#but it's a thing i will not engage with (except to complain because that's my right on my blog in asks asking me specifically about it)

[sharkneto]

Why don’t you want five in school?

Oh, I've ranted about it before in the tags of THIS POST but in general it makes me wildly uncomfortable. As an adult, the thought of hypothetically being forced back to high school is the fucking pits, you could not pay me enough to do it - and I even had a good time in high school! Five is almost 60 years old and they're going to force him to go to classes and hang out with teens? That feels bad from every angle! It forces Five to act in a way he'd only do under great duress and fucks his agency and autonomy as an adult so badly. There are better, more interesting ways to play with the consequences of his physical vs actual age than sending him to goddamn high school. There's other, less dominating options for the "he looks like a kid and never actually graduated" problem.

You do you if that's your jam, don't let a random dude on the internet yuck your yum, but Five in high school is a squick for me.

[gay-dorito-dust]

YOOO I SEE U FELLOW UNUS ANUSER🫵🫵 i fucking love ur works keep at it bestie pls feed our delusions😫😫

may i ask for, dan heng, blade and jing yuan with a sweet and kind s/o but the moment theyre (the characters) are talked to in a disrespectful way, s/o is immediately turning into a guard dog with a “i’ll tear out your guts with my hand showed down your throat”? idk i just love feral but also gentle s/o tropes so much😔

Thank you 🫵 my fellow Unus Anuser for the ask and enjoying my writings, despite me thinking half of them could be better but I’m not going to complain if ppl enjoy them regardless.

Dan Heng:

He’s taken aback by your sudden threats of violence towards a random pedestrian for intentionally bumping into him.

He was more use to Caelus rummaging through trash cans before waxing poetry about them and whenever March 7th going off on her own as it was expected of their characters.

You however? His sweetheart, his precious jewel and beloved partner? It was extremely unexpected. Dan Heng had to physically stop you from actually fulfilling your threat by holding you against him before putting a good deal of distance between you and the rude individual.

He’s not against you defending his honour, he just doesn’t want you engaging in fights with random people just because they said something about him that you didn’t like. He didn’t want you to stoop to their level and become like them, no matter how good your reasonings for doing so may be. Dan Heng just wants you to be better than them and not give them the reaction that they needed to fuel their own narratives.

That and Dan Heng knew that you could easily kick their ass but he didn’t felt like dealing with being chased by the authorities for unprovoked acts of violence. However some exceptions can be made to this but Dan Heng would much rather that you kept out of trouble, just for his sake and his sanity as he didn’t want to make breaking you out of jail a reoccurring thing.

Jing Yuan:

His interest is peaked.

Who’d knew that someone as sweet and kind as you had such a vicious side, waiting to come out.

Jing Yuan didn’t care for much what others said about him, but having you come to his defence without hesitation had him smiling with pride. His reputation precedes him wherever he went, so naturally he wasn’t going to be easily intimidated by senseless yapping of others, especially those who had not even the slightest clue of the things he’s put himself through in order to get where he was.

While Jing Yuan appreciates your need to stick up for him, he didn’t think it was necessary for you to waste your time and energy on those who lack the capacity to listen to a voice that wasn’t their own.

‘Always pick your battles wisely my dear,’ he said all the while looking at the person who insulted him dead in the eye with that half asleep expression of his, ‘for most aren’t worth fighting in.’ He finishes before gently pulling you by the waist and walking away.

Blade:

He had an inkling that there was more to you than meets the eye. However he didn’t expect someone who went out of their way to feed stray kittens and puppies, patch up his wounds despite knowing he could heal, would ever spout such detailed threats towards another person.

He didn’t give two shits about what people said about him that he hasn’t heard before, he had long grown immune to ignore the comments from those who didn’t know him nor his past. Yet he couldn’t help but revel in the look of surprise on the persons face the words left your lips, chuckling softly at the countless possible thoughts that must be running through their head in that moment.

It was always the sweetest people that everyone was the least suspicious about, it was near enough impossible to fathom that they were capable of hurting anyone.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing is what described you best in this moment as Blade watched you with new found interest. He found this side of you rather exciting and wanted nothing more than to help you hone in on this side of you and use it to your advantage; Yet he found another part of himself wanting to be the one inciting violence, as he refuses you to tread the same path he did, he wouldn’t allow it.

After all he was the weapon.

He was the one stained in the blood of others.

He was the one that inflicted pain onto others and himself and it was something he will continue to do until death was finally granted to him in whatever form that may be. Blade will refuse you from ever embracing that side of yourself if it meant sending you on a projectory much like his own.

You were his light in the dark for a reason and while it was reassuring to know that you had what it took to fight back, Blade would much rather be the one to fight instead and to be the one to keep your hands clean of blood and violence overall.

[exercise-of-trust]

seemingly cool fiber arts person i followed a little bit ago just put radfem shit on the dash, anyway the blanket statement that the only contributions of men to textile production are capitalist/exploitative and the only contributions of women are household-centric/victimized is patently untrue. while less of a documented presence, women in medieval europe [1] absolutely participated in weaver's guilds and commercial cloth production [2], and men have been participating in household knitting in all parts of europe for as long as knitting has been a thing there [3]. like i'm not trying to say women haven't been deeply excluded from economic opportunities in the textile trade for centuries but you cannot be making sweeping statements like that about everyone in every part of the world through all of history and expect them to be true. do, like, a basic level of research and have a basic understanding of nuance, i beg of you [4]

footnotes/sources/etc under the cut, sources are a bit basic because i just grabbed whatever was nearest to hand but they should suffice to prove my point:

[1] i'm only referring to western europe here because that's the only region i feel comfortable talking about in any detail without embarrassing myself. systems of medieval cloth production in european guilds are not gonna look anything like the systems of hundreds of servants employed to do textile production for a household in china. don't make categorical statements about everyone everywhere all at once, you will end up with egg on your face.

[2] quotes from "when did weaving become a male profession," ingvild øye, danish journal of archaeology, p.45 in particular.

england: "in norwich, a certain elizabeth baret was enrolled as freeman of the city in 1445/6 because she was a worsted weaver, and in 1511, a riot occurred when the weavers here complained that women were taking over their work" + "another ordinance from bristol [in 1461] forbade master weavers to engage wives, daughters, and maids who wove on their own looms as weavers but made an exception for wives already active before this act" germany: "in bremen, several professional male weavers are recorded in the early fourteenth century, but evidently alongside female weavers, who are documented even later, in 1440" -> the whole "even later" thing is because the original article is disputing the idea that men as weavers/clothiers in medieval europe entirely replaced women over time. also: "in 1432-36, a female weaver, mette weuersk, is referred to as a member of the gertrud's guild in flensburg, presently germany" scandanavia: "the guild of weavers that was established in copenhagen in 1500 also accepted female weavers as independent members and the rules were recorded in the guild's statutes"

[3] quotes from folk socks: the history and techniques of handknitted footwear by nancy bush, interweave press, 2011, don't roast me it was literally within arm's reach and i didn't feel like looking up more stuff

uk/yorkshire dales: "...handknitting had been a daily employment for three centuries [leading up to 1900]. practiced by women, children, and men, the craft added much to the economy of the dales people." (p.21) uk/wales: re the knitting night (noson weu/noswaith weu) as a social custom practiced in the 18th/19th c.: "all the ladies would work on their knitting; some of the men would knit garters" (p.22) uk/channel islands: "by the early seventeenth century, so many of the islands' men, women, and children had taken up the trade of knitting that laws were necessary to keep them from knitting during harvest" (p.24) -> this one is deeply funny to me, in addition to proving my point uk/aberdeen: "the knitters, known as shankers, were usually women, but sometimes included old men and boys" (p.26) denmark: "with iron and brass needles, they made stockings called stunthoser, stomper, or stockings without feet, as well as stockings with feet. the men knit the legs and the women and girls made the heels" (p.32) iceland & faroe islands: "people of all ages and both sexes knit at home not only for their own use but for exportation of their goods as well" (p.35)

[4] actually? no. i'm not begging for shit from radfems. fuck all'a'y'all.

[nightdivinity]

Drink Responsibly! Prologue

ABO!Vampire!Batfam x reader

Minors! Do! Not! Engage! +18 only.

Platonic! Alfred, Bruce x reader, Possessive! Batboys x reader

Warnings: Alcohol, bad choices, stupid choices, possessive behavior, a/b/o fic, there is slight blood and gore, it's a vampire au, age gaps, because they're all significantly older, it's going to get suggestive from here on out, reverse harem, slight proofreading

Writer's Note: I want to thank @sophiethewitch1 for inspiring me and talking me through posting my writing. I hope it doesn't let you down! This is also my first time posting my writing on Tumblr, please be gentle. English is not my first language. Also, this is a why choose fic. So, it's Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian x reader. Maybe even Duke. I think four is a lot. Got to draw the line somewhere. Chapter 2 will be posted tomorrow.

It was midnight when you finally stumbled out of the latest club. Your heels were long gone, as you had taken them off the first time they got stuck in a grate. You’re pretty sure you handed them to a nice girl in the bathroom while her friend held your hair as you threw up copious amounts of alcohol and bar food. She had been super nice, you liked the way her short black hair was spiked, and her blonde friend’s eyeliner was superb. Anyways, now you are shoeless and desperately looking for the next bar on your crawl.

Gin’s. Ooh, that’ll do. You reach out and grab your friend’s bicep, point at the neon sign, and do vague gestures. Of course, your friend is not as well off as you are, so it takes a while to get your point across. Only they start crying again over their bullshit bar fling, and the fact you have no shoes.

It didn’t matter, none of it truly mattered. Not a single thing. This was your one night off after weeks of back-to-back grueling shifts at a job that doesn’t care whether you live or die. Yesterday you even took a quick unintentional power nap on the toilet. All of this resulted in you being slightly crazed and a little deranged as your night progressed.

But hey, Gotham just brings that out in people. In your job's defense, no one could take any more sick or inclement weather days thanks to all the random villain attacks next to or at your office. You blame the monthly rut.

At least you didn’t get stuck on the subway taped to a bench by the Riddler this week as he awkwardly rifled through a notebook of pickup lines. Life was certainly looking up.

See, unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the propaganda you consumed, you were born an Omega. Which had never truly been an issue. Except for the fact that thanks to a few foul choices from the government, it was getting harder and harder to get access to affordable pheromone blockers. You wouldn’t have even chanced this outing if you hadn’t found that one pill that rolled a little under your cabinet. Hey, you were desperate for a night out.

“I’m going there”, you slur.

Yes, this was asinine, but you still managed to wheel yourself and your friend to Gin’s. You hardly noticed the dark shadows following you as your friends from the bathroom quietly herded you. As you and your friend jaywalked across the street, you didn’t notice the red-headed woman standing in the middle of the road, blocking traffic from actually hitting you. It also barely registered when the nice boy with flashing gold eyes took your hand and led you past the line and directly to the front. This. Was. Your. Night. Out.

“Hey man, she can’t come in here with no shoes”, the bouncer at the door complains.

He was going to say more until he looked at the man holding your hand so nicely. You could hear the slight choking noise, and in your drunken stupor, you stumbled a little into your guide.

“He’s going to shit himself”, you stage-whisper. Or what you think was whispering. You were screaming over the pounding bass spilling out of the door.

                “Shhh, Jackson, she’s with me”, your guide replies.

                “She can come in, her friend can’t. Sorry Duke, they’re way too fucked up”, the bouncer swears.

                You gasp and let go of Duke’s hand, instead reaching for your friend and pulling them tight into your embrace. While smashing their face into your chest. Even though you were the most drunk you’ve ever been, you didn’t miss the spike in pissed-off Alpha vibes that happened around you. Still, you smacked a hand against your friend’s ear in an effort to protect them from what was said. Then you got sidetracked by their hair. It reminded you that you wanted a pet. Although with your work and class schedule, it would probably die in a week. Three days tops. At least you had your emotional support friend.

                “I can’t leave them alone”, you say.

                “Hun, how about I call them an Uber, they look like they’re ready to pass out. They definitely can’t handle it anymore”, Duke replies.

                He gestures towards your friend, and you notice how they’re slowly swaying on their feet. Eyes half closed. Shit. It would be shitty if you left them passed out somewhere in the bar as you danced and drank. They were already on their fourth wind and fading fast.

                “Look, you see this nice car”, Duke continues.

                He turns you three, and suddenly you notice the nice black town car next to the road. You vaguely register the fact that it’s one of those high-roller cars. Ones that only the richest in Gotham could afford.

                “See, this is Killian, he works for Wayne Enterprises. He’ll make sure your friend makes it home. I’ll even have him text you when they get there. Won’t that be nice? You don’t have to worry at all (y/n).”, he tells you.

                You nod, and it all makes sense somehow in your drunken brain. He knows your name, so obviously you know him. He also knows your friend, since he rattles off their address and gently pries them from your clutches before handing them off to Killian.

You pay no mind to the mention of a name that would have sent shivers down your spine normally. Wayne. Mysterious and dangerous to all who get involved.

                “I need them back, don’t sell their organs”, you warn.

                Then he gives you a tight brisk smile as he turns away from you. A persistent thought is starting to nag its way through the cotton in your head. The slightest unsettling feeling. Maybe there was something wrong with that blocker pill you found on the floor of your kitchen. You were certainly feeling as though there were a lot of pissed-off Alphas near you. The undercurrent of anger was a tang you couldn’t escape. More and more you felt the need to run somewhere dark and quiet to hide.

                You ignore the persistent tugging by Duke as you watch your friend get loaded into the car and driven away. Well. That ends that.

                The next time Duke tugs on your hand, it causes you to slightly stagger. He easily catches you and spins you around and through the door before you can protest.

                “Can I have a Rum and Coke?”, you shout over the music.

                “Yeah totally”, Duke shouts back.

                It’s only until you are tugged past the bar that you realize that everything is not all sunshine and daisies. No. No. This is wrong. You want to go back.

                You put your heels in. Duke was not ready for resistance as your hand slid out of his grasp on the way to the V.I.P. section. He turns around to get a better hold of you, only to watch you slip into the crowd and get lost in the sea of swaying bodies. Fuck. He was told to bring you to them. You still had to be here, there’s no way you could have bumbled off far. Shit. One job.

                Duke ran a palm over his face as he scanned the crowd. There’s no doubt in his mind. Bruce was going to be pissed. He wasn’t supposed to know about your little excursion out. Everyone had agreed, they would watch over you as the day turned. You still weren’t used to Gotham; you didn’t know the sort of creatures that came out during the night. While the rest of the world was happy and filled with normal and meta shifters, Gotham was overflowing with the less-than-stable. All more than happy to take a bite out of the innocent. The only thing that kept it in check was the unspoken King and his disgraced hellions.

If you had been sober, you would have noticed the people slowly disappearing from the crowd. You would have noticed that tonight was absolutely not a good night to be out. One by one, shrieks of fear and pain were mistaken for fun. Jostling in the crowd was hardly registered as the violence spread. The whole night, you were in a sea of sharks feeding. Now you had finally ditched what you didn’t know was your only protection.

                 Not to worry, fear splashes hot and cold against your nerves as sharp claws grip your arm, your back slamming into the bar as a distended jaw hisses open in front of you.

                Yeah. Maybe you should have been drinking responsibly.

[mantizimus]

Hello! I've never asked for requests before, so I hope I haven't messed up anywhere x) I just need a little inspiration. Fandom: Transformers Prime. Headcanon I think. Platonic. Female reader. Half Mexican. The reader becomes Optimus Prime's human partner at the beginning of the series. She is very independent and used to cope with everything by herself (her father left her mother, and her mother did not take care of her due to depression), quite rude, decisive, sarcastic, and even cynical, feisty, wild, but at the same time very sympathetic. She is 3 days older than Jack and likes to make fun of him for it. Engaged in street dancing, likes to read literature, both classic and criminal. The most interesting thing is that she combines some of the qualities of Optimus and Megatron: she can be quite cruel, also has anger issues (although it's more like cold rage) and has no problem killing bad people, while being very loyal, fair and decisive. This makes her a morally gray character. I would like to read how her relationship with Optimus developed in general with such characteristics, given that they later turned into a father-daughter relationship. Some moments between them that show this relationship. Also, maybe she had some interesting interactions with Megatron? If the fantasy goes further, then write about her relationship with other members of the Prime Team, including people. I hope I didn't add anything too much. Sorry for my bad English. Thanks in advance!

It's OK. Just, please, don't send such long requests next time. I might go "tl;dr" mode and miss something you'd like to see.

Father-daughter relationship with fem human Reader

Optimus Prime

Adopting a human girl wasn't part of Optimus' plans, but he's not complaining.

He don't quite understand why you tease Jack because he's a little younger than you.

Feels sympathy for you when he finds out about your past.

If your biological parents try to take you away, he will politely explain that you're staying with him.

From time to time he will turn to you for recommendations regarding earthly literature.

If he has free time, which is extremely rare, he can watch you dance.

Doesn't really approve of your willingness to kill bad people, preferring to try to resolve the conflict peacefully. However, he has to admit that sometimes this may be the only option.

Your Megatron-like traits make him remember their friendship.

Optimus greatly values your loyalty, honesty and determination.

The rest of his team takes your presence completely calmly… except that Bumblebee and Bulkhead will sometimes wonder when Ratchet will have his own human.

It's worth noting that Wheeljack will immediately join them when he meets you.

[pluckyredhead]

Did I just read your Super Sons primer from 2020 at 3 am on a Monday morning because I'm having a real normal one? Maybe?! I'm wondering how you feel about how they and their relationship has developed since then. IMO it's... Pretty bleak. 😩

I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT IT. (Also here's the primer for anyone who missed it.)

So I will say that 95% of everything Jon has been in since he got aged up has been hot garbage, but I do think the exception is when Damian is around. But let's take it from the top!

First of all, I don't necessarily think they should de-age him again. Generally speaking I think it's better storytelling to focus on fixing things moving forward, rather than undoing things moving back. Sure, if DC came up with some big cosmic event that reset Jon to 11, I certainly wouldn't complain, but I'd rather see them, uh...do literally anything with Teen Jon that doesn't suck.

But yeah, aging Jon up to begin with still makes me livid because:

I want my baby to have had a childhood.

It's fully character assassination for Lois and Clark. They would NEVER let their 11-year-old go to outer space with a supervillain. Lois would NEVER just abandon him out there, and Clark would NEVER respond with "Well, I'm sure he's fine, wanna have marathon sex?" I honestly have no idea what Bendis or his editor were thinking.

They have not done a single interesting with him since!!!

Putting this behind a cut because it got LONG. Also spoilers for Beast World in there.

I've said this before, but I have to assume that Bendis wanted to age Jon up because he wanted to write a Legion book. But he also in his wisdom decided to bring Kon back into continuity at exactly the same time, which means we have two nearly identical Superboys that DC didn't and still doesn't know what to do with. Kon clearly couldn't have joined the LOSH because he already had a team, but you know what Super teen was available, and not 11, and who has a history with the Legion that goes back almost as long as Clark's? KARA. But I will save that rant for another day.

And honestly, Kara dodged a bullet, because that Legion book was unreadable. Bendis at his most Bendis-y wall of text interrupt-y conversations and no plot. If I give Tom Taylor any credit it's that the second he got his hands on Jon, he torpedoed Jon/Imra as a ship. GOOD.

And when the LOSH book finally went out with a whimper (that JLA/LOSH miniseries! what was that!!!), we entered the Taylor Era. Taylor's quirks are less stylistic and more narrative than Bendis's. You can spot Bendisian dialogue at twenty paces, but a Taylor comic tips its hand when it sets up a really interesting premise or a really high stakes threat and then immediately undercuts it with a little wet fart noise of nothing. To wit:

Jon's starting college! This will be an interesting challenge for him to readjust to normal life after six years in a torture-volcano and an indeterminate amount of time in the future, and also considering he never graduated from sixth grade. I wonder what will - oh no he dropped out after three pages. (He has done NOTHING in his civilian identity since, btw. I guess he's too busy hovering just behind Dick at all times to work on his GED or whatever.)

Jon is going to confront Ultraman! Finally the comics will have to engage with all the trauma he must have - oh no Ultraman's dead.

Jon is trapped in the Injustice Universe! This is a really dangerous universe that might make him question everything he knows about - oh he just lectured everyone and flounced off home.

Beast World is a perfect example. Taylor seems to think that having a hero effortlessly solve a problem makes them look badass, but it's actually the effort that makes them look badass. So like, we spent five months keeping the Kryptonians and other A-class heroes away from the spores because the spores are attracted to power and if a Super got spore'd everyone would be in big trouble...but then in the last issue, they just have Jon fly up to everyone with a spore in them, wait for the spore to jump at him, and catch it? That doesn't make the Titans look smart or Jon look tough. It makes all of them look like idiots because it it was that easy, why didn't they do that in the first place?

On top of that, Taylor doesn't ever really earn relationships. Jon and Jay is the obvious one. Jay has no personality. There's no chemistry between the two characters. Jon might as well be dating a cardboard cutout labeled "Proof of Queerness." (Or "Bernard." Ahem.) But we're supposed to be like, yes, give Tom Taylor a GLAAD award for using queer characters as props, when he's going to turn around and kiss Chuck Dixon's ass on social for being homophobic about Jon? UGH.

Honestly worse for me though is the Jon and Dick relationship. Because Taylor is writing both characters, we're supposed to believe that there's this close mentor-mentee bond there? I don't think they EVER interacted before the Taylor era. (And don't even look at me with that retconned-in scene of Dick finding lost baby Jon. You're telling me that Superman, with his X-ray and telescopic vision, needs to call Bruce and Dick for help finding his own son? Fuck off.)

Anyway it all combines to make basically every Jon appearance for the past three years profoundly unsatisfying. Even the stuff that isn't by Taylor never goes anywhere. Remember when he was jealous of the Super Twins for two panels? And then everyone forgot about it forever? SIGH.

HOWEVER.

However.

If there is one thing that Bendis and Taylor and every other writer got right, it's that Jon is crazy bonkers in love with Damian always and forever. Jon has been written like shit since 2019, but he has also not wavered in his devotion for even one single solitary second.

THE EVIDENCE:

This is the first thing Jon does when he gets back to Earth:

He then tells Damian he's contemplating not joining the Legion because he'll have to leave Damian behind. Damian tells him to go and then come get him if it's cool.

Turns out the Legion is cool. Jon comes and gets Damian. The Legion isn't happy about it and Jon threatens to leave if Damian can't stay, while gazing adoringly at Damian's unconscious body cradled in his arms:

Eventually LOSH is canceled and Jon comes home and starts following Damian around by listening for his heartbeat. LIKE PALS DO!

Then Damian gives him a pep talk!

Then there's this ABSOLUTE CUDDLE:

The way Damian nuzzles into Jon's shoulder! Can you even stand it!

And then there's this:

The climax of Son of Kal-El, btw, is one of the several times Jon is saved by Damian and confides in Damian and turns to Damian for comfort or advice...and Jay is just sort of standing there off to the side. I am fully aware I have ship goggles on but the degree of emotional investment Jon has in these relationships is not the same.

Then they had a special issue teamup:

Then we got Dark Crisis, and I actually love this interaction between them, because they are very different people with very different upbringings and this feels extremely in character to me for how they would both handle the loss of their fathers:

But even when they disagree, they still instantly support each other. Jon comes back with information? Damian makes a plan:

Also, we got the 2022 Pride issue where Jon, Jay, and Damian go to Pride together. I know that story is...contentious...but leave me here with Damian sulking while Jon and Jay kiss, okay?

Then we get Adventures of Superman, which is objectively awful, but Jon does spend his whole time in the Injustice universe thinking about Damian like the seagulls in Finding Nemo saying "Mine? Mine? Mine?"

This whole arc is truly hilarious. Jon finds out that Damian accidentally killed Dick and his response is to a) go find Batman and yell at him for not supporting Damian enough for accidentally killing Dick, and then b) go find Damian to be like "Wow, that must have been really hard for you (accidentally killing Dick)." There's being ride or die for your BFF, and then there's whatever the fuck Jon has going on.

(Meanwhile there's an incredibly uncomfortable scene with him and Injustice Jay where Jay "tests" him by trying to get Jon to cheat on regular Jay. So. That happens.)

And then just this past month we got Nightwing #110, where we learn that Jon is still listening to Damian's heart:

He completely freaks out watching Damian in danger, and immediately intervenes when it looks like Damian is about to kill someone because he knows what matters the most to Damian. Also, this happens:

YOU WIN THIS ONE, TAYLOR.

AND THEN THEY BICKER I LOVE IT WHEN THEY BICKER:

AND THEN DAMIAN LETS HIMSELF BE VULNERABLE BY ASKING JON IF HE HURT ANYONE WHILE HE WAS A KITTY, AND JON GIVES YET ANOTHER SPEECH ABOUT HOW DAMIAN HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG EVER, IN HIS LIFE, AND DAMIAN STAGGERS OFF, LEANING ON JON.

This isn't even getting into the Trinity backup stories in Wonder Woman, which, like...Tom King is not valid but Jon and Damian are such an old married couple in them? It's truly incredible?

It took me like 45 minutes to parse Jon's line here as the general 'you" and not specifically Jon saying Damian wasn't straight. But like..."That's for straight people, which has nothing to do with us" is a hell of a thing to say, Jonathan.

I ALSO haven't even talked about DCeased because it's a different universe, but! Jon sitting with Damian while he dies??? MY HEART.

IN CONCLUSION:

Yes, they should never have aged up Jon.

Yes, most of his appearances since have been terrible and bland.

But OH BOY, do he and Damian remain in love.

[max--phillips]

Indiana just launched a “snitch line” for people to report schools for teaching about LGBTQ issues, Black history, and other topics.

On Monday, the AG, Todd Rokita, launched this “Eyes on Eduction” portal where students, parents, and teachers alike can report… “objectionable curricula, policies, or programs affecting children.” While they hide behind the suggestion that this is to stop “political ideology - either left or right” from being forced on kids, we all know that this is really a tip line for parents to complain that someone told their kid gay people exist or slavery was a real thing that happened to Black people.

I’m not going to lie, despite this being from the office of the attorney general, I don’t think this is much more than a wall of shame functionally. The AG’s office looks at submissions, takes the credible ones, and publishes them on the portal for anyone to see. The PDFs of the so-called evidence also include names of teachers.

Anyway, unsurprisingly, people have been flooding the portal with junk submissions, as pointed out by the wonderful Erin Reed (@/ErinInTheMorn on Twitter) in her article on the portal:

A report that Godzilla was witnessed with a trans flag

Indiana Jones slapping a Nazi

A report of a famous picture of Trump next to Rudy Giuliani in drag

Multiple reports citing the Bible for teenage pregnancy

A confession purporting to be from Breaking Bad character Walter White

The script for the Bee Movie (classic)

The script to Oppenheimer

The script for Eurotrip, with a note not to tell Scotty

Young Sheldon saying “Bazinga”

So ALL OF THAT IS TO SAY. Here's another link to the portal. Whatever you do, don't add to the list above and flood the portal, making it nearly impossible for the poor AG's office to sort through all the submissions and find credible submissions! That would be sooo uncalled for.

Anyway, side note for you: if you're thinking to yourself, "damn, Todd Rokita, that name sounds awfully familiar," you may be thinking of the time in 2022 he said he was going to investigate Dr. Caitlin Bernard for providing an abortion procedure to a 10 year old girl who had fled Ohio to receive care because Ohio's abortion ban did not provide an exception for minor children who became pregnant as a result of rape. Ultimately, Indiana state courts found him to have violated the law and engaged in attorney misconduct due to his public statements on the situation. Yet, he is still AG. This guy has sucked as long as I can remember. He was Secretary of State of Indiana from 2002-2010, then he was a member of the US House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district (which my hometown is unfortunately a part of) from 2011-2019, and has now been AG since 2021. For perspective, I was born in 1997--the year he joined the Secretary of State's office as general counsel, then later became deputy secretary of state. He's been doing his damndest to ruin this state as long as I've been alive.

Also, his birthday is Friday (February 9th) according to his wikipedia page. Definitely don't give him any birthday presents by way of the submission portal, okay? Good talk

[olderthannetfic]

My experiences with DreamWidth fandom spaces are the same as my experiences with DreamWidth RP: a lot of people talk about wanting more people to post, missing the old days, and disliking fandom puritanism, but don't interact with others much and, when someone disagrees with them, decide that this is the end of the world. I've seen people in DWRP angry at other people for disagreements from up to 12 years ago. I've seen people in DW fandom spaces vaguepost about specific people they're mad at for disagreeing with them from up to 8 years ago. Neither reaction makes me go, "Ah, yes, this is where I want to hang out", because I just don't fucking care. When someone confronts me about traumatizing them because I said I didn't find X character as engaging as Y or I think it's possible Character A is bi and not gay/lesbian default and it's been 5 years, my first thought is almost always, "I'm sorry, who?" and not, "OMG I feel so bad let me apologize for this!" Not apologizing doesn't go over well, so it's off to gossip to their friends in DMs and on other sites about how someone else totally said this, that and the other thing too and it was super mean.

IDK, maybe I'm just old (I did just turn 30) but I look at this kind of drama and all I can think is, "I don't care and I don't have the energy to engage with this." It doesn't help that I meet people on DW who are self-identified fandom olds (usually that means they're 40-ish) who complain about yaoi fangirls/"fujoshits" and call female characters who've had multiple sexual partners "cockhops" and assume anyone writing f/f is a "neckbeard". This is still less sensitive than antis are, but there's still a lot of moralizing things you don't like and reading into what someone writes in order to judge them as a person.

Between that and the very low level of overall engagement it kind of feels not worth it? I'm not seeing what the benefit is. Making fandom friends is fairly difficult on DW and when you do, losing them is as easy as not having seen something, not liking a pairing or not caring about something (contentious canons, especially). I'm sure someone's having a great time but to me it's sort of like shouting into the void, except sometimes the void calls you a fujoshit neckbeard and never elaborates on how that'd work.

--

DW's moment as a potential community hub has come and gone, in my opinion. Now, it's just the people who can't hack it on other platforms plus some legacy uses that DW is good for that other sites aren't.

I did make more of an effort to make fetch happen in the past, but it became apparent that a lot of the people who are primarily on DW are not people I want to make that effort for. I've got a couple of old friends still hanging out there because they like very text-based internet stuff, and good for them, but overall... yeah... the vibe just isn't that great a lot of the time.

I used to advocate getting a DW just to have a place to link your other social media in case your tumblr is suddenly deleted due to mysterious tumblr enforcement shenanigans... but honestly, I could probably use my AO3 profile for that just as well.

I'm glad DW is still around, and I hope it continues to be. I don't regret my seed account. But it's just not something I use actively in the 2020s.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Atsushi for the ask game.

ATSUSHI HERE WE GO THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY PRAYERS

Favorite thing about them: HIS SELFISHNESS. It's so so delicious to explore. Can you imagine a protagonist that saves others not out of simple good will, but because of egoistic self-preservation motives? It just feels counterintuitive for me lmao, and I found it quite messed up when I first watched the anime, but now it's so compelling to explore. His whole “everything I do is in order to gain the right to live” is crazy fashinating. Because lol, that's entirely nonsensical to me! There's no such thing as “gaining the right to live”; all humans, every person in the world is inherently deserving of life. All. No exception. So there's no level of “weak” or “worthless” that would make you lose that right. The fact that's it's a vision so distant and absurd from mine, idk, it just makes it very compelling to explore? “What if there was a little fucked up guy who believed the right to live had to be earned” just sounds like a very interesting premise.

Least favorite thing about them: When I first watched the anime, I think I found him low-key annoying? I just... Don't do very well with self-deprecating people and people who complain a lot in general, I usually suffer in silence and tend to (wrongly) assume others should do the same (this probably makes me sound pretty mean, I swear I try to be understanding irl). However, it doesn't bother me as much anymore, I simply think it's more of a distinctive trait of the character that makes him multilayered and unique. As of now, I can't think of anything I don't like about him if not the fact that I wish he'd rely on Dazai and others in general a little less. I know that has to do with his lack of self-worth, so maybe it makes sense,, but as of now he feels kind of stuck. I just wish we'd see him grow more on that front.

Favorite line:

There may be better ones, but I really like the delivery of this one.

brOTP: KYOUKA AND ATSUSHI they make me go insane. Already talked about this in the Kyouka post but just to reiterate: in my headcanon Kyouka really is the only person Atsushi feels genuine, selfless affection towards. It's very sweet. They're siblings. Kyouka's happiness is really important for Atsushi. They really do have that feeling of people who got out of an abusive environment learning what normality is supposed to be like together. I also really like how they compensate for what the other lacks, be it decisiveness and coolhead for Atsushi and empathy and positivity for Kyouka. Although plenty shipping them romantically, I really like platonic sskk and atsulucy as well.

OTP: I really like sskk eheh. I think they're neat. There's a thousand and one reasons why I find them pretty great. They're objectively the only reason why I got invested in bsd as well as the only thing that has me keep up with the franchise to this day. Right now, I feel like the one thing I really appreciate about them is how you can be the worst person in the universe and still somehow be loveable to someone. I think it's sweet. I also find it very fun and enterataining to explore their various soulmatism antics. They're both very complex and multilayered characters with something deeply wrong with how their minds work that makes them very fun to analyze both by their own and in the complexity of their relationship. Their collective story arc and canon relationship progression is extremely engaging and nice to follow, too. I love dazatsu and atsulucy as well!! Both were ships I wasn't particularly invested when I read the manga for the first time, but really grew in me in the last six months or so. I really dig akuatsulucy as well!!

nOTP: Nothing?

Random headcanon: He really likes reading. There's some real meta-analysis to be made here I actually had written this is probably not the right place to talk about, but in a work that's all about literature, he's the character who reads.

Unpopular opinion: He's the hardest character to write / characterize. That's why people should probably go easier on other fans when they mischaracterize him. He's just very multifaceted and genuinely hard to get. I keep seeing people being like “Stop babyfying Atsushi he's an independent adult!!” then turn around to say “he can't be shipped with Dazai because there's too much unbalance of power :// [somewhat implying Atsushi can't make free decisions for himself]”, or “Stop making of Atsushi a soft baby who never did wrong in his life!!!” then turn around to say “Atsushi is the happy puppy of the agency who gets treats and pats from everyone ^^ ” like. At least to me, a lot of people's arguments sound self-contradictory all the time; but that doesn't mean people should stop having fun and characterize the characters as they like! Just, let's stop being mean to each other and try to be a little more accepting towards others' takes, shall we? And yes that also includes letting people find Atsushi annoying if they find him annoying (although like, I've NEVER found anyone call Atsushi annoying ever, so really, what remote fandom spaces is everyone visiting? Why are you looking for clothes (good takes) at the soup store (Tik/tok I assume?) ).

Song i associate with them: Common World Domination by Pinocchio-P, HIBANA by DECO*27, Ghost Rule by DECO*27, so on and so forth.

Favorite picture of them:

Favourite panel from the manga:

Favourite illustration: Look, there's too many beautiful illustrations, I can't chose. Here's a very good one though.

Favourite illustration in the anime art style:

But also:

Favourite Mayoi card:

Send me a character?

[desertthorn]

Ok, I'm getting caught up in Face and BA's practically non-existent relationship. I could go on forever, but I'm on mobile with long nails, so I'll stick to some bullet points for now to preserve my sanity.

•One thing I've noticed is how fucking difficult it is to find examples of Face and BA interacting. Just them standing next to each other is a whole lot of work to track down. 9 times out of 10 Face is next to Hannibal or Murdock where he feels most comfortable, ironically the same goes for BA. BA will take an order from Face at the appropriate times, but when they stand next to each other, they hardly ever interact if at all. One exception is that BA doesn't tend to react to anything Face says unless he's angry like in 'Black Day at Bad Rock' and 'Chopping Spree' or unless he's making fun of Face. In fact, I've noticed BA almost only ever teases Face. He yells a lot at Murdock and will argue with Hannibal, but he will outright make fun of Face.

It's also some of the only times BA smiles and laughs. Nearly every time this happens, BA isn't looking at Face at the time. He'll have his eyes on the road or being doing something with his hands that his eyes never leave. When Face ever tries to engage with BA, there is almost no reaction at all.

Face just waits for the tiniest nod before he moves on.

But once in a great while we get something like this:

This is one of the only times I can think of that they actually have a conversation. Face is complaining like he does, and BA responds with something insightful.

So to sum up, minus orders, there are basically three types of interactions between them.

1- BA mostly ignores Face while Face tries to talk to him.

2- BA teasing Face.

3- BA is angry at Face.

So why do you think that is?

• Here's what I've been thinking about.

Face lies for a living, BA doesn't like lying. Let's start there. I think when Face looks at BA and tries to talk to him, BA chooses to not react because it gives him the upper hand. Can't get scammed if you don't play your part. Not that he thinks he's being scammed, but BA has seen enough to almost always have his guard up. There is a lot of respect for Hannibal that let's BA feel more comfortable around him and with Murdock he gets affection whether he wants it or not, that's just how Murdock rolls. So for BA he's not making a choice until it comes to his interactions with Face. Now for Face, he has the same thing with Hannibal and Murdock, no emotional work needed there, but when it comes to BA he's at a loss. He can't scam his way into friendship with BA, but he can't be too genuine either. It's in his nature to also have his guard up, so there are two walls put up between them at all times. The biggest difference is you can tell Face wants to be friends with BA and despite the walls, Face trusts his friend/not friend probably more than he realizes. The poor kid was probably pretty lonely as a child so having this little family means a lot to him even if he is somewhat unaware of it. When Face tries to leave, he address the whole team, but it's BA who responds first. It seems to kinda take Face by surprise. So he tries to make light of the situation. Look at the two of them at the end here:

It's probably the only time they've ever embraced and it's clearly uncomfortable, but neither of them hesitates. Their guards both drop for just long enough to be friends. I know everyone focuses on Murdock in this scene, but I always notice this more.

•One last thing I'd like to add is from 'Black Day at Bad Rock'.

While Face is pacing back and forth in Dr. Sullivan's living room talking about how BA is gonna kill him, Hannibal says "Face, BA loves you." When Face doubles back and says "he does?" Hannibal responds, "Told me himself" (those lines are from memory and may be a little off, but the intention remains). Face is genuinely taken aback by every time he is informed of or experiences BA's affection for him, cuz he honestly can't see it 90% of the time.

Then there's this:

It was one of the only times we see them make eye contact and see BA smile. I'm not gonna get into much more here than BA starting angry and ending with him making fun of Face, there's too much here lol, but this is the best example of their dynamic.

.

.

I've gotta go, I can only type with one finger for so long, but I've been sitting on this and had to get it out. Feel free to add on!

[anon-maly]

Why Nagito Komaeda and Izuru Kamukura could be a canon pair in a no-despair AU

Sure, we only have two official scenes where we see them properly interact. But we also have a lot of official non-canon material that has them interact with each other. This leads me to believe that Kamukoma could have been a real, canon ship if the despair tragedy in Danganronpa didn't exist (this is a theory thing I have posted and pinned on all my social media lmao)

Firstly, let’s keep in mind that Nagito has a canon ‘crush’ on Izuru (crushes can mean anything that’s an infatuation, romantic or not). His song, Zettai Kibō Birthday, is literally about him wanting to “do it” with the “absolute hope” he met on campus.

There is also another song he has, Poison (Gekiyaku), where he talks about wanting to meet and love "the biggest hope". Izuru Kamukura is the Ultimate Hope, the absolute hope. It's undeniable that Nagito has a crush on Izuru and likes him romantically and/or sexually.

Moving on: There are two scenes in the anime where we see Nagito and Izuru interact.

First scene, aka THE scene. Nagito’s crush on Izuru began here. He didn’t know Izuru was the Ultimate Hope, he just fell for him. Kazutaka Kodaka even describes this scene as similar to a beautiful, elegant dance. (also, why did Izuru have to grab Nagito by his waist in that scene?? He could've grabbed his back for support instead, which I assume is far more convenient??)

The other anime scene we see them interact may not be with the real Izuru Kamukura, but instead, it's with the AI Alter Ego version of him: The World Destroyer. There are no official sources of Izuru Kamukura smiling (to my knowledge as of so far), except in here. For context: After World Destroyer (AI Izuru) brings up the emotion of "hope" to Nagito in the Danganronpa 2.5 OVA, Nagito starts recalling this emotion. While he reflects on this concept out loud, we see a frame of World Destroyer smiling at him.

Now considering all this, why was THIS the scene that Izuru was smiling?

Did he enjoy hearing Nagito talk about hope?

Or was he happy that Nagito was returning back to his normal self?

Either way, he is only smiling because of Nagito; It's safe to say he does not find Nagito boring since he smiled

Anime aside, we see 1 more canon interaction between Izuru and Nagito. And that's from the second game, chapter 0.

Yes, in this scene Izuru is very openly annoyed by Nagito. But keep in mind, this isn't regular Nagito Komaeda, this is a Remnant of Despair. He is brainwashed by Junko's despair influence, therefore he isn't himself. Would you consider Sonia to still be herself during her time as a Remnant of Despair who convinced her whole country to die?

Unlike Nagito’s world from the 2.5 OVA, Nagito has been forcefully altered to be induced with despair. This is not the real him.

In the OVA scene, Izuru smiles because Nagito was returning to his true self. In this scene, Izuru finds Nagito boring because he is a Remnant of Despair

Therefore, it’s logical to think that Izuru is slightly interested in the REAL Nagito.

Also adding on the Izuru-finds-Nagito's-real-personality-to-be-interesting theory:

World Destroyer in the OVA openly admits to finding Nagito to act unpredictably for him. And all Izuru ever does is complain about things being boring since everything is predictable for him. If he finds Nagito to be someone he could not predict, doesn't that mean there's a chance Izuru finds Nagito interesting rather than boring?

Now, time for non-canon stuff:

Still sticking to the Izuru finds Nagito unpredictable—therefore interesting—argument: This scene in Danganronpa S shows Nagito offering Izuru himself to be someone who listened to his "worries". As expected, Izuru found that thought to be useless. However, he still spends a WHILE conversing with Nagito, meaning that he actually found a conversation with Nagito to be more engaging than he expected. He basically said that he found Nagito more interesting than he anticipated.

More unofficial media analysis:

Izuru Kamukura has been characterized as loyal and altruistic. We see him get out of his way to help someone in need for no huge reason. He literally shoots Nagito in canon because Junko Enoshima got to Izuru first, therefore his loyalty was to Junko.

And if Junko Enoshima never got to him first, we could have seen this altruistic side of Izuru more. If Izuru can find Nagito worth his time, being loyal to him wouldn't be something he would find agonizing.

TL;DR: Izuru Kamukura is loyal to anyone. If he finds Nagito Komaeda unpredictable (interesting), his loyalty to Nagito wouldn't feel too boring. Since Nagito actually has a crush on Izuru, Nagito wouldn't just "use him" like Junko Enoshima. Therefore, Izuru isn't likely to dislike Nagito in the future. Nagito feels attracted to Izuru + Izuru finds someone not boring = Mutual-pining slow-burn Kamukoma is real... as long as it's set in another 'happier' universe.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Don't EVER say you have a fundamental moral understanding of right and wrong after you said you would sacrifice ~5000 people for some bitch, you cunt

I always relish the opportunity to share my views with others, as long as they are willing to listen. And despite your ... combative attitude, you seem to be at least somewhat willing to expose yourself to opposing views, since you quoted one of the last sentences from my post about Bay Max as a modern-day sin-eater, which means you likely read it in its entirety. So instead of complaining about the lackluster form of your ask, I'm going to engage with its substance.

You brought up the discrepancy in numbers. One life versus many. Of course, generally speaking, the outcomes which benefit a greater amount of people are preferable over the outcomes which benefit a lesser amount of people. But utilitarianism should never be the only lens you're using when analyzing the morality of an action.

Utilitarianism, especially when it becomes simplified to "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" must always be tempered by respect for certain fundamental values, like human life and dignity. Utilitarianism, when it is completely unshackled, can be used to justify just about any atrocity, as long as the outcome of that atrocity benefits the collective. Depriving people of rights, dispossessing them. Killing them. All that has been done in the name of benefitting a greater number of people than the number being "sacrificed".

To stop the Storm, Max would have to kill Chloe. Let's call a spade a spade. She would have to take Chloe from the safety she enjoys on Friday and push her back in front of a barrel of a gun on Monday. To save the town, Max would have to intentionally cause Chloe's death to happen. The death that has already been averted at that point and wouldn't happen again without Max's conscious decision. Imagine seeing someone about to be run over by a car, pulling them to safety and then pushing them under the next car. This is what is required of Max.

While I do believe that generally the outcomes which help the most amount of people should be favoured, I also believe that ends never justify the means. We should look not only at the outcome, but also at the means used to achieve said outcome. And certain means, if they violate fundamental values, are never justified. Using them is always immoral, even if the outcome of such an immoral action would bring benefit to other people.

Killing human beings, unless it is done in self-defense or in the defense of others, is never justified. Outside of the narrow exception of defense, it is always an act of evil. Supreme evil, since human life is the greatest value.

By defense I mean using force to repel an ongoing, unlawful attack from a different person, directed at us or another person that we are stepping up to defend. On Friday at the cliff Chloe, simply by living and breathing, is not engaged in an unlawful attack upon anyone. So killing her would most certainly not be an act of defense, not unless you take all meaning out of that word.

My sense of morality tells me that killing ("sacrificing") a human being is never justified, no matter what it would accomplish. Which is why in any trolley problem my answer is always the same. Do not pull the lever. By pulling the lever you are usurping for yourself the right to decide that someone is less worthy of survival than others. You are usurping for yourself the right to take a human life. In the scenario we are considering, Max using the butterfly photograph to go back to Monday and undo her rescue of Chloe is equivalent to pulling the lever to direct the speeding trolley to the side track. So the moral thing to do for Max is to tear up the photograph. Do not pull the lever. Do not engage with the situation, if the only thing you can do to save the people on the main track is to kill the people on the side track. Because saving the people on the main track doesn't erase or justify the fact that you killed the people on the side track. At the end of the day, you are a murderer. No matter what supposed benefit you achieved with that murder.

The moral standard I presented above is internally consistent, as moral standards should be. It doesn't matter if sacrificing that one person would save 10, or 1000 or a million people. Killing someone is always an act of evil. It is never justified.

I'm curious if the standard you brought up would be equally as consistent. You seem to be under the impression that killing one person to save 5000 is a no-brainer. Would you kill one person to save 10 others? Would you kill one person to save 2 others? Would you kill 50 people to save 51 others? If your standard is consistent, then your answer to all the questions I just asked should be affirmative. Because the reasoning would be the same in all of those cases. Kill a lesser amount to save a greater amount.

But if your answer to at least one of the questions I asked above is negative, then what's the difference? What's the ratio of people being killed to people being saved that makes the killing justified? 10 to 1? 100 to 1? Why that particular number? Wouldn't any number in this context be completely arbitrary?

And if your answer to all those questions was affirmative, if you truly, consistently believe that killing a lesser amount of people is justified if it saves a greater amount, don't you realize how dangerous that mode of thinking is? The belief that killing people is justified as long as it helps the collective is totalitarian thinking. This is the exact type of reasoning that evil regimes throughout history used to justify their actions.

I would never think like that. Human life and dignity is off-limits. It can never be sacrificed. Not for anything. There's nothing noble or heroic about sacrificing other people's lives. It's deplorable.

At the end of the day, even though I'd like to think there are certain moral principles that are universal to all, that's not the case. Unofrtunately, morality is not objective. It's subjective. It's always informed by your peronal beliefs and preferences.

For example, I'm a Christian. The priest in my parish often says in his sermons that ends do not justify the means. I fully agree with that teaching. Certain actions are always evil, no matter what fruit they would bring. Thou shalt not kill. The taking of a human life is always evil, unless in self-defence. For me, that's a moral absolute. But you seem to be following a different moral code, with no absolutes, not even human life. A code where everything is justified under the right circumstances, even murder. As long as the numbers get high enough, as long as it's an "extraordinary" or "exceptional" situation, anything goes.

I believe that no matter what numbers are at stake, there are no exceptions to the protection of fundamental values, like human life.

I'm also an individualist. I believe that certain fundamental rights, like the right to life, can never be sacrificed at the altar of the collective. You seem to be a collectivist, who permits sacrificing individual rights, including the most fundamental right of all, if it serves to achieve some greater goal. For me, no goal is great enough to sacrifice human lives.

Let me leave you with one more question:

What would you do in Max's shoes?

I don't mean what would you do if it was Chloe's life on the line. You seem to hate her. Killing her would be easy for you.

I mean what would you do if it was YOUR best friend, someone you actually care about and you had the choice of killing them to stop a destructive hurricane. Would you kill your own best friend?

If the answer is no, then why do you expect from Max something you would not do in an analogous situation? And Chloe is Max's best friend. Replay the game and count the times Max calls Chloe her best friend, how many times she promises to be at Chloe's side, see how she reacts to seeing Chloe alive after emerging from time jumps, read her diary. You may think they shouldn't be friends, and you are entitled to your opinion, but it doesn't change the fact that they are best friends.

If the answer is yes, do you realize how unhinged of a take that is? Willingness to kill someone you deeply care about, because that would accomplish something?

Sacrificing friends is action movie/video game morality. You know, commander Shepard blowing up Kaidan Alenko with a nuke just so he can have Lt. Williams all to himself. But once you apply real moral standards to that mentality, it becomes indefensible.

One might even say it offends their sense of right and wrong on a fundamental level.

[otakubimbo]

The Rabbit & The Wolf Chp 1.

Kakashi x F! Reader

This is why you should never sleep with you friends. Unless?

Ch2

Sticky Note: This is an oncoming series, Kakashi is the original love of my life so I hope you like it!

Master List

18+MDNI

The wolf and the rabbit on another mission together. You and Kakashi did missions together frequently because you both were the best Anbus the Leaf had, except today you were off your game. To say you were distracted would be an understatement, luckily this was an easy mission. Go in, steal some shit, get out. Unfortunately, all you could think about was your sisters upcoming wedding to the worst most disgusting man you have ever had the displeasure to meet in your whole life.

It was nightfall, you and Kakashi were trying to be stealth while sneaking into a building to steal some scrolls from the Hidden Village of the Mist. You were moving on autopilot that you didn’t even realize that he had stopped walking, which made you almost run into the back of him.

He glared back at you, “Pay attention” he hissed and you just rolled your eyes under your mask. “If this is about your sisters wedding, you can focus on that AFTER we complete the mission.” He knew you too well, he was one of your few close friends for a reason. You had been complaining about your sisters wedding since the day she got engaged. The calm cool exterior you usually put on always came down when it came to your sister or anyone you loved for that matter. She was all you had and she was about to marry a dumbass. You always put on your best face when he was around but you hated him.

“Just say you’ll come with me then, I can’t do that shit by myself. Just thinking about it makes me angry.” You whisper as he gives you directions to sneak into the place. You went through the window and waited for him to follow behind you.

“Fuck, fine” he exhaled, extremely annoyed with you. You smile triumphantly under your mask and now you can focus on the task at hand. Almost every man in your age group, and some women, were trying to be your plus one to your sisters wedding. Safe to say, you were extremely uninterested, especially because you didn’t want to go your damn self. At least if your best friend came with you, you can talk shit about the whole thing. You have a certain stoic appearance you have to keep up and that would definitely come down if you had a real date.

You efficiently got the scrolls you needed and y’all got out and headed back home. Another successful mission as always. Once back the Hokage took your report and relieved you both. You immediately went home afterwards, needing to have a long soak before having to deal with your sister and this wedding nonsense. You and your sister were complete opposites. She was the most bubbly and sweet person that anyone could meet, the definition of a girlie girl. While you on the other hand, you were serious and some may say a little mean but it was part of your charm, at least that’s what your sister says. This is another reason why you hated this whole wedding situation more than anything, on top of having to dress up for it, she was marrying that man. Your sweet older sister was marrying a man that had the personality of wet garbage. But for whatever reason, she loved him and you would support her behind that. As your bath runs, you start to detangle your hair. Having your hair texture was really inconvenient to your line of work. No matter what style you put it in, unless protective, it always ended up tangled you didn’t understand how. You knew your sister wanted you in braids so you were gonna start the process early before you’re dragged along behind her for the next two days. You spend the night getting all your stuff together and relaxing, it was gonna be a long two days.

WEDDING DAY

You were exhausted, but the smile on your sisters face is the only thing keeping you going, along with the half bottle of sake you’ve already had. There was no way you were getting through this sober. Aki, your sister, had you running around the last two days getting primped and finalizing wedding shit. Right now, you were having the last touches of getting ready, your braids were pulled into a bun and flowers were being placed around it. They were yellow, complimenting your brown skin and yellow kimono perfectly. You looked stunning Aki kept saying as if today wasn’t HER day. She, of course, looked beautiful and radiant, it almost brought tears to your eyes but you dare not mess up the makeup you just got done.

“Kakashi is going to be keeping you in check right?” Aki laughs looking at herself in the mirror. You sigh heavily at this and take another shot of sake.

“Yes ma’am, and I’ll be on my best behavior for you. But also if you just want to cancel everything and dump him that’s completely fine.” You state, trying to be nonchalant but hopeful nonetheless. She laughs and hits your arm.

“I love him.”

“I know.”

You were about to try one last time to suggest she not go through with this when a knock came at the door. This must be a sign that she must get married to this horrible man. After a heavy sigh, you tell them to come in. It was Kakashi. He came in and looked wide-eye(hehe) at you. He of course looked handsome, he always did, still with the mask and headband covering his eye.

“I clean up nice , yeah?” You give a little twirl and almost stumble. Maybe you shouldn’t have drank so much without eating anything. He huffs and shakes his head.

“She’s been drinking.” Aki laughs, as cheerful as ever. You smile and take another shot.

“Just a little, here take one with me” You hand him a glass and pour one for each of you. “ The bride to be wants to stay as coherent as possible apparently.” You both clink cups and somehow he drinks without having his face be show even though you both have seen his face before. After the shot, you put your cup down and grab your sister by the hand.

“I love you Aki and want nothing more than your happiness.” This statement almost brought tears to her eyes, you weren’t known for showing such genuine emotions.

“I love you too Y/N. And I’m so happy, especially with having you here with me.” She smiles brightly and you give her hand a squeeze. You leave to go take your seats.

Kakashi raises a brow at you, “You good?” He asks as you seemingly exhale for the first time.

“Yeah, she’s happy. So, I’m happy.” You say reluctantly. He slips you a flask and you give him a slight smile as you take another sip, he does the same and puts it away.

The wedding was beautiful, the dumb ass did cry when he saw your sister which you guessed was a good thing. That’s what people say at least. She radiated nothing but joy and love as she read her vows to him. Now that the ceremony was over, it was time to party. You finally got a little something to eat and were less drunk than you would have been but still very drunk. The bad influence that you were, you kept feeding Kakashi drinks also so the both of y’all were pretty drunk by the end of the night. As the night turns to end, Kakashi starts walking you home. More like y’all were stumbling to your house. You groan as you try to get the key out to get into your house.

“She looked so pretty and he just looked so, bleh” You say annoyed finally putting the key into the door. You hiccup as you basically fall into the house.

“You look gorgeous though” Kakashi says leaning on your door frame. This caused you to spin on your heels.

“I told you I clean up nicely!” You yell, laughing at the way it looks like he would just sink into the frame. He comes in behind you closing the door as you finally take your braids out of that headache inducing bun. The flowers fall around you as the braids sweep your back.

“You should probably stay, your drunk” you laugh as Kakashi is still standing by the door just looking at you, you raise a brow “What?”

He just stumbles to sit on your couch, taking his mask and headband off. You follow suit, and lay down putting your head in his lap. His lap was so warm and comfortable. You look up at him drunkingly.

“Hymn, maybe you are a little handsome like all the girls say.” You reach up to touch his face and he looks confused at you.

“A little?!” He frowns as you giggle tracing your fingers over his jaw.

“Yes, a little. Or maybe I just can’t see” You grab his face with both of your hands and pull it down to yours for a better view. That may have been a mistake because now it feels like you can’t breath with how close he is. This is not how it should be going. You two are very much just friends, childhood friends at that and you don’t like being just a cliché but you still can’t breathe and you’re looking directly into his eyes as if for the first time.

“Y/N” He breathes and you just blink up at him. You could easily blame this on the alcohol, you were both very drunk and usually not this close when drunk. After what seemed like hours going by of just looking at each other, you’re the first one to cave. You kiss him. It seems to have shocked the both of you, but once he registers what’s happening he kisses you back. His lips were so soft and needy. You pull yourself up to sit in his lap , the kisses were getting more aggressive by the second, hungry. He gripped your hips as you started to grind into him, your tongues exploring each others mouths. You let out a small moan as he bits down on your lower lip. He gripped you even harder and that feeling went straight to your core. You feel the wetness between your legs start to escape your panties and you could feel his hardness grown under you. Your head is spinning as he trails kisses to your neck. The way he was sucking on your neck you may just cum right then.

“Kakashi” You moan as he bites down on your neck. His hands found their way under your kimono and he was palming your ass.

“I want you so fucking bad” he growls into your ear, biting and sucking it.

“Then take me”

That’s al he needed to hear as he lifts you up and takes you to your room. The look in his eyes as he looked down on you, turned you into a puddle. He looked at you like you were prey, like you were really the rabbit and he was the wolf. He slides on top of you, connecting with your lips yet again. His hands all over your body trying to get you out of your kimono. Once it was off, you felt a little shy under his gaze and he turns your face to look at him.

“Beautiful” is all that he says before he is on you again, making his way down to your breasts. He takes one in his hand and the other in his mouth. He kneads your breast as he bites down on your other nipple. You gasp from the pain and pleasure arching your back and throwing your hips into him. He captures your mouth again and slides his unoccupied hand down to your folds. A hiss escapes his mouth as he touches you.

“You’re already so damn wet for me, huh?” He ask against your lips, sticking a calloused finger inside of you. “And so damn tight” he says as your walls try to suck in his finger, he shoves another one in and you gasp. It had been awhile since your last time, you had been so busy with missions and the wedding business you hadn’t even gotten yourself off. You moan his name as his thumb circles around your clit while the fingers inside you tell you to come here.

“Cum on my fingers before I take you with my mouth” He says against your neck, which instantly made your cum. He laughs as he removes his fingers and shoves them into your mouth. You lick them clean while staring him in the eye.

“I didn’t think you would be such a good girl.” He cooed watching you taste yourself. He pulls his fingers from your mouth and makes his way down to your folds. “ I knew it would be perfect,” he praises before dragging his tongue through you. “And fuck you taste so damn good” another praise.

As skilled as he was with his hands, he was even more skilled with his mouth. The way his tongue circled and flicked your clit it overstimulated you. Your hands went immediately to his hair and you tried to fuck his face. He shook his head and held you down. He was going to savor every single moment he had tasting you and it was driving you crazy.

“Be a good girl so I can make you cum again.” He lets go of your hands as you ball your fits. Sticking his fingers back inside you, he prioritizes his mouth on your clit, sucking it like it was you were a milkshake and it was the straw. With his fingers pumping you and what his mouth was doing, you didn’t know how much longer you would last. You made the fatal mistake of looking down at him, the look of him ravashing you made you cum so easily, not only did you cum, you squirted on his face. He pulled back wiping his face and you were embarrassed and gasping for air. The arrogant smile on his face made you even more embarrassed as he kneeled over you. You didn’t even know you could do that.

“You liked that didn’t you,” the cocky smirk still plastered on his face. He had his cock in his hand, and that shit was huge. The biggest you’ve ever seen. “Now it’s time to return the favor, pretty girl”

You didn’t know how you were going to take it but you were going to find a way. With your mouth open and your tongue out he puts his cock into your mouth. He didn’t take it easy on you either with his size, he shoved the whole thing in gagging you. But the way he just pleased you, you knew you had to give it back. You started moving your head as you hollowed your cheeks to take him. He slumps over to grab the headboard.

“Fuck, you’re too good at this” Kakashi breaths out trying to hold himself up, you’re bobbing your head so quickly his balls are smacking the under your chin. You swirl your tongue around his tip and he groans. You could barely breathe but who needed breathe when the noises he was making could easily make you cum again.

“You’re so pretty sucking my cock” His hands went into your hair holding you still while he starts fucking your face. You did your best to accommodate his aggressive pace, tears were coming to your eyes from how hard he was plowing into your face. The moans escaping his mouth made it worth it and it was turning you on even more knowing the pleasure you were giving him. With a few more thrusts you can feel his seed shoot down your throat.

“Swallow”

And you do, like the good girl that you are still with his cock in your mouth which you give one last suck. You move to sit up but he pushes you back down.

“I’m not done” He says backing off the bed and pulling you to the edge. His hand goes to your throat as he positions himself at your entrance. He enters you with a his, you were so wet and so tight you didn’t think he could fit. He presses harder into your neck as you try to move back.

“You can take it.”

You don’t think so but you just nob as he pulls back out and then slams right into you. You gasp and grip the sheets, his dick immediately found your gspot. Your scream of pleasure was all he needed before he started pumping into you relentlessly. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him closer, wanting to feel all of him. He came down to your ear moaning your praises, how good you felt, how pretty you looked, how well you were taking him. His other hand not occupied by your throat went to circle your clit. It was all too much and you didn’t know if the room was spinning because you were drunk or because of the pleasure. All you knew was that you were about to cum.

“Ka-Kakashi, I’m gonna ——“ You could barely get the words out and you were getting so close.

“Cum for me, pretty girl”

And with that you did, hard. Your walls tightened around his shaft and he soon came right after you . He didn’t even have time to pullout. A later problem. You were spent, the last thing you remember his him pulling you both into the bed and putting his arms around you.

It felt like morning came sooner than it should have. Your head was pounding and your body sore. Your best friend did just fuck the shit out of you last night and now he was gone. You woke up to an empty bed. That was fine? That’s what you were going to tell yourself. People fuck their friends all the time. Yeah? Yeah. You did need to talk to him because he did kind of cum in you last night and then ditch before you woke up. Kind of rude. With your hangover in tow, you went all over the village looking for him. You checked his place, wasn’t there. You checked Gai’s place, wasn’t there. You even went as far as asking the Hokage if he had sent him on a mission, which he didn’t. He was obviously avoiding you and that fucking hurt. You just had the best sex of your life with your best friend and now he was avoiding you like it was a mistake. At the time, you didn’t think it was a mistake but now, you didn’t know. You just wished you could at least talk to him.

A few weeks pass and still no word from him. He was definitely avoiding you and you just couldn’t take that. So you did the only thing you knew how and threw yourself into your work. You convinced the Hokage to put you on solo espionage missions. These missions were long and tiring, you didn’t have many rest breaks in between and you didn’t want them. Two years end up passing in a blink of an eye. You’ve barely been back in the village for more than a day or two in that time. You hadn’t even really seen your sister, you did miss her.

Entering the Hokage office after finishing your last assignment and he makes you take a seat after giving your report.

“Yes sir” you state taking your seat and your mask off.

“I won’t be assigning you on a new mission just set.” He sets his papers down and locks his fingers. He has a strained expression on his face. “You should go be with your sister.”

Your heart drops, you had been so in your own space that you didn’t even possibly know what was going on with your sister. Everything in your body wants to leave right then.

“Go” He says simply and you bolt from the room.

As you turn the corner right out of his office, you smack right into someone pushing them out of your way about to yell sorry when their hand grabs your wrist.

 

[theladyofbloodshed]

Fake Dating AU - Part 2/3

This was nice. Nesta could manage this – a pool in the blistering heat with a book in her hand. It was the beach she did not like. The sand got everywhere. Sea salt made her hair dry and brittle. And she did not want to think about how many fish brushed past her legs.

Rather than rushing in at the last second, Nesta had opted for an earlier flight to the others since she was coming from further afield on a job. She’d finished her work up on the plane, so had a few hours of blissful silence. The others were coming much later. She knew because Feyre had asked if they wanted to travel to the airport together. That was code for Feyre needing backup managing Nyx on the lengthy flight. Whilst Nesta loved her nephew dearly, the idea of a squealing child soiling their diaper for hours beside her in a contained space did not spark any joy. Mom and dad could handle that one.

Nesta lay on a sun lounger beneath a tree that shaded everything except her legs. It was dangerous territory to get a tan two days before Elain’s wedding. She didn’t want tan lines or sun burn spoiling the photos as an everlasting memory of her pale skin being subjected to sunlight for once.

Deep into her book, a child splashed her foot. She ignored it until it happened again and again and again.

Forcing out a breath, Nesta forcibly pressed her book down beside her.

‘Do you mind?’

It wasn’t a child at all. Stood against the wall of the pool, with his forearms resting on the edge, a familiar face grinned at her. ‘I thought you were deliberately ignoring me.’

‘I was,’ Nesta sniped back.

Eris, Lucien’s eldest brother, gave her a crooked smile. ‘I thought you wanted a date for the wedding.’

‘No splashing and I’ll consider it.’

He hauled himself out of the pool and Nesta could admit that her eyes tracked the bare expanse of his chest and stomach. His body was lean, the shoulders beginning to freckle from the sun. There was something about hairy legs, slick with water, that also always drew Nesta’s attention too.

Eris pointed to the spare lounger beside her. ‘Do you mind if I move my things beside you?’

‘Sure.’

For a while, they caught up on the last few months. Eris remained a workaholic, just as she did, and his phone beeped constantly with pictures of his dogs who a generous friend was taking care of while he was at the wedding. She filled him in on her life which lasted all of two minutes. She hadn’t seen Feyre or Elain since the engagement party. Work remained hectic, taking her to every corner of the country, usually in quick succession. And that was about it.

‘Why didn’t you fly in with Lucien?’

‘He’s coming with Elain,’ explained Eris. A slight blush stole across his cheeks. ‘And my father wouldn’t be caught dead flying with the commoners so he chartered a private jet – and let’s just say I’m a little spoilt.’

'A private jet? Ugh. So spoilt. Where are your parents?’

Nesta craned her neck to sweep the various loungers for a number of red heads, but came up short.

‘He will probably burst into flame if he steps into sunlight,’ Eris said with a snort at his own joke. ‘My mother has taken him to a museum which he will also loathe. He’s already complained about the temperature. I almost think Lucien wanted it here in the hope that our father wouldn’t attend.’

For a while, Eris left Nesta to her book while he read his own. She opted for a grizzly horror whilst Eris read a philosophy book that was better suited for swatting mosquitoes. When the heat became too much, Eris leapt back into the pool and did a couple of lengths.

‘You are beginning to resemble a lobster,’ called Nesta.

His feet gave a splash as he dived under and swam back towards her. In another feat of muscle, he launched himself out of the water. Not surprising her, he shook his auburn hair like a dog.

‘Better not ruin the photos.’ A generous amount of sun cream was tipped into his hand then Eris went to work on slathering it over his body.

‘Lean forwards,’ murmured Nesta. She scooted to the edge of her lounger and rubbed the excess cream into his back where his arms couldn’t reach. ‘Turn.’

Eris did an exemplary job of keeping his amber eyes solely on her face – and no lower to her bikini top – while she gently smeared sun cream on his face. The skin on his nose was already pink.

‘Stay in the shade.’

‘Is that an order?’

‘Yes, unless you want to be glowing in the photos.’ She tapped the end of his nose.

Later on, when their stomachs began rumbling, they headed off together in pursuit of food. In the heat, Nesta wanted little more than a salad. When Eris wasn’t acting as her shield against man-child ex-boyfriends, he really was good company. Their conversation flowed easily around work and lack-of-hobbies.

‘I could do with another drink,’ she lamented, back by the pool.

She had drank what felt like gallons of water already that day since the first blast of heat when she stepped off the plane.

‘Ooh. That looks good.’ Nesta pointed to another table where a woman drank something colourful and icy from a tall, wiggly glass.

‘I’ll get it,’ said Eris.

‘No. Allow me. You paid for lunch.’

Eris swept his hand through the air as he made a short bow from his sun lounger. 

After many terrible hand gestures, lots of pointing and awful attempts at a foreign language, Nesta trotted back towards him, a glass in each hand. The colours were layered like a rainbow – and she was delighted to sit beside a man who could drink something that wasn’t beer.

‘You’re sure they’re not alcoholic?’

Nesta sniffed her drink. ‘Yeah. Definitely.’

‘You speak Spanish?’

‘No, I took the mocktail menu with me to the bar and pointed and made the shape of the glass. Nobody needs to hear me try and pronounce another language.’

The expression Eris wore suggested he didn’t wholly believe her.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Do you want me to get the bartender?’

‘Then I can use my terrible Spanish to ask? I trust you.’

Eris leaned forwards from his sun lounger to knock their glasses together. Nesta did the same.

‘To the happy couple,’ she said.

Oh, it was delicious. She sucked on the straw until she gave herself brain freeze from the ice which received no sympathy from Eris.

‘Can I ask a personal question, Nesta?’

‘I can’t promise I’ll answer it.’

‘Why don’t you drink?’

Her brows raised and her vision skimmed over the shimmering waves of the pool. ‘I guess when I first moved and got involved with Cassian, drink became the every day activity. I stopped doing things I enjoyed. Spent all my time with them. Wine went down easier and easier and sleep became harder and harder.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m not against ever drinking again, but once I quit drinking with them, it quickly became apparent we had nothing in common. I don’t have any friends so the option is drinking alone or not.’

Eris nodded in understanding. ‘Same here. I’ll probably have a glass of champagne tomorrow, but I was a bit of a tearaway when I was younger. Drank too much and did a lot of silly things. There needs to be a good occasion for it and I’m better at knowing when I’ve had too much now.’

As the afternoon wore on, their conversation became freer and punctuated with giggles.

‘This definitely has alcohol in.’

'It's on the mocktail menu.'

Eris leaned over her to snatch up the menu. 'And on the cocktail menu. With tequila.'

Nesta sucked the last dregs from the bottom of her glass up the straw. ‘Oops. Sorry. Sincerely.’

‘I’m drinking with a friend. It’s a celebration,’ said Eris, giving an easy shrug of his shoulders.

She pressed a hand to her chest. ‘I’m your friend? What an honour!’

Despite the realisation that their fruity, rainbow drinks were not mocktails, they continued to drink. The heat made it worse. The conversation shifted from playful to the realms of discussion that Nesta would never engage in sober. They spoke of ex-lovers, positions they enjoyed in the bedroom, fantasies – inhibitions well and truly out the window as they slurped down more.

Eris closed one eye as he squinted down at the display of his watch. ‘Our dearly beloved siblings should land soon.’

Fantastic, she thought. She’d face a grilling from Cassian about why she chose to drink with Eris, but not him. Morrigan would have something to say – and Rhys too because he couldn’t help himself but pass a comment on Nesta’s life.

‘Then I am going to bed,’ she declared. Nesta pushed off from the sunbed with legs like jelly then staggered a few steps.

Eris let out a soft laugh. ‘Any more staggering and you’d have ended up in the pool. Let’s get you some food.’

He was equally unsteady, but they managed to negotiate for food and make it into the lift. They crashed into each other in the corridor. Their hips and arms bumped as they walked in unsteady lines towards Eris’ room. They collapsed onto the bed to dig into whatever had been deep fried for their meal. She licked the grease off her fingers in between shovelling in mouthfuls; Eris ate with an equal lack of grace like one starved.

When they had finished their food, the television blared out and they remained sprawled together on the bed. A cool wind swept through the open balcony doors as the sun descended for the night. Nesta’s phone flashed a couple of times with messages from Elain then Feyre quizzing on her whereabouts. She replied that an early night was needed and she’d meet them in the morning.

With food in her stomach, Nesta felt a little more sober, but whilst Eris went to shower, she raided the minibar for anything salty that she could find. Eris returned when she had a mouthful of peanuts.

‘Share.’

 Nesta covered her mouth so she didn’t spray nuts across the room. ‘There’s chips too.’

‘Daddy dearest is paying the bill. Indulge.’

Nesta had never let herself loose like this, as though she had no manners. Eris didn’t seem to mind either. He was grinning from ear to ear as they sat on the bed, devouring any snack they could get their hands on. She fished in the cup of her bikini for a dropped peanut.

‘What a woman,’ purred Eris from the top of the bed where he languished with a towel around his waist.

She arched a brow. ‘Still want to be my date for this wedding?’

‘All other women are shadows compared to you, Nesta Archeron.’

Eris extended a hand to her which Nesta crawled towards. She collapsed beside him on the bed so their noses brushed. His hand cupped against her hip, drawing her another inch closer. Her fluttering heart made her giddy.

‘Kiss me, Nesta.’

Her chin raised until their lips met. There was nothing hesitant about it. The moment their lips slid over each other, Eris rolled Nesta on top of him. She felt his hardening length through the towel. Her tongue met his as their hands roved over each other’s bodies, hungry for every bare stretch of skin they could gain purchase on.

The string of her bikini was tugged loose so she peeled open the towel from his waist.

They moved down the bed, Nesta turning onto her back as Eris pulled away the last of her clothing.

‘That conversation earlier,’ he grinned. ‘I know every little thing you like.’

Her fingers wound through his auburn hair. ‘Then don’t you dare disappoint me.’

***

At the first slivers of amber light leaking through at dawn, Nesta unpeeled her limbs from Eris, gathered her clothing – a bikini, a sarong, and flip flops – then scurried out of his room.

Nobody was in the corridors, but she still had a strong sense of paranoia that somebody might catch her mid-scandal. It shouldn’t have been a scandal. Both were single and willing – and she certainly had a night like no other. Eris had definitely paid attention to what she had said over their cocktails. But this was not what Nesta Archeron did. She didn’t have one-night stands.

She threw herself into the shower, as if to wash away Eris’ scent from her body then stuck her phone into the charger and flopped onto the bed, hoping to catch a couple of hours sleep in the safety of her own room.

The knock from her sister came too sudden for Nesta, but wedding duties took priority. She tried her best to suppress the exhaustion from a long night being bent over by Elain’s future brother-in-law as she followed her sister down the corridor into her rooms. Not long later, Feyre arrived too in anticipation of a day spent together exploring before the wedding the next day.

Feyre let out a long yawn as she slumped in a chair.

‘Nyx?’ Elain asked over her shoulder at the vanity while she curled her hair.

‘I wish. For once, he slept. I don’t know how. Lucien said his oldest brother has the room next to us. I was ready to kill him last night. He was going at it all night with some floozy. The walls are so thin.’

At her spot by the window, Nesta froze. Heat crept into her cheeks. Oh no.

Elain giggled at Feyre’s admission. ‘The season of love.’

Feyre snorted. ‘It wasn’t love. It was like a pair of wild animals were banging against a wall. All night. At least do it in the bed so I don’t have to hear it.’

‘I forgot something in my room. Back in a moment.’

Nesta excused herself without waiting to hear their replies. Her face was scorching. Oh, this was awful. She really had to pick that man – and this wedding – to have her first ever one-night stand.

‘Hey, Ness.’

‘Oh, not you,’ she sighed in the hallway.

‘Miss you too.’

Cassian wore lurid pink shorts paired with a black vest. His unruly hair had been scraped back into a bun at the nape of his neck. She had forgotten how intimidating he could seem by the way he could loom over everybody.

‘Excuse me.’

Nesta tried to side-step him, but he blocked her pathway.

‘Listen, I thought we could talk. We don’t have to date but we can be friends.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

He wrung his hands together. ‘I miss you. I miss the old times.’

‘Old times? We were together six months. Look, Cassian, move. I don’t have time for this.’ She pinched her brow then barrelled past him.

This time, he let her go.

***

‘My goodness, how did you ever get your license?’

Nesta clung onto the door handle while Feyre braced herself in the back. Elain ignored her words because she was busy gritting her teeth as they rounded another sharp corner.

They had gone for a breakfast in a small town by the sea that had been recommended to them for its beauty. What the lady on the desk had neglected to tell them was that the idyllic little beachfront restaurant was at the end of one of the most difficult drives they had ever been on. The narrow, winding road was made up of sheer cliffs and dusty stones rolling into their path.

‘At least I have it,’ Elain finally said as the car rolled onto a fairly straight stretch of road.

Feyre made a disgruntled noise. ‘I’ll learn when Nyx is bigger.’

‘Nesta’s driving on the way back. You always say you are the best driver.’

She was, but not when her head was pounding from the amount of alcohol she’d downed yesterday.  In response, Nesta grimaced. The car juddered along the rocky path uneasily.

‘I hope we all make it to the wedding,’ quipped Elain as another large stone slipped down from the cliff and into their path that only a harsh stamp on the brake could protect them from.

The restaurant was utterly beautiful, though perhaps not worth nearly dying for. Elain had chosen a table directly in the blazing sunlight so Nesta was powerless to agree. What the bride wanted, she got. Even if Nesta was dying inside the longer she spent in the sun.

‘You look so pale, Nesta.’

‘I’m emotional my little sister is getting married,’ she lied. ‘Oo, chilled water. Hallelujah.’

Food was a challenge. For every nibble she took, Nesta glugged down an entire glass of lemon water to stop her stomach from lurching. Neither sister seemed to notice her struggling, or at least attributed it to the heat when Elain took the floppy sunhat off her own head and plonked into Nesta’s. Feyre prattled on about her son as if he was the first child in existence while Elain babbled about how many children she wanted to have. I’d quite like a nap, she thought.

Excitement came in the form of dolphins breaching the crystalline blue waters near the restaurant. Even Nesta rose from her seat to get a better look and snap a few pictures.

‘That was amazing!’

‘Oh, I wish Nyx had seen,’ lamented Feyre as she scrolled through her photos.

Nesta did the same to see if she had managed any half-decent shots. She swiped through, zooming occasionally. The images of the sea shifted to a bare body. Her bare body. Eris' knees and something else was in the shot. When the video started playing automatically, she locked her phone quicker than she had ever managed before.

‘What was that?’

Nesta blinked. ‘I must have taken a video in my pocket on the plane.’

Her heart was hammering in her chest.

Not only did she decide to have a one-night stand with Eris – but they had filmed it too? The image of herself sprawled out on the bed, a big grin on her face, with Eris kneeling between her legs flashed back into her mind. A sex tape. This was bad. Very bad. Bad with a capital B.

‘You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,’ murmured Elain, brown eyes catching her own.

No, just myself about to get ploughed, she thought.

Fanning herself for good measure, Nesta said, ‘I’m not used to this heat.’

Their day was busy with exploring local shops and visiting tourist hotspots. She had never sweated so much in her life which couldn’t solely be blamed on the heat. Each time they stopped so that Elain could try on clothes, Nesta bought another bottle of water to hydrate herself which hadn’t gone unnoticed by Feyre.

‘How long until you belong to the sea witch?’

She choked on a mouthful of water. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘You’re acting like a mermaid out of water. I didn’t know a person could drink so much water,’ she added. A wicked smile curled Feyre’s lips. ‘If you’re looking for your true love, I’ll let Cass know.’

‘I’d rather drown than ever let him touch me again.’

Feyre pouted. ‘He’s not that bad. He really regrets what happened between you two. Cass was really sad that you’d already gone to bed yesterday.’

‘Feyre, let’s get this straight. I am sweating. My armpits are like a swamp. I am hungover as shit. I am here for Elain’s wedding – not to hook up with anybody. Furthermore, I literally do not give a crap about Cassian or his feelings.’

Her sister heard one part of that. ‘Who were you drinking with last night?’

She fought hard to give an air of carelessness as she shrugged. Elain chose that moment to emerge from the dressing room in a pretty, lavender sundress. They passed on their comments about how beautiful she looked then the curtains closed again.

In a whisper, Feyre said, ‘Were you drinking alone again?’

Again. Drinking alone was considered wrong, but drinking every single night with company was permissible.

‘Feyre, what I do is my business.’

‘That’s why you had an early night, isn’t it? Because you were drinking.’

Nesta sucked in a breath. Her temper never did do well when provoked – especially not in the sun. ‘Yes, I was drinking Feyre. I had a lovely time by the pool drinking cocktails. Don’t be too jealous.’

[liketolaugh-writes]

I know I've talked about this before, but God, I'm never going to stop resenting the hold that Harry Potter has on me.

As an autistic person, special interests never really leave you, and that's more true for longer-standing ones. I really can't explain how all-consuming they are, how much time and energy and love you pour into them, how much joy and comfort you get from them. I'm kind of between special interests right now, after finishing both Constellations and Blue Food Project, and it's unsettling. Makes me restless, leaves a lot of time in my day. (Time I can use to look for jobs! Positives.)

Anyway. Harry Potter was definitely my longest-standing special interest to date. It was my SI through most of elementary school, and given the choice, I would do nothing except reread them, over and over and over and over again. My parents had to institute a rule where every time I finished the series, I had to wait a certain amount of time before I read it again, and I always did as soon as the time was up. There are parts of it, useless stupid lines, that I can still recite from memory. ("And he was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one that turned out to be pepper" has always been my favorite example.) I don't engage much with the Harry Potter fandom, because it's a mutant factioned thing that kind of scares me, but the story stays with me nonetheless.

Like many other fans, this letter broke my heart; I'm sure you know the one even without clicking the link. She's only gotten worse since then (every so often I still look at her Twitter account and mourn) but this was the beginning of the end. Most authors, I can forgive their transgressions; I can trust that they've grown, I can accept that their work is flawed, and I can enjoy what I read despite that.

Every since that letter, and plenty of the subsequent scandals besides, I've been unable to do that. I read any part of Harry Potter and I can see nothing but flaws. I see sexism, and ableism, and cultural appropriation and colonialism and hypocrisy. I think, why are there so many crowds of tittering girls? and why does everyone hate Fleur seemingly just for being French and pretty? and why did she design the Slug Club without any acknowledgement of 'this is literally how to break into a career field?' There is nothing there for me but frustration and hurt.

I've seen people in the trans community complain about cis folk asking if they can 'still enjoy' Harry Potter, which I understand. (I consider myself nonbinary, but my gender identity is so unimportant to me that I still consider my place in that community tenuous.) But this isn't that. This is frustration. Harry Potter was carved into me years ago, and I can't seem to dig it out, and I have yet to decide what to do with that.

But the story stays with me. The memory of it is inescapable. I don't even really need to reread the books to write fanfics, most of the time; I know every plot point by heart. How could I not? And every unanswered question, every point of shoddy worldbuilding that drives me nuts about that world - I can fix those. I do it all the time in other fandoms. It's really not that hard to create the answers to the plot holes that bother you.

Most of the Harry Potter fics I write are crossovers - Harry Potter goes well with just about any world, kind of like Avengers does. But there's one I've been playing with that bugs me in a special way.

I mentioned finishing 'Constellations,' my two part series where Percy Jackson goes to therapy for everything he goes through in the PJO and HoO books. That was a love letter to Percy Jackson, to Rick Riordan's writing. Like any writer, he has his flaws and weak points, but I love it nonetheless, every part of it. I wrote it with the intent to supplement and highlight canon for everything I love about it.

Now, I find myself writing a similar fic for Harry Potter, with Harry Potter going through therapy. It's in the beginning stages yet (such stories are obviously difficult) but it's such a fascinating topic that I can't shake it. What happens when a survivor of such vicious neglect suddenly is accused of seeking attention at every turn? How can someone so victimized by the Ministry come to trust them enough to work as an Auror? Did Dumbledore truly understand what he subjected Harry to with the Dursleys?

But with Constellations, I had respect for Riordan's writing that I don't have for Rowling's. Such a story would come from a completely different place. And that's fascinating, too. It's just complicated.

I'm not going anywhere with this, I guess. It's just- frustrating, to so thoroughly resent a story and a cast that I also love so much.

[indy-gray]

I done got frustrated

My desire to keep my opinions to myself managed to last most of the day. New record tbh.

So like I wrote this big long rant a couple of weeks ago and decided against sharing it while I was still frustrated. But I do feel like maybe there is a larger discussion to be had! I think it's important that we as a writeblr community really take a look at why so many of us are getting so frustrated so often and how we as a community and as individuals can work towards an actually community vs a corner of social media. @blind-the-winds did an excellent job of explaining some of what I'm seeing as well in relation to why a lot of positivity and support posts and such ring hollow to so many of us. I wanted to bring a slightly different perspective to things coming from a marketing/social media marketing background. Under the cut out of respect for everyone's dashboards lol

This is going to get INCREDIBLY LONG. So I have a read more here. Behold, the bitchfest.

So this started today when I was chatting with an irl friend and expressing my frustrations about writeblr in general as a community. And what I've recognized now is this: writeblr isn't really much of a community, and it is very rare to find other creators and writers who are willing to treat you (the hypothetical writer) as another human being with a love for the same craft they do. Those people who do treat you like people are some of the loveliest people I've found on the internet, but they are hard to find.

Now, to be clear, I don't think the problem is completely writeblr's fault, nor do I believe it is any one or two or five hundred individual's fault. The problem comes from a number of different sources, and my friend did a great job of helping me see the problem from a number of different perspectives.

The problem being this: it is impossible to get engagement on posts that feature original long-form writing, and it is exceedingly difficult to effectively foster meaningful connections with other writers.

Some disclaimers: it's not impossible, and the people who successfully receive engagement on their long-form writing tend to be the people who are the exceptions proving the rule. Also, by "engagement" I mean any interaction that serves to both consume the content and spread the content. "Original" writing refers to writing that is not fandom related, and "long-form" means 1k words or more.

Do you think 1k words is a little short for "long-form" writing? Me too. I'll get to that.

I'll start my explanation here with what catalyzed these revelations in my little head. Over night, I got quite a few new followers, all directly coming from a post that got mildly popular here on writeblr. So, I looked at what other posts of mine have been popular, and I started to notice a trend.

My most popular posts tend to fit into one of three categories: memes, tag games, and boost posts/recommendations. Memes tend to be popular because they're funny and easy to spread, and as long as they fit the theme, they don't ruin a blog's aesthetic. Tag games get more interaction because I am directly tagging people to see the post. But the popularity for those posts tend to stop at the half dozen to a dozen people tagged in each given post (the person or people tagging me, and the several people I tag to continue the game). The last category is most interesting to me, the boost posts and recommendations.

Here's the thing, I only boost or rec other writers and blogs if I have invested interest and care into the person behind the blog and their content. AKA, I only really boost friends and writers I admire/like their content. It's great to see that those posts get popular with people outside my circle, but out of those three categories, none of them feature my own content.

Why is that?

It seems like every day I see a new post with a few thousand notes at least complaining about a lack of interaction on writeblr and the importance of reblogs and blah blah I rarely stop to read those let alone spread them. And a few dots connected, I think.

If my content isn't getting interaction, and your content isn't getting interaction, then what is? And I think the answer is this: memes, advice, and boosts.

Memes and advice are self-explanatory. But boosts are interesting because you will see everyone hop on to rec other people or more frequently market themselves, but they stop there. And I see my greatest influx of interaction and new followers when I boost other people's works or blogs.

My conclusion is that many people are using writeblr as a hustle and not a community. In a community we engage with each other, talk to each other, enjoy each other's company. And I've found many mutuals to be very lovely people who I do enjoy and who I love to engage with and who I like to genuinely call my friends. I like a lot of yall for different reasons too! Some of you are great hype buddies, some of yall are all about that accountability buddy system, and I really love when I get to have intellectual conversations about the craft and different concepts with different members of writeblr too.

But largely, I find that a lot of people who engage once with my blog, usually on those boost posts, or who ask for engagement more frequently than when frustration strikes, tend to be the people who think of writeblr as a hustle. They see that I (and many other writers) will boost and rec our friends, and jump on that bandwagon, but instead of putting in the effort to get to know us and our work, they say what needs to be said, hop on trends, and avoid any genuine connection.

So what gives?

It's not the individual writers, I think. It's the nature of social media, marketing, and the medium.

Listen, I work in marketing, and long-form writing is a dying art that is very difficult to market. I genuinely think the concept of "tldr" really ruined a lot of people's ability to engage with longer form writing. Whether that be nonfiction opinion posts or actual fiction. Tumblr is one of the only places I can think of where long-form writing is a feasible medium to post at all, let alone gain a following for.

Think about it: instagram is best suited for images, videos, and short-form aestheticized poetry. Twitter has a character limit that requires long threads of individual tweets or images to get your message across. Pitch events are well-suited for twitter because your pitch by definition needs to be short. But sharing actual summaries, snippets, or excerpts? Not really possible. Tiktok is for videos, which as we know can be utilized, but is not the most efficient method of marketing written word. Ao3 is an archive with an excellent tagging system, but to get readers, outside marketing is required. Facebook requires a real name, and isn't really well suited for content creation either. Wattpad, Royal Road, and others are great for posting actual works, but they don't necessarily have well-functioning tag systems that help the author find their audience. That really just leaves Tumblr. Pillowfort is also an option, though it's still so in the beginning phase of development that it's pretty difficult to get started there.

It's well known in marketing that images and videos catch attention and long paragraphs of text (AKA what most prose looks like) tend to be scrolled past. The very nature of the long-form writing medium is against most marketing techniques. Marketing long-form writing needs to look different from any other medium.

All that being said: the culture of social media engagement has shifted, and this is a conversation that fandom has been having and I think has actually been doing well discussing the different facets of how the culture has shifted. Fandom (and content creation in general) is seen as a commodity to be consumed. Consumers want to see the content, maybe save it for later, and then move on to the next piece. This is easily done with visual mediums, but writing mediums are especially vulnerable to this culture shift because it does require so much time and energy to consume, let alone engage.

Creators don't see their work as a commodity to be consumed, but it is now. When consumers view a piece of visual media, they view the image (consume it) and then move to the next, some will spread it to others by engaging with the picture through reblogs or sending the post to someone else. But most often, there will be a "like" to tell the creator good job, and then scroll to the next. This is harder to do with written media unless one has the time and energy to read the piece. There's the extra step of critical thought.

To put it a different way, the market is flooded with content and creators. With so much to choose from, the consumer now does not have to participate in the community to ensure continued creation. There will be another creator tomorrow. The consumer no longer feels connected to a community of their interests, it is simply being sold to them.

So back to writeblr, this is where I am at a crossroads. I am tired of creating content to be consumed, I want community. But also, I have nowhere else to turn. I can either completely withdraw from what sliver of community I have found, or I can keep trucking along, create my stuff, play the games we play, chat with the people I do like and do care about, and hope that I don't get too frustrated one day and leave for good.