An Atrocity Of A Piece

Draco Malfoy: you look like shit, Weasley.

Ron Weasley: **smirks** but still fuckable, right?

I don’t know if emoticons are thought to be for kids. But. I still use them…that is socially acceptable right?

Luffy probably: *jovial* I should be dead, but I'm not.

Sabo: *amused and bemused* Everyone thought I was dead, I did too. But I'm not.

Ace: *surprised/relieved* I'm not dead!

*panicked* I'm going to die!!

*fucked* I am dead!!

Wait for Me?

A presence appears on his vulnerable side. He doesn't turn to look nor does he tense nor let his breath get caught in his throat. “Hi,” he whispers into the tranquil quiet.

“Hi,” he hears barely.

He hums. “Would you mind if you transfer to my other side? It's hard to hear you when your words are this gentle and quiet....and, I want to see you.”

It was quiet but he felt his companion move to his right side. Still, he does not turn to look at the tuft of brown hair better, or the ever-so-slightly blemished warm skin. He merely looks on, admiring the astonishing view that the high vantage point gives him. 

He sees hands fiddling, a rare sign of vulnerability that Zuko finds out of character—to give Zuko with trust he does not know he deserves. A long beat and Jet finally talks 

“Did it ever mean anything?”

“It always did, for me. My heart has always been printed on my sleeve and I am not dishonest enough to be able to fake such authenticity.”

Silence.

“I did lie to you. I have lied about my name, and my character. I have lied about my scar, and about a lot else. But my feelings were as true as the sky is blue. Please, do not doubt that aspect of me.”

Yet another meaningful silence, a moment for his words to settle in Jet's mind.

“It hurt.”

“I know.” And he did. To find that your lover is part of a nation that you so passionately hate. To find that your lover's people were the cause of your misery, the slaughterers of your family and of your friends and of your village. That is a pain pill hard to swallow. “And I'm sorry.”

But, at the same time, Zuko was a child younger than Jet when it happened. And Zuko's only part in that act of sin was his ignorance and complacency. He does not say these things, for he knows he cannot handle Jet's wrath right now. His bellowing voice and his words. 

“I hurt you too,” Jet mumbles almost too quietly for Zuko to pick up on, but he did. Mumbled with a cracking voice.

“You did.”

“I've hurt so many people.”

“You have.”

Jet bends over, forehead touching his hands from where they rest, clasped together, on the half wall before him. He takes a shaky breath and clenches his jaw. And then he straightens himself, moves his hands to grip the wall tightly instead, neck craned upwards and eyes blinking quickly. “What do I do?”

He turns to look at him—looks at the way his tanned skin glows warmly under the golden rays of the sun setting in the horizon, his straw-like hair that tells of a hardened life billowing with the gentle winds, and his brown eyes glinting with amber and hazel...yet dim and haunted. 

Reluctance outlines his hands as his pale fingers glows almost white in contrast to the gaunt cheek to caresses. A miniscule twitch in Jet's hands doesn't go unnoticed, the clench of his fists and the frightful and hesitant gulp of saliva. Yet, despite it all—the fears and the doubts and the distrust, he leans his cheek into Zuko's awaiting palm.

Zuko looks at him with soft and fond eyes, the gold of his eyes glowing brighter than ever with the concentration of the sun in them. Jet looks at him from under his dark lashes for a miniscule moment before looking to the colorful sky. 

Tentatively, Jet's calloused hands—and thin, thinner that it was before, thinner than it should have been, malnourishment highlighting the jutted bones of his knuckles—wraps itself around Zuko's, guiding it gently towards his chapped lips to press a kiss against his reddish knuckles that sends a message of a thousand unspoken words. 

Jet lets his lips rest on the back of Zuko's hand, and in his humble ethereal glow, Zuko sees all the reasons his heart started fluttering for the man in front of him. Jet's eyes are closed and his hand squeezes his a bit tighter, as if he was daydreaming of a universe beyond their knowledge or maybe he was reminiscing of memories that feel out of reach—too good to be true but no less real. 

And Zuko can only watch and ingrain the image into his brain for his mind to see and remember for all the days to come, to dream about in the star-filled nights, to feel when his memories slowly leave him in his old age—if he survives long enough to reach that.

But nothing can stay in the beautiful stasis for long, no matter how much he wishes it to, for time is never on their side and time will continue to take if he lets it. So he turns his hand in Jet's grip and watches him sadly open his eyes with a knowing and resigned glint. He holds Jet's chin and lifts it upward, commanding Jet to look at him. 

Then he goes back to caressing Jet's cheek, letting the pads of his finger ink all of his wishes and desires on Jet's skin, hoping he is open enough for Jet to understand—and he does, if the shaky exhale was anything to go by. Zuko smiles affectionately.

“Let them learn, Jet, let them learn to forgive. And if they cannot, then you learn to let go, to move on and move forward, to heal.” He gently brushes away the fallen lash on Jet's cheek. “Heal, Jet. If not for yourself, then for anyone else. And if not for anyone else, then for yourself.”

Jet's eyes gained a teary sheen and he opened his mouth a bit then closed it with an exhale, pressing himself deeper into the soft touch of Zuko's. And he opens his mouth again to whisper, “I don't know how.”

He gazes into Jet's eyes, thoughts swirling behind the amber hue of his eyes. To say: you will figure it out, that is a promise and that is inevitable. Try and you will succeed. Open your mind and see yourself and see the world, see, Jet. Look and you're going to find what you seek. But for you to be able to move forward, you need to let go, Jet. 

To tell him: you are not alone, not as much as you seem to think. And you will never be alone because I will always be there, at your beck and call. No matter what, I'll figure out a way to get to you.

Instead he says only, “you need to stop focusing on every bad thing and you need to start accepting the good things, or else you'll forever be miserable.”

“I don't deserve to…” Jet trails off.

And Zuko understands what was left unsaid. Because he's felt it so passionately, and believed in it for so long. And he knows it's not true.

“You don't need to deserve happiness, you just need to be. You've done awful things, yes, so make amends. You can't take it all back, but you can't swallow in despair forever.”

Jet looks at him, trying so hard to keep the tears at bay. He understands, just as he understood all of the messages sent in Longshot's language, all the words spelled out in Jet's eyes. 

He presses a passionate kiss to Jet's other cheek and answers, “I will wait. For however long it will take you. For however long it takes you to find yourself and then find me.”

“And if I don't show up?”

He was silent, tasting words and sentences in his tongue, turning them on all sides to formulate something of an answer. “I’ll still love you.” 

Jet hiccups and his breath hitch and tears fall down and he sniffles.

“But I’ll learn to move on, even though I’ll never stop loving you or learn how to. I’ll move on. And maybe we both would find someone else, but you will still be someone I have loved and I will love.”

“Even if I'm like this?”

“Yes.”

“I'm sorry.”

He presses a kiss to Jet's cheeks.

“I know, and I have never held it against you, but I have long since forgiven you.”

He presses their foreheads together.

“Say it and I will, Jet.”

Jet remains quiet but soon—”Wait for me, please....Zuko?”

He smiles as he feels Jet's breath against his lips. 

“Okay.”

That Which Marks the Future (of Literature)

The history of literature has been lined with technology, giving us the copious amount of literary works influenced by technology and the imagination of people who’ve taken fictional technological systems to new heights which offered readers a fresh idea on how technology could advance. The contents of works aren’t the only thing impacted by technology, as the medium of writing and reading are also affected by it. With every passing year, technology’s impact on literature and its future only continues to grow in numerous ways, most of which I find beneficial.

The rise of technology within our society opened the doors for people to have the ability to write through blogs, social media platforms, etc. and spread their ideas to a wider extent. With technology, knowledge is easier to access. Everyone with the means uses the internet to scour for news and information for various reasons. Technology could help people with learning disabilities by aiding them in reading. People with dyslexia might be more inclined to use e-books as it helps them read better because of the more dyslexia-friendly formatting which you can also change.

Though technology isn’t always available to everyone and the access to information isn’t always easily accessible. In fact, there is an estimate of 37% of the world population who have yet to even access the internet. Furthermore, studies show that people retain more information when reading from a printed medium rather than e-books. Not only that, but using digital methods for literature erases the use of books which have certain aspects that make people love literature.

However, a study by Melinis (2011) showed that students’ motivation and engagement increased with e-books and strengthened comprehension skills. Furthermore, a study by DeGroot (2019) states that there is an implication that e-books are as effective for learning as printed versions are. Similarly, audiobooks also help people with learning disabilities and those that have problems reading chunks of texts for several reasons. Moreover, audiobooks are more engaging and entertaining due to their nature which is more likely to hook.

As our world continues to advance with technology, it seems that technology’s impact on literature is immense. Digitized methods of reading and writing literature will only continue to rise in popularity. Even in current times, technology’s impact on literature is already vast as it is, with blogs being popular, and online sites wherein writers can post their works to be accessed by a wider range of people. Due to that, there may even come a time where the hardback and paperback books we’re fond of disappearing to be replaced. As we see it, technology marks the future of literature

I want Dainsleif x Pierro content T–T

Peter: “Just a reminder it costs 0 dollars to be nice.”

Flash: “What is it to be an asshole?”

…

Flash: “I can Venmo you.”

Peter: “That’s not the point.”

Flash: “It’s free isn’t it?”

I'm not a Drarry fan...but goshdarnit if the fanarts aren't good

Some flower pieces 😌🌷🌸🌺🪷🌼🪻💐✨

I really want Chris Zylka's Flash Thompson to become Agent Venom :(

I love Tony Revolori's Flash Thompson but TASM's Flash Thompson had huge potential. MCU's Flash Thompson has a sad subplot which I hope they'll tackle more. I'm excited to see what direction they take MCU's Flash in. I love TASM's darker atmosphere so it was great to see. I wish they didn't delete the graduation scene with Gwen, Flash, and Peter and I hope they tackled Flash and Peter's blooming friendship, too.