#you can get your point across without calling people useless

[charmedreincarnation]

I shifted and manifested with your Morphics challenge !!!!!

I am sharing this on an alternate account because I don’t feel comfortable posting on my main account. I want to continue using my main account so, I hope that’s okay.

I’ve been in the LOA community for a while and have consumed every piece of information. You know how it is.. I had a Reddit and TikTok shifting account and was literally helping people shift with my advice. But aside from maybe slightly hearing or seeing my DR, I had never succeeded, and even that was years ago.

I’ve gotten lazier yet more somehow ambitious since 2020 when I first started this journey, which is insane because you know how when you first find out about shifting, you have a lot of symptoms and almost do it, but then months and years pass, and you’re more desperate yet doing the same useless things. It was like that. I was enlightened; I could spew every method to you backwards, studied many years from teachers like Neville Goddard, Joseph Murphy, Florence Scovel Shinn, Wayne Dyer, Earl Nightingale, Louise Hay, Esther Hicks (Abraham-Hicks), Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wallace D. Wattles, Rhonda Byrne—okay, everyone and their teachers. I also spent so much money on paid subliminals, meditations, teacher personal subscriptions, witch spells, lucid dreaming supplements, etc., but there are some things money can’t buy, so really, don’t waste your money lol.

I’m not here to be wise and do nothing with that wisdom, so I realized maybe instead of trying to do everything so mighty and intricate and be pretentious in my intelligence, let me try something so simple I would be shocked if it worked. Then I came across a post that was like, "Everyone is going to shift in September," and I almost cried because I have been trying for almost 5 years. I’ve given everything, and I was starting to think LOA is a cult because, let’s be real, it checks off all the things of a cult:

1. Charismatic Leaders: Many LOA teachings are popularized by charismatic figures who attract devoted followings, similar to leaders in cults.

2. Promised Benefits: LOA often promises significant personal benefits, like wealth and happiness, which can be enticing and lead to strong adherence.

3. Community and Belonging: Followers of LOA often form tight-knit communities, sharing experiences and supporting each other, which can resemble the communal aspect of cults.

4. Us vs. Them Mentality: Some LOA teachings might create a divide between "believers" and "non-believers," fostering an exclusive mindset.

5. Simplistic Solutions: The idea that simply thinking positively can solve complex life issues might be seen as an oversimplification, similar to some cult ideologies.

It’s almost religious, but most people are religious, and you know what? Without faith in something, people might have probably just (TW) killed themselves. Everyone has some kind of cult behavior—religious, politics, loyalty to family who don’t love or respect them. At this point, if it was a cult, I guess I was okay with that. Hopefully, the belief would at least give some sort of false comfort. Because having awareness and enlightenment and still suffering is even worse. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Then I came across your challenge, and tbh I had tried every subliminal, meditation, binaural beat, etc., so at first, I thought, how will this be any different? But then I saw the LOA Bella success story, and I just felt this was my calling because I had never related to a success story so much. I wanted to cry because it felt like a sign.

This isn’t a very exciting or good story, but all I did was:

Morning
https://youtu.be/gOpZAPo8VvU?si=FA2oxWQkR6l2KU_M

During the day (together)
https://youtu.be/67T-wX2iqfM?si=-f-TvsYyQ_D-od1L
https://youtu.be/xwaSBZFucGg?si=8-XLLROuoIypBSu0

Overnight
https://youtu.be/uBHMmHbQwa0?si=h01rp0Ngdl7Xhv9C

Basically I had a lucid dream and woke up in my waiting room because I had used lucid dreams to get into the void state, but they were also fake voids, and it was annoying to think, "Wow, I’m going to wake up with my dream life," and then fail. So I was taking no chances. I had a dream I was at work, and this lazy girl was being lazy as usual but an actual nuisance. We were outside, and I was like, "Wait, I don’t work outside," and then I got too excited, so I started jumping around and did a backflip because I heard that helps stabilize the dream. Then I commanded my annoying coworker to take me to a portal, and she did. I envisioned my waiting room and set the intention that when I close my eyes and enter the portal, I would wake up in my WR. I walked through, and then I fell. I was scared to open my eyes, so I affirmed just in case as I fell, and I heard the beach waves, and I knew it was there.

I only did this for manifesting purposes because then I intended to shift back to the same reality but where I had my dream life and master shifting abilities and void ability.

Honestly, I was so depressed at that point I didn’t particularly have any dreams or aspirations, so I didn’t know what would make me happy, as sad as it sounds. But I just slid into my WR bed and set the intention because I knew anything is possible in my WR and fell asleep. When I woke up, I woke up in a brand new house with a brand new family in a beautiful room.

Now, like I said, I didn’t have any intentions, so for the last few days, I’ve been having so many surprises and things happening that I now realize, of course, I would want this. I am just very happy, and I can’t believe it was so easy after almost 4 years.

I don’t have any stupid enlightenment advice that I would have thought I would have when I finally succeeded. As stupid and cult-like as it sounds, don’t give up—something will click.

That's amazing! I'm so happy for you and your success :)) and I am even more happy that you’ve found happiness when you don’t even know what you wantedand that it worked out.

I had a very similar experience and what I took from this is to be open to experimenting with different methods because what might not work today could be the key tomorrow and it can seem random.

I wish you the best with your dream life and I hope you continue to find happiness in different ways

[idiopathicsmile]

I've been thinking about American diner lingo lately.

Like, relaying an order for poached eggs on toast as “Adam and Eve on a raft.” Or “shingles with a shimmy and shake” for buttered toast with jam.

(I personally learned about this phenomenon as a very young child because we had a picture book where a bear and an elephant are roommates and temp workers and they get a job at a diner for a while. Couldn't tell you why this streamed back into my brain like a week ago, but here we are.)

I'm not sure I can articulate this but there is something so beautiful to me about it. We as a culture know so little about its origins—maybe the 1870s, maybe the 1880s—or even really why it exists.

Wikipedia (yes I wikipedia'd this, yes I feel actual embarrassment about the lack of academic rigor in this aimless tumblr post but also there is also just not a ton of information on the topic) suggests that some diner lingo might've been mnemonic devices for short order cooks to remember specific dishes but honestly scroll through any list and you'll find it mostly isn't that. What it reads like is bored food service workers, mostly in the 1920s through 1970s, looking for a way to amuse or at least entertain themselves.

Milk is “moo juice.” Jell-o becomes “nervous pudding.” Black coffee is “a mug of murk.”

Western history loves its individual heroes, but my guess is the practice arose organically at multiple luncheon spots across the US. We don't know the names of the servers and cooks who came up with the terms but a few of the terms have survived, in a fashion—as wider used slang (“Joe” for coffee), as a vintage-y affectation in quirky restaurants of the present, and in compendiums of self-consciously useless factoids (oysters wrapped in bacon are transmuted into “angels on horseback”). It's something about the ordinary people of the world of the past, the tiny fossils we leave behind without even knowing it. One unknown day in history, someone then working as a diner employee thought to call a tall stack of pancakes “Jayne Mansfield” because for some reason it made their day a little better, and this somehow caught on to the point where I can, without doing much work, still find multiple written sources insisting it happened. It wasn't a marketer or a CEO somewhere, it was just a bunch service workers passing the time and leaving the slightest little linguistic footprints behind.

I don't know. Imagine if one of your inside jokes from work was still being spread by offbeat trivia lovers a hundred years from now.

[mythicmanuscripts]

Omg sub!Aegon having a mommy kink is so real! I imagine that as soon as he got confirmation that he could call reader mommy he would he absolutely obsessed. Like at that point he would just stop caring about alicent’s opinion because he don’t need her validation anymore. Anyways could you write more about sub!aegon with a mommy kink? I don’t have any ideas rn but really I’ll be fine with whatever your brilliant head comes up with <3

You’re so right about this anon, so right.

So I didn’t intend for this to happen but I accidentally veered into himbo!aegon as well in this so I hope that’s alright 😂 anyway, sub!aegon with mentions of sexual activity below the cut

I love how this anon mentioned that Aegon would become utterly obsessed when he realises his darling wife can guide him and love him and looking after him without making him feel stupid. Because yeah that’s exactly right.

It takes no time at all for him to be worshiping the ground you walk on. The constant, gentle affection and guidance you give him means that he’s always utterly captivated by you. He didn’t know it was possible to feel both well cared for AND horny at the same time and now that he’s experienced that, it’s basically his constant state.

I also think a large part of him starting to see you as mommy before he actually uses the title for you is the way you treat him in public? He’s never had someone look so…. proud to be with him? You smile at him and you listen to him and you hold his hand and you never, ever make him feel insecure in public ever.

That was one of alicent’s favourite tricks. She’d brings them up in council meetings and before council members and she’d sound so condescending, speaking like she has to get the message across because she doesn’t trust Aegon to do it. In fact nine times out of ten she doesn’t even tell Aegon that’s going on, so he’s completely in the dark when she suddenly springs something on him in meetings and speaks like they’ve already discussed it.

The fact that he knows for a fact you would never, ever do that to him matters so so much. That’s not to say you’ll never correct him, because of course you will, but rather you don’t do that in front of others. If he’s ever completely off and you need to voice that right then, you just share your opinion and let Aegon announce his change of mind if he agrees with you (spoiler: he always does).

Knowing that you’d never make him seem stupid or useless in front of people means he knows he can look to you for advice in public settings without fear of being belittled. You just…. You make him feel so safe.

So that coupled with how you fuck his brains out most nights? Yeah he’s done for. No more thoughts. Head empty. Of course he’s going to want to call you mommy!!!

And when he asks and you say yes? Well you have to cancel all engagements for the test of the day because your husband has become a horny puddle on the floor and now you just take care of him.

So of course he loves calling you mommy!! He only ever does it in private of course, but you get the distinct impression that Alicent knows way aegon calls you, or at the very least that Alicent knows you take the dominant role in your relationship with him.

Once she realises this, she tries to poison him against you so that she can keep him under her thumb and needlessly to say, it’s entirely pointless. Honestly he doesn’t even notice the smear campaign Alicent is leading against you.

How could he have time to notice that? He’s too busy staring at his pretty wife!!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Something has been bugging me since the end of the Playful land event: How does the world not notice that these people are never seen again after going to this park. Even if its stated that only the positive magicam posts are the only things that leave the park, surely those guest's families/friends/employers/neighbors that didn't attend the park wouldn't eventually notice their absence. Moreover, how does no one still on land notice that the moving park leaves whilst everyone is still on it, and it never comes back to drop them off.

Makes me wonder if Twst has some sort of United Nations that would be alerted of this and set a worldwide lock down, so when the park needs to connect to a mainland again the country's military can apprehended them.

One of the biiig question marks of both Glorious Masquerade and Stage in Playful Land are all of the potential repercussions of Rollo/Fellow's schemes coming into fruition. The stakes of these two events are notably much higher than your typical TWST event, and that opens their stories up to further scrutiny. I'll talk about GloMasq first, then Playful Land, since I feel the former is also relevant to the points the asker mentioned.

This is going to be kind of a long post, so I'll slap everything below a cut! ^^

I don't know how frequently this is brought up, but I've heard some say it's unrealistic how Rollo was able to find the seeds for a supposedly wiped out plant and cultivate a ton in secret for his master plan. Now, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief in this instance because:

Spite can make a person do insane things (and what is Rollo is not spiteful as heck)

Rollo has lore which paints him as a diligent person who has a talent for gardening, so it feels in line for his character; he also seems to have an interest in history and is extremely neurotic so I could buy that he obsessively researched until he came across records or some trail to the flowers

The Bell of Salvation's ringing twice in a row is what triggers the flowers to bloom, and this has not happened prior to GloMasq because Rollo is the one who is consistently tending to the bell + the bell normally has a preset schedule; anyone that passes by the flowers would do so when they are inactive, and they are such an old phenomenon to begin with that no one in modern day would really recognize it or the danger the flowers pose

The narrative of GloMasq never calls attention to HOW Rollo was able to get the seeds, so it's not something that comes to mind unless you as the fan speculate about it; this doesn't come across as a plot hole, but it would be one if the narrative had pointed it out because then it would practically be obligated to fill the details in

The other major logical fallacy of GloMasq is that Rollo's machinations would have inevitably led to chaos once the flowers reached the rest of Twisted Wonderland, as some sections of society are reliant on magic. Now, I disagree with the notion that mages could band together and fight back against the flowers; we've seen from how the NRC students handle it that this would be a pretty useless effort since only the super powerful (which are few and far between) would be able to muster up enough magic to overpower the flowers. The majority of people are non-mages though, so the argument could be made that these people could help the mages by weeding or something similar. The question is, could this truly outpace the growth and attack of the flowers, especially when the average mage has far lower magical reserves than the average NRC student??? Remember how long it took the NRC kids (who are mostly healthy, youthful, and strong) to weed just the flowers in the waterways? My money's on the crimson flowers just overrunning the entire world long before they can be plucked out.

I actually think most societies would still be intact and able to operate without magic, seeing as 90% of the human population (which is implied to be the predominant race) are non-mages. Only very select industries and professions require magic to operate, and these are overrepresented to us (the players) since we are seeing the perspectives of mainly students who attend an elite magic school. These magical sectors, as well as societies which run primarily on everyday magic use (like Briar Valley) are the ones that would be the most in danger. This most likely explains why Malleus in particular was so panicked about Rollo's plans: if fully realized, his people would be in peril. This is not outright stated, but can be inferred. The main story also retroactively affirms Malleus's fears of being powerless. He was always told by his grandmother that the Draconias have great power so they can defend their people's smiles. What happens if that magic is stripped away? Then he is no longer able to protect his people nor his loved ones. In this way, GloMasq works well as both a standalone event as well as supplements TWST' grander story. It does not challenge what we already know but does support it.

Altogether, most details in GloMasq make sense and the event doesn't go out of its way to create more questions than answers. This... isn't the case for Playful Land. In fact, I would say that Playful Land does the opposite (in trying to explain plot holes, it creates a LOT more questions) and tries to hand wave everything away with one thing: money.

Firstly, Playful Land is kidnapping and trafficking innocent people (even if the park is said to be a more recent phenomena). Would their friends and family not notice they went missing and report this to the local authorities? My guess is yes, it's just not elaborated on in the event itself since the perspective through which the story is told is limited (Yuu doesn't know this world that well + the NRC kids, who are the people Yuu gets a lot of the lore from, are mostly privileged and don't need to worry about crimes of this magnitude). I believe the "people go missing, why aren't the police doing anything about it" can maybe allude to real world crimes that occur but aren't reported or resolved, which is very scary to think about. I don't know if this was the intention of the devs, but the comparison is certainly there and can be made. Or maybe it’s just that law enforcement hasn’t caught up yet?

It’s also odd to me that so many people were able to be taken by this huge, very showy moving park. I think that Fellow lures people out under the cover of night (which was the case with the NRC students, I will assume this is the case for the other victims too), but???? Even so, there are night owls and cities that don’t sleep. You mean to imply there were zero witnesses whatsoever??? Even though Playful Land is so big and bright, especially at night… Maybe this part plays into the idea that crimes may be reported but aren’t necessarily resolved…? That’s the only way I can rationalize it in my head.

Where the bulk of the issues start to come in is in alllllll the surrounding details. For example, a lot of the NRC students Fellow is kidnapping are connected to wealthy and influential families. How the heck are Fellow and his benefactors going to keep Vil’s fans, the Kingscholars, the Shrouds, the Asims, the hypothetical Leech mob family, and maybe even Maleficia herself and Malleus, from coming after their asses???? AND FELLOW SPECIFICALLY FUCKED UP BY ENCOURAGING THEM TO “INVITE THEIR FRIENDS” FROM SCHOOL… because guess who will be spilling the beans to the headmaster about students going missing the day after inviting everyone to go to this supposedly “free” amusement park?? All the students Fellow told them to blab to just so he could catch more of them 😭 Then from there it would definitely escalate and governments might get involved since Leona is a prince and Kalim has royal relatives. I could see Playful Land having to go on the run (as in, have supplies delivered to them rather then docking for them, knowing that police or military would be there to arrest them at ports). But they can’t do that forever, especially since not being able to dock effectively prevents them from picking up new prey.

With the combined powers of the NRC victims’ families, they would surely be able to challenge the people behind Playful Land, no?? Unless you mean to tell me these mysterious people somehow have more power than literal royalty AND the Asims combined??? And we’ve never heard of them until just now??? Okay, you’re starting to lose me here because this is adding on top of the lore we already have but in a way that comes off as difficult to believe since the amount of wealth and power some of the NRC kids have is already ridiculous.

Playful Land is also supposedly constructed by very powerful mages which makes me wonder why they got together to create such a thing???? Did they literally all get bribed with enough money to agree to this project? Were they deceived about the true nature of it?? Are the other 4 of the top 5 strongest mages involved in any way??? How was this not publicized that it was a project that very strong mages were working on given how few mages there actually are and how much Playful Land is talked about in online rumors??

Speaking of online rumors, that’s another thing. How are the people behind Playful Land able to monitor any and all talk about their park to this degree?? This is the internet we’re talking about here, surely stuff will fall through the cracks or come to light eventually. Someone would leak insider info, someone would say something.

The easy explanation given for everything is that there are very rich and very powerful people running these operations. They would be able to silence people who speak out against them or bribe the corrupt into complying or looking the other way. Maybe that’s just a sad truth I don’t want to acknowledge (because this stuff for sure happens irl 😞) but that all sounds WAY too convenient for fiction (where the devs have total control over the circumstances) especially when we’re given so little lore for who these benefactors actually are.

There’s still way too many questions and even turning on suspension of disbelief couldn’t stop those questions from arising in my head. At best, I think we could give the devs the benefit of the doubt and say this was intentional to keep up the idea of a “shadowy” underbelly to Twisted Wonderland society. Even so, that doesn’t account for every little thing and the event’s attempts to explain it all only makes more things to explain.

I tried to explain my perspective as best I can here! However, I admit that there may be bias in my judgment because I’ve made it no secret that GloMasq is my favorite TWST story event. Please let me know if you have any other issues with GloMasq’s narrative or if you have explanations for the issues I pointed out for Playful Land; I would love to hear your takes too ^^

[iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin]

lesson (not) learned

part two: lesson (still not) learned wc: 1.5k reader: afab (maybe also only femme but i don’t think so? idk lemme know if you think it should be labeled femme) warnings: minors dni explicit smut!!!!!, established poly!relationship, oral m!receiving, fingering, learned this word today: pussyjob, hard/softdom!hanbin, switch!hao, sub(i guess mostly)!reader, hanbin and hao are not that nice but they love you (hanbin loves you more tho lol), addressing hanbin as "sir" towards the end, hanbin calls them puppies one time, mxm but very light, i guess light angst but a good ending, basically you and hao are always competing to be hanbin's favorite lol summary: hanbin punishes a bickering poly!reader and hao for fucking without his permission; they do not learn their lesson this started out as something else and then became this. oops. gonna have to write that original idea too eventually. enjoy :)

🚨MINORS DNI 18+ EXPLICIT SMUT BELOW🚨

“what was that, baby?” hao asks, hand tangled in your hair as he grips it tightly. somehow his tone remains patronizing despite the fact you’ve been edging him for at least half an hour. “can’t talk with a big cock in your mouth?”

you try to answer again, but it’s useless; a frustrated moan comes out of you instead and, for a moment, the curtain falls on hao’s persona he’s been maintaining to impress his other lover. you can see it in his eyes how the vibration on his cock affects him; how he desperately wants to give in to you. he always wants to cave a few minutes in.

but...

he blinks quickly; tightening his grip on your hair and yanking a bit harsher. “come on. he’s... he’s gonna get mad at us again if we don’t finish our punishment.”

a pointed exhale from the corner draws your attention to the third presence in the room. “aw, hao hyung, don’t be silly now. why would i get mad at you? hmm?”

the words are kind on paper-- playful even. but you would never know by the way hanbin says them. a viper’s tongue.

stupidly, you make eye contact with him. he’s lounging back in a leather armchair, a hand over his mouth and one eyebrow cocked in what seems to be amusement. a small beam of light illuminates a diagonal strip of his face from the corner of his left eye to his jaw bone. he looks otherworldly like this and the heavenly visual causes you to lose your grip on hao’s cock in your mouth.

it lolls out of you with a pitiful pop.

“baby,” hao pleads annoyedly, taking your face in his hands to try to get your attention but your fixation on hanbin’s beauty is just too strong. “baby, we need to keep going or he’s--.”

by the time you’ve actually comprehended hao’s words, a cruel laugh is already escaping hanbin’s throat from the corner of the room. “how did i manage to find the two stupidest, horniest people on the planet?”

“fuck,” hao whispers angrily, shaking your face that’s still in his hands. “this is all your fault! you always do this!”

“this is not my fault! are you kidding me!?” you defend, childishly folding your arms across your chest. “you’re the one who couldn’t keep your hands off me earlier.”

“you literally grabbed my fingers and stuck them in your pussy,” hao counters, glaring at you. “you always want him to think you’re his perfect little angel, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. you’re just a spoiled fucking brat who needs--.”

your lips are on hao’s before he can finish his assassination of your character. unfortunately you just can’t help yourself when he talks to you like that. but hao is no lesson in self control either, seeing as he’s moaning into your mouth within seconds; pushing your back down onto the bed beneath him. in between your thighs, the head of his cock starts to tease your entrance.

“fuck,” hao whines needily, rutting against you and, as he does, treading dangerously close to forbidden territory for the second time today. the desperation in hao’s voice only turns you on more, though and, clouded with lust, you also forget about the events that happened just hours ago.

“pleasepleaseplease, need you,” you beg incomprehensibly, the head of hao’s cock pressing into your clit. “fuck hao, please, just need you inside me now.”

“oh my god,” hao says as if he’s gonna lose his mind if he can’t put his cock in you in the next five seconds. “fuck, i can’t--... we can’t, baby. we’re not supposed to...”

though hao is certainly attempting to convince himself not to finally push himself inside your dripping hole, he’s failing miserably. you feel him start to rut progressively deeper, his resolve slowly turning to moans and whimpers until--

“you two never fucking learn your lesson, do you?”

your whole body freezes as hanbin yanks hao up by his ear to a kneeling position. hao seethes at the pain and hanbin whispers something in his ear that shuts him up without discourse. the sinking feeling in your gut reaches its height when hanbin’s attention turns to you.

“binnie, please,” you start to plead as hanbin just smiles coolly back at you. “hao started it! i would never break the rules, binnie-- i promise.”

hao opens his mouth to argue, but a quick glare from hanbin settles him down. the younger man lets go of hao’s ear; stepping closer to you. a gentle hand finds your jaw, pulling you up to meet him in a kiss. it’s sultry and warm and once again has you squeezing your thighs together for relief.

“cute,” hanbin coos, his left hand reaching to cup your heat. you can’t help but grind against his fingers as hanbin fawns over you. you know it’s a trap. but you just can’t help yourself.

neither can hao, whose hand has already begun stroking his cock again.

“hao hyung started this-- is that right, angel?” hanbin asks, pouting at you as he rubs his thumb across your cheek sweetly. and then the other shoe drops. “hao hyung is the one who got my angel this wet?”

you shake your head frantically. “no! no, binnie--.”

he tilts his head to the side-- a suggestion (or threat) that you better start using his preferred title effective immediately.

“i’m sorry, sir, i just--.”

“i was five fucking feet away from you-- you think you can lie to me?” hanbin’s tone surprisingly isn’t so much angry as it is... disappointed. your eyes meet hao’s and you know he’s thinking the same thing:

this is not good.

“bin-ah,” hao says softly, cautiously reaching out a hand to touch hanbin’s shoulder. “binnie, are you really upset?”

hanbin sighs melodramatically, shrugging off hao’s touch and turning away from the bed. “you both want each other so bad. it doesn’t really seem like you need me anymore.”

“what!?” you exclaim, scrambling to sit up and wrap your arms around his neck from behind. “of course we need you, hanbinnie! we love you. and i love you way more than hao loves you.”

“you’re such a little...” hao starts, grabbing your nipple between his fingers and pinching hard. you squeal and he sticks his tongue out at you as he takes hanbin’s hand in his own. “we’re trying to reassure hanbinnie and you still find a way to make it all about you? so typical. and for your information, he likes me more than you.”

“he does not! he said--... he said...” your words trail off as you suddenly feel hanbin pressing kisses up your arm where it hangs across his chest. “hanbinnie, we’re sorry. we need you. clearly we need you. we’d kill each other without you.”

“so sorry, binnie,” hao mumbles into hanbin’s shoulder. “we just can’t help ourselves sometimes.”

“we--... we need to be punished again, binnie,” you say, kissing his neck sweetly.

“please, binnie?” hao echoes hopefully. “we’ll be good this time!”

the sound of hanbin chuckling is not what either of you are expecting to hear, but when he turns around with a glint of sadistic pleasure in his eyes, an exhilarating chill runs down your spine. all of this-- from the moment hanbin had left you alone with hao this afternoon while he went to get groceries up to now-- had been one giant trap. 

you and hao were really in for it now.

“you’re both a little too soft for your own good, don’t you think?” hanbin muses with a smirk. “we all know you desperately need me.”

you look down at your lap in shame and you know that hao is doing the same.

“but i need you too,” he adds, a hand running up one of yours and hao’s thighs. “my two favorite puppies. so perfect. just need some more training is all.”

“yes, sir,” you and hao respond together happily.

just as hanbin’s left hand wraps around the base of hao’s cock and the fingers of his right hand find your entrance, his phone starts to ring in his back pocket. “fuck,” he curses, removing his fingers from you and reaching for his phone. you start to whine, but a sharp look keeps you quiet. 

“i have to take this,” hanbin sighs, walking towards the door. “when i come back, i better find you both on your stomachs for me. understand?”

“yes, sir,” the two of you respond from the bed again.

as the door shuts behind hanbin, you look at hao. his eyes are narrowed in anger and the head of his cock is leaking pathetically. you stare at each other for a long moment before hao quickly gives up and begins climbing back between your legs.

hanbin knows exactly what he’s going to walk back into. and though he knows he’s going to have to make you both pay for it...

he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[marcusakito]

Cruel Words

Kabukimono x gn!reader

You catch Kabukimono saying awful, nasty words while he was out on an errand. When you confront him about it, you learn a sad truth about the puppet.

cw: none, really.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

You are Kabukimono's love, the one he chose to entrust his heart to. The puppet was still a little confused about emotions, yet he knew his love for you was true. You met in Shakkei Pavillion, you had joined Niwa and the others the day they found him. Ever since then, Kabukimono always stood by your side, rain or shine, day and night.

Not that you minded, of course. Kabukimono is such a dear, always so eager to help with housework. And in turn, you taught him everything he wanted to know. To experience joy, deal with sadness, and most importantly, to empathize with others. It put a smile on your face, seeing him learning all these strange new things in the world with child-like wonder. As for him, well, he couldn't ask for a more patient and kind beloved.

One autumn day, Kabukimono watched you from the dining room of your shared home. You were making lunch, two bowls of unagi chazuke, which you knew was his favourite.

"Is it ready yet, [Name]?" Kabukimono asked, approaching from behind and leaning over your shoulder to watch. You giggled softly, turning to face him.

"No, not yet, I still need to cook the eels and brew the tea." You explained.

"I can help you! I can brew the tea while you cook the unagi." He looked up at you, an expectant look on his face just waiting for you to agree. Really now, how can you say no to such an adorable face?

"Alright," You pointed to the small bucket across the room. "We're out of water, so you'll have to get some at the well. Stay safe, okay?"

"I will, [Name]!" Kabukimono rushed over to the bucket, lifting it up and holding it close to his chest. You watched as he raced out of the house, making sure he was headed to the right direction before returning your attention to the kitchen stove.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

It had been a while since Kabukimono left to fetch water. You were beginning to get worried, looking out the window for any sign of him. Was he lost? No, he couldn't be. He's been there plenty of times to fetch you water. Were there lots of people? No, even if there was, he should've still returned minutes ago. Did he break the bucket? The well? No, that can't be it either...

Oh no.

Could it be he was attacked by Kairagi? Or treasure hoarders? Or rift wolves?

Without a second thought, you're already putting on your sandals at the entryway. You run to the well, where you find Kabukimono safe and sound. You breathe a big sigh of relief as you observe what the puppet was up to. He was pushing on the well's lever, which seemed to be stuck. Knowing his strength, however, you knew he was more likely struggling not to push too hard rather than pushing as hard as possible.

He hadn't noticed you yet, too preoccupied with his predicament. You decided to continue watching, to see if he could handle the problem on his own, or to stop him should he almost break the lever.

"Useless, pathetic..." You heard him mutter under his breath. That can't be right, perhaps you imagined him say that, no? That is, until he continued on. "Weak, unnecessary..."

"Kabukimono!" The poor puppet yelped loudly at the yell of his name. He turned around, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Upon realizing it was you, he immediately smiled and ran up to you.

"Sorry it's taking so long, the good-for-nothing well won't work." You frowned, making him confused. "Don't be sad, [Name], I'll get the water as soon as I can!"

"No, no... Kabukimono, look at me." You placed your hands on his shoulders, a stern expression on your face. "Who taught you those words?"

"What words?"

"Those words you just called the well. Useless, weak, pathetic, all those. Who taught them to you? Don't tell me it was Katsuragi..."

"No, I learned them from my creator." You paused, completely caught off-guard by that response. It dawned on you that he didn't fully grasp the meaning of those words, he more so repeated them much like a parrot, a downside to his immaturity. "She called me that, so I thought you call all bad things that."

"Oh, Kabukimono..." You sigh, taking him by the hand and sitting him down on a nearby large rock. "You're not a "bad thing." Okay? Don't ever think that. You're an amazing, wonderful person, and Niwa, Katsuragi, everyone in the village loves you and appreciates you. Especially me, I love you, and don't ever forget it." You placed a kiss on his cheek. "So don't say those words alot, okay? They're... Bad words. Cruel words. Saying them can make people upset if they think you're talking about them."

"But, I'm not saying it to people. I'm saying it to the well."

"I know, but still, It's not good to make saying them a habit. You could accidentally slip up and insult Katsuragi, or a child, or even me." You sit next to him, placing your hand on top his, rubbing circles on the back of his hand. "Instead of being mean and forceful on the well, why don't you try a different way? A more peaceful way."

You heard Kabukimono softly hum to himself, contemplating on his next move. He stood up and headed back to the well, with you following close behind. This time, he inspected the well's crank, fixing the lever that had gotten stuck. And just like that, it was up and running again, and he collected a bucketful of water, showing it to you with pride.

"I did it, [Name]!" You smiled and patted his head, Kabukimono easing into it with a few giggles.

"Good job! Now let's go home, our unagi chazuke will be cold if we wait any longer." He nodded and you placed a kiss to his cheek before you both headed for home.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Bonus:

"[Name], what about 'shit'? Is that one of the bad words? I heard Katsuragi-san say it when he bumped into a tree by accident. Oh, and also 'fuck.'"

"..."

Needless to say, Katsuragi got quite the scolding later on. No one ruins the precious baby Kabukimono's innocence and gets away with it.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and I know I seem a little mean thinking Ei would've said those to Kunikuzushi/Kabukimono, but hear me out. I'm aware she had good intentions leaving him so that he would be free, but my friend and I headcanon that she would say things that are mean for the sake of him not getting emotionally attached to her, and in turn she wouldn't get attached either. It's a byproduct of her being a little emotionally detached, she wouldn't see it as a wrong thing to do, because in her eyes, without a bond between them he would've taken the "abandonment" better. But that's just what we think! Anyway, have a good day, afternoon or evening!

[ihopesocomic]

The whole pretending Nothing was killed thing never made sense to me cuz why did none of the other lioness (yknow her MOTHER, SISTERS, GIRLFRIEND and I assume waterhunter is her aunt????) ever look for her body so they can have their little lion funeral????

And Feather also just disappeared what did they think Proudmane just ate them????

Then again last time one of Sharptongue's kids died she also just left his body there and had kids with his murderer and then when she was led to believe her other kid was murdered she got upset her murdered preferred her daughter instead of her

(I think you mean Powerstrike, not Sharptongue. Just pointing that out to avoid confusion. ;D) "well uhm actually this is how lions behave irl, it's REALISM. it's not supposed to be pretty. nature is brutal! 🤓"

And yet the lions are out here having a lion funeral for an elderly lion that 1) lived a full life and 2) prioritised her garbage religion over the well-being of her family.

Absolutely no fucks given to the younger lions - Spark, Feather's sisters, Nothing, Feather - that did absolutely nothing wrong and either died or were presumed dead when their lives were just starting out.

It's why I get kinda mad when people compare Clever to Sharptongue and erroneously refer to her as 'the supportive grandmother' IHS counterpart. I mean, for one thing: she's actually the supportive aunt? Just say you didn't read the comic without actually saying that. lol

I can handle all the other comparisons but fuck that. Clever actually stuck up for Hope and went down fighting for the betterment of her family. Sharptongue was an ineffective garbage fire who did absolutely nothing to make her family's lives better. Even when she didn't have the 'I'm old and therefore useless!' excuse.

Because, hey, it's weird how Moonstrike was able to stand up to Fire and yet Sharptongue just shrugged and said 'the pride is rightfully his [Quickmane's]!' after the dude killed one of her grandchildren and maimed another.

Powerstrike is undeniably awful but Sharptongue's character makes my eye kinda twitch because MP's audience is so suckered into thinking she's this wise, supportive grandmother when she didn't help Nothing's life improve in any way, shape or form.

It's why me and Cat were convinced that she was gonna be the villain in the first episode because she was just very meh in response to the proceedings (somewhat understandable, considering Starmane killed her own mate) whereas Powerstrike was reacting more realistically. For whatever reason, they seemed to switch roles with no explanation in the second episode.

But yeah, this is the result you get when your show flip-flops between 'being realistic and brutal and therefore adult and mature' to having Warrior Cats levels of anthropomorphism that is clearly intended to appeal to the child part of your audience. Even your so-called 'sympathetic' characters come across as uncaring assholes. lol - RJ

[romandaandromeda]

How Azumanga Daioh tells the difference between the "Old Web" and "Modern Internet"

a content warning for mentions of rape, pedophilia, and ableism (well, better safe than sorry!)

i had an entire thing written before this, but i decided to scrap it for when spacehey comes back online

so, the old web. we know what it is, we know how we see it, geocities, crunchy gifs, flashes and whatever. but have you ever seen the difference between its societies scattered across websites whether it be an imageboard, geocity, or forum against our discorded societies on major social media platforms?

a while back, i had begun watching azumanga daioh as a result of a sudden reinterest in the anime in this decade. this reminded me of how prevalent anime was on the internet as a whole 2 decades ago (and more or less, azumanga's iron grip on anons and lurkers alike), which led me to searching for how different this era was with memes.

memes, or a fad, wasn't very accessible as they are today, while some could be laughed at as an outsider (think awesome face, shoop da whoop, nyan cat, impact font memes), memes outside of the public conscious were mostly inside jokes spawned from forums like something awful or imageboards like 2chan or 4chan.

out of those many, azumanga was one of the more popular ones. think about it, funny teenagers do funny things and combine that with a major love from anime communities, you get things like these:

now what i've noticed about these memes from pre-2010 is their inside joke nature. ask the modern user what a sticky is or why they think osaka is pretending to be a nazi, they wouldn't know or be a bit offput. plus using kaorin's little lesbian crushing on sakaki to project their straight love for sakaki would probably be looked down upon now but that was just normal. if you couldn't handle it then it was either hit the road or deal with it.

you can probably guess that kimura was probably the most relatable character ever in those days, don't even get me started on the normalization of pedophile/rape jokes back then.

now that's fun and all, but how about nowadays? we no longer have a scattered culture, everyone is using one single site for entertainment and posting, and all of the forums and imageboards have been designated a hazard zone as their users have mutated into despicable folks that have been shunned away to the point where they seem more depraved than their past. AKA, they no longer care for relating over a character or talking about a show, they'd rather argue about their nitpicks of a specific character or show and just skulk on what used to be a thriving community. well, nowadays it seems you don't need to be part of a specific community anymore, just see a meme and laugh without any context. with azumanga's revival in interest, this has sort of spawned what i like to call "azumanga autism memes" (TO CLARIFY: I AM AUTISTIC, FEEL FREE TO MAKE UP YOUR OWN NAME IF MINE DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT!). as they've mostly just become the most nonsensical and silly images ever, you practically don't need to watch the show to understand because its so disconnected from the source material it's like a cup of coffee, just pick it up and have a taste.

some examples:

notice anything? suddenly, osaka takes the center stage! with exception to the one chiyo image, osaka has become the face of azumanga as the modern internet knows it. compare that to how every character had about the same love through different edits in the old web, and it seems that most people would think that osaka is the main character of azumanga instead of the multiple characters' stories spread through the series. this has seemed to piss off many a gatekeeper, who are mad that this series is only gaining interest because of one character and her vague memes. to which i believe gatekeeping such a building block of the internet like azumanga is like trying to defend an unstable shack, it's useless.

so, what can we tell from the differences between ye olde and the new? to cut to the chase, the old web's fad culture was built from inside jokes outside of the "webcore/y2k-integrated" memes used for aesthetics. and nowadays people have publicized memes to a point where context is thrown from the picture and anyone can enjoy a meme instead of enjoying its source.

which is better? i can't tell you, you don't see much enjoyability and genuine appreciation in editing in today's memes than you did with old fads (you have to make people laugh, lest you be banished to the "reddit" label hell) but the normalization of taboo topics like racism, rape, and ableism should definitely be left behind in the old. it's just personal preference, really.

that's the end of this post, please enjoy kasuga.swf:

[trollol360]

MHA's new chapter (at the time I wrote this) (398) is driving me so insane. Like, the way some people are analyzing it is so dumb. "Horikoshi made Toshi toxic" because he's... Laughing.

Anyway, I'm gonna be silly and analyze Toshi's part in the final war arc. But first, shoutout to Rukasu (RukasuMHA), Sky (CosmicallySalty), Toshinori's teeth enthusiast (DA1KA1JU), and Inès (tshw4ri) for their comments on the chapters because it help me better explain the parts I struggled with.

397, 398, 399

396

"It's funny how this almost makes sense, Nighteye. 'Continue down this path and you will encounter a villain. What awaits you then... Is an unspeakably gruesome death!!' A 'villain,' you said... Who'd ever believe this young man was All for One?" First of all, I could talk about Nighteye's vision for days. "Down this path", society blames All Might (and/or the lack of him) for its downfall, even when he continued fighting as a hero when his body was failing (though, they didn't know that).

But there are two points in Toshi's arc, and it's not useless that he's choosing to fight.

Proving Nighteye's vision wrong (because we already have seen first-hand that that can be done, and we already have the dead mentor trope with Nana)

So he himself knows he can help (more than just motivating his students)

"If your Foresight quirk's prediction still holds true... Then this is it. That much is clear." While Toshi has come to terms with this possibly being his final battle, he still says "if".

The part where he says "Gotta... Show my mug, right?!" May sound a bit stupid, but the paint still gets across. He's grinning while preparing to fight. The flashback of Nana telling Toshi to smile is just amazing.

Dude, the title being "Battle without a Quirk" with the "Armored All Might" panel is making me lose my shit. There are so many throwbacks to his Prime Age and Golden Age. While All for One can physically and actually revert and Toshi can't, he still has his throwbacks. The two bits mirroring his hair, the spot in his helmet for his smile to show through (even being a cutout of a smile on its own if you think about it), the diamond on his chest, the stripes on his shoulders, the things sticking out of his forearms mimicking his costumes, the cape and the way it's pinned to him, and the belt. He's got his smile back.

"I'll keep you updated on my battle... Tsukauchi." He cares enough to update Naomasa on how it's going (duh), giving me the idea that he has the confidence that he won't die, or at least last longer than anyone would expect, especially All for One (given the fact that it's "just" support gear he's working with).

"Wait, where're you off to?!" "To provide support for all." "Given the state you're in... How?" "So you've chosen how you'll greet death?! All the tools and gadgets in the world won't matter. A quirkless man could never hope to take on All for One." Even Naomasa doesn't have confidence in Toshi, his own friend. But Toshi doesn't necessarily want to take on All for One, he just wants to stall him long enough so he doesn't get to Shigaraki.

"Stop the stream, Aiba... All we'd be broadcasting... Is the brutal death of a former hero... Stealing a few minutes of All for One's time... To make sure his pupil's fight goes uninterrupted!" So, despite Naomasa knowing Toshinori's plan, he still chooses to not have confidence in him. Yet, Naomasa wanting to stop Toshi and not believing in him doesn't put a damper on his (All Might's) plans to stall.

"All Might..." All for One doesn't call him Toshinori or Yagi, he calls him by his hero name (despite the fact that he's the reason he lost his quirk).

"The number one roadblock in my life." All for One's dialog shows that he can't just simply swat Toshi to the side and continue to Shigaraki. It shows that their fight is personal.

"A toy worth mangling more than any other. Delaying my advance? A transparent ploy! You know exactly how this will play out." Yet, despite this, All for One actively chooses to fight Toshinori. He knows what his plan is and he continues.

"What're you... Smiling about?!" Even just Toshinori smiling like he used to pisses him off.

"Hercules!! Red..." First move; Kirishima.

"He took that and lived?!" People weren't expecting Toshinori's support gear to work, especially since it kind of tends to get a bad rep.

"Hercules's shields depleted by 66 percent. There will be no second time." "Works for me!!" Despite the fight already not being in his favor, Toshinori still has a smile on his face.

"A mad charge, no dodging. His classic style... That only ever worked... Because you held One for All!!" All for One's anger towards All Might is giving him blind rage, leading him to be captured (temporarily).

"Blackwhip. Chargebolt." Second and third move; Deku (technically a previous wielder though) and Denki.

"The electric current meddles with my regen..." All for One loses his arm and blames it on Chargebolt. Toshinori isn't slinging random moves on him and praying they work. He knows his opponent and most likely has done his research on the quirks he knows.

"Wind him in Cellophane!!" Fourth move; Sero.

"Ever since your final battle against my master... You've made a habit of kicking fights off with haphazard ranged attacks!!" Toshinori doesn't get upset being reminded about Nana (probably because he's the one who brought her up and not All for One). More evidence of Toshi knowing All for One and that he's analyzed him.

"Sugarman!!" Fifth move; Sato.

"You love wearing folks down before stealing their quirks!" Despite Toshi barely fighting All for One first-hand, he still knows how he fights (most likely learned/relearned from Deku and how he assesses situations. Toshi has no quirk to rely on, but he does have his brains).

"But that approach... Is meant for fighting those with quirks!!" Toshi knows All for One well, as well as what moves to use/can use.

"You still so gloomy... About how this is gonna go, mister cop?" "After all that I've witnessed from him... I should know the measure of the man who's kept us safe and whole!!" Naomasa's confidence being restored.

"The suit and care are here... To keep me in this fight... If only for a bit! I came up with the specs and put in the design request! Back then, when you brought us to our knees... I had no choice but to take refuge over in the States! I made a friend there, and these are the fruits... Of that bond!!" MELISSA!! Toshinori admitted that he doesn't see himself lasting as long in the battle as he used to. He admits that he had to go to the United States, despite not wanting to (because he feels useless for not getting immediate revenge for Nana).

"All that I've been blessed with..." Toshinori references One for All, how he was quirkless, and indirectly Nana too, but he's not upset about it.

"Will bear its weight against you!!" Despite no longer having One for All, he still has the confidence of All Might, proving that he's still him (and All Might is still Toshinori), even without a quirk.

"I'll use this very hand... To shape my own fate!!" Flashback to show him going against Nighteye's prediction.

"We've known each other long enough that you should realize something... My dear friend!!" Is he talking to Naomasa or is he teasing All for One? Why not both? Both is good.

"Shoot style... Smash!!" Sixth move; Deku (and his use of One for All).

"Not once... In my entire life... Have I gone into battle expecting to lose!!" Even with just support gear, Toshi believes he won't lose (or better yet, won't die) while fighting (even if others don't believe in him).

[biopanik]

The Morality of Fandom Activities

This might as well be an essay, so apologies for my long asf post. Just a few heads up: this is in no way talking about people who support incest irl and MAPS. Those are extreme cases that I'm not qualified myself to talk about, I only know that I don't want them on my page 😭

I stopped having a very active social media presence when I was finishing high school. For me, this was a huge deal, because as the token weird queer kid all my life, Tumblr and fandom culture provided a safe space for self-expression, developing my writing skills and exploring myself. Fandoms usually play a huge role for teens, since their interactions and their experiences shape their mindsets into the primary form their adult brain takes. Whenever I look at my old posts, I can see the points where I was maturing, I could see my opinions change very clearly without always connecting old posts to significant life events.

What is very important to take into account is that I was in ALL the "red flag" fandoms, even some niche ones. BNHA, Homestuck, RWBY, Okegom, Voltron, you name it. I was into it, I had Instagram edits of it saved on my phone. As a result, I am familiar with all kinds of fujoshi, yuri bros, proshippers, etc. I'm not here to inform you about my entire digital footprint though. I'm here to discuss fandom morality. Fair warning, I will be referring to a bunch of dark themes vaguely.

I want to start by saying I understand the appeal of a toxic ship. A ship that is straight-up problematic given the context of the story. Be it because the characters are abusive to each other, a very big age gap or them being blood relatives - I get it, even if I'm one of the people who's easily repelled by this shit. I get why Junjou Romantica, for example, became so popular. The big body proportions, the "forbidden romance" trope, the guilty pleasure, I get it. I understand how nerdy young women would fawn over yaoi because they craved a soft male touch. I understand the south park proshippers because they inserted their younger selves into the characters and imagined scenarios where their own fucked-up childhoods would make sense.

My experience with Funamusea helped me understand that things that are taboo can be appealing in a fictional form. There were a lot of issues because the horror used in Funa's games was centered around sexual battery and assault. To me, that made perfect sense. Funa games are packed to the brim with gore, war, mental abuse, and disturbing characters. Of course, there would be SA in such a fucked up setting. Rape is a horrifying thing that no one should face because it is a subcategory of violence. VIOLENCE IS SOMETHING NO ONE SHOULD EVER COME ACROSS. Therefore, why is it that people who write stories containing this trope receive so much hate, but 1940s war aus for example get praised? Why is FMA a pacifist masterpiece and not torture porn?

For "glorifying" real-life horrors? Triggering people? Let's broaden this.

Think of your favorite slasher film. Your favorite best-seller horror book. Do you think that the people behind these stories are freaks and murderers? Psychopaths are capable of fitting in anywhere they want, even fucking churches. So it is useless to assume creators are moral instigators for their VILLAINS. Now let's think about Colleen Hoover and Sara J Maas (or as I like to call her, Sara J Ass). Their "love" stories are super popular because of the immense marketing that they have received, despite profiting off romanticized harmful content. Backlash is still minimized in contrast to anime niche, because they are backed by million-dollar industries and the fact that they conform to the norms of a straight story. Although that, is a topic for another discussion - how problematic characteristics are "musts" in irl relationships.

Lastly, I want to talk about the so-called community saviors who want to protect these platforms. Those who want to build a safe environment so that no predators infiltrate our sacred grounds where we discuss Persona 5 ABO dynamics. A lot of them are oftentimes victims of this sort of abuse. I myself have come across groomers. But tbh 15yo kids who reblog Shiro X Keith are not really the enemy? Anyway, that's a little besides the point. I want to directly talk to these people right now, hear me out: you are hypocrites. You only pretend to care about Tumblr communities but do not hesitate to accuse someone of abuse (any kind) and tell them to end their life. How are you protecting anyone like this? How are you a positive role model for the children partaking in fandom activities when you show clearly that you wish death upon someone. VIOLENCE IS SOMETHING NO ONE SHOULD EVER COME ACROSS, I re-iterate and you possibly agree, but YOU ARE STILL VIOLENT, and justify it by being "virtuous". How are you any different from @\hivliving? Her actions will forever be engraved in her victims' heads, even if she was humiliated in the end. Then again, it would have been better for her to write a shitty low-quality fic about Hamilton having HIV or whatever the fuck, if looking up basic things about HIV was so difficult. After 7 years in & out of fandoms, there's one thing I'm fine with, and that's bad fics.

Ultimately there is so much more I want to say. I might cover this topic on my bestie and I's podcast sometime (soz it's in Greek). The bottom line here though is not about keeping a neutral stance on problematic media. It is to enjoy whatever the fuck you want just because it makes you happy. It is to differentiate what's a wolf in sheep's clothing from what's a sheep. It is to accept that kids will ALWAYS lie about their age to access all sorts of NSFW. God knows I did so. It is to recognize them and realize that their creators and fans are most likely not going to act out every bad thing that occurs in said story. Because if that were the case, with the rise of all the Yeagerists, we'd have so many bitchless college students trying to start little rumblings of their own, and the world would be a much funnier place.

Now go outside and spread your moral philosophies to people outside your Discord server

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Yeah I wouldn’t exactly call Adrien did guilt tripping ether it’s pretty messed up in general that Marinette and the entire school would create celebration for getting rid of Chloé like dude are you guys okay I’m pretty sure there’s more to life than just hating on Chloé like I get it if you don’t like a person, but creating a party for their downfall that the school was 100% in on is Chicken Little levels of disturbing and I feel like any sane person would call something like that out

(The post this anon is referring to)

I’m sorry, but I just feel like a lot of the people who suffered from Chloe’s schemes have a right to celebrate her leaving the country, especially Marinette, and Adrien saying it’s all bad comes across as (God, I can’t believe I’m saying this) mansplaining. 

If he made a decent point against the celebration to counter Marinette and Tikki’s claim that without Chloe, there will be less Akumas (maybe something along the lines of explaining why she acts like a diva in the first place), I’d get it, but his only defense as to why people shouldn’t celebrate her leaving is that she was his only friend growing up.

Adrien: How can you celebrate a thing like that? 

Marinette: But Chloe’s a total brat to everyone. She was useless anyway. 

Adrien: Nobody's useless, not even Chloe. When I was little and wasn't allowed out, she was the only friend I had. She left angry and unhappy. I can't celebrate that.

He doesn’t even try to understand what Marinette and their other classmates went through, and he doesn’t acknowledge all the trouble Chloe caused. He just says “Well, I had a good experience with Chloe growing up, and she didn’t bully me, so that automatically invalidates all of your complaints.”

You could have easily shown Adrien being upset without having to lecture Marinette on why she’s wrong. While everyone celebrates Chloe leaving, have the camera pan to Adrien, who looks visibly upset, and then have him leave in a somber way. With no dialogue, the audience can tell how sad he is, and the message would still get across perfectly.

[kalevalakryze]

Snippet Tag

asdfghjkl thanks for the tag @stellanslashgeode !

I actually burned myself the heck out these last few weeks and haven't been writing much nitearmor, buuuut there's no time like the present. Here's a nitearmor piece I'm throwing together based off another random note I texted myself at 0200 this morning!

Can also be seen as a rewrite of my very first fic: A Moment of Peace

no pressure tag: @armoralor

Bo-Katan's muscles were tense, aching under the skin. For the first time since she realized who she was meant to be, her body felt wrong. Bruises dented the side of her face, and a cut trailed blood from the bridge of her nose and down her lips, dripping from her chin and onto her chest plate.

The Armorer had already snapped her nose back into place before they'd made it onto the gauntlet, the silence had hung thick between the two Mandalorians as The Armorer brought the ship to the landing on Nevarro. Everyone else had already returned, making the two leaders the odd ones out.

The shaders came in to darken the transparisteel viewports, though neither woman made any move to open the ramp, or to exit in general.

The Armorer stood, approaching Bo-Katan's seat on the turrets. Her helmet was fixed to the field casted hand, broken bones wrapped under layers of a biocast and gauze.

"I get it, if you want to go back without me," Bo spoke finally, her own gaze fixed hard on her useless hand. How could any of them want her around, after Gideon outed her so openly? Again. It had taken her too long to heal physically and emotionally from the last time he'd outed her to her Niteowls, and Korkie, before his death. Had taken her so long to earn back the trust of her people (even if they did leave once she failed at retrieving the darksaber again).

"You are the Mand'alor," The Armorer reminded, dropping to one knee in front of Bo-Katan. The med-pack was secured to her belt, giving her easy reach to grab a disinfectant wipe to start cleaning the blood from her face. "There is nobody to truly oppose your stake,"

"The darksaber is gone..." She pointed out bitterly, face twisting in a minor wince when her broken hand flexed to prove the point. The hilt and kyber were lost to the flames, as far as everyone knew so far.

"Perhaps we have put too much faith in an artifact from the bygone era of Mandalorians' killing Jedi, and each other. You will help lead us into a new age, Lady Kryze," The golden helmeted warrior assured as bacta was applied to the wounds scattered across pale skin. "Where else are you injured?"

"What..?" Bo questioned dumbly, her eyebrows furrowing as a spark of fire ignited in her veins. "How can you still call me that?" she spat, though the venom in her tone was not to the gentle hand on her face, but directed to herself, the anger in yellow-green eyes mirrored in a dark visor were towards her reflection, instead of the woman inside.

The Armorer's head was turned up to her, gloved hands sitting on her knees. The silence hung thick, prompting the redhead to elaborate. "How can you still call me that, knowing what you know now?" The sewer drake was out of the bag, it didn't make sense that they'd all just keep calling her... her, when Gideon exposed her truth.

"Would you prefer I call you something else?"

"No! I... but," Bo paused, her uninjured hand gripping around the edge of her thigh plate, her leg bouncing even under The Armorer's steady hands.

"Lady Kryze," A hand raised from her knee, to cup her jaw. "It is who you are, now. You have chosen the destiny you wish to walk, the specifics of your birth are not for anyone else to know, as long as you are capable. Despite whatever you'd told yourself, you are an excellent leader, and exactly who Mandalore needs to help it rebuild."

Bo-Katan swallowed a lump in her throat, unbidden tears burning at her eyes as her head turned away. "Our people are not bigoted enough to refuse a good leader when they are given one, no matter their past," Which was shown in truth enough by the Children of the Watch accepting her leadership on each excursion since Din Djarin brought her there. "You walk both worlds, Lady Kryze, only you can unite us,"

The echo of words from days prior only made the hint of a smile pull at chapped lips, and Bo sighed, finally relaxing. "This is the way," She echoed back, not as hollowly as she had every other time she'd spoken the words around their people.

The Armorer's voice was soft as she returned the phrase, before helping Bo-Katan figure out the rest of her armor so she could help treat her other injuries from the battle, and take another look at her hand.

[fuckterfs-deactivated20221212]

do y'all know about the german work report card?

it's actually called a work reference letter in english but the literal translation of Arbeitszeugnis is work report card

so, in germany, any employed worker has the right to ask their employer for such an Arbeitszeugnis once a year. It's supposed to be something you can give a potential futurr employer so that they have an idea of how skilled you are, what your work ethics are etc from an outside perspective.

Only problem is: the employer writing the Arbeitszeugnis is not allowed to say bad stuff about you. Why? Well, it's not exactly a rarity that ab employer and an employee dislike each other, often that's even the reason someone might be looking for a new job. So there's a law stopping employers from writing a bad Arbeitszeugnis that would prevent their employee from finding a new job.

Ok, kind of sensible, but there's a problem with that: if you can't write negative things in a reference letter how much of a reference is it? So since Arbeitszeugnisse aren't supposed to be utterly useless the employers have found ways to.. package negative statements in a positive giftwrap to get their point across without saying something like "My sales employee gave customers too many discounts and spends more time talking to colleagues than working." what they CAN write, however, is "My sales employee was beloved by both colleagues and customers and has high communication skills." which to us means entirely different things but another employer or someone at HR would understand. Some of the worst phrasings to have in an Arbeitszeugnis are "...made every effort to meet our requirements...", "...was able to cope with the usual time pressure and workload...", "...aimed for good results..."

You get the gist. These are the stuff of lawsuits, there's so many court rulings about which phrasings are acceptable and which aren't, there's websites where you input the employee's details, how you would rate their performance in specific categories, and it spits out an Arbeitszeugnis that you likely won't get sued for.

It has gotten to the point where a lot of employers say "Just write it yourself I'll sign it" so now they ARE getting utterly useless, and only older generations of employers and HR people value them.

thanks for reading my unnecessarily long text post about german work reference letters, you may ask questions now

[remycroft]

Cross my Heart, Hope you Die || Heimdall X Reader

Chapter 8 - Books

Help me. It was the main thought on my mind for the past 2 weeks, I don't know who would hear it though. My mother was so far away and Atreus was either too busy or had simply stopped caring. I have been unable to leave my chambers out of fear, fear of Heimdall and some illness that was either brought by him or nature.

After he'd tried to go into my mind I apparently felt so violated I was too afraid to leave my chambers and now my bed. I felt awful, I hadn't slept, hadn't ate, hadn't drank anything. My throat felt dry as sand and yet I couldn't leave.

I was also ill with something. Last week, the air started feeling heavy, my hands were trembling, I started sweating like mad and yet I felt so cold. I had never desired my mother to be my side more than I did right now.

I had tried to leave my chambers, I had successfully left my bed many times. Sometimes when I cried and screamed after being reminded of Heimdall, and then the raiders, both times I was weak. Both times I became a mess.

I heard two knocks on my door and just as I was about to tell them to go away, I threw up and they entered. It was Forseti. He rushed to my side and held my hair back as I threw up. "What happened here? The All-father said you were sick and not to enter but I wondered if it was a lie or not." The room was a mess, I had finally became aware. Things were littered across the room from when I fell constantly during breakdowns. "This is sickness, definitely, but there's something else here."

"It's nothing, don't worry."

"Please, talk to me." I didn't say a word. "At least let me help you. You stink of vomit and you look like a ghost." I had been calling myself pathetic for not being able to help myself these past weeks that I graciously accepted. He brought me to a basin, helping me across the room as my legs started feeling like jelly beneath me. "I'm going to turn around, get you some clothes, then leave. You are going to wash yourself with this rag, water and soap. Then you will tell me once you are done, do you understand?" I nodded and did as he asked. I looked at the clothes he had picked out; a white long sleeved tunic and trousers. I put them on and called him back in, "That's an improvement. Sit down and I'll do your hair for you."

"You don't need to mother me." I said, grabbing the brush and comb he had picked up.

"Clearly you're useless without one."

"Useless? Excuse me, who beat Gnà in single combat two weeks ago?" He was silent "Don't forget I also brought Heimdall to his knees on my first day here." The mention of Heimdall, despite being from my own lips, made my face drop.

"How could we forget? Heimdall still hasn't cooled off."

I don't know what brought me to this question but I asked it anyways, "Has he always been a prick?"

"From what I know, not always. My father once told me that as children he wasn't all bad, still pompous, but not bad. At some point, he changed. There was no kindness, no mistakes made, he was in everyone's eyes, this perfect tool."

"I wonder what happened."

"You might be the only one who does. He's made so many people hate him that people have forgotten." I started brushing my hair as Forseti spoke, "Do you feel okay to tell me what happened yet? I'm the God of Justice maybe I can help enact some for you."

"Oh do Vanir have rights here? How come there wasn't any for my uncle?"

"I was not born when Freyr was burned. I may not be able to do much but if I could help. Temporary allies, remember?"

"How could you help me from Heimdall trying to break into my mind?" I spat

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right, I suppose I cannot do anything, but you can."

My curiousity was enticed, "Do tell."

"You increase your power, he can only hurt you because your shielding power is relatively untested. In theory, if you practice enough you would barely feel anything." I saw the logic inside his words and was heavily embarrassed at the fact that in the past two weeks I had been so destroyed I walked off the logical path. Never again.

"Isn't it traitorous to help me against him?"

He paused for a moment. "If the All-father can help the giant, our other sacred enemy, learn more, why can't I help you?" He had a point.

We started speaking about the things we loved, I tried to keep the conversation going so I wouldn't have to leave yet but I unfortunately ran right into my currently unwanted freedom when I said, "I used to read a lot, it was my only solace when I was hidden away for over a century. The amount I read decreased after I learned the truth and started training but I still read a lot. I re-read a lot of books too, they never grew old surprisingly."

"We have a library. Let's go check things out." He stood, I stayed put, "You have to leave at some point, I also heard that Atreus frequents it." I saw the smirk on his face and I immediately got up and followed.

~

When we enter the library, I'm amazed by the amount of content. There were rows upon rows of books and I can't help but allow some kind of smile to spread across my face. "Go on. We have tons ranging from the likes of Kvasir," I scrunched my face in disgust, I read Kvasir, his writing was appalling. "to books on magic, and why are you making that face?"

"You think Kvasir is impressive?"

"You remind me of Heimdall. He's said a similar thing to me." I grimaced and he apologised for mentioning him. I picked up a book that looked decent and I hadn't read it before, it was a book of two thieves who were rivals and played a dangerous game with one another, I knew what it meant and I immediately picked it up. I then heard two voices, one I so desperately missed and one I never wanted to hear again. I looked at Forseti who followed me as I went to the sound of Heimdall and Atreus who were arguing over what seemed like nothing, just a book. I didn't care much about the topic though, if I could save Atreus from Heimdall I'd do it within an instant.

I went to the row of shelves where they were and saw Heimdall's back and part of Atreus' aggravated face. "Atreus?" The two snapped their attention towards me, my hands started shaking when Heimdall's amethyst eyes pierced into my emerald ones. I averted his gaze the second after our eyes met and rushed to the friend I hadn't see in two weeks. He pulled me into a hug and I threw my arms around him. "I'm sorry I haven't been here all the time."

"No, it's fine. I should be the one apologising. I came here to protect you and yet I've failed time and time again."

"I don't need your protection. Odin is keeping me safe, making sure I'm as away from Heimdall as I can be, which you're helping with. It increased these weeks only because you were sick. I'm glad you're better." He smiled but I didn't. So Odin is getting Atreus under his thumb, I clearly am failing. I also paid attention to the fact that Atreus saw me as the one holding Heimdall's leash, keeping him away from him. I suppose I may have to stay closer to Heimdall if I could keep him away from Atreus, it was my mission after all.

A raven fluttered past and Atreus pushed out of the embrace, "I'm sorry, I've got to go. Lessons with the All-father." I felt sick at the fact he was giving him a hint of admiration and respect. I couldn't believe he was falling for this shit when he knows exactly what Odin is capable off. He saw it in me, Freya, Mimir, and Baldur and yet he falls.

Atreus left and I turned to Forseti. "Since this place has been contaminated by the God of Foresight, I shall bring you to another place."

~

He led me to a beautiful place near the wall. It was a crystal pond that shone in the sunlight like diamonds with a huge willow tree that blew in the wind. It was serene, it reminded me a bit of home in that sense. Although, I had some reservations "Isn't this is a bit too close to Heimdall?"

"Perhaps, but Himinbjorg is on the other side and he never really looks over at this place." He looked up at the sky and then his face became one of concern, "Shit, I've got to go. Duty calls."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you at some point then." I felt a wave of sadness to see him go, he didn't reply and just ran to whatever it was he had to do.

I sat down, my back against the tree and I opened my book.

~

It was midnight when I finished it. My ass was sore and my limbs ached. It was worth it though, the book was eye-opening and it filled my heart with glee. The two thieves eventually became madly in love with each other but one died killed in a fight between their families, I almost cried but I was able to stop myself.

I put the book under my arm and just stopped for a moment to take in the beauty of this place at night. It seemed everything about Asgard was better at night, the willow tree blew more freely and some of it's leaves tickled me. The pond was also something to behold, the ripples sent by the wind added more beauty to it and apparently I was not alone as some fish had woken up. Their scales shone in the moonlight and I wondered how long they had been here, had they been here before the Aesir? I left, allowing them their peaceful existence.

I had reached the main part of the city when my illness felt worse. My hands started trembling even more, I couldn't see clearly and I felt like I was about to fall. My eyes closed and I hit the concrete beneath me.

*~♡~*

A strong gust of wind had caught my attention. One moment it was blowing from in front of me and then I felt it behind me, crushing against my back and almost making me fall off the wall.

I immediately went down the elevator, got Gulltoppr, and went as fast as I could. I was scared that Asgard had become even more compromised than it already was with the witch and the brat.

I dismounted Gulltoppr and saw the cause, it was the witch. Strong gusts of wind were still being released from her in waves. I noticed loose stones being brushed onto the grass, tree branches being broken. I gulped at seeing what this girl, even unconscious could do. I reached her withered form and realised how vulnerable she was. Just one thrust of my sword and I could take this threat away. I went for my sword but some part of me stopped.

It was unjust and dishonourable to kill someone while they were weak and unconscious. She was weak, I knew that. After what I did to her she was bedridden for two weeks out of fear, I and the All-father, and now Forseti were the only ones who knew. She was capable of controlling the air and I needed to report this knowledge to the All-father, but I didn't.

Instead I took pity on her, I scooped her and the book she was reading up in my arms. I felt blood on the back of her head and sent bifrost running through my hand to heat the wound shut. She winced and writhed in my arms but didn't wake. I mounted Gulltoppr and took her to the Great Lodge.

When I entered her chambers the thing I noticed was the mess. My nose turned up in disgust, it was like a Gradungr had ran through here and taken a shit, it was awful. What the hell happened here? She happened. I suppose I really had hurt her, not in a quick physical way, but in a messy emotional way that only her mind could explain to me. It was a shame that she refused to be honest, especially when the fire she had could be quenched so easily.

I left after I laid her on her bed. On my way to the All-father I made sure to take a visit to the servant's quarters.

It was strange that I would take care of her, or ensure she was taken care of. I suppose guilt is a poison. I'll need to get that handled. I shouldn't even be feeling guilt for someone like her.

~

"You took your time." My father stated as I walked into his underground office, "Are you beginning to care?"

"No." It was just pity and guilt, that was all it was and I'd make sure I got rid of it. "Good. What have you learned?"

"She has the ability to control the wind and air. She does not know and I think that is another reason she was ill, besides me." The All-father paid more attention to my words than he had before, "Then she is more of a threat than she realised. I need you to keep a better eye on her. You're capable of weakening her as we've seen and that will be necessary." I nodded, I personally didn't want to deal with the little witch but I would for the good of Asgard. "You are dismissed." I bowed and left.

I used my sight to focus on her. The servants had immediately gotten to work and they'd ensure she actually ate and drank something when she woke up. They'd also never speak of who gave them their command. I left to Himinbjorg immediately, I had to return to my duties.

I'm really sorry this took so long to come out. I was busy with college, was on an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows, and everything was so overwhelming.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

[tbrma]

DAY 3 - Soulmates (+sci-fi)

Soulmate AU where you don't see colors until you meet your soulmate’s eyes for the first time.

On Ao3

For the first time in his life, Madara wakes up to a monochrome world.

It shouldn't be possible. He tries rubbing his eyes, closing them as he presses the heels of his palms against them. Stars bloom across his eyelids, but when he opens his eyes again nothing has changed. Eventually, he gets up. What the fuck. Now he understands why people are given time off work after finding their soulmates, even his own apartment looks foreign and unnavigable with the colors stripped out of it.

He wanders around aimlessly, waiting for the world to start making sense again, and he's so shocked that he almost doesn't hear his phone's ringtone back in the bedroom. He turns around sharply and runs straight into a wall. Still confused, but now also pissed and in pain, he reaches his phone just in time for it to stop ringing.

"What the fuck is it today!" Madara growls in frustration. He checks his phone for the caller - Izuna - and swears at the screen: he somehow managed to waste a whole hour without even starting to get ready for the day and he should already be at the precinct.

His brother calls again and Madara picks up immediately.

"Izuna," he says instead of a greeting.

"Where are you?" his brother half-screams, sounding already done with the day. "Did you forget about the briefing for-".

"Izuna," cuts him off Madara, "I can't come in to work today."

"What!? Today of all days-"

"I can't see."

"WHAT!?" Izuna all but screeches and Madara can imagine how that got everyone's attention by the way the background noise he can hear through the phone drops to almost nothing. Wonderful.

"I can't see colors anymore," Madara clarifies, and with that admission an awful mix of dread, anger and, worst of all, hope settles on his stomach like a rock. He can't see colors anymore. It shouldn't be possible. He's probably just sick. Knowing his luck, of some rare and understudied illness that will kill him badly in a week’s time or something equally tragic.

Izuna is speechless for a whole minute on the other side of the call. Then he says: "I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't move," and hangs up in a hurry.

Madara waits for him.

The following days are full of hospitals and doctors and specialists and tests and Madara hates it all the more because it ends up being totally useless. Nor the blood tests nor the electrodes can find what's wrong with him. His eyes are fine. His brain is too. He's as healthy as can be expected from a man his age with a job as stressful and dangerous as being a policeman is now. In the end, everyone agrees that it's normal, it's just that…

He hasn't met his soulmate yet. The soulmate Madara has known all his life that he doesn't have.

He had made his peace with his condition- with the way he was born destined to a life… not of loneliness, but without that special someone, the other half assigned to him by some higher being, the one that could complete his everything. He’d accepted his fate a long time ago. But that's ruined now, resignation replaced by idiotic hope that Madara wishes he didn’t feel (again). Because it simply isn’t how the world works anymore: it's more and more common nowadays - though Madara had been one of the first recorded cases - that people are born already seeing color, that is, without a soulmate. And it’s a condition no one has recovered from, ever.

It's just Madara's luck that on his first day back on duty after the mandated leave period for colorvision change he gets one the cases he dreads the most: malfunctioning android. Madara isn't a fan of robots. By now, you couldn't go a day without having to rely on their work, be it at restaurants, in public offices or even at the precinct, and yet it was more and more common that they stopped working correctly, sometimes to the point of becoming outright violent. He really couldn't understand why developers kept creating always more advanced models when they couldn't even control the existing ones.

Madara snaps himself out of his self-commisereting thoughts and rubs his temples, already feeling tired as he listens to his brother debrief him on their way to the scene.

"It's not that bad this time," Izuna says to cheer him up, "it's at the Senju Industries. The CEO Senju Butsuma managed to catch the smuggler before he could leave the workshop."

Madara umms distrustfully. "Is the machine dangerous?" he asks as he starts the old-school car. His father had tried to convince him to use a self-driving model with the excuse he couldn't see as he's been used to, but Madara refused. People could call him a control freak all they wanted, but he is going to keep driving himself until it's made categorically illegal.

"It's just some sight problems, so it shouldn't be," answers his brother, checking the file. "The android is a hyper-tecnologic model designed for research and data analysis, T0-b-RAMA. He's the prototype of Senju Hashirama's RAMA line - pretty self-referential name, if you ask me."

Izuna shoots a disgusted grimace Madara's way and Madara huffs a laugh.

"In any case," Izuna continues, "the android had been running for eleven years without significant issues until it started malfunctioning on the 19th last month. Since the malfunction wasn't deemed dangerous, it wasn't decommissioned immediately, but the source of the problem hasn't been located yet and the CEO decided that the robot would be decommissioned today."

"Let me guess, the engineer wasn't okay with that?" Madara says with an annoyed sigh. He has seen this Senju Hashirama guy on the TV a couple times and he distinctly remembers thinking that someone who smiles that much, no matter how smart, has to have a screw or two loose. Apparently he had been right.

"Yes!" exclaims Izuna, eyes sparkling, because he follows this kind of case like one would a trashy telenovela. Right now, Madara envies his enthusiasm. "He said he'd accompany his prototype to be decommissioned and instead he tried to smuggle it out. But! It seems that the android itself stopped him because it didn't want his creator to face repercussions for its sake!"

Madara snorts. "I doubt it," he says, "it's probably just not broken enough to leave the company without proper permissions. You said it yourself: it's a last-generation prototype. It probably has more anti-theft protocols in its body than wires."

"Well, the security guards claim that that's what it said when it refused to be led away," rebuts Izuna, "and I don't see what they'd get out of lying about this."

"Publicity? All that 'our androids really are loyal' kind of crap?" Madara shakes his head. "This case will be all over the news this evening and everyone will be buying Senju machines like crazy for the next month."

Izuna pouts at him and then turns to glare out the window, mumbling something about Madara's lack of romanticism under his breath. "Whatever," he says, "that's not the point. The point is, right now Senju Hashirama locked himself in a security lab with his robot. Since he's the only one with the right credentials to open it, Senju Butsuma called us to assist him."

Izuna is right, it doesn’t look too bad, Madara thinks, though he doesn’t say anything out loud so that he won’t jinx himself.

The Senju Industries’ massive main branch is slowly coming into view as Izuna lists the more boring information he needs to know - the building the workshop they're headed to is in, the type of security lab and the right protocols to open it - until they finally arrive at the gates. 

“We’re here for the android theft attempt” Madara says to the security guard and the woman lets them through with the indications to reach the best parking spot.

“This place is a fucking labyrinth,” Izuna mutters with a frown. "You'd think they would have someone guide us considering that they're the ones who need our help."

Madara can’t help but umm in agreement, feeling utterly lost.

It takes them ten minutes of bickering to find the parking spot that was reserved for them and, once inside the building, another ten minutes of walking and backtracking and almost getting lost before a woman in a suit finally meets them to lead them to the right room.

“How long does it take you to train new recruits to navigate this place?” his brother asks and the woman laughs.

“They wish we trained them!” she answers, a sadistic smirk pulling at her painted lips, and it’s Izuna’s turn to laugh. The two of them chat amicably for the rest of the way and it’s only Izuna’s obviously relaxed demeanor that keeps Madara’s own nervousness for his first case without being able to see colors at bay.

However, Madara’s mood sours immediately upon arriving on the scene. The room they enter is not that big, but it has a glass wall that shows an enormous lab beyond. The glass is interrupted only by a high-security metal door and a console with a number of devices Madara doesn’t care to name as well as an intercom, which is currently being used by two men he recognizes as Senju Butsuma and his son, Hashirama. The two of them are fighting loudly from different sides of the wall, and the son is - and this is why Madara despises this kind of case - sobbing between words, a protective arm thrown in front of the figure standing beside him.

“-still performing perfectly in any other area! He takes care of all his duties and more! How can you just throw him away?” the man’s voice cracks through the intercom and Madara can see Izuna’s expression grow more somber at his obvious anguish.

“If it’s malfunctioning even slightly, it’s not worth the resources it uses!” booms the CEO, face contorted in anger. “It’s a thing and it’s broken!”

“He’s not a thing! How can you not see it?” Hashirama shouts, grabbing one of the machine’s hands and gripping it tightly. “He’s family to me! A brother!”

Madara’s stomach twists uncomfortably. The man is clearly delusional, but Madara can’t help but sympathize with his desperation, because if someone tried to harm Izuna he would do way, way worse than lock himself behind an unbreakable wall.

A man in a suit, probably Butsuma’s secretary, thankfully manages to interrupt the ugly (and frankly useless) fight and gets the CEO’s attention. Senju clearly takes a moment to breath and get his anger under control before marching towards Madara and his brother, still scowling.

“I trust you have received all pertinent information?” he asks bluntly.

“Yes, Sir.” Madara answers, barely managing not to respond to the scowl with one of his own. He doesn’t like this man and his cold anger at all.

“Take care of this mess, then.” Having said his piece, he walks away, apparently no longer interested in his son’s obvious distress.

Izuna shakes his head after him and then turns to Madara. “I’ll try to calm him down a bit,” he says, pointing at the engineer now sobbing uncontrollably as the robot rubs his back in a way that is both disturbingly human and disturbingly other.

Now that he’s truly watching it, Madara finds himself strangely captivated by this android, unable to divert his attention. It’s pale haired and pale skinned, with starling glowing lines running through what little of its skin is not covered by plain, dark clothing. And it’s beautiful, Madara realizes, long-limbed and elegant, with a face that would look perfect on the cover of a magazine. But what really gets his attention is its expression as it murmurs something he can’t decipher to his creator: impassive, at first glance, but Madara is known to be quite unreadable himself and he can’t help but think that it’s more resigned, or tired or… even a bit sad.

Izuna has begun talking to the researcher while Madara was distracted, so Madara follows him to the console, still staring despite knowing that it’s extremely unprofessional. There’s something about him- it, Madara corrects himself mentally, have I seen it somewhere already?

The android must finally notice his staring because it turns towards him, its eyes focusing on his badge and then meeting his, and Madara is startled by the shocking contrast between black sclera and-

Red eyes, he thinks in wonder, because it’s a color he has always favored, how lovely.

Then it registers. Madara’s knees buckle under him and his hands catch the console just before he can very embarrassingly fall on the floor. Izuna immediately catches him at his elbow and asks him something, but Madara can’t hear him over the ringing in his ears and the sound of his own frenetic heartbeat.

They stare at each other, Madara wide-eyed and sweating and the android - what was his name? Madara wishes he had paid better attention when Izuna was talking - still impassive but not really, with his head slightly tilted to the right as if in deep thought. They stay like that long enough that Izuna stops talking and the researcher finally stops crying, and then, like a spell being broken, the android blinks and turns calmly towards his creator.

“I’ve stopped malfunctioning,” he states.

“What? Really?” Then begins bawling again and lunges for a hug that the android accepts with a distinctively long-suffering expression.

Izuna tugs at Madara’s arm and finally manages to get his attention.

“Are you alright?” he asks, voice full of worry, while his eyes roam Madara’s face as if to find some clue about what has gotten into him.

Madara opens his mouth to answer, but only manages to give his best impression of a fish out of water. He takes in the blue of his brother’s uniform and the pink of his skin, so familiar and dearly missed. The neon hues of the blinking lights on the console. And once again, the mesmerizing red beyond the glass, glowing from the patterns on the android’s body and face…

Oh my God, Madara thinks as he takes in the android’s strangely focused eyes that meet his own once again. If Madara can see colors again then that is his- his…

Oh, shit.

-

-

@madatobiweek2022 <3

[rayclubs]

Hey I was just wondering, so you have any tips for pacing when you’re writing your fics? I only ask because I’m having a bit of trouble with it at the moment, and you never seem to linger too long or gloss over things too quickly in yours. Anyway that’s all, hope you’re having a great day!

Yeah! I mean, I'm sure as hell no expert on pacing, god knows I struggle with it A LOT, but I feel like I've learned some things over the years that I can share, and then maybe it'll help somebody!

The advice I've seen a lot in variations is "always have everything planned". Every scene has to make sense. Every bit has to contribute. Every line needs to be important. Always have an ending in mind. Yadda yadda yadda. Well, I'm some type of neurodivergent and I really can't do that at all, I rarely have any more than a setup, a bit in the middle, and a vague idea of a fade-out 90s song ending - if not less.

The way I go around this is: if you don't know how to write a scene, don't write it.

Characters are at Point A, but I need them to travel to Point B. The scene of them traveling is a goddamn pain in the ass. How do I write it? I don't. I say "At Point B, they-" and continue the story.

Another good trick is to remember that you are writing in a non-linear space, meaning you can skip over things and then come back.

Sometimes when two things don't work one after the other, I swap them and see what happens. Sometimes I combine them - like, in the last chapter of Blank Slate, I was supposed to write Heavy meet Pyro, the Scout, but I thought Pyro and Scout at the same time would be more exciting. Dunno if it worked as intended, but I like it better.

Setup and payoff is also good. When you introduce something - that's setup. When that thing resolves - that's payoff. Thespace between them is like a circle, the setup and payoff are giving your text a li'l hug. For a good example of this see my fic Close Call, it's packed with these. For a simpler example see Speak Up, it's got like three or four circle, like a matreshka. I can do a detailed breakdown sometime but it feels kind of obnoxious, I'm a bit, uh, shy about my writing.

Another thing I love is using sentence length to communicate scene energy. Short sentences for action, long structures for instrospection. Long to short for sudden stops and accents, short to long for scene transitions and timeskips. Also, intersperse long dialogues with action blocks to create smaller sections with more contained dialogue topics that are easier to follow.

Cutting useless dialogue is always good. I like to say a line is no good if you can't tell who's saying it without a dialogue tag, but you can't always follow that rule. Still. Good to keep in your head.

Dialogue order, too! If Character A and Character B are talking, and A is saying a line in Paragraph 1, A's next line will be on Paragraph 3. If you have A's line on 1, B's line on 2, action on 3 - well, you can't put A's on 4, you need another action on 4 so A lands on 5. I hope this makes sense. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll go more in detail. I try to always follow this rule, at least within one scene, sometimes across scenes - it really helps cutting out unnecessary dialogue tags that clutter the text.

I think I do this thing where I overexplain everything. Honestly still not sure if the dialogue between Spy and Sniper near the end of Close Call was obvious to everybody or so obscured in round-about hints that nobody got it. But it's fine! Generally I think you want to have your audience figure some things out, I think. Not restate the same clever plot point many times beause you fear people won't get it. Just say it once and pray to god. It takes some major balls tho, if I'm being fully honest.

This is getting long so I'm gonna close with: write what you're excited to write! If you're not excited about writing a scene, don't think "How am I going to write this?", think "How am I going to avoid writing this?". Kill the first draft servant in your brain, it's only malicious non-compliance from here onward.