence of said emboldened assholes.

the impression i always got from her work was "oh so i'm a monster? fine, then i'll act like one, deal with it" while ironically simultaneously being unable to handle being perceived as "a monster."

my concern from the start was that viv may not *be* someone who has genuinely been treated/hated unfairly (for her *entire* existence, she was def treated/hated unfairly for some of it) despite many attempts to change and "be better"--and she instead is someone who refuses to self-reflect outside of "people hate me" and wants to be allowed to be and act shitty w/o consequences "because trauma" w/o having to consider others and in an apparent effort to act fully self-interested. (which yes, all that can be a trauma response but it doesn't excuse you for how you behave/act towards others.)

it's not illegal to be selfish, but to live the kind of life where you continually act only in your own self-interest creates a very isolated and unstable foundation where you're continually burning bridges and generating misery for not only others but also yourself. we've seen this pattern continually with viv.

how i've seen viv act over time, and how she and raph have acted recently throughout the drama with episode 4, with viv seeming to continually adjust her defenses/like tweets to fit whatever argument she's trying to one-up... i'm not confident w/her intentions... and i've given her a *lot* of chances and empathy to attempt to understand where she's coming from, but i find my understandings for her becoming more and more contradicted by her own words & actions.