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dsudis · 1 year

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Adaptive Tea Making

For @domaystic Day 5: Learning Something New.

Dream is human now, and determined to learn how to make his beloved a cup of tea. He just has a small difficulty with time to get over.

___

Hob looked over at Dream, who was perched on a stool at the kitchen bench with his ever-present notebook open to a fresh page, his phone unlocked beside it, and an actual stopwatch beside that. He had a pencil in his hand, freshly sharpened, and a second pencil also perfectly sharpened set beside the notebook.

Hob had secondhand text anxiety just looking at those pencils.

"Ready?" Hob asked, though surely it was not possible to be more ready than Dream currently was.

Dream didn't even meet his gaze, his eyes fixed firmly on Hob's hands. "Ready. Please show me, one more time, how to make a cup of tea the way you like it."

As Dream spoke he wrote on the pristine notebook page: Hob's tea instructions. His handwriting was crooked and crabbed but legible.

"So--there's water in the kettle already," Hob said, feeling like possibly he was the one being tested. However he made this cup of tea, Dream would continue making this exact cup of tea for him forever.

Hob was fine with that. Hob would frankly have been fine with continuing to get wildly undrinkable cups of tea from Dream forever, but Dream was determined to learn this particular human skill correctly, and seemed somehow convinced that this time he was going to crack it.

Hob flipped the switch. Dream turned on a timer on his phone and then wrote down the first two steps: water in kettle and turn on kettle. He also wrote to one side, Phone timer: total length of process and drew a little line beside it to be filled in with a number later.

They had learned, after Dream had committed a series of frankly baffling tea mishaps including "hot water with no detectable trace of tea" and "oversteeped to the point of activating an immortal's gag reflex through sheer bitterness" and "boiled the kettle dry" that Dream had no real sense of how time passed. It passed how he wished it to pass, in the Dreaming, and even in the Waking he had always been able to nudge reality a bit to make the flow of time conform to his narrative sense or personal convenience.

Now that he was divested of those powers and operating a human body, the linear flow of time had so far made absolutely no impression on Dream. Hob had had to point out to him things like "if you wake up and it is still dark, it is still night, and you will probably want to go back to sleep until it's light out" and how often meals should happen.

It was the tea that had made it clear that even telling Dream times when things should happen was not very helpful to him. He couldn't seem to hold the numbers in his head or make sense of them when he consulted a clock. Hob had simply started giving him other ways of gauging the passage of time, teaching him about the sun's position in the sky at mealtimes and when Hob returned from work, and about the activity of people visible from the windows, and which programs on the telly corresponded reliably to morning, afternoon, and evening.

Hob had spent long stretches of time--most of his life, really--without access to clocks. People nowadays were obsessed with them, and with precise timing for everything, but Dream wouldn't need to worry about being punctual to a work shift or keeping all sorts of appointments. Hob could help him with where precision was needed, and could teach him to get along where it wasn't.

Tea, unfortunately, was a matter of some precision. When the kettle let out the first gurgles, Hob grabbed the tea canister. "Plenty of times I just use bag tea, but my insufferably posh lover seems set on spoiling me, so," Hob scooped tea into the strawberry-shaped infuser. "This is what we've got in place of a tea bag. Time-wise, either should work the same."

Dream faithfully wrote down prepare infuser (or tea bag).

"The timing for the kettle will change a bit. A smaller amount of water boils faster. There's a bit over two cups in right now," Hob pointed to the line on the side, "so it takes a little over two minutes."

Dream wrote down kettle boils and then waited watchfully until the kettle hit its automatic shutoff and consulted the time. Kettle shuts off, he wrote down, and then 2:38 with a tidy little asterisk beside it.

"Infuser goes in mug," Hob narrated. "Pour the water over it, leave about an inch at the top for milk. And start your stopwatch, because this is the bit I couldn't tell you, because I do it by feel."

Dream started the stopwatch and scribbled down more notes, drawing a little box for the all-important steeping time to be entered. Hob watched the mug, wondering once again how he did know when it was done steeping. He'd tried more than once to describe it to Dream, but none of his descriptions had been at all helpful--as proven by the various disastrous cups of tea--and had only frustrated both of them.

He wanted to fill the silence, but Hob didn't dare mess this up for Dream, when he was so determined to get this right. Most of human life had come easily enough to him, once he set himself to adapt to it, but tea had thwarted him. Hob was a little worried that Dream was building this up into some kind of epic battle of wills he had to win to Succeed At Being Human.

Dream looked up at him expectantly and Hob looked back down at his mug, a little worried that he'd gotten distracted--he'd certainly oversteeped his tea enough times for one reason or another--but no, a sniff and a glance told him it wasn't quite there yet. "Almost," Hob said. "Not really a bad cup of tea if you stop now, but not quite." He drummed his fingers, waiting for--

"Ah," Hob said, "Now." He reached for the infuser and lifted it out, and the stopwatch clicked at the exact instant it cleared the top of the mug. Hob set the infuser in the sink and then swirled the cup of tea, giving it another sniff to be sure, but yes, that was a just-right cup of tea. He grabbed the jug of milk and looked to see that Dream was intently watching before he poured in a dollop.

Dream's eyes narrowed slightly and then he nodded and wrote down a specific liquid volume that Hob was sure was in fact precisely correct--Dream's spatial skills were laser-accurate and slightly unnerving.

"And a spoonful of sugar, because I'm feeling like it today," Hob said. "I do honey sometimes. Sometimes two spoonfuls of sugar." He stirred in the sugar and sipped. "And that's--"

Dream clicked the timer on his phone and recorded the time, then picked up the phone and tapped rapidly at it. "Tell me that the water should boil about now," Dream said, and held out the phone like a reporter's microphone.

"Water should be boiling about now," Hob parroted obediently.

Dream nodded, tapped at the phone again, and said, "Now tell me the tea is ready."

When Dream held out the phone, Hob said, "Tea's ready, love."

Dream was startled into a smile at that addition, and asked, "How is it?"

"Just right," Hob said. "But if you--"

Dream shook his head, still smiling, and went back to tapping at things on his phone. "These things are amazing, you know?" Dream said. "I thought I would have to learn magic, but these are like little prosthetic memories. If you work out all the steps, you can make it do all these things for you. Well, not for you, you don't need it. For me."

"I mean, I'd be lost without my calendar and things," Hob said. He'd never thought of technology to solve Dream's difficulty with time. He'd thought it was just more clocks all the way down, there.

"Watch," Dream said, and then, to his phone, "Computer, making a cup of tea."

"Acknowledged," his phone replied, because Dream had watched possibly too many sci-fi movies with Hob at what had turned out to be a formative time in his life. "When there is water in the kettle, turn the kettle on."

Dream mimed flipping the switch on the kettle.

Nothing happened, since Dream was still a good yard away from the kettle. Reminded, Hob ran some more water into it and put it back. He was sipping his tea again and nearly choked on it when his own voice came from Dream's phone. "Water should be boiling about now."

"Computer, wait," Dream said, and the phone was back to its Computer voice when it said, "Acknowledged."

"In case there is more water in the kettle," Dream said. "If there is less, I will be able to tell it to skip ahead when the water boils."

"Computer, resume," Dream added to the phone.

"Prepare the infuser, then pour boiling water over it."

Dream mimed dropping the infuser into the mug, then pouring the water. "Computer, steeping."

"Steeping," the computer said, sounding slightly stilted like it had had to assemble that word from individual sounds instead of having it pre-recorded.

"I'll be able to use this for anything to do with timing," Dream said, scratching down more notes in his notebook. "I just have to set the intervals and key phrases, and optionally recordings for specific announcements, and then I will be able to do things that need timing. As long as I have my phone. Possibly I should get one of those watches."

"That's no trouble, then," Hob said, pulling out his own phone to order a watch to sync with Dream's phone. "And you know I'm always happy to be your speaking clock, love."

Dream came around the bench and kissed him, curling a hand around Hob's on his mug. "I shall feed you your lines when I need them," Dream said, and somehow it was desperately romantic and made Hob so proud he could cry, knowing Dream knew that Hob would always be glad to help him do things in his own way.

He opened his mouth to try to say it, his heart almost too full for words, and was cut off by his own voice from Dream's phone. "Tea's ready, love."

[Now on Ao3!]

#fic #dreamling #the sandman #retired dream #time blindness

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dawndelion-winery · 3 months

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I Like You! (Not)

Alhaitham × GN! Reader

College au! Academic Rivals to Lovers

[4] - Perfect Pair

When you'd finally dragged yourself into class in a daze, you were left with no other seat but beside Alhaitham. To your dismay, your peers giggled at the sight, and though their laughter bore no malice, you couldn't help but feel it was a cruel mockery.

"I saved you a seat, my love," Alhaitham hummed as you set you things down, seemingly not noticing or caring about the scowl pressed upon your face.

"How thoughtful," you scoffed.

"Are you still upset I told everyone? I thought you'd be quite pleased with it, given your jealous tendencies. Everyone knows to leave me alone now."

He grinned a soft, proud smile as though he'd done something praiseworthy. You, on the other hand, could only manage a look of befuddlement. Now? Did people not already leave him to his own devices before?? You'd never pegged Alhaitham as the delusional sort, but looking at his recent behaviour, you just might need to reconsider that.

You would have snapped at him had it not been for the professor scuttling in hurriedly. The wizened old man greeted everyone apologetically and dove right into the lecture so as to avoid wasting anymore time.

Oh how you stared daggers at Alhaitham. Throughout the lecture, your mind wandered, unable to focus on the professor's words. Maybe if you had paid more attention, you'd have noticed everyone scurrying to get into their desired pairs before you were stuck with Alhaitham. He hadn't even had the decency to ask if you wanted to partner up with him because in his words: "Isn't it a given we'd work together now that we're dating? I assumed you'd be thrilled to have an excuse to see me more often, not that you need one."

As if to add insult to injury, your professor looked positively delighted by the pairing. While it was understandable he'd be excitedly anticipating what wonders his two brightest students might concoct, it seemed like nothing more than vicious mockery to you in that moment. Surely you couldn't be the only person disgruntled by it. (You were. Everyone else was fully behind it.) Well, you could always get back at them by raising the bell curve.

The true problem was with how comfortable Alhaitham was with sitting uncomfortably close to you. Now, he has never been known to be a particularly physically affectionate person, mind you. So what exactly was his business being all up in your space?

"I can feel your thigh against mine, and in case you can't tell, that's an indicator of how into my personal space you've gotten," you deadpanned after about a minute of waiting for him to move away on his own.

"I'm well aware, you mentioned your type was someone affectionate. I would presume that included small gestures like sharing personal space." Yet again he shocked you with his audacity. Your type? Was he really trying to conform to your type? He had to be joking. There was absolutely no way you'd get along with him let alone be into him. That would only prove everyone right about the two of you being a dream team, and that's unthinkable! No matter how right they probably were, you refused to accept it.

Which meant operation "give Alhaitham the ick" was a go.

It should have been simple enough; Alhaitham wasn't exactly a difficult person to be disliked by. So why was it, then, that every irritating little thing you did was perceived with adoration? You kept borrowing his stationary without asking? Sure, what's his is yours. Leaning over to see his laptop screen, effectively blocking him and getting in the way of his work? You're always a welcome disruption, a damn sight nicer than work. Of course, all of this wasn't without some sarcastic quip from him every now and then, but his tone was always light, gentle even, rather than scornful.

What happened to the Alhaitham who'd find even the most trivial excuse to evade social situations?

Taglist: @vernith @bubblegum-angelquartz @ayanokomu @hannya-writes @oh-allie @sane-genshin-fan @makimakimi

#astronetwrk #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #genshin alhaitham #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin #winery specials

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austinsastrology8991 · 10 months

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Planet >> Cheat Sheet <<

We got 9 Planets, and we got 2 extra things; the Sun and the Moon. So we got 11 important things. Everything else is all very revealing although I think we all can agree anything named planet takes >precedence > especially with all the. mythological writings backing them.... and we astrologers just like the moon because shes meant to be our mum. and no one can hurt mummy >> everyone with mummy issues pipe down stfu.

Well these mythological writings are nice but im here to modernize it with some writings written today. > And with this model of simplification maybe its easier to understand and interpret how they interact with one another in your life. IMO Astrology is not that complicated. Its just hard to talk about because its taboo. Especially since we connatate it with ideas like: the God Of War, or the God of the Underworld this can make it all the more harder to suspend our disbelief. Now legs go

Sun > The star governing our Solar System literally dictates how our days are gonna go depending on where he is positioned. He is the star, he is the main event, he is the bringer of light as much as he is the light > This makes him giver and a taker because he demands your attention but it literally allows us to live and feel alive. So where the SUN is makes you the star of the show, you dominate here because you invite people in to play and you make sure you playing too. The sun is the party > whats ur party lookin like? The Wolf of Wall street

Moon > The thing we all have an emotional connection with; since we are all wishing for shit at night and in all honesty its also when we are all the most comfortable getting emotional. or getting REAL. She listens to us as if she is our mum. And she is also a connection to our mums because she represents our psychological foundations which are almost always intrinsically tied to how our mothers raised us > or whoever did raise you < so our moon shows us how we were raised and how we raised ourselves. Where we find comfort and what we hold onto to feel safe. Good Will Hunting

Mercury > He's the closest to the Sun because he a lil curious how the Sun got so hot. And he right next to venus because mercury a lil curious george. Mercury is what you talk about, mercury is what your curious about. Mercury is what you understand and what you have a yearning to understand. Mercury can do it all, and whatever is touching this, is usually what people come to you for advice for, because they see you got this > all figured out. Rick and Morty

Venus > venus is the beauty, venus is what lookin good on you. and since you know it look good, you exploit it for attention. Which is why Sun dont appreciate venus because she taking some of that attention it craves. But anyway. Venus is what you attract and what your attracted to, its your value, its how others want to treat you and how you like to be treated. Venus is nice, so your nice back. so be nice or you'll be rejected and it'll hurt you more because you didnt conform to the ideals of the hot babe that is venus. get simping or die trying Wednesday

Mars > The warfield, the battlefield, the mine waiting to explode. This is mars and it was designed to blow up to cause destruction. This is where you fight and how you fight, but also how others fight you. How good you are at fighting is also indicated and well anyone can fight, but it seems we have supressed mars a lot. And its pretty fkn sad. Makes it all the more easier for some people to get away with fighting.... Which is stupid because they are not good at fighting but since most people dont like to fight we are ruining everyones abilities to fight. A bunch of bitches I say. No wonder you jump into fights as fast as you do because your so InSeCuRe. or get as angry as quick as you do because you been hearing InSeCuRe... we all in the same society calm the fuck down, but lets pretend to be the warrior and watch television again shall we. Breaking Bad

Jupiter > The generosity of abundance and the idea of attracting all your wishes. Well the rich get richer and the poor get poorer right? Well thats a Jupiter thing, because you attract what you are. And thats why your good at whatever jupiter doing. Because you get a lot of energy attracted here, and you dont mind sharing some of it around. Which only brings forth more abundance > and the cycle of abundant manifestation has been created <

Super Mario Movie

Saturn > The restriction and limiting fashion of something has actually made you learn to honour/respect it more than anything else. Saturn gave you the sauce by removing the sauce. Now you know how to make yo own SAUCCEEE. and dang don't it taste good now that you made it on your own? and you made sure it tasted as fine as you've always wanted it to be. Hard work pays off and it pays good and you bitchez complaining about saturn should put more work in, or frankly you not doing the right type of work. Saturn a boss, and if your not a boss. You getting bossed around. Saturn fucks you around so you learn to DEAL WITH IT. John wick

Uranus > Okay so everything got backflipped and made everything turn into a fuck fest. But thats okay. You learned something right? ANd you could only learn it from him.. or that specific fuck fest that he invited you to. So you have an acute understanding founded within a niche puzzle which gave you the quirky genius trait that you have > in respect to where he be. what he do. its ya boy sparky speaks and today we getting into some bullshit

MR ROBOT

Neptune > your a dumbass but your onto something. But your not owning it because it is 100% hard to understand, but this makes you look like a airhead, or a delusional something or rather. But. your actually onto something and when everyone else catches up they'll regret calling you all those names because it really was all a cover up of their own insecurities of not understanding something as deeply as you do. You are surrounded by energy here, and a lot of it is created by your imagination > which is fueled by whatever you saw that it can work with or from. And thats why you've learned ways to let it pass through you, or you learned to integrate it into your being. (its always both) Whichever you think it is; thats what happened. Scott Pilgrim against the World

Pluto > The dark thing. considered evil, misunderstood, loner. dangerous and thats why everyone looking at you all weird and distrustfully. Because pluto embodies the hunter and the hunted. The concept of life or death is your pluto. because you encounterd things that tried to kill you; you yourself too learned to kill, but its a lot more undetectable and 'mysterious' since well you are trying to kill something and that requires covert operation. It plays with the real consequences; not the scratches or bruises of a mars, but the bullet of a pluto. Which is why people distrust it a lot, and by extension you also extend that same sense of distrust. due to your understanding of fear and extreme understanding of what could be the potential consequences; you play to win. otherwise you could die. you are afraid tpyically, so you behave fearlessly; but thats actually out of fear itself. or your funneling negative energy and well thats a pluto thing. And boy does thing thing attract a lot of energy too. I mean consider how when anything bright on in the dark attracts so much, the same happpens to something dark that is exhibited in the light > they both attracts so much.

The Menu

Oh and I know there is a million overlaps. Ik there are probably better examples. This is my post > make your own < please criticise my work or that of my language again ya fkn bitchs idgaf > swamp stays swampy > fuck off <

#astrology blog #astro community #astrology #astrology notes #astrology observations #astrology placements #astro observations

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mazzystar24 · 23 days

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OMG i still feel like I'm in a fever dream. I keep refreshing tumblr just to make sure that it HAPPENED.

We've been waiting for this for so long, i can't believe that they made Buck Bi!! Also here is the thing i want Buddie to happen and I am a hundred percent sure that it's happening (i don't know why people are thinking that it's not like???) the way i could see this going down is buck and tommy exploring their relationship and Buck beginning to question more and more things such as his relationship with Eddie. I WANT and him and Tommy to be in a relationship for a while (because they're actually pretty cute) and eddie pining. tommy will be the catalyst for Buddie.

Also: Oliver stark literally said, Buck has a crush, gets the person (exactly what happened with tommy) and that he has to work for his relationship to work and ryan saying "closer than ever??"

I also hate the fact that so people are mad and hating on the actors , that it wasn't with Eddie. Like of course a Buddie conformation would've been great, but we all knew that that wasn't gonna happen in this episode? We got FUCKING BI BUCK !!! Let's just celebrate this and just watch this beautiful story unfold. I really love reading your prediction and your positivity, please continue with that !!!

What do you think is going to happen in the next episodes? Sorry for the long ask!!

Sameee like I keep trying to be normal then I REMEMBER I’m like wow I didnt hallucinate that??

Exactly like they flat out called Tommy a plot device, confirmed he’s here for a little bit and that it’s a fling, so enjoy it as much as you want to while it’s here but don’t lose hope for buddie people? like legit this is the biggest confirmation buddie is on the horizon

YES THE INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN REALLY FEEDING INTO MY DELUSION

Like let’s not forget Ryan saying they’re trying to give the people what they want🫡and that they are closer than ever - like legit he has no reason to say this in the same season buck realises he’s bi unless something BIG is gonna happen for buddie (maybe not full canon but vibes???)

Anyone hating on the actors can legit fight me.

Oliver and Ryan have been such troopers for the fandom and Oliver now with this storyline you can tell how much he genuinely loves buck and like understands him as a character but also how to give this storyline what it deserves. Like Oliver has been endlessly respectful to the fandom too like he’s been making sure that he doesn’t get peoples hopes up while also trying to play buck in a way that is true to the character. Like did you guys see his message to the fans? Or his interview talking about how he was gonna actively play buck as bi this season as much as he can even before he got told abt the kiss. Like that man hasnt just been supportive of the fandom he’s been an advocate for us and for buck which is such a wonderful thing.

Also yeah it wasn’t Eddie but do people realise that it’s VERY hard to write an up to now presumed straight character’s self discovery in their 30s LET ALONE TWO?? Like Tim found the easiest way to set the scene for the new audience and the GA who won’t have picked up on early seasons undertone and the little things planted throughout and while I would’ve loved buddie without the middleman I completely understand why they did it this way and I’ll enjoy seeing it unfold

And YES EXACTLY BI BUCK like that alone is a MASSIVE win like we are getting such rare bi rep of not only a guy in a very “macho” job and a womaniser type character BUT ALSO a person figuring stuff out in their 30s not in a repressed full of sex shame and guilt way but in a they genuinely just never explored that side of them!! Like that’s so huge we can talk for hours about how many queer rep stories are just plain depressing but this one is so authentic while also being quite light and sweet

Also aww thanks I genuinely love these asks sm (me? In love with everyone who sends me an ask? More likely than you think🤭🤭🤭)

Also omg I’m sorry this is so long like I spent most of this talking about everything except your question😭😭

Okay so predictions:

So we know that Buck is gonna tell some people and some will be surprised some not so much and some will be like it’s about damn time, my bets are:

chimney- surprised but maybe not through insider info (Maddie)

Maddie- KNOWS HAS KNOWN but the only shocker for her is that it wasn’t Eddie like I can imagine the confused and so tired face rn, I think she probs has either thought he knew or knew he didn’t and just was giving him the time and dropping as many hints as she can in the meanwhile

Bobby- supportive father icon, KNOWS (and while he also I fully believe is the buddie captain as well he will play it a little closer to vest if you get what I mean- but inside he’s going insane and his eye is twitching because he poached Eddie for his dumb bi son only for them to ACT married for six seasons and go to him for dating advice abt other people constantly and now that his son is a man kisser it’s not the man Bobby was hoping for😔 pray for him y’all)

Hen- she’s the it’s about damn time response

Athena- also might be the it’s about damn time response

Ravi- in a permanent state of confusion- not about this he’s just confused always (also still fully convinced the poor guy thought buddie had been married cos that headcanon is endlessly amusing to me)

Now for actual plot I think that like the date is low-key a train wreck after the Eddie and Marisol interruption and that either we get a chenford-like double date or we just have a brief intereuption from Eddie and that’s a minor thing and like it’s buck admitting it’s his first date with a guy who hates throws a lot of questions in the air because Tommys reaction was a bit 👀 like I think it’s more or less confirmed that Tommy was repressed for a while when working with captain dickhead so maybe he’s like gonna be taking a step back cos he thinks buck needs more time to like explore this part of himself (but I hate that trope so hoping not) or maybe we get the buddie shipper daydream and Tommy is like more aware of buddie than buddie are and he either says that to buck as the reasoning but buck doesn’t tell Eddie that OR he says something cryptic about it to buck and buck doesn’t fully understand and he’s like you will eventually👀👀👀 (I need a lobotomy yes the delusions are a part of me now)

I hope that Marisol gets the fuck out right about now but I say that every episode 🫡 (edy’s face and voice make me wanna scream I hate her homophobic, transphobic ass sm)

Anyways I’m gonna shut up now bye love ya thank ya and sorry 🫡🫡

#911 #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 abc #911 fox #evan buck buckley #911onfox #911 spoilers #buckley diaz family #asks #asks open #send asks #answered asks

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fanficfanattic · 3 months

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Goal, Chance and/or Away (purely taking words from this football commentary rn lol)

I am once again impressed with the gems my recent word challenges have excavated. Six fic snippets under the cut.

Goal

1. From a fic where a newly returned Jamie sees a man drug a lady’s drink at a bar and intervenes. But without context it just looks like Jamie got in a bar fight.

He knows it plays into the idea that he is a prima donna, a moody little bitch, feels like its proof that he’s more trouble than he’s worth. But he can’t help laying in bed; with the team that can barely stand him downstairs watching a movie, while he’s been fucking grounded to his room like the child Roy always said he was, and feeling desperately alone.

He hadn’t cared about being alone, before Ted. During most of his time with Ted, even. His dad had always made him either actively drive people away or that was just the practical application of conforming to his demands. He’d been used to it. It was all he’d ever known.

And then Keeley said he should stop battling the people trying to help him. And he sacrificed the reminder he’d taken from home, of home, when he left it. And danced around a bonfire after Roy Kent said he was right about something. Dani had thrown his arm around him. He’d sung with the lads…

It was fun, and it made it hurt even more when the next day he’d gone back to how it had always been. He didn’t tell Ted how much time he’d spent fantasizing about what it would have been like to have gotten to stay. To develop those tiny first buds of friendships.

To have never relegated Richmond. To be playing in the now with his teammates but versions of them he’d grown alongside for months. Who never got extra pissed at him for shit talking them on tv, and destroying their Captain’s career, for sending them down.

To be trusted. Before, the only thing a team had cared about was wether they could trust him to score. Which was still technically true. But they hadn’t ever wanted more from him, and he certainly hadn’t been putting extra out there for free. Besides he hadn’t trusted anyone else much either. Maybe Man City to be good players and to work together towards a common goal. And Richmond to pass him the ball to score the first time around.

Now he trusted Dani to smile at him even when no one else would. He trusted Jeff to subtly nod, but not more than that, because he had greeted Jamie when he returned before realizing how mad everyone else was at him. Not that Jamie blamed him. He’d gone out of his way to message the man saying the small nod was probably better for both of them.

He hadn’t realized it until the moment Ted didn’t even let him talk that he’d trusted the man to be fair. He talked a good talk, but he had trouble walking the good walk, and was pretty lousy at both when it came to Jamie.

2. Now that the team has been gelling, and Roy understands how Jamie’s mind works more, he’s got a plan to run circles around West Ham.

“Kent, the fuck mate! You said you could keep in position!”

“Fuck you Tartt! Maybe if you weren’t-“

They had been yelling about the play in the heat of being pissed off at each other. Jamie had telegraphed the pass to Roy very clearly. And the defender who was supposed to be on the left, loosely marking Sam, tore off to be another line of defense between Roy Kent and their goal.

Unfortunately for them, even when Roy and him had been out for blood against each other, they’d have never been that stupid. Jamie doesn’t even twist his body fully the way it should be for the kick. It still rolls smoothly to Sam who buries it in the back of the net from his completely cleared lane.

Chance

1. From the Investigative Journalist epic.

“…for as long as I remember, when I heard people say things, I always thought they meant it however the worst possible way is. But a lot of people say it while meaning it in the best possible way turns out.”

“And how does this relate back to you thinking people are rude when they talk around a subject?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m trying to do that more.”

“What more?”

“Identify when I’m doing that kind of thinking that what someone is doing is the worst version it could be. So, society probably isn’t trying to be rude by talking around things. I think it’s accidentally rude.”

“Do you mean incidentally?”

“What’s the difference?”

“They both mean something happened by chance. Accidental implies that the thing happened by carelessness while incidental indicates it would still happen this way even if people were taking care.”

“I think people want to believe it’s that last one but I believe it’s more often the first one. Cause I can be the same way. I normally don’t think much before talking, and if I did that more, I’d say things differently or maybe not say anything at all.”

2. This is also from the platonic a/b/o fic I didn’t realize had so many scenes already sketched out. The scenario is that James had a shady doctor prescribing Jamie pills that included an (i fucking guess) untraceable dynamic suppression med. When his dad is too busy to deal with a refill, Jamie asks Richmond’s med team to prescribe him a new vitamin pack.

“Oh that bastard. I’m gonna kill him this time, Simon, I am!”

“Georgie, c’mon, let’s focus on Jamie now and murdering later, yeah?”

“Fine, fine! So doctor, what about that? Like I believe his father would hurt him, cause that’s his way, but the how doesn’t make any sense. With vitamins?”

“Well, we don’t know if there is anything different between the vitamins his dad got for him and what we provided here. The best way to find out is with a blood test.

And you’re Jamie’s medical health proxy. So-“

“Yes, you’ve got my. You need to do a blood draw? Run tests?”

“Yes ma’am. You’re granting permission for the draw?”

“Yes, of course. What the fuck. How-how soon will you know? Does he have to go to hospital? It’ll take us almost four hours to get there. Do we-“

“Georgie, she can’t answer any questions if you don’t give her a chance, love. Take another deep breath for me, okay? In and in and in. Hold and hold and hold. Out and out and out. Okay, again.” And after she kept at it, he addressed the doctor again.

3. From that evil fic I teased about. I’ve played coy about what happened before now but you caught me! Rebecca walks onto the practice pitch ‘without Jamie’, Ted notes to himself.

“Jamie’s parents were in a car accident this morning. That’s why I called for him. His mother is being held overnight for observation and is quite understandably shaken. She called Man City to get a hold of Jamie, and when she explained what was going on she was able to talk with Pep. He promised he’d talk to Jamie so she could rest.

And then he called me directly.”

It was silent for a moment, and she was tempted to look around to better gauge player reactions. She kept her eyes on Ted, instead, because his was both more important and certainly more interesting. As she’d begun her story, he’d paled alarmingly.

And he failed to spill forth some folksy American tale to talk circles around everyone. Instead he hoarsely asked only one question.

“And his father?”

It gave away a weakness he had, which Rebecca was sure he neither realized he’d done nor that it was one. And why would he be worried about that, she reminded herself, when he also doesn’t realize he’s in game of your making.

“Ah, I should have been more precise in my language. His biological father divorced his mother when he was still an infant, I’ve been informed. It was his stepfather that was driving and took the brunt of the impact. He died on scene.”

She didn’t say it icily or meanly. She just said it without warmth. And that impacted the players more than she’d thought possible. Unfortunately it took time for her to understand that, because at the moment everyone just appeared to be in shock.

Ted didn’t ask anymore questions, and the silence was getting uncomfortable even for her.

“Well, since she took her late husband’s last name, there is a chance this won’t make the papers without the name Tartt attached. Still, if it does, Keeley made some excellent points about how we want to look. So no one go on your socials until she’s spoken with you.

Back to training now.” And she turned to walk away, not once looking back.

Away

1. ^ Chance #3

2. ^ Goal #1

3. I shamelessly stole this idea from a fic where Ted has Jamie stay with Roy in a similar manner as hockey players sometimes do? Apparently. So season 2 Jamie returns to Richmond. And Ted cooks up a thing where Jamie is going to room with Sam. Help them get their differences settled. And then…and then James Tartt shows up.

Jamie sort of unthinkingly says “Oh, Ted knows about me da’”. And Sam is sure that Jamie must have misunderstood what happened until he hears about Ted walking away but sending the soldier. And the conversation Jamie and Ted had in the Crown & Anchor.

#jamie tartt #dani rojas #jeff goodman #ted lasso #referenced attempted date rape #bar fight but make it a rescue #roy kent #trick plays #a/b/o #alpha beta omega #platonic a/b/o #death of a parent #death of a stepparent #georgie ted lasso #jamie’s mum georgie #simon ted lasso #jamie’s stepdad simon #sam obisanya #james tartt sr

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mintacle · 1 year

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I have this little gripe with any reading of Batman 1940 #416 that ends its analysis of Bruce and Dick's conversation by concluding that Bruce took Jason in to replace Dick. Because yes, but more importantly no. Let's break it down.

The panels that lead to the abovementioned conclusion are these:

Bruce admits to having missed Dick and to having felt lonely. This can to some extent be read as in Jason replacing Dick. But I think a reasonable argument can be made that being lonely and missing one specific person doesn't mean everyone new you let into your life is just an attempt to fill in the exact position of the former person. More on how Jason is not Dick later.

But first let us consider the fact that Bruce also gives Dick a whole 4 other reasons for taking Jason in.

1. Jason seemed like the right guy for the job.

2. Bruce sympathized with Jason.

3. Bruce wanted to help Jason

And Dick calls "Bull" on these (literally), which prompts Bruce to give another reason:

4. Bruce needed another set of hands on the job.

Only after Dick calls Bruce out again does Bruce admit to having missed Dick.

Now I believe you have to give all these former reasons just as much credit as the final one. The final one isn't last because it's more true, it's last because it is the one reason Bruce doesn't want to admit to Dick. In support of my theory to all being true in different ways, we have the parallel of Dick and Bruce unmasking.

Dick begins the conversation by unmasking.

And then insists upon Bruce unmasking as well.

(I'm not gonna rave about the significance of the background color changing. I'm not gonna rave about the significance of the-)

In the same way Dick asks Bruce to reveal more and more about his reason to take Jason in. The interpretation if these panels hinges vitally on understanding that Bruce is Batman. That part of his identity is true. Ergo, his reasons related to Batman for taking Jason in are true. His reason as Bruce to take Jason in (sympathy, wanting to help, missing Dick) are equally true. Bruce is still himself with the mask on, he is hiding behind the truth (I am Batman) and just in the same manner he is hiding behind the truth when Dick confronts him too. All the above mentioned reasons for Bruce taking Jason in are true. Saying it was only to replace Dick is reductionist.

Now let's get to the part of my alternative interpretation of Bruce admitting he was lonely and he missed Dick. Some people have chosen to see this as meaning that Jason was there to replace Dick, but again, I think that is reductionist and simplifies the complex human connections we have with one another. There is no such thing as one person replacing another.

I'm going full death of the author with my headcanon (based on canon argumentation though) that I'm about to give, since this issue was written by Starlin and it's probably safe to assume he intended to portray Jason as a mere replacement of Dick, but less skilled at the job. (Ffffuck you Starlin.)

Dick and Bruce have a.. non-conforming realtionship. They matter a lot to one another. They are partners, the dynamic duo, but it's hard to justify labeling them as any specific kind of relationship. Bruce was too young and inexperienced to take Dick in as his son and while he did ultimately raise Dick, their relationship was too equal to really be considered as a one-way father-son relationship. Dick has left (been fired) and Bruce is left missing him. Not only missing Dick, but also mourning the opportunity he had to become a father to a young boy and he now feels he has lost. He meets another young boy. Just as parentless, just as burning with a sense of justice and willingness to fight for it. Jason and Bruce's dynamic has always been far more of the parental-child nature. Starting with the fact that Jason was actually legally adopted, but also simply going from their interactions. Bruce realized he wishes to be a father and nurture someone through Dick and he is fulfilling this desire with Jason because he feels it is too late to be a father to Dick.

And full disclosure, this last part is 100% my own wishful thinking, however there is nothing in canon that would contradict my interpretation and enough supporting evidence for it to be a possibility.

Final conclusion: no Robin, Jason, Tim, Stephanie or Damian can or should be reduced to being a replacement for the one who came before. While there will always be that aspect at play that Bruce operates with a Robin, there are always more reasons for Bruce taking in the sidekicks he ultimately does.

#jason todd #batman #bruce wayne #nightwing #dick grayson #robin #dynamic duo #dc comics #dc #rambling #batman 1940 416

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aratakiittossimp · 2 years

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Late night snack.

Warning: food mentions, self image issues and kinda ed mentions also chubby!reader, this is totally sfw, I just wanted to write something sweet.

You woke up in your shared bedroom, shaking and sweaty, tears in your eyes from the nightmare you just had. You turn to face your boyfriend, Itto, he was sleeping peaceful, you wanted his comfort, but didn't have the heart to wake him up. You rolled a few times in your bed, trying to find the best position, but after half an hour you couldn't go back to sleep, you were still too nervous about your nightmare, even if you barely remember something about it, so you decided to get up and let your boyfriend sleep. Your stomach began to rumble so you decide to go to the kitchen and grab something. You opened the fridge to find a huge cake Itto got you just because he knew you loved *favourite flavour* cakes. You put it out and cut yourself a nice big slice. You were always a bit nervous about eating too much, especially in front of other people, but with Itto this never happened, especially since his appetite was bigger than yours. He always made you feel better about it.

You sat on a chair and begin to eat the delicious treat. Itto really knew how to spoil you. After you're done, the temptation to get another one is too big, and since you're all alone in the kitchen you decide to give in to your sweet tooth. The cake is so good and sweet that you basically eat half of it without even realising. After you're done, your stomach hurt a bit from being too full. You pat it to feel the roundness and your usually soft skin now so being tight. You felt a bit ashamed about it, why you couldn't control yourself when you're eating? Tears begin to form in your eyes and you start sobbing. But suddenly a pair of big arms encircled you, big hands resting on your tummy, caressing it softly.

"What's wrong little bird?" Itto's voice is calm and soft as he whisper in your ear. You turn around and hug him and he hold you tighter. "I didn't find you in bed and I was worried, what happened?"

"I just had a nightmare, but didn't want to wake you up, and since I was hungry I went here to take a snack but I ate too much and now I feel bad because I can't control myself..." You explained while sobbing in his chest, Itto laughed a bit and gave you a kiss on the top of your head.

"Silly, you should've woke me up so we would eat the whole thing together!" He then knelt down, rises up your shirt to reveal your cute round tummy and begin to pamper it with kisses. You were a bit confused, especially because a moment later he picked you up and carried you back to bed.

"You definitely need a cuddle session right now, and tomorrow I'll make breakfast for you and you're going to eat all of it!"

"But I just ate half a cake..."

"This doesn't mean that you don't have to eat for the rest of the day, silly! I know what's deep down in your mind, you don't have to conform to any stupid beauty standard, you're my beauty standard and I love you and your appetite." He said with a large grin, he then being to pamper your face with kisses, slowly going down and reaching every part of your plump body, paying special attention to your belly. He loved seeing it like that because it meant that you were enjoying yourself like you deserved. That's why he always paid special attention to it. Kissing it, rubbing it and gently caressing it. The last thing that you remember from that night were Itto's sweet kisses and gentle hands running up your body and then you were finally able to sleep again.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x chubby reader #genshin impact x reader #arataki itto x reader #arataki itto x chubby reader #arataki itto

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mundanewayv · 11 months

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hi yall, i just wanna share that i met wayv last night at their fanmeet and finally had the chance to study their personalities throughout the 2 hours and a hi-bye! these are just my opinions as someone who works in something related to profiling.

please take this with a pinch of salt and long post ahead!

KUN

kun has slight awkwardness being in a new environment or around new people. kun happens to be in my country for the first time in his existence and doesn't know much about how the reception of the fans would be like, what persona he should put on to impress the fans or what words to use. he is seen in a one-arm hug for awhile at the beginning as he doesn't know if he should open his personality up fully to the fans or not.

the playful wayv boys use his awkwardness as a way of teasing him and when this happens, kun has one hand in his pocket. yes, we know kun is always cool and handsome but the nervous laugh he lets out as they tease him may indicate a fear of acting outside of what he feels the fans / strangers expect of him. he wants to be the smart leader that has answers to everything and acts righteously - a model example, that is.

it will likely take kun a bit more time and comfort for him to break the ice before you will truly see his nature; mainly because he wants to feel safe and reassured that it is okay to not conform to expectations set by others and be his natural self without being judged. which is why i feel that the wayv members actually actively provide him with that support and he finds it difficult to be away from them for long as he constantly tried to limp towards them so he can be together and sorta quell his fear.

my personal interaction with him was rather funny as i looked him in the eyes and praised him for being good-looking. he was shocked and didn't seem to know how to take the compliment and he ended up just laughing and smiling to himself sheepishly and looking down. i personally think kun needs a lot of reassurance to convince him that he is on the right path and that he is doing just fine. to be surrounded by many talented individuals like himself, he definitely appreciates a confidence boost from time to time.

TEN

i know mbti shouldn't be taken too seriously but i actually share the same mbti as ten and i do see him as a mirror of who i am (just maybe a little more chatty). ten is very observant. you can't but notice that ten does not actually initiate conversations and is always looking at his members. he is watching their actions and listening to what they have to say. why? because he is planning on how to maintain a smooth flow of conversation when there is a potential energy drop. he aligns jokes and questions according to what his members are sharing or how the crowd is reacting, making him look like a very relatable individual.

ten is always in a laid-back position, his gestures are also wide and natural as compared to kun who has smaller and stiffer gestures (e.g clapping of hands) - indicating his openess to learning and understanding new people or experiences.

ten is seen a step back behind his members, mainly just happily reading the room and observing his members. he has many things in his head but doesn't say them but when he thinks aloud, they are usually funnier than in was his head. the amount of things he say doesn't matter to him as much as the impact of what is being said. he calculates his words and actions well. i can confidently say that he was trying to profile me just as much as i was profiling him at the hi-bye🫣 but guess what ten, we're the same.

ten is meticulous and picks up on small details easily to try and improvise and make things more ✨interesting✨.

XIAOJUN

this man is an overthinker. and is very nervous. and shy. xiaojun's nerves never seem to go away haha, by the way he is always curled up and how he finds it to hard to articulate what he is thinking before he says it, leading him to trip over his words a lot. he is fighting his intrusive thoughts out loud basically; straddling between saying it or not and ends up saying something no even in between and feeling that he just made a fool out of himself.

and his shyness leads him to seek assurance from his members in which you see him usually clinging on or whispering to ten, hendery and even kun (how cute) and you would see a nod from those members to assure xiaojun that 'yes, xiaojun you made sense, don't fret about it.' it gets quite amusing when the members purposely puts him in a spot and kind of makes him second-guess himself and you see xiaojun just metaphorically sinking into the bush to run away from this embarassment.

while xiaojun hates being put on the spot, he is rather playful and actually likes to intentionally tease others (collaborating with his usual suspects: hendery and yangyang). theres this adorable satisfaction on his face when he grins so wide when he sees his members (read: kun-ge) doing game penalties.

he does get a little impatient when others take their time to do things that he thinks are rather simple or not complex (such as getting hendery to give him a hug), his outbursts are quite funny and we know that they're not with ill-intentions.

HENDERY

hendery is my one true love but i have to say that he is just so unserious and very easy-going. throughout the entire fanmeet, he was cracking witty jokes one after the other and it honestly felt like i was watching comedy central.

hendery does not worry about logic, he says, act, and thinks as he please. he isn't too worried about maintaining a handsome and mysterious image but he seems to find genuine joy in making people laugh.

his movements are natural, maintains good eye contact and uses ample of hand gestures while he speak, indicating confidence in communicating and his ability to effectively engage in conversations with people around him. hendery is actually very good at chinese proverbs (which is pretty tough to link to different situations) too and shows how strong and thorough his reasoning and thoughts can be and his excellent ability to think on his feet, which explains the smooth articulation of his speech.

which brings me to a point that morals and principles could potentially matter a lot to hendery. it could be because of his upbringing. him putting thought and reflecting on proverbs (often on attitude towards life) while not worrying too much about logic is very interesting.

YANGYANG

i once mentioned that he was a natural leader and yup, he is. yangyang took the lead to initiate conversations when the members needed someone or something to get the ball rolling. he is a very strong communicator - not many signs of nervousness and used minimal fillers (e.g 'uhm', 'like'). i mentioned that hendery was strong but yangyang is stronger >:) (hendery gets nervous when he runs out of funny things to say but yangyang just keeps going on when they were asked to buy time while members changed their stage outfits)

he doesn't seem to like physical affection very much (very clear repulsion when xiaojun hugged him and he just shrivels in cringe like a raisin). he is clearly very loved by his older brothers when they coo at everything he does and doesn't snap back at him when he tries to tease them.

yangyang is very smart as well. he shares the same ability as hendery to think and improvise on the spot without sounding out of topic. he always somehow manages to have the best comebacks. this comes off to me as yangyang who has a very strong mind and doesn't let people influence or sway him very much.

overall, i feel that while he may be the youngest, he is very emotionally mature and intelligent as he is able to comfortably communicate with his members who are older than him and get them to respect his thoughts and opinions. i get a sense that wayv is very appreciative of him when he is not afraid to step up to any situation when needed and he takes control of it like a pro. you don't see wayv babying yangyang and silencing him, rather, yangyang is encouraged to be expressive and playful.

#wayv #wayv scenarios #wayv scenario #nct #kun #ten #hendery #xiaojun #yangyang

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x-amount-verbs · 2 years

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Silco teaching you pool from behind...with his arms around you... whispering instructions very close onto your ear that you feel every breath he takes, feel every small motion of his head right next to yours...and the feeling of his chest against your back...and he pulls out the good ole "good girl" when you get it right...and he doesn't immediately pull away after...and then when you look at him his face is in the perfect position for a lil kith-

[this isn’t all of that, cause I don’t know enough about pool, and am in the middle of some other stuff but uh— in the meantime; here, anon, have fun] [inspired by this piece by @angelqueen13art ]

Corner Pocket (silco x gn!reader, sfw)

“This is completely unnecessary,” you argue, feeling the heat spreading across your chest and up your neck.

Silco’s expression is infuriatingly demure apart from the sly hook to his lips, eyes downcast as he chalks the cue. All he offers is a mockingly consoling hum.

“I know how to shoot,” you point out.

“—People,” he finishes for you.

“-Which I would argue are more important than balls.”

He glances up, brow cocked as he lets you consider your words, and you scowl as the heat works its way across your cheeks.

“Not like that,” you mutter, shifting restlessly. His soft huff of laughter makes your ears burn. Hopefully he can’t tell.

As he moves into your space, you find yourself tensing up, going still, breath caught in your chest.

“Consider it a lesson.” That smoky drawl buzzes in the air between you as he offers the cue. As soon as you take it, his other hand brushes your back, making you jump. Eyes never break from yours, and he only keeps that knowing smirk as he slides his touch from the small of your back to the curve of your waist, a gentle pressure instructing you to turn.

The look you shoot him is as warning as it is wary. But you obey.

Silco’s body pressing up behind you, conforming to yours, is incredibly distracting from the so-called ‘lesson.’

Your words are a low indignant mumble. “…I don’t need you to-”

One hand presses you down, the other sliding along your arm to find your grip on the cue, putting your body into the shape he wants as he covers it.

Cheeks burn as a foot nudges your legs further apart. A tug low in your gut has your toes curling in your boots.

Silco adjusts your arms into the proper position. “Humor me,” he murmurs against your ear, close enough that each close-mouthed ‘m’ feels like a kiss.

#silco #silco arcane #arcane imagines #silco x reader #silco x gn!reader #silco x gender neutral reader #silco/reader #x-amount-writes #drabble #this would be longer but I’m working on the multichap lol

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aprilblossomgirl · 2 years

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Kim & Chay - Emotional Turmoil

The perks of having a layered show, we were presented with the spectrum of events with the complexity of the characters, which we can't easily compartmentalize. Some parts might be appealing to some, while different parts more to others. In episode 11, I found my attention snatched by Kim-Chay's emerging conflict amidst the heavy focus on Vegas-Pete arcs and Kinn-Porsche's post-family-approval honeymoon phase. The episode signified peak emotional turmoil for both Kim and Chay, each for different reasons, with some intersecting points yet to be revealed.

After the "rejection" scene, I first couldn't fully grasp how I actually felt about these two boys. On automatic response, though, my heart breaks for both of them. This excellent meta post by @luckydragon10 about Kim and isolation very well explained my thoughts on Kim and why he behaved and reacted the way he did. After reading the post, I was motivated to dive more into my thoughts about Kim-Chay.

Fair warning: this will mostly based on my perspective and interpretation of their scenes and acting. While I don't intend to draw on the theory of MBTI, I need to say up front that I will use a 'feeler' spectrum hat in trying to see things from both Kim's and Chay's positions. They might not conform to any projection on how these characters should or should not be presented in the show.

=========================

Chay's Breakdown

Let's start with Chay. The boy definitely has too much on his plate to digest. First, being kidnapped when seconds ago he just happily prepared a meal for Kim at home after snuggling all night (was it really, or was it a short nap only?). Second, right after being saved (not knowing it's by Kim himself), he finally learned about his brother's involvement in a mafia world related to his kidnapping. Third, with a sudden move into the Theerapanyakul estate, he needs to also enter the mafia family himself. Fourth, the shock from learning about Kim being the youngest of the Theerapanyakul brothers. Fifth (I'm speculating on this one), the realization of the motives behind Kim's guitar tutoring now seems to be not as genuine as Chay would like. And sixth, that straightforward "Have you ever loved me?" "I'm sorry."

When I first saw Chay standing at the edge of the swimming pool, waiting for Porsche, my heart sunk a little. This was Chay's first appearance in the episode, and I think we all can see the stark difference in Chay's facial expression from the previous episodes. The usual cheerfulness and awkward innocence were wiped off.

I appreciate the dialogue between him and Porsche addressing Porsche's decision to take the bodyguard job first. I noticed a slight tension between them, and while I personally did not take Porsche reassurance really well, Chay definitely did or at least tried hard to. I also love seeing Porsche ask Chay for permission to take care of both him and Kinn and that he can't leave anyone behind. And Chay, being usually straightforward with his feeling and reaction, answered with a hug and an "I miss you, brother" instead of a yes/no. Their hug at the end supposedly offered warmth, but the missing smile from Chay made my heart sink a little deeper. Well, okay, he slightly smiled but didn't quite reach the eyes as one during their hug in episode 1.

Now jump into Kim's place, where Chay confronted him about everything. Okay, I was a mess here. So let's cut things to where Kim left the crying Chay behind: the boy is heartbroken. Chay sure knows what does it means to answer a yes/no question with anything but a yes or no, with letting go a hand instead of giving a hug. But who really knows what's inside Kim's fortress (as many people called it).

That's it. And do I not want to smack Kim with Tankhun's tray? Out of the question. But it can wait. No picture of crying Chay here, I'm not sorry.

Kim's Back Down

Now we look into Kim. The meta post I mentioned at the beginning perfectly outlined the reasons behind Kim's actions toward Chay, to all of which I couldn't agree more. So I just wanted to add my personal take on him.

First, out of all the six main characters of KP, I must say Kim is the hardest to read. With their minimal screen-time, I must say it's easier to read Chay. But maybe this' factoring to how Chay is presented: expressive, honest, and straightforward. Most of the time, Kim was presented with cool/cold, nonchalance mannerism which always ended up in me asking, "what the hell is this guy thinking?" But then we had these two opposite sides of him: the softest and the (not so) grimmest. Both related to Chay: when Chay hugged him and when Chay was kidnapped. This might not be enough to signify Chay's importance to Kim, but I'd take all of that.

Second, now the reason why he 'i'm sorry'-ed Chay, I'm speculating it has something to do with the investigation that he's been conducting. Before the swimming pool scene between Porsche and Chay, we were shown that Kim had a hand in the case of the Kittisawasd parents' accident. So it might trigger him to finally cut things off with Chay, something he should've done earlier. But of course, he couldn't resist Chay. If my assumption is correct, he's already felt guilty for letting himself get involved too far with Chay. Tutoring and approaching him while digging for information about Porsche already felt bad enough. He couldn't imagine what staying in whatever he had with Chay while investigating the possible connection between Chay's parent's death and his own father would do any good.

Third, this is where I wanted to come back to the discussion of Kim and isolation. So far, the show only told about Kim's physical distance from the main family but never told us why he chose be away. Did something bad happen to him before, just like Tankhun's kidnapping? Not that the show had mentioned. Did he catch something off about his father or the rivalry between the main and minor families early on? And if so, how? This, I could see as the possible reason for him to isolate himself from his own family. Maybe to give him more 'space' and freedom to investigate everything? Like Tankhun said, Kim's nosy. He might be away from the family but still care enough about them in his own way. I would like to believe so.

As someone within a rather extreme introversion spectrum, I can say that being too used to (self) isolation, once confronted with anything related to feelings, it is possible to automatically shut yourself away from the people you need to confront the feelings with. You've unconsciously trained yourselves to avoid making deeper connections with people, and as a result, you would develop constant reluctance and fear of being in a close relationship. You would end up rejecting or pushing people away despite longing for the connection, and longing for the person themselves. I could sense the awkwardness and tension behind Kim's cold, nonchalance front that he put on while backing down from Chay implied all of these. Or maybe it's just me. I've prepared to be wrong.

=========================

So, will there be any reconciliation? At this point, I'm not so sure. Chay needs his time to process his acceptance of having his full plate. Confronting Kim again soon might have a reverse effect on this process. As for Kim, I couldn't imagine him not coming back to his family and taking the matters involving his family and the Kittisawasd's incident into his own hands than fully entrusting the case to his brother(s). Dealing with whatever (feelings) he has for Chay right now will only distract him more than support his mission.

Yes, I wanted Kim to apologize to Chay. Yes, I wanted Chay to not too easily forgive Kim. Yes, I wanted the older brothers to give Kim a hard time for hurting Chay, and I wanted them to defend Chay with all their might. But I don't think that's how their dynamics work. There are 'works' to be done in their respective space before any apology and forgiveness could meet. And I will stop here.

=========================

KP consistently provides us with layered and complex characters, including Kim and Chay. Trying to empathize with each of them within their given bubble gave me a sense of understanding of why they behaved or reacted in certain ways. This is not to justify any wrongdoings from real-life perspectives, no matter how lightly it seems. It's more to understand how these imperfect characters within this fictional boundary will be played back into the show's central themes: a story of romance and crime in a mafia setting. And please remember (not to spoil any fun, but it's proven through the episodes): plot twists do happen.

Kim and Chay might be the least favorite pairing at this point, but I can't help letting these pent-up feels out of my chest. Of course, I had no intention to go this long, but now they were all out, I am relieved. For my possible incoherence, please do let me know if there're somethings that I might miss to pick up from the dynamics of this pairing.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche thoughts #kim x chay #kimchay #kim theerapanyakul #porchay kittisawasd #not a kim defender #not a chay protector #they are stronger and softer more than any credit we gave them #but chay thankun bonding time with arm and pol PLEASE #and no chay x macau agenda for me #why did i even doubt that my tiny soft side could love this show that much

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horrorslu7 · 1 year

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Antithetical dream girl.

Summary: You never knew how to deal with feelings in a healthy normal way, usually you never liked anyone enough to have to face that problem but Corey was different and he made you feel stronger things anyone has ever made you feel before.

Pairing: Pre accident! Corey Cunningham x fem!reader.

Trigger warnings: Bullying, family issues, angst?

You have hated him ever since you met him.

Or at least that's what you told yourself to make yourself feel better and at peace. You didn't grow up in a very healthy household and never really learned how to show feelings in a healthy way.

Plus ever since you started to be more conscious about what was happening around you, you started to notice how the majority of relationships ended. And you didn't like that so considering your awful life at home, your inability to show positive feelings and your vision of love, your brain didn't have it easy growing up.

As you got older you decided to just ignore your attraction towards people, you weren't heartless and had friends and treated them well but never liked anyone romantically for longer than three days.

Except for him. Corey Cunningham. Ever since you met him you hated him and his stupid perfect face, his stupid perfect hair, his stupid perfect personality, his stupid perfect grades and specially his stupid perfect patience.

You met him in high school. Sadly for you, you two shared a lot of classes together and he was seated next to you in most of them. You were a great students and teachers wanted you to help him if it was necessary which in most cases wasn't.

He always tried to talk to you and he was always nice no matter how much you ignored him or how many times you threw passive aggressive comments his way.

You didn't want to do that, you really didn't. But there was something you didn't want even more, becoming his friend and eventually accepting the fact that you liked him romantically.

Deep down you knew that if you got close to him you would just like him more, if that was even possible.

Usually you would ignore someone and that was enough to push them away but Corey was different. He was a people pleaser and at some point he did stop trying to make small talk, which made you sad ironically enough, but he still talked to you here and there.

The fact that he didn't gave up on the idea of getting on your good side just made you like him more. God couldn't he stop being this perfect doll for 5 minutes?

When classes came closer to an end your troubled feelings just became worse. You were embarrassed to admit this but you even cried because of this. A big part of you that was built by trust issues and sadness was relieved that you weren't gonna see him again ever hopefully.

But another part of you that sometimes felt even bigger and was just aching to be vulnerable and loved was so sad by the idea of not seeing him everyday. If he wasn't there to bright up your days with his smile, corny jokes and random fun facts about anything, your days just seemed lifeless and boring.

He was the one person you actually cared about seeing. Obviously your friends too but it was different. You didn't even know you were able to feel this way.

But still your pride and your conformity with loneliness wouldn't let you even accept your feelings for him to yourself. So you just put on this image of being a bitch that hated him.

Fake it till you make it you told yourself. But you never made it.

You started to work as a babysitter. And he did too which you didn't ask about but he told you himself in class when you two had finished your assignments first and had nothing to do. To which you answered with a cold "good for you" that had a hint of venom laced with it.

Imagine your surprise when you two were hired for babysitting the same kid the same night by accident and without you two knowing. You got to the house first and after you knocked and were waiting for the door to be opened, Corey arrived and smiled seeing you there.

"Hey, how are you?" He said with a happy tone of voice.

You looked him up and down trying to verify that your brain wasn't playing tricks on you. "What are you doing here?"

He was used to you ignoring his question or answering reluctantly. "I was hired to babysit here, you?"

"No, I was." You were about to start an argument but were cut short by the mother of the kid opening the door.

"Oh my." She said and looked at the two of you many times realizing her mistake. "I'm so sorry, come on in." You two shared a confused look before reluctantly coming in. "I accidentally hired the two of you, I could've swear I only hired one but it seems I forgot and hired someone twice. I'm so sorry kids."

You looked awkwardly at her and then Corey and looked away as fast as you could when you made eye contact with him.

"Why don't you both stay?" She asked suddenly looking like she was hit by this amazing idea.

"I don't know Miss I-" You were cut off by the mom.

"Please, I insist, is getting late. Plus I love my daughter but I know Charlotte can be a bit of a troublemaker and is not easy to take care of her alone. And I could pay the both of you full price." She said looking at her watch, she was probably running late for wherever she was going.

"It sounds fine by me." Said Corey making himself look like a fallen angel as per usual.

Both Corey and the woman looked at you. "You know what? It sounds awesome actually." You said giving her your best smile while not even looking Corey's way.

After she said her goodbyes and left, you two watched a movie and played tea party with Charlotte, the girl you were babysitting.

When her bedtime got closer, you were the one to put her to sleep by reading her a princess book she had in her nightstand.

She wasn't such a bad kid and asked you some random and childish questions such as what you thought about certain princesses she liked before going to sleep. She also asked you if you liked Corey but you just told her that it was getting late and you could answer her questions another day.

After putting her to sleep you made your way to the kitchen were Corey was, you poured yourself a glass of water trying to ignore his presence.

"Thanks for putting her to sleep." He said in an honest way.

"It's nothing." You said coldly before looking somewhere else while drinking your water.

"Can I ask you something?" You sighed at his question and looked his way. He wasn't smiling as per usual and had a sad looking expression.

"I don't think I have a choice, so yeah go ahead I guess."

He frowned while looking at you before asking. "Why do you always treat me like shit?"

You couldn't help the expression of surprise that was suddenly painted on your face. "Wow, thats the first time I ever heard you curse. Aren't you scared someone might find out and it might go on your perfect record?" You said with a venomous smile on your face.

Internally you were holding in tears, not because Corey finally defended himself but because you knew that there was no escape now, you had to face your feelings. "Just answer the question, what did I do that was so bad that you have this constant need to be mean to me for no reason?"

"Nothing Corey, you just can't be liked by everyone okay? It doesn't matter how perfect and amazing you are, some people just don't like you and that's it, that's real life. Face it." You tried to look somewhere else so he wouldn't see how your eyes started to become shiny thanks to the tears in them.

"I'm not perfect and you don't even know me to be making that kind of assumptions. And I get that you don't like me, you don't have to like me but why are you such a bitch about it?" He never talked like this to anyone before, and it even surprised him that he was talking to you like this.

He was used to being bullied and isolated but it hit different when he was being basically bullied and isolated by someone he liked as much as he liked you. And he did everything he could to let you know he liked you but it only seemed to make you dislike him even more. He thought it was because you thought he was disgusting but now you were telling him you thought he was perfect? You were messing with his mind in a whole new level.

"I don't know you but I see you everyday and I have to see your perfect face and perfect hair and perfect personality everywhere I go. You have such good grades but you're so stupid, how do you not realize I don't want you near me!?" You were trying not to scream but it was hard not to raise your voice, luckily the house had thick walls.

"I do, okay? I just wanna know why, what did I do that was so bad for you to don't even give me a chance?" He was trying not to scream as well but you could hear the desperation on his voice and that made you feel even more guilty.

You couldn't hold the tears in anymore and ended up breaking down crying resting your hands on the counter and looking down. "You made me doubt myself. That's what you did." You said trying not to sob.

Corey was completely shocked by your reaction. He couldn't help but feel guilty. "What do you mean?" He said while getting closer very slowly.

"I always thought that liking people was something horrible and dangerous. I never liked anyone until you came into my life, and I hate you for that. You make me want to be vulnerable and you make me want to spend time in getting to know you and I just..." You started sobbing while hiding your face on your hands.

You felt pathetic and you understood if he hated you. You were surprised when you felt his hand on your arm and looked at him finding him smiling sympathetically and concernedly at you. He felt as if this was the real first time he made eye contact with you.

"Why did you never told me? Why did you act like that?" He asked softly slowly starting to caress your arm.

"I just didn't know what to do." Making eye contact with him just made you feel ten times more guilty. You understood if he hated you for the rest of his life but now you felt truly sorry. "I'm so sorry Corey you didn't deserve that. You were always nice to me and I tried to push you away just because of my personal believes and issues and..." you looked at him in the eyes while trying to find the words, they were so pretty you felt sorry you didn't look at them more "I apologize, I understand if you hate me and start treating me like I treated you or worse even, I deserve it."

You really felt that way. Your feelings were an atomic bomb waiting to explode and it had just exploded on your face.

Corey surprisingly hugged you and let out some tears while doing so. "I forgive you."

You couldn't believe what you heard. But it was very on brand for him to be like this so partially you could actually. You parted from the hug partially to look at him. "You don't have to." You really wanted him to forgive you but honestly you felt like you didn't deserve that, or him.

"I know, but I want to." He smiled at you letting out a few more tears. "With one condition."

"Yes, anything." It felt weird to all of the sudden want to be on his good side. But the right kind of weird.

"We'll start again and on the right foot this time, okay?" You smiled at his request and nodded energetically.

You parted from the hug and wiped your tears before shaking his hands and presenting yourself again.

It was corny, unusual for you and also cheesy but that was exactly what you wanted. Maybe you would get in a relationship and eventually end up hurting from it but you didn't care as long as you got to be with Corey.

#corey cunningham x reader #corey cunningham x you #corey cunningham #I don't even know what this is #heavily inspired by hits different by taylor swift #in real life I hate bullys and if someone treated me the way reader treats corey I WOULD GUT THAT BITCH FROM THE INSIDE OUT #but this isn't real life and I like angst sorry #enemies to lovers yaaay #i love pre accident corey #he was so babygirl #i wanna get him pregnant #so proud of how this turned out low-key

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sleepy-moron · 2 years

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I stand before you today good people of Tumblr to answer a very important question: Why gay Mike Wheeler? This isn't going to be an explanation as to what evidence there is to support this claim because many people have covered the topic way better than I could, it's more of me attempting to explain why I personally am so interested by this interpretation of stranger things.

Okay so I've loosely followed the stranger things community on and off since around fall of 2016?? While I've had occasional brief periods of hyperfixation on the series, it's never been THE hyperfixation for me. That is until we started getting the bigger promo material for season four in October. I fell into a theory post rabbit hole and eventually wound up binge reading a bunch of byler meta posts.....and now I am extremely invested, as evidenced by me even making this post.

The funny thing is I never really had strong feelings about Mike as a character other than him being an asshole in season 3 prior to this. I thought he was generally a likeable enough protagonist(because he arguably fills the role of an 80s kid hero better than anyone else+ he is always relevant in that part of the storyline for the first three seasons) for the kind of story the show is trying to tell, albeit not a particularly interesting one. But Mike being gay changes that, and not for the "you only like the character because they're gay" reasons some people are going to claim. Well it does have to do with that but it really isn't that cut and dry of an answer.

Mike being canonically gay would make him an incredibly subversive character, and I don't mean that in a "wow it's so rare to have a character realize they're gay gradually over the course of a work of fiction" way, I mean it's arguably a subversion of a lot of tropes and story conventions common to works like stranger things. I'd argue that if Mike being gay is indeed the intended reading of his character, that this makes him one of the strongest links between a characters personal arc and the overall thematics of a show I've seen in recent memory.

This begs the question: what is stranger things even about on a thematic level. I personally believe that the biggest takeaways are about the power of love and compassion in the face of adversity, and that people (particularly people in positions of power) are the real monsters for encouraging the suffering and pressure to conform to societal norms at the price of your own happiness. I think most people who have watched the show would agree on these being major themes so I'm not going to explain how the story shows these themes.

Mike (and his hypothetical sexuality and relationship with Will) tie in with these themes pretty damn perfectly. The bond these two share is always linked to the main supernatural threat of the season, and in the first two seasons Mike caring about Will to the extent he does is a big factor in taking down the physical threat of the season. Season 3 is a little different, as a big conflict of the season is Mike ignoring people in favor of kissing El, and Will is by far the character we see impacted the most by this. This conflict is the whole reason nobody besides Dustin gets involved with the mall Russians, and Mike and Will literally have their big fight right before the characters realize the mind flayer is back.

Now that we know how important their relationship is, let's run through how many themes this arc would connect to. These two deciding to go against the very real pressures of society to do what makes them happy, as which is also an act of love/care, and would likely help them fight against the upside down at an unspecified later point in the series. This even works on a meta level, as this also subverts real society's expectations on how the plot of shows like stranger things go. Mike not ending up with El would be a big subversion already but him ending up with Will instead inverts so many tropes. It means the main girl character in advertisement doesn't end up with the guy she's closest with, a gay character isn't in unrequited pining for a hero who's straight, and it also means that no longer being in a relationship with someone is automatically an unhappy ending. Additionally it subverts the idea of needing a relationship to be happy and the idea that relationship plotlines can't be just as relevant to the story of an action/non melodrama show as any other kind of side plot can be. So this boils down to subverting audience expectations based on cinematic conventions to stay true to the story being told, and that story ultimately being about compassion and love overcoming all opposition.

I just think that's the kind of story people need to see sometimes, and it would be huge to see a show this popular do something like this, and I really think that just how well this storyline would fit the show in addition to all the subtext is really why people are so attached to this idea.

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #byler tumblr #gay mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #oh boy this is a doozy of a ramble essay #i just had a lot of feelings and kinda just threw all of them into a post #hopefully this is somewhat coherent???#this is the text equivalent of what goes through my head when i become overwhelmed by feelings about a piece of media #to which i then lie on the floor for several hours until i become a function person again

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steveharrington · 2 years

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Can you tell us more about the Eddie and Lucas dynamic pls… 😁

yes!! okay i rewatched 4.01 for the first time the other day it struck me how lucas and eddie are essentially like narrative foils, at least from their positions at the start of the season. lucas tells mike and dustin that he’s tired of being seen as a nerd and a freak and that’s the main driving factor behind joining the basketball team and hanging around jason and co. eddie, on the other hand, fully embraces being a freak and actively looks down on the basketball players for being conformist normies. as much as i love eddie and dustin’s dynamic, the whole speech eddie gives him and mike about saving them from conformity and helping them see the light is kinda….not true for dustin? when has dustin ever felt the need to conceal his true personality and interests?? dustin didn’t need eddie to join hellfire, he would’ve absolutely proudly joined a dnd club throughout the entire series!! and it’s cute that eddie encourages and strengthens dustin’s confidence, but why not let eddie do that for someone who’s actively struggling with feeling self conscious of how he’s perceived by others? eddie could’ve encouraged lucas to not feel obligated to appease a certain crowd of people and be seen as cool, and at the same time, lucas could’ve taught eddie something as well!! it’s clear that winning the game was hugely fulfilling for lucas and was unequivocally His Moment, so he could’ve helped eddie see that other people can genuinely feel passionate about their interests too even if they’re quote unquote mainstream. idk i feel like dustin having these two older brother figures who kinda fulfill the exact same role for him, to the extent that it’s a source of conflict for steve and eddie, is very cute but kinda clunky writing-wise. if eddie is gonna be a mentor for one of the younger kids, why not have him connect with this kid who 1. doesn’t already have one and 2. is obviously struggling with how he’s perceived by his peers??? idk if this is coherent but eddie and lucas should’ve had a long long talk where they both learned from each other ❤️

#answered #anon

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murdcrofcrows · 3 months

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stats • pinterest • connections

full name: yusuf ronaldo nasir nicknames: joe, joey, yu, yusie, doc gender / pronouns: cis man, he/him age & birthday: 48, july 10th occupation: psychologist & self-employed counselor, le dedale clinque affiliation: civilian orientation & status: demisexual - kinsey scale 5, single strengths: kind, selfless, caring, friendly, helpful weaknesses: pushy, nosy, guarded, trust issues

diving deeper -

* ◟ : 〔 mahershala ali , cis man + he/him 〕 YUSUF NASIR , some say you’re a FORTY EIGHT YEARS OLD lost soul among the neon lights. known for being both KIND and PUSHY , one can’t help but think of CALL YOUR MOM by NOAH KAHAN when you walk by. are you still a PSYCHOLOGIST at LE DEDALE CLINQUE, even with your reputation as THE HELPING HAND? i think we’ll be seeing more of you and A NOTEBOOK AND PEN TO JOT DOWN THOUGHTS DURING SESSIONS INSTEAD OF A TABLET, ALWAYS REMEMBERING YOUR NAME EVEN IF YOU ONLY MET ONCE, THOUGHTFUL QUIPS AND UPLIFTING SAYINGS , although we can’t help but think of SEAN MAGUIRE (GOOD WILL HUNTING), TED LASSO (TED LASSO), CHRIS TRAEGER (PARKS & RECREATION) whenever we see you down these rainy streets.

BACKGROUND.

tw: bullying, neglect

born in são paulo to adriana ramos, one of the oldest in a large family of mixed matched siblings. atif nasir wasn't around for long, pushed away by his mother before he had a chance to know he was a father let alone be one. yusuf wouldn't know much about him until later.

the house he grew up in was small or maybe it was too small for all of the people inside it. yusuf used to see other families and wonder if it would've felt less cramped if there was more love between them, if there was more warmth circling through the air. instead, all he remembers is struggle and frustration and feeling small in the shadows of everyone who had more than they did.

a lot of his younger years were spent trying to fix things, make things better, and feeling guilty when he failed. he was underestimated by many, bullied for choosing to be positive or kind. he found little to no comfort when he got home. everything constantly felt like a struggle just to survive, fighting against each other just to get a millimeter ahead. he did try to form some kind of relationship with all of them, even if it was never close.

this is what prompted him to seek out his father at the age of twelve and start building a relationship with him. the bond was strong enough that he invited yusuf to come stay with him in upstate new york permanently when he was around fifteen years old and change his last name to his father's. though he never forgot his roots, nor what his experiences were before he left.

he learned a couple things between his two childhood homes that stuck with him. just because one struggle is taken away, that didn't mean it was going to get easier. his basic needs were met but he still had to adapt to a new culture, and without the overwhelming need to struggle to survive against cruel people and having little money - he now had to find who he was as a person, which came with its own challenges. yusuf refused to succumb to the cruelty of the world, or conform for the benefit of fitting in. this did however leave him feeling alone no matter what home he lived in.

both his own struggle and watching others struggle is what inspired yusuf to go into the field of social work and psychology when he graduated high school. he didn't want other people to feel alone when they were struggling, no matter what the situation may be that they're struggling with. very early on he found out how awful it felt to feel alone when you're sad or down and just how dark that place can get without someone there to understand and listen or shed some light into the darkness. sometimes people just need someone to believe in them and yusuf set out to be that person whenever he could be.

in college is where he solidified who he was and wanted to be. he dated, went to the few parties he got invited to ( they were fun just not his main jam ), volunteered, and studied his ass off. upon graduating he went into social work while working on his doctorate in psychology. the work was sometimes thankless and while times got worse in the world, the case loads got bigger and bigger. he never once minded though and took pleasure in making a difference one person at a time.

eventually he was requested to go work at le dedale clinque and after denying it the first time, yusuf found out that it was not a request and if he did not take the position there he would no longer be able to work in his current position either. he tries to continue helping people in his new position while still following protocols put in place. to make up for the fulfillment he previously got in his career, he volunteers as a homeless advocate, leads group and individual sessions in incarceration facilities, and counsels people through his personal non-profit either on a sliding fee scale or for free depending on the individuals financial means.

all in all he continues to find fulfillment in his personal and professional life, sometimes still struggling with feeling alone in a world that continues to become increasingly darker by the day. yusuf does his best to hide his own struggles with the world to be a beacon of hope for anyone who crosses his path.

QUICK CONNECTIONS.

clients

best friend

college friends

people he can be positive energy for

found family

past or current romantic interests

someone trying to corrupt him

someone taking advantage of his kindness

co-workers

other volunteers or counselors that work with or for him

HEADCANONS.

enjoys puns and "dad jokes" a lot - has several, what would be deemed kid jokes or pun, books on the shelf alongside psychology and self help novels.

tries to read a book a week, doesn't matter if it's fiction or non-fiction. he's been doing this since he was around ten or eleven years old.

doesn't believe in good and evil people, only actions. he thinks everyone is redeemable and just because something is illegal it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad in the grand scheme of things. evil is not a diagnosis.

more to be added.

#lawlessintro #yusuf | intro

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howtobecomeadragon · 2 years

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The fact that will allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable during such a tumultuous time where something like that could get you outcast, and has indeed repeatedly made him exact that, shows just how mature he really is. He doesn't run to conform to what society expects of him the same way people like mike do and finds a healthy outlet; he recognizes what he truly wants which is to be at peace and play DnD with his friends, whereas mike, who we later find out in s4 did in fact also want to play DnD, buries this part of himself away in fear of not living up to what he thinks society and the people he cares about, especially El, think he should be. Obviously I don't think El really cares if Mike likes DnD or not, their relationship/friendship is a lot deeper and multifaceted than that, but we need to remember Mike is still only 13/14 in in the later seasons, he doesn't know that! Mike struggles with his savior complex bc that's all hes ever seemed to know. He thinks he is "deserving" of El's love when he can offer her protection, whether that be from his parents, the lab people, bullies, or whatever, he thinks El can only love him if she absolutely needs him, which she knows now that she does not. Mike figures that she doesn't need him as well, but ofc due to Will's monologue, this epiphany is stunted because Will has only seen the positive sides of their relationship, and like any other gay teen "hopelessly" in love with their best friend, he thinks he needs to patch up any problems they might have. Both El and Will have matured a lot in between seasons and during s4 but mike hasn't, he doesn't want to. growing up is terrifying, especially when all growing up has done is make things worse and make him feel less useful, feel left behind. Mike was always the leader of the party, but now? Not so much. Now everyone's moving apart and mike can't do anything but watch which makes him lash out. That's why will's painting and monologue touched him so much. All mike wants is for someone to need him, but will let's him now that he doesn't need to be needed to be loved. Wanting is enough. Will wants all of mike, even the nerdy cringy parts Mike things make him less deserving. The painting of them playing DnD encapsulates that perfectly; "I love you and our dumb dragon game which isn't actually dumb at all because it's a part of you and I wouldn't trade any part of you for anything in the world." This has probably been said a couple times at this point but Will's love is the love that Mike desperately wants deep down and as it turns out it's what drives him to say that "I love you" to El. And that's exactly why it's going to all come crashing down in s5 and blow up in all their faces. Sorry for the really long ask but I like your blog and it got me thinking

No need to apologize, I love this ask and this perspective and I'm kissing you on the forehead for all of it!

I really love that emphasis on Will being the mature one, Will is the one who accepts himself and doesn't try to hide from who he is. It's so very opposite from the GA perspective of Will being the one afraid to grow up. It's not that at all, he just knows himself and isn't afraid to embrace it. And he could have taken that route of covering up who he is after Mike said what he said during their rain fight, because that was so hurtful, but Will is brave and didn't want to do that. And I love him for that.

Anyway I love all of this!

#byler

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