A lot of people ask me what my biggest fear is, or what scares me most. And I know they expect an answer like heights, or closed spaces, or people dressed like animals, but how do I tell them that when I was 17 I took a class called Relationships For Life and I learned that most people fall out of love for the same reasons they fell in it. That their lover’s once endearing stubbornness has now become refusal to compromise and their one track mind is now immaturity and their bad habits that you once adored is now money down the drain. Their spontaneity becomes reckless and irresponsible and their feet up on your dash is no longer sexy, just another distraction in your busy life.
Nothing saddens and scares me like the thought that I can become ugly to someone who once thought all the stars were in my eyes.
I never expected this to be my most popular poem out of the hundreds I’ve written. I was extremely bitter and sad when I wrote this and I left out the most beautiful part of that class.
After my teacher introduced us to this theory, she asked us, “is love a feeling? Or is it a choice?” We were all a bunch of teenagers. Naturally we said it was a feeling. She said that if we clung to that belief, we’d never have a lasting relationship of any sort.
She made us interview a dozen adults who were or had been married and we asked them about their marriages and why it lasted or why it failed. At the end, I asked every single person if love was an emotion or a choice.
Everybody said that it was a choice. It was a conscious commitment. It was something you choose to make work every day with a person who has chosen the same thing. They all said that at one point in their marriage, the “feeling of love” had vanished or faded and they weren’t happy. They said feelings are always changing and you cannot build something that will last on such a shaky foundation.
The married ones said that when things were bad, they chose to open the communication, chose to identify what broke and how to fix it, and chose to recreate something worth falling in love with.
The divorced ones said they chose to walk away.
Ever since that class, since that project, I never looked at relationships the same way. I understood why arranged marriages were successful. I discovered the difference in feelings and commitments. I’ve never gone for the person who makes my heart flutter or my head spin. I’ve chosen the people who were committed to choosing me, dedicated to finding something to adore even on the ugliest days.
I no longer fear the day someone who swore I was their universe can no longer see the stars in my eyes as long as they still choose to look until they find them again.
I feel like this is an unpopular opinion, but more people should read incomplete/unfinished/in-progress fanfics.
I’ve noticed this huge trend where creators on tiktok and tumblr who will be explaining how to use Archive Of Our Own to new users and they always say “and make sure to scroll down and click completed only” or how people will go out of their way to mention they only read completed fics ‘because they were traumatized when they forgot to check the dates and didn’t realize this fic hadn’t been updated since 2012’.
The thing is - I think by not engaging with and/or actively avoiding writer’s WIPs readers are potentially adding to the aggregate of abandoned works. Now this obviously isn’t the case for all abandoned fics, anything from major life events, to loss of interest, to getting busy can be a reason for a fic getting abandoned - but at least on some level I just know that writers are quitting while they’re ahead when they aren’t garnering any response or feedback because reading WIPs has become unpopular. If you’re worried about reading something that hasn’t been updated since 2012 then you can use the date updated function to sort out old fics.
Anyways, support your favorite fanfic writers by engaging with their WIPs.
#The journey of reading a fic while it’s updating is part of the fun!
Yes exactly this! I love subscribing to fics forgetting about them a bit and then being pleasantly surprised when they update again and they show up in my inbox. It makes me feel like I’m a Charles Dickens fan living in 1830s London waiting patiently for his new chapter to be released via the daily paper.
JEAN i love him i feel he's such a good boyfriend, like he may mess up from time to time but also he TRIES a lot and that's so sexy of him. the type of boyfriend who doesn't like it when you call it fucking, because for him you make love SKDJHF he's a bit corny but it's okay. he always carries your bags or backpack, you don't even have to ask him. very smitten, all his friends tease him because he acts like y'all already married. he's invited to a party and he turns to ask you "hey what are we doing on that day?" lmao. he's very sexy without him trying, like just rolling his sleeves or leaning against the door frame and you're already drooling
jean puts so much effort into his relationships it’s insane. he tries to pull all the stops. honestly? he seems like the type to have a little notebook with ideas catered to his partner and their likes
LMFAO THE FUCKING COMMENT - i… i agree 😭 he knows it’s corny too, which is why it still embarrasses him when he says it
the bags… yeah… yeah.. he just scoops it right off your shoulder/out of your hands. you will be getting the royalty treatment, regardless of how strong or independent you are.
on the royalty treatment talk though… he’s a hand kisser. knuckles, back of hand, palm, finger tips… he will just absentmindedly press a kiss to your hand
Content/warnings: fluff, smut, nothing too crazy to be honest
A/N: Hello! I have risen from the dead and my very first post in over a year will be dedicated to the newfound love of my life, Aki Hayakawa. I feel like headcanons are a good way for me to figure out characterization and how I want to write characters in future fics, so here we are. Also I edited this Aki screencap to make him :) instead of :(
SFW
Makes his bed every morning, even if you’re in it. So if you wake up and find that one half of the bed is a lot straighter and smoother than your half, you’ll know why.
That being said, he likes to make sure you’re nice and warm when he leaves your side every morning for work, so he makes sure to wrap the blanket around you extra snug.
Is your personal chauffeur. The good thing about Aki is that he’s not only a good driver, but he loves driving as well. You can mention wanting to go to a certain place, then all of a sudden Aki’s dragging you out the door, keys in hand. In the words of T.I., “you can go wherever you like”
Has a thing for forehead kisses, especially if you’re shorter than him.
Likes it when you guys have complimentary or matching jewelry.
Aki isn’t one to talk much, but around you it’s almost like his mouth has a mind of its own. He feels like he can talk about anything and everything with you, and hopes that you feel the same way around him.
Was very much an old man in his past life. Quite geriatric, to be honest. Goes to bed early, doesn’t upgrade his phone, reads physical newspapers in this day and age. You’ll have to live with the fact that you’re dating a grandpa </3
Aki is very, very responsible. Is always punctual, schedules appointments without needing a reminder, knows his way around legal documents and just navigating everyday life. (Though it probably has to do with the fact he’s an old man incarnate)
He doesn’t mind if he has to do things for you, either. He welcomes it, even. He likes feeling needed by you.
Aside from cooking and driving, I imagine Aki being a somewhat proficient photographer. He has a bunch of cash to blow from being in public safety, and although he has very few vices to spend his salary on, he decided to indulge on a quality camera with the appropriate accessories
It started off small, driving to random spots on his days off and shooting pics. He was definitely more of a scenic photographer before he met you.
Now that you’re together, you’re almost always the focus of his masterpieces. It’s almost endearing, actually, the way he asks if you’d allow him to take you out on a photoshoot date. Sometimes, he has a specific theme in mind, so he’ll buy the props he needs (including your outfits).
He’s literally starstruck every time he sees you in front of a camera. If you’re shy, he’ll encourage you until you feel more comfortable to pose the way he needs you to.
He especially likes the candid pictures he takes of you— you laughing, looking out in the distance at the view, trying a new dish at a new date spot he took you to, etc. He has a separate folder on his laptop dedicated to pictures of you, and he looks back at them whenever he’s missing you a little extra.
I’m sure this has been established already, but Aki’s love language = acts of service. He’ll do anything and everything for you, you don’t even have to ask (most of the time).
Aki is a very observant lover, to the point where he knows you better than the back of his own hand. He seems to know what you want and when you need it. And he loves being the person to give you everything.
Speaking of giving you everything, Aki is very much fine with you spending his paycheck. He’s never felt the need to spend much on himself aside from essentials, and he has a good amount of savings for you to shop your little heart out and then some.
Not that he thinks you’re materialistic at all, but there’s just something about a pretty girl blowing his cash that gets him a bit worked up (in a good way).
hi everyone my kofi page is back so if you do enjoy my work and if you’re able to, feel free to buy me a coffee — that would help me greatly as i need to buy a new car asap 😭
ps: never feel pressured to donate and remember to donate only if you’re financially stable ❤️
a story in which, Morax has always had his eyes on you, one of Guizhong’s priestess — after a long battle and the succession of defending Guili plains, she allows him to have his way with you as a reward.
wc: 5.6k (sorry!)
contents+warnings: fem!reader, heavy breeding, mating presses, marking, overstimulation, cum eating, female!reader, monsterfucking, anal, vaginal penetration, use of aphrodisiacs, dubcon(?), size kink, slight spoilers(?), blowjobs, reincarnation. (This kinda follows the what if theory that Ningguang is the reincarnation of Guizhong.) HALF DRAGON ZHONGLI!
a/n: this has been sitting in my docs for about a month, posting it for @thicksimpx 🫶🏼 anyways, thank you to my beta readers: @manjiroscum @bubble4u & @gabzlovesu 💗
Men, women, children, and even adepti gather in the plains of Guili for this night of repose — gathering around the trees that were birthed from the earth while they sing songs of victory underneath the golden leaves as the gods sit high above.
“The Guili assembly has grown quite significantly,” Guizhong muses. There’s a smile on her face as she fondly watches the humans rejoice in victory below. Some of them were born here, while others sought refuge after losing their homes in the war — Guizhong loved them all the same. “And even though this victory is temporary, I wish all nights could be like this.”
And although Guizhong is talking, her companion, Morax, does not say anything. Instead, he takes a sip of his wine from his dish as he watches intently below — his gaze focused on the form of a woman, carefully stringing along her guzheng as children crowd around her.
From the corner of her eye, Guizhong catches a glimpse of Morax hunched over, his chin resting in his palms as he focuses on something other than her.
“Is there something on your mind? I’ve never seen you so focused,” Guizhong teases, taking a sip of her wine. “Or perhaps someone?”