#and some even said making movies about the mafia is romanticizing then

[pineapplesagainstpizza]

The mafia discourse on twitter is the dumbest thing ever

[undiscovered-horizon]

Mafia!Billy Russo Headcanons

[TW: mentions of mafia and related topics. This is just a work of fiction but please do remember that the actual mafia is not a romanticized fictional character doing questionable things. Mafias ruin lives and countries, they have no mercy or shame.]

Author's note: told ya this was going to happen. Guy Ritchie's Gentlemen is partially to blame too, I love that movie. This is going to be in parts, I also have a lot to say.

[Part 2]

I feel like mafia!Billy and yandere!Billy make a Venn diagram

So he's rich, violent, possessive and handsome. The Soviet Union hasn't seen so many red flags.

His "field of expertise" would probably be illegal arms and mercenaries. Many rich and/or important people use his "services". He could make bank on supporting terrorists but chooses not to.

When your parents and friends ask what your husband is doing you just pull off a very convincing lie that he runs a private security company. It's not entirely a lie, because he does, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

He has probably rubbed off of you and, over the years, you have become significantly rougher than before you met him.

You probably own a business too, both as a cover and to have something to do. It took a quite big fight with Billy to make him understand that you're going to lose your mind if your daily schedule is "lay and smell of roses".

I'm thinking like a cafe or a restaurant, often visited by Billy's "business friends" and their wives.

Billy and you are that couple. As in, "he's definitely wanted for multiple crimes in several countries and she looks cute but will stab you"

But it hasn't always been like that.

When the two of you met, you were just a girl, working 9 to 5, going to bars with your friends, binge-watching Game of Thrones and complaining about disastrous dates.

You met Billy on your friends' engagement party: you knew the bride-to-be and he knew the groom-to-be. Fate had it, you sat next to each other at the table. You remember your first impression of him: good-looking and confident, the type which sole existence makes people feel intimidated. And you weren't any different.

At first the conversation was pretty one-sided until you became convinced that he's not as big-headed as he might have appeared

And it turned out that talking to him is absolutely great! Time flew by and suddenly it was late at night and he offered to drive you home

Part of you wanted to invite him inside but there was still some unsureness about him as a person - you have known him for a few hours. And considering your friends were engaged, it was obvious you were going to see him a few more times. It was better to take it easy

So you asked him to have lunch with you and that decision was what started the spiral.

You started to see Billy every few days and his romantic interest in you was painfully obvious: the gifts, the flowers, the expensive restaurants, the wax poetic - you name it.

It was like a teenager's Hollywood dream

(You could pay off a mortgage with one of your earrings)

At some point, you became his plus one to official events and that was the moment you were introduced to the luxurious world of illegally acquired wealth

Billy genuinely loves your confusion at some things that he has grown quite used to

"Just because you can put caviar on an oyster and wash it down with champagne doesn't mean you should."

"How can alcohol be more expensive than a house?"

"I could paint the soles of my shoes red and no one would know the difference."

"I could ask anyone in here how much milk costs and they would have no idea."

"Just out of curiosity, are they ever sober?"

Perhaps that's what made him even more fond of you.

Or maybe it was the way you looked during those events. You may have said, on multiple occasions, that those galas and banquets were just people arguing about who has more houses in Bali or who owns more mountains in Switzerland but you always went with him.

Maybe he should start throwing those galas himself if that meant seeing you more often in a long gown and high heels. To him, you looked expensive but in a noble way, like a daughter of the emperor of the world

Each time he looked at you he felt like he was falling in love all over again

And as you were holding his arm, moving among the masses of absolute elites, he couldn't help but feel smug, especially when he noticed other people staring at you

Billy has, on multiple occasions, used all of his willpower to not start a fight with some guy who tried flirting with you

With time you have become the talk of those parties. Some wanted to be you and others wanted to be with you, all while you appeared elusive and out of their reach

The worst are some auctions he shows up to in order to talk to someone or simply because it would be rude not to go.

If you even suggest you like something, he's going to win it.

"You didn't have to buy it. If I want you to buy me something, I will ask."

"What kind of husband am I if I have to wait for my wife to tell me to spoil her?"

Sometimes it's a bit overwhelming but you know he doesn't have bad intentions. He just doesn't know how to express his love and appreciation

Billy always puts up an intimidating facade for the public, which toes the line of "sexy" and "actually terrifying".

Once, you were listening to him berating some employees and for a moment you wondered what it would be like if he spoke like that to you and the general consensus made you realize you might have a kink

Which you jokingly mention (kind of to see his reaction) but Billy knows you too well and let me tell you: you played yourself. He knows now.

Sometimes it so happens that you go to his company (to drop something off most of the time) and even after being married for a few years, it still feels weird when all of his employees stop what their doing to tell you "good morning" and ask how's your day going. No doubt Billy had something to do with it.

Weirdest part is that they call you "ma'am", which makes you feel a bit old. No matter how many times you tell them to call you "Mrs.Russo" or by your name, it doesn't stick

As the life of a spouse of a mafia boss goes, you have been threatened quite a few times. It was more to scare Billy rather than you, though. At first, it was mortifying (understandably) but with time you grew to just say "bite me" and carry on

Billy has openly admitted it turns him on

The hardest part was, quite obviously, accepting the fact that your then-boyfriend was a violent criminal.

Was it your naively kind heart or the blinding love you felt towards him, you shocked yourself accepting the reality, although you didn't speak to him for a few days.

But he understood that. It pained him to no end but he understood it's something difficult to take in.

He wanted to marry you the moment you called him three days after his dramatic reveal and said that you want him, whatever he brings with him.

I should mention that your friend's fiance (whose guest was Billy) has explicitly told you not to mix up with him because although he is a great person to be around, becoming an important, close, part of his life was dangerous. At the moment you didn't know what that meant and he didn't want to elaborate, so you didn't take that suggestion to heart

Both you and Billy are grateful for that

Absolutely random "wanna go on vacation?"

Your first question is always whether he's done something and needs to flee the country

And he reminds you that it was just one time and you had fun, so you shouldn't complain

Billy and you have come up with elaborate lies and code words to keep the less legal activities a secret in front of your friends and family

Your parents genuinely believe you married an ambitious, ex-marine who has his own, flourishing business and is definitely a man of the law.

Billy is suspicious when you can wash out the blood from his clothes without leaving a trace

"You know, love, there are other ways of getting blood on clothes that do not involve murdering someone."

Noticing how you change into a more dominant, tough person gains some weird, almost sexual, satisfaction from him.

He has a primal need to keep you safe, to protect you but he does so in a more secretive way because you tend to get angry when he gets overbearing. Although he finds your anger attractive, he doesn't want to be the reason you're upset so he just makes sure you don't know he's pulling the strings to protect you.

Billy always has a hand on you, especially in public. Be it on your lower back, on your waist, around your shoulders or have you hold his arm. He's a possessive man and wants his "territory" to be visibly marked.

Also he's an absolute sap for you clinging on to him but he won't admit that openly. He has a face to maintain.

So, in private, he often seeks the comfort of your physical closure, holding you close whenever he can

It could be out of a reasonable fear for your lives. In his line of work, it was easy to become a widow or a widower prematurely. After all he's suffered, he has a wife that loves him and sometimes he feels like he has to hold on to with all of his strength so that you don't leave him

Not that you're planning to

______

@intothesoul

[scaramouche-bully]

i hope this isn't rude to ask, but why do you write dark content topics like noncon and abuse? i'm a s/a and abuse survivor who had no problem with these things before my trauma but afterwards i became angry at people who made such content. now i'm trying to remember that people have different reasons for writing these things and i've been asking writers what their thoughts are. i've been following you for a while and i know you're kind and not ill intentioned in your writing, so i was wondering what your views are. this isn't meant to be hateful at all and i am just curious and want to understand. if this makes you uncomfortable feel free to delete it!

Hello anon,

Don't worry, this isn't rude to ask at all. I respect that you want to understand and this is from curiosity rather than being hateful (which I don't take your ask as such) and that you remember that there's a person behind the work. To be honest, I don't really know how to answer your question so I might go on a tangent. I hope you don't take my words as fact or my entire thought process but I just want to say:

I don't support rape or abuse. I don't want anyone to think that just because I write it, I fantasize about it or condone it in any way. I don't. I'm not trying to offend or make anyone angry, that's why I tag everything twice and add a read more. It's your choice whether to believe me or not, I just ask that you don't harass me under those assumptions.

To put it bluntly, it's just writing to me. When you see people write or do something really obscure or relating to dark content, you're completely right to assume it's because they're interested in those topics. But that's not necessarily the same for everything and everyone. I can't speak on the behalf of every single writer out there but personally, it's just something to explore from an omniscient point of view. I'm not going to bullshit you or sugarcoat my words, I'm not a survivor and the harassment and abuse that I have suffered aren't traumatic to me. That's why I can think that way and it's not because I have any ill-intent or I'm trying to undermine or pretend that those issues aren't serious. They are. Personally, I would get very upset as well because, in my mind, someone is taking something very personal and traumatic and doing what? Writing about it with fictional characters that they want to fuck? It feels insulting in a way. Naturally, I have no idea what you feel but that's how I would react.

But it's similar to any murder/mafia au or even yandere. Does that mean I like killing people or obsessive behaviour? No, absolutely not. When I write a character or direct a movie and someone is shooting someone, does that mean I'm into violence or condone guns? No, that was not the intention at all. We can say it's "not the same thing" and you're totally valid to think that way. But for me, it is. I'm not pretending as if murder or abuse doesn't exist or it's something to want. When it's in shows or books, no one really bats an eye to that. Maybe it's the stigma with fanfic authors that we're all 13-year old quotev writers/readers (I used to be one so I'm really just making fun of myself here) that we rightfully assume it's because we like those topics or we fantasize about being in those situations. Because why else would I want to read or write about x reader fics with those topics?

You don't need me to tell you that it's reasonable to be angry at people that make dark content. I myself, don't really like dark content that much either. I don't daydream about being used and I don't like feeling upset. Which I guess doesn't make sense especially for the type of fics I write. But when I actually write, there's a major disconnect between fiction and reality and I understand that it's not like that for everyone else. Writers pov compared to a reader's pov I feel is very different. I can be a selfish person and write this way because I've never been through it. But it's never from a place of disrespect and I apologize if it feels that way but I can't control what you feel. All I ask is that you read the tags and determine whether or not you want to associate with it. To me, it's just words on a paper and action queues I'm giving to imaginary characters. I'm not fantasizing about anything, I don't even like sex that much. I just think it's something to write that I feel like doing. For example, I don't care for Venti at all. He's cute I guess but I don't want to fuck him. But I still write for him and how I write makes it seem as if I actually look at Venti that way. I don't, it's just writing. I guess it's the same question as to why do you write in general. Because it's fun? I wouldn't really call it "fun" and more of a hobby that I like to do. This doesn't really make sense since people that do anything as a hobby naturally assume they have a passion or like it. In a sense, it's kind of like this: You enjoy drawing but if someone asked you to draw a monster, yes you could do it because you like to draw but it's not like you're putting your heart or deep emotional thoughts into it. It's just a drawing of a monster. You've never had an experience with a monster (in a fictional sense) so there's nothing for you to be traumatized with. There might be some aspects, spikes or tentacles, that make you uncomfortable, sure. And people can find deeper meanings in your work and make assumptions when there isn't, to you it's just an image.

I know this is an incredibly shitty way to explain why I write dark content because it sounds like I don't care or I think abuse/noncon subjects don't matter because it's "just words on a paper". I get it, in movies when the protagonist is abused or has been a survivor of rape and that doesn't go anywhere. That it's just a way for the movie to pity the main character or to explain why they act a certain way, it feels cheap and manufactured and I hate it. But I always believe that as long as you aren't doing anything illegal or endangering yourself + others, I don't care what you do. When I see topics that I personally find disgusting or don't like, I just move on. They aren't hurting me in any way and they're allowed to write what they want to write. I know that isn't the same for everyone and that kind of thinking is very romanticized but I like to think that I'm smart enough to know when that thinking breaks or isn't acceptable.

Sorry that I keep drawing comparisons, it's just how I like to explain things and it's easier for me to explain my thoughts that way. My writing is like a snow globe. Sure it has some real connotations with the snow that comes from nature, but it's not real snow. It's an overly pretty, dream-like world, that can never be cold and doesn't show how awful living with a lot of snow does to you. People that have never seen snow, they'll love it because it doesn't remind them of actual snow since they've never experienced it. But I have, I live in NA. Except I understand that it's just a snow globe. Sure it might make someone uncomfortable for any reason, but it doesn't for me and at the end of the day, it's just an object to me. You can take that as a very selfish way of thinking but I'm not going to throw my snowglobe in the trash just because someone doesn't like it. I know for a fact that anything I write isn't meant to trigger or make anyone upset, I write it because I want to explore those topics. I don't think it's hot, I don't think it's okay, and I don't condone it in real life. But it's just writing to me, it's just fiction, it's a way for me to explore those topics in a way that I am comfortable. If you don't like it and it triggers you, that is completely okay and understandable, but that wasn't my intention and I'm not going to stop.

I hope that answers your question and gives you a bit of insight into my views. I know my way of thinking isn't for everyone and you're allowed to disagree with it. Dark content is a very thin line that a lot of people aren't comfortable with and I acknowledge that. I don't even like dark content that much but I'm not going to stop writing about it. I'll tag everything, crop away topics that trigger people, and to be honest, I don't find myself writing about dark content ever unless an anon asks for it. But if you don't like me or disagree with what I've said, the block button is right there.

- 🐑

[ilooklikeaburntchickenugget]

Sweet Revenge

A/N: I’m not trying to romanticize the mafia here, I’m making a story out of it. I’m also not trying to pretend like I know anything about the mafia, the most I know is from fiction books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen. Pairing: Mafia!GerardxF!Mafia! Reader Word count: 2,787 words Warnings: Gambling, murder, weapons, alcohol, swearing.

“Enjoying the view?” You couldn’t help but giggle, a smile creeping along your face as you gazed in the mirror, meeting the hazel eyes of your lover.

He smirked with pride, leaning against the doorway of your closet, all dressed up in a suit and tie, his hair tangled up in dozens of different directions, the gold cuffs he wore causing a slight reflection to graze the ceiling despite the ever-present light of the diamond chandelier above.

“How could I not.” He slowly approached you, taking his sweet time with his steps, dress shows clamping against the floor.

“Well, I don’t know,” You smarted him back a bit, now turning around to look up at the man who towered over you. “You could always look the other way.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes at your proposition.

“And why would I do that?” He asked you, clearly amused by your defiant nature. He always had been. He placed his hands on your hips, the silk black dress you wore was just absolutely perfect. Exposing just enough of your curves to still be considered modest, some cleavage showing, and of course thing straps for easy access that he always likes having. “You always get into trouble when I turn the other way.” Now it was your turn to scoff.

“Please,” You muttered, “When have I gotten myself into trouble?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” He fake pondered, now removing his hands to lean his body against the center island in the room housing the tens of millions of dollars worth of jewelry with collectible jewels Gerard had gifted you. “The one time you went on a $150,000 shopping spree.”

“That was once.” You fought back, now looking through your collection of bags and clutches.

“Twice, actually.”

“The second time wasn’t nearly half as bad.” You rolled your eyes.

“You mean the $80,000?”

“You act like you don’t have all the money in the world.”

“And sometimes, you act like a spoiled brat.” He gritted his teeth together, “Which maybe you are, my dear. But it’s not like I can’t get it out of you.” He wasn’t lying, he was extremely good at it actually. You shivered at the thought.

“Now, my love,” he regained his composure, “As much as I would love to see you without that dress on, I’m afraid we have to go.” You nodded, not wanting to make a snarky comment. Gerard was surprisingly patient with you, but only to an extent.

You quickly chose a small black clutch to match your dress. You didn’t see which designer it was, your collection of designer everything was far too overwhelming for anyone to even logically but a numerical value too. You practically hosted a Neiman Marcus in your home.

Gerard happily grabbed your left hand with his right, walking you through the various halls where guards lined every corner and crescent. Gerard’s eyes briefly scanned each and every one of their faces, making sure not a single one had even glanced at you. His gun was placed in his pocket and ready to go, fully loaded if he felt the need to use it.

The two of you walked down to his Benz, the more casual car if you will, and both got into the cabin. Gerard in the driver's seat, you in the passenger. “Thigh,” he said simply, to which you rolled up your dress just enough so he could see the gun and holster held on your upper left thigh. He nodded once, “Good girl.” He stated.

It wasn’t an outrageous drive to the new casino one of his allies opened. You forgot who if you were being honest. It seemed like every day he had a new set up puppets under his belt, and each day they all became less important. He kept his hand on your thigh the entire trip there, only removing it with reluctance when he needed to put the car in park.

The valets let you our, Gerard handing the key over to the man as he walked over to you, taking your arm in his as both of you were escorted by security inside.

Naturally, this was an event for the elite. Those with millions were in the common area, already tipsy on the cheap and sweet drinks they had consumed. Sleazy and commercial as always.

Next were those with the tens of millions to low hundreds, more private areas of the casino. Classy, you had to admit. But also cozy. The women were all dressed as though they were housewives with four kids in Cape Cod, which they were you knew. But at the very least they weren’t abrupt with their spending choices.

Then you hit the high hundreds of millions, or private rooms, the one’s that you and Gerard would at least acknowledge. Typically CEOs, investors, etc. the one’s who worked for their money. A mutual agreement of respect was always set in stone since the beginning of socioeconomic classes.

And finally, the billionaires. Where Gerard and yourself happily found each other. These were the incredibly private areas, found behind corridors or under the actual casino. The most elite and well-thought-out areas. No security. What happens in the private rooms, stays in the private rooms.

You were led over to the one you were assigned to. Todd and Patterson were the two names you picked up on. You and Gerard entered the small area, classic red carpeting with gold outlined everywhere. There sat two men, who seemed to be just a few years older than both you and Gerard judging by the small gray hairs you could pick out that was already forming. “Way!” One of the men exclaimed, seeing both he and you, “And Mrs. Way, of course.” You both greeted him with a kind smile. This was Hank Patterson, you knew, you and his wife had a few conversations in the past. Lovely couple, you had to admit.

“Patterson,” He smiled back, “A pleasure as always.”

“And Mrs. Way, looking her best as always.” Good, you thought, at least he’s respectful. “How’re you, my dear.”

“Wonderful, Mr. Patterson, and you.”

“Great as always, and please, you know both you and Gerard can always call me Hank.” You both lights laughed. He was a good man, a good ally. Now that you recalled, this was his casino opening. “Mrs. Way, I apologize, there are only three chairs. We’ll grab you another, of course-”

“No, she’ll be alright,” Gerard spoke up, sitting in his own chair. With a slight pat on his thigh, you knew what he meant. You wanted to roll your eyes, and you were holding back an urge to slap him right then and there. In private, of course, his lap was a comfortable place to sit. In public, hell no. With a tight and forced smile, you nodded, choosing his lap.

The other two men seemed not to care at all, shrugging it off. They had seen much worse, you were sure. But the slow crimson blush that began to paint itself on your face was hard to hide, and if it wasn’t for Gerard’s encouragement with a thigh squeeze you would have been a tomato.

Patterson already had your drinks ready, two whiskies on the rocks. You took a sip of yours, Gerard doing the same and letting the wonderful smokey taste burn down your throat. 

“Mr. Patterson,” This Todd man spoke up, looking to your ally. “I believe there was an agreement that only the leaders attend tonight.” Patterson gave a confused look to him in response. “Well, I don’t understand how a mere mafia wife qualifies as a leader.”

Patterson’s face went blank as Gerard held back a scowling look, your hand going towards his pocket, feeling the edge of his gun. “Later, darling,” He whispered in your ear, “I’ll let you have him later.” You looked down to meet his hazel eyes in approval.

“Mr. Todd, I don’t believe you understand,” Patterson spoke up, but you were quick to interrupt him.

“I am a leader.” You sent a small smile in his direction. The poor excuse of a man chuckled.

“A woman?” You could feel Gerard’s grip on you tighten, out of both angers himself, and as a way to subside his own anger.

“Yes, a woman.” You responded, “The entire west coast is owned and controlled by me. And last time I checked, I’m pretty sure your men have been running through my areas and doing a shitty excuse of micro deals with even less relevant dealers. And maybe worse, you and your loot of scumbags have been slandering both mine and my husband’s name.” You spat, keeping eye contact with him. His face remained straight, but fear ran through his eyes.

“Way,” He looked to Gerard now, “Control your wife.” Gerard couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Please, I can’t tell her to do shit.” He responded, “She’s not my wife, she’s Y/N Way, and she can do whatever the fuck she pleases.”

“You young leaders and your progressive views on the very basic things are what’s going to be the downside of your group, and everyone else’s.” He began to rant, “If this were my wife, I would have slapped her by now!” Gerard now held on to your waist, preventing you from launching at this man.

“Todd,” Patterson said with gritted teeth, “Let. It. Go.” With much reluctance, he did so, the game of poker beginning.

Each man put down a few hundred thousand to begin, offering a few extra thousands thrown in along the way. Occasionally, you would whisper a move into Gerard’s ear. He didn’t respond, only playing the same move you just told him to in the real game. Until the two of you won.

“Good game.” Patterson smiled. He may have owned the place, but the man played fair. With one swift motion of his hand, all the guards and himself exited the room, leaving only you, Gerard, and Todd. By the look on Patterson’s face as he left, aimed towards you and your husband, you knew you now had permission. Not that you needed it before, but at least he had agreed to clean up the mess.

“So just the three of us now, huh?” He spoke up, trying to create conversation.

“You’re really fucking dumb.” You sighed, climbing off of Gerard’s lap, and with ease removing your gun from its holder.

“Wow now,” He lightly laughed, “There’s no need to go that far over all of this.”

“I didn’t ask for your fucking opinion.” You spat out next, spinning the weapon around your finger by the trigger.

He went to his own pants, clearly trying to find his gun, the look in his face that formed letting you know it was no longer there. So much for the poker face. “Listen, I think we can negotiate some of this-” He looked to Gerard who just put his hands up in surrender.

“You gotta negotiate with her, not me,” He said, “You may have talked shit to my name, but you’ve done far worse to her. This is her decision, not mine.”

Before he could respond, you had the gun held up to his temple, ready to go, “You should be grateful I’m just doing this, I could make your end a hell of a lot worse if I wanted.”

You walked away from his, sashaying your way back to where Gerard sat, and aimed, taking a flawless shot. Gerard, still sitting, placed his arm on your waist where you stood next to him. “I thought you were gonna shoot earlier.” He admitted.

“I didn’t want to ruin the dress,” You looked down at him, “This is one of the few I’m definitely gonna use again.” He nodded.

“I’m still trying to get rid of that damn contract,” He sighed, now rubbing his hand on the small of your back, “It’s a real fucking pain.”

“Well at the very least our arranged marriage didn’t end in misery, or one of us murdering the other.” You lightly laughed placing your head on his. You could feel his smile.

“Do you think we should get out of here?” He asked, looking down at the now deceased.

“Maybe,” You replied with a sigh, “At least out of the room, sure, but Patterson’s a decent enough man to decipher right from wrong.”

“He is a good man.” Gerard concurred.

“We need to invite him and his wife over again. Eliza, was it?” You recalled and he nodded, “A lovely couple.”

“I believe I have a business meeting with him next week, I’ll propose it then.” He stood up, taking your left hand in his and twisting around your wedding fingers, a subtle reminder that you were his, and he was yours.

“Sounds like a plan, my love.” The two of you walked out of the room, Patterson and the guards waiting outside.

“I’m assuming you did the job?” He looked at the two of you.

“She did.” Gerard looked to you, still keeping his voice hush making sure no one heard it.

“It was about time the bastard got a shoe in his ass.” Patterson scoffed.

“Why did you put us in a room together?” Your husband asked next, “Just out of curiosity.”

“Well, Y/N over here was aware of the situation, I was sure of it. I needed no other confirmation other than knowing her pure intelligence and determination to know she understood what the rat was doing. He’s cheated on me a few times too,” He explained, “It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ruin him. Neither of you had met him, but I would have preferred his ultimate demise be on my property where it stays on the down low, then out in the streets where the word runs wild.” You gave him a single nod of approval, thanks for his great idea.

“Well, I think we can both thank you for that, Hank. Genuinely.” Gerard spoke.

“It’s one last thing I have to worry about, so yes, thank you.” You added on.

“It’s no problem, really,” He admitted, “I've been meaning to get him off my radar, and well, you Ways are always a pleasure to work with. You do the job well and right.”

“We try,” Gerard responded with a slight smile.

“You alright?” You heard your husband as you placed a pair of sweatpants on over your oversized shirt. You nodded. “I know the more bloody stuff isn’t typically your realm of work-”

“It’s fine Gee,” You lightly smiled, “It’s not, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Also, being a woman and the last thing a misogynist saw.”

“Gotta love the irony.” He smiled too. “Hey, um, by the way, why didn’t you tell me about the situation with him? You know I could’ve sent in reinforcement and stuff.” You sighed, looking down.

“I just didn’t want you to stress out,” You admitted, “You have so many other problems, and I had it under control, and least for the time being. We were setting up a plan to take him down, and well, all of this happened.” He nodded.

“You know you can come to me at any time though, right?” You nodded, “I can always help you, no problem.”

“Yeah, I know,” You looked up at him, a light smile painted his face, “I just- I like some of the independence too, like being able to control some of this stuff on my own. Because I’ve never really, had that.”

He came over, giving you a hug and inviting your face into the crook of your neck as he rocked you back and forth. “I got so lucky, ya know?” He began talking, your face still tucked into him, “Because I never have to worry about you. Because you’re completely sufficient, and because I know you actually love me.” You nodded.

“I do really love you. A lot.” He lightly laughed.

“I love you too, a lot.”

“Now c’mon,” You nudged him a bit with a smile, “I’m tired. I wanna go to bed.” He rolled his eyes, letting you walk right past him and sink into your bed. “I have a busy day tomorrow, and so do you.” You commented as he climbed in next to you.

“And who are you to tell me how to run my day?” He looked back at you, throwing the covers over him.

“I don’t want you waking up and being bitchy.” You rolled your eyes, “So get your ass to sleep.” You could hear him mutter something as a form of complaining which you brushed off as always, “You know I’m right because I always am.”

[yanderebitch666]

Regarding the Yandere AU

Hello, I’m back again with another message. This is regarding Kpop yandere AUs and the hate it’s been getting recently. Now even though I’m a huge fan of the genre, let me assure that I’m not going to be a blindly defending it. There are two sides to this fiasco and I’ll address both of them. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE THING BEFORE COMMENTING! And yes, I am well aware that yanderes (whether they kill or not) are horrible, toxic people who should not be praised or excused in any kind of fashion. They sadly exist in the real world as well, trust me I’d know, so I really try to stray from the spectrum where it turns to me romanticizing them. I get why some people are disgusted with the existence of this AU in the first place, since the idols would never do something so horrible. To be fair though, that’s the point of AUs. They are meant to be an alternate reality where things are different from our reality.

I’d like to point out that not every writer or artist who feature such topics in their work automatically supports such. That’s like saying that every Creepypasta artist justifies serial killers and likes to torment people. 

And as for the argument of “that’s like saying that they’re actually like that”, I can also avert that to mafia AUs as well. Because when you strip away all the fancy cars and suits, they are very horrible people who ruined many lives and spreaded terror amongst the innocent. Which is also not what idols do. So if a yandere fic makes you feel like the writer’s romanticizing it too much, instead of going in a blind tirade and leaving hate comments and assumptions of a person you’ve never met, why not talk about your concerns in a mature manner to the author. If people would take the time to talk to each other instead of going into a blind rage with their pitchforks in hand, then there would be less drama in fandoms.

Now, I want to full on state that the inspiration behind this whole post is because of the recent fiasco between some anons and a user named @i-growl-growl-growl. They posted a yandere reaction request about the reader falling in love with the NCT members after they kidnapped the reader (so it wasn’t even their idea to begin with).

After it was posted, they were faced with heavy backlash with anons saying that it was disgusting and they should delete their other NCT yandere reactions since the anons felt that it promotes Stockholm Syndrome and abusive relationships. Despite the user profusely apologizing over and over again, it still wasn’t enough. Hopefully, everything worked out in the end and both sides are on even terms now.

Seeing this made me upset since it reminded me of a similar incident happening to another user, who’s one of my favorite authors, @aestaetic-co. Except her work was on Stray Kids and had a similar, yet not identical, scenario. She was even pushed into deleting the work she was getting hate over. Sadly, they aren’t the only ones who went through this. She’s okay now and both of these authors deserve a follow and support. But I’m also not bashing the anons since they have a right to be concerned.

And yes, some authors aren’t innocent either. There are some people out there who actually think a yandere’s actions are okay and that’s sad. A bit of advice to authors, this is why it’s really important that you include trigger warnings for any fiction featuring sensitive topics such as abuse. I know it may seem tedious, but why do you think it exists in the first place? Because no, a trigger is NOT something that makes you angry or upset. A trigger, by Urban Dictionary’s definition, is “a term used to describe sensations, images, or experiences that trigger a traumatic memory.” It’s similar to PTSD. For example, a scene in a movie where a group of hostages are executed could trigger someone since they witnessed their best friend being shot in the head as a young teen.

You see where I’m going with here? It means that by reading your work that you didn’t put any sort of warnings in it, you could make someone mentally relieve that traumatic experience all over again. So, it’ll really do a world of a difference if you include warnings for anyone whom you may unknowingly hurt. If they ignore the warnings by reading it anyways, then it’s not your fault. At least you took the extra step by warning others.

Now, as a part of the yandere fandom, one thing that I despise about it is the amount of sexualization and glorification of yandere characters. If you know anything about Satō Matsuzaka, then you’d need to take of look at Satō apologists to see what romanticization of yanderes truly is. I seen people say “I want my gf/bf to be a yandere!” Mind you that most of these people who say that are children who probably doesn’t understand the severity of their words.

But there’s also people who says that she “has a reason for her actions” or even tell us that “it’s not like she’s in love with that child.” That still doesn’t subtract for all the horrible things she did and a reason for someone’s actions shouldn’t be an excuse. Well since Satō was taught at a young age on how to abuse people, I guess it’s okay for her to kidnap a young child while taking advantage of the child’s traumatic memories and killing her own best friend in cold blood. After all, she didn’t know any better.

And this is the reason why the yandere fandom are dubbed as abuse apologists. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again once more. YANDERES AREN’T MEANT TO BE HEROES! They aren’t cool, traumatic, nor sexy. They are also not victims that we should cuddle and praise. They are toxic monsters, no ifs, ands, or buts. Even though I’m a yandere fan, I can’t give you a reason to why people think yanderes are sexy, since I don’t find them appealing myself.

So before I make this longer and continue to make less sense, I’ll end this here. I want to clarify that people are still free to dislike the trope all together. I still dislike Sanji, Master Roshi, and Minoru Mineta simply because they are sexual harassers. Not perverts, they’re sexual harassers. The reason why I like yanderes is because of the psychological aspect behind them. Similar to people who are intrigued by serial killers. It’s one thing to be like that, but it’s also another thing to strip all the bad traits away to make despicable, unredeemable characters seem likable to your eyes.

So, I hope this give something new on the table since I wasn’t liking the responses of the people defending the authors that inspired this post. Unless they make a trigger warning, then readers aren’t aware of the content of the work. And the people who are upset about it aren’t stupid. People don’t have to like yandere content. And as for @favedown’s post about this, while I agree with some of your points, I’d like to point out that there is no such thing as “nonharmful” yandere content. Yanderes are selfish and toxic by nature, so they don’t have to kill or kidnap you, but they’re still disgusting human beings.

This is far too long now and for all that read this to the end, I’d like to thank you for that. So, I hope you all have a good day/night. (wanted to tag @egoist-l as well, since they wanted to read this. I hope you like it.)

Lastly, I’m in the middle of writing a Yandere Felix scenario where he kidnaps you, ironically, and I’m hating how it’s turning out. It’s cringy and too cliche. If anyone could help me with it, because I don’t wanna scrap it, that’ll be awesome.

[cuddleslutloki]

I have a genuine question. How often do you actually deal with antis? I've been following you for a bit now and it seems every so often you bring up antis. I've certainly kept my interest about thorki shut and locked away in a box from my friends for the simple fact that all of them think it's incest. It's not an easy topic of conversation but you just seem to handle all the antis so well? Also on an off note about beast!Thor, his favorite pass time must just be rutting into Loki 24/7 🤔

when someone tells you that you're romanticizing abuse [bc i made a stockholm moodboard for a fic] I don't know what I'm supposed to say other than I don't condone it but I write about it? Is writing about abusive relationships bad in writing??? you're the only person i ask for advice so thank you for anything in advance

i’m honestly really glad you came to me. i really do like discussing this topic in this kind of way bc i’ll never reblog an anti or answer an anti ask. even if you’re arguing against them, i don’t think it’s worth it to argue against them if it means also spreading what they’re saying

the basic premise of all anti behavior and ideology is censorship. that’s all it is. 

“i don’t like this topic, you need to stop writing it and making art for it. if you don’t stop there will be consequences.”

that is censorship and that is the kind of shit fandom has had to fight ever since there’s been fandom. women, poc, lgbt+ folks have been dealing with people telling us what we can and can’t write and enjoy for... well, probably forever. but we’re still here, creating the kind of content we want to see and indulge in.

as far as how to deal with antis, my advice is to ignore, ignore, ignore. they want what any bully wants: attention

you stop paying attention, you stop giving them time they don’t deserve from you, they’ll die off. there’s no point in fighting them directly. produce the content you want to see and enjoy what you want to enjoy. drown them out. you don’t owe them a response just because they come to you. they don’t have any qualms about being rude to you, so be rude back and just ignore them. i love blocking antis, personally. take out the garbage, y’know?

antis use the words ship and support as synonyms because they think that shipping is some radical call to action for lgbt rep instead of entertainment

shipping is not activism. shipping is about entertainment and enjoyment, nothing more

so this is why i have this very blasé attitude about antis. i just don’t give a fuck about them beyond making posts trashing their idiocy. because that’s what it is. it’s idiocy, but going deeper it’s puritanism at its finest. antis use fox news scare tactic logic under the guise of some pseudo feminist agenda because they don’t understand and don’t want to understand that enjoying dark fiction as entertainment isn’t equivalent to some greater moral stance

they use the same argument about shipping and fanfiction that WASP moms use against video games and loud music: that enjoying and consuming it will make you think it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it irl

okay, well, vlad the impaler never played CoD or far cry and caligula never watched hentai but we know why i’m bringing them up in this context without even heading over to wikipedia, don’t we?

they use the words abuse and pedophilia waaaaaayy too liberally and they’re doing more harm than good because they’re twisting and warping words that should have very specific meanings by using them so goddamn vaguely and irresponsibly 

my own personal theory is that these people are terrified that if they don’t yell in opposition to these topics 24/7 and actively attack content creators that they’d probably enjoy it, and they’ve been so programmed by the echo chamber of tumblr and twitter that they think this means they’re bad people. 

spoiler alert: that’s not what it means

i literally watched a circle jerk on twitter where screenshots of some mafia starker au got tweeted and retweeted w/ pictures of someone pouring bleach into cereal and people had asked to see more of the post. if you really don’t like something, you shouldn’t hate-read about it. it’s not productive, it does more harm than good if that’s the actual issue rather than some reverse psychology-style enjoyment they’re probably getting out of it.

they claim to hate this shit so much, but they’re reading hundreds and thousands of words and putting these images in their heads of their own free will. i don’t do that with shit i genuinely dislike. i avoid it.

i see antis say they enjoy thorki fanart because they think it’s cute, then they see it’s tagged thorki and they have an over the top reaction because the nature of anti ideology states you should never enjoy something like that, so if you do then you have to make the excuse of ignorance to prove that you’re still innocent and pure. enjoyment is apologism to them because they aren’t content to simply attack fan creators, they want to try and drive away the people who consume our art as well because they know you’re the cornerstone of fandom. consumers are why creators create. yeah, i write because i enjoy it, but i also write to connect to my readers and have people commenting on my fics when they like them.

it’s also worth noting that antis only ever talk about shipping. they only talk about sexual and romantic ships. i’ve never seen an anti talk about (often extreme) levels of violence in canon source material for the ships and characters they want to froth at the mouth over. 

seeing someone bleed out and choking on their own blood after being stabbed or shot or bludgeoned? meh

seeing a character who was once a child have a sexual thought about a character who was also once a child and is also their close friend? omg why are we trying to make fandom unsafe for people?

personally, i’ve also noticed that fandoms with darker canon material tend to have more chill fandoms most of the time. i think it also depends on the average age in a given fandom. there’s a major difference between fannibals and steven universe fans, let’s just say that.

creating a moodboard for a dark fic is not “romanticizing abuse” and at this point antis honestly have no fucking idea what that phrase is. they use those words the way a bored CEO uses social media buzzwords and hashtags in a staff meeting

if antis want to see true romanticizing of abuse then they can go to serial killer thirst tags and spot the fucking differences between shippers and people who forget that ted bundy was weak, flaccid, cowardly piece of shit

writing something dark or violent or whatever else and condoning the act or doing the act are different. this is why stephen king isn’t under government surveillance or in prison.

make no mistake, this anti shit only applies to fandom. they’re attacking creators here because creators out at the professional levels don’t give a fuck. they’ve tried, and they’ve failed. 

creators at the professional level understand something antis don’t: that being able to reconcile your enjoyment of dark media can be a sign of emotional intelligence and good emotional health. it’s cathartic. it’s allowed to be cathartic.

the most common consumers of dark fiction are members of minority communities and people who’ve been emotionally and/or sexually repressed for one reason or another. 

antis want to say that fiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum and they are 100% correct! because writing fanfiction and original fiction that relates to parts of my life that nearly killed me gives me control over something that was beyond me in the original context. writing about fucked up codependent, violent romance allows me to process my shit in a way that’s healthy and produces something fun and enjoyable.

my therapist knows i ship thorki, she knows i write thorki. i’ve had her read pieces of fanfiction i’ve written in addition to pieces of original fiction. y’know what she said? “wow, baylen, that’s vivid. you have a way with words!”

i read her a line out of smart boy and told her what the story was about and this trained professional said “well it’s a productive way to process some emotion that you clearly need to let out”

but you know what? if someone doesn’t have the trauma i have? let them write it, too! let them create and enjoy the fictional content they want! more cake, y’all!

finally getting around to one of the first parts of your ask, lol. thorki is incest. thor and loki are brothers. they were raised believing they were blood brothers, even. loki being adopted doesn’t change a thousand years of personal history where thor looked at loki and thought that they came out of the same woman, y’know? 

that’s his brother and in the comics his attachment to loki is even more intense. the mcu nerfed that shit. loki’s life has been intrinsically tied to thor’s ability to feel a full sense of joy. 

enjoying an incest ship isn’t some sign of moral depravity. writing abusive relationships isn’t bad. gone girl was made into an award winning movie. art should look like life, and sometimes life fucking sucks. dark stories, sad stories, fucked up holy shit idk if i can go to sleep after i read this stories exist for a reason. we need them. we have to have an outlet for our frustration, our anger, and especially our fear.

so which is the healthier option of these

to write up a piece of fanfiction where two siblings are in love in a way that might be cute and soft or might be destructive, depending on your mood?

or

attacking strangers you don’t know online and threatening violence against anyone who doesn’t think like you do?

i know what kind of person i want to be.

ship and let ship, thanks for reading my doctoral thesis office hours are always

[wooahaes]

Your thesis sounds really interesting! It seems kinda scary that books romanticizing bad relationships are so popular among younger audiences. Do you think that #me//too has been positive in raising awareness of that?(if that made any sense haha) (also sorry to asking you q's!) I hope it goes well for you <3 -🍧

hi lovely <3 thank you!!

oof yeah thats part of the reason i chose the topic tbh. i can understand stories that like... do make it clear that "we're operating purely in fiction, it's just a darker relationship that's not healthy" (usually because they're fully marketed at adults and the writer has stated "yeah this is dark and not meant to be realistic romance, we're just playing in a space" somewhere). it's just bad when the writer... y'know, claims its "realistic" for a couple to fight when people actively point out the other traits that make it abusive and toxic to promote as a "realistic relationship," or they say that calling their story abuse is offensive to people who practice b/d/s/m and people in abusive relationships... also while people who do either (or both) are outright saying "uh no, you wrote abuse."

i'd have to look back on twi/light's response and how the writer responded to the criticism, but i can't imagine it's positive tbh

i think it has! of course there will always be naysayers who will continue to make claims that people are lying and that we should wait until we get full evidence before we believe anything at all. it's a hard line to tread of "we should side with victims unless they're fully proven wrong" because of how often victims get silenced in these matters, but it's hard to ignore times where people have straight up lied (and were proven wrong) before. it makes actual victims look worse and makes them less likely to be believed

but in general? i think the hashtag has raised a lot of awareness in discussing abuse and SA in general. i'm not sure how much it's used to discuss novels that romanticize it (if it ever is), but i think my focus on all of these novels has to do with how they still rose to popularity and are relevant today--and sometimes for the wrong reasons.

like. i think an argument that can be made against my case is that it didn't rise to popularity until 2017, even if its first instance was all the way back in 2006. i think my counter-argument is that its still relevant today because of movie adaptations like the f*fty sh*des series (the second two were released in 2017 and 2018), and the aft*r series (one movie released every year from 2019-2022). hell, we can even drag 3/6/5 days into this. a lot of people have openly discussed the toxic relationships within those two movies and how abuse is portrayed there (and even more-so in the books, from what i'm reading).

i'm leaving that one off my list though because i'm completely unsure of whether the dark tones were intentional (the novel has to do with a lot of mafia things?) and written in a "this is fictional and not romantic, please don't look for this in your relationships" manner. some have said that the book is marketed as being "disgustingly romantic" but it's a little more blurred imo whether that's the result of marketing not matching up what the writer intended. in most cases, i think it's the work of just... bad writing and people not realizing that they're writing abuse.

also i don't want to read it. i'm already slogging through the rest of these books, i don't want to add another one even if it is a little tempting (parallels between it and f*fty sh*des could work as being a "darker" romance, although this one is dark because murder/mafia/etc and the other is dark because "i don't know what b/d/s/m is and i don't want to take the time to realize how consensual it is")

also there's something to be said about how half of the books started as fanfic and one of them just feels like it lmao

please know my alternate thesis would have been "filing off the serial numbers" and how publishing fanfic is becoming more popular for all the wrong reasons because half the time its not a transformative work, it's just people changing names. i don't have enough to make that a 5-6k long paper, but i absolutely would love to discuss it lol

[exhoe-imagines]

All of them! ㅇㅅㅇ 💕

Ok anon, you asked for it, and we tried our best to deliver!! I’m sorry it took us a while, but we had to think a lot about some of these questions. With that said, all of our answers are below the cut, so please enjoy reading all of them ~

If you want to know more about us admins/our fics, I would recommend reading/skimming over the answers below!!

1. what’s your name? do you use any aliases? what about your ghost writer name?

We both use aliases for writing, at least on this blog. Jewels’ is based on her first name, and mine is based on my last name. I do have my first name on my main blog though, so if you’re curious enough, you can dig around for that 👀 ~ Admin Ruby 

2. name your favourite books; why are they your favorite books and do they affect your writing?

The Lover; Duras’ writing has inspired me to try and achieve complex emotions with simple concise language. Memoirs of a Geisha; capturing nostalgia and romanceTwilight; It was one of the first things I read seriously, and it helped me develop an understanding of internal conflict – which is often not expressed through dialogue. Demian; It showed me how to use symbolismAlso, anything by Jane Austen. I love her plots. ~ Admin Jewels

I’ll be honest when I say that while I love reading, I haven’t read a lot. I think I have a lot of books to explore, so I don’t think it would be fair for me to choose a favorite with my limited knowledge. On that note, when I do read, I try to look at the style of the book the most. How would I change it? Is there anything I want to take from it to include in my own writing? ~ Admin Ruby

3. name your favorite movies; why are they your favorite movies and do they affect your writing?

Along with all of the film adaptions of the books previously listed, I also love Film Noir and French New Wave movies. They have unusual plots filled with mystery and intrigue which I try to include in my writing. ~ Admin Jewels

Sci-fi, crime, and emotional movies are my favorite. The futuristic and supernatural aspect of the first give me a million ideas for AU’s, and the emotional and crime side of films help me delve deeper into my inspirations for characters. They make me think about what the characters are feeling, and what extremes they could be pushed to under certain circumstances ~ Admin Ruby

4. why do you like writing? what inspired you to put pen to paper?

My undying love for my men tbh ~ Admin Jewels

Writing gives me a way to express my thoughts and feelings, something I’m not good at verbalizing normally ~ Admin Ruby

5. what’s your favorite place to write? do you need a certain atmosphere?

I have to be unrushed and in a quiet environment. Writing on my laptop in bed is nice ~ Admin Jewels

I love places away from home. When we went on our beach vacation, I was able to get so much done. Also, whenever it rains or is super cold!! ~ Admin Ruby

6. tag any writers that you want to collab with!

Collabs aren’t a top priority of ours, at least right now, but if we were to consider one, it would be with a close mutual/friend ~ Admin Ruby and Admin Jewels

7. when writing, how do you begin? how do you end?

I begin by setting the atmosphere of my universe. That includes scenery and excessive description of the mood. I like to keep my endings simple and uncomplicated ~ Admin Jewels

I usually start with a rough outline, basic character descriptions, and an overview of the plot. Towards the end, I focus on editing and making sure the emotions I wanted to be presented are visible through my writing ~ Admin Ruby

8. how many wips do you currently have? which one is your favorite as of the moment?

I have 4 current works in progress, all of which are series. My favorite is The Knowing because it fits my current vibes ~ Admin Jewels

Oh, I’ve got easily 15-20+ right now. Some are just basic outlines while others I’m a couple thousand words into. My favorite as of now would have to either be the reincarnation au that Jewels and I are working on or the Yifan oneshot I just finished planning!! ~ Admin Ruby

9. what time of the day your write best? what season affects your writing the most?

I write best at night. As for seasons, I find that I tend to start fics in the summer and return to them in the fall and winter ~ Admin Jewels

I usually write best in the afternoon or super late at night. Each season gives me different feels too. Summer makes me think of exciting and adventurous fics, spring is soft and fresh, fall is warm and nostalgic, and winter is sad and lonely ~ Admin Ruby

10. describe your writing in five sentences or less.

My writing attempts to capture the scenes that I visualize throughout my daily life. My ideas are a mixture of memories but also of plots I haven’t lived. I use a mixture of inspiration from movies and books, and try to capture my feelings of the ideas into words to explain them ~ Admin Jewels

I want my writing to be as descriptive and powerful as possible, and I’ll write in any way that I think that will come across. Some of my fics are super long and drawn out. Others are short but strong. All of them though, express a simple idea, but with a complex view of life hidden underneath ~ Admin Ruby

11. describe yourself when writing in ten sentences or less.

I’m recording the scenes as if I’m living through them. I try to capture the feelings and essence of the characters as if I am them. I want it to be similar to a movie, where you can feel the characters emotions and actions as if they were your own ~ Admin Jewels

I focus a lot on the words I choose to describe things. I want my reader, whoever they might be, to feel what I’m trying to express. I try to use descriptive language that appeals to all of the senses and pulls the reader into the story. By doing so, I feel that they can relate more to the characters and the emotions in the fic ~ Admin Ruby

12. what do you associate with each of your stories? with your writing in general?

My scenes always include rain and emo music, along with some hunk, whether it be Sehun or Yoongi ~ Admin Jewels

I always think of my scenes having a free and even reckless feeling to them. The decisions my characters make might not always be the smartest, but they take some guts ~ Admin Ruby

13. what themes/images are you most comfortable with writing about? what themes/images are you most uncomfortable with writing about?

I am uncomfortable writing mundane or plotless fics, and try to stick to shocking or forbidden themes (ex. Kidnapping, crime, prostitution, etc.) Instead of focusing on cliche and commonly understood aspects of human psychology, I try to explore the deeper and darker workings of our minds ~ Admin Jewels

I’m comfortable writing a lot of things. Darks themes or images aren’t something that scare or intimidate me too much. If I were to mention anything that puts me on edge, though, it would be toxic relationships. It doesn’t matter who the love interest in the fic is, if they pose a ‘threat’ to the reader, I don’t want to romanticize it  ~ Admin Ruby

14. write a personal history/mini autobiography/author description that you don’t mind sharing.

I think one thing to mention about me is that my mindset of writing has changed a lot since writing on here. Originally, when I first joined the blog, I was writing for my own enjoyment. Now, however, I find myself gaining joy from bringing other people’s fantasies to life ~ Admin Jewels

I’ve been writing for a little over two years now, with many writing blogs and accounts across many forms of social media, and I have to say, I haven’t lost the spark for it even now. Being able to connect with others through my stories, and having people genuinely enjoy them makes me super happy ~ Admin Ruby

15. three pieces of your writing that people need to read to understand your writing and you?

Faithful part one and the introductions to The Knowing and Don’t ~ Admin Jewels

Definitely Riptide... For sure... Probably Can’t Hold Back and Farewell Summer too ~ Admin Ruby

16. three pieces of other’s writing that people need to read to understand your inspirations and you?

Crumbling Down by @yeolsmuffin , Pink by @soobadnoonecanstopher , and The Pawns and The Kings by @kreatingkpop  ~ Admin Jewels

Blanc et Noir by @duizhangdeluxe is for sure one of the ones I think of off the top of my head, along with these two mxm fics on AO3 (x) (x) ~ Admin Ruby

17. three films that people need to watch to understand you?

Mother!, Highway, and the 90’s Dracula ~ Admin Jewels

Love, Simon, Your Name, Anastasia ~ Admin Ruby

18. make a playlist for people to listen to if they want to understand you.

El Condor Pasa - Simon and Garfunkel Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye Yayo - Lana del ReySweet Dreams - EurythmicsStrangers in the Night - Frank SinatraClair de Lune - Debussy

~ Admin Jewels

Girls like Girls - Hayley KiyokoJet Black Heart - 5SOSMagic - ColdplayParadise - Fanxy ChildLoser - BIGBANGKing - Lauren Aquilina

~ Admin Ruby

19. how often does real life segue into your writing? is any of your writing based on events from your own life?

The feelings and emotions are usually based on what I’m feeling in real life at the time, but thankfully I’ve never been kidnapped by a mafia boss *wink wink* wouldn’t mind though if it were vampire!Yoongi *wink wink* ~ Admin Jewels

You can totally tell what kind of mood I’m in when I’m writing. My emotions heavily influence my writing, along with some events. With that said, like Jewels’ fics, the plots are exaggerated LOL ~ Admin Ruby

20. describe your writing life in one sentence. 

My writing life is an outlet for repressed emotions ~ Admin Jewels

My writing gives me a way to express emotions and thoughts I can’t express verbally ~ Admin Ruby

21. which self-doubts plague you the most often? which ones don’t you worry about?

I find myself most insecure about the plots of my fics as well as character development. I don’t worry about smut or descriptive language ~ Admin Jewels

Angst is for sure one of the things I worry about the most. I never feel like I capture it the way I want to. Slow burns too. I worry I rush them too much. I think I do pretty good with supernatural or mystical aspects of fics though!! ~ Admin Ruby

22. your favourite characters to write and why.

I like misunderstood or emotionally repressed romantic interests that open up to the reader over time ~ Admin Jewels

Determined characters!! Whether it’s the reader or another character, I always enjoy writing them trying to achieve a goal ~ Admin Ruby

23. what emotions do you like capturing the most? what emotions are the hardest to capture when writing?

The easiest emotions for me are angst (especially grief and jealousy) and under the influence. It’s hard for me to write a lack of emotion, even if the reader is in a content state ~ Admin Jewels

I think I capture anger pretty well. On good days I think my fluffy/loving writing isn’t that bad either. I would say shock is a hard one for me to grasp ~ Admin Ruby

24. name one fact about yourself that you want your readers to know about you.

I’m currently studying Political Science, which I think heavily affects my writing ~ Admin Jewels

I’m super emotional...like extremely so. I think my writing shows that a bit, but not as much as I think it could ~ Admin Ruby

25. one piece of advice that you want your readers to have; writing and non-writing pieces are okay.

Let go of any notions you have of “perfect” writing. Create your own style that suits you best ~ Admin Jewels

Don’t let anyone diminish how you feel about something. As long as you don’t express your emotions in a way that harms others/yourself, then you shouldn’t apologize for them ~ Admin Ruby

26. what are your writing goals for the week? for the month? for the year? how many words/poems do you write per week?

My main goal is always to keep up with my series, not necessarily under a time constraint though ~ Admin Jewels

I try to finish a fic/writing piece once a week, no matter how small it is ~ Admin Ruby 

---

Well, that was a long list. If you’re reading this, anon (or anyone else who got this far) I hope you enjoyed all of our answers!! Thank you for the ask ~~

[janiedean]

@nederys all of you guys kinda lost your shit but i don't think you're being consistent at all. you didn't go for it being misinformed or wrongly placed, just that it was "gross" bc it was "romanticizing" blabla, like if someone made a fic about ETA terrorists or whatever and i advocated censorship and asked for it not to exist. when you accept kink and RPF, you need to stand on that principle even when it's YOUR personal/national. shaming ppl into submission is the anti strategy and it doesnt actually convince anybody of anything, much literally if it's screaming in another language to the OPs. i didnt wanna reblog or anything but i was very unpleasantly surprised with how you guys handled the situation (and i say this bc i care and i know you value rationality, not to piss you off YOUR personal/national sensibility like if someone wants to write a fic 'romanticizing' tec bundy murders or a rape fantasy or whatever it's their field day just tag it properly, it's no different for a criminal organization as i see it. a piece of sexual fantasy or literary work is not a guarantee it's portrayed in an accurate way or that it's a moral endorsementj + I'll hear your argument on 'positive representation' so i'll take your word for now but it did really come of like "your evil porn is romanticizing evil irl so it should be censored". as for the bad taste etc thing - as long as the person in question doesn't find out i dont personally see the harm. other ppl getting second-handed distastefulness/offense about it is a slippery slope, bc again that quickly devolves into "ugh why you write about rape! / rpf! if you can write kink porn and you can do rpf (like i mean, what, we just tweak the hair color and the initials to make it 'fictional'?) - it follows you can write "distasteful" kink porn about rpf all you want. it's still fiction.okay in order

In order:

as I said in the other reply, people lost their shit because we’ve had this discussion for years and every time it happens SOMEONE (most likely american but not necessarily) shows yup informing us that since mafia in US english means generally organized crime and not THAT specific organized crime we need to chill and WHO CARES YOU’RE OVERREACTING. at some point there’s a limit to how much nice you can be when you’ve been trying nicely for years and people just dismiss you most likely also because you’re not poc enough to complain - again, when it happens with people who can fall into the POC definition doing this kinda stuff automatically means you’re racist, but with us it’s not even disrespectful? or recognized as potentially harmful? fine, we lost our shit, but it’s also not the first time it happens;

the point isn’t that they were making a fic about the mafia, but if we take the ETA terrorism similitude, it wasn’t ‘making a fic abut ETA’. it was, ‘we are making an RPF fic where we take a real living spanish actor who has a friend who died during an ETA bombing and we make him the commander of an ETA faction which plants a bomb in madrid’. I’d find it distasteful if it was about FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, but whatevr - it’s fictional. real people who are actually involved with those criminals on the other side? not so cool. and the fact that these people see nothing wrong with casting them as criminals for *the mafia* shows they have no idea of what they’re talking about and again, with fictional people you can try to ignore it (even if it irks me also because 90% of the time it shows a total failure of understanding the character just by casting them as mafiosi but never mind that’s my pet peeve), but real ones? who made a pro lgbt movie and are *allies* when a mafia killing actually was what kickstarted the creation of the hugest and first anti-homophobia/pro-gay lgbtq association in italy? like. that’s fucking with real people and honestly if I was the director and knew I’d feel personally slandered especially if I come from someplace where statistically everyone knows someone who’s been hurt by the mafia in the last fifty years if they weren’t themselves. like I had a friend whose father worked for the police and the antimafia division especially and lived in palermo back in the day and criminals did try to grab her out of her pre-school and they had to change cities VERY quickly after that, and I don’t even live in sicily. and she’s not even sicilian. it was twenty years ago when they planted bombs across the entire area and killed hundreds of people just in the 90s (comprehensive list). it’s not just WRITING FIC ABOUT THE MAFIA, which I could be relatively handwaving with if it was about fictional people and even then it irks me to hell and back, but real people? who make movies pro things that the mafia hates? really? and I have to hear ‘are you angry because you’re homophobes’? I don’t ask for it NOT TO EXIST, I’m asking a basic modicum of decency.

ted bundy vs mafia: ted bundy is ONE person and he’s been convicted and whatever. if someone’s personal fantasy is fucking ted bundy WHATEVER their problem. if THEY want to do the self-insert with real criminals whatever, idgi but if they’re aware of the implications whatever. the mafia is a bunch of people and they thrive on positive media representation and it’s such large scale that it fucks with this entire country on multiple levels (ad also other countries) and here you’re not using real criminals, you’re casting as criminals people who most likely have been hurt by that same organization. it’s a difference. and if you portray it as a nice organization where hey you help people bypassing the law and gay people are accepted it’s... just... not how it works.

rpf: I’m generally pro rpf as long as people don’t go to the actual real people and don’t harass them irl (which would make a lot of rpf shippers inappropriate) but like... idk if you were around in spn fandom at the time of the infamous j2 haiti fic, but if you weren’t, tldr: person sees the aftermath of the haiti earthquake on tv, thinks ‘well that’d make a perfect setting for my j2 bigbang fic’, writes an entire fic where jared and jensen go to haiti the month it happened, her artist makes art for it photoshopping those two over like... real pictures of real dead people and three betas don’t find nothing remotely cringy in this concept. the fic gets published. it gets slandered to hell and back and while I didn’t agree on assuming the author was a pre-trump (she most likely had no idea that stuff was kindaaa racist) and that she should have been educated, I’d like to presume that people would think thrice before setting a Romance Story TM on a background where when it was published people were still excavating corpses from the rubble. it’s about the same concept as the romantic mafia fic. but with the haiti fic anyone on tumblr would agree that it’s hardly appropriate, with mafia fic it’s just ‘meh shut up you’re whining’. also, while I do agree that jared and jensen, as famous people, signed up for this, too, I don’t really think using real people for this kind of thing is fair, educated or a favor to them. I get it’s all fantasy and so on, but at least use the fictional characters. I can imagine j2 wouldn’t be happy with knowing noncon fic where they’re protagonists exists, neither with the haiti fic, but the noncon is standard fandom kink and whatever and no one else is involved, the haiti fic DOES. and while the people in those pictures wouldn’t even know, if that’s what you jerk off to at least be aware that it’s not exactly tasteful. and the people mentioned had zero idea that jerking off to the *mafia* au is not tasteful and that the *mafia* is *not* random organized crime. no one would have a problem if they called them CRIMINALS or mob or whatever without using the specific mafia word, but they like it because AESTHETICS which 90% of the time aren’t even true because the godfather aesthetic is so NOT the camorra aesthetic it’s not even funny. and of course we shoudl educate people instead, too bad that if it’s about haiti they listen and if it’s about us, they don’t;

 kink: same as above but like, again, let’s always use the poor j2 guys. the j2 mafia au as above is absolutely ew to me but at least j2 are american and most likely didn’t grow up somewhere the mafia could kill their relatives or friends. guadagnino did. and whether he knows or not (HOPEFULLY HE NEVER FINDS OUT) it’s another level of disrespectful to take a guy who made a pro lgbt movie you liked and putting him in that scenario without being aware of it. and they don’t listen if you tell them. that’s the problem. I can be very tolerant, but good god at least hear people out on the subject. and if it concerns a situation that isn’t even old or a dead organization but one that’s thriving in the country still and fucks people over every day I’d like for these people to recognize that at least it’s something not cool and not just their jerk off fodder material. at this point do the GODFATHER AU, which is what they want anyway, stick with the american mafia and try to not give them positive rep, because this idea of the mafia as a cool thing plays a major role in actual mafia organization marketing themselves as a good thing and makes the work of people actually fighting them way harder. if no one thought it was cool, it wouldn’t have half the influence it has. but do I ever see mafia aus with cops or conflicted henchmen or the likes? nah. it’s all SAD ROMANTIC BACKSTORY WITH CRIMINALS. call it some other way. it’s not asking that much.

also: I am entirely down with mafia stories in media and stuff - again, I ove my sopranos and boardwalk empire and goodfellas and I actually do like the godfather when a lot of people here at this point hate it too, but none of those things make it look like it’s palatable to be in the mafia. people can jerk off to it I suppose, but at least they should be aware of that. lowering the bar, it’s why I get pissed at people passing jc as a healthy nice relationship - at least own up to your badwrong and don’t sugarcoat it. in this case they don’t even own up to the fact that it’s a real thing that hurts real people, never mind caring for the feelings of the people they’re fans of - I could jerk off to my rpf faves in anything but I’d like to know I’m not doing it to something they would loathe, and if you have to at least use the fictional characters as the jerk-off material. I mean I’d feel uncomfortable af using them as jerk-off material to something I know they as people would hate. obviously I’m pro write whatever you want, but I’m also pro ‘be aware of what you’re doing and know you’re possibly jerking off to things that are actually harmful to a lot of people and if you do and are cool with that whatever but at least try to not make it look as it’s a good thing’ while at the same time assuming that someone who tells you it’s not cool is doing it because they’re HOMOPHOBES when the mafia is the most homophobic organization in existence or close to it. we do need positive rep when it comes to mafia stories and we never get it.

like, final example: if I had seen one ‘steve rogers is a cop who wants to take down the mafia-like organization’ for every ten ‘tiny boss steve rogers and his russian henchman bucky are THE POWER COUPLE OF THE NY CRIME SCENE AND THEY KISS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AND HELP THE WEAK WHEN THE POLICE SUCKS ASS’ fics I ran into it’d be lovely, but the point is that I’ve never seen one such fic even if it’s a lot more IC for steve rogers to take down criminals than being a criminal, and if you make people notice that nicely (which we did more than once) the usual answer is ‘go fuck yourself it’s just aesthetics the mafia doesn’t hurt anyone’ when it actually did, does and will do as long as they have means to, and since this recasting of canonically good characters as *mafia* henchmen who are happy to be there and not itching to get out just really makes pass the concept that the mafia isn’t really that bad I think I/we affected people have the rights to point out that it’s already a distasteful thing that people should at least read about before assuming it’s random organized crime that can be substituted for whichever worldbuilding they like, and if they don’t care for that fine, at least avoid involving real people who actually would loathe that irl in it or, if anything, at least recognize that it’s fucked up to hell and back. and none of the people in that thread had the grace to do that.

I mean, obviously if I had to take the choice between one such fic not existing at all but censoring stuff and it existing without censoring stuff I’d pick the latter even if I absolutely don’t like it, but what irks me and the other people involved in this debate is how nonchalantly people do these recasting assuming that they’re not romanticizing the thing (which they’re doing) and then don’t listen to others when they’re pointed out that they’re doing it and they should be aware.

like, again, I think the haiti fic was a thing that no one with some salt in their brain and a basic amount of decency should have published. someone did. they got criticized for it and it sprung a lot of discussion (including comparing it with a gen kill fic set in east timor during the war which actually did it right and so no one actually thought it was exploiting a tragedy or being in bad taste) and tbh I think that when doing fic about serious things you should at least read up on that. but the point is that these people don’t listen, haven’t listened for years and most likely will keep on not listening and sorry but seeing a person from palermo who shoots movies that would make any cosa nostra boss mad being recast as a cosa nostra/mafia sicilian boss who, if compared to a, uh, real life person who died recently would deal with people seceding from this organization by ordering to kidnap their children and have them dissolved in acid at the ripe age of nine is really goddamned distateful and hearing ‘so your problem is that they’re gay is that why you’re so angry’ as a response instead of reading it and thinking ‘damn maybe that was a bit out of line’ isn’t exactly that great.

especially because again, these organization thrive on people assuming they’re less bad than they actually are and we’re not talking about stuff that happened three hundred years ago - the kid dissolved in acid happened in 1996 and it’s hardly the last time something like that happened. it’s not a general crime organization, it’s a very specific one, and I’ll be fine with people jerking off to any italian stereotype in existence while I roll my eyes and be fine with it, but at least I’d like these people to know what they’re doing. and they aren’t. and they should be. and on top of that some positive rep where the mafia people are inherently bad and the good guys want to take them down would be nice. I do get that it looks like I’m being incoherent but I’m not saying they can’t do it, I’m saying they should show a minimum of consideration, and they aren’t. then no one’s stopping them from doing it of course but just the fact that they-won’t-listen kind of says a lot. :/ and when it comes to real people and real things it’s not just fiction and you should at least be aware of that.

[aikainkauna]

I still can't reply to replies because of Tumblr's new interface, so I have to respond to this very good point by @acitymadeofsong this way.

And yes. This is a big problem, because it seems like many writing gurus and teachers and BOFQs seem to treat it as an either/or thing: either you write sparse, sober prose *or* turgid, purple prose; there's *nothing* in between. Now, I know that especially in the zine era, there were mountains of azure orbs and limpid pools around. So that led into an attitude where every bit of poetry and every metaphor resulted in a kneejerky "that's badfic!" reaction from the critic and the readers and the writers themselves. And that deprived us of a lot of really good poetry, I feel. Hell, *I* have a superbly honed sense for romance cliches myself by now--and don't get me wrong, this puritanism did, in fact, help me as a writer in a "know the rules before you start rolling up the rulebook and smoking it" kind of way--but this terror of the dread demon of purpleness has got me to a point where I have to *constantly* slap myself upside the head to remind myself that it's not only ok, but *in character* for me to put poetic thoughts and lines into my characters' heads and mouths when I'm writing Thief of Bagdad fic.

The movie itself is a really great example of beautiful, poetic language that does hold together well even now, despite there always being some whiny, cynical asshats in the audience who think they're tough by moaning about its "corniness"--and I always think that they are doing themselves--hell, even their very own humanity--a disservice. "Were you never an innocent, dreaming child?" I think. "Are you *happy* in having thrown your dreams of romantic adventure and beauty onto the pyre of postmodern nihilism?" Because of course, those people aren't--the whole point of that film was to allow people to escape (especially since WWII broke out during filming), and it's *explicit* about the value and power of the mind of an innocent child. It's the last, defiant dying cry of Romanticism before the war crushed it. Its dialogue and storytelling were unabashedly Romantic even for the time, a loud cry in favour of the fairytale without a *shred* of cynicism, thanks to which the film is so incredibly pure--and thus refreshing, a merciful respite, a balm. So it was serving that same urge that I am defending here, really; therefore, I would be committing a crime against it were I not faithful to that same spirit of hope and passion that ran through it.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the whole sparse prose mafia thing. I think that this is also heavily cultural. I keep seeing posts on here from American kids complaining about their teachers wanting to make everyone write like Hemingway. Ah, Papa Hemingway. Now, he's a particularly painful example in that you can see the guy *did* feel, and did have even crazily romantic emotions, but his work reads like a classic process of machismo crushing all that, suffocating that, and him just not having been given any tools for handling those emotions because society robs men of that. If anything, it should be analysed as a warning example of how the culture of masculinity fucks guys over.

But in other countries, it's crazily different--I knew a Spanish girl who was an aspiring academic, and even at her university, the teachers pressured everyone to write academic text in this really old-fashioned, formal, conversational style. As in, "we should be grateful for the way the ancients..." and "the old truth of X has been aptly demonstrated by the brilliant Y here..." and all these other near-Victorian turns of phrase that are nowhere near a neutral, impersonal scientific POV. And then you've got the extreme politeness and formality in highly-educated Indian correspondence, and conversely txt spk being universal among even grown-up Middle Eastern and South Asian folks on the internet (I always wonder if this is because of having to switch between different writing systems, some of which skip many vowels), etc. So the cultural expectations of what's good language use is hugely varied.

But, yeah, poesy is being weeded out more and more as somehow embarrassing and naive (and always with that unconscious feel of its emotion being "feminine"=weaker, lesser, thus less strong and valuable--even the word "sentimental" is an insult when it just fucking means "something with feeling!"), all over the world. Yet, just like love and passion and intense emotion and awe at the grandness of grand things (the definition of Romanticism, obvs) cannot be killed because it's such an inherent part of human nature, poetry has found ways to survive through song lyrics--and a lot of bad writing that doesn't know what bad writing and cliches are. People still go for it, just like they still do ritual and devotional and spiritual things in a seemingly secularised Western world, because that kind of thing is how the human psyche works. (And there's a gender divide there as well, sadly--why is it that the rantiest, angriest atheists and puritan fundamentalists are angry men aiming to strip weaknesses and frills from human behaviour in favour of bleak brutality, and then it's either ditzy hippie chicks who are into all the fluffy superstitious New Age stuff or superintelligent academic women setting out to construct feminist witchcraft? Oh, wait, candles and incense and yoga and being kind to yourself and others are *girly.* Reason and strict rules and punishments are upright and manly!) Why are humans like this and can't just seek a balance from the best bits of both reason and compassion... *sigh*

So, yeah, that crazy polarisation is just lame, in everything ever, because... variety and diversity, please. I digressed hugely again, but one has to point this out because people really don't seem to see how stupidly b/w--and gendered--it all is. We've been lured into this idea that just because in society, the default for "human" is male/masculine and therefore, pursuing that leads to equality somehow, whereas it's just rubbish--and not just because of the poisons of modern ideas of masculinity, but because just like all gender bullshit, ideas of what's manly have varied like crazy from place to place and from era to era. Looking at history, you've got beautiful and emotionally complex poetry and Romanticism from guys, but now we're all supposed to just suffocate that and be bland and dead. To serve what purpose (if we're not aiming to become emotionless killing machines, the only reason a culture of sparseness/emotional coldness was ever developed for), I don't know. What if Bob wants to be as wild as a Dionysian devotee and compose wildly florid songs in praise of the moonlit meadows of Arcadia--where does he turn to hone his craft; who listens to him sing? What if Anne wants to be swept up in the arms of a wild romance and make her prose shine and glisten like the dew on that moonlit grass, without slipping into a limpid pool on the way? Where's the cave in which XYZ could hone hir poetry to soar like that of Inanna's dragtastic priests in fervent, orgiastic abandon?

My only answer to that would be to just... well.

Read tons of old shit.

Write tons of new shit.

And then *interact* about it, be *supportive* about it, *discuss it.*

Because, just like you said, we don't have enough of that right now.

But even then, I would just say, even to poetic writers whose work I might find bad, *keep fucking going.* Because if you are dedicated and exercise a constant, honest self-awareness about your flaws, you'll keep getting better. Even if you are writing in a vacuum, or think you're writing in a vacuum (because fuck knows it feels like it in today's "too scared to comment" culture), KEEP WRITING. You owe it to yourself and your soul, as an act of fierce honesty towards what you really are.

Besides, and most people don't seem to realise this, writing poetic language is *hard.* Even if you're not writing rhyming couplets, just constructing a sentence is more difficult if you want to evoke really specific images and emotions; the word order itself gets more difficult when you step outside the "see Spot run" style. That's why Twilight is so bad: because the sentence construction is clunky and godawful, and because the thoughts are really vague and drifty and not definite. When saying a bitch fancies a guy, saying "She also thought of other things" is horridly opaque, especially when it's not even meant to be mysterious: if you want to be mysterious, you have to signal that better. So you'd be better off saying "other thoughts also entered her mind, thoughts she was unable to understand or process; therefore she pushed them into the deepest peripheries of her mind, out of sight." Because that shows to us a hint of why these thoughts are vague and unprocessed; the *prose* can't be vague even if the heroine's experience is. That draws the reader in and helps her understand what's going on; the vague "other things" just leaves one hanging and WTFing.

But... yeah. That's the kind of thing I mean. I still stubbornly believe you can get away with anything if you just work hard enough on the suspension of disbelief part, work hard enough on the characters to make their actions seem like they were the sorts that character would commit, if pushed.

I can't remember if I actually made a post at any point talking about Romantic/poetic writing and how to make it work? Probably on LJ, or then I am thinking of fic comments? Because, really, if there *is* need for such, I could throw something like that together. But I don't really feel like I'm some kind of authority on the matter, that's the problem. For all I know, most people consider my stuff too purple, and there's no telling how objective that is--whether it's just a matter of taste, or some (however ephemeral and subjective) standard one either achieves or falls short of. So I don't want to become like one of those conceited people who get really puffed up if they've been published once, and actually write fairly mediocre fiction, and then suddenly start behaving like they're gurus.

(Plus, I've had so much shit for creative word choices in DW and B7 fic that I fear it'd just look like I was defending overt poetry where it doesn't work. I'm *fully* aware these days of how fandom-specific it is, and that's why I've burrowed myself firmly into ToB, so I will never have to come out into sparse-prose writing ever again. I still remember groaning at a fic that randomly described Romana's inner labia as "petals," whereas with Jaffar looking at Yassamin's bits? For a guy who describes her eyes as "Babylonian," "Petals" is par for the course and wouldn't even stand out.)

Anyway. I just hope these rants and discussions will shake up and/or encourage at least some people who have had their poetry suffocated. I will go and have a look at my notes and old LJ posts to see if I have, indeed, written anything that'd come close to the sort of poetry-encouraging writing guide you describe. Because I do feel like I *have* written about getting away with it at some point. I'm sure it all boils down to a) "learn the rules and *then* bend them," b) "avoid the most *obvious* cliches," c) "describe the poetic stuff in a new, original way or aim for a perfect pastiche," and d) "choose a poetic world and stay there," but I'll have a look anyway!

Also, JFC, this became long! But it really is a matter worth talking about. I want a whole fucking literary salon dedicated to getting Romantic/poetic writing right, and celebrating the style without shame. Who's with me?

[janiedean]

Hello! I was cruising around Tumblr and saw the posts about the mafia, and the romanticization of it, and your posts. They are very interesting and informative, I didn't realize that mafia is still such an issue in Italy today. So I want to thank you for your posts, as someone who has read a mafia!au or two before (actually, more than I'd like to admit) and didn't realize that it was still such a harmful thing. I do have a question that kind of pertains to it, kinda doesn't. (Part 1)

(Part 2) Have you seen the show Suburra: Blood on Rome, and if so, given what you have said about the mafia (though the show doesn't seem to really show mafia, more just crime groups in general, but I could be very wrong), what are your thoughts about that show? Is it romanticizing crime in Italy, like mafia!au's do?

hi! :) first of all thanks for actually like *reading that post* and not automatically assuming we’re out to censor people which is what most people apparently do - also I mean no one crucifies people for reading it and stuff but we’d like for people to at least be aware of what they’re writing you know? that said, about suburra: I haven’t seen it yet mostly for lack of time though it’s on my list and I’ll get to it, but it would definitely not qualify because it’s written and performed by italians and just reading the plot I can see that they know what they’re doing. also from what I gathered it’s about Roman crime families which are usually doing business with all the three most important southern italian mafias so it would qualify as a mafia show, yes, but like it’s written by people who know what they’re doing so no it definitely would not. same as gomorra which is also an italian production just about the neapolitan mafia in which everyone is about terrible and is also done by people who know what they’re doing. like, most italian products on the topic deal with it because it’s a thing that affects us, but it doesn’t do it making it look like it’s the kind of life that’s good for romantic drama subplots. and tbh given the current situation around here making a series about criminals here is not a bad idea because a lot of people have no idea how bad is the roman criminal underground situation :/

(on top of that, I would also like to say that I have no issues with *good* american products dealing with it - ie, I still think the sopranos is a masterpiece because it absolutely shows how terrible the protagonists are, all of them, and doesn’t make it look like they’re heroes or anyone we should actually admire as people, boardwalk empire was an excellent show [and it was historical so obviously it wasn’t romanticizing the actual italian mafia anyway but still], goodfellas is imo an excellent movie and while I think it’s somewhat a divisive subject I don’t even think the first two godfathers are bad rep/romanticization mostly because the last thing I get from watching them is that we should aspire to be like michael corleone [and the third is bad because it sucks as a movie period] - I think there’s a problem with the fact that people have decided that mafia aesthetic = THE GODFATHER when it’s a very specific kind of and no one in Italy would assume mafia people are like that, god they’re so NOT as refined-looking for that matter, but it’s not the movie’s problem, it’s the audience thinking that if it’s about X then X is a positive role model that’s the problem. but like I don’t think Godfather romanticized much either. but like, all of this stuff is stuff I’d absolutely show people to make a point about how bad the mafia is ESPECIALLY THE SOPRANOS. or untouchables which was an a++++ movie and tbh if I saw ONE mafia fic that was an untouchables AU I’d probably weep in joy. MEANWHILE the mafia people in gotham the tv series were a good 70% of the reasons why I dropped it because it was godfather aesthetic brought to the worst level done really, really badly imo and at the next italian bad guy without depth who lives with their mother, only eats meatballs pasta and listens to puccini I’m gonna punch the wall. like that is bad media mafia rep.)

tldr: if it’s italian, 99,9% it won’t be romanticizing stuff. if it’s american, it’s not a total given either actually the sopranos is a lot better than some italian stuff on the topic I saw. but mostly the problem with *mafia au* fic is that people don’t research, slap terms and the aesthetic on an organization that is not really the mafia but makes it look like it and perpetuate the idea that it’s criminals but IT’S HONORABLE CRIMINALS THAT ARE THE BACKGROUND FOR SAD LOVE STORIES when in real mafia environment love stories are usually sad because both parties get horribly killed sooner rather than later, and if they’re two men or two women it happens sooner and the modalities are plenty worse. and in the case we were discussing some people cast as a boss a real living gay man from sicily who was old enough to remember the killing of two gay kids in a small town in sicily who were like sixteen and for which the outrage was big enough that the first national pro-lgbt association was born out of it. I mean, that’s romanticizing it, not making movies or tv shows about it which are meant to show that it sucks. I hope it was clear :)