#and at multiple points while reading I was like wow I would love to try this in class as part of Contributing To The Science

[cluescorner]

I cannot imagine being a Damian stan right now. You've got both Zdarsky's bullshit (where he clearly doesn't give a shit about your boy) and The Boy Wonder (where Juni Ba clearly gives so many shits about your boy) coming out on the same day. The whiplash must be insane. I hope y'all get some nice warm soup for your efforts jfc

[gaydryad]

accidentally getting a little too into my pedagogy class and starting to wonder if I should pivot and go into education (academic field)

[thatnarcissisticfeel]

I think that a lot of people without NPD have a really poor understanding of "narc supply" or the specific type of positive attention that pwNPD crave. Even the egotypicals who are allies, the ones denounce narc abuse and anti-NPD ableism, don't fully grasp it.

There's this false idea that NPDs like to be worshipped and showered with compliments all of the time, and I mean, yeah, most of us would eat that shit up, but I know that for myself and a lot of other pwNPD it's deeper and much more, I guess, personal?

I don't really know how to describe it, so I'll give an example: As a kid, no one really paid attention to my creative endeavors, my accomplishments, my feelings, etc. And if they DID pay attention, the attention was negative. I could always do better, I could always be smarter, stronger, etc. This came from peers and adults alike. So I developed a coping mechanism where I would tell myself that everyone else was wrong, that I'm actually the best person around, etc. I don't have to explain what disorder I ended up with as an adult as a result of all of that. :P

But anyway - the wound of constantly being ignored at best and insulted at worst is still there. You know how when you're in a group chat or a conversation with multiple people and no one ever pays attention to your comments, while paying attention to everyone else? Yeah, that shit hurts EVERYONE, but especially pwNPD. Even the smallest acknowledgment can be "narc supply."

You know how when you achieve something really cool and everyone ignores you - but the people who ignore you will be quick to praise OTHER people?

You know how when you post art/edits online and everyone ignores you - but the people who ignore you compliment someone else's post in the exact same thread?

You know how when you ask your friend to read your favorite book or listen to your favorite artist or whatever because of how much it means to you, and they never do it, but then they read/listen to everyone else's favorite thing at everyone else's recommendation, and how much it pisses you off? (Hurts even more if you have the SAME favorite book/artist and someone reads/listens to it at the other person's recommendation and not at yours.)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I could go on and on. That shit would bother anyone, us narcissists aren't alone in being hurt by that, but my G-d, it impacts pwNPD in such a specific way.

But let me flip it around to the positive!

A narcissist doesn't necessarily get their "supply" from someone telling them that they're the coolest person in the world and that they're a god. (Though if you do want to say that to us we probably won't complain!) Sometimes they get their "supply" from something as simple as someone acknowledging their achievements, and giving specific praise on what the achievement was. ("It's so cool that you won a prize in the music recital. The song you played sounds like it was really difficult and I loved your stage presence.")

Being told, "Wow, you did such a great job on your artwork, I love the colors!" goes a very very long way for a narc, especially when said narc is used to being IGNORED for their art.

Hearing, "it's so cool that you like that book, I'll have to read it and tell you my thoughts!" can help a narcissist's interests feel acknowledged.

You might be reading this and thinking, "well, isn't it just basic human interaction to compliment your friends or try out their interests"? And, well, maybe it is, but the whole point of NPD is that most of us grew up without receiving that type of attention, so now we're very very desperate for it - and very, very, VERY sensitive to when it doesn't happen, or is even perceived to not have happened. Something as small as being talked over in a group chat can set us off, but something as small as a simple, "hey, it's so cool that you did this, I love it." can win us over.

And to be completely fair, most of the time us being "ignored" isn't completely intentional. Like, I get it, yeah, sometimes timing just doesn't work out for person A to read my favorite book at my own rec, but by the time person B is in their life, person A can read it, and it's not anything personal. Sometimes the content I make just isn't someone's ~style~ and they support me, they really do, they just don't know what to say. Sometimes someone forgets to respond, or doesn't get a notification when I send them something I made or tell them about something I did. (There is less excuse for being ignored in face-to-face/offline convos though.) But because of the trauma of us constantly being ignored as kids/teens, the smallest little thing hurts and as a result we seek and crave attention EVERYWHERE.

So now, to give in to narc stereotypes of begging for attention: If you're a person without NPD and you genuinely want to help the narcissists you have in your life, the second best thing you can do for us is checking in to make sure we're not overlooked. Try to be sure you're not ignoring us, and if we do something cool, try to compliment it, even if it's something you don't fully "understand." Ask us about what we've been up to lately, what we're proud of about ourselves, and agree with us that what we've done is pretty cool. I mean, you'd do that for any friend, right? It's really not all outlandish for a narc to want that.

(If you're curious what the FIRST best thing you can do for a narcissist is, it's giving us a million dollars unlearning your anti-NPD ableism and calling people out who use narcissist as an insult as a synonym for abuser. Even in "offline" spaces, even when we're not around, even doctors/therapists. Even "narc" abuse survivors.)

[kaesaaurelia]

soooo I just finished watching that star wars hotel video and oh my god the fire safety what the fuckkkk

BUT ALSO if you are some kind of weirdo who watched this (or the evermore video) and was like "man I wish that thing existed but was good," I... can't help you specifically with Star Wars (or generic high fantasy settings) but if you are an adult or a family with teens (who are okay with some mild references to sexuality in a coming-of-age context -- which honestly would go over the heads of most kids too young to deal with them?), don't have issues with darkness, flashing lights, or potential immune issues due to touching touchscreens, and enjoy a little light cosmic and/or implied body horror I highly highly suggest going to Omega Mart next time you are in Las Vegas. It is surreal and fun and while I definitely ran into some issues there with 1. going down the story path I didn't mean to go down and 2. LOSING MY EMPLOYEE ID CARD (to be clear I did not work there, in the fiction of the game all guests are Omega Mart employees), there were helpful (actual) employees there to jump in and help me without breaking immersion at all. They were great.

There are some pathways (physical pathways) that require an ability to climb stairs but there are ALWAYS multiple paths between two points so while you might not be able to crawl through the tunnel and then climb the rope from [spoiler place] to [other spoiler place] or do the slides, you can still physically get to the plot-important places and I think at most people who can't do stairs miss... some kind of pointless music machines? (Which I had fun with ngl but I fucked around with them for like 10 minutes more because I was in the area looking for my lost ID badge and asking if people had found it.) I haven't been to the other Meow Wolf installations but I would love to go given the chance.

And if you really want a themed hotel... well, you can't find an eldritch dimension-hopping supermarket-themed hotel, no, but if you stay on the strip there's going to be a lot of neon and trying to sell you things, and also optionally a theme, so like. That's not dissimilar.

Fire safety both at these Vegas hotels and at Omega Mart will be better than crawling into a small closet with 4 of your closest friends and hoping to not die, also. And a substantial amount of the story of Omega Mart is "wow corporate greed does ruin everything," so if you liked the video you probably will also like this.

[Edit: also to be clear I don't really think Omega Mart is small-child-friendly, but mostly because it's a lot of reading, and the bulk of it is either corporate memos or a teenage girl's diaries. A lot of the stuff I found most engaging was exploring the strained intergenerational family dynamic between the girl, her mom, and her grandfather, something that small children would find either boring or upsetting or both. It's not the sexuality that's the issue, it's some offscreen implied character death-but-not-really (that not-really doesn't make it better!) and just plain bad parenting, plus the broader theme of a greedy grocery chain turning ancient mystery and natural wonder into queasy reality-breaking horror.]

[minkkumaz]

OUR WICKED LOVE

your history with love was a little evil, causing you to aid to your own broken heart. when you finally stray away from the dating scenes, popular boy myung jaehyun asks you out. however, you don't know if he's being truly sincere.

PAIRING myung jaehyun x fem!reader WC 3.1k TAGS fluff. angst. popular boy jaehyun. he needs better friends. reader has fear of heights. misunderstandings. OMI NOTE inspired by queen yena but i might've put shame on her name cuz idk if i like this or not. too tired to proofread, and too tired to care.

love had always been extremely evil. a forbidden force that always ended with you, a broken heart, and multiple wet tissues crumpled up in the trash. you weren’t perfect, but every boy you’ve ever loved taught you a valuable lesson. don’t let the next one fuck you over.

and while your list of lovers wasn’t long, you’d never let it define you; considering many in your grade were already stupid enough to waste their firsts. each boy that seemed to be the one that would sweep you off your feet, left you disappointed and still painfully single.

the never - ending yearning to feel something was simply ignored however, as you decided not to try as hard for your senior year. there wasn’t much of a point on wasting it away on someone you couldn’t guarantee the rest of your life with.

despite this, he made your heart skip a beat, maybe two. it was only last year that he had transferred, and many girls couldn’t keep their gazes off of him.

myung jaehyun, the captain of the sports team, was what could only be described as pretty boy eye candy. talented in multiple departments, and had crazy amounts of energy. most of it sounded too good to be true, but you still admired him a lot. 

envisioning someone like him with somebody like you was a difficult task though. he wasn’t normally in the dating scene, so you gave up on the romantic idea.

school rolled around after a long summer. the trees bloomed fragrant flowers that sometimes fell onto the pavement, only to get ran over by passerbys. mornings like these you always got to school a little earlier than usual. first days always excited you.

when you finally arrived at the familiar building, there were big banners and booths for incoming freshman, making you smile. just a little years back you walked into the gates completely clueless. however now was not a time to reminisce, as you were too distracted to see where you were going.

you tripped over your feet, colliding with the person in front of you in the process. hands quickly flew to your side to stablize you so you wouldn’t fall. as you were back up, you quickly bowed and apologized, earning a chuckle from the victim you accidentally fell on.

“it’s okay, be more careful next time, alright?” he spoke in a voice that you remember distinctly, making you shoot your head up to be met with him.

“ah– myung jaehyun! i’m so sorry.” you felt embarrassed before he pat you on the back. “don’t worry about it. you’re y/n, right?” jaehyun questioned, squinting to analyze you a bit more. the sudden attention made you even more nervous than you already were.

“yes, i’m y/n. how did you– how did you know that exactly?” he read the confused expression on your face before cracking a smile.

“you dated that popular senior last year, didn’t you?”

“wow so everyone remembers me from that? he wasn’t my smartest decision.” you laughed, feeling anxiety bubble up in your stomach.

“maybe not, you dropped on the grade list after you guys went public. i only know that because my friend was dying to beat you all year.” he put his hands into his pocket, looking around to see if he could spot his friend.

“i’ll make my comeback this year, now that i’m in books and not his bedroom watching him play valorant.” you scoffed, feeling slightly more competitive.

“i’m sure my friend will be very happy to hear that then.” he joked a bit, “well um, i guess i’ll see you around, y/n.”

you nodded him off, waving a small goodbye before watching him go towards a sports booth. the interaction left you very confused and a little sheepish. your first interaction with the cute boy and you were falling into him. 

the best thing to do was ignore it for now, and maybe avoid him for the rest of your life to prevent yourself from humiliation. putting your best foot forward (not the one you tripped over), you walked into the school to find your home room.

it wasn’t difficult, considering you knew the school like the back of your hand at that point. there were a few people that littered the desks, wearing identical uniforms as you did. you sat yourself down at an empty seat, fixing your skirt appropriately.

the atmosphere was quiet despite the loudness from outside, it was still quite early so the first bell wouldn’t ring for another hour. to busy yourself, you pulled a book from your backpack. the hardcover made a quiet noise as you placed it on the desk softly, flipping through the worn pages.

you were immersed in the story at hand, barely noticing how quickly time flew by and how crowded the classroom became. quiet laughter and desks moving around became background noise as your eyes scanned the pages. you wished you had taken note of where all this noise came from, before there was a tap on your shoulder.

“hey, y/n, can i ask you something?” it was jaehyun. he never spoke to you until this morning, and suddenly he was coming back for more? his friends laughed behind him in the background, trying to shut eachother up.

“of course.. what’s up?” you asked suspiciously.

“i was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out sometime? i know we met kind of rocky but you seem pretty cool.” he rolled back and forth on his heels, awaiting a response of some sort.

“oh– um, you want to go out? when were you thinking?” you asked shyly.

“next weekend? the fair is in town and i think it would be fun to take you and get to know you. if you’re down, you know. it’s sudden but a bunch of people from school are going so we could spend the day together.” 

any form of words felt like they were suddenly stripped from your throat. you mind told you it was a bad idea, and that it was way too soon. but your heart was telling you yes. 

“that sounds nice jaehyun. i’d love to go with you.” you smiled fondly in which he mirrored, handing out his phone for you to input your number. after punching it in, he walked back to the group of his friends to show them your name in his contact lists.

when the school day passed by, you got a moment to properly reflect on what had happened. the myung jaehyun thought your one minute interaction was interesting enough to willingly hang out with you. the same jaehyun that had girls dropping like flies and shoving miscellaneous gifts and letters in his face. 

it felt like a prank, some twisted shit that only immature school boys would pull to mess with poor hearts. yet that wasn’t the reputation that jaehyun put out, so you didn’t give it another thought.

the two weeks came and went, but in between it felt like forever. counting down the days that you get to officially hang out with him. but in this time you got to know him more, so in the end, the wait didn’t even matter.

sometimes during class he’d pull his desk by yours and talk to you forever until the bell rang and he had to scurry back. he’d shoot you glances or funny faces everytime the teacher had their back turned, making you bite your lip to hold back a laugh.

jaehyun made sure to take care of you too, despite not knowing you for long. he had some sort of motherly instinct, asking if you had eaten or if you’ve been sleeping instead of studying all night. and afterwards, he’d use the excuse that he didn’t want you to die from starvation or lack of rest before he had the chance to hang out with you.

moments like those made you blush, swallowing back any doubt that he wasn’t sincere in wanting to be around you. his friends definitely made an impression that they thought you were lame, but he was different.

through all of this you started to like him, picking up on the small things that happened. how he would laugh too hard he had to grip onto your hand to keep himself from falling over; in which he’d forget to let go. or when he gave you big hugs whenever you helped him understand a stupid grammar question.

maybe you liked him a lot, just after you swore off relationships the school year. after all, your heart moved quicker than your brain.

these thoughts buried your head as you got ready to leave your house, using your phone camera to make any further adjustments to your appearance. you wore pretty jewelery that complimented the outfit you were wearing. overall, you felt confident that this night would go good. it was almost impossible for him to awkward.

it didn’t take long for a text notification to pop up on your screen, jaehyun telling you he was outside. after one final look you tied your shoes and left to his car parked in front of your house. your proximity grew closer and he waved at you from an open window.

“hey, y/n! you look good.” he unlocked the doors, allowing you in.

“thank you.. you look good too!” you complimented back trying to seem casual.

“i’m flattered, but that’s all you. i hope you’re excited.” he brushed it off, starting down the road.

“haha yeah um– i’ve never really been to a fair before so this is my first time.”

“oh shit really? we have to go on the ferris wheel the view is really nice from up there!” he suggests.

“ferris wheel? is now a good time to tell you that i’m deathly afraid of heights? last time i went on one i almost passed out!” the mere thought made you shiver.

“come on, what if i hold your hand or something? i won’t let you fall off i promise.” his offer made you blush.

“maybe i’ll think about it.” you mutter while sinking down into your seat. 

the two of you maintained a steady conversation on the short car to the fair. fun lights crowded your vision the closer you got, blurring together to create one big mush of colors in the night. people walked around with popcorn, cotton candy, and numerous prizes. 

the scents filled your nose as you got out of the car. jaeyhun walked alongside you, pointing out all of the best rides.

“only crazy people go on that ride, it’s totally insane! looks sketchy too.” he shook his head, “the more tame ones are the few roller coasters, gravity ride, and of course, the ferris wheel.”

“i still don’t know if i wanna go on that one! i promise i’ll try everything else.”

“once you get up there and see the skyline, it’ll be beautiful. trust me.” 

“okay okay i’ll go, only if you’re right next to me.” you sigh.

“good! let’s go meet up with my friends first and see what their plan is, and we can go.” he leads you through the crowd, searching around for his group. it was difficult in such a busy environment, but he called out their names loudly once he spotted them.  they waved the two of you over as you followed behind.

“jaehyun! hey!” his friends called him over.

“whats up guys? me and y/n just got here, we weren’t around for long.” jaehyun grinned, fixing his hair from the slight wind.

“y/n?”

you poked out from behind jaehyun and waved. the relationship between you and his friends wasn’t great yet, they didn’t seem to like you at all.

“jaehyun can we talk to you in private for a second? just us dudes you know..” one of them spoke quieter into his ear. “yeah, uh.. y/n you wait here, we’ll be back.” jaehyun knew what they were going to ask him, and he dreaded it.

once the group was out of your vision, one of them spoke up sounding agitated.

“dude when are you break her heart? the dare wasn’t supposed to go this far.”

“i know i’m– i’m going to do it i promise.” jaehyun muttered.

“you better. just ditch her on the ferris wheel or something so we can go hang out without her dragging onto you.”

“i can’t leave her on the ferris wheel, that’s fucked. she’s afraid of heights.” jaehyun tried to argue.

“that’s not our problem. she’s lame and we didn’t even want her around in the first place. it was supposed to be a joke.”

“exactly, just leave her.”

not every popular student could be exactly whole - hearted, and because of this jaehyun wasn’t sure he was with the right crowd. their words stung his heart, knowing he’d have to get rid of you eventually. he was too deep into this stupid friend group that he didn’t want to risk leaving it all.

initially, it was an innocent conversation of who would do the worst dare. but then you became an unknowing victim of their game. get the girls number, make her like you, then shatter her idea of love. it sounded less dramatic at first, but he was too deep into it once he finished the first two steps.

jaehyun didn’t want to hurt anybody, at first he thought that since he barely knew you, it’d be okay right? 

wrong.

the more time he spent with you, the more he started to genuinely like you. he suppressed the idea of hurting you until it was too late. now he was running back to you with a huge smile on his face. underlying something much more disappointed.

“hey, sorry about that! let’s go on the ferris wheel, yeah?” jaehyun turned your body around swiftly, and leaded you with his hands on your shoulders. the line wasn’t very long, so surely it wouldn’t be awhile until you got up. 

“i can do this, i can do this.” you attempted to hype yourself up as you neared closer to the front.

“it will be fine trust me! i’m just gonna throw away my trash real quick and i’ll run back in line, okay?” he was lying.

“hurry please! theres only a few people left and they’re not letting anyone leave the line.”

“i will!” he crouched under the chain holding together the lines and ran to his group of friends, taking a look back to make sure you weren’t paying attention to him.

jaehyun’s stomach tightened as he watched you enter by yourself, calling out his name frantically. his friends pat his back, laughing at your reaction.

“jaehyun!” your breath quickens as the operator closes the middle bar. “please sir, let me off my friend was supposed to go on with me!” 

“sorry kid, we have to keep everything running.” 

the wheel started going and you panicked, anxiety beginning to run through your veins. you kept calling out for jaehyun, but there was no point. you scooted yourself as far into the back of the seat and blinked back the hot stream of tears running down your face. 

through your hazy vision you barely saw him in the crowd before you got too far up. he was with all of his friends as they watched you freak out in mid air.

feeling betrayed was an understatement. but you couldn’t focus on your anger when you were going to have a panic attack. the higher you got, the heavier you breathed. your hands felt sweaty as you gripped onto the bar that held you in.

maybe the skyline was as beautiful as he said it was, your eyes were wired closed, unable to tell.

you drowned out any other noise, focusing on the creaking of the metal bars as you circled around. once voices became a little more clear, and your feet hit the ground, you opened your eyes and watched the operator lift up your bar and let you out.

your legs felt shaky as you stepped to the side, settling yourself on a bench. jaehyun came running towards you, seeing your tear stained face and balled fists.

“y/n! holy shit i– i’m so sorry i didn’t want to–”

“what the fuck is this, jaehyun? you force me to face my biggest fear just to ditch me for your friends?” you choked out, wiping your face with your sleeve.

“it was a dare, y/n.” “what?”

“i was dared to ask you out.” he admit, staring at the floor.

“so this was just one sick joke? you talked to me for two weeks straight then planned to blow me off the first time we hung out?” your face burned up.

“at first it was but–”

“i should’ve known better. i’m never falling in love ever again.” you cursed, getting up to leave him before he grabs your wrist and yanks you towards him.

“wait y/n!”

“what the hell?!” you yell trying to break away from him, “this isn’t funny jaehyun let me go–”

you couldn’t even process what was happening before his lips were on yours. the kiss enveloped you with a warmth much greater than the one burning in your heart. in that moment you felt your stomach dropping, yet feeling too guilty to indulge in it.

when he pulls away, you stare at him with shock and fresh tears welling in your eyes.

“why would you do that jaehyun.. you already hurt me.” you cry, attempting to get away from him while he held you still.

“because i don’t care about the stupid dare anymore. through all of that bullshit i started to like you a little more than i thought i would. so please, don’t run away.” he confessed, “you can hate me all you want, y/n. i deserve it. just know that there was a point where i stopped pretending.”

“what about your friends i thought–”

“i don’t care about my friends at this point, y/n. they weren’t good influences on me anyways. introduce me to your friends for all i care, i want something real. something like you.”

“you’re not just saying that, right?” you hesitated before he kissed you again, this time you kissed him back.

“do you believe me now?”

“maybe a little bit, but you still hurt my feelings jaehyun!” you pout, relaxing yourself in his grip.

“and i’ll work forever to forgive you. let me take you on an official date, yeah?” he let go of you, letting his hands trail to yours. 

“you’re lucky you make my heart melt, myung jaehyun.”

© 2023 minkkumaz, all rights reserved support your writers by reblogging + giving feedback! it is greatly encouraged and appreciated. thank you! → why feedback + reblogging is so important. ~ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ if you'd like, donate to minkkumaz !

[ham-st4r]

𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓹𝓽. 5 - 𝓛. 𝓗𝓮𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓾𝓷𝓰

📞Pairing: heeseung + fem reader!

Warnings: mentions of mutual masturbation, dirty talk, pet names, mature jokes.

Genre: PSO (phone sex operator) heeseung

Note: just a lil filler chap hope you enjoy!!!

Number of words: will add later

Find your way around!

It was early in the morning by the time you and Ethan had finished your little mutual masturbation session, and you were both tired and exhausted after sharing multiple orgasms back to back, but that didn't stop you guys from texting each other back and forth till sunrise he wanted to talk to you on the phone some more, but you were too shy after everything you did with him so you decided texting would be better.

Heeseung: So I feel like we rushed into this a little fast, so maybe if it's okay with you, we could talk and get to know each other better.

Your heart jumps at the thought of him actually wanting to get to know you. When you first called him that night, you never even thought of something like this happening, but you weren't complaining either.

You: Sure, I'd love to

He smiles, fingers dancing across his keypad to reply

Heeseung: So, I guess I should get this out of the way first. My real name is actually heeseung and not Ethan.

You cup your mouth in shock while reading his text.

You: There's no way.

Heeseung: Why? Do you not like it? You can still call me Ethan if you want. I just thought I'd let you know.

You: No, I do like it, but I just moaned your fake name for the past hour. Why didn't you tell me sooner?

Heeseung: Sorry, angel, but I do have to admit I love the way you call me Ethan.

You: But what if I called you by your real name?

Heeseung: Fuck don't say that now. I'm gonna get hard all over again just thinking about it.

You: Not saying it 😬

Heeseung: So, are there any secrets you're hiding from me or things I should know before we start talking?

You: What, no, why would I?

Heeseung: I'm playing Angel, so tell me more about yourself. You had me intrigued since day 1

You blushed, kicking your feet excitedly as you went on to tell him more about yourself. Some trivial things and, surprisingly, a lot of personal things that normally you found hard to open up about, but with him, it was so easy, especially cause he opened up to you about a lot of things as well.

The sun was up while the two of you texted away with each other, talking about an array of various topics until you both had to go to sleep. Finally, you had school in the morning, and he had worked at a sandwich shop he had told you about earlier.

Heeseung: Angel, I'm so sorry. I gotta go now. I have school and then work tomorrow, but if it's okay, I'd like to talk some more.

Your heart flutters, still not able to comprehend the fact that you were actually talking to the guy you met on a phone sex site, and on top of that, he was actually interested in getting to know you.

You: I'd love to. I'll be home by three my time.

Heeseung: Okay, I work part-time in the afternoon, so I'll call a bit later, okay, Angel?

You: Okay, goodnight etha- I mean heeseung

You tease.

He chuckled at the text, eyes burning from staying up and talking to you for so long, but it was so worth it.

Heeseung: Goodnight angel

Heeseung: Morning

Heeseung texted you first thing. He knew you'd probably still be asleep after staying up so late, but he knew you'd see his text at some point today.

He was right cause you woke up hours later and saw his text responding to him immediately.

You: Morning Ethan

Heeseung: Look who finally decided to show I was so lonely without you. 🥺

You: Please as if 🙄

Heeseung: Wow, here I am, trying to be cute, and you just diss me. That's cold, especially after I sent nudes. 😔

You: Aww 😀

Heeseung: Rude

Heeseung: So anyway, are you still at school? Was it fun? How is your day going so far?

You smile at your screen, getting all giddy because he's actually taking an interest in what you're doing.

You: I'm walking home now, but yeah it was fun but also kinda boring if that makes sense.

Heeseung: It totally does, angel, and I'm happy you're finished. You deserve a break.

You: Thank you

Heeseung: Wait, you don't mind if I call you angel, right?

You: Of course not. I love it when you call me that.

Heeseung: Good girl.

You: *blush*

Heeseung: Cutie, so I was thinking maybe once I get off work, if you'd like to chat for a while, are you still up for that?

You: Hmmm, sure, I'd like that.

Heeseung: I get off at five, is that okay?

You: Works for me.

You: But wait, aren't you supposed to do your other job?

You ask after finding out he worked two jobs along with school.

Heeseung: Shh, haha, yeah, but like, of course, I'm gonna skip it for you duh🙄

You: Heeseung, don't do that.

You reply, letting him know that you shouldn't be his priority over working.

Heeseung: It's whatever, just something I do for quick cash cause I'm good at it. Besides, missing one night isn't going to break the bank.

You: If you say so.

Heeseung: I do say so. I'm gonna get back to work before my manager scolds me for being on the clock while on my phone. Expect to hear from me later, though, okay?

You: Okay! Have a good rest of your shift. I look forward to hearing your voice again😉

You add, attempting to flirt a little.

Heeseung: Keep talking like that and watch the way I walk off the job so I can go home and call you.

You: 😬

-

"So, angel, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" You were both home relaxing on your beds while you FaceTime each other, except he was the only one showing his face.

You go on to tell him where you're from, and as soon as the words leave your mouth, his face falls completely flat.

"You're joking? Like, please tell me you're joking."

"No?"

"That's hours away from here," he pouts. "Like thousands of miles."

"So?" You shrug.

"So? I was thinking about meeting you, obviously not this soon, but like maybe later down the road once we get closer, but I guess that's probably not gonna ever happen."

"That's what FaceTime is for," you chuckled, trying to hide your happiness. You couldn't believe he had actually thought about meeting you.

"I can't touch you through the phone," he deadpans as your giggling comes to a stop.

"O-oh," you whisper shyly.

"What? Something wrong?"

"Nothing, just trying to get used to your forwardness."

"I can tone it down a bit since we haven't known each other that long, you know? I just thought since we already you know it'd be okay, but if not I'll stop."

He rambles on and on.

"No, it's fine. I like it, and I feel really close to you already, like two peas in a pod." You smiled even though he couldn't see it.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we covered a lot of ground last night," you laughed.

"We sure did," he smirked, and by that look, you already knew he was about to say something. "So, how about you let me put my pea in your pod?"

"Stop it." You covered your face, cupping your cheeks that were burning from embarrassment.

"You're so easy to tease," he giggles. "So is it like cold where you are then?

He asked instead of teasing you some more.

"Yes, and it's a bit past midnight already," you groan.

"Midnight? So, should I let you go now?"

"I think that would be best, yeah."

He popped his mouth. "Dang it, well, okay. I can call you again tomorrow if you want at the same time?"

"Same time. Goodnight, Ethan."

He rolls his eyes jokingly. "Night night angel"

Thank you for reading. Please reblog and leave feedback! -🐹

Permanent taglist @hee-pster @hoyeonheeseung @furious-eagle @heehoonsnemo

Just a call away taglist " @heeseungshim @rayofsunshineeee @fakeuwus @heesquared @skzenhalove @wildflowermooon @get-a-guitar bold can’t be tagged

[adragonsfriend]

Reading Darth Plagueis,

by James Luceno.

Ok I finished this book. It was a wild ride, here are some highlights, (anything in quotes, " ", is in fact, a direct quote). Spoilers, I guess.

———

“At some point, probably when he was focused on murder, a rock or other projectile had pulped a large area of his lower back.”--Plagueis

Yeah man that always happens to me too when I’m focused on murder

———

Me thinking, *Plagueis is way too normal for a sith,* about five seconds before the narration goes *Plagueis was hungry. he thought about eating the eggs of some sentient lizards and also the sentient lizards themselves, but restrained himself*

———

Plagueis, a banker: nOt all mUNns R bAnkErS u kNoW

A pirate who wants a bribe: be better for you if you were some financial wizard

Plagueis, a literal wizard:

———

Captain La (the random pirate): how do u know my name

Plagueis: *truthing* I sliced you ship’s systems,

Plagueis: *lying* it’s not like I’m a telepath or something

———

*at the evil rich people party*

"Republic senators, at least those that weren’t present, would be subjected to ridicule—"

I love how the narration says "subjected" like Bail Organa would give fuck about some assholes making fun of him

———

Plagueis in a business meeting as hego damask:

Repeats himself multiple times conducting experiments in trying to force suggest to a resistant species

His assistant: bro what r u doing ur making us look bad

———

omg young Palpatine is so Anakin coded. Genuinely he throws tantrums it’s perfect

———

Tag this accidental baby acquisition some random dathomiri lady just handed maul over like a sac of potatoes

———

Sidious, about to gaslight, girlboss, gatekeep, mansplain, manipulate, and threaten to manslaughter Nute Gunray within an inch of his life all in the span of a 2 minute zoom call: *wearing his Sith cloak on their holocall* what is up my guy? did u get the rare collectible bird I sent u anonymously a while back?

Nute Gunray: uhh…yes…um… its very nice…who are you and why r u hiding in that hood bro?

Sidious: it's the traditional clothing of my Order

Gunray: ur a cleric?

Sidious: "Do I seem like a holy man to you?"

Me: the only holes I see here are in your logic, morals, ability to feel compassion, and *waves hand all encompassingly* vibes

———

Dooku: if one more Jedi dies because of the indolence of the republic, I’ll leave the Jedi and refuse to look back

Palpatine: *listening attentively*

———

Plagueis & Maul: (separately) gloat about being Sith Lords to people they’re about to kill

Sidious:

Sidious: these idiots cannot keep a secret to save their lives—

———

Plagueis ACTUALLY believes Sidious is about to appoint him co-chancellor. what an idiot.

———

Padme shocking both Sith at every turn during the Naboo crisis is sending me

———

Oooh Sidious' murder rant is incredible. He's like Plagueis you manipulated and abused me, now i'm gonna kill you so I can go do that to other people without you hanging over my shoulder. It's like the evil but still cathartic version of Zuko's speech to Firelord Ozai.

———

Dooku: That zabrak guy was definitely a Sith. There has to be another one, probably the master

Sidious, standing right next to him in a shadowy warehouse wearing a black cloak: “how would one even begin to know where to look for this other Sith?”

———

“For an instant, Palpatine perceived a touch of his younger self in Skywalker”

This book needs to stop. Maybe consider pulling its punches sometime. The only mark of disapproval I have here is that this is portraying Obi-Wan as an asshole for the five seconds he’s present

———

Bad news, the book did indeed stop. I have been gravely injured, but also greatly amused. The experience of reading this book is just constant vacillation between *wow so Sith Lord, so scary, so evil* and *Plagueis, my guy, that is the dumbest ideology I’ve ever heard. maybe if you took a nap (for the first time in 20 years) you’d finally say something that made sense*

I will also confess that I was taking detailed notes about Plagueis for an AU idea I have that I will not be starting for at least another year because I am married to BHOT and I refuse to be like the rest of you sorry fucks with 17 wips (ignoring that fanfic is in fact the only genre of writing I do not have at least 17 wips in)

[jellybeanium124]

woke up and the "DON'T POINT OUT MY TYPOS IT'S UNSOLICITED CRITIQUE YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE IF YOU DO THIS!!" people found my "mentioning typos in comments okay?" poll. and it's fascinating to me how, to me at least, these people's comments seem pretty entitled and rude, and also act like they're the majority opinion when the poll is currently 70-30 split the other way. like ok a decent chunk of people agree with you, but the clear majority does not! and maybe that's just how I'm reading their responses, and the fact that I'm in the 70% who thinks it's fine, but to me there is a clear tone difference in the responses of people who said no and people who said yes. there's like, a level of humility and openness to collaboration in the responses of the people who said yes, and there's this staunch pridefulness to the answers of people who said no.

and like, I think that makes sense, really, when you think about it. saying yes requires 1 ounce of humility. it's basically saying "I'm not perfect, and I will make typos." it also requires genuine care for their work. they want their fic to be good and they recognize they might not make it as good as they could be on their own.

considering a typo unsolicited crit is something that requires such a big ego imo! one person said "If it's posted, it's because I am done working on fixing it" and another compared getting a comment about a typo between positive things to getting shit in a sandwich. multiple people said it would be like receiving a hand-made gift and immediately finding something to criticize. multiple people said it's like pretending to be their english teacher, which you're not. another person said "#leaving critique in a comment even if you loved it is going WOW i read this thing you wrote and decided to share and all i noticed was#that you misspelled this word and thats all that matters really!"

let me break this down one at a time.

I'm done with the fic: so if you caught the typo while rereading your fic you wouldn't edit it away? maybe you don't reread your own fics but like for the sake of argument if you did and you found a typo you wouldn't edit it because you're done with the fic?

being told about a typo is like being handed shit to eat? isn't that a bit dramatic? I even said in the poll that it was a polite comment, just to be totally clear about what I mean. idk how a polite comment could be telling you to eat shit.

well, unless a fic is literally gifted to me, it's not a hand-made gift for me. I don't see fics as hand-made gifts for my followers. like yes, on the one hand, I am making you entertainment for free, and I expect readers to understand that and understand how that makes it different than a published novel, but I don't write for my readers (in general), I write because it's what I want to see in the world. second, a hand-made gift is you're handing over is something that it's too late to fix. inherent in the premise of my poll is the fact that the fic is something hosted online, not printed in a zine, and therefore is editable and fixable. if you make your friend a scarf and fuck up one of the stitches, that's just gonna be how it is for all time, and your friend totally would be an asshole for immediately pointing that out. but fics online don't have to have typos forever. the commenter is trying to help you so you don't have a typo in there forever. other people pointed this out in the tags of my poll. one person mentioned being a comics writer and being glad that people caught typos before their comics went to print. ao3 is forever man. that's what an archive is for.

you are conferring a maliciousness onto english teachers that fascinates me. now, yes, some teachers can be malicious, but in general, they are not. english teachers didn't criticize your essays in school because they wanted to upset you (again, barring unique circumstances where your english teacher really was an asshole out to get you, idk your specific past), they were criticizing to help you become a better writer. now, yes, it is an english teacher's job to criticize the essays you handed in, and none of us random readers have the job of pointing out typos to you, but we're theoretically doing it for the same reason. to help. we just want to help your fic be the best it can.

the last comment really gets to the root of the problem, I think. that people who feel this way feel personally attacked by something as small as "hey you wrote helo instead of hello" or something. the people who feel this way take this stuff very seriously, and, like, idk man, I think maybe you should work on that? I've gotten actual mean comments on fics (and maybe they have too, again I don't know everything about your life). comments about how izzy is out of character or the moral I wrote is terrible and I'm probably being abused if I think this way or ed is a complete entitled asshole in this fic and expects izzy to apologize to him??? (if you know me and the our flag fandom you know that's not what happened) or "wow I hate the ship you wrote, but you did a good job with it though!" I've gotten others I've forgotten about because I deleted them because they were mean enough to make me cry. I'm a sensitive person, all things considered. if a mutual unfollows me and then shows up in my notes with the green "following" badge instead of the purple "mutual" badge I will feel like a piece of shit who must've done something really wrong and they hate me now when like... that's probably not the case. but my ego isn't as sensitive as all that that I can't handle a stranger telling me I made a typo.

these aren't all the arguments people made against politely pointing out typos. some people felt like the comment being there publicly forever is the bigger problem, and would be okay with a friend dm'ing them about it. but even that is like... why is the comment shameful? why is it a problem that it's there forever? why are you concerned that someone might read it and judge you for normal human error?

anyways yeah that's the post. I made a new one bc I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone. I didn't mean to be mean in this post either. like if you don't want people pointing out typos to you that's fine. I just think it's kind of silly that you're demanding that the majority opinion should be the one who has to say "typo comments are ok" in the beginning notes, instead of you, the minority opinion, having to say "typo comments are not okay" in the beginning notes. because the majority is okay with polite typo comments.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Please do more werewolf and merman c reader pls I love them so much!!!

Wow I'm happy to see you liked it

I chose the werewolf since it was so long ago

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Part 1

You sighed, in hopes that your exhale would release some of the tension you had built as you anxiously anticipated the meeting. While your…mate…who had originally promised to find ‘a den of his own’ recently retracted that statement saying ‘it was entirely useless considering the whole reason he was there in the first place.’ Now you had to settle the score with your landlord who had been kind enough to send multiple emails before demanding that you have a face to face meeting. You shooed off your ‘mate’ considering he didn’t really value modern niceties and came here after work instead of going straight home. The office wasn’t far in fact it was just below your apartment which also made it impossible to lie about your added tenant. 

*Clank*

You jumped at the opening of the door before walking inside to sit on the soft chair across from the desk. The inside looked nothing like your own, it looked like the mockery of some rich person reading nook even fashioned with what had to be a fake fireplace. You didn’t bother trying to investigate as the chair across the desk from you turned revealing your landlord. 

“Pleasure to see you again, (Y/n).”

You watched his pointed ears flick as he squinted his golden eyes at you with a deceitful smile. He leaned on his elbow as he titled his head before continuing. 

“Now what is this I hear about you gaining a roommate, without asking me?”

“Y-yeah it was sort of spontaneous and at first I thought he would move out but then he-”

“He?”

“Uhm, yeah so he said he’d leave but he wouldn’t. If it's alright with you I’ll just pay the extra amount–”

“What’s your relationship with him, exactly? And what's his name?”

“Eh? It's uh-Win-ston? And he’s–well he’s-” You struggled to think. You couldn’t say he claimed to be your mate, even speaking to a descendant of a kitsune it would seem strange. You couldn’t just say he was your roommate, he talked too much and it’d slip out eventually considering he was not shy about ‘courting’ you. He couldn’t be your cousin because that would raise some more concerning questions. So you stuck with what you’d dreaded calling him all this time.

“He…is..my…b-b-boyf-f-friend. Yes, that's who he is.”

The door slammed open and in the doorway stood your neighbor and former friend: Mattis.

“You!? A boyfriend?! Hah! I have got to hear this.”

The petite man strode in, sauntering past you with a doubtful smirk before sitting on the lap of your landlord. He pecked his cheek before turning to you as he happily hung on the shoulders of your landlord who didn’t even react, in fact he was still looking at you skeptical at your response.

“A boyfriend? Since when did you find him and is this a matter of security that he’s not leaving?”

“I didn’t ‘find’ him if anything he found me-”

Before you could continue Mattis chimed in with a mocking tone. 

“As if! Were you organizing your wallet in public this time or wearing that faux watch?”

“That was one time! And no I was actually working for your information. Anyways it's not a problem he’s fine, I’m fine and I’m not being forced or anything.”

“That sounded convincing.” 

“Thank. You. Mattis. But I’m talking to my landlord.”

“And I’m,” he adjusted himself to sit even closer to your landlord if that was possible. “Giving advice to my boyfriend.” 

He coyly smiled at you while he swung his legs back and forth. You rolled your eyes before going back to trying to explain your situation albeit leaving the crazy things out. In the midst of your explanation you were interrupted by the sound of crashing coming from your apartment above. Everyone in the office looked up at the ceiling as the sound continued.

“Are you sure he’s not robbing you because it sure sounds like it?” Mattis quipped, still looking at the ceiling.

“I-if you’ll excuse me, h-he’s probably getting antsy without me there.” 

You left your rent money on the table before excusing yourself to run up the stairs. As you were making your hasty exit your landlord called out to you.

“In a few days bring him around so I can meet him!” 

“O-okay!” 

You climbed the concrete stairs as fast as you could hoping he didn’t do too much damage. 

____________________________________________________________

“Whoo I’m glad it wasn’t too bad.”

“I’m sorry mate, I just wanted to make sure that your pots were organized. I always see you struggling with them when you cook.”

“Yeah, and somehow reorganizing the cabinet in the kitchen also meant reorganizing the vases I have around?”

“Yes!” 

When you unlocked the door to your apartment a couple of vases that you had strewn across the living space were smashed and on the ground. True to his word there were some pots outside of their designated spot but you figured it could have been worse. 

“So how did the meeting go my mate?”

“It went fine but we need to talk about what rules are going to be followed around here.”

“Oooh my mate is bossing me around~how cute!”

You pinched the bridge of your nose as you ushered him to sit on the couch. Finally getting him to sit still you paced back and forth on the carpet as you broke the rules down for him. 

“Rule number one: Do not call me mate! I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while but it's just weird.”

The ears on the top of his head drooped and his tail sagged as he pouted at you. 

“Then what am I supposed to call you, then?”

“By name: (Y/n). Wait, did you not know that before following me around?”

He scoffed and crossed his arms. “Of course I did! But as your mate I’m supposed to be special, anyway.”

“Well if you want to do nicknames that's a discussion for later.” You suddenly made an embarrassing realization as you looked at the werewolf who happily awaited your next words. 

“Um…real quick what’s your name exactly?”

For all the days you had spent keeping up with his shenanigans and being stuck to his side because you couldn’t compete with his insane strength you never properly swapped names. It was like when you were a kid and you’d forget to ask until your parents asked. Like you were having so much fun it didn’t even matter.

“Oh my given name, my beloved ma-(Y/n) is Winston.”

“Wait, your name is actually Winston?”

“Yes, why?”

“I-I just guessed it when I told my landlord…I can’t believe I got that right.” You mumbled the last bit to yourself as it just seemed bizarre for you to get that correct.

“See, it's the power of our destiny. I was made for you so of course you’d know things about me naturally.” He boasted with a knowing smirk and glint in his eyes that made you look away to continue your original task.

“Rule number 2: From now on, you will be referred to as my boyfriend! When people ask you're going to tell them that's what you are.”

“Nope. That’s a hard no.”

“What, why?”

“Exactly why I shouldn’t stop calling you my mate. We are naturally paired to be together–insinuating that I’m just a boyfriend undermines our relationship severely.”

He was standing now, turned away as he pointed his nose skyward and crossed his arms. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes as you tried to think on how you could convince him. Getting an idea, you reached for his upright tail that was so conveniently placed in front of you and lightly caressed it as you spoke to his perked wolf-ears.

“Well different titles have different meanings to people…and for us it could mean…uh…soulmates.” 

He was still looking away but you didn’t miss the slight wag as you continued caressing his tail. 

“Please Winston? It’d…really mean a lot to me if you did.”

The light wagging had sped up immensely before he turned around capturing you in a hug as he frantically began to rub his face all over yours, occasionally kissing you. You just awkwardly patted his back as he continued to just rub himself all over you. 

“My mate!! You don’t even know how insatiable you are! YES!” 

You pride yourself on your persuasive tactics before feeling the light pin-pricks of those canines hovering near your neck. Pushing at him to pulling on his hair you were able to gain enough air from his smothering.

“H-hey?! HEY!” You got him to stop trying to bite you only for him to set you in between his legs as he nuzzled his face into the top of your head. Trying to buck away to find that you weren’t budging from his slightly muscular arms, you sighed.

“A-alright you can hold me b-but you have to listen to the rest of my rules okay?”

You felt him complete an intense sniff to your neck before letting out a shaky sigh.

“Okay !”

______________________________________________________________

Winston stared at the waxing moon through the window near your bedside. Looking wistfully at the moon before looking back at his peacefully sleeping mate. He audibly swooned as he moved to stand at the foot of your bed letting the moonlight illuminate your sleeping form as he crept in the shadows. You looked ethereal, so much so that Winston hated to disturb you so. 

“Quiltted.”

Immediately your eyes snapped open and you slowly sat up. Your face was stoic as he pulled a pocket watch from out of his pocket. He swung it in front of your face faster and faster until it began to glow a red. Your (E/c) color irises lit up the same hue as the glowing item, letting your face soften as Winston leaned into your ear.

“Winston is truly meant for you. You realize you love him. Trust the process.”

Repeating this mantra a few more times the red hue faded and you closed your eyes once more flopping haphazardly back into the bed. Or you would have if your werewolf boyfriend hadn’t grabbed your limp body laying you down with him on top. Careful to control his weight he nuzzled into you freely letting his hands roam your body. 

“Mmmmh,” You moaned in your sleep, turning on your side as you mumbled something close to ‘get off.’ He lovingly ignored you, only properly crawling under the covers to hold you from behind. Pocketing his watch he once again nuzzled into your neck as he reminisced on the gift from his pack. 

“Father, what is this?”

“This is for your human-mate, as expected they are extremely out of touch with their senses so much so you might need to remind them.”

He smirked against your skin as he let out a calming exhale. He finally had you. His mate. His fated. He’d rather die than let anyone stop him from having this. From having you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Argh! Did you see that red hue in their eyes?! They seriously went and got caught up with some scammer, I’m sure! I should’ve been with them! I should’ve not let this happen! I could’ve–”

“What? Bullied them until they left out of spite? Mattis I know you're not an idiot so stop acting like you still have control over them.”

The male spluttered in defiance before stomping his feet. 

“But I can! Didn’t you see?! Just today we were–”

“Bickering while they tried to ignore you?” Quinn scoffed at his boyfriend who abashedly kept his eyes on his feet. Standing from his chair, he walked around his desk to stand directly in front of the quivering human resting his hands on their trembling shoulders. He slyly leaned past the curtain of hair to whisper into his ear. 

“You’ve shown you couldn’t handle it, Matty.” The man in question, looked up fearfully at the landlord who’s previously black irises were glowing a devious crimson. 

“Now it's my turn.”

[yelena-bellova]

I actually think it's quite clear why they're having Francesca fall in love with Michaela right away and also why her story was the one they chose. At first, I didn't understand it that much as, from my understanding, the book centered on the themes of guilt and grief. But after reading some interviews from the show-runners, it's clear they feel the primary focus of the novel was on Francesca feeling "different" - which in retrospect is highly emphasized in the show, and is how we get to her being a lesbian (they're not going to make her bisexual, I'lll get to that). It's not how I view the story, but I'm not going to criticize someone for experiencing media differently than me.

Anyways, why does she fall in love right away? One, I'm going to be frank, main stream audiences cannot handle a truly bisexual lead. Parts of the internet would lose their shit if a woman who ends up with a woman had actual genuine feelings for a man while the other part of the internet would lose their shit that a woman who loved a man fell in love with a woman. Both sides would, ironically, agree she was just a lesbian all along so there's no point in trying to make her not one.

Secondly, I think romance in general - and particularly Bridgerton - doesn't usually focus on the idea of multiple loves that are of equal value. The genre is geared towards finding your one great love (and that's great! I love it! It's romantic and sweet, and I don't need my bodice-ripper novels to try to tackle real life romance). This is also emphasized in the show, where Violet was clearly feeling like Francesca was settling, hinting that her real love won't be with John. And in TV and film, this is 100% exasperated by shipping - audiences become extremely attached to a main couple, so killing them off will cause chaos. It just makes sense within this context to remove any romantic love from John as, from the perspective of the genre, that devalues the love between Francesca and Micheal/Michaela.

And what is the easiest way to remove romantic love between John and Francesca while keeping John a sympathetic and loving character?

All this to say, Francesca will NEVER love John, not romantically. And that makes her set up perfect for her to be a lesbian. If she never loved John, then his death can be sad, but ultimately not cause any actual conflict for the neat and tidy 8 episode arc of her season. It gives the audience the chance to say "wow, so sad she lost her husband, who she was clearly friends with, but also it's not that sad because now she'll ACTUALLY fall in love for real this time."

From a plot perspective, without any novel attachment, it's actually pretty solid and hits the tropes I would expect a queer romance to hit if it needed to exist within the Bridgerton verse. Dare I say, it's frankly even rather cliché?

So again, I disagree with a lot of this but I’m still going to share it because whoever this is didn’t come from a place of hate.

1: I’ve read the interviews with Jess Brownell about deciding to change Francesca’s story because she herself identified with the “different” aspect being a queer woman. Setting aside all sexual/gender politics, that’s a key mistake a lot of writers make. When writing for a show like this it’s good to make it personal, but not self-service. To morph an entire storyline to fit what you took from the book, even if few others did, is a bad writing choice.

2: I do agree that the world has no idea what to with bisexuality. I see more hate for bisexuals than nearly any other subsection of the LGBTQ community. I do think, however, that the Bridgerton fanbase is a bit more accepting. I’ve seen a lot of issue be taken with Benedict’s storyline this season but not because he’s bi/pan, but because of the shoddy editing and writing for his scenes.

3: “Bodice ripping novels” gave me a good laugh 😂😂

4: The change of Francesca’s potential lack of romantic feelings for John is probably my biggest issue with the whole situation. It truly feels like an unnecessary change. Even in going forward with setting up Francesca and Michaela for happily ever after, they could have saved Francesca developing feelings until after John had passed. Enough book readers would have been talking online about who Michaela was and who she becomes to Francesca that people would have known. In my eyes, there truly was no reason to eliminate that part of the story.

[theweeklydiscourse]

So I wanted to talk about a post I saw earlier today. Usually I try to resist the urge to engage with these sorts of things, but I felt that it was demonstrative of an all too common argument in the shadow and bone fandom. More specifically, it is a great illustration of the rampant misinformation and hypocrisy that many fans display on a daily basis.

So let’s break things down.

First of all, I’d like to call attention to the framing of this user’s claim. What exactly is she gesturing at here, and what message is communicated from this tweet? Their argument seems to read almost as a defence of Leigh Bardugo’s status as an abuse survivor. This user’s point is derived from a rumour in the fandom that the Darkling was a direct parallel to Bardugo’s abusive partner and that Darklina was a fictionalized version of her real-life relationship. So, by shipping darklina or engaging with the Darkling in a positive or sympathetic manner is disrespectful to Bardugo because it perverts and distorts her personal abuse narrative.

Oh wow. That seems very serious doesn’t it? How could these misguided readers be so ignorant and terrible that they disregard the experiences of a victim? That would be terrible! Except for the fact that this rumour is not true in the slightest and is at best, pure speculation. The pathos of this false story appeals to the fans feelings of sympathy for Bardugo and causes them to feel enraged that Darkling stans would disregard her negative experience and romanticize the abuse she suffered. This gives fans the ammunition they so desperately crave, for ship wars and inane fandom discourse in which they can accuse darklinas of being abuse apologists under a pseudo-progressive guise.

This is exactly why they never actually acknowledge that this story is at best, a misinterpreted rumour and at worst, an opportunistic wielding of an abuse survivor’s story to bolster fandom wars.

This entire narrative of “The Darkling is an allegory for Bardugo’s abusive relationship” relies on fans being willfully obtuse. They insist that you cannot sympathize with the Darkling because of this story while ignoring the fact that a sympathetic reading of his character is baked into the trilogy (ex. Demon in the Woods).They ignore that Bardugo herself has expressed her love for the Darkling as a character and has engaged with darklina content MULTIPLE TIMES. They deny the symbolic resonance of darklina and are eager to flatten what little nuanced characterization they possess in the books.

The irony is that they claim to respect Bardugo by protecting her trilogy from people who “romanticize abuse” and misinterpret the text, but at the very same time use her abusive relationship as a weapon in INANE YA LITERARY DISCOURSE!!! How can you act like you’re doing something good for abuse survivors when you are using a person’s real life history of abuse to justify dunking on other fans? Not to mention the anti-intellectualism of discouraging people from engaging with the text in ways they arbitrarily label as “bad” and “harmful” no matter how much textual evidence there is.

What can I say? Where would antis be without their distorting of reality to suit their narrative and bolster their justifications for harassment and bullying.

[cookinguptales]

I almost wrote a small essay in the tags of that "fanwork as content" post but realized that it would probably be better off as its own post. So now it's... a large, rambling essay. lmao

Like... to preface, AO3 is great, it's a great resource for fandom, it feels good to have a centralized location that works well. That said, there has been a steady decline in how I've felt treated as an author since we switched to an archive-only model of fic.

For people who are newer to fandom, pre-AO3 (and even in the early days of AO3), people often crossposted fic. Sometimes to websites, sometimes to journals (particularly LJ/DW), sometimes to communities, sometimes to kink memes...

AO3, while certainly one of the primary places you could upload stuff, wasn't necessarily where you would get most of your primary interaction about your fic. It was always designed to be an archive, not a social media site.

But since we moved to an archive model (and away from LJ/DW) I've noticed that fic gets almost no traction on sites that actually are intended for social interaction. I'm not saying it's easy for any creator in fandom, but god. The numbers on fic posts are just downright demoralizing.

I don't mean to sound arrogant here, but I think I'm a pretty good writer. People seem to really connect with my fic. In multiple fandoms, I've written fic that most people have read and enjoyed, to the point where people have just taken it for granted that if someone reads fic in the fandom, they've probably read something I've written.

All this is to say, I know I've written fics that people like. I know I've written fics that people connect with. And I know those posts still only get like 5 notes sometimes on Tumblr.

I'm proud of my work and I'm happy that it's gotten such a warm welcome on AO3!!! But there are times when I feel like all this means that I could write literally the best fic on earth and still no one would talk to me. People still wouldn't want to interact with me on social media sites.

I wrestled for... honestly, a long time with all this. I had a hard time putting into words why this felt so uh. Bad. Was I just self-conscious about my own writing? Yes, but that's a separate issue. Was I just jealous of others' popularity? Sort of, but it went deeper than that.

I had an issue with a fandom that I don't write in anymore. I got a lot of fanart based on my fic, which was great, which was amazing, there were even fan comics made. Visual media travels better on social media than fic. That's just a fact. And I had to watch as repeatedly, art based on the fic I wrote got thousands of notes while my fic got maybe 12. And I realized the power of social media vs. AO3 because it did get to audiences that weren't familiar with my fic and people started to give those artists credit for my ideas.

I remember watching the tags of those posts because it was occasionally the only way I'd hear feedback on what I'd written (imagine getting one comment and 5 notes on a fic, then seeing dozens of people in the tags of fanart saying that it was their favorite fic in the fandom! it was weird!) and seeing the tags gradually devolve into "oh, this is such a neat idea for an AU, artist OP" or "wow this dialogue is perfect [artist] I love it" and like

It's weird to feel so happy because so many people are enjoying your work in a transformative way but also so unhappy because you have been completely removed from the equation. No one... even knows you wrote those things anymore. You have been removed in favor of a more "marketable" version of your work.

It's uh. It's a bad feeling. I stopped writing in that fandom eventually.

So again, I felt like... idk, like there was no point in me even trying. Because I could write the best fic on earth and still somehow get erased as a person. People would want my "content," but they wouldn't want me.

I think that's what hurt my feelings so much.

What I've realized is this: what I miss is the sense of community. On LJ, you could post a fic, cross-post it to a community, and there would be comments that would become conversations that would become lasting friendships. Not always! But often. I still talk to some people daily who I met through fic on LJ over a decade ago.

In the archive model, there has almost become a death of the author. The me on social media and the me on AO3 are very different; more importantly, it's almost like it's viewed as the "me" is on social media, but the work is on AO3. I am absent. There is only the fic, not the person who created it.

And that's okay, but when you try to combine those two things on social media and it goes over like a lead balloon... idk. There's an odd sense of dehumanization. I don't mean it in like... I don't know, a dramatic human rights violation kind of way. More that I literally feel like less of a human person the way I interact with fandom these days. Like I'm no longer a person who writes fic as a way to connect with my fellow fans and more a "content creator" whose human side is separate from my creation and never the twain shall meet.

(And I'll admit it feels especially galling to be forced into the capitalistic "content creator" box when it's not even a thing I can make money off of, lmao. It's like the worst of both worlds. I feel like if I can't make money off fanfic, I should at least be exempt from capitalistic social trends during its creation.)

I'm not so much complaining about my current fandom; WWDITS has actually been one of the best fandoms for interaction I've been in since the birth of AO3. That's one of the reasons I keep writing stories for fellow fans to read -- many of those fans feel like my friends, and I want to make them happy.

I think that poster was right when they talked about how the pivot from fan to "content creator" has fucked up fandom. There is this sense that we should be treating fandom like a job, often a fast-paced one with no pay. There is this idea that we should be separated from our "content" like you might a worker from their product, and blah blah blah alienation of labor, Marx, I get it, but damn if that isn't a shitty thing to do to your fellow fans who are making art for the love of art.

There are so many things I do love about AO3. I like having a central, organized place to put my fic. I like not having to worry about my work being lost to the ages. I like having an organized comments section I can return to on bad days to cheer myself up.

But I don't like the way that fic has kind of been relegated to a portion of fandom where people aren't particularly social. I don't like the way that authors are separated from their writing. I hear people complain sometimes about A/Ns because god forbid an author leave any trace of their actual personality to distract you from their content.

I can't have DMs with someone on AO3. I can't add someone to my friends list. There are no "beloved mutuals." There is just my work and the people who are kind enough to comment on it, even if they never actually engage with me elsewhere.

It's... a weird feeling, to feel so loved and unloved at the same time. Like you keep writing trying to make something good enough that people will talk to you but like. That's really not how it works. lmao. The best fic in the world won't make you friends anymore. It won't make people see you as a fellow fan rather than a pen name under a title.

My fic is some of the most personal stuff in the entire world, but my personhood is stripped away from it. It's so fucking weird. People like my fic, but they don't like me. They remember my stories but not the person who told them. It's bizarre. It feels like having your life and experiences strip-mined for content, and then the rest of it is just... left behind.

Frankly... I work in the publishing industry IRL and I have had opportunities to write professionally. Real, tangible opportunities. But I turned them down because I've seen it, the way that trying to fit such an intensely personal art form into a capitalistic framework can be exhausting, dehumanizing, and stressful. I don't want that for my work. Fandom has always been an escape from that.

But now fandom is starting to conform to those exact same capitalistic frameworks (and ofc without any kind of capitalistic compensation) and I hate to see it. It's so stressful. I feel like we're losing a lot of what makes fandom fun for writers and we're getting pretty much nothing in return. I'm not surprised that so many writer friends I know in fandom have quit.

like damn, I just wanna have fun with a bunch of dumbshits who love to overanalyze vampires and cry over their dumbshit shenanigans, not take on a second job. one that, I reiterate, I am not being paid for.

(Note: I am not asking for payment, just that I not be treated like a worker. The tradeoff for treating someone like a worker is that they get compensated for it. If I'm not being compensated, no one gets to treat me like this is my fucking job.)

It's a weird thing, because for a lot of people, fandom has become their job. Fanartists at cons selling fanart, youtube essayists making money off videos, professional cosplayers with sponsorships, etc. And so fandom is becoming more corporate, more capitalistic, more marketable. It's frustrating for those who don't want to capitalize on our fannish output, and doubly frustrating for people who are legally unable to do so.

I'm realizing as I write this that I'm most upset about the nonconsensual capitalization of fandom, particularly when imposed on people who are unable to access the very meager benefits of capitalism. I didn't ask for any of this!

Feels like when I'd be forced to go to assemblies for the US military when I was in high school. Like I'm morally opposed to all this but I'm also not physically fit for "service" anyway, so it's doubly insulting. I feel like I've been opted into the, ah, corporatization of fandom when I'm not even eligible for employee benefits. None of this should even apply to me! ;;

Okay!! I'm all het up now so I'm gonna go eat lunch and go for a walk! No monetization of hobbies, only trees.

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part III)

Perhaps we are all familiar with this already but I actually spent the time to read it before starting because I didn't want to have yet ANOTHER 'Wow, why did X thing happen?' with Pinkie immediately responding 'Did you read the enemy description?'

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and will also have a LOT of spoilers.

13-1 Across the Battlefield's Line

Pinkie: "Dr. Seuss? Like... the one who writes children's books with rhymes?" Me: *Unhappy because from the first moment, I realized that this is Hoederer and he's probably going to start me off with a little trauma and a little loss, a sprinkle of sadness just so I know not to be optimistic about the future*

... I've said it before and I will keep saying it - the history of Sarkaz as a race is so incredibly sad to the point it's a relief that the person you are talking to doesn't actually know who you are because otherwise, they would never treat you with even a smidge of kindness. And in the end, what do you even have to do in a jail cell? He waited around for nothing and got executed.

Of course, not that he had a choice.

---

After Hoederer's introspection we have, what I understood to be, a couple of Sarkaz mercs standing and waiting for commands while trying desperately to get something in their stomachs from what they managed to take steal from around. Including some... very important books perhaps from the library of this mansion.

Calfskin books... I can't decide if that would be more precious than paper.

---

I believe we spoke with Pinkie about this, but it is so immensely sad to see how the Sarkaz race has been in this situation for so long that they actively do not even NEED to be able to read. I can't imagine myself being unable to read, even if it's signs. Letters. How would they otherwise communicate with each other over a long distance? They don't even have families to message sometimes. They probably don't have the paper or means to send them about, since Catastrophe messengers... would probably never be able to take on such messages.

Many of them probably don't have families either. Devastated.

But with this line, it also gives me hope. Sometimes we take the things we have as a given and, at least I, forget that they still have ways of enjoying things by:

Making up stories based on the drawings they see. Which also makes me happy because books with drawings SHOULD be more of a thing, it's so wonderful. I miss it.

Beleaguered Mercenary: [Y'know. If we put houses on the moons, plant our own food, maybe we won't have to keep fighting like this in the future? Maybe something even bigger'll happen, and everyone'll stop wanting to be up in arms?]

He just solved an international crisis with 2 sentences.

Pinkie: "How to solve the problem - we move to the moon." Me: "Multiple even. I forgot they have two moons." Pinkie: "They have one. It was believed that they had two, but one is only a reflection from the barrier." Me: "OH RIGHT!!! I was a common Terran for a second."

---

---

Not that I was endeared to the press in Kazimierz initially after everything in Maria Nearl and Pinus Sylvestris, but for goodness sake... They actually sound like how I imagine the actual press to sound. What they actually do sound like "Shock and awe and make us popular for being the first to write about it."

The things people WITH a press do in comparison to those who need it but do not have it. Perfect way to pace the story, I'm so happy chapter 13 came out.

Have I mentioned that already?

---

SHE IS GOING TO LEITHANIEN!!!!!

---

Crying and sobbing.

---

---

I don't even know what to think about Trillby Asher anymore. Because I very recently finished the Kal'tsit and Passenger story, I kind of know that things are NOT going well with the Emperor's Blades... To see them show up again is giving me wild anxiety because we already know that they are super unstable and they can cause a catastrophe just by showing up.

What even is your purpose? Why are you here?

What even is the point of this, I don't know, but we're saving it in case it shows up again. 11, 29, 1 (code word) I wish this was translatable into English, frankly, your alphabet doesn't have 29 symbols.

HAH! At around this point I was like "OH MY GOSH IS THIS A COLLAPSAL WHAT DO YOU MEAN BLACK SNOW" and then Panko deadpans 'We have seen this before somewhere else' and I realized.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[keeper-of-all-the-random-things]

The Machines

RUIN pt 3 | Previous | Next

for @whumperofworlds WOW Day 15 | Outnumbered

CW: outnumbered 3 to 1, multiple whumpers, taunting, beating

Renfred W. Michaelson III,

Congratulations on your graduation from the Royal Undergraduate Institute of Networking.  Your certificate of completion has been processed and is ready to be picked up.  Your documents will be available until the start of fifth term.

Sincerely, 

Cpt. Leroy Hutchins

Headmaster

...

Wren read the letter four times, hands trembling.  He had hoped the Institute would mail his documents.  The thought of returning made his heart race.

He took a steadying breath.  He spent a year there.  One more day wouldn’t kill him.

His sister met him as he left.

“I thought they mailed those kinds of things,” Molly mused.

Wren shrugged, eager to be gone and return.

“I made you something.”  Molly handed him a basket filled with enough bread and fruit to feed a whole family.

“I’ll only be gone one day, Mol,” Wren laughed.

“I know.  I just wanted you to carry it around all day.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Wren hooked the basket over his elbow.  When he reached the front gate, he heard the door open again, and Molly shouted, “I want my basket back!”

...

The Royal Undergraduate Institute of Networking loomed large atop a hill, its grey stone exterior partially hidden behind tall pines.

Wren paused halfway up.  He ate some bread, stalling.

From the top, three boys came towards Wren, pointing at him and laughing between themselves.

The first, seemingly the leader, approached and greeted, “Hello, Renfred!  We thought we’d find you here.”

“Hello.”  Wren turned slowly as they circled around him.  “Who are you again?”

“We’re the real graduates.”

“The ones who earned our places at the Institute.”

“And our Certificates.”

“Did you earn yours, Renfred?”

“Did you earn yours?”

Wren gave up trying to follow the boys as they circled, their conversation bouncing between the three of them so Wren could hardly tell them apart.

“What’s this?”  One of them snatched the basket from Wren’s hand.  “Aw.  You got packed lunch from your mommy.”

Wren reached to take it back, and the boys laughed.  They passed it back and forth, like a game, all the while shoving Wren with increasing violence.

“Someone here must really love you -”

“- or really hate you -”

“- to allow you to graduate so unprepared.”

“We put in the work.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s right.”

“Nothing.”

They pushed, and one stuck his leg out, sending Wren tumbling to the ground.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Wren said, trying to scrabble away.

“You don’t get to pass without trouble.”

“This is what you’re owed.”

The closest boy delivered a swift kick to Wren’s shoulder.  

Wren fell onto his back and barely had time to cover his head before the three descended upon him in a flurry of feet and fists.

Just as quickly as they started, the boys composed themselves and walked back up the hill to the Institute, their parting words off-handed.  “By the way.  Andrew sends his regards.”

[merrivia]

your essays of literary analyses for captive Prince  fascinate me, amuse me, entertain me (in the "wow, this is so cool" sort of way and "maybe I'll read this whole thing again"), educate me, and get me thinking harder about my own reactions to the books.  I believe that I do my own level of analysis as I read, seeing many but far from all of the same things, and stopping as I go to say, "hey, waaaait a minute" or go back and reread relevant passages earlier in the book or in earlier books. but I am very far away from being able to put things together the way you do. 

 I do a few simple things, like collecting multiple examples of something (I did that for showing that Damon is the kind of guy who gets "annoyed" about things that might or might not send the rest of us into a rage), and another too-long one why I thought "I speak your language better than you speak mine sweetheart" comment happened.

… I do have a question. Here it is. How much of the content of your essays are you consciously aware of while you're initially reading,? How much prep do you do for your essays – – outline? A few of your own cliff notes😁? Or or do what I mostly do, to the detriment of my material but not yours, and just start writing?

Oh wow, thank you so much that’s such a huge compliment! I’m always so happy to hear people enjoy the metas/essays I write, genuinely. I would love to read the posts you mentioned you wrote! I’ll hop over to your page and find them after I post this.

So I don’t really do any prep at all! No notes, no outlines, no plans. I’ve re-read the books 4 times solidly in a row, and want to do a 5th soon (I’ve given myself a little bit of a break, so I don’t lessen my love of it through overfamiliarity!). I think at this point my mind just picks up on patterns and starts to weave things together, subconsciously? Something will just occur to me and I’ll get the urge to write about it. I’m a big believer in that coming from the texts; I still find lines or paragraphs in the books so interesting and intriguing and the way Pacat writes…it’s so rich that there are many aspects to explore.

I also really believe in the power of reading around and seeing where that takes you too. Originally my essays were completely just what came from my mind, but I’ve started leaning towards letting other ideas shine their light on the books too. With my latest post, I knew that Damen’s trauma was different to Laurent’s but I also knew that I was no expert in trauma responses and wanted to read more about it, happened to stumble on Tick’s work almost immediately which just felt like such a powerful connection as it draws partly on classical traditions and I started to put the essay together.

I always come from a point of ‘things are more complicated than they seem’ about pretty much anything and I’m always very wary about people that try to oversimplify discourse. A simplistic reading of Damen’s character would say ‘he’s not got emotional complexity, he’s just a horny jock dressed up in Akielon clothing’ and honestly that’s just so reductive and not true but also…boring, and is essentially a discredit to Pacat’s intelligence and skills. Once you start thinking there’s more under the surface here, you can start to plumb the depths.

I do follow a rough introduction/main/conclusion structure as per any essay, which helps? I’m pretty much trained mentally in the English way of writing literary essays so I do it automatically. I hadn’t realised this till you asked but because I really enjoyed the books and don’t really see myself negatively critiquing them, my conclusions reflect the happy ending of the books where I tend to see things positively? So the end point is kind of already in place. I think the points I make follow similar essay style patterns; start more broadly, then narrow down like a funnel or start a little more chronologically and then move forward (like establishing who Damen is first, and his warrior status is going back to how he was raised, then we can use that to inform his initial reactions in CP before following that thread all the way to The Summer Palace). I’m fond of what appears to be a tangent but is actually a loop back, that illuminates (like I talked about violence as an intimate act, having read that in Tick’s work, and how Laurent particularly provokes that from Damen but that led me to realise if you do choose violence over love as a form of intimacy, you are going to have to pay a price for that).

Ideas do reveal themselves through the writing. Once I’d read that warriors could heal and reintegrate through society recognising them (Edward Tick actually performs these “Warrior Welcome Home” ceremonies for combat veterans, as part of a healing process) I thought well Damen had that in Akielos, and then it was like a little lightbulb moment of ‘Ah but by being in Vere, and around Laurent, he’s gone from hero to villain’. And Laurent has suffered the anguish of being vilified and having his character destroyed, and actually doesn’t realise he’s doing the same to Damen (I didn’t put that in, as there’s only so much you can write! Sometimes holding back on your ideas is good too, to keep the essay tighter. Incidentally one day I am going to do more metas on Laurent and his feelings towards Damen but I’m so respectful of his labyrinthine mind that I want to be very certain of my ideas before I do!).

I hope that kind of answered your question! If you ever want to chat about CP stuff you can absolutely dm me, I love talking about the books ✨

[seradae]

A New Life, Part 1 [NB/TF] [kidnapping]

It had been your nightly routine for months now: you would read these naughty stories, get yourself off, and fall asleep dreaming of them. While you had started reading a wide variety of smut from different authors, the last two months had just been her. She wrote the most depraved, loving, kinky stories that got themselves stuck deep in your mind.

Her latest story was a particular favorite. To most it seemed like a simple abduction, but all you could read in it was love; a new life; a freedom in bonds. You often found yourself with specific lines repeating themselves over and over in your head. Tonight, the line that repeated as you drifted off was "Keep the light on and the door unlocked, pet." Something about the rhythm just pulled you under; you were sound asleep.

You awoke in the dark and reached to your side table to turn on your lamp. Your hand passed through the space you expected it to occupy. "That's strange," you thought, feeling a bit disoriented. You try to shift closer to the edge of the bed, when suddenly you reach the end of an unseen leash and your collar digs into your throat. Your mouth goes dry and all you can manage is, "what the fuck?"

You call for help, claw at the collar, tug on the chain, all in vain. Finally, you stop and take stock of your situation. You're wearing a thick, locking leather collar with fur on the inside; that's connected to a sturdy chain; you're sitting on a mattress with very soft sheets; your clothes are gone aside from your socks. You were definitely drugged, but you don't feel sore...

Suddenly, the lights turn on. They start low and ramp up slowly to allow your eyes to adjust. You see that you're in a bedroom, but certainly not yours. You're on a four-post bed, there are several windows that seem to be blacked out, a vaguely familiar antique vanity sat at one side of the room, and an imposing door was in front of you. You couldn't help but marvel at the size of this place, wondering who kidnapped you.

But as you heard the door click and saw it begin to open, you didn't have to wonder for long. Your jaw dropped as you saw a face you knew well: Rae, a close online friend. "What the-" you began to exclaim, but she cut you off with a wave of her hand.

As she strode into the room, she smiled. "I'm so glad you're here, Ty. I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but before we get to that, do you need anything?" She sat down on the bed and placed a hand on your socked foot, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

You sat motionless for a moment, unable to form words. Finally, you stammered, "bathroom?"

She smiled broadly and stood up, waving her hand over the point where your leash was locked to the wall, taking that end. "Come with me, pet," she ordered as she walked toward a door next to the vanity. You hesitantly got up and walked behind her, feeling a mixture of confusion, fear, and a twinge of lust at being called "pet".

As you stepped into the bathroom, your jaw dropped again. It was gigantic and equipped with everything you could imagine: a giant jetted tub, walk-in shower, multiple sinks, even what looked to be a steam room. The floor was even heated! "Wow...", you trailed off, taking it all in. She led you to the toilet and ordered you to sit. You protested, "I can't go with you looking at me!"

She gave you a sharp slap. "We will discuss this in detail momentarily, but I want you to understand something: I didn't ask you. Now, do as you're told."

You sat down in a daze and after a few moments, you began to relieve yourself. When you were done, you looked around and found yourself confused. "Um, where is the toilet paper?"

"No need for that. Press the button on the wall there," she said, pointing. You did as instructed and jumped in surprise as the toilet cleaned and dried you. "I know it's not what you're used to, but I promise you won't miss the old ways."

She led you to one of the sinks and dried your hands with a towel, then led you back into the room and grabbed two bottles of Dr Pepper from a mini fridge and brought you to a small sitting area. She opened one and offered it to you, then opened the other and took a sip.

"So, we have a lot to talk about, but I just wanted to first say: welcome home, baby."