#I'm confident in nearly all these aspects

[xerayn]

March Caprice is back! Only problem is I don't know what to do. Help

[sirfrogsworth]

I think in this new age of A.I. the general public is going to need to increase their photography and lighting literacy. The response to this photo has just been a shit show.

There are people pointing out perfectly normal edge lighting and misunderstanding how reflections work.

First the plane is parked at an angle. The tail is farther back than the nose. But also that is a curved surface and it tapers. It's reflecting the area to the right of the photo.

And the bottom of the plane is reflecting what is directly underneath. Which is the tarmac, not the crowd.

It should also be noted that photo was shot with a very telephoto lens and everything is super compressed. The crowd appears much closer to the airplane than they actually are.

But then someone who should have good understanding of lighting said this...

And now I'm worried for her clients. Because that's very... wrong.

Well, wrong-ish.

First, let's try to understand why this photo is setting off some alarm bells.

The crowd toward the rear is in shadow, but they are still very well exposed. But then there is also a bright light source creating a strong edge light on them. Looking at this photo with just the context of what is in it, there are some things that seem uncanny.

The information we do not have is the people in the shadow area are inside a very brightly lit airplane hangar.

So they have artificial light blasting them from the top.

But that light is still much dimmer than the sunlit areas outside so they appear in shade. But we are used to shade being much darker than areas in direct sun. So the balance seems off in our brain. We expect the people to be darker because we don't have the context of the bright hangar lights above them.

But the other issue is that the photo was post processed. It wasn't manipulated. The pixels weren't changed. But the exposure balance was altered.

If I were to guess, the original photo looked more like this...

But newer digital cameras can have 13 to 15 stops of dynamic range. And if you shoot in RAW, you can easily lift shadows and bring down highlights. You can balance the exposure so the dark parts aren't as dark and the bright parts aren't as bright. This photographer might have overdone it a bit in this case, but this is a fairly standard edit used to bring balance to photos.

And lastly, where does the edge light come from?

Edge lighting or backlighting or rim lighting (all the same) should probably be called wrap-around lighting if you want to be more accurate.

It comes from a homogenous light source that is larger than the subject being lit. So with my knife photo, I placed it on a large LED panel light.

The light source was bigger than the subject so it wrapped around the edges.

And I'm afraid the airplane is not nearly large enough to create a light source to wrap around everyone in the crowd. It isn't even reflecting direct sunlight. So I'm sorry to say that lighting designer was mostly mistaken despite the confidence.

The light source is... everything.

That entire red area I highlighted is the light source.

As well as everything above and everything to the sides.

And the biggest aspect of that light source would be the sky above. I think people always forget the sky is a light source. If you are seeing blue, you are seeing light. And I guess the plane is included in that, but that entire highlighted red area is so bright, and so filled with sunlight bouncing around, that it creates basically a giant softbox. It becomes a huge single light source for the people in the hangar.

If you look at footage taken from way inside the hangar, you can see the camera adjusting exposure for the crowd inside, but look at what happens to the sunlit area outside.

What does that look like?

A giant softbox.

A single homogenous light source blasting light inside the hangar.

The sun is so incredibly bright that even when it is not directly lighting something, the light just bouncing around outside is enough to overpower the very bright hangar lights.

So, what have we learned from this?

Perhaps people should hire me to be their lighting designer.

Though I'm sure she is actually very talented. She seems to work with stage lights and this is more physics and photography.

Phystography.

[ozzgin]

Girl I love Daitou but I'm ngl I need more of Yazuya😭 if you can, can you write headcanons about him please? I'd appreciate it thank you <3

Yandere!Yakuza x Reader Headcanons

Ultimate dating guide and palate cleanser featuring the gangster boys (Kazuya and Daitou). For those that have been left hanging for proper romance.

Content: gender neutral reader, mildly NSFW

Tags: @swagbucksjester @lucienbarkbark @moonieper @nu-vino @vee-love @tamaki-simp @pinkazelma

[Yakuza Masterlist]

Kazuya

Kazuya was raised in a brothel, surrounded by women, so he is much more knowledgeable than the average man when it comes to feminine matters. Similar to someone who grew up having sisters, you can talk to him about anything and everything and not only will he be empathetic towards your problems, but he might offer tips and tricks you didn’t even know about. Not too shocking when he’s already heard multiple variations of whatever is bothering you.

The downside to his upbringing is that intercourse has always felt terribly transactional to him. He has a hard time associating it with intimate relationships. He will flirt a lot with you, but despite all the sexual innuendos, he won’t actually do anything until later in the relationship. He struggles with the irrational worry that sex will somehow taint the quality of your bond, making it feel cheap. Dating you has helped him realize that such things can be done out of love as well.

He is extremely affectionate and well mannered when dealing with you. Which may sometimes cause you to forget there’s a reason him and Daitou are good friends. While he isn’t as ill-tempered as his younger self, it doesn’t take much to anger him still. It’s a rare occurrence for you to witness it, but when he has it out for someone, he nearly matches Daitou in ruthlessness. He's very prideful and protective and will not hesitate to crush whoever challenges him or messes with you.

If you have a group of (girl)friends, you can confidently bring him with you with the only risk being that he’ll steal your spotlight. He can charismatically slide his way into any kind of conversation and you can hardly believe that this is the same man cracking gross jokes over his latest murder to his fellow criminal buddies. You might consider him a social chameleon, having no trouble adapting to any environment.

Smokes like a chimney and you have to slap the cigarette out of his hand sometimes because he’ll just light one up anywhere (including your bedroom).

Now this one is for the ones that are into it: God forbid you accidentally call him Daddy because he’ll ride that high until the end of time. He loves the idea and will tease about it with every opportunity. “Terrible weather today. Should Daddy drive you to work instead?”, or “Is that any way to talk to Daddy?” for when you’re out in public.

Daitou

One neat detail about being with Daitou is that you get to see a lot of things you took for granted in a new light. Whatever you assumed was a common experience for everyone, like having a picnic or going to the amusement park, is utterly foreign to him. He was raised by the Yakuza and barely interacted with anyone before meeting Kazuya; civilian past times were never presented to him. So you get to witness his shocked and delighted expression as he tries all these things with you.

Thankfully you don’t have to worry about teaching him the…intimate aspects of a relationship. Kazuya has that covered. And Daitou seems to be a rather fast learner, because he’s incredibly gentle and careful with you. Part of it is due to his own fear of messing it up. He’s only ever been good at breaking and killing people. Despite that, he loves you so much. He has to be the best boyfriend for your sake. Surely these hands of his can do more than just damage.

He might actually be a little too eager to learn the ropes. More than once you’ve walked in on him reading a graphic manga and nearly choked, mumbling an apology for interrupting his…activity. He’ll look at you with a confused expression, completely unbothered and wondering why you’re so embarrassed. He was flipping through the pages for ideas, given he’s never had any kind of experience himself. Ah. That explains the random kinky gestures he’s started doing without shame or doubt. You’ll have to do some tweaking in the near future.

This may come as a surprise, but Daitou is exceptionally good at household chores like cleaning and cooking. Registering with the Yakuza involves a mandatory apprenticeship of several years where you do menial tasks for your higher ups. Additionally, the time he served in jail has left him with a lot of discipline and organization. Somewhere between adorable and comical is how you’d describe the sight of him kneeling on the floor and carefully folding the kitchen towels while waiting for the stew to simmer.

Daitou isn’t exactly what you’d traditionally call jealous. His only frame of reference is Boss, thus he will treat you with the same kind of loyalty and dedication. You wouldn’t expect a mere nobody to walk up to the Head of the Family, so anyone approaching you will, similarly, be violently kept away until their intentions are clear. You are his most prized possession, after all. He’d do anything for you.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Copyright takedowns are a cautionary tale that few are heeding

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

We're living through one of those moments when millions of people become suddenly and overwhelmingly interested in fair use, one of the subtlest and worst-understood aspects of copyright law. It's not a subject you can master by skimming a Wikipedia article!

I've been talking about fair use with laypeople for more than 20 years. I've met so many people who possess the unshakable, serene confidence of the truly wrong, like the people who think fair use means you can take x words from a book, or y seconds from a song and it will always be fair, while anything more will never be.

Or the people who think that if you violate any of the four factors, your use can't be fair – or the people who think that if you fail all of the four factors, you must be infringing (people, the Supreme Court is calling and they want to tell you about the Betamax!).

You might think that you can never quote a song lyric in a book without infringing copyright, or that you must clear every musical sample. You might be rock solid certain that scraping the web to train an AI is infringing. If you hold those beliefs, you do not understand the "fact intensive" nature of fair use.

But you can learn! It's actually a really cool and interesting and gnarly subject, and it's a favorite of copyright scholars, who have really fascinating disagreements and discussions about the subject. These discussions often key off of the controversies of the moment, but inevitably they implicate earlier fights about everything from the piano roll to 2 Live Crew to antiracist retellings of Gone With the Wind.

One of the most interesting discussions of fair use you can ask for took place in 2019, when the NYU Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy held a symposium called "Proving IP." One of the panels featured dueling musicologists debating the merits of the Blurred Lines case. That case marked a turning point in music copyright, with the Marvin Gaye estate successfully suing Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copying the "vibe" of Gaye's "Got to Give it Up."

Naturally, this discussion featured clips from both songs as the experts – joined by some of America's top copyright scholars – delved into the legal reasoning and future consequences of the case. It would be literally impossible to discuss this case without those clips.

And that's where the problems start: as soon as the symposium was uploaded to Youtube, it was flagged and removed by Content ID, Google's $100,000,000 copyright enforcement system. This initial takedown was fully automated, which is how Content ID works: rightsholders upload audio to claim it, and then Content ID removes other videos where that audio appears (rightsholders can also specify that videos with matching clips be demonetized, or that the ad revenue from those videos be diverted to the rightsholders).

But Content ID has a safety valve: an uploader whose video has been incorrectly flagged can challenge the takedown. The case is then punted to the rightsholder, who has to manually renew or drop their claim. In the case of this symposium, the rightsholder was Universal Music Group, the largest record company in the world. UMG's personnel reviewed the video and did not drop the claim.

99.99% of the time, that's where the story would end, for many reasons. First of all, most people don't understand fair use well enough to contest the judgment of a cosmically vast, unimaginably rich monopolist who wants to censor their video. Just as importantly, though, is that Content ID is a Byzantine system that is nearly as complex as fair use, but it's an entirely private affair, created and adjudicated by another galactic-scale monopolist (Google).

Google's copyright enforcement system is a cod-legal regime with all the downsides of the law, and a few wrinkles of its own (for example, it's a system without lawyers – just corporate experts doing battle with laypeople). And a single mis-step can result in your video being deleted or your account being permanently deleted, along with every video you've ever posted. For people who make their living on audiovisual content, losing your Youtube account is an extinction-level event:

https://www.eff.org/wp/unfiltered-how-youtubes-content-id-discourages-fair-use-and-dictates-what-we-see-online

So for the average Youtuber, Content ID is a kind of Kafka-as-a-Service system that is always avoided and never investigated. But the Engelbert Center isn't your average Youtuber: they boast some of the country's top copyright experts, specializing in exactly the questions Youtube's Content ID is supposed to be adjudicating.

So naturally, they challenged the takedown – only to have UMG double down. This is par for the course with UMG: they are infamous for refusing to consider fair use in takedown requests. Their stance is so unreasonable that a court actually found them guilty of violating the DMCA's provision against fraudulent takedowns:

https://www.eff.org/cases/lenz-v-universal

But the DMCA's takedown system is part of the real law, while Content ID is a fake law, created and overseen by a tech monopolist, not a court. So the fate of the Blurred Lines discussion turned on the Engelberg Center's ability to navigate both the law and the n-dimensional topology of Content ID's takedown flowchart.

It took more than a year, but eventually, Engelberg prevailed.

Until they didn't.

If Content ID was a person, it would be baby, specifically, a baby under 18 months old – that is, before the development of "object permanence." Until our 18th month (or so), we lack the ability to reason about things we can't see – this the period when small babies find peek-a-boo amazing. Object permanence is the ability to understand things that aren't in your immediate field of vision.

Content ID has no object permanence. Despite the fact that the Engelberg Blurred Lines panel was the most involved fair use question the system was ever called upon to parse, it managed to repeatedly forget that it had decided that the panel could stay up. Over and over since that initial determination, Content ID has taken down the video of the panel, forcing Engelberg to go through the whole process again.

But that's just for starters, because Youtube isn't the only place where a copyright enforcement bot is making billions of unsupervised, unaccountable decisions about what audiovisual material you're allowed to access.

Spotify is yet another monopolist, with a justifiable reputation for being extremely hostile to artists' interests, thanks in large part to the role that UMG and the other major record labels played in designing its business rules:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/#stunt-publishing

Spotify has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to capture the podcasting market, in the hopes of converting one of the last truly open digital publishing systems into a product under its control:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/27/enshittification-resistance/#ummauerter-garten-nein

Thankfully, that campaign has failed – but millions of people have (unwisely) ditched their open podcatchers in favor of Spotify's pre-enshittified app, so everyone with a podcast now must target Spotify for distribution if they hope to reach those captive users.

Guess who has a podcast? The Engelberg Center.

Naturally, Engelberg's podcast includes the audio of that Blurred Lines panel, and that audio includes samples from both "Blurred Lines" and "Got To Give It Up."

So – naturally – UMG keeps taking down the podcast.

Spotify has its own answer to Content ID, and incredibly, it's even worse and harder to navigate than Google's pretend legal system. As Engelberg describes in its latest post, UMG and Spotify have colluded to ensure that this now-classic discussion of fair use will never be able to take advantage of fair use itself:

https://www.nyuengelberg.org/news/how-explaining-copyright-broke-the-spotify-copyright-system/

Remember, this is the best case scenario for arguing about fair use with a monopolist like UMG, Google, or Spotify. As Engelberg puts it:

The Engelberg Center had an extraordinarily high level of interest in pursuing this issue, and legal confidence in our position that would have cost an average podcaster tens of thousands of dollars to develop. That cannot be what is required to challenge the removal of a podcast episode.

Automated takedown systems are the tech industry's answer to the "notice-and-takedown" system that was invented to broker a peace between copyright law and the internet, starting with the US's 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA implements (and exceeds) a pair of 1996 UN treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and most countries in the world have some version of notice-and-takedown.

Big corporate rightsholders claim that notice-and-takedown is a gift to the tech sector, one that allows tech companies to get away with copyright infringement. They want a "strict liability" regime, where any platform that allows a user to post something infringing is liable for that infringement, to the tune of $150,000 in statutory damages.

Of course, there's no way for a platform to know a priori whether something a user posts infringes on someone's copyright. There is no registry of everything that is copyrighted, and of course, fair use means that there are lots of ways to legally reproduce someone's work without their permission (or even when they object). Even if every person who ever has trained or ever will train as a copyright lawyer worked 24/7 for just one online platform to evaluate every tweet, video, audio clip and image for copyright infringement, they wouldn't be able to touch even 1% of what gets posted to that platform.

The "compromise" that the entertainment industry wants is automated takedown – a system like Content ID, where rightsholders register their copyrights and platforms block anything that matches the registry. This "filternet" proposal became law in the EU in 2019 with Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/09/today-europe-lost-internet-now-we-fight-back

This was the most controversial directive in EU history, and – as experts warned at the time – there is no way to implement it without violating the GDPR, Europe's privacy law, so now it's stuck in limbo:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/eus-copyright-directive-still-about-filters-eus-top-court-limits-its-use

As critics pointed out during the EU debate, there are so many problems with filternets. For one thing, these copyright filters are very expensive: remember that Google has spent $100m on Content ID alone, and that only does a fraction of what filternet advocates demand. Building the filternet would cost so much that only the biggest tech monopolists could afford it, which is to say, filternets are a legal requirement to keep the tech monopolists in business and prevent smaller, better platforms from ever coming into existence.

Filternets are also incapable of telling the difference between similar files. This is especially problematic for classical musicians, who routinely find their work blocked or demonetized by Sony Music, which claims performances of all the most important classical music compositions:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/08/copyfraud/#beethoven-just-wrote-music

Content ID can't tell the difference between your performance of "The Goldberg Variations" and Glenn Gould's. For classical musicians, the best case scenario is to have their online wages stolen by Sony, who fraudulently claim copyright to their recordings. The worst case scenario is that their video is blocked, their channel deleted, and their names blacklisted from ever opening another account on one of the monopoly platforms.

But when it comes to free expression, the role that notice-and-takedown and filternets play in the creative industries is really a sideshow. In creating a system of no-evidence-required takedowns, with no real consequences for fraudulent takedowns, these systems are huge gift to the world's worst criminals. For example, "reputation management" companies help convicted rapists, murderers, and even war criminals purge the internet of true accounts of their crimes by claiming copyright over them:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#dark-ops

Remember how during the covid lockdowns, scumbags marketed junk devices by claiming that they'd protect you from the virus? Their products remained online, while the detailed scientific articles warning people about the fraud were speedily removed through false copyright claims:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/18/labor-shortage-discourse-time/#copyfraud

Copyfraud – making false copyright claims – is an extremely safe crime to commit, and it's not just quack covid remedy peddlers and war criminals who avail themselves of it. Tech giants like Adobe do not hesitate to abuse the takedown system, even when that means exposing millions of people to spyware:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/13/theres-an-app-for-that/#gnash

Dirty cops play loud, copyrighted music during confrontations with the public, in the hopes that this will trigger copyright filters on services like Youtube and Instagram and block videos of their misbehavior:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/10/duke-sucks/#bhpd

But even if you solved all these problems with filternets and takedown, this system would still choke on fair use and other copyright exceptions. These are "fact intensive" questions that the world's top experts struggle with (as anyone who watches the Blurred Lines panel can see). There's no way we can get software to accurately determine when a use is or isn't fair.

That's a question that the entertainment industry itself is increasingly conflicted about. The Blurred Lines judgment opened the floodgates to a new kind of copyright troll – grifters who sued the record labels and their biggest stars for taking the "vibe" of songs that no one ever heard of. Musicians like Ed Sheeran have been sued for millions of dollars over these alleged infringements. These suits caused the record industry to (ahem) change its tune on fair use, insisting that fair use should be broadly interpreted to protect people who made things that were similar to existing works. The labels understood that if "vibe rights" became accepted law, they'd end up in the kind of hell that the rest of us enter when we try to post things online – where anything they produce can trigger takedowns, long legal battles, and millions in liability:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/08/oh-why/#two-notes-and-running

But the music industry remains deeply conflicted over fair use. Take the curious case of Katy Perry's song "Dark Horse," which attracted a multimillion-dollar suit from an obscure Christian rapper who claimed that a brief phrase in "Dark Horse" was impermissibly similar to his song "A Joyful Noise."

Perry and her publisher, Warner Chappell, lost the suit and were ordered to pay $2.8m. While they subsequently won an appeal, this definitely put the cold grue up Warner Chappell's back. They could see a long future of similar suits launched by treasure hunters hoping for a quick settlement.

But here's where it gets unbelievably weird and darkly funny. A Youtuber named Adam Neely made a wildly successful viral video about the suit, taking Perry's side and defending her song. As part of that video, Neely included a few seconds' worth of "A Joyful Noise," the song that Perry was accused of copying.

In court, Warner Chappell had argued that "A Joyful Noise" was not similar to Perry's "Dark Horse." But when Warner had Google remove Neely's video, they claimed that the sample from "Joyful Noise" was actually taken from "Dark Horse." Incredibly, they maintained this position through multiple appeals through the Content ID system:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/05/warner-chappell-copyfraud/#warnerchappell

In other words, they maintained that the song that they'd told the court was totally dissimilar to their own was so indistinguishable from their own song that they couldn't tell the difference!

Now, this question of vibes, similarity and fair use has only gotten more intense since the takedown of Neely's video. Just this week, the RIAA sued several AI companies, claiming that the songs the AI shits out are infringingly similar to tracks in their catalog:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/record-labels-sue-music-generators-suno-and-udio-1235042056/

Even before "Blurred Lines," this was a difficult fair use question to answer, with lots of chewy nuances. Just ask George Harrison:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord

But as the Engelberg panel's cohort of dueling musicologists and renowned copyright experts proved, this question only gets harder as time goes by. If you listen to that panel (if you can listen to that panel), you'll be hard pressed to come away with any certainty about the questions in this latest lawsuit.

The notice-and-takedown system is what's known as an "intermediary liability" rule. Platforms are "intermediaries" in that they connect end users with each other and with businesses. Ebay and Etsy and Amazon connect buyers and sellers; Facebook and Google and Tiktok connect performers, advertisers and publishers with audiences and so on.

For copyright, notice-and-takedown gives platforms a "safe harbor." A platform doesn't have to remove material after an allegation of infringement, but if they don't, they're jointly liable for any future judgment. In other words, Youtube isn't required to take down the Engelberg Blurred Lines panel, but if UMG sues Engelberg and wins a judgment, Google will also have to pay out.

During the adoption of the 1996 WIPO treaties and the 1998 US DMCA, this safe harbor rule was characterized as a balance between the rights of the public to publish online and the interest of rightsholders whose material might be infringed upon. The idea was that things that were likely to be infringing would be immediately removed once the platform received a notification, but that platforms would ignore spurious or obviously fraudulent takedowns.

That's not how it worked out. Whether it's Sony Music claiming to own your performance of "Fur Elise" or a war criminal claiming authorship over a newspaper story about his crimes, platforms nuke first and ask questions never. Why not? If they ignore a takedown and get it wrong, they suffer dire consequences ($150,000 per claim). But if they take action on a dodgy claim, there are no consequences. Of course they're just going to delete anything they're asked to delete.

This is how platforms always handle liability, and that's a lesson that we really should have internalized by now. After all, the DMCA is the second-most famous intermediary liability system for the internet – the most (in)famous is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

This is a 27-word law that says that platforms are not liable for civil damages arising from their users' speech. Now, this is a US law, and in the US, there aren't many civil damages from speech to begin with. The First Amendment makes it very hard to get a libel judgment, and even when these judgments are secured, damages are typically limited to "actual damages" – generally a low sum. Most of the worst online speech is actually not illegal: hate speech, misinformation and disinformation are all covered by the First Amendment.

Notwithstanding the First Amendment, there are categories of speech that US law criminalizes: actual threats of violence, criminal harassment, and committing certain kinds of legal, medical, election or financial fraud. These are all exempted from Section 230, which only provides immunity for civil suits, not criminal acts.

What Section 230 really protects platforms from is being named to unwinnable nuisance suits by unscrupulous parties who are betting that the platforms would rather remove legal speech that they object to than go to court. A generation of copyfraudsters have proved that this is a very safe bet:

https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/

In other words, if you made a #MeToo accusation, or if you were a gig worker using an online forum to organize a union, or if you were blowing the whistle on your employer's toxic waste leaks, or if you were any other under-resourced person being bullied by a wealthy, powerful person or organization, that organization could shut you up by threatening to sue the platform that hosted your speech. The platform would immediately cave. But those same rich and powerful people would have access to the lawyers and back-channels that would prevent you from doing the same to them – that's why Sony can get your Brahms recital taken down, but you can't turn around and do the same to them.

This is true of every intermediary liability system, and it's been true since the earliest days of the internet, and it keeps getting proven to be true. Six years ago, Trump signed SESTA/FOSTA, a law that allowed platforms to be held civilly liable by survivors of sex trafficking. At the time, advocates claimed that this would only affect "sexual slavery" and would not impact consensual sex-work.

But from the start, and ever since, SESTA/FOSTA has primarily targeted consensual sex-work, to the immediate, lasting, and profound detriment of sex workers:

https://hackinghustling.org/what-is-sesta-fosta/

SESTA/FOSTA killed the "bad date" forums where sex workers circulated the details of violent and unstable clients, killed the online booking sites that allowed sex workers to screen their clients, and killed the payment processors that let sex workers avoid holding unsafe amounts of cash:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/09/fight-overturn-fosta-unconstitutional-internet-censorship-law-continues

SESTA/FOSTA made voluntary sex work more dangerous – and also made life harder for law enforcement efforts to target sex trafficking:

https://hackinghustling.org/erased-the-impact-of-fosta-sesta-2020/

Despite half a decade of SESTA/FOSTA, despite 15 years of filternets, despite a quarter century of notice-and-takedown, people continue to insist that getting rid of safe harbors will punish Big Tech and make life better for everyday internet users.

As of now, it seems likely that Section 230 will be dead by then end of 2025, even if there is nothing in place to replace it:

https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/bipartisan-energy-and-commerce-leaders-announce-legislative-hearing-on-sunsetting-section-230

This isn't the win that some people think it is. By making platforms responsible for screening the content their users post, we create a system that only the largest tech monopolies can survive, and only then by removing or blocking anything that threatens or displeases the wealthy and powerful.

Filternets are not precision-guided takedown machines; they're indiscriminate cluster-bombs that destroy anything in the vicinity of illegal speech – including (and especially) the best-informed, most informative discussions of how these systems go wrong, and how that blocks the complaints of the powerless, the marginalized, and the abused.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/27/nuke-first/#ask-questions-never

Image: EFF https://www.eff.org/files/banner_library/yt-fu-1b.png

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[krypticcafe]

Okay so we’ve got the boys reacting to being called babygirl, but how would their partner react to being babygirlified??

When they call you babygirl (COD:MWII)

rating: mature

character(s): GN!Reader, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, John Price, John "Soap" McTavish, Simon "Ghost" Riley, König, Gary "Roach" Sanderson, Hound

warning(s): language, suggestiveness, angst, a smidge of a graphic injury, general military violence, no beta read haha

a/n: reminder to all my gn and masc readers that I'm using babygirl in a gender-neutral context and so is the reader!! Also, I can't guarantee that it'll all be lighthearted as the last part but I can guarantee y'all eatin good tonight :)))

Previous

Gaz

Funnily enough, he purrs it out when you come to bed after a long day of work, pulled into his side the moment you laid down.

"How's my babygirl doing? Good, yeah?"

You're stunned, surprised at the fact that he even used it at all.

He's amused by your reaction and presses a soft kiss to your head, making a mental note to use it more often like this.

Like him, you try not to fall too into the feeling, but he already knows the effect on you.

Luckily for you, he doesn't abuse it, but almost torments you with it, using it in private or a soft tone that only you can hear.

But you like it. It's intimate, a little special in how he uses it to get you smiling or flustered. Much like a lot of other aspects of your relationship, it's something you can trust him with and be respectful about.

Most of the time, you'll find him using it on a sleepy morning, arms around your waist with his chest against your back and his face nestled on your shoulder blade, mumbling a "mornin'" or a "how'd you sleep last night?"

For him, it's best when he can get real close to you and just pour his affections out with that simple little nickname.

He watches you stumble out of bed while he pours a cup of coffee for the two of you and smiles innocently when he offers it.

"Sleep well last night, baby-"

"You are so damn lucky I love you." You warn, taking the cup and rolling your eyes when he laughs.

Don't worry, he knows he's one lucky bastard.

Price

"Atta soldier, how's my babygirl holding up?"

He's watching proudly from afar while you finish pummeling through a group of enemies like it's nothing.

"Doin' alright Captain, we're clear to push on." You respond with confidence.

But you don't tell him that his comment through the comms alone nearly threw you off your rhythm.

He uses it again when you're all at the pub celebrating another landmark success, subtly bragging while half-drunk about how you carried the team today.

A part of you is mortified not just because Price tends to open up a little too much when he's drunk, but also because you hated the fact that you liked hearing him call you that in the first place, how you didn't need a drink for your mouth to get dry and your face warm. Not to mention it was in public—practically a declaration that you belonged to him.

Not that you minded.

His grip grows firm on your side while he speaks with admiration, your face grows warm since one, he was calling you that in front of so many others, and two, he didn't just hand out praise to anyone so when he meant it, he really meant it.

Later when you're both headed to your shared quarters, he asks, "So were you havin' a fever earlier or..?"

Of course he noticed.

You explain to him it just caught you off guard, that's all. Especially when he says it in such a way.

In the back of your head, you hoped he'd be too drunk to remember this in the morning but knowing him...

"I see... well then, we'll just have to put that to the test tonight, won't we?"

You have no objections.

Soap

"There's my babygirl, been lookin' for that smile since we been back."

After a particularly rough mission, Soap had been glued to your side for the past hour or so, talking it out with you.

When a particularly dumb joke of his finally cracked you, that's when he said it.

You groan, still laughing while leaning your head into his shoulder, muttering about how "irresistibly insufferable" he could be sometimes.

"So you admit I'm irresistible?"

That gets him a lighthearted punch on his chest and some more hearty laughter out of the two of you.

You now find him using it here and there to get a smile out of you. He's got an eye for when you're a little more tense or stressed than usual.

He doesn't use it in excess either, he's sweet and soft about it, not as casual with the pet names as some would think.

Oh, but don't take it for granted because he can and will tease you. You like to blame him for your ability to keep your guard up for so long and for his ability to somehow find new ways to break it again and again.

And while you think it's a horribly corny pet name, you know he has nothing but good intentions, and you can't ignore the way it makes your heart flutter.

He loves it too, he's a sucker for giving and receiving cheesy nicknames, stuff that really gets a reaction out of you but doesn't cross the line.

"If you don't like it, then why dinnae you give me a different thing to call you?" Cue the McTavish SmirkTM, and you wonder what he has planned this time. And like how you got yourself into this relationship- you decide to humor him.

"You already call me 'love' and 'sugar', I don't think you need any more to torment me with, McTavish."

"I don't know... I'm thinkin' 'my fiancé' sounds pretty damn good."

"But I'm not your-"

Oh.

Oh.

Ghost

You're thrown into the air and onto the ground after a blast hits, one so loud that you're left hearing nothing for several seconds.

Out of the chaos, you hear Ghost call your name, and you try to stand only to fall back into a pair of arms.

"It's me- it's me." He lowers you down onto his lap and looks over you, "Fucking hell... what did they do to you?"

You realize what he's talking about when you try to hold yourself while gasping for breath, but find a cold metal rod jutting out of your abdomen.

"Okay, I'm gonna get you up, we're gonna get to the others-" He halts when you scream out in pain and lowers you back down.

"Nonono- please Simon, it hurts, it fucking hurts so much I can't-"

His heart breaks at the sound of you choking on words, holding you closer, and trying to reassure you (and himself because he's never had his heart pounding so hard and his mask feel so damn suffocating and god dammit he can't afford to lose someone again-)

"I know, I know, I got you babygirl, I got you. It's alright now, but I'm not leaving you like this. You're gonna be alright, it's gonna be okay."

You can only nod your head, tightening your hold around his neck when he carries you. It feels pathetic every time you let out a yelp or sob of pain, but Simon's patient, he's constantly giving you reassurance and letting you know that there's just a bit more left to go. At some point, you let exhaustion take over your body.

Thankfully, you wake up laying in an infirmary bed, with a sleepless Simon at your side. "How are you feeling?" He asks.

"Could be better," You cringe at how hoarse your voice is and thank Simon when he gives you a cup of water, "You seem worse than me to be honest."

"Yeah? 'n whose fault is that? Oh right, the one who took a pipe to the stomach."

Rolling your eyes, you try to remember the last things you saw before blacking out and smirk to yourself when it comes back to you.

"So, since when were you a "babygirl" type of guy? Is it a common thing in Manchester, or are you just that soft for me, Lieutenant?"

"Maybe I should've just left you there." He groans, and you scoff, laughing as you shove at him. Even if he's shit with words, you know deep down he would never have the guts to do so.

Only a fool would.

König

Let's be honest, he'd only really say it after you've said it to him.

You don't push him, knowing he just has trouble trying to get a natural feel for it and it's not a huge deal. Plus, you already adore all the other names he's given you, most of which are more familiar and natural for him to say with them being in his native language.

Unfortunately, one night at the bar, you find someone else directing the particular nickname at you.

"Hey babygirl, what's a cutie like you doing all alone here?"

But fortunately, you were in fact, not alone.

Konig rises from the barstool behind you and his height alone should have the person pissing their pants.

"You should mind whose 'babygirl' you're talking to, arschloch."

You know what? Close enough.

You turn back to check on König and wow, that. Is. A. Sight.

König's chest rises and falls with his aggravated breathing and you find yourself lost in how intense his glare is while he watches the person scamper away. His words are on a loop in your head with how the rasp and snarl in his voice have your stomach twisting and your heart running laps.

You'd never admit it to him, but you have to repress all of your urges whenever he gets like this on the battlefield. Christ.

"You alright?" You breathlessly sigh, wrapping a hand around his.

His tension instantly melts at your touch and you smile at that.

"I should be asking you that..." He murmurs, almost ashamed as if he had any reason to be.

"Oh I'm more than fine now."

An idea comes to you.

"I'd be even better if you can tell me what you just said to them, perhaps in private? I don't think I can hear with how noisy it is in here" You snicker, tugging him closer.

You just absolutely know he's burning under that hood when his eyes go wide.

"I'm just kidding, liebe," you chuckled, taking another sip of your drink, "But honestly? That was kinda hot. Whaddya say we get outta here and cuddle tonight?"

His response is a quick and eager nod, making you laugh and whisk him away to your quarters.

Roach

Ah if only you weren't such a curious soul.

You overheard some of your teammates call each other "babygirl", which made you wonder if there was a sign for it.

You blurted out this question to your boyfriend, not thinking much of it because, hey, you always asked him about signs you weren't sure of or hadn't quite learned yet, or in this case, pure curiosity.

He stares at you dumbfounded before signing the words.

"Oh, so it's literally just 'baby' and 'girl'?"

He nods, "Yeah. What, do you want me to start calling you that or something?"

He lets out stifled laughs when he sees the look of realization on you before you throw your burning face in your hands.

"I'm a damn idiot."

"I know you are."

You nearly strangle him for that comment.

You make him forget about the conversation, but he keeps the thought in the back of his head for future reference because oh you are so gonna regret this >:)

After a mission, he comes up to you and asks, "How'd it go? My babygirl didn't get too roughed up this time, did you?"

"No, I'm good, wasn't a huge bust-" You stop organizing your gear right then and there, mentally replay what he signed, and slowly turn your head, narrowing your eyes at him. "-you little shit! I told you forget about that!"

"But you like it, don't you? You're trying so hard not to smile right now!" He gushes.

"Sanderson, I'm gonna kill you!" You run after him, chasing him around before tackling him down to the ground.

"I could get used to this." He muses, "Maybe you should call me babygirl, kinda suits me too. Oh! We should get matching patches, don't you think?"

"..."

"Wait where are you going—"

Hound

This time, you had been separated from your team for days after a mission had gone horribly wrong, with no way to communicate otherwise you'd all be jeopardized before you could be rescued.

You didn't even know if there was a rescue.

Just your luck, an enemy had you cornered with the audacity to use your own gun against you. And it was your last one, too. You brace for impact only to see them get knocked out while a voice called out your name.

It was Hound. They immediately run up to you, checking you all over, hands hovering around you worriedly, "Did he hurt you? Christ, they told me that you'd be in danger if I went but shit, how am I supposed to wait when—"

They stopped the moment you began to tremble, instantly pulling you into a tight embrace, and tucking your head in their shoulder.

"Hey hey, c'mere, it's okay. I'm here now, you're gonna be alright, it's okay." He softly repeats, and you weep in relief. "Oh babygirl... they can't hurt you anymore, I promise."

It was warm and safe.

You were warm and safe.

Hound spends the evening tending to you (you told them they didn't have to, it wasn't like you had major injuries), doing your paperwork for you, getting you food, and cleaning you up.

But all you want is to get your mind away from the events of the past few days, a distraction to feel good, feel safe, and feel loved, and he happily complies with your every need for the night.

"Figured you'd need some help after last night... sorry about that." They sheepishly mumble.

You wake up the next morning in your shared quarters, sore but in a pleasant way. The door opens and it's none other than your partner with a plate from the mess hall.

You pull them down for a quick kiss and thank them, telling them not to worry about it as you take the plate.

"You need anything else babygirl, or-"

You choke on a piece of scrambled egg, and they're already rubbing your back, holding back laughter.

"Whoops, should've waited until you were done, I didn't think you'd get so- I mean I thought after last night—" He's practically giggling now and while you'd normally relish in such a rare sight, you whine at him.

"But seriously, if you need anything, I'm there in a heartbeat."

You nod and thank whatever higher being out there for such a patient partner.

a/n pt2: hope the ghost and hound bbygirls enjoyed the "creative liberties" I took because I know I did teehee- anyways lmk how y'all feeling after that :)))

[justliketoreadsowhat]

Favorite Color ❤︎︎

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛 𝐎𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫❤︎︎

_________________________________

“𝐒𝐨, 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈’𝐦 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐭 𝐀 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧“ 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐱𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬.

"The hostility coming from you right now is crazyy, just hold on a second" Paige huffed, the sound of rustling grew louder in the background, as your suspicions heightened.

The day started off pretty normal, you went to work for a couple hours while Paige was out and about doing her side quests for the summer. Spending a few days apart wasn't the easiest thing to do, but the daily Facetime calls always made it a little better.

Except for today, Your phone buzzed promptly at 2pm during your break as always, since she had memorized your break schedule like the back of her hand, a day was never missed.

You were met with a black screen and a very ecstatic Paige on the other hand, for reasons you were unaware of.

"I just wanna see your face and we have less than an hour left before I have to go" A frown planted on your face, there was no use in trying to hide it. Hearing her voice was one vice, but seeing her face healed something inside of you, she was just so perfect. In your eyes, she could do no wrong, except for right now.

"Baby don't look at me like that" she pleaded "There's no need to be sad when I'm wearing your favorite color"

The screen lit up nearly on cue, her face filled your screen brightly as she cheesed from ear to ear. You wanted to laugh but your eyes soon halted your movements as you realized there was something daringly different.

She did not.

Did She?

"Paige! you- your hair!!" you yelped in shock, fighting the urge to fall out of your seat. "It's PINK!"

PInk

The color of sunsets flowers, and love.

The shade was perfect against her skin tone, her eyes became more of an ocean blue in contrast with the color.

"Mhmm, you like it?" she asked getting dangerously close to the camera, rubbing her chin slightly while her eyes squint dramatically. "I did it jus for you pretty girl"

"Yeah right, what advertisement is this for?" you questioned trying to find any clues from her background.

"Don't! Worry about that" her hand flying up to screen in defense "You're always doubting me like I wouldn't dye my hair for you"

You couldn't help but laugh, she didn't even like the color pink but, when she met you she had learned to gain a small liking for it through other aspects, such as shoes, decor, and candy of course.

"I would never doubt you P, you look beautiful with pink hair"

"Thank you" her tone softer than before, the tint in her cheeks now matched her hair. "but don't worry the blonde will be back soon" she stated confidently.

"I think both colors fit you really well, not a lot of people can pull off the things that you do y'know.."

"Yeah well, you're not one of those people sooo" she asked taking in all your features "Wanna dye your hair purple next?"

"Abosutely not"

"Why not?! You can be the purple care bear and I'll be the pink one"

"You're terrible at flirting, did anybody ever tell you that?" Ice's voice echoed from afar. "You can't even name the care bears!'

A groan fell from Paige's lips "Here you go again, minding my business instead of yours"

"My bad Shortcake, I'm just telling you the truth"

Before you could intervene, the timer you had set went off, signaling that you had to go back to work.

Unfortunately

[witchy-scribblings]

hibino kafka? more like hubbyno kafka (mdni)

❀ kafka who loves kissing you more than anything, and will have his lips on you at any possible time. this clown here loves to press the wettest smooch on your cheek just as much as he loves kissing you softly while you rock to the sound of the news in the background.

❀ kafka who's always texting you. his name will constantly be popping up on your phone, be it to wish you a good day at work, to complain about some inconvenience at his job, or to remind you that he loves you for the seventh time that morning.

❀ kafka who had always been okay with his bachelor apartment looking like a wreck, but since he started dating you no dishes pile up in the sink, the trash is taken out, and the cleaning is kept up with.

❀ kafka who immediately started getting extra toothbrushes, towels and other supplies the moment your relationship started looking serious, in hopes that it would incite you to come over more often.

❀ kafka who thanks his lucky stars every time he gets to wake up next to you because holy shit how did a loser like him pull a beauty like you? (it's fine we love losers 'round here)

❀ kafka who can never get enough of slow mornings with you. he often has you staying over at his place, and his bathroom is too small to let you brush your teeth side by side, so he gets the next best thing: you straddling his hips while you sit on the counter, peacefully getting ready for the day.

❀ kafka who gets a little insecure sometimes, especially before becoming an officer. he doesn't need constant reassurance, but there are days when he can't help staring at the mirror a little longer, a little harsher.

❀ kafka who falls harder still when you assure him that his dad body is extremely sexy, and that you love that he's so big and warm he's literally perfect to cuddle with.

❀ kafka who feels so much better when he sees how happy wearing his huge baggy clothes makes you. he has had to give up too many hoodies to count at this point, not that he's complaining.

❀ on that note, kafka who loves it when you're wearing one of his oversized shirts and nothing else - well, except perhaps a pair or wooly thigh-high socks during the colder months. After all, the central heating in his apartment is pretty bad, so you have to work with what you have.

❀ kafka who presses down on your covered hamstrings to keep you folded nearly in half while his fat cock plunges in and out of your soaking wet pussy; he's obsessed with the unrestricted sight of the filthy mess he's making out of your swollen cunt.

❀ kafka who sometimes absently wonders if you would be okay with him shapeshifting to fuck you better. he knows that kaiju no. 8 looks scary as shit and that he still has a hard time controlling the extra strength, but some twisted part of him wants to see how much further he could push you (little does he know his fans are monsterfuckers)

❀ kafka who ultimately is a pretty vanilla lover who just lives for those moments late at night when he has you sitting back against his soft chest with your legs spread embarrassingly wide while his thick fingers play you like a goddamn fiddle.

❀ kafka who, yes, is 100% a giver in every aspect of your relationship. but boy does he turn into a whore whenever you pay some well-deserved attention to him. he'll take anything you're willing to offer, but worship his body and his cock with your hands and tongue and he's done for.

❀ kafka who is not shy per se, but he gets really horny really fast if you start dirty talking to him. it might take a little bit of confidence for him to reciprocate, but once he warms up he's pulling out all the "yes, baby, want your mouth on me so bad", or the "i'm not gonna stop until you make a fucking mess on my sheets, got it?"

❀ kafka who used to dread laundry day, but will now happily change his sheets everyday if it means he got to fuck you good the night before.

brother i’m so down bad for this himbo he’s making me have unholy thoughts on finals week

[taegularities]

regarding: colour me in — alright. almost 8 months later… they're coming back 🥹 that's how long it's been since a main chapter dropped? crazy. but cmi12 is (nearly) done and ready 🎨🤍

dropping next Friday, August 2nd, 8pm EST! might shift to Saturday in case i need more time to edit.

the chapter's name is cmi: palette; and palette will be around 32k long (sorry? you're welcome? idk lmao) :D you can of course take your time to read it, but i promise it'll be worth it <3

lots and lots of glimpses into our babies' and their friends' lives!! it's a beautiful chapter that then leads to deeper aspects of their relationship.

this chapter is already part of the new arc, which means we'll see a whole new side of all the characters. there'll be fluff, but there will also be angst, hardships and tears. partly heavier, partly lovelier than before. we'll go on a whole journey with them before this lil story comes to an end <3

also! i have decided on how many parts this series has left, but this could change anytime 🤧

maybe you saw already, but i've been struggling with colour me in. not because i don't love the story — it's my everything. but because the site has gotten quieter — so i'll need you all in for this one to get to the story's end eventually. i wish i could read thoughts, but i can't so pls lmk how you feel about this 🥺

i often get very nervous about my fics and i still am this time, as well, but i'm confident you'll like this part 💕 so give it all your love; a little support always goes super far. cmi is nothing without y'all and i live for your cheers. that said, see you soon 🤍

snippet under the cut! 🌺

–

🎨 let's talk about it | join the taglist 🎨

love you all <3

[moondirti]

i’m so sorry but i’m such a simp for big men in masks. this is very self indulgent buuuuut could i request a ghost x reader who is shy and relatively unexperienced with sex? like has been with maybe 1-2 people but kinda just let them take charge? also really want some size difference in there too if possible? like i’m 5’6ish and underweight due to health issues but i can’t stop thinking about being tossed around by that mountain of a man

i have no excuse on why this took so long to get to babe, i'm sorry! he might be ooc in this idk, i just got done with a lengthy price oneshot so i need to warm up on ghost. corruption kink with ghost warnings: size kink, painful sex (kinda)

You don't tell him - not on your own volition, anyway.

But Ghost has seen you gut men twice your size, ripping their pancreas from between cracked ribs, dousing your hands in viscous red that still encrusts your cuticles days afterwards. You hold your weight on the team, your ledger stained with anyone who dares question it. He doesn't ask, but he only assumed the brash confidence to extend to every aspect of your being.

Which is why, when he cups your face or growls an obscene request in your ear, it throws him off guard to see you withdraw. Flushed, your cheeks warm with babydoll humility. You've never wavered with anything as much as you did him; not death, not merciless fusillade. It's a bizarre contradiction with everything he had you pinned down as.

It doesn't take him long to figure out why. You eventually blossom, just the slightest bit, and find yourself in his bed mere hours later.

"Gorgeous fuckin' thing. About stuff you full."

"Haah- I... You're huge, shit."

"You're a big girl, pet, you can take it."

"I've never- fuck! Slow down, please, please..."

His body locks at the first crack of your voice. You've got your face hidden in his shoulder, tucked between his neck and a thick muscle. He can't see it, but he knows. Your lashes flutter, damp on his skin, a hot pool of fresh tears trekking the scant space between you.

Simon pulls out, only a third of the way in, and detaches from you. He doesn't exactly have the words for comfort - his vocabulary whittled down to military jargon and bad jokes - but he rests his hand on your calf while he waits for you to collect yourself.

It's enough. A voiceless agreement permeates your relationship, some quick-trick tool for times when war unravels; one nod over the body of a gun, a pat on the shoulder as you fight your separate ways. It holds relevance, always, even now.

So he waits, because it's the only thing he can do. Waits, and reels over what went wrong. He'd thrown you over his face, sucking your honeyed slick directly from the source, until your body shook with concerning violence. He'd pumped you with two fingers, stretching your tight hole in preparation. He'd kneaded your supple flesh until you spilled to a puddle underneath him. All of it has usually sufficed before now.

It isn't your full-bodied heaves stop that you break the silence.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything, it was just... overwhelming. I've only ever been with one person before, and they were-"

"Bad."

"Smaller, asshole. God-"

He grabs your wrist, wrapping it in a large hand.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Not nearly. Just-" You gesture to yourself. "Like I said. Overwhelming."

"Shy, then."

"Si-"

You're practically squished when he bends over you, full lips grazing your jaw when he gruffs his intrusion.

"We have all night, pet. Plenty of time to get you to open up."

[animeyanderelover]

Good afternoon this is my second time request here so can I request a yandere muzan and all upper moons x tsunade reader

I did not include all Upper Moons since I'm not comfortable with writing for some of them. I left out Hantengu and instead used some of his other forms and I completely left out Gyokko. Also a little fun fact, Tsunade was my first Anime crush.

@leveyani @kanaosprotector

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional behavior, controlling behavior, stalking, clinginess, paranoia, manipulation, gaslighting, blackmailing, isolation, violence, abduction, death

S/o has abilities like Tsunade

Kibutsuji Muzan

🩸​As someone who has a god complex and sees himself as the nearly perfect being if it wouldn't be for his one single flaw, your mere existence is a punch in the guts for Muzan. He has always belittled your kind for being weak and powerless so your existence and inhumane strength is an experience he refuses to acknowledge. You are so unlike anyone he has ever met with your strength, your speed and even your healing abilities that should be something only a demon possesses. You are frighteningly close to being the pinnacle of your kind and the only consolation Muzan latches on is the fact that despite all of your feats you are still only a human. You are a fading and ultimately wasted potential. He builds his confidence up by focusing on the aspect of your mortality as the demon starts terrorizing you whilst flaunting his own superiority due to his immortal in front of you. Nevertheless, his interest in science is one of many things that earn you his obsession.

🩸​Muzan wants to know how your body works and how you are able to use such strength and regeneration that should be a feat only used by demons. Despite his utter fascination he also feels a much more intense need to have control over such a darling as such abilities will only lead to a rebellious attitude from your side. Your strength outmatches even a demon and your regeneration abilities, although not as quick nor as consistent as those of a demon make you a fearsome enemy. So fearsome in fact that even Muzan tends to shy away from confronting you directly out of an underlying fear to be beaten and to be forever humiliated by you. He starts making excessive use of poison, drugs or abilities from his demons that influence your senses to keep you tame and harmless. He feels much more compelled to turn you quickly into a demon as the lack of a gap in power between you and him triggers him and he hopes to make you more obedient by turning you with his blood.

Kokushibo

🌙​Kokushibo who would normally show more lenience to his human darling despite being very adamant about them following his instructions and rules is forced into a rather unique position due to your own potential which makes him unable to show any restriction. A part of him seems to even take delight upon discovering your potential and he goes as far as praising your abilities and your strength and despite his own attempts to show a bit of mercy, sometimes he goes out whenever you act up and try to break free from the control he tries to submit you to. Such attempted outbursts of yours are seen as less pathetic from his side as he acknowledges that you have actual bite behind your bark and aren't only putting up a mere facade. Kokushibo is very interested in your true potential so it happens that he doesn't go easy on you at all whenever a violent fight between the two of you should happen only to gauge your own abilities in return.

🌙​Yet he stops damaging your body too severely when he comes to know that in extreme situations you shorten your own lifespan to instantly heal all of your wounds. He starts suggesting to you that turning into a demon would be very beneficial for you as your own strength might be amplified and you wouldn't have to shorten your own life even if you would be inflicted with severe wounds. Despite his firm belief that becoming a demon would do good for you there is an underlying fear he holds inside of him. He fears that you may even surpass him in strength when you turn into one of his kind and that he would ultimately lose the control he has somewhat over you completely then. Because his admiration for your strength only holds as long as he can confidently believe that he still outclasses you. If this belief of his should start wavering the insecurities he has buried would reappear and would remove all restraint he has shown to you so far.

Douma

❄️​Douma will give you an headache and not the other way around. He is mirthful and has a damaging delusional streak going on that make it pretty much impossible for you to anger him in most cases. Instead he finds the little quarrels you two have going on very cute and adorable. His little flower has such a short temper and he finds it unbelievably sweet. Only god knows how he can interpret you bashing his skull into pieces with your fists as romantic but he does it either way, commenting on how strong you are as soon as he regenerates. It is never seen as a fight for your own freedom whenever both of you get violent but as nothing but a lovers quarrel where he allows you to vent out some of your angry temper to enable you to cool off again, even if that includes some visible destruction to your surroundings. It is instead much more common for him to be highly displeased whenever one of his followers suggests you to be an unworthy partner for him and you have witnessed him murdering such people gleefully soon after their insults have been spoken.

❄️​Douma allows you to go all out whenever you feel the need to blow off some steam but he also very rarely holds back in such scenarios. Especially your ability to heal your own wounds seems to make him disturbingly giddy and increases his sadistic nature as he loves hurting you only to watch you heal the injury he has given you. He knows that it isn't as efficient as his own regeneration abilities but at times he forgets it and injures you seriously in a rush of sadistic joy. Much to his dismay there are times where he can't spare you and your anger too much time in which case he uses his Blood Demon Art to immobilize you and to render you unable to fight anymore. He expresses genuine unhappiness though when he eventually finds out how you shorten your own lifespan when you have suffered from risky wounds as he would actually like to preserve your humanity for as long as he can in order to enjoy your adorable and fierce personality. Don't shorten such precious time.

Akaza

👊​Akaza usually loves himself a strong opponent and a good fight but there are two factors that majorly hamper any enjoyment he could potentially feel in this scenario. One is the mere fact that you just happen to be his darling which automatically makes him much more mellow and protective over you even despite your ridiculous strength. Another factor will be if you are also female which only increases his uncomfortableness as he doesn't kill any women. It is this lack of euphoria and his own obsession that make your situation easier as he never really attacks you when you fight against him. He only defends himself but you never sense any murderous intent from him as he takes your hits with a conflicted and unhappy look on his face before dodging and trying to restrain you without hurting you. Even your ability to heal yourself faster and better than any human doesn't take away from his resolve to to not injure you and to not fight against you with his full power.

👊​Akaza could be even pressured into a compromise as he usually lets his anger and frustration out on his surroundings or an unfortunate man he comes across and never directly on you. The worst reaction you have ever forced out of him included him smashing something nearby brutally with biscuits fist all whilst veins of frustration popped up on his temples as he gave you a sharp and heavy glare but he never has gotten physical with you. There are limits to how willing he is to compromise with you and if you should truly test his patience until he is at his limit he will find other ways to ground you. Whilst he will keep his hands away from you, if you should have male family members or friends he will resort to blackmail you by threatening their lives just to have something that will help him to keep you under some control. Even if those methods should grearly upset you, he hopes that you will comply with this ultimatum for the sake of your family and friends.

Sekido

😡​Sekido as the manifestation of Hantengu's anger will be probably the worst match you could have. He is constantly in a bad mood as it is but the mere fact that he is as obsessed with you as he is will be only fuel to his flaring emotions and only increase his emotions to the point where even he feels overwhelmed. On the one hand he hates you and wants to see you suffer for his obsession which you didn't even intend to happen but at the same time he is far too possessive to let you leave, even in death. This is already complicated enough as it is yet your own strength and your abilities only make everything so much more worse than it is already. He has a very dominant personality so he expects you to submit to his control and will even use violence to force you into obedience. He wants to enjoy the fear and the power he holds over you with sadistic glee so your own strange abilities only make everything so much worse. How dare you go against him like this?

😡​He is absolutely ruthless as restraint is something he has never shown and Sekido won't start with it now just because you are his darling. He will fight for the control and your submission and he will willingly use methods such as violence and fear if it brings him his desired result. He won't hold back with his electricity, especially when he realizes that you have abilities that allow you to heal and regenerate as it only triggers him to be even more vicious and violent when he battles against you. The injuries and wounds you sustain whilst fighting him are the worst as he constantly loses himself in his anger and only really stops when you are already half dead, trembling and shaking in anger as he barks at you if you have finally learned not to oppose him and to listen to him instead. You will have to use the Creation Rebirth a lot if you want to speed up recovery and escape from the worst damage and true to the emotion he is meant to represent, Sekido will be furious when he finds out that you shorten your own lifespan and insult your incompetence.

Karaku

🤪​Similar to a scenario with Douma, Karaku will be the one who manges to infuriate you constantly as he never seems to get serious even in rather dire situations. Karaku is the manifestation of pleasure and he seems to take everything as just a game. It is pretty much the same when it comes to the morbid obsession he develops for you. It is something he perceives as new, as exciting, as thrilling and that leads him down a path where you find yourself unable to get some time for yourself as Karaku has to constantly monopolize your time and gauge all of your reactions for the sake of satiating his own curiosity. So in the strangest turn of events he even encourages you to showcase all of your abilities to him to feed his own curiosity and to amuse him even further. Be aware that everything you do will only fuel the obsession he has with you though, especially your angry outbursts manage to only enrapture him more even if you should punch a fist through his stomach.

🤪​Everything you do only fascinates and amuses him even more so you can do whatever you want to try to scare him away but nothing will really work. Truly fascinating is perhaps that Karaku actually has a lower probability of kidnapping you as he actually prefers it much more to just to intrude in your own private life. That is the furthest thing from being safe though as he might kill and eat some of your family or friends if he should feel like it only to amuse himself by watching your reaction to it. The only time he will ever actually take you by force would be if you try to escape the terror with green eyes that constantly torments you. Only then will he feel motivated to abduct you but that comes with the terrible situation where you are forced to spend every waking hour with him all whilst he asks you to show him more of your skills. If you try to switch strategies by ignoring him and avoiding him, you will certainly manage to actually annoy him after a while as he despises if you try to keep anything from him, even your daily activities.

Aizetsu

😔​Aizetsu could be almost bearable, but only almost as he is still a demon who has an obsession with you. Yet it is probably the easiest to deal with him as he is calm and collected and won't attack on sight nor will he show any sadistic tendencies. In a way he almost wants to lament about you to you as he knows that the feelings he has gained for you are troublesome yet at the same cruel time he feels even sadder and depressed when he has to distance himself from you. You truly are the greatest pain and remedy at the same time. He is weirdly poetic and eloquent when he talks to you as he expresses his sorrow over his confusing emotions you make him feel and he even expresses sympathy and pity for you as he seems to be somewhat aware that you probably aren't too happy to have him just abducting you like this. He has to protect his own frail emotions though as he seems to be prone to feel insecure whenever he had to watch you expressing affection to someone else.

😔​Despite his abduction, Aizetsu is never really happy when he has to fight you but that is just how his character works. His overall calmness and his preference to analyze your attacks and only attack from a distance give you at the same time quite a bit of trouble as he slowly learns how he can use your weaknesses against you and just like Akaza he isn't above threatening your own family if it should serve his goal of keeping you under control. He will consciously hold back enough to ensure that you don't have to use your Creation Rebirth though as soon as he obtains the information that you always cut your own lifespan shorter by using this particular technique. It would be an unforgivable and eternal regret in his life after all if he would shorten your already limited lifespan even more. You are only a mortal after all, your time on earth is already so fleeting for a being like him. This very sorrowful and dejecting behavior he presents all the time makes it quite interesting to be around him.

Daki

🌺​Daki is a certified diva so any sign of rebellious attitude from your side will only end in a temper tantrum from her side. Just consider that Daki is used to always getting what she wants ever since her life as a demon has begun because not only is she extremely beautiful but she also has her older brother who actively spoils and enables her bratty and arrogant behavior. Honestly, it wouldn't even be that big of a problem for you to have all those special powers under the circumstances that she would like the most. If you would be obedient and sweet, Daki would actually be quite proud to have a darling as special as you. Despite the fact in her mind she will always be above others, which also includes her own darling, she likes to put you on a higher level than all the other humans precisely because you are her lover. You will never be as beautiful and strong as her but you are still better than all the other humans because she took an interest in you and your abilities would wonderfully feed this belief of hers.

🌺​If you should dare to think that you can use those skills of yours to try to escape from her or even fight her, you will very quickly get to know the not so pretty side of Daki. Not only will her outbursts of rage and anger drain you as she verbally insults you but she will also show little restraint when it comes to fighting you. Her Blood Demon Art might just be very useful though as her obi slashes can restrain your movements and tie you up. If you would be able to break free from those though you will damage her core belief that she is stronger than you because Daki has to feel like she is better in order to be kept in a good mood. If you manage to overpower her, she will end up begging Gyutaro for help who won't be happy that you made his younger sister so unhappy. Daki is simply too entitled to realize that perhaps you want more in your life than being her well-behaved doll who simply lets her do as she wants. How can you be so foolish, even throwing away precious years of your life that should belong to her?

Gyutaro

🟢​Gyutaro may not be as childish as his younger sister is but his darling will have to be quite careful with him no matter in which scenario. You have to be careful how you navigate around his sensitive feelings as Gyutaro is very easily angered or mad with everything. He shares the sentience of needing control over his obsession and once again this can lead to quite the violent fights because Gyutaro is not someone who will go easy on you. He is quite aware of how ugly he looks to many and has a naturally bitter and mean personality and he is especially sensitive about your preception of him as he has never been romantically invested in someone before. Any little sign of disdain or even attempts to break free from him with your strength will instantly sour his mood exponentially as he will instantly draw the conclusion that it is only related to his body and his appearance instead of considering that it may just be the fact that he just abducted you like this.

🟢​Gyutaro's overwhelming bitterness and his prone mindset to interpret every negative reaction as something relating to his ugly looks make him quite violent if he should really get into an actual fight with you. He would be even quite rough if you would be a normal human but knowing that you can heal yourself makes him even less hesitant to break your bones and his poison is especially deadly. You probably think that you are better than him because you have such skills despite being a human and think you deserve someone who looks much more handsome than he ever could, don't you? Such thoughts constantly fill his head and the more talented and/or pretty you are, the harder it will be to get rid of such negative thoughts. As soon as he finds out that you shorten your own life when healing all of your injuries in an instant, he is comforted with the uncomfortable feeling of guilt as well as paranoia as he instantly starts getting the wrong ideas again. Is an early death really more preferable than living with him? Is he that repulsive?

[heartofbusan]

Now that I'm back from my holiday, I'm catching up on MUSE content. Watching Jimin take charge in the practice room during 'Who dance practice behind' really underscored something we've all known for a while. Jimin is extremely dedicated to his craft. All of the tannies are. Yet there is something about seeing Jimin bloom into a true artist, in every sense of the word, that just brings pure joy.

The behind shows that his hand touches all aspects of his presentation. We have my man here commenting on camera angles and blocking for the mv!? So hot. Fine tuning the choreography. Being adorable with kids?!

All of this preparation for an album that Jimin would be releasing during his enlistment. That made me realize once more how loud the clock was, ticking for Jimin. The window of opportunity to grasp his color, his sound, him as an artist, had a deadline. The joy of being in control and being good at it, had an end date.

Dedicating nearly two years of his life to making two albums, mv's, live performances, behind content, promo content and so many little unseen elements like being involved in album design and who knows what else. There was a clear end (or rather a pause) on his time to focus and dedicate himself towards this goal. And he was willing to risk it all to achieve it.

If you knew that on the one hand your relationship with a certain someone would survive anything, that it could withstand a semi-forced separation, or rather, it would have to endure a sacrifice for the good of both your careers, you could only do that if you knew the commitment to be togetherwas strong. That the commitment is equal and that you both gave it plenty of thought. So, to take that risk of seeing less of each other because you knew that, whatever comes, you'd still be 'together' after this period and after the enlistment, wouldn't you take that chance?

It shows great confidence and dedication from the both of them to be willing to take that challenge. Real trust too. Because missing each other when you've been attached at the hip (just the hip?) would feel disorienting. But in turn, you get to dedicate all of your time and energy towards that other important goal. Both of you would.

We've already seen how much Jungkook missed Jimin during this time. It was painful. However, Jimin made good on his promise to make it up to him by spearheading AYS to make sure they got their time together before enlisting. This is why most of us on here have felt a certain way about the change in pace and substance of AYS. Right? It feels like their time together was precious, and we long to have them had that time be meaningful instead of shared? That's going to be my pc view on that subject.

I wonder where during all this the daring decision was made to go for a joint enlistment. Because that was daring. Getting your cake and eating it too, kinda balsy. It's wild that they thought it up, that they passed the qualifications and that they felt it was important enough to not spend any more time apart beyond the time spent working on their solo careers. I feel like it might have been in the books for a while, longer than we think. That it was the promise made to make it all bearable.

Time was ticking for their solo ventures, but it has always been a steady beat when it comes to their relationship. That current that flows underneath it all.

[aroaceleovaldez]

hi

tyson's actor has been announced

thoughts on that? i remember you talking about tyson's down syndrome coding and the way there's a big chance of being portrayed in an ableist way

I already talked about my main thoughts on Tyson's casting [here] but in summary - yeah, no, confidence is not inspired right now. I had mentioned before that if they didn't cast an actor with down syndrome for Tyson I cannot see it going well no matter what, and given how s1 handled disability themes (aka erasing the majority of references to adhd/dyslexia and other disabilities, turning Sally into an autism speaks mom, etc) I doubt they're going to reference Tyson's down syndrome coding at all, which is disappointing on multiple levels.

A.) His entire character and the arcs relating to his character, particularly his relationship with Percy and Percy's character development in SoM are ALL surrounding Tyson having down syndrome and themes of grappling with ableism. SoM is supposed to be where we solidly establish Percy as a character who stands up for other marginalized kids, particularly other disabled kids, and if you remove Tyson's down syndrome then that entire aspect of the story goes up in smoke - which is a problem because disability themes are central and core to the entire series. You can't remove them without ruining the basis of the entire plot, because it's disability metaphors all the way down. If by some miracle they do try to keep his disability coding, the casting right now at all levels point to it turning out horribly - firstly they've cast an abled actor to play a disabled character - not cool! Especially given down syndrome is not usually an invisible disability - like I give leeway to adhd/dyslexic casting because it really doesn't affect anything at all. It'd be nice but ultimately nothing is different really - But something like this is significantly more important. Secondly, because we know from the casting call that they're keeping the "Tyson is 'actually' a little kid" (< actually part of his down syndrome coding - it's an outdated medical concept from the 2000s which is very ableist so already not looking great that they kept that) them casting a nearly 30 year old for a character who is supposed to be in Percy's grade (Percy being 13) just sounds like a horrible set-up for a very ableist portrayal.

B.) Based on how s1 went, recent books in the franchise, and this casting, the more likely route is they're going to erase Tyson's disability coding entirely and likely replace it with Tyson being a "himbo" character. I was talking with the TA server about this and apparently according to some of them Daniel Diemer in The Half Of It very much gave off the vibe that with his Tyson casting they're going to go the "himbo" route. Which would make sense given in like TOA, TSATS, and CoTG it seems like Rick learned what a "himbo" is and has been trying to shoehorn that character archetype into everything. Also in recent books Rick has just completely started erasing or ignoring disability themes, including applying ableist tropes to characters instead (Percy being a goofy lazy idiot who dislikes school, Nico being infantilized, Annabeth's disabilities basically being entirely erased, etc etc). Suffice to say it's not looking good I'm not happy about it! :T

Like, in all, I'm sure Daniel Diemer is a great actor. I'm not accusing him of being ableist or anything. (Now, Disney? maybe.) But I am really disappointed in this casting and there is literally no way Disney can justify it. Like, what, "he's tall and Tyson is supposed to be tall?" Character height has literally never been a factor for any other casting and it absolutely is not relevant at all for Tyson. The majority of casting so far has been blind casting (save for age for the most part) - why is it suddenly so important now for Tyson's height of all things? When there are SIGNIFICANTLY more important aspects of his character to be casting for? So far it seems the only casting they've actually paid attention to disability with is Hephaestus with Timothy Omundson, which is nice, but one out of A Lot is not great given this is the disability series! We really should not be getting this many abled actors playing disabled characters (and DEFINITELY not be getting this much erasure of disabled and disable-coded characters - Grover's muscular disease, lack of references to adhd/dyslexia, erasure of Percy's PTSD, etc. Chiron's disability being brought from coding to explicit is nice, but they couldn't be bothered to actually cast a disabled actor for it too? Honestly I wouldn't even mind some of the abled casting as much if they actually bothered to acknowledge the disability themes at all!). And this is a trend so far because Disney has also completely neglected casting plus-sized actors for plus-sized characters in the series (INCLUDING TYSON). It generally just reeks of Disney being afraid to cast anybody but able-bodied skinny actors as much as possible, or at the very least being completely unwilling to touch upon the disability themes of the series - which is stupid, given it's the entire basis of the series.

tl;dr: I have exactly zero faith in s2.

[myechoecho]

Queen of Tears really just took a sharp nosedive off a very steep cliff these past 3 episodes. I didn't post anything about the last two episodes since there was nothing to say. I've had issues with some aspects of the drama that I could overlook because Hae In and Hyun Woo were top tier stuff. The break down of a marriage of two people who loved one another finding their way back to each other through medical crisis was so good. It didn't even need the Eun Sung or the family business stuff (it would have made a tighter, more coherent drama but I digress). But the last 3 or so episodes I've lost all patience. We've had:

Hae In's miraculous brain surgery which required no shaving of the hair, which I can overlook because it is a drama. Her memory loss too, as again, it's a drama and it's been hinted at since the beginning. I'm not necessarily thrilled with it but it's fine.

There is no way that Eun Sung would have suddenly become her legal guardian just because Hyun Woo left. It makes NO SENSE. Hae In was clearly there with Hyun Woo. They met with her doctors. There would have been forms and documents signed, with appropriate translators for any language barriers. Eun Sung would not have been able to waltz in and say I am her guardian now. I'm fairly confident of this even without knowing German law.

Hae In's family had people in Germany following her for...reasons??? They did nothing to protect her from Eun Sung? They didn't go to her when Hyun Woo was carted off? To be fair I was kinda fast forwarding part so maybe I missed something.

Hyun Woo's arrest, extradition back to South Korea, finding the evidence to break his case, trail, release and then arrest of the real perpetrator all took place within a month. Which seems absurdly fast. Also they found and arrested the hired hit man but not who hired him??

Hae In is following Hyun Woo, taking notes to figure stuff out for herself yet does not think to look herself up on the internet? Pretty sure there would have been articles about her saying Eun Sung threatened her?

I generally forgive the burned notebook finding its way back to her.

Also, Hyun Woo's sister is married? With a kid? Living overseas?? and we find this out in ep 13 or 14? No pictures of her kid anywhere?? No phone call?

Hyun Woon has been hit by car, by Eun Sung because of course that happened. At least he won't get amnesia, right? RIGHT?

What a mess.

I still stand by the core story of Hyun Woo and Hae In being the strongest parts, even within the past 3 episodes.

How much do you want to bet they are not even going to address the miscarriage, which was catalyst for their whole marriage falling apart in the final episode. Despite the 1031 being used for pass codes. I've been wanting that from when we found out and it looks like it won't happen. Who knows if Hae In will even get her memory back.

The preview for the final episode doesn't give me much hope, even if we get a nearly 2 hr final episode like Crash Landing on You.

So much wasted potential in the drama. If only they had focused on Hae In and Hyun Woo, and not 20+ other plots.

[anastacialy]

actually, fuck it, i AM writing the essay, even if no one will read it.

my thoughts on penelope, how she sees herself, and why the carriage scene's ending is the most important thing in the whole wide world under the cut. and bridgerton season three part one spoilers, obviously.

penelope featherington hates herself. bit of a strong start here but, there we go. that's what you get when i'm going feral about her again at three in the morning. (it was eleven a.m. when i finished writing this post. i rewatched all four episodes of season three...)

i'll start from the beginning — she isn't a confident person. i think that's what a lot of penelope hate really comes down to, not relating to her in that way at all. not understanding what being treated the way she has can do to you. so let's start here:

imagine for a moment, no one fucking listens to you.

this includes her favorite people in the world. her family, for one thing, that's obvious, but her best friend, too. many times we hear eloise discover and re-discover what penelope's interests are in the series because, as she says, "i didn't really hear it." she was so frequently not really listening to her. they've been friends for years, but huge aspects of her friend's personality were completely unknown to her. this isn't anti-eloise by the way, i love her too, but we're adults who can admit our favs are all flawed people. the show wouldn't be nearly as fun if they weren't. eloise continues to belittle others for their interests when they don't match up to hers (like that poor girl who was just really passionate about embroidery) and she's done so to pen, however unknowingly, for ages.

penelope tried to beg marina to not fool colin into marriage. she had so, so many other suitors, so many other choices she could have made. all pen wanted was to not have her other best friend slash crush make that life altering of a mistake. but for this, she was called a child. immature. talked down to as if she knows nothing about the world. (she had been mostly right, by the way, in her insisting that george must still love marina, would still want to marry her, discovering that the letter had been forged. if he'd not died on the battlefield, penelope would have been the one to secure a happy ending for marina.) when she wasn't listened to then, she got more desperate, telling colin that marina was in love with someone else to deter him from the marriage while still careful to not ruin marina's reputation and expose her pregnancy in the process. she tried. but no one would listen.

so only when the situation became dire, she did the only thing that she could, and took matters into her own hands.

which brings us to lady whistledown.

it's interesting, really, that she chose that name. to specify lady so she might be taken seriously, yet not hide under a pseudonym completely removed from herself (i.e. using a masculine pen name or implying she's not a part of the ton at all) it's clear that lady whistledown is, for the most part, what penelope wants to and yet fails to be: someone who commands attention, who people admire and trust for an opinion, someone who gets listened to.

by the time we find her in season three, she's fresh off hearing her crush saying he'd never, ever court her, and her best friend finding out that she was lady whistledown all along and had exposed a secret of hers — only after penelope had, of course, also begged eloise to stop seeing theo, to stop raising the queen's suspicions, and was once again ignored. her only friendships have been destroyed, and she has resigned herself to a loveless marriage of convenience because she can't stand to be ignored, controlled, and belittled by her family any longer. she's ready to take the devil she doesn't know over the devil she does.

so, when i say her self confidence is on the floor, i mean it.

yes, a sliver of hope remains in her, and we can see that in her decisions (wearing parisian fashions, for instance) but her plan remains, she is simply going to marry someone, anyone, because she has to.

but even still, her confidence has not taken it's last hit.

let's imagine some more: no matter what you do, people are going to laugh at you.

penelope finally, finally gets her big moment. people stare at her as she enters the room. she still immediately hides herself in a corner because that's who she's always been, but still. she has a moment. not quite what she'd imagined, i'm sure, as she bought all new gowns, but attention and awe nonetheless. but it cracks almost instantly when her social awkwardness comes out, failing to get anyone to ask her to dance, and shatters completely when cressida destroys her dress before she can ever take to the floor.

colin tells her she looks nice, and her immediate reaction is "do not mock me, please."

it's only after this that she confronts colin about what he said, only after this that she speaks ill of him as lady whisteldown — not saying any more than what his sister had already pointed out earlier in the episode, mind you, that his change in personality seemed disingenuous — only after she has been publicly humiliated that she lashes out in her anger.

and, this anger, she also immediately regrets after colin has proven himself to be kind. it's a bit like making a snide comment online without the ability to delete it after.

but when penelope has hope, she is kind. she writes of the promising ladies of the ton and wishes them well with their matches, when she has hope she speaks positively of would-be spinsters and their successful marriages. many of her earlier musings in previous seasons were to call the women of the ton beautiful, to speak to their skills.

but hope for penelope does not last long. she manages to successfully speak to one suitor at the next ball (which, though this is another argument entirely, is backed by a string quartet version of "jealous" as colin re-approaches her at the drinks table — any arguments that his feelings start at their kiss isn't paying near enough attention) but the entirely true rumor about her having help from him spreads through the vine and penelope is hopeless once more.

and a hopeless penelope is a cruel penelope, as we've seen, and this time, she turns that cruelty inward, publicly. while she later says it would have been suspicious if lady whistledown hadn't commented, in truth, she has proven time and time again that her emotions rule lady whistledown's writings. in that moment, eyes tearful, she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she decided to say so. she repeats the same sentiment to colin when he comes to visit her:

"in truth i brought this on myself. a sad, stupid girl who believed she might actually have a chance at love."

and here is where lady whistledown continues to be someone penelope sees as different to herself, because penelope doesn't see herself as a lady. not just for lack of title — she does not see herself as worthy of or requiring protection. to call back to antony's season one romance: "every woman is not afforded such gallant protection." "every woman is not a lady."

she says nothing of him bribing her maid to give them time alone. like most of the ton she doesn't think the time they spend alone together could be anything other than platonic, at least on his end. they spent extended time unchaperoned at the bridgerton house and not once did she speak on impropriety. he'd been alone with her in the previous season and even when they were caught no one had a thing to say about it. no one questions it because penelope is not recognized as desirable, not seen as needing this protection, not seen as a lady. she is seen, even by herself, as a spinster already.

when she asks colin for a kiss, she reassures him that she would ask nothing of him for it, she would not entrap him in a marriage citing impropriety, she doesn't even think about whether someone might see. she does not care in this moment if she is to be "ruined," she only wants to feel some illusion of intimacy, some imitation of being wanted. even her running back inside immediately after, and the subsequent conversation under the willow tree, are further proof that she doesn't believe he could have kissed her for any reason other than pity.

and, even after all she goes through with lord debling, she is still not the only object of his affections. the entire time she pursues him, cressida is there, hot on the trail, ready to sweep him away on a moment's notice. penelope writes of their dance that his choice of her is surprising. though her feelings for colin have not simply fluttered away once debling's shown interest, her possible engagement to debling is on a wavering tightrope. not once in this can she feel wholly at ease with lord debling, only afforded a bit of security once he asks her mother for her blessing. and amongst this, her mother still belittles her, saying she should not become greedy for wanting to marry someone who actually cares for her.

she asks lord debling if he might ever love her, in all the years of marriage they may have ahead, and he says probably not.

and when colin breaks up her proposal, insisting debling isn't right for her, still penelope does not even consider, can not even conceptualize that it might be done out of jealousy. colin having feelings for her is laughable, she says as much, and it is the same thing she has been told over and over since the start. he chases after her carriage out of breath asks to be let in, gets on his knees and tells her he can't stop dreaming of her and she tells him "please. do not say things you do not mean." she cannot imagine that any of this is real. it is confusion that prompts her to repeat the agreement they had in episode one, "but, colin, we are friends."

and while an entirely separate essay could be written about the rest of the carriage scene, it is what happens the moment the carriage arrives at bridgerton house that stands out to me. they have this moment, colin asks "could the carriage driver not keep on driving?" and they both laugh, the way they always do with one another, and he fixes her dress (carefully, avoiding using a select few fingers as he does so) and they kiss again, and he gets out of the carriage.

and for a single, heartbreaking second, penelope's face falls, and she calls after him: "colin?"

it is so clear in her demeanor that she thought that was it; that's all she gets. the fantasy is over and it is back to reality. for a split second, she believes he is no longer hers.

for a single second, it's as though she thinks he is going to shut the carriage door on her, and walk away.

but he turns around, hand outstretched, asking if she'd like to come in. and she's once again confused, "what?"

do not say things you do not mean. do not mock me please.

and when he says: "for god's sake, penelope featherington, are you going to marry me or not?"

she looks so relived she could cry.

[hyperactively-me]

Hi 💜💜💜I was wondering if you can write a ghost x reader who one day just gets a drastic hair cut. Like they always just had long hair ina ponytail but they just randomly decide to get shoulder langth hair and bangs. Like how do u think he would react?

I did that today and I feel so out of my comfort zone but I'm also so happy I finally made a change

U can ignore me if u want 😅

(I also really love black tie affair ur amazing 😍)

first of all, i bet your hair looks amazing! second of all, thank you for complimenting black tie affair, i truly appreciate it. i really really hope you like this 🫡

Simon "Ghost" Riley was a quiet man whose actions shouted volumes. Above all, action is what catches people's attention. And for Ghost, well, action is the way he communicates best.

He had always liked your long hair, frequently admiring it for its beauty. It became a trademark feature of your look, generally pulled back in a tight ponytail that matched your lifestyle. It was pretty much the only hairstyle you wore around the base, becoming your trademark look. However, one defining day, you decided to get a dramatic haircut. You wanted some change in your life, a fun, harmless way of bringing about a breath of fresh air. After you settled on what new style you wanted, your hair was now shoulder length, with stylish bangs framing your face.

When you entered the room, the team members turned their heads in astonishment, their eyes widening at your transformed appearance. Ghost, known for his constantly veiled face, couldn't help but leave a momentary expression of amazement before composing himself. His penetrating eyes inspected every aspect of your new haircut. 

For a brief minute, the room was deafeningly still, and then Ghost's lips curved into a smile. He couldn't disguise the admiration in his eyes as he looked at you. His typical stoicism dissipated, replaced with a feeling of warmth.

He was so used to seeing you with your long hair pulled back that he never considered the notion that you had the chance to make such a drastic change. The idea that you could change your appearance in this manner had simply never crossed his mind. Personally, he never really cared for his hair, often having “mask hair,” as his teammates liked to call it. But seeing you with your hair like this, he has to admit, he's thrilled by it.

He finally spoke. "You look different," he said, his voice a blend of surprise and genuinity. He studies the way your hair falls about your face, eyes flitting to and fro. “I love it. It suits you.”

His remark made you feel relieved. You were concerned that the new haircut would not be properly welcomed by your teammates, but Ghost's reply, however slight, soothed you. His approval meant the world to you.

“Thank you,” you said, your lips pulled in a modest grin. “I thought it was time for a change. Something new, y'know?”

Ghost stepped closer, his presence both welcoming and reassuring. He extended a gloved hand, his fingertips brushing against the ends of your new hair. 

You still, mouth agape as he unabashedly takes in your appearance.

“It's refreshing,” he stated, nearly whispering. “Like you.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you couldn't help but feel a burst of confidence. Ghost's infrequent displays of vulnerability had that impact on you. Something about his usual quiet behavior made his comments carry more significance, amplifying even the tiniest praises. 

Ghost continued stealing looks in your direction as the mission briefing began, a little grin tugging at his lips. He just couldn't stop appreciating the way you looked. Every time you took a quick glance at him, he appeared enthralled by your new appearance, admiring it in a manner that only he could. You smile to yourself, knowing that he's really, truly, appreciating you.

Though Ghost's emotions were normally veiled in mystery, his reaction to your haircut demonstrated that he paid attention to every little detail. And you knew his appreciation extended beyond your physical appearance. It was a deeper connection, a subconscious understanding that existed between the two of you.

Ghost's silent support remained consistent throughout the assignment, as did his faith in your skills. You couldn't help but be thankful for his subtle but significant presence in your life. And while you stood side by side, you couldn't help but think that change wasn't always about haircuts, but also about the unforeseen ways it altered the ties we had with those we cared about the most. Especially the way you and Ghost knew each other.

[emanation-aura]

Nahida currently has (one) secret agent. Wanderer, the unknown entity, who has the insanely cool ability of being able to fly and speed around, making him an intimidating aerial combatant. Apart from his combat capabilities, Wanderer is also a totally unknown entity thanks to his trauma-induced spree into erasing himself from the Irminsul and thus can go anywhere on the pretense of being someone else.

But. There are two types of secret missions Nahida wants done. One is the "please fight the Abyss Order and make their Heralds give up information" type of "die die DIE" mission. These are the type of missions Wanderer excels at.

The other is the "wine-dine-steal-something-of-mine" types. As the Wanderer, he should theoretically be excellent at this, but factoring in temperament, it is nearly impossible to make Wanderer play nice enough to seduce/socialise/steal anything.

So... who else could Nahida hire to cover the diplomatic infiltration missions? Someone who is not actively hostile to humanity (which is a very low bar, admittedly), who can travel freely in their spare time because they don't have anything better to do, who has high enough Clearance™️ to access all the diplomatic and social places Archons would want to know about...

The first answer is the Traveler. The second answer is Alhaitham.

"Ok, look, this is utter insanity," the Wanderer says, pointing at the (no longer?) Acting Grand Sage like he's an attraction at the zoo. "I'm supposed to be sharing a job with this guy?"

"This guy has a name," Lesser Lord Kusanali smiles benevolently. "It's Alhaitham, although call him by his preferred codename on missions."

"Vulture," Alhaitham drawls unenthusiastically. Lesser Lord Kusanali grins; he may sound unenthusiastic, but his Dendro Vision thrums in her presence and aligns with her aspects: knowledge, sagacity, puzzles, analysis, praxis. (Ok, maybe it also has to do with the pay rise she's giving him.) "Who is this...?"

"Just call me the Wanderer," the Wanderer says, the same time the Lesser Lord cheerfully chirps "Hat Guy."

"Wanderer is no good," Alhaitham points out quite reasonably, "it's a job, not a title. Same with Hat Guy. How am I supposed to tell you apart from everyone else who wears hats? Pick something else."

"Justify the existence of the Traveler," the Wanderer sneers.

Lesser Lord Kusanali silently points to a corner of the office with two chairs labelled "time-out corner". Both men fall silent.

"Both of you begin tomorrow," she speaks quickly, confident both can keep up. "I will keep a running list of things I need done, hm... here." She points at the holographic display on the wall, which currently lists "purchase the mythical 'Sea Ganoderma' from Inazuma" and "arrange meetings with other Archons to discuss jurisdictional issues". (Alhaitham thinks she is trying to sound too much like an administrative, executive leader— when she is a god, who has people to do this for her— ah, fuck, this person being him, of course.)

"Hat Guy, all combat missions are yours, and if we need to use... ahem, your special identity, then I will mark it down. Alhaitham, all diplomatic missions are yours, except when marked otherwise." Lesser Lord Kusanali puts her hands to her hips and smiles. "Any questions?"

"Hat Guy..." Alhaitham says, and oh shit, she is the Lord of Wisdom and can Hear His Brain Whirring, "the hat is distinguishable, at least. That's an Inazuma kasa hat worn by vagrants, and you have a strange accent. お前は本当に態度が悪いな, Ублюдок."*

She materialises a bar of soap in Wanderer's mouth before he can respond, but his rage is palpable, and it is clear he understood what Alhaitham said. Frankly, she is too interested to intervene, wanting to see what Alhaitham deduces about Wanderer's identity.

"Likely Inazuman by origin, given his hat and accent inflection, while also understanding Snezhnayan. Very rare combination, isn't it?" Alhaitham doesn't smile, exactly, at the squirming Wanderer, but he is gloating in his own way. "The Fatui Harbingers are missing an Inazuman for their roster, actually, and we know they like recruiting a couple from each region (under his breath, confirmed placements are Fair Lady to Mondstadt, Regrator to Liyue, Doctor to Sumeru, the Marionette to Fontaine, the Captain to Natlan, with the rest unknown or native to Snezhnaya). And it is said that they've been missing a Sixth for a couple centuries, have they not?"

"So, in conclusion, this... Hat Guy is the former Sixth Harbinger that either was fired, escaped, or rebelled. You've defected to the side of the Archons by joining Lesser Lord Kusanali."

It is indeed Haravatat that sniffs him out, Nahida thinks with amazement. She removes the bar of soap from Wanderer's mouth, which causes him to unleash a litany of curses in all four languages he knows (Common, Sumerian, Inazuman, Snezhnayan, with some Seirai Dialect thrown in for fun). Perhaps out of respect for her, though, he does not attempt to immediately throttle Alhaitham. Nahida takes it as a win.

"Well, this has been a productive first meeting for you two! I look forward to working with you guys in the future."

Lesser Lord Kusanali smiles benevolently. And the rest, while not history, will eventually sort itself out.

*Japanese: roughly "You have an attitude problem", and Russian: "you little bitch". I do not speak these languages, so native speakers feel free to interject.

[Fatui Harbinger nation-of-origin ideas are not to be taken as canon]