#why would the algorithm like this one better

[dnpblogcuzican]

This my favorite thumbnail ever. Twinks FREAK OUT over cow with polite smile

[funkytoesart]

you can always tell the people who give social media advice who are naturally or conventionally attractive even without even having to look at a photo of them cause they're always the ones that recommend showing your face in reels or videos to promote your art and it's like,,, talk about pretty/skinny privilege lol

[kuroakikitsune]

Creates an artwork that took ages but I'm really proud of it. Its a subject that a lot of my friends and followers like. Only a few people like it. Most of my friends have seen it and, nothing... I know I did a good job and it's pretty but this makes me feel like my art isn't good enough. It hurts more that my friends and mutals aren't liking it, more than the numbers.

[hunter-rodrigez]

As sketchy as the oceangate submarine was... you can bet your ass every single one of musky's endeavors would look just as sketchy if it wasn't for the fact that he's forced to work with government regulators.

Hell, most of his projects are this sketchy if you look a bit closer. For example: the tesla tunnels.

No fire suppression system, no emergency exits, no emergency lighting, no way for EMS to get through, no fucking nothing. I am pretty sure it's not even big enough to open the car's doors.

Or the Cybertruck that's a deathtrap for both the people on the outside and the people on the inside because it utterly disregards the last 50 or so years of advancements in car safety technology such as crumple zones or safety glass

Or the tesla model 3 where you can't even open the back doors without power. So if you're in an accident and lose power... good luck getting your kids out of the back, especially when the huge battery is turning into a huge, unextinguishable flamethrower.

Or the fucking starship launchpad that was utterly destroyed by the rocket and threw huge concrete chunks and other debris around for miles... which, incidentally, also destroyed the rocket.

That's what all these self-proclaimed Silicon Valley tech bro geniuses are like.

They all think they know better than everyone else, and that rules or consequences don't apply to them, and they see safety as little more than an afterthought.

It's why Ai and social media algorithms are used sooooo ethically. It's why amazon and facebook try to find out everything about you and happily sell that data with no disregard for what it could be used for.

It's about damn time one of these CEO dipshits got killed by their own dipshitery, I just wish it had been musk or bezos instead...

Once again, in conclusion:

[bisexualbaker]

Why do people keep recommending Dreamwidth as a Tumblr alternative, when Dreamwidth and Tumblr are so different?

To be flat-out honest, it's because Dreamwidth has so many things that Tumblr users say they want, even if it's also lacking a lot of features that Tumblr users have come to love:

Dreamwidth has incredibly lax content hosting rules. I'd say that it's slightly more restrictive than AO3, but only just slightly, and only because AO3's abuse team has been so overwhelmed and over-worked. Otherwise, the hosting policies are pretty similar. You want to go nuts, show nuts? You can do that on Dreamwidth.

In fact, Dreamwidth is so serious about "go nuts, show nuts", it gave up the ability to accept transactions through PayPal in 2009 to protect our ability to do that. (It's also one reason why Dreamwidth doesn't have an app: Dreamwidth will never be beholden to Apple's content rules this way.)

Dreamwidth cares about your privacy; it doesn't sell your data, and barely collects any to begin with. As far as I'm aware, it only collects what it needs to run the site. The owners have also spoken out on behalf of internet privacy many times, and are prepared to put their money where their mouth is.

No ads. Ever. Period. They mean it. Dreamwidth is entirely user funded.

Posts viewed in reverse chronological order; no algorithm, opt-in or otherwise. No algorithm at all. No "For You" or "Suggested" page. You still entirely create and curate your own experience.

The ability to make posts that only your "mutuals", or even only a specific subset of your "mutuals", can see. Want to make a post that's only open to Bonnie, Clyde, Butch, and Cassidy? You can do that! Want to make a post that's only open to Bonnie and Butch, but Clyde and Cassidy can't see shit? You can do that, too!

The owners have forsworn NFTs and the blockchain in general. Not as big a worry now as it was even a year ago, but still good to know!

We are explicitly the customers of Dreamwidth. Dreamwidth wants to make us happy, so any changes they make (and they do make changes) are made with us in mind, and after exploring as many possibilities as they can.

Dreamwidth is very transparent about their policies and changes. If you want to know why they're making a specific change, or keeping or getting rid of a feature, they will tell you. You don't have to find out ten months later that they're locked into a contract to keep it for a year (cough cough Tumblr Live cough cough).

So those are some things that Tumblr users would probably love about Dreamwidth.

Another reason Dreamwidth keeps being recommended is that a significant portion of the Age 30+ crowd spent a lot of earlier fandom years on a site known as LiveJournal. Dreamwidth may not be much like Tumblr, but it it started out as a code fork of LiveJournal, so it will be very familiar to anyone who spent any time there. Except better.

Finally, we're recommending Dreamwidth because some of the things that Tumblr users want are just... not going to happen on the web as it is now. Image hosting is the big one for this. Maybe in the future, the price of data will be much cheaper, and Dreamwidth will be able to host as much as we all want for a pittance that a fraction of the userbase will happily pay for everyone, but right now that's just not possible.

Everywhere you want to go that hosts a lot of images will either be running lots of ads, selling your data, or both.

Dreamwidth knows how much it costs to host your data, and has budgeted for that. They are hosting within their means, within our means.

Dreamwidth is the closest thing we may ever get to AO3 as a social media platform. One of the co-owners is from, and still in, fandom; she knows our values, because they are also her values. It may as well be the Blogsite Of Our Own.

[aventurineswife]

Yooooooo self-aware HSR AU!!!

I would LOVE to know what some characters might think of Reader constantly battling the 50/50s (like how the HSR VAs get together and pull on the banners) with a side of the gacha seemingly favoring Bronya. 😅🤣

Off the top of my head, probably the worst one could be when Reader lost more than seven 50/50s in a row. (Based on past experience. 🫠) And not too long ago, they tried to pull for Sunday when his banner was running and when they saw the Harmony symbol—

—well…no points for guessing who showed up in his place. 😅

And then Reader ended up going all the way to max pity.

Reader: “IS THIS KARMA FOR RUNNING HIM OVER WITH THE ASTRAL EXPRESS!??!?!?!??!”

LMAOOO THIS IS GOLD. 😭��

Okay, so here's how I think it would happen 🤭 (might not be accurate to the characters, plus idk much about pity and stuffs but I tried from the knowledge I got from yt shorts lol)

Bronya, being the gacha queen, might definitely notice how she keeps showing up in your pulls—especially when she’s not the one you’re aiming for. At first, she’d be gracious, “You’ve summoned me again. I can only assume it’s because you trust in my abilities to lead us to victory.”

But after, like, the fifth time, even she starts getting suspicious. “Is this… intentional? Or is this fate…? Regardless, I’ll fulfill my duties, as always.”

(Meanwhile, March is trying so hard not to laugh in the background: “Bronya AGAIN? You’re doomed!”)

Seven losses in a row, though? That’s when Himeko and Welt step in with some serious concern. “Seven? I’d say the odds are against you, but that’s… statistically impossible. Are you sure the stars aren’t just playing with you?”

“Perhaps this is a reflection of the balance you must maintain across dimensions… or you’re simply cursed.” (Thanks for the pep talk, Grandpa...)

Meanwhile, Silver Wolf is like, “You’re fighting against an algorithm. That’s your first mistake.” And then she offers to “fix” it for you (she can’t, but she enjoys messing with your hopes).

The Harmony symbol flashes, your heart soars, and then… Bronya. AGAIN. The absolute audacity.

Reader: “WHY WON’T YOU LET HIM COME HOME!?”

Bronya, oblivious to your suffering, “I will stand by your side, no matter the circumstances. Was this not what you intended?”

Everyone else is just dying. March is clutching her stomach “HAHAHA you were trying to pull for Sunday, and you got Bronya? AGAIN? Oh, I’m gonna cry—this is too good!” (she would definitely take pictures of you suffering.)

Dan Heng would try to be supportive, offering his trademark calm wisdom, “Perhaps it’s better to focus on what you do have. Bronya is an asset in any situation.” But even he can’t fully hide the slight twitch of amusement at your misfortune.

Now the real kicker: when you lose another 50/50 for Sunday and start yelling about karma for running him over with the Astral Express. EVERYONE stops.

Sunday, if he somehow hears this, “...You… WHAT?” (i kinda wanna hc that these characters aren't actually present during the fights/battle scenes.)

The Trailblazer looks at you like you (more like your screen) just committed war crimes.

Meanwhile, March is choking on her drink, “Wait, you RAN OVER HIM? Like, with the ACTUAL EXPRESS? And now he won’t come home? That’s… yeah, that’s fair, actually.”

Even Himeko raises a brow, “Well… actions do have consequences, as they say.”

You’d swear you hear Kafka’s voice somewhere in the distance, smirking, “Seems like fate is toying with you. What a fascinating little game you’ve got going.”

By the time you hit max pity, the entire Astral Express crew has started following your pulling rituals. March has a notepad, “Alright, you’ve hit 79 pity. This next pull is gonna be the one, I feel it—oh… wait. Nope. That’s another Bronya.”

Pom-Pom is pacing nervously in the background, muttering, “At this rate, the economy of our inventory is going to collapse.”

When you FINALLY pull Sunday, the whole group cheers like it’s a world event. Dan Heng, however, just calmly says, “Perhaps you’ve learned not to anger the stars. Or… the train.”

At the end of it all, Bronya might start feeling awkward about always showing up. If you mention your struggles, she’d quietly apologize, “If I’ve interfered with your plans… I am sorry. I only wanted to be of help to you. Perhaps the stars are telling us something we don’t yet understand.” (Translation: she’s just as confused as you are.)

This AU would honestly be too much fun. Every pull would feel like an event for the Astral Express, and I can already imagine March becoming your emotional support bestie through it all. 😭🙏

[thegalleonsnest]

OK since I haven't seen too many people talk about this since twitter news usually strikes pretty fast over here whenever e'usk does anything ever, let me give ya'll the run down on two things that will go live on NOVEMBER 15TH and why people are mass migrating to Blue Sky once more; and provide resources to help protect your art and make the transition to Blue Sky easier if you so choose:

The Block function no longer blocks people as intended. It now basically acts as a glorified Mute button. Even when you block someone, they can still see your posts, but they can't engage in them. If your account is a Public one and not a Private one, people you blocked will see your posts.

They say because people can easily "share and hide harmful or private information about those they've blocked," they changed it this way for "greater transparency." When in reality, this is an extremely dangerous change, as the whole point of blocking is to cease interaction with people entirely for a plethora of reasons, i.e. stalking, harassment, spam, endangerment, or just plainly annoying and not wanting to see said tweets/accounts. or you know, for 18+ accounts who do not want minors interacting with them or their material at all (There is speculation saying these changes are specifically for Elon himself so he can do his own kind of stalking, and honestly, with the private likes change, it lowkey checks out in my opinion)

Also, this straight up goes against and may violate Apple and Google's app store policies and also is straight up illegal in Canada and probably other countries as well.

If this ACTUALLY goes through, twitter will only be available in select countries, probably exclusively in the US, which would collapse the site with the lost of users and stock, and probably be the last push it needs to kill the site. And if not, will be a very sad and exclusive platform made for specific kinds of people who line up with musk's line of thinking.

2. New policies regarding Grok AI and basically removing the option to opt out of Grok's information gathering to improve their software.

And anything you upload/post on the site is considered "fair game" with "royalty-free licenses" and they can do whatever they please with it. Primarily using any and all posts on twitter to train their Grok AI. A few months ago, there was a setting you can opt out of so they couldn't take anything you post to "improve" Grok, but I guess because so many people were opting out, they decided to make it mandatory as part of the policy change (This is mainly speculation from what I hear).

So this is considered the final straw for a LOT of people, especially artists who have been gripping on to twitter for as long as they can, but the AI nonsense is too much for people now, including myself. Lot's of people are moving to Blue Sky for good reason, and from personal experience, it is literally 10x better than twitter ever was, even before elon took over. There is no algorithm on there, and you can save "feeds" to your timeline to have a catered timelines to hop between if your looking for something specific like furry art or game dev stuff. It's taken them a bit to get off the ground and add much needed features, but it's genuinely so much better now

RESOURCES

Project Glaze & Cara

If you're an artist who's still on twitter or trying to ride it out for as long as you can for whatever reason you have, do yourself a favor and Glaze and/or Nightshade your work. Project Glaze is a free program designed to protect your art work from getting scrapped by AI machines. Glazing basically makes it harder to adapt and copy artwork that AI programs try to scan, while Nightshade basically "poisons" works to make AI libraries much more unstable and generate images completely off the mark. (These are layman's terms I'm using here, but follow the link to get more information)

The only problem with these programs is that they can be resource intensive for computers, and not every pc can run glaze. It's basically like rendering a frame/animation, you gotta let your pc sit there to get it glazed/nightshade, and depending on the intensity and power of your pc, this may take minutes to hours depending on how much you wanna protect your work.

HOWEVER, there are two alternatives, WebGlaze and Cara

WebGlaze is an in browser version of the program, so your pc doesn't have to do the heavy lifting. You do need to have an account with Glaze and be invited to use the program (I have not done so personally so I don't know much about the process.)

Cara is an artist focused site that doubles as both a portfolio site and a general social media platform. They've partnered with Glaze and have their own browser glazing called "Cara Glaze," and highly encourage users to post their work Glazed and are extremely anti-ai. You do get limited uses per day to glaze your work, so if you plan on doing a huge backlog uploading of your art, it may take awhile if your using just Cara Glaze.

Some twitter users have suggested glazing your art, cropping it, and overlaying it with a frame telling people to follow them elsewhere like on Bluesky. Here's a template someone provided if you wanna use this one or make your own.

Blue Sky Resources and Tips

So if your a twitter user and your about to realize the hellish task of refollowing a massive chunk of people you follow, have no fear, there's an extension called Sky Follower Bridge (Firefox & Chrome links). This is a very basic extension that makes it really easy to find people on Bluesky

It sorts them out by trying to find matching usernames, usernames in descriptions, or by screen name. It's not 100% perfect, there's a couple people I already follow on Blue Sky but the extension could not find them on twitter correctly, but I still found a huge chunk of people. Also if your worried that this extension is "iffy," they do have a github open with the source publicly available and the Blue Sky Team themselves have promoted the extension in their recent posts while welcoming new users to the platform.

FEEDS and LABELS

OK SO THE COOLEST PART ABOUT BLUESKY IS THE FEEDS SYSTEM. Basically if you've made a twitter list before, it's like that, but way more customizable and caters to specific types of posts/topics. Consolidating them into a timeline/feed that exclusively filled about those particular topics, or just people in general. There's thousands to pick and choose from!

Here's a couple of mine that I have saved and ready (down below). Some feeds I have saved so I can jump to seeing what my friends and mutuals are up to, and see their posts specifically so it doesn't get lost in reposts or other accounts, and also specialized feeds for browsing artists within the furry community.

The Furry Community feeds I have here were created by people who've built an algorithm to place any #furry or #furryart or other special tags like #Furrystreamer or #furrydev. They even have one for commissions, and yes you can say commissions on a post and not have it destroyed or shadow banned. You are safe.

If you want, and I highly recommend it to get visibility and check out a neat community, follow furryli.st to get added to their list and feeds. Once your on the list, even without a hashtag, you'll still pop up in their specialized feeds as just a member of the community there. There are plenty of other feeds out there besides this one, but I feel like a lot of people could use one like this. They even got ones for OC specific too I remember seeing somewhere.

And in terms of labels, they can be either ways to help label yourself with specific things or have user created accessibility settings to help better control your experience on Blue Sky.

And my personal favorite: Ai Imagery Labeler. Removes any AI stuff or hides it to the best of it's abilities, and it does a pretty good job, I have not seen anything AI related since subscribing to it.

Finally, HASHTAGS WORK & No need to censor yourself!

This is NOT like twitter or any other big named social media site AT ALL, so you don't have to work around words to get your stuff out there and be seen. There are literally feeds built around having commissions getting and art seen! Some people worry about bots and that has been a recent issue since a lot of people are migrating to Blue Sky, but it comes with any social media territory.

ALSO COOL PART,

you can search a hashtag on someone's profile and search exclusively on that profile as well! You can even put the hashtag in bio for easy access if you have a specialize tag like here on tumblr. OR EVEN BUILD YOUR OWN ART FEED FOR YOUR STUFF SPECIFICALLY!

So yeah, there's your quick run down about twitter's current burning building, how to protect your art, and what to do when you move to Blue Sky! Have fun!

[milatiny-xx]

fan service special | p.sh

pairing: park seonghwa x gn!reader summary: you tried to convince yourself that you're not really that jealous of atiny. you know seonghwa is loyal to you and fan service is part of his job, but this time you need to hear it from him. tags: jealous reader, just fluff with kisses and cuddles, a minor fade to black (implied mostly) <3 wc: 2.1k a/n: if park seonghwa doesn't have the most perfect mouth on god's green earth idk who does. why is he literally soooo pretty x

⊹₊⟡⋆ masterlist | taglist ⊹₊⟡⋆

Seonghwa has been out of town for a little over a month. He's away for ATEEZ's North American leg of the In Your Fantasy tour. Of course, you're beyond happy for him and the other members that they're so successful.

But you miss your Hwa terribly.

Video calling helps but, with travel and protocol, he's not always available for it. Talking over the phone is better than nothing, but it's just not the same. You need to see him.

To fill the Seonghwa-shaped void in your life, you've taken the pathetic step of scrolling social media to watch fan edits of him. Once you start, you sometimes find it a little hard to stop. You watch them all—or as many as you can find in the two hour stretch of free time you have before bed.

You're embarrassed by the fact that your algorithm is completely flooded with thirst traps of your own boyfriend. You're even more embarrassed to admit that you enjoy the demon line videos best. It's nice to have clips from his concerts across the globe. Since you aren't able to be at all of them, you love still being able to see bits and pieces through fan edits.

At the same time, it's like a curse, watching the way Atiny see Seonghwa. It makes you jealous. As much as you enjoy the videos themselves, you don't like reading the thirst comments—people you've never met imagining what your boyfriend's tongue is capable of, fantasizing what he's like in the sheets...

It can be difficult to swallow.

You can usually get over the comments but sometimes you find yourself deleting drafts of angry comments you considered posting. Of course you would never, ever want to do anything to jeopardize Seonghwa's relationship with Atiny or ATEEZ as a whole.

After all, you're technically Atiny, too. And you can't say that you blame them. You completely understand how feral they feel about Hwa. You get it better than anyone and, sometimes, you just wish you could remind them of that.

But when you see that comment...you aren't sure what to do with yourself. On a concert video of Hwa doing the Wake Up drop, a fan left a comment saying: "if this man ever gets a partner, they better watch their back bc i'll ruin that relationship rn".

You've seen similar comments before. But something about the way the comment is written and the aggressiveness of the replies underneath...it just rubs you the wrong way.

Your stomach churns, a sick feeling swirling around in your gut. You're so upset, you can't even bring yourself to type and delete a mean reply. You think about it for the rest of the night. You sleep terribly and feel even worse in the morning.

The only thing that finally gets you out of bed is the fact that Hwa is scheduled to come home today in time for dinner. You're planning to take him out to his favorite restaurant as a welcome home surprise.

To distract yourself during the day, you clean and organize the entire house. You want it to be nice for Hwa when he gets back. It helps. But only for the few hours that it takes you to do it.

When finished, you have nothing else to do but wait anxiously for your boyfriend's return. That leaves you with hours and hours to stew over that stupid comment. You waste another hour on a shower, standing under the boiling hot water and trying to get over it. But even after scrubbing yourself clean, your skin is crawling.

Exhausted, you slip into one of Hwa's sweatshirts and lie down on the couch. Curling up with one of your plushies, you squeeze your eyes shut and inhale his scent. At least Atiny could never know this—what it feels like to cuddle into his clothes like this.

The next thing you know, someone is gently rocking your body. Your eyes stick together like glue as you blink yourself awake. Drowsy and confused, you peer around the room. It's dark. Groaning, you reach up to massage your sore neck.

Your gaze lazily shifts to the side where it locks with Seonghwa's.

"Hwa!" you exclaim, throwing your arms around his neck.

He gasps quietly as you lunge forward. His arms wind around your waist, catching you as you start to slip off the couch. Seonghwa chuckles, the sound warm and inviting. You melt onto his knee. Breathing him in like an addict, you clutch him way too tightly for either of you to be comfortable.

"Hi, darling," he says, his sweet voice melodic and gentle. "I missed you."

"I missed you so much, Hwa," you mumble into his shoulder. "You have no idea how much."

His palm is warm on your back as he massages your spine. You release a deep sigh. He rests his cheek against your head. You stay wrapped in each others arms for a few more moments before he moves to pull away, but you grasp onto him even tighter.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

You can't respond right away, embarrassed about still being upset over that comment.

"Y/N?" he continues, voice somehow firm and soft at the same time, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"I just...just missed you so much."

"I know, jagi. But I'm back now. Ah, you said you had a surprise for me when we were on the phone last night. I'm excited to see what it is."

"Oh!" you gasp, pulling away. "I forgot! Oh, what time is it?"

"Nine o'clock. Why? Did we miss something?"

"Oh no!" you whine and drop your face into your hands. How long was I asleep for?"

"Uhh...I'm not sure. You were out cold when i got home, and I didn't want to disturb you, so I just decided to let you keep sleeping. Was that…wrong?"

"No, no of course not," you say sweetly, reaching out to cup his face. "That was so sweet of you. It's just that I made dinner reservations for us at your favorite restaurant. I wanted it to be a welcome home surprise, but the reservations were for six. we missed it."

"Oh, my darling, I'm sorry. I should have woken you up when I got back, but you looked so tired."

"No. It's not your fault, Hwa. It's mine. I can't believe I fell asleep. I should have been able to stay awake until you got back. But I was so exhausted from..."

"From what? Did something happen?"

It's devastating—the way he looks at you. It's like you're a baby chick who needs caring for, like you're the most precious thing in the world. His eyes are soft, gentle, caring. Atiny dubbing Seonghwa the mother of ATEEZ makes all the sense in the world. You can say for certain that they're spot-on. That look always manages to make your heart flutter.

"It's nothing. Really," you say quietly.

"If it's upsetting you, then it's something. Please tell me, jagi."

"I saw a comment on a video of you and it really bothered me. But, please, don't worry about it. I'm overreacting, and I know it."

"A comment? Where? What did it say?"

You don't respond, glancing up at him. His eyebrows are furrowed, his concern clear in his expression.

"What did it say?" he asks, more firmly this time.

You repeat the comment, word for word from memory, and gulp. Seonghwa doesn't respond. His expression melts, that soft mothering stare morphing into deep wrinkles on either side of his mouth. He releases a deep sigh. He closes his eyes and drops his head.

"I know it's silly to be bothered over something so trivial as that," you explain. "I mean, I see comments like that all the time. Usually on thirst traps, so I try not to take them seriously. This one just really made me feel awful. I know I shouldn't be jealous of Atiny. I'm basically one of them since I'm your biggest fan on the planet. But...I just feel jealous. I don't like the thought of so many people knowing you like I do. I want to be special to you. I want there to be things that Atiny doesn't understand like I do."

He raises his head, eyes softening again as he holds your gaze.

"What sorts of things?"

"Like…well like…" your eyes flick down to is lips. You impulsively reach forward, pressing your fingertip against his lips. "Like how these feel. And that look that you always give when you're comforting me, and how your arms feel around me at night, and all the little sounds you make only to me. I know fan service is part of your job, but sometimes i worry that you do it too well."

Seonghwa smiles, his palm sliding onto your cheek. You lean into his touch, closing your eyes. Your heart is pounding with nerves. You aren't sure why.

You feel his nose brush against yours first. Your lips part in anticipation, a reflex triggered by all the times your man has kissed you so sweetly.

No feeling in the world could compare to the sensation of Seonghwa's mouth on yours. His plump lips are the perfect size. They fit around yours like a glove, slipping in between your top and bottom. His kisses are deep and wet and soft, with the perfect amount of pressure.

Hwa's arm snakes around your waist, holding your body against his. You wrap your legs around his hips. Your fingers interlock behind his neck. His head turns to the side to deepen the kiss.

You accept his mouth greedily, hungrily like a starving person, as he kisses you slowly. Each time his lips separate from yours, he pauses a moment. And each time, your breath hitches as you wait for him to come back to you. When he kisses you again, it feels like lightning ricocheting through your body. You lose track of how long your mouths move together, mind clouding with desire.

When he finally pulls away, you can barely rip your eyes open to peer at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you. I'm not always thinking about the impact on you when I act like that onstage. But I should."

"No, not at all. I don't want you to act differently or change yourself. What you're doing is incredible and beautiful, and it works. I wouldn't change a single thing about you, Hwa. I mean, look at you. You're perfect."

You smile, cupping his cheeks with your hands. Your fingers brush his long black hair behind his ears. A shiver runs through your spine at the silkiness of his locks. He grins sweetly. He reaches up, wrapping his hands around your wrists. His thumbs draw rhythmic circles on the backside of your hands.

"I love you, jagi. Everything about you. I don't deserve you," he says quietly. He angles his head to the side, pressing his warm lips to your palm. "You're perfect to me. I love Atiny, but they could never, ever replace you. No one could. Even if you are jealous."

You giggle but then flatten your lips to glare at him. His head lolls to the side. He narrows his eyes as his beautiful mouth quirks up into the slightest of smirks.

"So...you watch thirst traps of me?" he asks.

You press your lips into a tight line, feeling heat spread across your cheeks.

"Well, sometimes!" you answer defensively. "With you...slutting it up out there, it's hard to avoid them."

"Slutting it up?" he repeats, raising his eyebrows.

You hum in agreement, raising your chin teasingly. You giggle and thread your fingers into the roots of his hair. He grins. He tips forward, pressing his lips to yours. You sigh happily, drinking him in. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours. He nudges the tip of your nose with his.

"You are my number one, my darling," he whispers. "You always will be. I promise."

"I love you, Seonghwa."

"I love you too, Y/N." You smile, brushing your fingers over his mouth. "Now, how about I treat my sweet bunny to a...special fan service. One that only you get to experience."

"Oh? Like what?" you purr.

Seonghwa catches his lip between his teeth as he gently tips forward, pressing your back against the couch. His eyes darken, dropping down to fake in your body.

"I have a few ideas. Some things I've been missing and other things I've been thinking about while I was away."

"Hmmm, I think I'd like that."

"Good," he responds, his voice husky. "We have a lot of time to make up for. Buckle up, jagi. I missed you a lot."

taglist: @rileylovescats @wooyoungsbrat

[robertreich]

How Wall Street Priced You Out of a Home

Rent is skyrocketing and home buying is out of reach for millions. One big reason why? Wall Street.

Hedge funds and private equity firms have been buying up hundreds of thousands of homes that would otherwise be purchased by people. Wall Street’s appetite for housing ramped up after the 2008 financial crisis. As you’ll recall, the Street’s excessive greed created a housing bubble that burst. Millions of people lost their homes to foreclosure.

Did the Street learn a lesson? Of course not. It got bailed out. Then it began picking off the scraps of the housing market it had just destroyed, gobbling up foreclosed homes at fire-sale prices — which it then sold or rented for big profits.

Investor purchases hit their peak in 2022, accounting for around 28% of all home sales in America.

Home buyers frequently reported being outbid by cash offers made by investors. So called “iBuyers” used algorithms to instantly buy homes before offers could even be made by actual humans.

If the present trend continues, by 2030, Wall Street investors may control 40% of U.S. single-family rental homes.

Partly as a result, homeownership — a cornerstone of generational wealth and a big part of the American dream — is increasingly out of reach for a large number of Americans, especially young people.

Now, Wall Street’s feasting has slowed recently due to rising home prices — even the wolves of Wall Street are falling victim to sticker shock. But that hasn’t stopped them from specifically targeting more modestly priced homes — buying up a record share of the country’s most affordable homes at the end of 2023.

They’ve also been most active in bigger cities, particularly in the Sun Belt, which has become an increasingly expensive place to live. And they’re pointedly going after neighborhoods that are home to communities of color.

For example, in one diverse neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, Wall Street-backed investors bought half of the homes that sold in 2021 and 2022. On a single block, investors bought every house but one, and turned them into rentals.

Folks, it’s a vicious cycle: First you’re outbid by investors, then you may be stuck renting from them at excessive prices that leave you with even less money to put up for a new home. Rinse. Repeat.

Now I want to be clear: This is just one part of the problem with housing in America. The lack of supply is considered the biggest reason why home prices and rents have soared — and are outpacing recent wage gains. But Wall Street sinking its teeth into whatever is left on the market is making the supply problem even worse.

So what can we do about this? Start by getting Wall Street out of our homes.

Democrats have introduced a bill in both houses of Congress to ban hedge funds and private equity firms from buying or owning single-family homes.

If signed into law, this could increase the supply of homes available to individual buyers — thereby making housing more affordable.

President Biden has also made it a priority to tackle the housing crisis, proposing billions in funding to increase the supply of homes and tax credits to help actual people buy them.

Now I have no delusions that any of this will be easy to get done. But these plans provide a roadmap of where the country could head — under the right leadership.

So many Americans I meet these days are cynical about the country. I understand their cynicism. But cynicism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if it means giving up the fight.

The captains of American industry and Wall Street would like nothing better than for the rest of us to give up that fight, so they can take it all.

I say we keep fighting.

[sabertoothwalrus]

heyy i adore your art! do you have any advce for a small artist trying to get out there?

I guess it depends what you mean by “get out there”!

I’d say number one is to ignore the numbers. Unless you’re intentionally trying to sell yourself to some app’s algorithm, obsessing over the numbers will not help you.

The thing is, it is ok to care about other feedback you get on your art. I often hear social media treated like a dichotomy, to either “ignore it completely and draw for yourself” or to “strive to be a famous viral artist”. And I’m saying it’s not that simple.

It all boils down to why you’re making art. For some people, art is a much more personal expression, and it’s not meant to be seen by others. It’s more about the process and the catharsis than the outcome. This kind of art doesn’t need to be shared with other people.

For others, it’s a living. These people don’t mind that their art becomes “marketable”, if it becomes generic with a mass-appeal. This kind of art isn’t here to send a message, it’s here to look pretty. And that’s ok.

For me, art is communication. I’m telling stories. This is why I’m most drawn to comics and animation. I don’t pay attention to numbers, but I pay a lot of attention to comments because they help me gauge how successful I was at communicating an idea, an action, a joke, etc. It’s still important you develop thick skin. You have to detach yourself emotionally from them, and use them as a tool to help you learn.

This is why clarity is one of my biggest priorities in art. Clarity has less to do with skill and more to with “can you understand what this is you’re looking at”. There are some artists out there who are very good at what they do, but they still struggle with clarity. And the inverse is true; even beginner artists can have clear, easy to follow art.

Some things I actively try to do in my art to improve clarity:

Is the pose clear? Is the figure overlapping themself too much, or is the action still readable from the silhouette?

If there’s text, is it clear? Is the direction of speech bubbles confusing? Is my handwriting/font easy to read?

Would a background or prop help clarify the setting better? (What’s the least amount of effort I can put into this that will give the necessary information?)

Are my lines too loose? Sometimes it’s fine, but if they’re too unconnected, the form gets lost. Should I close my lines better, or maybe add a tone to separate the positive and negative space?

Does the “punchline” make sense? What AM I saying? What could communicate it stronger?

If your art is clear, people will find it and share it! Just keep telling the stories you wanna tell, make the art YOU want to see, and your audience will build around you!

[hi-itsanniemarie]

You Keep Smiling Like That

Pairing: Bella Ramsey x You

Rating: Fluffy one shot

A/N: This was a request from the lovely @girrrllidkuhh1 :) Love a little Bella moment! Enjoy <3

Bella didn’t have any social media. Like, none. No Instagram, no Twitter, not even a burner TikTok account. They said it was for their sanity, and honestly, you respected it. Admirable, really. That didn’t stop you from sending them approximately seventy-five links a week, though. Even if they never opened them.

Because while Bella was out here being beautifully mysterious and offline, your For You Page had basically become a 24/7 Bella content machine. Interview clips, behind-the-scenes bloopers, fan edits with dramatic music and devastating slow-mo transitions. But there was one TikTok, the one with them doing that thing that and smirking at the camera, that had literally made you drop your phone every time you saw it.

You didn’t even realize you’d been giggling at another one until Bella looked up from the book they were reading beside you on the couch.

“Okay, what is it?” they asked, eyes narrowing slightly, but with a smile tugging at their lips. “You keep smiling like that.”

“Like what?” you replied, quickly locking your screen as if that would erase the edit now permanently burned into your brain.

“That smug little grin. The one that usually means you’ve seen something ridiculous or chaotic or… slightly illegal.”

You shrugged, trying for casual and missing by a mile. “It’s nothing. Just… TikTok being TikTok.”

Bella raised a brow. “Was it a cat dressed like Shakespeare again?”

“No.”

“Lizards wearing tiny hats?”

“Nope.”

“Then it’s one of those videos again, isn’t it?”

You blinked. “What do you mean by those videos?”

Bella smirked knowingly. “The ones where I walk into a room in slow motion and some trending song plays like I’m the second coming of a Greek god.”

Your jaw dropped. “Wait, you do know about the edits?”

“Oh, I don’t see them,” they said, flipping a page like this was no big deal. “But I’ve been around you long enough to know the signs. The sudden silence. The suspicious smile. The blushing.”

“I do not blush.”

“You’re literally doing it right now.”

You groaned, burying your face in a pillow. “They just keep showing up on my FYP, okay? I don’t ask for them. The algorithm just… knows.”

Bella laughed, warm and low. They set the book down and shifted to face you.

“You know,” they said, nudging your knee with theirs, “you could just watch the real thing instead of all those edits.”

You peeked at them. “What, like follow you around with dramatic lighting and a sexy song playing in the background?”

“No,” they said, leaning in slightly, “like look at me like that when I’m actually here.”

They were close now, close enough that you could feel their breath, soft and slow against your cheek. Their eyes flicked to your mouth for just a second, and it was all the permission you needed.

The kiss wasn’t delicate. It wasn’t sweet. It was heat and curiosity and months of pretending you hadn’t been imagining this. Their lips met yours with intent, firm and steady, like they already knew exactly how you’d taste. You parted for them without thinking, the kiss deepening fast, messy in the best way. Their hand slipped to the back of your neck, fingers dragging just enough to make your skin buzz.

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t practiced. But god, it was good.

When you finally broke apart, your breathing was uneven, and Bella looked completely unfazed, like they hadn’t just short-circuited your entire nervous system.

“Better than a thirst trap?” they murmured, lips still close enough to brush yours.

You laughed softly, dazed. “Unfair question.”

They tilted their head, eyes glittering. “Why’s that?”

“Because the thirst trap never pressed me up against the couch and made me forget my own name.”

Bella grinned, slow and dangerous. “Well then,” they said, “maybe you should stop watching them… and let me give you something better to replay.”

And just like that, your heart was racing again, but this time, it wasn't from some video on your screen. It was from them. Right here. The real thing.

[onehelluvafan]

Soo... anyone else notice this look from "Better Than Blitzo" right before he kissed Stolas?

Yeeaahhhh, quick question. What the fuck?! lol

It's the epitome of "blink and you miss it," taking up just two frames, which is a single illustration in Helluva Boss.

I actually spent two months making a 30 minute video on this that I uploaded to YouTube back in August. Unfortunately, my channel was taken down in the latest algorithm crawl, but if you’d like to watch it, here’s a link to it on Odysee and BitChute.

Otherwise, buckle up while I take us on a journey ✨ I have three basic ideas I'll be delving into, split into three posts:

Part One: His tattoo—what it is, what it means, and what (or who) it could be linked to.

Part Two: Verosika—how and why she could have orchestrated things.

Part Three: Just an ex??—what his personal motivations could be for taking the time to check if Blitz is watching before kissing Stolas.

Keep reading to dive into Part One!

Before we dive in, just a quick heads-up that I will not be referring to this Incubus as “Better Than Blitzo.” Partly because it’s kind of long but mostly I just really like the nickname I’ve given him, which is: “IncuBlitz.”

IncuBlitz Part One: His Tattoo

I’ll start things off with the tattoo on IncuBlitz’s arm and its possible significance.

Because this thing is strikingly similar to Stolas’ crest, leading a lot of us to wonder—Is IncuBlitz some sort of Stolas stalker?  Or does he work for someone in the Ars Goetia who has a similar crest?

In both cases, I think the barometer is going to be how similar his tattoo is to Stolas’ crest, but I’ll go into a little more detail on why he might be working for another Goetia and who it could be.

I think Aldreaphus, Stolas’ brother-in-law, would be the most likely candidate in this scenario, considering that we’ve already been introduced to him and his manipulative nature. 

In Western Energy, we see him convince Stella to call off the hit on Stolas so that they can wait for, and possibly even create, an opportunity to take advantage of him later—be it for his position, wealth, power, or all three.

Even more compelling, we see what appears to be an attack or takeover by Aldreaphus at Stolas’ palace in the trailer for the second half of season two.

It’s been theorized that he may be hoping to take over Stolas’ position partially because in mythology, he’s actually already known to be an astronomer. 

This would obviously overlap nicely with Stolas’ duties, which would make him a prime candidate to take over his position—be it temporarily until Octavia has finished her training, or perhaps even permanently depending on what he’s capable of and willing to do.

So far, we’ve only seen this brief glimpse of him in Western Energy, so we don’t know yet what his actual cannon position is in the Goetia family. The mythological Andrealphus is not associated with any sort of ice powers, so it’s possible that this is where any likeness between the two ends. 

But regardless of any previous knowledge or affinity for astrology, I can see Andrealphus being interested in Stolas’ status and position. Whether it’s to have for himself, or to get close to Octavia so that he can take advantage of his influence with her in the future.

So, in this theory, IncuBlitz would have been strategically placed to get information from Stolas, keep tabs on him, manipulate him, and possibly even to further drive a wedge between Stolas and Blitz.

For any other Goetia, the desire to keep Stolas and Blitz apart could just be for appearances and maintaining the social structure that they’ve put into place. 

But if Andrealphus is his employer, I think he would have a different reason to keep them apart. And that’s to keep Stolas from having someone who can protect him.

Because if he knows anything about either attempt by Striker to assassinate Stolas, then he would be aware that in both cases, Blitz or someone under Blitz’s employ, intervened. 

The first time, they completely stopped him, causing the assassination attempt to be a failure, which resulted in Striker having to actually flee. 

Then, during the second attempt, despite it being called off by Stella, Moxxie and Millie’s intervention did prevent Striker from bringing Stolas to Stella and Andrealphus, which is what her explicit instructions to him had been.

Now that I’ve covered how a Goetia could be involved, let’s move on to what I personally believe to be the determining factor for both aspects:

How similar is IncuBlitz’s tattoo to Stolas’ Crest?

Because if IncuBlitz is actually a stalker, we would expect the tattoo to be as close to Stolas’ crest as possible. And if it belongs to someone else in the Ars Goetia, that implies that Geotic crests, in general, would all have at least a heart in common.

So far, the only crest we’ve seen that we know to be associated with the Geotia family belongs to Stolas. Considering that we’ve only ever seen his crest displayed within his own palace, I’d say that, at best, it’s unclear whether other demon royalty also have similar, heart-themed crests.

But let’s explore that a bit. 

The seals that we’ve seen so far, belonging to several Sins, Paimon, and Stolas himself, all seem to have the same basic structure.

This could lend credence to the idea that other Goetian royalty could also have a similar crest to Stolas. But personally, I don’t think it’s likely.

Mostly because Stolas’ crest seems to reflect him personally. From the tip of his five-pointed crown down to his cloak and neck accessory.

We haven’t seen much of Aldreaphus’ castle, but in the room that is shown, there does not appear to be anything present that resembles a heart.

In fact, we don’t actually know yet if Aldreaphus is canonically a marquee in the Hellaverse, the way he is in mythology. So it’s possible that he doesn’t have a crest at all if those are limited to the upper ranks of royalty. But if he does have a crest, I think it’s the snowflake that’s depicted on his chest and plateware.

At first, I thought his crown being shorter than Stolas’ and only having 3 points was an indicator of lower status. Especially considering that we see Stella, Octavia, and Baby Stolas with similar crowns.

But after realizing that Paimon’s also only has 3 points, I dug a little deeper and found this.

Apparently, there is something called a Celestial Crown that has five points, which are usually depicted with a star on each tip. 

With Stolas’ job as a Goetia being to study the stars, it makes sense that his crown would be reflective of his line of work. 

Considering this, I don’t think Andrealphus’ ice-themed crown and possible crest give us enough information to determine whether he is or is not a marquee.

But either way, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence to support the theory that IncuBlitz’s tattoo is reflective of a connection to himself.

Now, let’s take a look at the tattoo and compare it directly to Stolas’ crest.

One thing I noticed was that even though it doesn't look like his normal crown, he is wearing a crown that looks similar to the tattoo, both as a child and at this particular party as an adult.

I went back and scrubbed through footage of the entire show, trying to find any other instances of this kind of tattoo or imagery.

While Verosika and Millie both have heart tattoos like the one on IncuBlitz’s lower back, the closest thing I could find to the tattoo on his arm is the door to the prototypes at Ozzie’s.

This has led me to believe that it might truly just be a heart with a cupid’s arrow pointing down. Though it does look a little odd with the additional v-shape between the arrowhead and the bottom of the heart. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to represent a bow or is just a stylistic choice, but, interestingly, the heart on the back of the romance novel that Stolas is reading at the beginning of this episode does have something similar going on.

So, in the end, I think his tattoo might genuinely just be symbolism. An indication that he’s a kindred ‘romantic’ spirit, maybe who also wears his heart on his sleeve; Or even simply that he’s just not afraid of love and romance the way that Blitz is. If so, perhaps it’s intended to be another implication of why he is “Better Than Blitzo.”

Click here for Part Two: Verosika

[bellenotthebeast]

Hello.

I want you to listen. Don’t scroll away because of the buzz word ‘Lando’.

Listen.

This has gone beyond hate for Lando. This about all the drivers.

This is about treating drivers respectfully. This is about your parasocial relationships with the drivers. This is about you reading into everything they say.

This is about the F1 media taking clips out of context because they don’t want a race they want a drama.

This is about you taking those clips and not bothering to find the original source, and taking it to fuel a hatred for someone you don’t know.

This is about you hating on a new driver because you miss the old one.

This is about you sending hate to fans of a driver you don’t like.

When I dislike something I scroll- I ignore, because it’s not worth my time. Why should I let the social media algorithm think I like the video because I watch it? I block a person I dislike. I don’t go onto their account and spend time out of my life to comment.

But unfortunately the amount of hate I’m seeing it’s getting hard to ignore it.

Haters and fans. Opposite end of the spectrum, still on the same spectrum.

You’re still thinking about the guy you supposedly hate. You talk about him under other driver related posts, you make it your entire personality.

You make it toxic.

The difference in drivers is what makes the sport fun. I’m friends with people who have other favourite drivers. What we do is we talk about the race. We talk about how their driver did really well and what mine could’ve done better. We have fun.

Because it’s the sport that bonds us.

I don’t send death threats to them. People have become so obsessed with other peoples lives and it shows.

A driver can’t say he feels lonely without getting jumped on for it. A driver gets asked his opinion after a high adrenaline race, one he feels he didn’t do well and he sounds a little bitter. Of course he’s going to. Yet you read into it.

He celebrates and you read into it.

And then dislike them when they decide not to do anything anymore.

You criticise them for the mistakes they’ve already owned up to and refuse to even acknowledge the good they’ve achieved.

New fans get scared to join because they worry everyone will hate them. Which kills the sport in turn.

Lando. Max. Every single driver on the grid do not know you. And you do not know them. You know of them. You do not know them.

You do not know what they do or who they are the moment they’re away from the cameras.

You do not need to like a driver. Nor do you need to dislike them. I don’t dislike drivers, I just have drivers I favour a bit more than others. Because why would I hate them?

I dislike some of the things they do- during the race. Of course. I’m bitter after a race doesn’t go well. I’m a fan of the sport.

But that’s as far as it goes.

I do not care for their personal life as it’s theirs, nor do I care for what minuscule thing they’ve done.

If you don’t feel called out, then good- I’m not talking about you. You’re the good ones. If you are feeling ‘attacked’ then perhaps it’s time to rethink what you want to spend limited time, that is your life, on.

We only have so many minutes in our lives to actually live. So live it. Don’t spend it on hating on others.

Good day/night. 😊

[jmdbjk]

Jungkook telling it like it is...

He did tell Spotify that he'd use the blanket they gave him. Just not the way they probably thought he would: Jungkook's glossy black marble floor shows his bare feet prints on it and he used his Spotify blanket to clean the floor. He says he'll have to always wear socks or slippers. I can see him leaving a pile of toe socks at the door just for him to put on when he's in that room...

He says he briefly and unseriously considered quitting the business to be a full time cook. (JK, you can't do that, you have to make enough money to pay for the utilities and property taxes on your new fortress...) But that's his introvert kicking in, the routine, the comfort zone, the way his job holds his interest enough to make him want to keep doing it. But he is aware and he knows this about himself and knows he has to return to his "spot" as he called it.

He seems to accept the fact his place of residence is going to be known by the fans just like many other aspects of his life such as details of his military service. He seems to take it in stride but he also sets boundaries by asking fans to not come to his house and do not send packages, not only to his house but to his army base. He explains why, that he cannot accept them and that packages containing food are restricted. He clearly instructs to send letters to the company.

How do people know where he lives? Here's the answer, or at least part of it:

We all know if you spend time on Youtube the algorithm will feed you videos and channels similar to what you've watched. If you are restrained enough to limit your viewing to only BangtanTV I applaud you. But if you watch anything else, youtube will serve you similar. We all know that through the anecdotes of Armys talking about being flooded with edited, slo-mo shipping videos.

Personally, I like watching youtube channels that show walking tours of Seoul. The city captured my attention and I've learned so much about it. But because of this interest I have in Seoul and Korea, more "walking tour" and Korean travel type channels are suggested to me. Some are better than others. Some are actually run by K-Army. I am very interested in K-Armys' perspective about life in Seoul so I watch. We get to see the birthday cafe events and such that I'm probably never going to experience.

Inevitably one of these channels is going to walk by the members' homes... because they are Army and can. Streets are public. And this is how other people find out where the members live. The videos show that none of the homes are accessible. They are all behind walls and gates. None of the videos show hoards of fans congregated in front of the homes. The only place you ever see that is in front of the Hybe building.

Yes, it is controversial knowing these things but it is also one of those things that is almost unavoidable. What do I do with the information I gain by watching? Nothing. I satisfy my curiosity and move on.

Jungkook knows we are curious. He knows with his position in life there are things he cannot control and he's aware of it. It's pointless for him to pretend he isn't aware of this. That's why he sets boundaries. And he's very kind about it when he does set boundaries.

Are there bad actors out there who will take advantage of the knowledge? Of course. But that's on them. Are there people who will post every detail they learn? Of course. That's how the information spreads to other social media platforms.

Anyway... the Weverse translations are sort of skimming over what he says. There's a little bit of nuance being left out sometimes.

The Weverse English subs say "We'd sing it every day while taking showers." But Jungkook more accurately said: "We always sing together while taking a shower." (begins at 1:00:00)

The Weverse English subs say "Recently, with Jimin, now during our clean up time I finished up in the kitchen and came back up we talked a lot about music and we'd always be humming (he hums) and I'd go far away and sing songs (he gestures away from him). I'll try to practice more when I have time." But more accurately he said: "So these days I'm with Jimin and now when its personal maintenance time I go upstairs after finishing kitchen work. We talk a lot about singing and we're humming along to each other all the time (he hums) like that and we go far away and sing and stuff (he gestures away from him). I'll practice more in my spare time." (begins at 36:48)

The Weverse English subs say "I've been doing well with Jimin in my military life. I've been well." More accurately he said: "I'm/we are working hard and doing well in military life together with Jiminie-hyung. I'm doing well." (at 8:18)

He showed us his entertainment room, he clearly states he can't show us the upstairs but he does not give a reason why but as he talks he explains he has not "organized" his house. Maybe he won't show it because he doesn't want to or maybe he won't show it because in his opinion, its a mess right now. Regardless, its his choice what he wants to show us and we are privileged when he does so. I'd bet that at some point, we'll see his kitchen because he's Jungkook.

He talked about his job as a cook in the Army. He said he prepares many Korean dishes and they are either boiled or braised. He mentions that they cannot grill food. He says its not easy making large amounts of food. He says he does his best to make them tasty. I've noticed on the timeline the accounts that post military menus that on most days, meals include stews and soups so he is definitely learning how to cook a wide variety of dishes.

He sang about 30 songs including several off Golden. He sounded really good singing Standing Next to You, in fact, his off the cuff live singing of all the songs from his album was pretty exquisite even if he didn't sing most of the songs to the end.

He spoke with a slight reverence regarding only singing BTS songs with the rest of the members. It gave me the impression he knows it will be a special moment for them as well as us.

He picked at his lip, bit his cuticles, touched his lips, scratched his head under his beanie and yawned many times before finally telling us good night. Until we see you again soon, Kookie! Be safe and keep practicing with Jimin!

[mercif4l]

/𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿.

pairing: reader x choi 'buzzcut' vernon genre: angst, hurt no comfort wc: 1.2k summary: fingers off the unblock button or you're gonna regret it, girl content warning: angst bro. lovers to strangers, mentions of eating difficulties, rotting post-breakup, self-flagellating, i might wanna write an alt. ending to this bc what on earth is it so sad for.

it gets easier: they’re right about that, which pisses you off, frankly, but that’s just your pride talking. 

first, you go no contact and it destroys you, and the rot makes your blood spill a darker, angry red, like cardinals on the cusp of their death. 

then the rage is followed swiftly by embarrassment. at the circumstances, the context, your response, his response (or lack thereof), at being a human being with emotions beyond your control. it turns your teeth brittle and sore, and you can’t muster the courage to smile anymore, but at least you’re eating again. 

the songs that dominate your breakup playlist fall into obscurity in the belly of your liked songs. savored, chewed up, swallowed, sizzling away in the same acid that digested ‘fireflies’ by owl city some 15 years ago. 

now, they only startle you after their second chorus plays through the shitty sound system of some target eight months later. 

then there’s that big, bulbous, obnoxious conclusion: acceptance. 

maybe it’s the exposure therapy? 

you see his face everywhere, not seeking it out, but not avoiding it either. you’re … you deserve to see that he has moved on. it’s good for you to see him and try to accept the feelings that linger (beyond bitterness and resentment). 

because where that tunnel ends, you know he has made you happy. he persists in making you happy, still. the better memories are too plentiful to count or ignore, and his stupid grin always makes you grin right back, no matter the distance—even if it is watching some moment of fanatic hysteria explode on twitter. 

so it does get easier. yes, even as you’re inundated with pictures of him performing to sold out arenas, or modeling brands whose names you know he's too scared to try and pronounce, or shuffling through an airport with a too-small baseball cap haphazardly hiding a new haircut. wait. a new haircut?

it's like something possesses you. one minute you're doomscrolling, the next you're neck deep in carat twitter's discourse over some fantaken photos.

while thousands of fans scream back and forth over something that will inevitably be confirmed in the next 24 hours, you realize-or remember-you're only privy to this news as a statistic. you're just another view in an algorithm. and that no one thinks (or cares) to ask you about hansol anymore, knowing you no longer have a place by his side. 

oof. yeah, that still stings a bit. accepting you have no right to know, or otherwise being limited to investigative fangirling.

but you haven’t given yourself any room for mistake making so far, so why would you sully that clean streak? for the sake of haircut curiosity? what a stupid thing to suggest. idiotic, really. self-sabotaging idiocy. 

to: +82 *** *** **** hey! new haircut looks cool. so sick the company finally let up. hope you’re doing good 👍 

now, without the warm embrace of imessage’s delete option, you’ve kinda/sort of-fucked yourself. 

“it gets easier my ass. yeah, yeah, gets easier to behave like a freak.” you berate yourself, sliding the phone across your table and vastly underestimating the distance it’d take to fall off. as you dive to catch it (and fail), that deafening ringtone only gives you reason to let it drop, to shatter the thing beyond recognizing its screen. but with this stupid heavy duty phone case hansol had bought a year back? no dice. 

from: +82 *** *** **** haha thanks man ended up begging for forgiveness rather than waiting for permission :P from: +82 *** *** **** craaaazy how hard i tried to cover it up just to be clocked the second i stepped off the plane lol

you snicker at that. how ‘hard’ he tried?

to: +82 *** *** ****  boy you wore a cap nothing was gonna cover that loooow taper fadeee 🎶  from: +82 *** *** **** brooo i was supposed to wear my hoodie but i got overstimulated  from: +82 *** *** ****  and i hope ur doing good too by the way  from: +82 *** *** ****  kinda geeked to hear from you haha

you have to put your phone down. this is dangerous, dangerous territory; like, walking through burning sand, sunburned and windlashed, toward a mirage. you have got to put your phone down. 

to: +82 *** *** **** honestly just wanted to wish u well for the new year and lyk the buzzcut is super cool B)

these stupid keyboard emojis are a little secret you both keep. something silly you only use with each other that is so inconsequential, you can’t help but let your cheeks burn an angry red at their return. 

why does it have to be so easy? 

you are going to put the phone down, now.

to: +82 *** *** **** i’m sorry for blocking you—even though we said no contact it felt pretty immature. from: +82 *** *** **** glad u like the hair. was kinda bummed u weren’t the first to see it haha could only imagine the look on your face calling u after the cut or sending u a selfie :’) from: +82 *** *** **** nah i deserved it

he didn’t deserve it. sure, his whole being him shtick was what made the separation so excruciating in the first place, but you’d made the decision mutually. albeit a bit prematurely. in the way all confused adults do when they preempt disaster and jump ship at the first sign of smoke. 

from: +82 *** *** **** that sounds crazy dramatic i just mean from: +82 *** *** **** it made sense? like it didn’t take long for me to get why you’d done it from: +82 *** *** **** i just figured pretty early on u knew what u were doing. you always did/do lol 

your finger hovers over the call button. never before has it felt so offensive, so risqué to do such a thing, but you know that by ignoring the arbitrary rules of a breakup you’re tempting fate. 

it doesn’t matter that before, you could do it as freely as you wished. that before, he would always pick up and never once avoided answering. before, you could send jibberish voicemails to litter his inbox, quadruple double triple text, or simply tell him to ‘ring’, and he’d oblige; because before you were in love. now, you’re an unnamed contact.

now, you stomp on the ashes like they’ll relight after a year being burned out. 

from: +82 *** *** ****  happy new year by the way!!!! from: +82 *** *** **** and belated happy holidays :) i pried and kwan let slip you got a billy joel record from him from: +82 *** *** **** i didn’t know you’d kept our player. why does that make me so happy?

you need to put the phone down. you have got to put the phone. you are going to put the phone down, now. 

your stiff finger taps that blue icon before you can even think to stop it. it’s unfair, really, how this has to happen, but it was inevitable. because no amount of money in the world could buy you enough dignity to do this properly.

because when it comes to hansol, you’re nothing more than a fool. 

caller id [+84 *** *** ****] > you will not receive phone calls, messages or facetime calls from people on the block list. confirm? caller blocked. 

delete message history? 

a/n: vaguely inspired by @xinganhao rockstar!reader and vernon breakup chapter.... like what if we all suffered more... because im a SICK MASOCHIST! and kae is my unknowing muse. also sorry for going afk and happy new year</3

[nanamineedstherapy]

TikTok Warfare in the Polycule

F!Pregnant Reader x Gojo Satoru x Nanami Kento

Previous Oneshot Chapter [Tumblr/Ao3] | Main Series [Tumblr/Ao3]

A/N: Listen. Gojo would 100% weaponize TikTok algorithms to win an argument. Nanami would simply document the war crimes. Enjoy this descent into chaos. (No spoilers but someone does get pancake privileges revoked.)

Gojo was scrolling on his phone when the TikTok arrived. "If your baby daddy doesn’t instinctively protect your belly in public, you’re better off alone."

His eyes narrowed.

You walked by, adjusting a bag over your shoulder.

Gojo’s hand twitched.

Then: "Satoru."

He sat up. "Yeah, baby?"

"I need to go to the store."

Gojo’s pupils darkened. "You do?"

"Mm-hmm."

Five minutes later, he was pressed against your back in the middle of the grocery store, practically circling you like a guard dog.

His phone buzzed.

Group Chat: Dad Crimes 💀 (Anon)

Father Time: Did you just follow her to the store?

Daddy: Protecting the baby.

Father Time: Sure.

Daddy: She’s not mad anymore tho

Father Time: That’s what you think.

---

Operation: Keep the Pregnant Alive

Nanami knew something was wrong when Gojo smiled at him.

Not the usual lazy smirk. Not the smug, sunshine-drenched grin he used to get out of murder charges or speeding tickets. No. This one had teeth.

Gojo tossed his phone onto the coffee table, then sprawled across the couch, limbs wide open like a trap. His sunglasses had slipped halfway down his nose. His eyes glinted. “It’s time,” he said, voice too calm.

Nanami didn’t even look up from his newspaper. “For what?”

“Revenge.”

Nanami turned the page. “What did Haibara do now?”

“Ah! Not him. Baby.”

“What did our wife do now?”

“She fell asleep under the dining table.”

Nanami raised a brow in his direction, his grip tightening imperceptibly on the paper. “Again?”

“She took the video of me trying to wake her up from the home security footage, edited and posted it with an AI voiceover saying, ‘When your husband thinks you respect him but you’re actually a raccoon with a PLC.’”

Gojo’s eye twitched. “Ten million views and growing. I’m in a meme compilation.”

Nanami pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s tired these days, Satoru.” The unspoken ‘She’s growing two whole humans with powers nothing like before, you idiot’ hung between them.

“She’s winning.” Gojo leaned forward. “We flip the script.”

Nanami stared. “You want to TikTok her back?”

“No.” Gojo grinned like the devil himself. “I want to psychologically dismantle her using excessive care until she implodes.”

Nanami sighed. “You’re stupid.”

Gojo’s grin widened. “So is she.”

Phase One: Comfort Is A Weapon

You were waiting for your coffee, scrolling on your phone, when your husband’s text came in:

Kento: Hope you're comfortable.

You: Why the hell would I not be?

Satoru: Because you’re not leaving that couch today.

You didn’t even have time to glare at your screen before Gojo waltzed in. Shirtless. Damp from a shower. Gray sweatpants. No shame.

He leaned on the doorway like he’d been cast in a thirst trap film.

Behind him, Nanami followed—sleeves rolled, jaw tense, that look he got when he was two seconds from calling Shoko for backup.

“What the hell is going on?” You asked, already suspicious.

“We’re taking care of you,” Gojo said sweetly.

Nanami unfolded a plush blanket with all the grace of a crime scene investigator. “Sit.”

You frowned. “No.”

Gojo tilted his head. “Do you want Shoko to get involved? Because I will FaceTime her right now.”

You narrowed your eyes, teeth gritted. “I will bite both of you.”

Gojo smirked. “Kinky.”

Nanami sighed. “Just sit.”

You plopped onto the couch like a petulant goblin, muttering the entire time. The warmth seeped into your aching back almost immediately. Traitors.

Phase Two: Pharmaceutical Warfare

Nanami brought over a vitamin packet like it was a weaponized dossier. “You’re iron-deficient,” he said flatly.

“I’m not,” you lied. “I had spinach.”

“When?” Nanami asked.

“...in college.”

Gojo appeared from behind with a smug look and a footstool. “Feet up.”

You resisted. He raised a brow. “Do you want to argue with a man in sweatpants?”

Reluctantly, you complied.

Gojo leaned in, dangerously close. “You’re sweating right now, aren’t you?”

You deadpanned. “No.”

He smiled. “You just twitched.”

You shoved his face away. “Shut up.”

Phase Three: TikTok Retaliation

The next day, a TikTok dropped, "If your girl isn’t drinking water, it’s your responsibility to hydrate her—by force if necessary."

You watched the video in horror. Nanami appeared in the kitchen doorway. Holding a glass. “Drink.”

“No.”

“Drink.”

“No.”

Gojo suddenly materialized behind you like a damn wraith. “Perhaps juice?”

“I want to be left alone.”

“Hydration first.” Then, with intense menace, Gojo whispered, “If you don’t drink this water, I will strap you to all the pregnancy pillows. Publicly.”

Nanami added, “We will post it.”

You grabbed the water and chugged it like it was vodka.

Gojo smirked, leaning dangerously close to your face. “Thirsty.”

You flipped him off.

Phase Four: The Food Trap

You woke up at 3AM to Nanami looming like a culinary ghost with a tray. “Breakfast,” he said. Toast. Yogurt. Fruit. Organized like he was seducing you via glycemic index.

“I didn’t ask—”

“You don’t ask. You survive.”

You reached for the toast while glaring.

Then chewed in righteous judgment. “When will you go back to work?”

Phase Five: Breakdown or Performance Art?

They cornered you in the kitchen.

Gojo grinned. “Admit it.”

“No.”

“You like it.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

You sniffed.

Nanami looked up.

Gojo panicked. “Oh no.”

“I hate you both!” You wailed. Tears streamed. Beautiful. Oscar-worthy.

Nanami’s tone softened. “What do you need?”

You hiccupped. “Pancakes. With the 85% dark chocolate-covered strawberries. And whipped cream.”

Silence.

Gojo blinked. “...You’re not even sad, are you.”

“I might be.”

“You’re faking this.”

“I’m hungry.”

Nanami sighed.

You leaned into Nanami. “I want him to make the pancakes, Kento. Make him.”

Gojo grinned. “You want me to cook shirtless?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, I want you to not burn the strawberries this time.”

“If you let me touch your boobs, I won’t.”

You walked away from Nanami’s arm and returned with his old blade and raised it to Gojo’s pecs. “You were saying?”

Final Score

You—4 (for lies, drama, violence, and thirst)

Nanami and Gojo—2 (for effort, execution, and forearms)

New TikTok: 🎵 "My husbands think they’re in control… until I start crying about pancakes."

Cut to Gojo flipping them. Shirtless. Nanami plating them with surgical precision.

Caption: "Wife: unwell. Husbands: worse."

---

A/N: If you laughed, screamed, or now fear Nanami’s vitamin distribution system, tell me in the comments. (Gojo’s ego needs the engagement.)

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