#we will never be able to achieve as much freedom

[elymansss]

*gives you an award and medal for getting luffy right*

Thank you! Luffy is a super interesting character and complex even with how.. how to put it, simple? he is.

He's both, it's amazing to see how Oda made Luffy. I do worry that sometimes i can't completely and correctly characterise Luffy, but i try anyway

He's straightforwards, simple, has ideals and dreams he follows until his death and never does what he doesn't want to do. He's someone who is truly free and has people around him bend so his whims, whether they know it or not.

He's hard headed and doesn't change his mind, like ever. I've never seen him be completely in the wrong, his innate senses just make him always be correct for some reason (unless im misremembering lol) It's a unique trait i'd say

His freedom influences everything and everyone, and his demeanor pushes anyone who sees him forward into their own journeys. A beam of hope and happiness in the dark that is their reality.

But his stubbness and his unwillingness to show weakness (unless absolutely unavoidable) is quite prominent. He's someone who accepts the truth as it is, knowing he won't bring the dead back to life and is able to process such heavy information in months. Some people take years to get over the deaths of loved ones, yet you see this 19-year old process it in a tiny amount of time

He doesn't even talk about it to his crewmates

He's someone who has had people around him affected by their heritage, background or past so prominently that they escape from their lavish home into a jungle or angrily lash out at the name of their dad. Luffy knows, so he doesn't ask, not Ace, not Sabo, not his grandpa and not his crew. After all, living in the present is the best and bringing up the past won't change much.

He's someone who experienced being alone for years, until he met his brothers. He felt so isolated and lonely, the thirst for love being quenched for a bit by Shanks. After that though he got brothers. And they loved him and he loved them. Then Sabo died.

They weren't alone but it felt empty. Luffy experienced loss early, he knows what it's like. The empty space of the deceased person makes you feel even lonelier than if they just left on their own two feet. He and Ace cheered each other up.

Of course in Luffy's mind, all of this is simply thought and let go of. He now knows that he doesn't care for the past much. The past would stop him from living in the present and using the skills he learned then to do something in the present is possible without sinking into the memories. There's no need to complicate life. Death will come for you, early or late, so why not have fun and eat and sleep and fight while you can?

[farfromharry]

Summary: lando’s tired and falls asleep in your arms

Lando Norris x reader

w/c 650

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

The first day of winter break was usually spent asleep the whole day for Lando. He was taking the opportunity to recover from a long, draining season and everyone around him understood.

Never before had he been in a relationship though that lasted until winter break.

It was understandable that you didn’t know about his tradition. When November 28th approached, you wanted nothing more than to spend the day celebrating all of his achievements and his new found freedom. You were excited about being able to spend a few weeks in his presence where he didn’t have to work all the time.

You had been excitedly telling him all the things you wanted to do for days now, and he didn’t have the heart to turn you down. He was just going to have to suck up the exhaustion.

That morning you woke him up barely past 7. It took a few attempts to get his eyes to flutter open, and when they finally did all he gave you was a sleepy smile.

“Ready for breakfast?” you asked, twirling individual curls of his around your finger after her buried his head in your neck.

He hummed.

Throughout the entire meal he could have fallen asleep. It wasn’t that you were boring him with your conversation, he would listen to you for hours even on a bad day, but he could barely process what you were saying.

All day long as the 2 of you explored and went through your exciting itinerary he shook off sleep so he could make you happy. And for the most part he didn’t think you suspected anything. You believed his white lies of ‘resting his eyes’ behind his sunglasses while you took a brief break in your plans to grab a drink together.

By the time you made it back to the hotel to start getting ready for dinner, he didn’t know if he could keep up his act much longer.

You were about to rush off to your room to pick out something to wear when he grabbed your arm.

“Can we just have 5 minutes? Wanna love you for a bit,” he muttered. That would be his excuse to take a quick breather. There would be no way you could resist when he was giving you those puppy eyes.

Your heart fluttered and you beamed. “Of course.”

Despite not being tired yourself, you let him lead you to the couch for a little. He got himself nice and comfortable in your arms, head on your chest and practically laid completely on top of you.

You were too caught up in your own thoughts of what you might wear to feel his breathing even out and his body go slack. He’d fallen asleep and you hadn’t even noticed, not then or not when you began to talk to him either.

“I was thinking…” Your rambles about the plan for dinner had gone completely unheard by the man, but of course you didn’t know that. “What do you think?” you asked.

A beat of silence passed, which you assumed was him making up his mind. When you didn’t receive an answer after another few seconds of quiet though, you weren’t sure what was happening.

You frowned. “Lando?”

You were careful when moving to look at him and you were glad as soon as you caught sight of his peaceful face. It made you warm inside to know he could find himself so relaxed in your arms that he could fall asleep— even if you were unaware of the exhaustion that had been looming over him all day.

Despite how excited you’d been previously about a fancy dinner, just the 2 of you, you weren’t going to wake him up now. You had no problem letting him get the sleep he needed and then sharing a midnight feast of room service later on.

“Sleep well, lover.”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

[houseoflibra-if]

"House of Libra? It's best not to talk about them, lest you wish to end up silenced like how they once were."

House of Libra.

Once the peacekeepers of the kingdom, now reduced to nothing but a lost tale. They were well respected by many for maintaining the balance of the lands, yet betrayed by those who wished for too much.

However, without House Libra keeping the balance alive, the world succumbs to the ire of the Zodiac Aura. A powerful dose of magic pulses through the lands, mutating anyone without protection. But protection can only last so long, and it's only a matter of time before the Aura consumes the lands whole.

Your family remains as one of the only branches of House Libra left alive. Due to the natural essence of your house, your family is less affected by the Zodiac Aura. No matter, as House Libra grows smaller, the world continues to eat itself alive.

It's up to you to restore the peace in the lands, for you were born under the Equinox sky.

"Never forget my words, little star. This House may have fallen, yes, but we will rise again."

House of Libra: Resurgemus is an upcoming interactive fiction inspired by the zodiac signs. You will have the freedom to explore the story and its characters with depth, so questions and various asks are greatly encouraged! This series will be 16+ (TBC), on Twine.

Features:

Play as a male, female or non-binary person. Have the freedom to choose your appearance based on what you like.(Please take note that I am a new writer, as such I do not have much experience with writing non-binary characters/pronouns. Please bear with me!)

Shape your character and personality, should you be kind, cold or a sassy boss, the choice is yours.

Build relationships- or break them if you wish. The choice is yours, but your actions will have consequences.

Have a say in the way your back story is woven. Choose your desired trauma that will affect certain plots of the story.

Choices matter. Your actions and words will influence the ending you achieve, so be wise with how you wish to shape your story.

Romance ranges between the 4 given options, shower them with your own type of affection for they will adore you nonetheless. Or you could lead them to their deaths. Woopsie.

Choose your relationship with your family. Are you a loving family? Or do you constantly need family therapy? Choose their fates as well (but don't kill all of them, that's kinda mean.)

Gain new skills and various powers that will aid you in your journey. But be warned, will they great power comes great responsibility. And a greater chance of messing things up.

Various endings will (hopefully) be available based on your choices.

This IF will be more focused on interactions and choices compared to stats. I don't think I plan on having stats. Maybe a sanity bar, but I'll see how well the coding goes.

Romance Options

Avira/Aurelius Lozenges, [RO]

Age: 26

The eldest child of House Leo, Avira/Aurelius is the epitome of the zodiac's charms. Charismatic, ambitious and loyal to a fault, there's no wonder why they're called by the admirable title of House Leo's Golden Lion. They are expected to take over the ruling throne once their father retires.

Although, with every envied perfect child comes a chamber of secrets, and they are no different. Guarded eye(s) and tense shoulders, they seem constantly restless under judgmental gazes of everyone in the kingdom.

Perhaps, you may be able to give them the freedom they long for. After all, a lion in a castle is still a caged lion.

Romance trope:

Love at first fight

Tame a wounded beast

Cocky/Arrogant -> Soft/Sweet

Castora/Castor Dioscuri, [RO]

Age: 24

The renowned child of House Gemini, they are known for their sharp mouth and playful personality. Castora/Castor remains as the number one It Girl/Guy of the kingdom as they're not only captivating in nature, but they too posses a brilliant mind like no other. Having them on your side would be quite advantageous, no?

There's something off putting about them though, as the House of Gemini have always borne children that are twins no matter how different. Yet, Castora/Castor remains as the only member of House Gemini to be born alone.

Will you dig deeper into their depths? Or will you drown in their eyes, just like everyone else? With them, you are never alone.

Romance tropes:

Slow burn

Frenemies -> lovers

Closed off heart that's waiting to be loved

Esme/Esmeray von Aquaria, [RO]

Age: 28

Some people call them cursed.

And to others, they were simply unlucky as a child for straying too far.

Esme/Esmeray is a child of House Aquarius, yet they couldn't despise it enough. Known for being one if the most influential houses due to their unyielding intelligence, a child of House Aquarius must be perfect in the eyes of others.

Yet Esme/Esmeray is the exact opposite of that. Cursed by the effects of Zodiac Aura when they were younger, they carry the mark of the Waxing Moon. This affected their life despite protection given, and they will not rest until they slay the beast that hurt them so.

They have a cold and distant personality, paired with one of the brightest minds in the kingdom only to be rivaled by the child of House Gemini. Will you be the one to thaw this icy heart? Or will you suffocate in the depths of Aquaria?

Romance trope:

Grumpy/sunshine

Cold -> absolute simp

Heated arguments and soft confessions

Nyoka Constello, [RO]

Age: same as player character

The forgotten children of the banished zodiac. Nobody remembers how this House used to flourish as they are now called the Followers of Ophiuchus. Scorned by the lands and cursed by the stars, the last surviving followers live in hiding. Now, they are nothing but tales woven in time.

Well, that's for everyone else. Nyoka just so happens to be your childhood friend, having been born under the same moon and stars aligned. They used to be docile and caring, but times have changed and so have they. Don't fret, little star, for they still have a soft spot for you.

They have an unusual appearance, with a long and sturdy sea-snake tail paired with sharp semi-curved horns. Their dark eyes seem to pull you in, rivaling the stars above.

But the mutation is spreading, and they've no clue how much time they have left. Save them, if you must. Or watch the one you once loved die.

Romance trope:

Angst. Just angst. And maybe fluff.

Childhood friends -> strangers -> lovers

"Perhaps we were soulmates in another life."

Here are some things you need to know:

I am a new writer (this is my first interactive fiction project.) so not everything will be smooth sailing.

I estimate the demo to come out mid this year, but personal matters may change some things.

This is my passion project. Please don't expect me to dedicate all my time onto this as I have a life as well.

I'm very new to coding, so learning twine will take a while. I'll have to do a few test runs before releasing the demo.

I adore feedback and asks about the game. It helps me improve as a writer while getting to build my characters more.

I want to have fun with everyone, so hateful criticism will not be tolerated. Treat me with respect and I will return the gesture.

That's all for now (I think). Have fun reading!

Demo (TBA) || Character Post (TBA) || World building (TBA)

Credits to Doshiart on picrew for the character portraits!

[heyftinally]

April 30th is the Day of the Homeschooled Child

I was one of the 1.7 million children homeschooled in the USA.

I am also one of Homeschool's Invisible Children.

I was heavily restricted at home - I was barred from nearly everything that my peers were connecting with. I had incredibly limited access to movies and TV, even more restricted internet access, and was even barred from many of the same toys my peers played with. This on top of my academic isolation made socializing very hard.

I didn't relate to my peers socially.

Children younger than me were more academically advanced than me.

I was socially unaware, and frequently missed jokes or made faux pas comments because I didn't understand how to interact with peers.

My ADHD went untreated my entire childhood.

And the issues were not only social. Despite living in a state that boasted some of the most rigorous checks for homeschooled students, I was missed. My portfolios every year were falsified - much of what they claimed I had learned I had little to no understanding of.

By the time I graduated high school "with honors" (that I did not earn and were entirely false), this is a brief list of some of my academic failings:

I had never written an essay, and did not know how

I did not know how to do a critical analysis of a piece of text or media

I was incapable of math above a 4th/5th grade level

I could not tell time on an analog clock

I could not identify more than ~5 states on a map of the United States

I could not identify more than ~5 countries on a map of the world/globe

I could not spell above a ~6th grade level

I did not know that there was proof of life on earth prior to dinosaurs

I did not know that the lymphatic system was real

And so much more.

I entered college woefully unequipped for both the academic and socal demands that were placed on me. At 18, I was closer to as 14 year old, social/emotionally. Academically I was much worse.

I had to work three times as hard as my peers to achieve the same results, battled my still-undiagnosed ADHD as well as my academic and social neglect.

I didn't fully know who I even was as a person, due to spending so many years being expected to fit a specific ideal that was enforced upon me 24/7 through the isolation of homeschooling.

This April 30th, I'm wearing green for Homeschool's Invisible Children - for children like me.

If you are a child experiencing homeschool neglect, please know that you are not alone. There are resources available to you, and your future is not doomed just because your guardians failed to educate you. I'm listing some resources below that may be of help to you.

Homeschool alumni/survivors who resonate with this story: we deserved better. We deserved education. We deserved freedom. It's okay if you're angry at your past. It's okay if you're grieving the life you might have had without homeschooling. It's okay if you're conflicted. I hope you're able to find closure and healing in whatever form that means for you.

And, because I know it unfortunately needs to be said, if you're an ex-homeschooler or a homeschool parent who feels the need to jump on this post and defend yourself, I need you to step back, sit down, delete your comment, and sit with why you feel so attacked by our truth.

This is not a personal attack on you - this is abuse survivors speaking up to prevent further abuse. It is not your place to tell us we should be silent.

"But homeschoolers test better and are more successful!" I'm sure you're dying to say. To wave your statistics at me.

And you would be wrong. Because here's the problem with those statistics.

Let's pretend we have ten homeschooled children and ten public schooled children.

All ten of the public schooled children take a school assessment. Because some excel at different things than others, the public school students average out to an 85.

Only four of the homeschooled children take the assessment. Of the other six, one is traveling with their family during the assessment, two are not permitted because their parents know they aren't up to grade level and fear backlash or judgement, two are mentally or physically disabled and so their parents don't feel the test will adequately display their knowledge, and the last hasn't received any kind of education in years because their parents keep them at home either doing chores, working a job, caring for siblings, or they are simply neglected and spend all day hungry and scared.

Of the four homeschooled children that do take the assessment, they do quite well, as their parents knew/suspected they would. Their average score is a 98.

A 98 is better than an 85, yes. But just because 4 out of 6 homeschooled children were above the public school average does not mean homeschooling is automatically better. If you tested the top four public school students, they might very well score a 98 as well.

However, if you included those other six homeschooled students, the average homeschool score would very likely be something closer to a 45.

So when we talk about Homeschool's Invisible Children, we're talking about those six that never got the chance to take an assessment. Those six who never had a chance to tell a teacher "I'm ten and I don't know how to read". Those six who may not even realize how far behind their peers they are. Those six who deserved to have access to supports so that they could learn in ways that actually met their needs.

So while your statistics look good on paper, they are not honest. They do not present the full picture of homeschooling. Listen to the homeschool survivors who were one of those six kids who never got to make their voices heard. We have a voice now - don't try and take it from us.

Resources for current homeschool students and alumni:

Khan Academy - basically free online self paced K-12 classes. They have fantastic explanation videos for the lessons, you can review them whenever you want, and you don't have to stay in the same grade level for every subject - great if you're trying to catch up and you're in 6th grad for English but 2nd for math. They have courses besides just core classes (math/english/science/etc), too! They run on donations, but it's completely free to use. Also, this site is used in my local public school system to supplement the existing curriculum, so it's not just for homeschoolers!

Coalition for Responsible Home Education - actively fighting for more oversight and restrictions on homeschooling in the USA. They mostly do awareness and advocacy, but they also have resources on their site for things like what to do if you don't have a high school transcript. They run on donations, but the information is freely available.

Probably the most famous resource on this list. Videos that give you a "crash course" (aka a condensed overview) of a wide variety of topics. These are best used as supplement to more structured lessons like Khan Academy, but they have a lot of merit on their own if they're all you can manage. Knowing a bit about something is better than knowing nothing about it!

[fulcrum-art-fox]

Akemi’s line, when Goro absently asks her what she thinks being rich feels like, and she says “like never thinking about how you’re rich” is another one of the insane lines this show excels at because like. fuck me that is such a simple line but it says everything. like it sums up a lot about how her character seems to act like, the way she’s always had wealth and status, but never freedom or choices of her own, so it’s the latter that she’s focused on, whereas Mizu and Taigen, who both come from less well to do backgrounds, are very aware and quite focused on it; it flavours much of their interactions with her. It’s even in one of the first lines we get from adult Taigen, when Akemi tells him her father gave them permission to marry and he marvels over “the lord’s daughter, marrying the son of a poor fisherman”, and it’s why being bested by Mizu is such a blow to him; his whole station is reliant upon his reputation as an undefeated samurai. When he loses that, he stands to lose everything. Mizu on the other hand is really quite scathing about it. She singles out Akemi’s wealth as a sign that surely she has it all, and disdains her coming all this way to “save a doomed engagement”. Akemi lives in a golden cage, and only sees the cage, whereas Mizu sees the gold and doesn’t seem to put as much weight on the cage. “She’s better off,” she says, when Akemi gets dragged back. And it’s true that Mizu has never had the luxuries Akemi grew up with, and she seems to resent the way Akemi takes them for granted, but it is also true that, on a foundation of concealment, Mizu has claimed some freedoms of choice that Akemi desperately desires. While Seki advised Akemi to “Fight within your confines, not against them,” Mizu has sidestepped some of those confines by living as male. To survive, but also to be able to achieve her revenge. But, it’s also an interesting line for Akemi to say, because it suggests more self awareness than you might otherwise have guessed; we know that her family line has not been rich for ever and ever, her father throws in her face that he was the one to raise them from nothing. The fact that it even occurs to her to say it demonstrates she’s much more aware than she appears, than she acts, sometimes. You can be aware that you’re privileged and still fall into the traps of being privileged. But Akemi is significantly more aware and perceptive than she can often come off as; she’s a not a political manipulator for nothing. A few hours with Mizu and she comes up with the line “You’re just . . . angry.” Which is a killer line like, in a few hours she’s shifted her position from demon to person, and deduced a lot about her. This is no monster, but a man with a lot of rage and pain in his heart. She still doesn’t know Mizu’s secret, but she’s seen to the heart of her, otherwise. Banger episode for Akemi

[alexa-fika]

Hey there! Could you please make headcanons of the straw hats with a reader who's a marine admiral who is upset at the corruption of his fellow marines, deserts the marine and immediately accept Luffy offer to join his crew"since your not a marine you should join my crew" "ok sure" I imagine Luffy being over the moon and the others freaking out

Please use either male or gender neutral pronouns

Bye Family, Hello Family (Luffy x brother!reader)

A/N: Here we go! Another Defected Marine joins the dark side (the best side). Am I the only one who feels conflicted about Garp? Idk like he seems paternal and caring but at the same time he let his son die? But at the same time it was his job? But at the same time he did die? But at the same time he warned him? But at the same time he is one of the few good marines XD

Dividers by @/Saradika

“Im tired of this Luffy,”

Both Luffy and his brother sat together at the top of a cliff, the Sunny anchored beneath them as Luffy’s crew explored and entertained themselves around the small island they had rendezvous at; Luffy glanced at the Marine next to him. He turns to look a him, his head tilted, confused at his brother’s words

“Grandpa was wrong; this isn't what he made it out to be, Luffy. I hate it; the Marines are a farse filled with corruption.”

Luffy looks away from Reader slightly while listening to his words

“The offer to join me still stands; Monkey D Reader and Monkey D Luffy on the same crew, Shishishi.”

Reader cracks a smile at his brother’s words

“I don’t know Luffy, what about Grandpa? I wanted to make him proud.”

“You would probably make him more proud by actually doing what you want.”

Reader shrugs

“I’m not sure, Luffy; somehow, it feels like im giving up, but I really can’t take how those assholes treat pirates and others who stand against them. They always say how pirates are nothing but scum, thieves, and murderers, but aren’t we marines the same? The only difference is that they do it for this so-called justice. Pirates can have hearts, and they are living beings just like the next person. You and Ace are some of the kindest people out there with just as kind crews; even Sabo and the revolutionaries are incredibly kind, fighting against how inhumane the government is.”

He listened to Reader speak as a smile spread across his face

“So…You’re thinking of taking me up on my offer then?” He asked, raising a brow, waiting for an answer

Reader huffs out a laugh

“Luffy, all you heard from that was ‘im considering your offer’?”

Luffy laughed as well and nodded

“I also heard that you think im pretty amazing, shishishi.”

“That is just not what I said, Luffy!”Reader exclaimed, swinging at his brothers just for the latter to easily avoid the punch directed at him

“Come on, you’ve always wanted to help people, give freedom to everyone, and that’s what I want too! I want to be the Pirate King because he is the freest of all! You aren’t giving up if you join me! You’ll still be able to achieve your dream!”

He bites his lip, thinking over his brother's words

Luffy stayed silent; his gaze never left your face as he watched you think the possibilities over. He had a soft smile on his face as he waited excitedly for his brother to join him on his adventures

“Is your crew okay with this?”

“Of course they are! They trust my decision-making completely and know how much I care about you. I made them all promise to be nice to you and treat you just like they would me.”

“Luffy! You said that as if you were sure I would say yes!”

“Well, aren't you?” He smirked with his usual bright smile

“Besides, I already told them before I asked you; they’d said you were more than welcome to join us.”

“You are something else, Monkey D Luffy.”

“Shishishi, of course I am. im the next Pirate king,” he exclaims confidently

“So...You joining? You can't leave me waiting for too long, you know; I've already made plans for you and everything.”

Reader smiles, sliding off his Marine jacket and folding it, placing it on the cliff next to them, and turning to face his brother

“Where to next Captain?”

They let out a surprised gasp as, rather than words, Luffy responds by wrapping his rubber hands around him and pulling him off the cliff with him

“H-Hey! Im already regretting this!” Reader screams

Luffy just laughs as he pulls his brother off the cliff

"It's too late now!! You can't back out now!! You accepted my deal, so now you have to stay with the crew! Shishishishi”

Feel like I made it a bit confusing in between Luffy’s and Reader’s dialogues, I feel like you can’t tell who’s who, what do yall think. Also I keep avoiding using you, and I don’t even know why?? Maybe because I alreadys tarted writing without you but I feel like it would make the stiry writing smoother

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

[horrorshow]

Can you talk about why you think blocking and moving on is a bad thing? I thought it was a way to curate your space and avoid drama

idk maybe i'm too idealistic but fandom is a much more friendlier, welcoming, supportive, creative, engaging, active, diverse and interesting space when it's treated like a community where people are encouraged to participate and talk about their interests and where there's space for niche or more unpopular opinions without these people having to worry about being blocked and feel unwelcome by the majority of the fandom they are in. i can't stand how blocking everyone you disagree with has become the first thing to do.

you say its 'to curate your experience'. but blocking people does not only curate YOUR experience. you're also forcefully curating other users' experiences. and not for the better.

people say 'i will block you for literally anything' and then those same people wonder why engagement is down, why no one sends asks, why no one reblogs, why rarely anyone talks in the tags anymore and why this place feels so dead and boring and quiet. i wonder why!!!!

people treat real people as annoying ads they can dispose of at their whim. but that's not how a fandom or a site like tumblr works. (besides, if you really care about people curating their own experience you wouldn't block people. you can filter and blacklist and never see them again while still granting them the same freedom instead of actively making their experience worse.)

you say its to avoid drama. but seeing a post you dont agree with is not 'drama'. and blocking is not solving anything except for you personally. fandom was more fun when we remembered that every user is a real person you share a space with, and probably some mutuals as well, so you find a way to live with each other. starting with a restraining order seems a bit excessive and is not contributing to anything. it's not that hard to be respectful and tolerate others and acknowledge people have different opinions and interests and still co-exist in peace. its not that hard to be nice to people and try to find common ground with them and interact with the stuff you DO like. you do this in every aspect of your real life, so why not online?

i hear you say: 'but that requires WORK and i don't NEED to do any of that bc i can just block them'.

yeah, you can try to create your own bubble and only hang out with like minded people but you wont EVER fully achieve that (no matter how much you block, social media WILL keep feeding you posts you disagree with bc it makes them money). social media WILL pressure you into an 'us vs. them' mentality where you constantly feel like everything online is a threat or an argument you have to win and where being mean and unnuanced gives you the most notes and where you don't even see, let alone be able to treat, other users as people anymore bc you don't interact with them anymore other than to block or fight them. that's not how i want it to be online. it's not fun to me. and maybe i'm a pessimist but i think it will eventually be the death of online fandom and sites like tumblr. look at the state of twitter right now. DOES blocking give you a better experience in the long run? i doubt that it does. overall, i think it makes people even less tolerable and more vulnerable to hate and fear mongering, and social media an even more hostile place.

it's everything i hate about social media and everything i want to fight against and WILL fight against. i won't pretend my meager contribution will change anything, but i LIKE to just scroll past posts i don't vibe with and not see every argument online as a personal offense. it keeps me curious. most posts aren't that bad when you know the person behind it. i mean, you do you, i'm not gonna say what you should or shouldn't do bc that's up to you, but i recommend it: free yourself of the block button and bring back supportive user communities based on a shared love for the same thing and focus on what you have in common with people, just like you would do in real life. save the block button for the rotten apples who DO keep trying to pick fights and exclude others.

(which is, now that i think about it, probably the main difference: most people see the block button as a neutral way to prevent worse. but. that's only the case on an individual level. and treating everything online as an individual choice to which there are no further consequences, especially if they happen on a larger scale, is already a loss.)

[multiverseworm]

You know what? My current obsession is Master Chef, so… Here is how I picture that would go with the Batfamily.

MasterChef: Batfamily Edition

For obvious reasons - Alfred is the chef judge.

The competition gets one person eliminated each week. They get tested in skills such as chopping, cooking, baking, plating, problem solving, and other miscellaneous events.

There’s 10 participants and each week one gets eliminated from the competition until the master chef remains.

Participants:

Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Steph, Cass, Barbara, Kate and Duke.

Week 1 - Soups

As we enter the competition, all of the participants are expectant of what their fellow competitors are able to achieve.

The most experienced ones in the kitchen wanted to demonstrate their skills right away and set precedent so everyone else would know who to be afraid of.

Kate, Duke, Barbara and Dick demonstrating great abilities with their different kinds of soups and appetizers. However, seems like the billionaire really can’t have it all, and that includes kitchen skills.

Eliminated: Bruce Wayne.

Week 2 - Sandwiches

Easy enough one would think. Well, Steph and Tim fell out hard in this challenge since they had never made anything that didn’t involve PB&J.

Damian made an excellent comeback from last week’s match and demonstrated an exceptional performance with his cucumber sandwiches (the other participants don’t seem to be happy with this result since it seems favoured enough).

Eliminated: Tim Drake.

Week 3 - All things Eggs

As the weeks start to go by, each challenge starts to get more and more complicated and the participants are feeling it.

Kate and Barbara are still holding strong their top spots in the competition bringing Benedict eggs or a Croque Madam, but this week Jason surprised everyone with a perfect French omelette one could fine at a decent Gotham restaurant.

This week, two contestants had a rough week when they burnt or included cracked egg shells into their food.

Eliminated: Cassandra Cain.

Week 4 - Italian

For this week’s challenge, the contenders were allowed more freedom to choose their dish with the condition it had to be Italian cuisine.

Duke and Damian prepared similar dishes by preparing tomato pesto and basil pesto for their pasta. This caused a timeout imposed by the judge when the youngest Wayne unsheathed his sword. This will retract points from next week’s challenge.

Steph and Jason both prepared pizza but the burnt edges on Steph’s are not a good sign.

As usual, Barbara, Kate and Dick remain on top each with a different type of dish.

Eliminated: Stephanie Brown.

Week 5 - All things Potatoes

So many variations, so many uses. Potatoes were brought by the participants in very creative ways now that we are in the middle of the competition.

Damian won this week’s challenge with an effortless and exquisite scalloped potatoes. Who knew he had this much talent to cook in him?

However, repetitive and boring dishes cost the top to our usual favourites. Only one dish that was presented in the form of French fries left out judge sighing and not in a good way.

Eliminated: Jason Todd.

Week 6 - Bake Off Part 1: Cookies

Baking is the most difficult part of being a chef. And the contestants found out the hard way.

Barbara delivered some ginger cookies she used to bake every Christmas at home, putting her at the top of this week’s challenge.

Kate and Dick barely handled their cookies not crumbling all over the place. But our two last competitors lost track of time: one got the cookies in too early and the other got them out too late. Raw or burnt?

Eliminated: Duke Thomas.

Week 7 - Bake Off Part 2: Dessert

In this week’s challenge, freedom to choose was once again granted. The only condition was to prepare a dessert that needed baking.

Dick’s strawberry cheesecake won over the judge’s palate since this recipe is something he seems to prepare quite often for his partner at home.

Damian had a good week with an Arab recipe for a Harissa, while Barbara’s brownies were out of this world. Kate however, seemed to made the mistake of using salt instead of sugar.

Eliminated: Kate Kane.

Week 8 - Bake Off Part 3: Pastries

Remaining top three in this competition and the first of the last two challenges is here. One of the most if not the biggest challenge for a baker: pastries.

This challenge was met with the best results of the contest so far. All three pastries were made almost to perfection.

Damian decided to go for something simple but effective, a cream puff. While Dick chose a chocolate croissant and Barbara Classic Éclairs.

A minor technicality should about all of this should decide the final two. And that is, the croissant was not bathed with egg wash and therefore lacked glaze.

Eliminated: Dick Grayson.

FINAL WEEK - Worthy of a Gala Dinner

As our two finalists enter the final round of the competition, our judge congratulates all the past participants for their ability to NOT burn his kitchen in the process.

This week’s challenge is meant to be the most exciting and stressful of them all. Our two finalists have to prepare an entree, main course and dessert worthy of a Gala for the Wayne Foundation.

All these weeks have been a preparation for this.

Damian and Barbara went their different directions to get this done. Barbara going for a classic approach and Damian having to adjust his dishes to his vegetarian style.

Here are the final dishes prepared by each participant:

Damian Barbara

Entree Tabbouleh Antipasto platter.

(Middle Eastern salad)

Main Meat-free Moussaka. Creamy salmon with

(Middle Eastern dish) roasted potatoes.

Dessert Lemon Carlota. Tiramisu with ice cream.

Damian’s dishes are a clear result of his heritage, the love he has for it, and discipline to learn new abilities and skills like he was always taught. His start in this competition was bumpy, but after assessing his mistakes he knew what he needed in order to succeed.

Barbara’s dishes are the result of years of helping out around the house when his father had to stay extra hours helping Gotham and learning how to do things on her own. She maintained her top profile throughout the competition, defining how a good and deserving competitor looks like.

Both of them clearly deserve the title.

So, for this time, and this time only, the winner of MasterChef: Batfamily Edition is…

[aboutmercy]

thinking about how dongsik and joowon are the inverse of each other. thinking about joowon's journey realizing that blood is not thicker than water, ties can be severed from abusive family members (no matter how painful that is) and that among many things, his father's cruelty is what took away and destroyed dongsik's family who actually were a positive force in his life. many things about beyond evil appeal to me, but i mainly want to put a pin on the central themes of the show, particularly the failures of adults and parental figures, how that ripples through the lives of their successors in an especially vicious and self-destructive manner. this is a commonality found between multiple characters in the show (minjeong, joowon and jeongje) - but i want to put emphasis on joowon's struggle with this because his path to freedom was walked to completion, in comparison to minjeong whose life was cut short and jeongje who we part with carrying the painful knowledge that he may never achieve absolution, as his journey has only begun.

the show, technically starts at the beginning of joowon's journey/arc. unfamiliarity and discomfort force him to adapt and self-reflect, because the only way joowon was able to free himself was by breaking every rule his father set for him, going beyond his selfish confines and breaking down the walls he built. joowon is unable to get his physical body dirty, he is emotionally closed-off and is incapable of understanding why the people in manyang, particularly dongsik, would look out for anyone other than themselves. he is selfish, rigid, guilt-ridden and bashful; but it is exposure to dongsik's unwavering faith in and patience for others (for jeongje, for sangbae, for the people of manyang that have wronged him for years) that erode his harsh edges. dongsik, although not without flaws and contrary to what his outer appearance and manner of speech radiate, is kind and forgiving. that kindess, that forgiveness, as well as joowon's own guilt and shame is essential to getting him to a point where he is comfortable bloodying his hands, his clothes, and his face to protect dongsik (+ jihwa and her partner. to protect his friends).

dongsik recognizes joowon's pain too ("i know what it's like to be blamed for something you didn't do"). he sees his guilt, it's not inordinate to what joowon's done per se but a large portion of it brings so much shame to joowon ("please, stop doing unnecessary things out of guilt.") how could i have been so self-righteous when the man who bore me is responsible for so much misery? how do i rectify this, how do i absolve myself from the guilt? all dilemmas joowon grapples with, and dongsik, knowing pain and shame all too well does not grant joowon mercy when he is bowed down, forehead to cuffed hands while joowon's own are also cupping dongsik's, begging for it. mercy is letting joowon go, it's lifting the burden of responsibility off his shoulders - but instead, dongsik’s final request ensures that joowon truly atones ("i ask you to arrest me" - "no, how could i do that? i have no right") by informing him that the only way to live with guilt is to try and do right by the people who expect something from him. "joowon-ah", dongsik says as he softly picks up joowon's clenched fist, the look they share informs joowon that going through with the arrest is how he'll do dongsik right. it's what dongsik, his now friend, expects from him. that's what their final scene as partners is all about, in my opinion.

and something good does come out of dongsik's firm but tender confrontation. joowon gradually becomes a better person who seeks community and whose life, in return, is enriched by the friends that forming community gave him. dongsik and joowon's parting is bittersweet, but in letting joowon know that his actions matter to others and that he is wanted and expected by others - (jihwa, as part of the larger collective whose feelings towards joowon are influenced by dongsik's, texts him and checks in - that expectation to show up and empathy for when he does not respond is an invitation letting him know that there is a place for him if he chooses to occupy any) - dongsik sets him free.

[thesoulsofthedarned]

So I finished the Farewell Rayashki event:

Wow, what an amazing event. Probably one of my favorites in Reverse 1999. I loved watching the story of the townspeople of Rayashki fighting back against Zeno to protect their home with the help of a down- on- her- luck researcher unfold. This was probably the first event story in this game that got me feeling emotional. I think what contributed so heavily to my enjoyment and investment in the story was how we got to familiarize with the town itself, from it’s backstory, to the lives the residents that live there.

Back before 1.8 released on global, I never had much of an opinion on Vila. All I really knew about her was that she was a top tier healer mermaid who liked talking about freedom and stuff. But man, this event story really warmed me up to her as a character. She’s such a lovely teacher for the children of Rayashki, always encouraging them to be open minded and learn new things (kinda reminds me of teachers I used to have). Vila’s also such a brave leader for the people, not afraid to speak her mind on the unfair treatment Rayashki was facing at the hands of Zeno and rousing the townsfolk to band together to find new ore to support the town. I also really liked her relationship with Windsong and how she encouraged Windsong to not give up on her dreams. And that’s not to mention her backstory of being shunned and scorned by humans and rusalka alike, yet being able to find a place where everyone could live in harmony in Rayashki. Such a great character :)

Avgust was such a cinnamon roll. Just about every appearance he made on screen was a delight to watch. He’s got such an odd yet endearing way of interpreting the world around him and that made for some excellent chemistry for him and the other characters. He’s so strange yet so cute at the same time, it’s no wonder my sibling went for him on Vila’s banner (they got Vila but not Avgust btw).

Windsong was definitely the MVP. At first I assumed she’d be like Yelan from Genshin: cool, alluring, mysterious, all the typical tropes you’d expect from a woman like her in a gacha game. Turns out she’s almost nothing like I’d expect. Windsong at first was awkward, anxious, not confident in her talents as a ley hunter at all do to her past failures in the field of ley line research. She was on the verge of giving up, yet throughout the story she’s able to finally prove the study of ley lines can be a valid and useful field with the help and encouragement of the townspeople. Watching her become a teacher for the kids at the school was also heartwarming to watch. Also watching Windsong tell that Zeno guy where to shove it was also pretty satisfying, seeing her developing friendship with Vila and the rest of the town was sweet, watching her slowly helping the town achieve their goals and subsequently reach her own and finally coming to her own as a researcher was so cathartic aaaAAA-

Overall, this event was incredible, thanks in no small part to the excellent writing. I absolutely love this story, and I can’t wait for it to rerun :)

[chick-with-wifi]

Meta: Shaw doesn't need god mode

Shaw is the only main character who has never been in god mode (Root in 2x22 then periodically throughout the series, Reese in 2x22 and 4x22, Finch from 5x10 onwards) and this is because, due to her skills and style of operating, she doesn't need it.

She is extremely observant, so would receive no benefit from the Machine's updates about her surroundings. For example, she reads the room in 5x11 ("That guy has a bum leg, the one by the door still has the safety on, and she hasn't stopped shaking since she raised her gun.") with the same level of detail as the information the Machine gives out ("Sharp right leg. Left knee, ACL. Tactical blade. Glass jaw." 4x22). 

This extends to awareness of approaching threats, so she doesn't require the Machine to tell her where to aim. In 2x22 when Reese is in god mode, she shoots an approaching enemy at the same time as him and continues to help throughout the scene. In 3x01 she uses two guns to take down a group of enemies, leaving them a groaning heap on the ground, much like Root does with help from the Machine in 3x10. 

She achieves this through a mixture of quick reflexes and precise aiming, as shown through her shooting an enemy after seeing his shadow under the door in 2x16, shooting a perpetrator who is using a victim as a human shield by aiming through his jacket in 3x05 and reacting instantly when a sniper's red dot appears on Root in 3x21. 

This ability to rapidly assess her environment and move with exact timing also factors into her signature move of sneaking up on people, demonstrated when she both appears and disappears on Reese in 2x21.

Shaw is excellent at reading people and gleans a lot of information from using this skill, so does not require any additional input from the Machine. In 2x21, she makes deductions easily from Reese's body language ("Can you track him? How? You put a bug on your friend?"). In 3x05, she can tell when Gen is lying ("There is no Agent Cross.") and later knows exactly what to say to persuade Gen to give her the location of the tapes ("I'm a spy too, remember?"). In 4x11, she is able to talk the bomber out of detonating his vest.

She also demonstrates incredible strategic planning, exemplified by her escape from Samaritan in 5x08 ("It's not like I'm gonna spill a glass of water on the nightstand, stomp on your foot, throw an elbow to your chin, and stick you with that sedative.") which parallels Root's escape from the psychiatric facility in 3x03 with the Machine's help ("First the phone on your desk will ring. She'll be letting me know it's time. Then I'll punch you in the carotid artery. It'll hurt, Ronald, but it won't kill you. Then I'll take your car keys.").

Her plans involve reacting in the moment and maximizing the resources available to her, so any further instructions would be a distraction. She does this both in smaller ways, such as taking the enemy's radio in 2x16 to keep updated on their movements and using her gun cartridge as a mirror to look down the hallway in 3x05.

And in larger ways, for example in 2x16 when she needs a place to lay low and get supplies, she kidnaps a drug dealer and uses their base of operations, likely because they won't call the police on her. In 3x05, she repeatedly ignores Finch's instructions to get medical help and instead follows the trail of clues stemming from a packet of drugs to successfully track down the people who took Gen, while stealing supplies from an ambulance and giving herself a blood transfusion in the field.

In conclusion, Shaw works best when given an objective and the freedom to choose for herself how to complete it. The ISA worked like this ("My call. We had the cesium. Seemed like the best way to cover our tracks." 2x16) and she excelled at it, as evidenced by Wilson calling her his "best operator" (2x16) and Hersh saying "Shaw is one of our best. Trained her myself. You're not gonna find her until she wants to be found." (2x16). In this episode Finch also asks her to stop running "because you're much too good at it and we can't keep up."

This makes her a very valuable asset to Team Machine, which is particularly well demonstrated in 4x11 when Shaw's arrival makes their chance of survival skyrocket from single digits to over 20%.

[makingspiritualityreal]

The South Node - An Area of Unfair Sacrifice

The Nodes are where we pay an unfair price for a necessary exchange. It is where we offer an area of a given house in order to have any life progress and growth at all in the area of the opposite.

It takes a human incarnation years to redefine and correct the areas of the South Node, as early in life it is karmically out of our control. So we need to give up on this area in its traditional form, knowing it will never function in a way that is beneficial to us. That becomes particularly painful when there is a planet conjunct the South Node. These areas of life produce a feeling of lack, but it is a sacrifice necessary in order for one to be able to grow in the area of the North Node.

As much as the Nodes are both unstable in their own right, the North Node being friendly to Saturn, offers a stable, reliable progress over time, with effort, maturity and reflection put into it, mixed with its cutting edge, out of the box, freedom oriented mindset. The North Node inspires us to actually set a goal.

The South Node causes so much pain, because the South Node and Saturn are enemies. Saturn is strict, but fair. Saturn is an Earthly life regulator of being given the right opportunities. Saturn offers measurable steps, solutions and rewards, even if it comes with timidness and obstacles. The South Node is the sum total of our karma, that reaches down to past lives, and thus it is responsible for wreaking havoc on our lives in ways that are beyond logical, rational fixing. It requires a completely meditative, surrendered attitude. In extreme cases, it requires one to completely move away from the given planet/house area, or only do the absolute minimum if necessary for survival.

The South Node requires of us to achieve a level of Monkhood, even if on a small scale. Early in life, as we are unexperienced in dealing with that energy, we end up being taken advantage of, and we give ourselves away. A mature South Node instead isolates from all unwanted stimuli, not really taken excessively for oneself, but also setting healthy boundaries through distance. We can actually have gains from the South Node our whole lives, if we don't try to control them or approach them too much.

Only as we mature into our 40s, the Karma of the South Node lets up, giving us exactly what we needed, even if in minimal form, perfectly tailored to our needs. To give you a more tangible example of how the Karma of the South Node works, somebody with their South Node in the 7th house may have an impossible time finding a good life partner on a personal ground. They may have successful, working business relationships from a degree of distance. They may have long-distance online romances. Since their life karma wants them to focus on individuality, self discovery, self expression and independence, the North Node in the 1st house may inflate their ego. That is actually a positive phenomenon with this alignment. The native may find, that the more full of themselves they are, the more they invest in their own brand, the more they attract successful working partnerships. Nevertheless, true intimacy mixed with acceptance of the person's basic identity, remains out of reach.

As a result, this native gives up on their deep desire for a successful, intimate partnership. They adopt a mentality of "This is who I am, and I am going to be myself and express myself to the fullest, and I am not compromising anything for that. Anyone who approaches me, if they want to be close, must accept that, as I fully delve into discovering my individual self every day". Ironically, it is that attitude of complete self acceptance, that solidifies the person's character and teaches them not to compromise. Then, when the South Node karma lets up at its own designated time, sometime after 42, just as the native has completely surrendered to such a lifestyle and given up on one's desire even if deep down they hold it in their heart, they unexpectedly meet their perfect match. They receive exactly what they have been missing all along, after they have completely reinvented themselves.

The concept of unfairness related to the South Node comes from the fact, that prior to that time, the desire of the South Node house and any planet conjunct it, remains emotionally dissatisfying. Any time the native tries to pursue the matters of that house outright, especially on a more sensitive level, they will be denied. There will be no fairness, even with a delay as Saturn would want, no equal payback, no "rightness", only strife, that ensures the native is pushed back towards their North Node.

The difference in South Node functionality and planetary alignment in between charts is in the fact, that as much as it denies emotional satisfaction, a strong South Node is actually a stable support system. Using the example above, the person with South Node in the 7th house, if well functioning, will actually attract an array of partnerships to help them construct their own brand. They will always have somebody available. They may even be the kind, who marry exclusively for status and name, and agree to a level of distance in the marriage in order to advance themselves on a personal level. The other significator of South Node karma is how fast it lets up. The Nodal release starts according to Vedic classics at the age of 42, but a stronger holding, more karmic South Node will delay that progress into the native's 50s and beyond.

The best functioning South Node is one, that fully, naturally, embraces detachment early on in life and doesn't look back. Often, a strong North Node helps, as it gives one a measurable goal to strive for. A struggling South Node is extremely stuck in the past, which manifests as passing up opportunities when they appear, out of a desire to remain within one's comfort zone, being avoidant of the North Node.

Another, more unorthodox form of the South Node, is the aforementioned concept of monkhood. These are people, who embrace servile roles, completely ridding themselves of any earthly desire, choosing an ascetic life with no reward. That may be a necessity one is forced into due to extremely heavy past life karmas.

[loveemagicpeace]

🧚🏼‍♀️🧸Life Events 🎨🧁

🪐I get a lot of questions about saturn and I don't think a lot of people are familiar with the energy of saturn. Many people think that saturn is bad and that it will bring them karma. I don't think Saturn is a bad planet, I never thought so. Saturn energy is difficult and challenging - it's true. But it doesn't always have to be like that. Saturn is the planet of time, days, seasons, lessons and learning. You learn with Saturn - he teaches you how to overcome something so that you can become something better. He shows you the path you are going through. Save you from bad people. Saturn is a silent planet that shows and guides you through life. At the end, he gives you a reward.

⚡️Mars is a planet that can constantly put you in front of challenges, missions and ignorance. It is the planet of aggression and shows itself outwardly, but at the same time it can cover up big things.

💕Jupiter trine Venus in natal chart means that you have a passion for travel, that you can show your talents and creativity in other countries. Traveling makes you feel fulfilled. And there you can also meet the love of your life.

💚Mercury in 9th house- you learn foreign languages ​​very quickly and you like meeting people from foreign countries. And you also really like watching series from other countries. You have a great interest and passion for everything new and different.

🦋Venus conj Mars- you are intense and passionate in relationships. Your level of intensity may be too much for a partner to cope with. Because you want passion and someone who knows how to show you love in a more intense way. You need a partner who will handle your energy and you as a person. It is difficult for you to deal with people whose energy is not too calm. These people are also magnetically attractive.

🫀Mars sextile Jupiter- You possess a steady confidence paired with a unique talent. You fundamentally believe that you should be able to try anything at least once. This also gives you strength, courage, honesty, and generosity.This can also lead you to fame. This aspect is considered one of the luckiest of all. You are bold and strong. This adventurous nature is just one reason others find you very attractive.

🔥Aries rising you might identify yourself as a warrior. Mars who is your chart ruler will show you what kind of warrior you are, how your energy is showing and what provokes you to fight.

⭐️The Sun stands as a symobol of where we seek to shine, achieve, where we find inspiration and take pride. If your sun is in the 9th house in Libra you are looking to have spiritual mentors, meaning you need people who can help you have a clearer view of the world. You discover personal power by embracing freedom in partnership. Your central purpose is to expand existing ideas of what it means to be paired up with someone.

🐚The Ascendant / 1st house also show a new beginning of something and a new chapter of your life. Virgo Ascendant there might be a degree of anxeity about how things will unfold. You want everthing to be organized. Pisces Ascendant each new phase begins with an inner vision. Capricron Ascendant a new beginning can always be something related to your independence, respect, discipline, career.

🧼6th house is all about your daily life, routine, work , habits. Mars in this house it can show that you go to the gym regularly. You can often do things obsessively. It's important to you to do things for yourself. Neptune here might mean you need to bulid in time for daydreaming or listening to your fav music. For you if you miss your joga class, meditation session you don't feel so good anymore.

🧸12th house is our image& imagination. Mercury here you might be interested in myths & fairy tales. Venus you are always looking for the perfect partner. Perhaps art or photography appeal to you. Mars here -you can be very good at things you do yourself. You can have a natural talent for many things related to you. Saturn here might serve you well if you are designer, the manager of an art gallery.

Fire signs tend to seek fun and adventure with friends. Someone who cheers them up and with whom they can do crazy things. Air signs prefer intellectual and social connection. They like everyone to understand each other. Water signs seek an emotional type of bond. Earth signs often conduct relationships at a slower pace than other signs.

🧚🏼‍♀️Venus is a cohesive force, suggesting your style of making bonds and finding common ground. Even in the closest friendship. Venus in Aquarius, for example, the eclectic nature of your friendship group might be based on a belief of giving equal value to all. Venus in Scorpio you will want to have only one person to yourself. And you will want to have a deep relationship with the person. Venus in Sagittarius you will want to create unforgettable moments with your friends and want to feel alive with them.

👄Which side of sex signs are looking for: earth signs are usually very slow and in general are focused on the physical side of sex. Fire signs love passion, drama, romance all together. This make them adventurous lovers. Air signs like someone they can dream about but also someone they can talk to. Water signs are looking for something deeper, intense and mysterious. Only for them. They need to be on the same emotional level for love to blossom. They experience everything through emotions.

-Rebekah🦋🌊🐚

[fallinforerling]

LOVE ISN'T ETERNAL... but maybe ours is. final chapter - jb

A/N: Tada! Here it is. The end of an era! Can you believe it? I hope you all liked it. Thank you all for liking my writing and following me, sending messages and support. I'm so grateful for all of you. Love ya always xx

* The photos are pure inspiration! Not true representation of any of the characters.

ೃ⁀➷ jude’s masterlist

ೃ⁀➷ jude’s taglist

ೃ⁀➷ masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

♡ three months later ♡

footballgossip

♡ judemylove, universalfootball and 534,320 more

footballgossip It appears that rumors involving BVB star Jude Bellingham and the mysterious girl that has been seen at recent games are true! The youngster confirmed his long-term relationship with his girlfriend on his IG after today's game! What do you guys think?

Follow @footballgossippp for more info about your favorite players!

loviejude omg wtf, i KNEW he was with someoneeeee

bvbjude i mean... we all knew. this girl has been on his games and jobe's ig for a WHILE now

judesgirl YAAAY. i'm so happy for him!!!

— The article spread like fire, and on the first fifteen minutes of being out, you'd received it more times that you could count. It was a bit overwhelming, but you knew it was coming. Since the day you two got out of the stadium holding hands, everyone knew Jude Bellingham had a girlfriend. And even thought just a tiny circle of people actually knew your name, everyone knew your face.

So you decided to soft-lauch yourself into the public eye. Well, officially. The first step was to make your IG public, and then posting the photos you took after the game. You did it first, thinking that Jude will do something similar to your style.

yourinstagram

♡ nikkiwikki, mia_d, judebellingham, jobebellingham, gioareyna and 760,880 more

yourinstagram my winner ♡ i'm so proud of who you are, your achievements and having you by my side. love you forever

judebellingham i love you so so so much

jobebellingham disgustingly beautiful, love you guys xx

nikkiwikki i knew it

mia_d me and who

gioreyna 👀

judeforever omgksjdkdnfnff i can't

bellinghamnow she's a real one 🫶🏻 we love you queen

judesbaddie can jude fight??? lmao

bellinghammm i'm tired of being singleeeee 🥹

— After seeing the (mostly) positive response from everyone, you felt relieved. Jude was next to you, “giving it the last touches” as he said, then after hitting post, he gave you the proudest look ever.

“I'm so good.” Was the only thing he said, smiling.

“Let's see.”

judebellingham

♡ yourinstagram, jobebellingham, gioareyna, erling.haaland and 1,346,590 more

judebellingham date night with the love of my life. i'll never shut up about you and how much i love you. having you by my side it's the biggest achievement ever. love you forever xx

yourinstagram omg i'm the love of his life 🥹

jobebellingham bring me dessert pls

yourinstagram you're ruining the mood bro

jobe2005 nah, jobe is wilding on their comments like pls 😭

judeforever i didn't want to cry at 2 am but oh well

bvb awwww

judebellingham i know right 🥹 she's beautiful

jb22 girl, if that man doesn't treat you right I CAN

“You call that soft launching me?” You laughed, kicking him just a bit on the leg.

“I was very subtle, my love.” He said, catching your leg and dragging you across the sofa until you were almost on top of him. “At least I didn't called you my future wife.”

You blushed, hating and loving at the same time how much he has been hinting and joking about proposing. You didn't know how to feel.

— Now that you felt more confident about posting every single photo available of Jude, you did it as much as you could. Everyone loved it, not only your close ones, but Jude's fans, thanking you for giving them more content.

You never imagined yourself enjoying the fact of having a public relationship. But it never was about the attention, but the freedom of wanting to post and being able to do so.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

— You lowered your phone after seeing the most recent story he posted, smiling at your boyfriend with such force that you thought your face was going to split in half. 

“Ready?” He hugged you as tight as he could. “The reservation is waiting for us.”

“I'm always ready for dinner.” You said, giggling when he started to kiss your face. “I love you.”

He caressed your face, looking into your eyes for a few seconds before kissing you again. 

“I love you even more.” He finally replied, twirling you around. 

It was such a wonderful night with the most wonderful boyfriend ever. 

Thank God for second chances.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

— After dinner with friends... And family, you didn't know what to say. It was so shocking that all you could do was see the photos Jobe, Nikki, Mia and Denise were sending you one after another.

✉️ Nikki: Post this one!!!

✉️ Mia: NO! This one has better lighting

✉️ Jobe: As the newest member of the group chat, I order it to be this one I personally took

✉️ Nikki: Excuuuuuseeee me?

✉️ lmaoooo, guys don't fight!!!

✉️ Nikki: He started it!

yourinstagram

♡ judebellingham, nikkiwikki, mia_d, jobebellingham and 2,456,789 more

yourinstagram getting married i guess (i love you darling)

judebellingham i love you more bro 💕

jobebellingham it was my idea, you're welcome

yourinstagram say what now? 😳

nikkiwikki and my photos won

bvb congrats to the beautiful bride to be!

yourinstagram thank youuuu 🥹🫶🏻

mia_d what was more culturally significant? the renaissance or my best friend getting engaded?

judebellingham our engagement, of course

judebellingham

♡ yourinstagram, jobebellingham, erling.haaland and 2,395,684 more

judebellingham proposed to my girlfriend i guess

yourinstagram biggest plot twist ever

judebellingham you didn't saw it coming lmao

yourinstagram shut up (with love)

jobebellingham again, my idea

judebellingham bro! shhhhh

erling.haaland congrats my brother!

judebellingham thank you sir!

jb22 damn, someone took my bitch lmaoooo. congrats babiessssss

bellinghammm OMFNSKDKSKDD

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚⋆·˚ ༘ * JUDE'S TAGLIST

@mentalbaddie | @taintedstranger | @mrs-dasilvasantoss | @mbapbaesluvr | @erensfavgirly | @cinderellawithashoe | @yoitsmo07 | @seajjin | @kakuchosbff | @peterparkerbae | @alwaysclassyeagle | @itsjuspenny-blog | @lbsmainblog | @youngjayla | @freetimemachinequeen | @chaeryeongstuff | @lazyreadergirl | @trentismine | @ironmaiden1313 | @wavessmile | @jul1ettt | @daydream-er | @citrusjunosart | @pierre-gasssllyy | @avianawrites | @topguncultleader

[inf1nyxw0rlds]

this might just be me talking nonsense but i was chatting with my bestie about this and. you really can get a good chunk of insight from the illusion that the phantom ruby cast when infinite touched it. we know that it essentially shows what a person desires, and what infinite desires... is just a wasteland.

infinite does not want to rule the world, at least from what i take from it – he wants to destroy it, to return it to barren earth and rebuilding it in his image was never even a consideration; while he wants his name to be known, leadership was never his intention. he wants to bring society down, to level everything and plunge things into a state of anarchy where there are no rules, no dictators, nothing. it's not so much that he wants to be the only one in control as he wants control to cease altogether, from my perspective.

i have a lot thoughts on as to why; his relationship with power is a complicated one and i love talking about it. for starters, i doubt he had a good life prior to becoming a mercenary – that isn't something people just do for fun, and while i won't go into too much of my own backstory for him, i think that would play a big role in his view of the world. he's seen more of the bad than the good, experienced it firsthand, fought tooth and nail and bled in the sand and built his name in theft and bruised knuckles. the world he sees is injust, unkind, survival of the fittest, and that has to be him.

to me, i think power itself isn't what drives him, which i know is a controversial take; it's not that i don't think he enjoys it, but that it's... complicated. infinite chases strength because he feels he has to – at least, to me, that's what i take from it. the world has said you're not enough, you have to be stronger, time and time over and infinite has burned that into his mind. he resents his weakness, he resents the status quo, but he abides it because he has to by way of pursuing strength.

he likes control in the sense that it makes him feel secure, i think, and comes to enjoy it because it's him spitting in the face of the world that tried to smother his fire. that satisfies him, being the one people fear, having the ability he once envied. but it wasn't power he wanted, at least originally, i think. it was freedom.

infinite shows not so much of a desire to rule as he does a desire to eradicate the system of rulership completely. society, money, law, leaders, and on a more personal level, responsibilities and expectations of him; he even states as much in that he is tired of the world as it is. he wants to prove himself worthy, and this is a win win, simultaneously showing he was always capable while tearing down all the things that bound him.

i've seen discussions on his freedom before and this is no shade to them whatsoever, but i don't think he's free; he's a wanted a man, and sure, he and his team can roam the regions but there's a target on his back at all times, he's responsible for not just himself but his squad, and... for him i don't think that's free. he's also trapped in his mind, by his mindset, but that mindset was formed by experiences, by his reality, so it's not like it's based in nothing, he can't argue or discard it.

if he wanted to quit being a mercenary, could he? has he ever had much choice? will he ever be able to rest without fear of ambush? to let his guard down knowing that with just one wrong move, he could die, or his teammates? when he fights, is he thinking about how he could easily be rendered completely blind, the first scar indicative of a weakness so blatant that his other eye is always where they aim? what is freedom? a feeling of safety, contentment, the absence of fear? what freedom means to him, i think, is a desire for total autonomy.

the thing is, to achieve autonomy, you need power, and in pursuit of power, you lose autonomy. to be powerful enough to be free, or to create a blank canvas wherein power doesn't matter. that's what i see in him. because maybe, if he strips all of this stuff away, he'll finally be able to breathe. to exist without fighting, or fulfilling expectations, not needing to be anyone or anything because he's tired. it's sort of like an escapism power fantasy. i don't know.

his name is infinite but he's always bound. by his allegiances, by wanted posters, by what he's supposed to be and especially by himself.

[yenqa]

SHE PLAYS BASS! (teaser)

READ HERE!

synopsis : prince sunghoon had a boring life. never had he ever gone out with his friends or fallen in love like a normal teenager (not like he liked the idea of falling in love). instead, he was forced to prepare for when he would be crowned king. but when your band, le sserafim is invited to play at the royal palace. his perspective on love would change all because of you.

featuring : le sserafim, hyung line of enhypen

warnings : reader uses she/her, swearing, angst, parents w broken relationships, crying, kissing, reader wears makeup for performance, sunghoon is REALLY bad at conversations, bad parents, will update as writing!

wc : teaser is 0.97k but i expect like 5-7k words but idk bc this one seems longer LMFAO

pairing : prince!sunghoon x afab!reader

release date : idk actually… maybe mid/end march?

taglist : open! comment or send an ask !!

a/n : ok long fic num 2 🫶🫶 im not as nervous for this one but we’ll see!

cut glitch :)

NO CELESTIAL WAS ALWAYS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM.

you enjoyed playing the guitar riffs and singing until your lungs went out. you enjoyed the small portion of choreography you had and the energy it brought to the crowd. but as much as you enjoyed the melody itself, you enjoyed the lyrics even more. 

to you, no celestial was about breaking the standards and just being yourself (ex. lyrics “angel-like perfection, bye” in first verse). but the song also meant that you can’t be perfect, and to not be afraid when someone realizes that. no celestial gave you a sense of freedom, like nothing else mattered but the sounds of your voices. and you would do anything to have that freedom.

well, it was the kind of freedom you already had until the attention’s eye was on you. now, you couldn’t even meet up with an old friend before someone turned it into a dating rumor. it was hard to ignore those rumors and continue on, but that was what you had to do to make it far.

and, you weren’t sure if it was worth it until now.. staring in shock as you open the intricate blue envelope decorated with gold lining. on the back, is text stating “The Royal Palace”. Yunjin squeals in excitement as you carefully pull out the paper, reading the contents hidden inside.

Dear, Source Music

It has come to our attention that your band, Le Sserafim has been spiking in popularity in our kingdom. As the Prince’s birthday is coming soon, we would like to formally invite Le Sserafim to perform at the Royal Palace on December 8th to entertain our guests. Please arrive at 3:30 pm or before as you’ll be performing at 4:15. All food and drinks will be provided for you, outfits will also be provided and we’ll have to schedule an appointment to get some measurements. Please tell us what kind of concept to go for, and we’ll do our best to achieve that. We trust that the band will perform well as always. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sim Jaeyun

you look at your members in disbelief as they do the same before kazuha breaks the silence.

“we’re going to perform at the royal palace!” she excitedly squeals, as the room explodes into excited laughter, deciding what songs will be performed.

“well we have to perform fearless! it’s our hit song,” yunjin begs, trying to get nods of approval from the leader of the group.

chaewon sighs, looking back at yunjin, “we’ll have to see how many songs we can perform and if they want us to perform any particular ones. we can ask our boss at our next meeting. he’ll probably have all the details we need,” she smiles warmly at her members, stretching out her arms and engulfing them in a warm hug.

“wait- when’s our next meeting?”

🎸

no celestial was not on the setlist. nor did your boss even think about performing it.

as the stubborn girl you are, you immediately asked why no celestial wasn’t on the list, and your boss laughs at you. stating that the palace didn’t choose the song and it wasn’t the right place for it. you thought that the song would be able to be performed anywhere (except, maybe a funeral but that’s not the point) but it apparently went against palace rules. it was stupid to you, isn’t that what the song’s telling you not to do? follow the rules?

you were surprised the great mermaid was picked, considering the amount of ‘foul language’ in the song. but since the prince was turning 21 (or 20 you couldn’t remember) you were sure a swear word wouldn’t hurt him.

it wasn’t until late at night when it hit you, you were performing for the prince in a month.

SUNGHOON WAS NOT EXCITED ABOUT HIS BIRTHDAY

all the decorations, outfits, and people were too much for him.

yes, he loved having the party, but having every single person he’s had any interaction with invited? just seemed over the top. he wished only his closest friends to come, but every year his parents would try so hard to marry him off to some random girl his age, which always ruined his mood (and his plan to have a small birthday party). sunghoon knew this year wouldn’t be different, so he didn’t look forward to it, simple as that.

when his parents revealed they were inviting a band to perform on his birthday. his lips had slightly upturned. would it be tomorrow by together? or seventeen? maybe even red velvet? his face immediately dropped when he heard the name. who the hell was le sserafim?

after he was dismissed sunghoon immediately looked up the band that was recently introduced to him, playing the first few songs that popped up.

out of the seven songs he listened to, he liked the song “sour grapes” the most. sunghoon didn’t look much into the lyrics of songs, as a song was just a melody he sang along to. but the rare times sunghoon did (which was when he was listening to sour grapes), he didn’t understand most of the lines. what did they mean by love is sour grapes? because to him, he didn’t think love resembled any kind of fruit.

well, what did love resemble to him? sunghoon didn’t know. after seeing his parents grow apart over the years, sunghoon wasn’t one to ask about the subject. and nor did he ever want to be.

the small number of lyrics he understood, made it even more obvious why love wasn’t that appealing to him. his reason was it would always end in heartbreak, which is why he vowed to himself to never fall in love. but deep down, he knew it was something he could never admit.

he was scared.