#i can’t stop creating this character dynamic

[whiteraven87]

Fast Cars, Slow Burns, One Tall Austrian

> Writing this blog is cheaper than therapy — and comes with 100% more Toto Wolff <

You can find me on AO3 | Wattpad

Welcome!

This blog is a high-speed cocktail of emotions, fanfiction, and one tall Austrian man who apparently lives rent-free in my brain — and probably yours too, if you’re here.

I write Formula 1 fanfiction with a focus on character-driven drama, slow burns that could melt carbon fiber, and boardroom tension you definitely won’t see on race highlights. Expect morally grey choices, broken people, and Toto Wolff being the tall, terrifyingly composed emotional disaster we all can’t stop writing about.

There will be angst. There will be desire. There might be crying in the paddock.

And because I firmly believe storytelling isn’t just about words — I also try to make sure each story comes with its own visual vibe. I love creating graphics and playing with concepts to add that extra aesthetic layer to the narrative. Because sometimes, a picture does say what words dare not.

Grab your headset, adjust your strategy, and scroll carefully — this isn’t a safe space. It’s a Wolff trap.

Welcome to my corner of the paddock — make yourself at home.

-WhiteRaven87

Powered by chaos, caffeine and Toto Wolff’s Jawline

(It’s not my fault he speaks Polish and heartbreak fluently)

✨✨✨

Fan Fiction Masterlist [Toto WolffxOC]

The Unstoppable Series - Masterlist | slow burn | 218k | complete

The Flame that Never Fades | dark romance | 37k | complete

Fallen Time (?) | AU | Titanic x F1 | drama | tragedy | forbidden love | Toto Wolff x OC (Christian Horner daughter) | would anyone be interested in that fanfiction?

One-shot Masterlist [Toto WolffxOC]

Unspoken | melancholy | 6k | will be published on upcoming weekend

✨---✨---✨---✨---✨---✨

pairing: Toto Wolff x Miriell Joschke (Original Character, female F1 driver)

short summary: She was the first woman to conquer Formula 1 — fierce, untamed fire burning through every boundary. He was steel — forged in loss, hardened by silence, a man who lost everything he loved — until her fire reached him and made him feel alive again. Together, they are not just a love story. They are a force of nature. Truly unstoppable. A blaze that no storm could ever silence.

Series warnings: long fan fiction/series, slow burn, age gap (23 years), woman racing in F1, boss/driver relationship, difficult and painful past, death, angst, recovery after trauma and loss, love after loss, sexual tension, sex scenes, illness, pregnancy, memory lost.

full series word count: 218k

read on: AO3 - Wattpad - Tumblr

✨---✨---✨---✨---✨---✨

pairing: Toto Wolff x Victoria Lorenz (Original Character)

summary: She's young, fiery, naive and blindly in love. He's older, married, powerful and dangerously irresistible. To him, she was an obsession, an escape, a desire. To her, he was everything. The Flame that Never Fades is a story of forbidden love in the world of Formula 1, born from lust… and ending in something that can never be undone.

warnings: age gap (28 years), forbidden romance, obsession, desire, dark romance, smut, infidelity, emotional manipulation, dominant older man, angst, longing, possessiveness, emotional pain, toxic dynamics, no promise for happy ending.

word count: 37k

read on: AO3 - Wattpad - Tumblr

And more are to come!

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

[arodabi]

New favorite character dynamic: loser aro guy and his way cooler lesbian bestie

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🧃 How to Develop a Vibe AND a Plot (aesthetic doesn’t cancel arcs. let’s balance them.)

hey you. yes, you. the one with the moody playlists, the 73-tab Pinterest board, and a half-written draft that just keeps…vibing in circles.

if you’ve ever written 10k of immaculate vibes but couldn’t tell anyone what your story is about, this post is for you. because here’s the thing: ✨ aesthetic is not a substitute for stakes. ✨

let’s talk about how to keep your ✨vibes✨ and actually have a plot that moves. no ✧ fluff ✧ just structure, character arcs, and some lovingly blunt advice from your local writeblr gremlin (me).

🌊 1. aesthetic is a result, not a premise

the most common mistake i see is starting with a vibe as the story. like:

“sad girls on the beach in 1996”

“a cursed forest full of dead gods”

“a pastel academic rivalry with secrets and sexual tension”

cool. great. love that for you. but… what’s the story? what’s happening?

✨vibes = setting + mood + tone. ✨plot = choices + consequences + change.

your aesthetic can inspire the story (please keep making playlists. i love them). but don’t confuse the feel of your world with the function of your plot. start with tension. stakes. character flaws. emotional damage. that’s the engine. the aesthetic is the paint job.

🎯 2. define your “emotional throughline”

okay, so you’ve got an aesthetic. what’s the emotional core of it? your plot should orbit a single emotional question, like:

will this character ever let themselves be known?

what does it take to unlearn loyalty?

is love worth destroying something sacred?

start with that. then attach aesthetic scenes to it.

🧩 pro tip: aesthetic scenes are more powerful when they contradict or complicate your emotional throughline.

ex: your story’s about loneliness? show them at the loudest, busiest party. story’s about grief? show them smiling in photos while everything breaks behind the lens.

aesthetic is stronger with irony. contrast. juxtapositions. don’t just bathe the reader in vibes. weaponize them.

💥 3. let your aesthetic hurt your characters

whatever your aesthetic is--soft academia, vaporwave horror, regency witchcore, don’t make it just a backdrop. make it an obstacle.

your setting should create problems. friction. conflict.

if it’s a sleepy coastal town: what’s festering beneath the quiet?

if it’s a hauntingly beautiful forest: what does it take from people?

if it’s a cursed mansion: what happens to the girls who stay too long?

every time you design a pretty place or moody visual, ask: ❓ how does this setting test my characters’ beliefs or desires?

because then your aesthetic drives the story forward instead of just decorating it.

📚 4. develop plot like a playlist: structure the escalation

your aesthetic playlist has structure, right? (don’t lie. i know you’ve got a specific song for act 3 heartbreak.)

plot works the same way. it’s not a mystery. it’s escalation.

you want a structure? here’s a dead-simple one:

give your main character a desire (internal & external)

give them a reason they can’t have it (flaw, fear, lie)

make them try anyway (rising stakes)

make it cost them something (midpoint shift)

force them to change or break (climax)

let that change play out (falling action / resolution)

that’s it. apply that structure to your vibey little story and suddenly it’s a book.

👁‍🗨 5. plot is what they do - vibe is how it feels

don’t choose one. you can have both.

you can have a soft lighting scene on a rooftop and the secret betrayal reveal. you can have dreamy prose and broken character dynamics. you can give me worldbuilding so lush it smells like petrichor and rot and still give me a plot twist that leaves me feral.

you just need to be intentional.

every scene = a purpose. every aesthetic = an angle. every image = tied to stakes, desire, or change.

✨ that’s the difference between “ooh pretty” and “oh my god i can’t stop thinking about this story.” ✨

💌 so in conclusion:

start with an emotional arc

let your aesthetic scenes earn their place

make your world fight your characters

escalate, escalate, escalate

and stop hiding a lack of plot under “vibe” like a glittery throw blanket over a broken chair

you’ve got this. now go write the beautifully messy, aesthetic and emotionally devastating story you were meant to.

i believe in you.

🧃rin t.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[jenanigans1207]

I actually need to talk about how Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi take on characteristics of each other in times of crisis.

Cheng Xiaoshi comes back to find Lu Guang bleeding out and unconscious on the couch and Qiao Ling possessed. You would expect him to do something extreme, right? You’d expect him to tackle Qiao Ling or run to Lu Guang, putting himself in between Lu Guang and the danger. But he doesn’t. He stays put and he thinks and he plans. He takes on a level-headed approach to try and minimize the damage, to stop anything worse from happening.

Lu Guang, upon seeing Cheng Xiaoshi shot, completely forgets about logic. He lunges towards Qian Jin, who is not just holding a gun still, but actively pointing it with his finger over the trigger. He throws himself directly and recklessly into what could very quickly turn into a bad and dangerous situation without a moment’s thought. He beats the shit out of Qian Jin, too (everyone cheer) instead of taking any sort of logical route or attempting to de-escalate in any way.

When Cheng Xiaoshi thinks that Lu Guang is dead, he almost jumps back in time but doesn’t, because he respects Lu Guang’s rules and wishes. He acknowledges that doing so would break the rules and fundamentally alter the past, so he tries his best to grapple with his feelings and take a logical approach to handling his grief.

When Lu Guang sees Cheng Xiaoshi die, he does jump back into the past. He admittedly tries to be rational, trying not to change too much because he knows the consequences. But then we get him in Bridon arc purposefully creating waves and starting to nudge things off track because he can’t handle or cope with the idea of losing Cheng Xiaoshi again.

And I know they’re meant to be yin-and-yang, right? Personality, color scheme, everything about their dynamic. And this always strikes me because in each side of the yin-and-yang, there’s the small circle of the other half. And they have that, too, in their personalities. When the other is threatened and they are left to their base instincts and fears to react, they react like each other.

I could argue that they replicate the parts of each other that they admire in a crisis. That they have a sort of unconscious “what would Cheng Xiaoshi/Lu Guang do?” sort of moment in the split second before they react. I could argue that they aren’t completely right without each other, and that shows. Or just that they’re so ingrained in each other, even their basic instincts reflect this.

I just think it’s really interesting and important to acknowledge because neither one of them is a 2D character. They have their archetype but they aren’t pigeonholed into that alone. Lu Guang is actually quite caring and open about showing it, often the opposite of what we see in the quiet, reserved one. And Cheng Xiaoshi isn’t stupid and all forgiving and even recognizes the outcomes of his recklessness, something not typically seen in the brash and outgoing one. They are very multifaceted in their personalities and dynamics and it’s even more so in their personal dynamic because of how close they are and how much they’re able to be truly genuine together.

Anyway, this got more rambly than I meant for it to. I just think it’s important to acknowledge the impact they’ve had on each other and how it’s demonstrated 🫶🏻

[wildrangers]

Hello i see you're accepting fic requests, i have a matt smith fic idea, can u do a behind the scenes w matt and fem!reader where they are both married in real life but they're rivals on cam, and when the scene cuts they're like all lovey dovey and their castmates are always teasing them 💟 tysmmm!!!

Thank you so much for this request anon, I loved this idea! I created an OC HOTD character for the reader to play and kind of worked her into different key moments from the show. I hope you enjoy 🙂

Tropes & Topics: total fluff

Word Count: 900

“What would you call the husband of the Queen?”

“Well, the king-”

“There it is, then.”

“...consort” 

Your eyes met Daemon’s, fury coursing through your veins. His head tilted, eyes assessing you. “That seems redundant, no?”

“I speak for the Queen when I say it is not.” 

There was a long pause as you two stared each other down before “CUT! Good work you two.”

“Darling! You were stupendous” Matt praised, walking towards you with his arms raised. Mostly joking groans sounded from the crew around you. “Oh, stop it you lot.”

“I always forget how angry you make me when you have that fucking wig on” you tease, wrapping your arms around his middle tightly. 

“I could say the same to you, my love” he chuckled, pressing a chaste kiss to the top of your silver wig.

Your role on House of the Dragon was Anora, a close confidant and cousin of Rhaenyra. Given your character’s fierce loyalty to Rhaenyra, she shared a tense, often hostile, relationship with Daemon which you two delighted in playing as it was so opposed to your real-life dynamics as newlyweds. 

“Are you love birds ready for lunch now that you’ve terrorized the crew?” Emma’s voice called from behind Matt and you threw a grin their way. 

“Are they up to it again?” Harry seconded from behind them. 

“I don’t know what you’re referring to” you argued and Matt chuckled beside you, his arm resting along your shoulders as you followed the pair off the studio lot. 

“Oh, so you don’t remember the post-wedding incident?” Emma posed and you felt your face warm as the memory flooded your mind. 

“Wed?! Laenor has just died!” you shouted, whipping around to face your best friend and her apparent new husband. 

“No, cousin, he’s not dead. We arranged it so he could be free and we could marry” Rhaenyra explained and your eyes widened. 

“You let our monstrous uncle convince you of this?!” 

“Watch your tongue” Daemon replied, eyes blazing.

“Or what?” 

“Or I’ll take it.”

You took out the dagger you kept hidden on your side, “Well come on then, Daemon. You don’t frighten me.” 

“Enough!” Rhaenyra screamed, stepping between you both. “Cousin, this was my decision he forced me to do nothing. He wants to better support my claim to the throne when the time inevitably comes.” 

“He will be your ruin, Rhaenyra. Mark my words.”

“CUT! I think we got it guys, take five.” 

“My fierce wife!” Matt cheered, picking you up and swinging you around as you laughed. 

“Must you do this every take?” the director questioned, earning laughs from the cast and crew on set. 

“Am I wrong? She was incredible” he praised, placing you down and lovingly straightening the wig he’d disheveled in his excitement. 

“Yes, yes, your wife is brilliant and we’re all lucky to be graced with her presence” Emma teased and you stuck your tongue out at them. 

“The most brilliant one of us is you, my love” you tell him and are met with another chorus of groans as you giggle and squeeze his hand in yours.

“Oh! And you can’t forget the birthing scene from last season’s finale, that one was iconic.” Harry added and Emma eagerly nodded their agreement.

Rhaenyra wailed from the bedchamber behind you as you charged after Daemon. “What are you doing Daemon? She needs you!” 

“She needs someone to prepare for war, I can do nothing for her in that room.” 

“She’s calling for you Daemon, not me! She doesn’t want you to act on her behalf, just to be her husband.” 

“I am your king now!” he roared, turning around so quickly you slammed into his chest, his hands gripping your shoulders painfully to keep you upright.

“You overstep Daemon. You are no more than her king consort” you replied, adjusting your stance and fighting the wince of pain wracking your system.

Matt’s face completely broke, false anger draining from it, “Love, are you alright? I’m sorry everyone but she’s injured, we have to cut.” 

“Matt, it’s fine I could have finished the scene” you insisted but your argument fell flat as your ankle rolled out from beneath you. 

He didn’t hesitate, one arm gripping under your knees, the other under your arms to lift you off your feet. “Where’s the medic?!” 

“Matthew, it’s a twisted ankle, not a mortal wound” you assured but his face was panicked. “Hey, look at me” you said firmly, hand cupping his cheek. His hazel eyes met yours and you could see him fighting to control his fear that you were seriously injured. 

“I’m not putting you down until someone’s looked at your ankle” he insisted and you nodded your agreement. “I’m so, so sorry darling.”

“It was an accident, I’m fine, I promise” you replied, pulling his face down to yours for a brief kiss. 

“We have to release this as a blooper, the fans will eat it up!” you heard Emma call as Matt carried you off set towards the medic tent with the cameras still rolling.

“How could we forget? It went absolutely viral” Matt groaned and you laughed, pinching his side.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get charged with spousal abuse” you tease and he rolls his eyes as the others laugh. 

“Keep it going, I’ll just save up my annoyance with you for when we’re back on set.”

matt smith taglist: @slayraxes-blogs @littlehorrorlover

I'm always happy to hear any feedback, message me if you want to get added to the taglist! I have a few more asks waiting that will be out soon 🫶🏻

[recareels]

it’s a craving, not a crush

so anyway, i have an obsession with sunday’s white trousers and i rly just wanna make him make a mess in them (*ﾉωﾉ) | title credit: lunch by billie eilish

character: sunday warnings: 18+ minors do not interact, dom/sub power dynamics, daddy kink, talks of punishment, cock worship if you squint, noncon/dubcon as reader refuses to take no for an answer, cum licking/swallowing, pet names (darling, sweetheart, etc), bratty reader, one use of the word sir, overstimulation words: 2.6k

“Sweetheart, come now,” Sunday says, glancing over at you—splayed on your tummy across the carpet, elbows bent and chin in palms, a fraying novel open in front of you—with a small grin. “What are you doing? The floor is not a proper place to read—especially not when there are so many suitable alternatives.” 

Sunset eyes sweep across the circular room, pointedly lingering on the various chairs and couches scattered about—plush blue velvet, overstuffed and detailed in gold, with freshly fluffed pillows arranged meticulously, accentuating them.

With a huff, you look down at your book, index finger outlining the edge of the page idly. 

“What if I prefer the floor?” 

“Oh?” he turns toward you, placing his pen down on the desk. “And why is that? Are the couches not to your liking?” 

Amusement tugs at the corners of his mouth, his head tilting in question. You stare at him for a moment, your own mirth glimmering in your eyes, before finally pushing yourself up onto all fours.

“Well,” you drawl out, crawling on your hands and knees toward him, something sly smeared across your face. “Maybe there’s something I want on the floor.”

A soft chuckle vibrates in his throat as you reach his knee, propping your chin on his thigh and gazing up at him. 

“Whatever could that be?” he hums out the words, sweet as honey, a gloved palm coming to smooth baby hairs back from your brow.

“To kneel between your thighs,” a hand begins creeping up his leg, tracing the inseam of his immaculately pressed trousers, “and play with you a little.” 

“You know that isn’t appropriate, darling,” he says, his voice paradoxically both stern and soft. “I’m working right now, and you promised to behave.” 

“What?” you pout, finger stopping a millimetre shy of the growing lump in his pants. “Sucking your cock through your trousers doesn’t make me a good girl?” 

Sunday’s eyes refocus on the papers strewn in front of him, beginning to gather them in a haphazard pile. 

“Not when Daddy’s trying to sift through these documents, no. There is a time and a place for everything, you know that.” 

“But—But what if I really want to?” 

He sighs, squaring up the papers between his hands and tapping them on his desk a few times to align them before placing them back on the surface, conscientious not to mess them up. Features gone hard and flat, he casts you another glance, bordering on exasperated. 

“When has whining ever gotten you what you want? Hm?” 

Never, of course—that would instil bad habits in you, and Sunday can’t have that. 

Doesn’t mean you’ve stopped trying. 

“Please, Daddy,” you whimper, index finger sketching out the shape of his cock, touch feather-light. “Please, let me suck on it, just for a little bit? You don’t even have to take it out! I just wanna—”

“It seems the word no has vanished from your vocabulary. Does Daddy need to reinstate it?” 

“No,” you look away, cheeks burning at his reprimand, eyes downcast as a finger draws nonsensical shapes on his flesh. “I just wanna be close to you, that’s all.” 

The pout in your voice is palpable, heavy and contorting your words into something shy and mumbled. Your eyes shift up, shining with sincerity, beseeching him to understand. 

“I love being close to you; I love making you feel good.” 

You also love pleasing; this he knows for a fact. You love bringing him moments of pure bliss, creating them using your body as your tool and gifting him fragments of absolute rapture in the rawest, most authentic sense.

A large sigh crushes his chest, the edges of Sunday’s resolve beginning to melt beneath your veracity. 

“I swear I’m not trying to be bad or upset you,” you say, voice painfully earnest. “I just want you.” 

The hunger in your eyes is saturated in desire, deep and intense and almost scathing with it’s craving. Your pupils have teeth, your ardency having swallowed up any remnants of mischief, leaving behind nothing but genuine want.

“How about…A compromise? You can suck my cock when I’m finished with my work.” 

An enticing offer, to be sure. But not what you want. 

He sounds unaffected, voice cool and crisp as if he’s striking a business deal—but his cock tells you otherwise, already half-hard and beginning to strain against white linen; yearning, and you’ve barely even touched it yet.

Daddy wants it just as bad as you do; you know he does. He just happens to possess a stricter sense of self-control and a stubborn dedication to his work, that’s all. 

“But that could take ages,” you groan out dramatically, brattiness beginning to seep back into your tone; inherent, irreverent, revived by the prospect of not getting your way. “I’ll probably have to go to bed before you’re even close to finished!” 

Austerity returns to his face, unimpressed by your unwillingness, gaze set in stone once again, and he returns to his work, resolute and relentless. 

“I am tiring of this conversation,” he says, vaguely spit from his tongue as he cards through manilla folders.

“Your cock isn’t—”

“And I have better things to do than go in circles with a little girl intent on misbehaving,” he speaks loudly over your voice, drowning it out. 

Something barbed sinks in your chest, the watery sting of refusal beginning to well up beneath your tongue. It seems he’s made up his mind, a certain finality ringing in his decision—a finality you know intimately, a finality that is engraved in permanence. 

Because once Daddy’s decision has been made final, you know there’s no chance of revising it. 

You are not getting what you want—not with permission, anyway. 

“M’sorry, Daddy,” you murmur softly, true remorse in your voice. 

Sunday doesn’t answer, but to your surprise he doesn’t demand you remove yourself from between his legs, either, an act you perceive as a non-verbal allowance to stay there.

And, for a little while, that’s all you do, resting your head on his thigh as your fingers map out nonsensical patterns along his other leg, lips occasionally planting a smattering of kisses to his warm, clothed flesh. 

You’re drifting between states of consciousness when his voice sounds again, smooth and soft, a palm cupping the crown of your head. 

“My, you really do miss me.”

“Told you so,” you drool out, the words slurred and sleepy. “Still wanna suck you off, too.”

A sigh depresses his chest, chased by a disapproving click of his tongue. “Stubborn little thing.”

And although it’s an insult, his voice is tender, his fingers doting, his eyes filled with fondness. 

“You aren’t going to give up, are you?” 

Sowing a trail of kisses up his thigh, you shake your head, accompanied by a quiet sound of denial. Laying your cheek on his firm muscle again, your tongue darts from between your lips to poke lazily at the bulge between his legs.

His cock is already filling again—gosh, for someone who claims they don’t want it, you sure are easy to arouse, Daddy—jumping a little beneath your dreamy coo, damp breath seeping through his pants to warm his most intimate parts.

Another sigh leaves his lips, charged with resignation and surrender.

“Stop that.” 

A hum of mock contemplation vibrates on your tongue, eyes closing briefly as you nuzzle into his groin. 

“Doesn’t feel like you want me to stop.” The tip of your tongue slips past your lips again, tracing a slow, lazy circle around his clothed head. “Doesn’t really seem like you want me to stop, either.” 

And it’s true, he doesn’t seem like he wants you to stop, refraining from administering his usual warnings or enforcing his usual preliminary discipline, instead doing nothing at all. 

“It has been made clear to me that you won’t learn your lesson if I forcibly stop you. Only when you do it of your own volition can I be sure that you’ve actually learned.” He pauses, allowing room for a response, but you only burrow your face further into his lap. “Manually halting you doesn’t seem to help.”

Your lips traverse the trajectory of his cock, now fully hard, planting another row of soft, wet kisses across it as he speaks, more intent on your work than his words.

“You know if you go through with this there will be consequences, yes?” 

“I’m aware.” Your tongue curls, a sweet little flick over the head, punctuated by another peck.

“So long as you’re—ah—aware.” 

The promise of punishment weighs hefty in his tone—it will come, and it won’t be fun, you can be certain of that. 

But in this moment it doesn’t matter; in this moment you don’t care, too enamoured with him to be concerned about the inevitable consequences looming in the future, too starved for an ounce of him, any way you can have him. It’ll be worth whatever punishment he conjures up, you’re sure of it. His cum is worth anything.

And you tell him so, a half-swallowed moan wadding up in his throat in response. 

“Anything for attention, huh?”

“Any attention is good attention when it comes from you,” you murmur, nestling your cheek into his thigh.

A hand pets your head, gentle and warm, his stern tone mollified by love. “That’s no reason to misbehave, though.” 

You answer with a kiss to his cock, followed by one slow, heavy lave over the lump, dragging your tongue along the curve and leaving a wide streak of saliva in your wake. 

You’re done talking. 

Sunday sucks a hiss through his teeth, a jolt of rigidness freezing his entire body for a moment before he forces it to relax—legs, thighs, arms, fists, face—and exhales a drawn out breath, long and controlled.  

His eyes, unblinking, stay trained on the documents spread across his desk, but his gaze is motionless, stare focused on a singular spot. 

A smile spreads across your lips, still pressed to his cock, and you stifle a giggle, remnants of it still playing on the back of your tongue, planting another hot, damp open-mouthed kiss to his clothed head. 

Your pace stays leisurely at the start, tongue rolling over the length of his cock in lazy repetitive laps—up, down, up, down, savouring the soft noises you manage to elicit from him with each cycle through the routine; those little hitches of breath, stuttering in his throat on the inhale, those faint whimpers that vibrate in his chest, snuffed out long before they can reach his lips. 

All non-verbal pleads to go faster. 

But you don’t. You won’t, not until his trousers are thoroughly drenched, your saliva stretched thick and sticky on the linen of his pants, aiding your tongue in its slick glide.

Only then do you begin to accelerate, tongue flattening against the straining lump and massaging in broad circular motions, gaining speed with each lick. It hurts, scalding little pricks erupting across your sensitive flesh, tastebuds beginning to chafe from being repetitively ground into the starched fabric. But you persevere, unperturbed by the pain, dedicated to your pursuit of pleasure.

Head tilting upward, your tongue flexes, stretching itself taut and tense as you endeavour to stare up at him. And oh, what a breathtakingly beautiful sight you are, eyes glittering with a coltish mischief and lips spread into a wide, open smile as your tongue works, hard and fast, smearing a dense lacquer of spit across your chin. 

There’s something desperate in your gaze, wanton and wanting, your need to please contradicting your misbehaviour, and Sunday’s hips twitch, an involuntary action that only serves to spur you on further, nurturing your enthusiasm.

It’s nasty and messy and so fucking hot, Sunday just barely able to smother the groan that claws at his chest when he glances down at you again, looking up at him with such potent devotion it almost feels suffocating, pouring from your eyes and permeating the air, curling around his neck and squeezing. 

Blood rushes from his brain and leaves his skull full of tingles, stalling his breath in his lungs and feathering the edges of his vision.

“Ha-ah, fuck,” he chokes out, hips jerking again and you whine a little, nose nuzzling into him in a yearning caress. 

He’s been trying to keep quiet, you can tell; murdering his sweet sounds of pleasure by clenching his teeth and swallowing firmly, intent on not giving you the satisfaction of knowing that it feels good, that he’s enjoying it. 

Because, really, what kind of deterrent is that?

An unconvincing one, that’s what.

And you prove his hypothesis, slick tongue curving around his cock as best it can, embracing the shaft in tight, wet warmth and siphoning it into your mouth, drawing him in as far as his pants will possibly allow.

Lips puckered and cheeks hollowed, you suck on his clothed cock, the force of your suction keeping it steady as the tip of your tongue flicks over his soaked slit, outlined by the fabric clinging to his flesh. 

Another moan pries past his lips, fading into something airy and light, and the speed of your motions increases, tongue rubbing over the head in strong, tight little licks. 

You’re mouthing at his cock with a vengeance now, starved for more of his delicious noises, eager to tug another from him in spite of his strives to restrain them—each sound a prize to be coveted, cherished and collected—lips slurping at his head in thick smears while that slick muscle continues to work, smoothing over his leaking slit in sloppy little strokes. 

You can taste his pre-cum, oozing through drenched material and watered down with your own spit, a whimper sounding deep within your throat, a greedy plea for more.

It’s sweet and tangy on your tongue, infused with his favourite roast of coffee and the copious amounts of sugar he drowns it in, and another little whine reverberates against his cock, loud and drawn-out.

Three more swipes over the head of his cock have him cumming with a sharp gasp, pristine trousers stained hot and sticky as he fills them, hips bucking into your face. 

But you don’t dare move, eager to lap up and swallow down every drop he’ll give you, desperate tongue blotting up the thick dribbles of cream oozing through linen. 

So devoted, so desirous. 

That avid tongue continues to lave and suckle until his thighs are jerking with each flick, his breath stammering with shocks of overstimulation, a gloved hand rooting in the hair at the back of your skull and pulling gently.

“Hungry?” he asks through a smirk, the question a wispy chuckle. 

“Always for you, Sir,” you garble, words tangled in spit, sounding as if you’re drunk on him, eyes gone dreamy with lust-tinted love. 

The palm at the back of your head follows the curve of your cheek in an affectionate caress, coming to cup your jaw, thumb running along your bottom lip. 

“Are you sated now?”

“Mm, never,” you hum out, lips puckering against his thumbprint in a sloppy kiss, blinking up at him with star-encrusted eyes. 

His thumb presses against your mouth in response—a chaste kiss of its own—as he stares down at you, lips mollified into an endearing smile, eyes gone melty with absolute adoration, resting tenderly on your face for a moment.

They’re mostly pupils now, gaping orbs outlined by a thin ring of gold. They linger on each of your features, devouring your devout expression with a careful meticulousness, before sweeping to his crotch, now saturated with his cum and your spit, glazed material shimmering delicately beneath the lamplight of his office.

“You sure did make quite the mess,” he muses, eyes surveying the damage slow and thorough, hips shifting a little, as if to assess from all angles. 

His gaze flits back to you after a moment of contemplation, something glinting in his irises, mischief toying with a corner of his lips. 

“Now it’s time to clean it up.”

[giggle-guru]

Attention Cravings

Sooo…I have absolutely adored @autemka and her OC’s as well as her incredible artistic talents! And I wrote a little ficlet about them as a little appreciation moment, and with her permission I’ll be posting it here. Thank you again for creating such dynamic (and adorable) characters!

Word Count: 2027

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Muffled chatter and laughter can be heard from behind closed doors within the daycare. Intertwined between various pillows and blankets sits Eclipse, casually leaning back with a raised brow as Ruin and Autem sit on each side of his lap, respectively. The two of them eagerly describe a recent animated film they watched together in an attempt to convince Eclipse to re-watch it with the group.

Not too far away from them, Moon listens in but doesn’t make any comments. He’s far too busy looking down at Sun, who is wrapped against his side and practically clinging to it. He can’t stop a slight smirk creeping onto his face as he quietly murmurs, “Holding on a little tight there, Sunshine. Think I’m going to vanish into thin air or somethin’?”

Sun, who had also been slightly invested in his friend and counterpart’s retelling of the story, glances up at his twin. He can’t help the slight blush of embarrassment on his face but tries his hardest to play it off as he smiles, “What? I can’t enjoy your company? How rude.” He teases back, leaning a little more into his side.

Moon lets a chuckle slip by at that, adjusting his grip to wrap an arm around him. “I was just pointing out the obvious.” He rolls his eyes, before turning back to the others as he throws in a comment about how Eclipse really should give it a watch, knowing damn well he hasn’t seen it himself. His grin widens when he gets a look shot back at him from Eclipse while Ruin and Autem instantly use it as further ammunition to convince him to watch the movie.

Sun, meanwhile, stays almost uncharacteristically silent as he relishes the feeling of his twin being close. A smile stays plastered on his face as he watches the other's conversation, giggling to himself at the eagerness they have over the film. It must have been good. Subconsciously, he begins tracing various shapes along the center of Moon’s stomach plating. Moon jolts in response, before attempting to relax again and biting back a laugh.

Moon glances down at Sun, realizing it by no means was intentional. Rather, it was far more likely that he was struggling to sit still or craving some sort of contact. He doesn’t push him away and continues biting back and any giggles or laughter that threaten to spill from his lips. Thankfully, it gets easier as the minutes pass by.

“I-I promise Eclipse! It was really good!” Ruin stammers slightly, excitement clear in his eyes as he continues to try to sway Eclipse. Autem grins wider, gently tapping Eclipse’s leg.

“He’s not lying to you. I think you would like it. Besides, why not have a movie night together?” Autem adds on, looking up at Eclipse who still appeared unconvinced.

“Yeah, Eclipse, just listen to ‘em!” Moon comments once more, which gets another look sent his way.

“Aren’t you supposed to be out on patrol soon or something?” Eclipse scoffs slightly with an eye roll towards Moon, before looking back at the other two and stating that maybe he would think about it.

Moon couldn’t deny that Eclipse did have a point. It was getting late. He glances down at Sun, who is still absentmindedly tracing along his stomach plate, though now it is soft rubbing rather than being as ticklish as it was before. “I should get up soon.” He speaks in a mutter to his twin. Though, he is slightly surprised when Sun doesn’t make a move to let him get up. If anything, his grip tightens.

“No,” comes a teasing reply, “You can’t.” Sun looks up at him with a grin. Moon knows that look, however, and beyond the teasing, there was something else. A slight plea for him to stay by the looks of it.

“I can and I will,” Moon teases back with fake irritation, attempting to pull his arm back to sit up. Sun doesn’t let that happen, instead rolling back to trap it beneath his back. Moon tugs a little harder in response, but Sun has his arm stuck under him.

“Can’t you just take one night off? What’s the worst that could happen?” Sun giggles slightly, resting his head along his counterpart's shoulder and getting as much physical contact with him as possible.

“Oh, I don’t know. Someone breaks in? A fire starts? A-” Moon begins listing off various reasons sarcastically but is cut off by his hitch of breath at a poke to his side. His eyes instantly lock onto Sun’s, whose expression is nothing less than mischievous.

“A what? What was that Moony?” Sun teases, trailing a finger up his side causing Moon to instantly tense up, his free hand shooting to cover his mouth as a laugh slips through.

“Sun, just what do you think you’re doing?” Moon shoots him a mock glare, just barely managing to keep himself still. The last thing he wanted was to get the others’ attention drawn to him.

“Convincing you to stay.” Sun giggles, trailing his finger up and down his side with barely any pressure. Moon desperately attempts to sit still in response. Of course, Sun wouldn’t give him any sort of relief and target there first.

“You know I cahan’t.” A giggle slips out against Moon’s will as he once again tugs at his trapped arm. He can feel his composure breaking rather quickly, much to his dismay.

Sun grins more, trailing his finger higher along the side of his plating. “Come on. Just for tonight.” His voice comes out in almost a teasing whine, once again pressing himself into his brother.

“I said noho-” another giggle slips. Moon is starting to care less about drawing attention toward himself and more about escaping his wiggling fingers. He tries one more time to aggressively yank his arm free from behind Sun’s back.

“I say yes. Don’t make me have to convince you.” Sun teases as his fingers move higher beneath his underarm plating and adding enough pressure to really make him squirm.

In response, a few more giggles begin to spill out. Now, they’re loud enough to start to get the attention of the other three. They all look over with various expressions of amusement at the scene.

“What’s going on over there?” Autem calls out, a devious smirk on her face as she watches Moon begin to squirm and struggle more and more, his face getting a slightly blue glow to it. Ruin looks at the scene with a nervous smile, while Eclipse seems to be enjoying watching Moon flail.

“Nohohothing!” Moon attempts to protest in a snap, though it is completely weakened by his giggling. Sun glances away from Moon to look at the other three with a shit-eating grin.

“I don’t think Moon needs to go on patrol tonight,” Sun states simply, not trying to hide his tickling as he moves back down towards the sides of Moon’s stomach to get him laughing. “I think he’s better off staying here with us. Don’t you think?”

Moon's giggles begin to turn into laughter now as he covers his mouth and throws his head slightly back into the pillows. “I-I think nohohoHOHOT! Suhuhun! Lehet mehe geheHEHET UHUHUP!”

Eclipse grins wide from where he’s sitting as he throws in a comment, “Eh, you’ve got a point. It’s just one night. Looks like he needs more convincing Sun,” as clear payback for his earlier teasing. It was Moon’s turn to shoot him a glare, though it was clearly weakened thanks to the laughter slipping past his lips. Moon continues squirming as his laughter begins to grow louder the closer Sun gets to his closer to his sides once more.

Sun’s eyes light up at Eclipse’s comment. It’s clear having a brother on his side is only motivating him more. “Eclipse has a point. I’ll let you up when you decide you’ll stay here with me.” He teases, clearly enjoying himself. He never lets up, despite Moon’s pleas as he adds, “Why don’t we have that movie night tonight, hmm?”

Both Ruin and Autem seem to agree almost instantly, as they speak in unison, “Yeah! Come on, Moon!”

Moon, however, is far too caught up in his own laughter when Sun finally strikes at his sides, scribbling relentlessly. “NOHOHO! SUHUHUN, NOHOHOT THEHEHERE!” He squeals.

Sun has to lean further back on his twin’s arm just to get him to stay still as he begins giggling himself. “It’s not that hard, Mohohoony! Just stay with us or else I’ll have to keep tickling these sides of yours forever.~” He speaks in a more quiet and purposely breathy tone near the side of his faceplate where his ears would be.

The dark blue hue on his face is visible to everyone now, as he finally squeals out, “FIHIHIHINE! FIHIHIHINE, JUHUHUST STOHOHOHOP! SUHUHUHUNSHIHIHINE!”

Sun, internally disappointed that his brother gave in so soon, finally relents. He sits up slightly to allow Moon to pull his arm back as he wraps it around himself in an effort to hide his sensitive spots. “Was that so hard?” Sun giggles, looking over to the other three. “Now let’s watch that movie!”

Autem eagerly moves to set up the movie that they had been discussing earlier, while Ruin settles himself beside Eclipse. An arm is wrapped around him as Eclipse holds him close.

Meanwhile, Moon glances over to Sun. “You’re going to regret that.” He purrs quietly, and if Sun’s slight yellow hue is anything to go by, he isn’t entirely against the idea. “Don’t think I haven’t figured you out. You’ve been following me around all day.”

Sun pouts slightly, once again relaxing against Moon’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ve just been bored.” He mumbles as Autem finishes preparing the movie, moving to join the others as it begins.

Moon can’t help but roll his eyes as he pulls Sun closer, purposely trailing his fingers up and down his side in order to get his brother to squirm and bury his face slightly into his side. “Right, right. You’re definitely not just in need of some physical affection from me or anything.”

Soft giggles escape Sun’s lips as he keeps his eyes trained on the movie. “I-I dohon’t know whahat you’re talking abohohout,” comes the quiet reply. Neither of them seem to notice Eclipse, Ruin, and Autem having taken note of their behavior tonight and quietly whispering and giggling to one another.

“Yes you do, Giggles. Don’t give me that. I deserve some revenge anyways, not that you’re going to complain,” comes the response as his fingers slip to Sun’s stomach causing louder, muffled laughs to slip past Sun’s hand which had shot up in an attempt to keep himself quiet.

“MohohohoHOHONY! The mohohohovie is ohohon, stohohop ihihiHIHIT!” He whines into his hand, though his complaints are clearly half-assed. He still keeps his eyes locked on the screen, though he is hardly paying attention to it.

“Shh…You’re distracting me. I’m trying to watch the movie.” comes the hushed reply, fingers moving faster if anything along the center of his stomach,

“IHIHIHIHIT’S NOHOHOHOT MY FAULT!” He squeals now, squirming against his brother's sides frantically, but every squirm is only causing him to press further into those torturous fingers.

“You’re not the only one that’s getting distracted,” Autem calls out, not that she seems to mind. As Moon glances over, it’s clear that nobody is even watching the film anymore. All of their eyes are on them.

“Hey, ignore us,” Moon grins, “Sun needs this.” The others all laugh at that, and Eclipse decides to pitch in.

“He does? Do you need any help?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind pitching in,” Autumn adds.

“I-I can help too! If everyone else is.” Ruin squeaks out.

Sun shakes his head frantically, while Moon hums out, “I don’t see why not.”

As the movie continues playing in the background, the others begin crawling over towards Moon and Sun’s side of the blankets. Sun squeaks, frantically giggling out protests as the others ignore them and move to assist Moon in giving Sun the attention he craves. Perhaps the movie will be replayed another night…

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Thank you for reading. And a final thank you to Autem for constantly gracing my feed with the cutest artwork I’ve seen so far on this app. 🫶🏻

[vixenvtuber]

Yooo it’s so cool to see someone who’s a part of a show who engages with fan stuff the way you do. I know in your video you talk about how difficult it could be sometimes and all that. I just wanna say that it’s fun to hear about your ships and theories and stuff!!!

I love seeing the fanart you share. May ur ship be fueled forever <3

i’m glad!!

i honestly was hesitant to talk on it because i didn’t want to come across as “woe is me, a small handful of fandom members are being mean to me, an adult woman, about shipping, boo hoo”, but i felt it was important to address and then just embrace the rest of the fandom here on tumblr because truly? i feel like fandom spaces are for the worse when they weirdly police stuff

it’s fine to ship whatever pairings. it’s fine to explore the dynamics of pairings that would absolutely be awful in real life. it’s fine to mischaracterize and warp the characters in aus and fics for the sake of delving into deeper particular themes, or trying to see the good and wholesome and squeeze that dynamic out of characters that otherwise don’t have it by testing the circumstances of the world. you guys are on the whole young, using fictional characters for this sort of stuff is how you can develop emotional maturity, grow, and protect yourself against real life toxicity by recognizing patterns you’ve explored and enjoyed in fiction

it hurts my heart IMMENSELY to see younger members of this fandom fretting about posting their artwork or even just thoughts about a particular ship because they’re worried about being run off the internet by puritanical finger-waggers when a fandom should be a safe space for people to experiment and blossom as people and as creatives. no one should be debating deleting their account and disengaging from a fandom they love just because they ship a “problematic” ship

and i understand that as a voice actor working on the show i might influence the fandom one way or another by giving ships and aus and theories i find interesting attention, but i hope that it just inspires people on the whole to just dig more into the stuff about the show that brings them joy, even if it veers away from what i or any of the other actors are enjoying

please do not stop creating, learning, and discussing, even if it can feel scary sometimes

just remember to keep your online activities under an alias, keep your private life private, use content warnings appropriately, be mindful of other fandom members’ triggers and keep sensitive content in appropriate places where the tiniest eyes can’t see them, and have fun

[fangirl-writes]

You’re the voice I hear inside my head

Damien Haas x GN!Voice Actor!Reader

Warning(s): none

Notes: I know nothing about the process of voice acting so this is gonna be so incorrect, but we’re rolling with it.

Summary: You’re a voice actor on a new project and Damien can’t get your voice out of his head. If only he had a face to go along with it.

“The voice actor for Phoenix already recorded their lines so you’ll have their recording to play off of,” the director said, walking Damien through the studio.

“Okay, sweet,” Damien replied, almost bouncing with excitement to get in the booth.

He got cast to voice Icarus in a new video game in development called Fire and Brimstone. It was a Hades-like game about Icarus with many liberties taken and characters added.

One being the character of Phoenix, a fire deity and disciple of Apollo that Icarus meets on his journey and is the character's love interest.

Damien put on the headphones and set his script up.

“We’re starting on page 45,” the director said through the mic.

Damien gave a thumbs up and turned to the right page.

One of Phoenix’s lines was first so he awaited the recording to come through.

“Mortals don’t often enter this domain. What are you doing here?”

Damien’s eyes widened, and he near genuinely said, “Who’re you?”

The voice was warm, but had that hint of ice, creating the perfect voice for a deity. It gave him chills.

The recording went on, “I am Phoenix, the guardian of this temple. Who are you?”

“Icarus of Athens.”

“Son of Daedalus?”

“You know my father? I’m looking for him. Have you seen him?”

“Yes. He passed through this temple not long before you. He asked for the gift of my fire.”

“Did he say what for?”

“No. Only that he would treat it with care. I guided him through the temple after. Where he went from here I cannot say.”

“Would you grant me the same kindness? Of leading me through the temple. I must find him.”

“I can see into your heart, Icarus, and I can tell it is true. I will lead you through the temple. But you must leave a tribute to Apollo, as your father did.”

The recording stopped, signaling the end of the scene and Damien looked up.

“That was great,” the director said. “We’re going to run through it once more, just for multiple options and then we’ll move on.”

They did so and Damien felt himself being captured by Phoenix’s voice.

Every day he went in to record his lines, he became more and more curious about them.

Which came to a head the day that they would meet.

"We're having Phoenix's voice actor, Y/N L/N, come in and record this last bit opposite you," the director said as Damien pulled the headphones off. "We want to try the dynamic to let you two play off of each other."

The last scene would be Icarus meeting Phoenix again after the deity sacrificed themselves to Apollo in exchange for Icarus' safe passage from Crete.

Icarus would travel to the underworld and ask Hades and Persephone to return Phoenix to Earth, in which they would give him the same task as Orpheus.

The player then has the option to complete the task and not look at Phoenix as they make the long trek out of Hades, without knowing whether the gods had kept their word, or to turn around and look at Phoenix, which would send them back.

This last recording would be at the end of the game, if the player succeeds in not turning around, that has Phoenix and Icarus seeing each other again after a portion of the game apart.

Damien was practically bouncing with excitement.

"You're in a good mood today," Shayne observed, smiling at his friend as they left the set of a Games video.

Damien nodded. "I'm meeting Phoenix tomorrow."

He wasn't shy about telling his friends at Smosh about the project and telling Shayne and Court about his small crush on the character (or their voice more specifically).

"Really?" Shayne said, eyebrows raising. "That's awesome."

“Who’s Y/N?” Angela asked, catching up with them.

“A voice actor I’m working with,” Damien replied.

“And who he’s got a big ol’ crush on,” Shayne teased.

He blushed as Angela said, “Aww.”

“I’m just excited to finally meet them. I kinda haven’t been able to get their voice out of my head.”

“Your the voice I hear inside my head,” Angela and Shayne sang in silly voices. “I gotta find you, I need to find you.”

Damien rolled his eyes good naturedly and smiled.

“I need to know what this mystery person sounds like now,” Angela said. “What was their name again?”

Damien had unashamedly googled Y/N after the director had told him their name.

They had voiced characters in some other video games, anime, even a few cartoons, which was cool. But this seemed to be their first larger role, which was also cool.

He definitely overthought everything the day they were to meet, nervous for some reason (it was the crush).

He dressed a little nicer than he usually wood, very business casual, put on his best smelling cologne, his hottest earrings, grabbed a cup of coffee on his way to the studio.

Were they already there? He wondered as he opened the door. Or did he get there first?

"Hey, everyone," Damien greeted, walking into the recording room. "Am I late?"

"Right on time," the sound operator replied. "Y/N's over getting coffee in the kitchen if you want to say hello."

Damien takes that as a cue and heads towards the kitchen...and almost chokes on air.

Y/N was the prettiest person he'd ever seen, the crush intensifying tenfold.

Damien blinked a few times and cleared his throat, making Y/N look up from stirring their coffee and smile.

"Hi, Damien, right?"

Their voice sounded the same but also different, but perfect. It made Damien’s heart flutter.

"Yeah," he replied. "Y/N, right?"

"That's me," they said, walking over to shake his hand.

It felt right when their hands slotted together, but Damien shook it off.

"Ready for this?" he asked, hoping his face hadn’t gone too red.

"Yeah! I've been excited to do this and to meet you," they said.

"Really?" Damien asked, a little too surprised. "I mean, uh, cool. Me too.”

They don't seem to notice and the two of them head back to the recording room.

“Okay, we’ll have Damien turn around and face Y/N when we give you the cue, that’s when you say your lines. Good?”

The two of them gave the director a thumbs up, which made them laugh as they did it at the same time.

Damien slid on his headphones and turned his back to Y/N.

He was nervous, wiping his hands on his pants and trying to shift into character.

Okay. You’re Icarus, who has just made the trek up from the underworld saving the deity you love and haven’t been able to confirm that they were following you, and you’re worried that when you turn around they’ll be gone. Got it. Okay.

“And action,” the director says, hitting record.

Damien waits a beat or two, heart pounding, before he takes a deep breath and turns around.

Y/N is standing before their microphone, headphones on and smiling at him. “Hello,” they say, voice shifting perfectly into character.

Damien lets out a relieved laugh. “Hi!”

It’s at this point that Icarus is to pull Phoenix into a hug, so Damien just pretends to pick someone up in a hug, grunts accompanying.

The two of them laugh, imagining how the scene would look in the game.

The recording stops and the director’s voice comes through, “That was good, but can we try where you actually hug Y/N, Damien? I think it’ll sound more natural that way.”

“Only if you’re okay with it,” Damien replied, looking to Y/N.

They shrug. “Sure, why not. It will probably be more natural.”

So, the big mics are swapped out for smaller ones and the two of them step around the stands where their scripts are laying to stand in front of each other.

“Okay, action.”

Damien repeats his actions from before, turning around to see Y/N standing there.

But this time they’re closer than before, and he lets out an almost surprised gasp as Y/N grins and says, “Hello.”

Damien laughs. “Hi!”

Then he just scoops them up into a hug that makes them both laugh.

It should’ve been awkward, but it oddly wasn’t.

Maybe it was the two of them being in character, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Whatever the case, Damien didn’t fully let go when he set Y/N down, hands lingering on their shoulders, until the director spoke again.

“Great, that was great you guys. We just want to try a few more scenes with you together to see which versions we like the best.”

That’s how most of the morning went, the two of them bouncing off of each other as they read lines, doing their best not to ad lib since it was, after all, a video game.

They flowed together well.

When all was said and done, the director clapped their hands and smiled.

“I think that’s a wrap, you two! Great job today.”

Y/N beamed at Damien, who could’ve melted into a puddle at that moment.

“Hey, before we go, do you think we can get a selfie? I loved working with you and I usually get one with my cast mates after a project," Damien said, smiling.

“Sure!” Y/N replied, setting down their now empty coffee cup to slide up next to Damien for the photo.

He hoped he wasn’t too red as he lifted his phone and snapped a shot of them together, both grinning ear to ear and Y/N holding up a silly little peace sign that made him laugh.

“Cool,” he said. “You don’t mind if I post it when the game’s announced do you?”

“Only if you send it to me, so I can do the same,” they replied.

“Of course, what’s your number?”

Y/N told him and Damien quickly entered it in as a new contact, sending the picture as well in succession.

Y/N’s phone buzzed in their pocket. “You work fast,” they joked.

Damien chuckled. “If, uh, if you’re not doing anything after this, I’d love to take you to lunch. As a sort of congratulations on the project being wrapped. And I’d love to get to know you better.”

They smiled. “I’d love that.”

As it turned out, Damien and Y/N had a lot in common, besides their voice talents and their affinity for the thumbs up.

It was amazing how well they got on for only knowing each other for the one day.

After that, they texted frequently, and started hanging out more.

It effected Damien's mood and everyone noticed that he was happier as of late.

"How's Y/N?" Shayne asked, slyly, at Smosh lunch one day.

Damien looked up from his phone where he was, indeed, texting Y/N. "...fine."

Shayne laughed.

"You should totally just ask them out, already," Courtney encouraged. "Make it official."

"What? No, it's too soon."

"You guys are practically in the dating stage already," Courtney continued. "You even go on dates."

"They're not dates! We just hang out," Damien protested.

Courtney raised a brow at him. "Hanging out, just the two of you, having dinner and watching movies?"

Damien must've been red. "We're just friends!"

"But you want to be more, don't you?"

It was obvious. Obviously.

He'd had a crush on Y/N since before they'd even met and now that they were "hanging out" it was worse than ever.

But Damien wasn't great at gaging romantic feelings, let alone the feelings of someone that he liked in a romantic way. It was natural for him to feel like they don't feel the same way, right?

"I think you should go for it," Shayne said. "If it ends up bad, then you guys are early enough in the friend stage that if it ends the friendship, so be it, and if it doesn't, great."

He had a point there.

Damien hadn't know Y/N long enough for the end of this friendship to ruin him completely. Sure, he'd be sad, but he could bounce back from it.

Still, there was that fear.

"Maybe," he finally said, taking a bite of his lunch to avoid saying anything else.

Shourtney seemed to accept that as an answer and let the subject drop, but it remained in the back of Damien's mind for the rest of the day.

Every time Y/N texted him, he thought about it.

Heck, he even drafted a text asking them out but deleted it, deciding if he was gonna do it, he should do it in person.

He let it go all the way to the games release announcement and he finally posted that picture he’d spent more time staring at than he’d care to admit.

“Icarus is flying too close to the sun,” He wrote in the caption. “It was an honor to be chosen as the main character for this game and I can’t wait for you guys to get to play it.”

Y/N posted not long after him, a similar post with a screenshot of the release on Variety, a picture of themselves with a photo of Phoenix, a picture of them in the booth, and, of course, the one with Damien.

“Phoenix I’ll always love you but not as much as Icarus,” they wrote in the caption.

Damien liked it immediately and commented. “Fire (literally) 🔥

The likes and comments began flooding in so he closed the app and made his way to set for a games video.

"On the day that we're filming this Damien just announced he's the voice of the main character in the new game Fire and Brimstone!" Shayne said and everyone at the table clapped for him.

Damien smiled, not expecting the comment. "Yeah, it was a really cool experience to work on and I think everyone's gonna love it."

"You worked with Y/N L/N, right?" Angela asked and Damien immediately wondered if it was on purpose.

But he rolled with it. "Yeah, they're really cool as well, we worked together in the booth a bit and had some fun."

"Sweet."

"So, let's get into it," Shayne said before explaining the rules of Werewolf quickly, as it was a common game for the channel.

As fun as it was, Damien was definitely distracted the whole time, he just hoped that it didn't show on camera.

He couldn't stop thinking about them.

We still on for the coffee shop? Y/N texted later that day.

Damien's fingers hovered over his phone's keyboard, debating on what to text back.

I mean, of course he wanted to still go to the coffee shop with them, but he was planning on asking then. And he was nervous, debating on backing out, making some excuse as to why he couldn't make it anymore.

He took a deep breath.

You know it

Okay. There it was. No backing out now. Not unless he wanted to seem like a huge dick.

He could do this.

Right?

"I'm gonna do it." Damien said, seriously.

Shayne looked over at him from his desk. "Oh, shit, really?"

Damien nodded.

"Do what?" Spencer asked, leaning back in his chair and sipping his Mountain Dew Kickstart.

"He's gonna ask Y/N out."

"Really? Good for you, man."

"Thanks," Damien replied, but his nervousness was clear.

"Don't sweat it, dude, they're gonna say yes," Shayne said.

"And if they don't?"

Shayne shrugged. "Then it's not meant to be."

Damien was realizing he hated when people gave him the same advice he'd give them.

"Hey!"

Y/N brightened upon seeing him, breaking out in a smile as a greeting.

"Hey, I ordered you coffee, you wanted the usual, right?"

Damien nodded, sitting across from them.

He'd been nervous on the way there, but Y/N's demeanor had a way of putting him at ease.

“You okay?” They asked.

Damien’s heart soared. God they were perfect.

“Would you wanna go out with me?” He blurted, all the plans he’d made on the way over thrown out the window.

Y/N seemed taken aback for a moment, eyes widened at the outburst, and he feared the worst, but the expression soon cracked into a smile.

Their beautiful smile.

“Officially?”

Damien smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, officially. I want you to be my partner. Exclusively.”

They laughed. “Yes. Absolutely, positively yes.”

And that was a relief.

“Thank god,” Damien said, making Y/N laugh again.

They reached across the table and held his hand and Damien could’ve died happily right then.

“Hey, let’s take a photo,” they suggested, taking out their phone.

Damien eagerly leaned in for the photo, smiling broadly.

Y/N typed on their phone rapidly before handing it to him.

It was the photo as a draft for an Instagram story with the words “Phoenix + Icarus = ❤️‍🔥”

“That okay?” They asked.

Damien nodded. “It’s perfect.”

[thistlecatfics]

On ethical haterism in fandom & how to be an ethical hater 

Being a hater (sharing negative opinions about tropes, ships, characters, and trends in fandom) is fun and often tempting. Being a skilled and ethical hater is even more fun, though difficult to achieve. 

(This is pretty HP focused. While all fandoms have an unethical hater problem, HP fandom has a particular dynamic where people are quick to feel guilty about fandom participation due to jkr being awful and then project that guilt onto others by trying to identify other people in fandom as being ‘bad’ so they can feel ‘good’ in comparison.) 

Number one question: Are you enjoying yourself? If you’re not, then stop. You cannot be an ethical fandom hater if you yourself are not having fun and are instead making yourself miserable by being a hater. None of these other factors are relevant if you’re not having fun. Take a break from fandom and go outside instead.  

The next consideration is space - public vs private and the specifics of social media platforms. 

You’re almost always being an ethical hater if you’re bitching and laughing in your friend’s DMs. You’re never being an ethical hater if you’re on Tiktok or another algorithm based platform where people cannot avoid your content showing up on their pages. Discord servers and tumblr posts are where it gets complicated. Make a good faith effort to make sure anyone who wants to avoid your hater content is able to do so via appropriate tagging or sticking to approved channels within the discord server. 

Next: humor

If you’re being mean, you better be very funny. If you’re not funny, you probably can’t get away with being mean. Be less mean. 

The best of ethical haterism is creative and funny and active. It is about creating and enjoying yourself with friends more than it is about tearing others down – even if you are mocking people and ships and characters! 

A useful question to ask: could a reasonable person with a different opinion from you find what you’re doing funny? (This is different from: can the absolute worst, whiniest, most sensitive person in fandom find what you’re doing funny?)

Things that are never ethical haterism: 

Making accusations about individual people’s politics, values, and identities based on their preferences for ships and characters. General rule: if you (or the people you surround yourself with) are throwing out the words ‘nazi,’ ‘pedophile,’ ‘freak’ or ‘bigot,’ you’re not being an ethical hater. 

Things I have seen that are not ethical haterism and are simply asshole behavior: accusing anyone who doesn’t like femme Sirius of being homophobic or transphobic, accusing anyone who ships any Death Eater/order member ship of being a nazi, accusing Snape stans of being incels, accusing anyone who ships Snarry or any student/teacher ship of being a pedophile etc.

Note: Ethical haterism is separate from critiquing fandom trends and the influence of broader politics on how we engage with fandom. It is asshole behavior to make specific accusations of individual people based on their ships, headcanons, and art, but it is reasonable (and I’d say good!) to examine how white supremacy/patriarchy/capitalism show up in trends in fandom. 

Things that are asshole behavior and never ethical haterism: commenting rudely on fics, talking publicly about specific fics you hate, deliberately going into ship tags to start fights, making accusations, generally being unpleasant. 

The two fundamental questions of being an ethical hater: 

Is what you’re doing making fandom more fun, more creative, more engaging, more lively, more connected? 

Are you sensitive to the idea that some people might not enjoy seeing this content and want to make sure it’s possible for them to avoid it? 

That’s my theory. Thoughts?

[gem-femmes]

Hi to all my readers 💝

This list of my guides and longer articles will be updated periodically.

🦢 Social Skills

How to Handle Running Into a Former Friend or Ex that You’re Not Looking to Reconnect With

How & Why Gatekeep Yourself

10 Conversation Topics to Create a Deep Connection

Level-Up Tip: Sometimes, It’s Best to Let People Learn on Their Own

The Faux Pas Recovery Guide: How to Bounce Back from Awkward Moments

The Art of Asking Questions: How to Open Doors with Curiosity

🦢 Social Climbing

My Experience with “Old Money” & “New Money” in Europe and England

Insider Secrets: The Truth About “Old Money” Style and Breaking Into Elite Circles

7 Subtle Ways People Try to Sabotage Young Women

Sentences that People Might Say to Undermine You

How to Cultivate Presence: The Quiet Power of Being Noticed

The thing no one tells you about social climbing

Social Grace 101: Small Gestures That Make a Big Difference

The Art of Subtle Influence: How to Be the Person Everyone Wants Around

How to Master the Dinner Party Power Dynamic

Body Language Secrets of the Social Elite

Gatekeepers, Allies and Rivals: Navigating Complex Social Hierarchies

🦢 Personal Development

Why Do I Believe that I Can’t?

How to Move On Faster and Build Resilience

My Weight Loss Journey: What Works & What Fails

I didn’t feel like exercising but I did it anyway

Stop Overloading Yourself: Do Less, Not More

The Myth of Effortless Growth Realizing You Can Change, Right This Second

Level Up Reminders Because Why Not

Some Thoughts For Your Own Main Character Era

On Finding (and Firing) Mentors

Babe, You Can Change Your Life Right Now

🦢 Art & Culture

How to Understand an Artwork: A Brief Guide

🦢 Career

How to Subtly Push Back in a Negative Job Interview

🦢 Lists

tiny daily habits for a more intentional life simple ways to romanticize your everyday life ten simple habits for a beautiful and fulfilling life tiny ways to treat yourself every day ways to make your space feel more magical quick ways to spark creativity simple ways to feel more confident every day ways to add luxury to your daily routine how to be the most well-rounded woman in the room in 2025 little ways to stay grounded and present tiny joys to brighten your day ways to romanticize your evenings simple ways to feel more aligned with yourself

🦢 Dating

Advice for Dating at University

[imomnba-x07]

Every time I see someone say they want 2012 avenger style thunderbolts fics, I want to throw up in my mouth.

The thunderbolts hugged once and suddenly they are as close as family. I get so concerned by the normalization of trauma bonding, maybe that’s just cause of my field of study and the psychological issues it causes or from my own experience, but STOP with the trauma bonding.

If you had any love for the OG avengers, you wouldn’t want their name or the memories the fandom created anywhere near a team with an abusive manipulative white supremacist, and a vapid child trafficker. Y’all are out of your fucking mind.

This is why I can’t stand the trope of turning characters who have committed ATROCITIES into the comic relief characters. It immediately makes them more palatable for the audience and makes them more likable instead of actually addressing the fact that they are HORRIBLE people. Audiences forget about the horrible shit they willingly did and participated in and only remember the fact that they made them laugh. It is incredibly lazy revisionist writing that makes you all look like a bunch of fucking fools for falling for it.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that of course once another almost all white group comes out yall can’t wait to write fics about it, tossing aside any actual family dynamics in previous films that work SO much better for avenger fluff fics. But no, I guess it’s real easy for yall to just rewrite history or ignore history all together to make the thunderbolts your new sad little meow meows who conveniently have no other relationships outside eachother (WHICH ISNT FUCKING TRUE).

And now yall wanna write Alexi and Walker as people deserving of having any sort of similarities with the first avengers?? FUCK OFF. FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF.

Media literacy is dead. I’m so convinced no one has the capacity to think anymore. Actually this doesn’t even depend on media literacy, this is just about common sense and having a consistent back bone. Shit at this point I’m convinced a lot of yall don’t even HAVE morals to stand on. Back bones of bendy straws believing whatever you want to. It’s like I’m watching a bunch of wacky-wavy-inflatable-tube-men talk to one another.

[twinsarekeepers]

READ MY PINNED POST PLEASE!

I literally have to laugh every time I see that “Katara is supposed to be Zuko’s replacement sister!” argument against zk shippers. The evidence for it is always “well, Katara is Azula’s foil.” Right, you know who else is Azula’s foil? ZUKO. You know who THE narrative foils of the show are? AANG AND ZUKO! Like, unless you want to say that all these characters have interchangeable relationships, basically making zutara canon anyway, what’re we doing here?

Not to mention, that argument implies a pretty fucking weird concept that Zuko was choosing between his “sisters” in COD and SC. There’s a lot wrong with that, but we can just focus on how that would mean that Zuko and Katara would have to be set up as a sibling relationship and… oh boy, would that be one hell of a trip to Alabama, wouldn’t it.

The show itself never frames Zuko and Katara as siblings or sibling coded at all. All of their scenes together have a very blatant non platonic, non familial vibe to them and it starts IN BOOK 1. There’s a reason that “I’ll save you from the pirates” scene sparked the flame for so many zutara shippers. His lines to her in the spirit oasis fight are definitely not what someone would write to signal a future sibling like relationship, because that would be fucking weird. The entirety of the catacombs scene would have to be reworked because…

DUH! This is not how you direct characters who are supposed to have a sibling relationship.

These characters were written to have chemistry (the romantic kind), which OTHER characters notice, too. Like, please tell me why Iroh, Jun, and some random Earth Kingdom playwright are shipping those two together if they’re supposed to have the sibling bond Zuko’s always wanted with Azula?

And if we’re going down that line of thinking, Zuko literally doesn’t stop thinking of Azula as his sister ever, and there’s absolutely no way he’s trying to replace her lmao?? That’s his sister no matter what. It would be incredibly unhealthy for him to go around trying to replace her and project the bond he wants with her onto someone who literally doesn’t feel the same way. This isn’t some Uncle Iroh situation where it’s a reciprocal feeling, and also he’s Zuko’s actual uncle. Even then, Zuko never stops claiming Ozai as a father because he can’t change that shit, all he can do is face the fact that he comes from that family and do what needs to be done.

Also, how would Katara, a random girl with no previous relationship to Zuko and who already has her own brother, feel being viewed as some damn replacement for his sister instead of, you know, her own person in her own right with her own relationship to him that they created out of mutual respect for each other? Because if you use the argument that Azula is Katara’s foil to say that she can just replace Azula as Zuko’s sister, you’re completely disregarding the actual character of Katara because she exists outside of being Azula’s foil. She’s literally the deuteragonist who has an existing dynamic with Zuko, the other deuteragonist, before Azula is even introduced as a character.

AGAIN READ MY PINNED POST PLEASE!

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

TOM GLYNN-CARNEY INTERVIEWED BY VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE.

KING AEGON COULD BE A VERY ONE-NOTE VILLAIN CHARACTER, BUT IN YOUR HANDS IS NOT. HOW DID YOU APPROACH CALIBRATING AEGON?

"I think anybody who has the darker side to them as the more prominent side — the side that people see first —there’s always a reason for that."

"I dug into that and found a lot of his boyish vulnerability, insecurities, and self-hatred — stuff that he’d been drip-fed his entire life."

"He wasn’t even a spare, you know? He was just completely ignored."

"He was invisible to most people, which is why he behaved in such a way — to numb himself."

But also to say: "Hey, I’m here as well."

"Any attention was good attention for Aegon."

"I find him less of a villain and more of a tragic case."

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY AEGON DECIDED TO FLY TO ROOK'S REST AT ALL?

"It was that moment — well, it’s an accumulation of moments — but that one in particular where Alicent says, 'Do exactly what is required of you: nothing'."

"That was the final dagger in the heart."

"A real cold reminder that he really is seen as being useless."

"A pawn for Alicent and Otto [Rhys Ifans] to use as a puppet."

"But at the end of the day, the law of the land states that he’s the monarch."

"He’s the king."

"He’s the person to call the shots."

"And no one’s gonna fucking stop him from getting on that dragon if he wants to."

"So he got absolutely obliterated drunk and thought, I’m gonna show them."

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE SHOOTING THE BIG DRAGON FIGHT SCENE?

"Cool, man."

"It’s kind of a little boy’s dream."

"It’s just something that you think of when you’re a child as being the coolest thing in the world."

"And it really was."

"They basically build a screen around you so you know where to look: what’s expected, what’s coming at you, what’s leaving you."

"Your entire perspective is quite clear."

"And then amongst that, you’re clad in all this armor that has been expertly crafted by some amazing workmanship."

"But then again, you’re crouched over this big saddle, strapped in, feeling like you can’t move."

"That crane has really got a lot of work to do to make it look like you’re moving."

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, AEGON SAYS THAT AEMOND IS HIS CLOSEST CONFIDANT, AND BY EPISODE FOUR, AEMOND HAS BASICALLY TRIED TO KILL HIM. WHERE DO THEY STAND NOW? AND WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH EWAN MITCHELL, WHO PLAYS AEMOND?

"Oh, Aegon and Aemond’s relationship is very different to Tom and Ewan’s relationship."

"Let’s put that out there." [laughs]

"Look, that is sibling rivalry on a very intense scale, isn’t it? It’s the flip of the switch that can happen when somebody feels pushed out or somebody feels like there’s been injustice."

"I always felt like Aemond saw himself being in that position of power and dealing with it better than Aegon would deal with it."

"But then again, his birth certificate states otherwise."

"It was bound to happen at some point, wasn’t it?"

WAS THERE A PARTICULAR SCENE THAT YOU FELT EXTRA CHALLENGED BY OR INVIGORATED BY?

"He’s never in the same frame of mind twice in one day."

"He’s all over the place."

"Keeping up with his erratic mood swings was the hard part, and was this thing that I was having to stay really focused on."

"There wasn’t particularly one scene that I thought, Oh God, not this one, because all of them are challenging in different ways."

"Even the ones where he’s still and more focused are difficult, because you’ve got that sort of inner Aegon rhythm that is rapid."

"It’s very different to mine."

"It’s maintaining that, but still keeping the tension of the scene."

"I relished the opportunity to play someone with such range and creative potential from an acting point of view."

OLIVIA COOKE, WHO PLAYS ALICENT, HAS NOTED THAT YOU TWO ARE NOT VERY FAR APART IN AGE AT ALL, AND YET ARE PLAYING MOTHER AND SON. HOW DID YOU GUYS WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT FILIAL DYNAMIC?

"Every scene that I’ve had with Olivia, there is never a moment that isn’t filled."

"Everything is just so complex and deeply entrenched in her."

"She means everything she says."

"It’s a rare skill to have."

"As an actor, she has that in truckloads."

"It’s a gift to be able to work with her, to play her son."

"Yeah, [it’s] hilarious."

"She’s only a year older than me."

"I think we manage it because we get on so well."

"We’re pals as well, you know."

"I love Olivia to bits."

"Trust her wholeheartedly."

"We have a laugh. We don’t take it too seriously."

"We have common ground on that."

"But then in the moments where the work is happening, it’s all we care about."

"We care immensely."

"It’s one of those things where in the downtime, after we wrap, we can go for a drink."

"We can have a laugh."

"We connect on a personal level as well as a professional level."

"I think that’s what sort of breeds a healthy and believable performance thing relationship-wise."

THERE'S AN AMUSING SCENE WHERE AEGON IS SITTING AROUND WITH THE LADS AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT HIS SOBRIQUET SHOULD BE. SHOULD HE BE 'AEGON THE BRAVE,' 'AEGON THE WHATEVER,' ETC. WHAT DO YOU THINK HE SHOULD BE CALLED?

"Aegon Toast, probably."

[oceansarepink]

ppl point out Blitzo literally apologized to Stolas in Ozzie's (when he shouldn't have had to) when Stolas accused him of never feeling sorry but I just noticed

that wasn't the only time

Blitzo literally says 'I'm sorry' when he says he can't go rescue Stolas from Striker because he's busy.

so that's twice he apologized and Stolas somehow forgot

and if you count non-Stolas related apologies he also apologizes very loudly and sincerely to Loona at the end of Seeing Stars.

Stolas acting like Blitzo is this prideful guy who never apologizes and it's a major flaw of his is just him rewriting reality, yet again. it comes off like he only believes it because Blitzo wouldn't cave immediately and apologize a second time for expressing how Stolas made him feel (or in Stolas' head, for refusing to believe Stolas genuinely liked him despite it being entirely Stolas' fault that Blitzo has no good reason to believe that)

honestly it really feels like the classic abuser strategy of projection where the perp accuses the victim of doing something they literally just did to their victim

the perfect moment for Stolas to apologize would have been at the end of full moon - a genuine apology, not that weaselly-words 'I'll do everything but say it's my fault for making the deal' speech he did earlier. but he doesn't and in the very next episode accuses Blitzo of being the one who is incapable of apologizing

yucky abuse dynamics asides, idk why we're expected to believe Stol1tz will last longer than five minutes when one party is comically incapable of self-reflection or sincere regret and the other party is being manipulated into apologizing just for expressing their feelings

🤕 except it’s the writer herself who keeps altering past events to make her favourite character look better. So she creates a new character flaw in Blitzø who has actually apologised more than any in the character in the show. 7 times in the series.

1. Sorry I (x) your husband - to Stella (weird but it counts)

2. In truth seekers when he vowed to be a better friend to moxxie and reminded him his value, and to use his actual name. I count that.

3. I can’t do it tonight alright, I’m sorry. - to stolas

4. Loona my sweet baby girl I’m so sorry I’ll never replace you no matter what.

5. Aw shit stolas i cant today alright I’m sorry I’m literally on my way to take Loona for her very important S.H.O.T.

6. I’m sorry Fizz. I’m so sorry you got so hurt, I’m sorry for what you’ve lost and I know I can never make that right. But You have no idea what I lost in that fire. I mean it’s all my fault, I’d hate me too. I do hate me.

7. Stolas, wait, I’m sorry. - stolas kicked him out

8. Him berating himself and verbally lifting stolas up as amazing, so that he stops crying and stops drinking. Shows remorse also. None of which stolas deserved.

Stolas has once. To via. Unless you count a polite ones in those simpering texts of his. In seeing stars via doesn’t let him because she blames herself entirely due to Loonas words. I struggle to count the “sorry it’s a bad time yet again Blitzy but I’m in a sitch” because he’s asking for something. So if you stretch, that’s maybe 3.

The sad part is Blitzø internalises all of stolas’ cruelty and insults and believes them to be true. Blitzø already has an internal voice of hate and criticism; stolas is his externalised self hatred. Because why wouldn’t he believe the prince, stolas is the one dressed so nicely, singing so nicely with pretty props, crying and surrounded by people crying with him, who all hate Blitzø, so stolas must be right.

Idc, Blitzø knew stolas was in trouble and reacted accurately. He had other things to do and Millie offered to help him. He was going to go over there. It’s weird that Viv wrote him to say “he can get hurt?” “I didnt think he was capable of-” and this was all she could come up with to make stolas all wounded and all betrayed. I’m tired of Blitzø throwing himself in the line of fire all the time. Stolas encourages his worst instincts. It’s not his job to protect stolas. But he did anyway. Even if he had saved him Viv would say “but it’s his fault striker even came back at all because reasons” I think it’s Stella’s fault actually but maybe that’s just me? He’s angrier at blitzø than Stella because he didn’t fulfil his damsel fantasy?

I think vivzie doesn’t account for fans who aren’t knee deep in stolitz Twitter, Instagram, ao3, r34, tiktok etc. Those fans have the romance in their heads the show doesn’t need to even write it. I’m guessing their dynamic will end up as Stolas replacing Loona. Blitzø allows him to abuse him because he feels guilt and sympathy, he wants there to be love between them. The relationship is based on this feeling of remorse and self hate, and pity for how lonely and hurt stolas is.

[nobodypunk]

Vampire Knight Analysis: Classism

Long Post !

10,000 years ago, climate change caused the apocalypse. Because of lack of food and resources, vampires are at the top of the food chain, preying on humans. Kaname is a pureblood and the progenitor, we first see him as the Lord of a village, in which he gives the villagers his blood to sustain them and keep them healthy, but in secret he takes their blood to sustain himself. Eventually, he run-out the village when they suspect he is a vampire. 

He is in a position of power over his people and while it is framed as benevolent that he is healing them and helping them live, he is also stealing from them in secret. I think it is a fair comparison to equate this to money or goods. Serfs work the land for their lord and in return he offers them protection. While the lord may be a good one, he is still partaking in a power structure that ultimately benefits him. A lord still takes their livelihood as payment and in the way of secrets, may be oppressing them in ways they are not aware of, taking things they did not agree to give away. 

Kaname along with The Hooded Woman observe how their kind, pureblood vampires, have taken to turning many humans into vampires. But the hooded woman says this is not for equality, the purebloods are turning humans to make slaves of them. So purebloods are explicitly abusing the power structure as the upper class and abusing the lower class (humans) turning them into slaves (Level D). 

As the story continues The Hooded Woman and Kaname oppose the purebloods, rebel against them, and also search for a cure to vampirism. They recognize that the system that they are both a part of, needs to be dismantled. 

Through their research, Kaname becomes disheartened but wishes to make the necessary sacrifice to liberate humans from vampire tyranny. The Hooded Woman however is the one who has been working with a group of humans, having them ingest her blood to gain her power. In doing this she creates Hunters. Hunters who are human yet possess the strength of vampires given to them by a pureblood. She then casts her heart into a fire that will produce the Parent Metal which they can then make weapons to defend themselves against the vampires. 

Which I find to be such an interesting dynamic as we can view this as a royal who despises the royal class, donating all of her funds to lower class people for a rebellion. The upper class woman willingly sacrificed herself “Viva La Revolution!” style for the lower class. However for me, this feels a little weird subtextually. The Hunters having their genetics changed by her pureblood makes them have similarities to vampires, like Kaien living an unusually long life, or the Hunter Twins curse. I will return to this thought later. 

Kaname fights the revolution with Artemis for a period of time, but eventually loses hope that vampires will ever be stopped or cured. He abandons the cause, abandons the humans, abandons the Level D/E vampires to their doom. 

Let’s now focus on the time period that Vampire Knight takes place:

In VK we now have a very literal class system of vampires as illustrated by the pyramid in the manga: 

Level A: pure bloods that are the reigning class (born vampires, beautiful, precious, powerful, manipulative)

Level B: the noble/aristocrat class (not as powerful as purebloods but still beautiful and have specialized powers) 

Level C: common vampires (that we see very little of … I can’t think of a single named character that is one) 

Level D: vampires that used to be human (can only be turned by the pure bloods, seen as lesser and generally not accepted as part of vampire society)

Level E: vampires that used to be human who have lost their humanity and sanity (ugly, bestial, outcast, thought of as murderers, violent, often dressed like they are poverty level). 

And finally humans (viewed as a food source, but strangely are treated socially above Level D and Level E vampires, almost a Level C/F combo???). 

Let’s break down this pyramid: 

Purebloods are reflective of royalty. At one point Kaname was formally titled The Vampire King, and even though they are not per se a legally recognized monarchy, the role of the Kuran family is the same. They are a hierarchy based on ancestry and bloodlines exactly like a monarchy. “Pureblood” is very obviously a classist ideal. Blood unmixed, blood not dirtied by “lower classes” or also in this case, human blood. Royals were thought to have “blue blood”; that they were called by divine right as sovereign, and that they were special and above everyone else. It is very much the reason why incest in royal families was practiced to “keep the bloodline pure”.

 Incest is a reoccurring theme in Vampire Knight that is controversial and something I have always been confused by and wildly uncomfortable with. We have themes of incest with Kaname and Yuuki, Haruka and Juri, as well as Rido, and later with Ai and Ren.

Incest between Rido and Juri is framed as assault and not right, but the incest between Juri and Haruka is framed as loving and pure. When Yuuki finds out Kaname is her brother she remarks that it’s strange that she was in love with her brother this whole time, to which Kaname says: ‘Vampires are just beasts in human form. We are already betrothed. Our parents before us were siblings.’ He justifies the incest as bestial and a system that she was born into as a pureblood. (Which is an interesting contradiction as animals do not often practice incest as it is not good for genetic diversity. However, selective breeding can be something that humans force animals to do which does have parallels with royalty practicing incest. There is a different theme in VK that is “Humanity VS Beasts (in human form)“ that I will hopefully write about separately but right now we are going to focus on Classism)

I think having this correlation between royalty and incest makes the presence of it in this particular series make more sense and as a part of the horror genre (and generally) incest is supposed to be uncomfortable and grotesque. Vampires often manifest our social anxieties with class and sexuality.

I also want to touch on the term “pureblood” and how it is a clear link to eugenics. 

Japanese vampires have distinct differences in interpretations from western vampires, there is a wonderful video about Vampire Hunter D that explored some of those differences (UNFORTUNATELY, It was by @thegamingmuse on YouTube and IT HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN but have this one ‘History of Vampires in Japan’ instead). Like how Japan’s view of classism is very affected by the country’s long history with feudalism and subsequently their past with fascism. I want to stress that these may not have been the author’s clear intentions but rather things that affected her writing subconsciously. 

Eugenics began to gain popularity in Japan around the 1880s when scientists introduced a theory that through selective breeding they could make the people of Japan (the Yamato race) stronger and smarter to dominate over other cultures including the west. They valued “junketsu”--pureblood and looked down on “konketsu”-- mixed blood. Social Darwinism, forcible sterilizations and abortions began occurring more and more in the early 19th century and specifically in the 1930s at the height of imperialism. They deemed certain traits to be undesirable such as disability, genetic disease, criminal inclinations, and even race (look up the indigenous people of Japan like the Ainu), etc. Ableism and xenophobia are still very much ingrained in Japan’s culture today because of this. 

It is hard to talk about purebloods and not talk about Level E’s at the same time. Only Purebloods have the power to turn humans into vampires so they are therefore responsible for all Level D and Level E vampires that come into existence.

 Level D vampires in Vampire Knight are treated with disdain, they are usually servants or scandalous lovers to their higher class pureblood masters. As we see with Shizuka, she took a human lover that ended up being a target because society did not approve of her relationship to him. As well as Shizuka’s master bond over Zero. He physically has to fight to harm her because the power of the bond, Master vs Servant, Creator vs Creation, is so strong. They are meant to be slaves with no will of their own. 

Vampires that used to be human need the blood of a pureblood to remain stable and sane and when that blood isn’t given they lose their humanity. They roam the streets with insatiable thirst, killing to barely survive a cursed life. Food that did not die, only to be used and discarded. Level E vampires are those that are discarded, plaguing the humans with violence and fear. 

So purebloods, like royalty, are framed as desirable, beautiful, fashionable, the peak of society versus Level E’s that are portrayed as starving, ugly, bestial vermin that need to be slayed. They both prey on humans but one is deemed more villainous because of their lowly state. The Level E’s are the lower class created by the upper class. The upper class took their resources and left them in the streets to die. They are othered and thought of as a plague to both human and vampire society. Does that remind you of the eugenics that I was just talking about?

 The Level E’s are also portrayed as mentally unstable, mirroring Japanese disdain for mental illness. Hikikomori is a phenomenon in Japan of severe social withdrawal. One of the reasons this could be happening is because it is not socially acceptable to have a disability, visible or not. It is more acceptable to remain inside your home. Much like ‘The Ugly Laws’ in the United States: “These laws targeted poor people and disabled people. For instance, in San Francisco a law of 1867 deemed it illegal for "any person, who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or deformed in any way, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, to expose himself or herself to public view.”

I’ve always thought it was interesting and really sad that in VK they search for a cure for vampirism, but they never specifically say that it’s to help Level E’s restore their humanity or their sanity. It’s almost as if the cure is more geared toward curing purebloods and the acceptable parts of vampire society. But that view was most certainly influenced by a group.

Aristocrats are exactly like they sound, they are privileged in high society. In VK they hold a lot of power though they are not as powerful as the Purebloods they are subservient to. Still they pull the strings and abuse their station. In many ways they control what is socially acceptable and what is not. Vampiric Aristocrats are as their nature is, greedy and hungry for blood. Pureblood is coveted by them and held as a rare and precious commodity. They are the ones encouraging incest to keep their blood stores full. In Shizuka’s case it was her family and the aristocrats that kept her caged after deeming she was unstable (there’s that disdain for mental illness and disability again, even though inbreeding can cause such things even in royalty) The Aristocracy is also responsible for supplying humans for Purebloods to feed on, such is the case with Kaname meeting Seiren. 

The Aristocracy benefits most from how society has been set up, even with their dealings with humans. The secret of vampire society is best kept, and that is why they sneer at vampire/human coexistence. Humans are just food and tools. Like the Hunter Society. 

The Hunter Society as it is in VK’s time is corrupt, we find out the President has been in league with the leader of the Aristocracy, Ichio. In exchange for protection they get pure blood for their drinking pleasure. Though it is not explicitly said, the Hunter Society is basically an extermination system for the victims of purebloods. Hunters only kill targets on the list curated by the corrupt President who with their ties to the Aristocracy would know what humans were turned into Level Ds and Es. The real world equivalent for hunters is the police. The police are funded by the government, are easily corrupted, and often unfairly discriminate against the lower class, arresting them for stealing food when the upper class hoards it all to themselves. 

So like I said before we have this really interesting view of the Hunters as being like vampires: being a part of the leech, upper class, and feeding into a system of oppression.

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I might do more parts to this as a series, such as analyzing the class system and how it pertains to certain characters, but those were all the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for the last two months. Let me know what ya'll think or feel free to request a take!