#but tumblr refused to make it appear on my dash or in the tags

[elialys]

"To sport now, and Australian cricket captain, Allan Broader…Border, has threatened to resign in the wake of Australia's worse…worst ever World Cricket score…Series score."

THE NEWSREADER | 1.01 | Helen x Dale - Dale's Update Part 1 [2]

[reasonsforhope]

A wild about post appears!

Me

Hey! I’m MC. They/them, late twenties. I also run Direct Action for Hope, for petitions/campaigns/protests that don’t fit on a good news blog, as well as my own takes and activism.

Queer, trans, disabled, white, USian, for context. (Please let me know if I accidentally post something offensive, btw! I promise I have like. an actual ability to take that kind of feedback gracefully and work to remedy the situation)

 Some Info about This Blog

Actual good news only!

No heartwarming stories that aren’t actually news. No stories that other sources THINK are heartwarming, but that are actually super depressing and dystopic!

All websites/sources are at least preliminarily vetted by me

If I don’t think a source and/or a news story I find is accurate or reliable enough, I find a new, better source with a new, better article

Relatedly, any links that have the url web.archive go to an Internet Archive copy of a paywalled article. Usually this is the LA Times, NY Times, or Washington Post. Not a weird suspicious link, I promise!

All posts are cited and dated at the end!

All posts should be tagged, including for major/common content warnings. I can’t promise that I won’t miss any warnings, but I am definitely keeping an eye on this

Filter the tag “not news” if you only want to see the news articles/posts

Feel free to send me articles to look at or submit posts! I’ll vet these before I feature them. That said, you might be waiting A While, because despite many efforts to the contrary I am the worst about checking/answering messages. Sorry about that

Posts are generally long because I have Many Words And Endless Details Disease. Hopefully the thoroughness and the bolded highlights make up for that

A couple people have asked me if I could share their donation posts, so I wanted to pin this up: I’m sorry, but unfortunately, I will not be sharing any donation posts, because I don’t have the time or skills to vet all of them and weed out any potential scams. If you’re struggling, please check out this post, which lists communities designed for donation posts and mutual aid. You’re much more likely to get help there than on tumblr. You can also find other mutual aid resource lists and wikis here, here, and here

If you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, especially around climate anxiety or climate grief, there’s a really, really thorough directory of crisis hotlines by country that you can find here. Seriously, they have so many countries I wouldn’t have expected them to list - try it, if it might help

Tip Jar

I put a lot of work and passion into this blog—and a not inconsiderable amount of time. Also, I’ve been too disabled to work much at all for most of the past year...rip. (but thankfully doing better now!) So, if you want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee!

Good News Source

You can find a comprehensive list of all the websites I’ve bookmarked as sources for this blog here!

Note about Gaza

I will be posting good news (as much good news as there can be in this sort of situation) about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, because one of the most important ways to help is to refuse to be silent. Palestinians in Gaza have asked us to please keep talking about it, that it really does help, so I’m going to listen.

And honestly, my disabilities significantly interfere with my ability to take irl action like going to protests, so using what platform I have here really is all the more important to me. (Though I am also setting a notif on my phone to remind me to call my representatives every few days, and I encourage you to do the same if feasible.)

All that said! It is completely legitimate to need a break from horrific news (a huge part of why I started this blog), and it’s also legitimate to say “I need to find out about this stuff Not from my tumblr dash.”

If news about the war/genocide (esp on social media specifically) is making you spiral and shit, then I genuinely encourage you to filter out these posts. I’m not judging. I have significant filters around what Israel/Palestine stuff I see on here myself, because I want to be very intentional about the times I do engage with it. (Which is every few days and via the Actual News.)

I’m committing to fact-checking this stuff before posting, fyi, even with reblogs.

So, tl;dr:

I will be posting about Palestine and Gaza

I will still only post good news, eg: about successful protests, aid reaching Gaza, progress toward ceasefire

I’ll only post actual, concrete news, not just Politicians Saying Words

If you need to not find about this shit from tumblr and/or my tumblr, then filter out the tags “Palestine” and “cw war”

If you don't want to see my posts on this blog about the Israel-Palestine War, then block the tags "Palestine" and "cw war"

if you need a break, then take a break

[somethingclevermahogony]

Writer Questionnaire

Thank you for the tag @phoenixradiant and @mk-writes-stuff!

About how long have you had your writing tumblr/writeblr?

I created this blog at the end of 2022 but went inactive for a big portion of 2023.

What led you to create it?

I was already working on my WIP, which I want to publish one day. I was worried that people wouldn't be interested in what I was making, so my partner (@persnickety-peahen) suggested that I should make a tumblr to see how people would react to my ideas.

What’s your favourite thing about the writeblr community?

I enjoy seeing how people are able to bring their characters and their settings to life. I really enjoy reading the snippets of other people's work.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

I'm always willing to talk, whether about writing or something else entirely. Just a warning though, I have a tendency to ramble

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

Worldbuilding! I know I'm a bit of a lore fanatic, but I want to see some huge exposition posts from my mutuals too!

Which wips or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

I really only have the one WIP, The Testaments, but I have bits and pieces from all over the planned series bouncing around in my head. I just finished a big paper and so I'm hoping to get back to writing Book 1 soon!

How long have you been working on them?

I suppose that depends? Working on it as in actually sitting down and plotting things out, or just scribbling in my notebooks? I'd say probably about 5 years now.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

It was a few things, just random ideas that sort of conglomerated into Narul. Then I started making a world for him to live in.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Very often, can't really say how much, I have a tendency to imagine scenes in my head. Basically whenever I'm listening to music, I'm likely thinking about Testaments.

When someone asks the dreaded, “what do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

It depends on who I'm talking to. I say its fantasy but based on the ancient near-east/Mediterranean rather than Europe. If its someone that is familiar with that region/period I usually go into a bit more of a spiel about how Narul is in part inspired by characters like Gilgamesh but with the opposite of Hubris.

Name any characters you created. side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, your first original abomination; whomever you’d like!

I'll go with Bop. Bop was a once terrifying wind spirit that now resides inside of a hammer. They are at once incredibly wise and ancient and very naïve. I created them as an immortal friend for Narul. What if the One Ring was a just a chill non-binary pal?

Who’s the most unhinged?

Zatar, though Batricca is a close second (Great Grandson and Great Grandma, crazy violence runs in the family).

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Narul is pretty easy to write, because in a lot of ways he's representative of my own anxiety. But I also find that writing spirits and scenery comes really naturally to me.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Not really. Istek's flirtation is probably the most cringey thing that a character does and even then its more funny than anything. Ninma can be an annoying little brat, but is not cringe inducing,

How much control do you feel you have over your characters? do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? to what degree? are some less cooperative than others?

I'm not really sure. I'd say I'm pretty in control of my characters, if only because I have most of the serious plotted out. But sometimes new characters appear or characters just do something because it feels right in the moment, I suppose you could say in those instances that they write themselves.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? and do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? for example, as asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on ao3, etc.

I love answering questions about my characters and world. I have a couple questions I need to get to (I just need to finish my conlang post). Send asks, tags, replies, reblogs, anything!

What makes you want to follow another writeblr account? do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? do you follow based on wips, or vibes?

I tend to look for writeblr intros and read them over. If the story seems compelling, I'll follow. Pretty simple. Alternatively if someone follows me I tend to follow them back.

What makes you decide against following?

No content on their blogs, certain political/social ideas (no terfs), I don't tend to read a lot of fanfic (not to say that it isn't totally valid) so I don't tend to follow blogs that are solely based around fanfic rather than original content.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Not really? I wouldn't mind interacting more though!

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

A few will occasionally seep into my thoughts. I will admit though, I am terrible at remembering the names of my mutuals characters, especially when I take long breaks. Djek and Izjik from @illarian-rambling appear in my head every once in a while. To tell you the truth though, I tend to think more about the worlds and settings of my mutuals rather than their characters.

Tagging @willtheweaver, @elsie-writes, @elizaellwrites, @roach-pizza, and leaving it open!

[raayllum]

Since there's a new sock playbook happening and it's slightly different than the old one, thought I'd nip this one in the bud. In the past week three (3) different blogs have been made to rebuttal my and other's posts about the theory that Callum will free Aaravos. Which, fair enough - people can disagree and if I don't like what someone is adding to my posts, I can block 'em on both my side AND my main.

But, granted, that only works if the person respects the blocking boundary.

So here are some of the new signs:

Blog has left the old 'three words mashed together' schtick and is implementing a usually 2 word TDP themed mashup

Blogs are all mostly TDP with another fandom worked in

Blog is randomly made, reblogs posts in the other fandom, and then makes their foray onto one of my or other's posts to rebuttal

Known potential socks (in order of apparent appearance):

Virenhunter. Seemingly made on August 17th, reblogged my posts and others. Lied about wanting to not clog up my notifications since I was OP of the post they were arguing on and I had blocked them (simply because, so they had to make a new post - which is fair - but then offered up a false excuse.) Dragonrecap. The similar naming structure, quick appearance, and reblogging one of my posts to be contrarian in such close order is what initially made me suspicious this was a sock / burgeoning harassment situation.

Moonabovemoon. Same previous tells, also recently made, reblogged one of my clearly theorizing but also very much joking posts (note my own tags of "tone gets increasingly unhinged" and hordika asking a question of how I have also answered many many times re: Callum doing it to save a loved one).

As always, I don't really care if people disagree, but it's obtuse to 1) shove it onto multiple posts, 2) ignore blocking boundaries by making socks to get around it, and 3) specifically, repeatedly target things I've made or posted (mocking my "predictions achieved" tag when it's existed since 2019 and has had nothing to do with these theories until they started happening, mocking a post I made where I mentioned s5 being like a victory lap for my characterization of Callum not really caring about being Lied To when 5x01 proved that too, etc). when I tag everything accordingly in multiple ways for tag blocking purposes, I encourage people to block me, and you can use tumblr saviour to ensure you don't see any of my posts unfiltered on your dash.

Either way: PSA for the fandom, the usual old tells of "isn't Rayla so cute and small and Callum is so strong and principled," has a new front. He cannot / refuses to be reasoned with, cannot manage to have a respectful disagreement without either losing his cool or playing the victim when he's called out for it, and has a habit of targeting marginalized creators in particular (which given the sexism towards Rayla makes perfect sense). Best thing to do is just block and not engage as much as you can, and keep on enjoying the various theories and interpretations you like in peace. 👍

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

Ok I'm honestly kinda hyped about the 100 year quest anime announcement.

Funnily enough I found out by going on a website when searching up the voice actor for a character in Persona 5 strikers because my friend mentioned the way they said joker sounded like Harley Quinn so I was looking it up and just at the bottom of my laptop screen I just see that 100 years quest anime was confirmed for July. Naturally I clicked on it and I was led to the trailer.

I've been waiting for this since it was announced to be in the making. I may not think of 100 years quest as my fav arc but I'm excited for a few things.

A. I finally get to hear a canon voice for Merciphobia let's go. I love this lovely water dragon.

B. I'm excited to see the dragons abilities in action. We never really saw that much of actual dragon powers in the series aside from Acno. Past him, in animation form the one we've seen the most is Igneel and the 7 dragons from the Dragon king festival (who half of them didn't even use actual magic they just used brute force such as Levia, Dark dragon and rock dragon)

C. As little as it is, I'm excited to see all the slayers return. I know that aside from Natsu and Wendy they don't appear as much but I will relish their screen time. Plus it's been a hot minute since I've seen Sting and Rogue on screen (I haven't rewatched KOTSH or GMG yet cause it's gonna be a bit till I get to those arcs in the au and I like to have the info fresh in my mind.) however it will not detur me from ADHD Rogue headcanon, that man forgets his keys or wallet all the time if they've been moved (I may or may not be slightly projecting my own issues but shush I'm allowed to if I want)

But this honestly made my day even though I found out at like 7-8pm. I'm also hoping this might actually give the fandom a pump of life again cause it feels no where near as active as it did when final season was coming out. Maybe it's just my Tumblr dash refusing to show me FT content even though I've liked over a 1000 posts at this point but I check some of the tags of my favs and don't see much. Fics are a different story thankfully. I'm following at least four good fics/series that are still active and thriving which I adore. It's mostly just Tumblr I think.

[dawn-the-rithmatist]

A little long thing on censorship and boundaries on the internet

Okay prefacing this by saying this post is only written for tumblr and ao3. If you go beyond those I have no knowledge for you unfortunately, but maybe people can chime in in the notes.

Starting off, each person is responsible for controlling their own internet experience. We’re lucky that tumblr does not have an algorithm that forces unexpected things onto your dash (aside from blazed posts and based on your likes, but more on that later). You are in complete control of the content that appears on your dash, based on who you follow. Likewise, on ao3 you’re able to filter searches so you see what you want to see, and no one is making you click on the things you don’t. No one owes you anything with their content, aside from the ability to avoid it if you choose.

Follow up, you are responsible for making your content avoidable for people who don’t want to see it. If you’re writing the kinkiest fic out there, that’s fine. That’s yours to write and share as you wish. But you’re responsible for tagging it so that people who aren’t after that kind of material don’t see it if they want to. That way you get people who are happy to see/read your works, and people aren’t confronted with 50 Shades of Gray when they were really just looking for some PG hand holding.

Basic tags for those who aren’t used to tagging systems are whether it’s NSFW, any particular kinks, and any potential triggers (things like gore, underage, no con, suicide- if there’s an archive warning for it on ao3, it’s probably something you should tag so people can avoid it). Make sure that you spell the thing out without typos or euphemisms or @ny w31Rd $tuff that would lead to it NOT being filtered. (We don’t Unalive here, we kill, and Unalive will show up even when kill has been filtered out.)

What if someone I follow reblogs something that I don’t want to see or find problematic? If it’s something specific you’re trying to avoid, tumblr has tag filtering. You can block tags related to that thing, and it won’t show up on your dash uncensored. In case you ever want to see what’s behind that censor in spite of the tag, you’ll have the option to view it anyway- you won’t miss that the post exists entirely. If it’s something that hasn’t been tagged, it might be a good idea to (kindly!! Respectfully!!) request that the person tag it appropriately. If they refuse, you might want to unfollow them so you don’t have to see it anymore.

I unfollowed someone whose content bothered me, but my mutuals keep reblogging it so I still see it on my dash. You can block them! Then reblogs won’t show up on your dash, no matter how many mutuals reblog it. Blocking someone does nothing to them- try not to see it as something aggressive or offensive. You have the right to control what you see online, and blocking is a way to do that more effectively. You can always unblock them later if you change your mind!

Things from people I don’t follow keep showing up on my dash. This could be a couple of things. If it says “based on your likes!” or “tags you follow”, that’s something you can disable in settings (I can edit this post later with the exact locations) and tumblr won’t show you those anymore. That said, those are still subject to tag filtering, so that’s also a good approach if you don’t want those things to go away completely.

Now that blazed posts are around, there’s a chance you might get something you don’t like through that, but I’m not sure if there’s a way to filter those out. I haven’t seen a blazed post from tags I block yet, so… so far so good? If anyone knows, please chime in!!

Some content shouldn’t exist online, even if it can be blocked/filtered/avoided. This is the most important point on this post. I do think that some things shouldn’t exist online. My mother also thinks some things shouldn’t exist online. However, we don’t agree on what those things are, and we both agree that there are some cases where we would make exceptions to our rules. If we start purging content that we don’t agree with, it’s going to become a question of who is disagreeing with the content. Gotta be honest folks, in that scenario, I’m pretty sure the voices that get listened to will be straight, cis, and white.

TL;DR: Internet freedom disappears when we allow censorship, but we do still need to protect each others’ boundaries when we’re online. The best way to do that is to tag your content (no tag limits on tumblr or ao3, so don’t hold back! Only the first five count for searches on tumblr but the rest can be used for filtering blocked tags), block and filter things you don’t want to interact with, and unfollow or block people who you can’t trust to respect boundaries.

PLEASE reblog this post and add on anything you think is relevant, because this feels more relevant than ever right now <3 thanks friends

[aftgficrec]

CAN YALL FIND ME ANY FICS WITH AUTISTIC CHARACTER(S) LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER IM SO STARVED FOR REPRESENTATION?!?!?!?

t h a n k y o u ! ! !

We’re here to feed your need! Also, we’ve been tagging for this, but I just discovered it’s not on the tag page. You can now find our autistic character tag at the very end of the tag page under “other.” - A

Also see…

autistic monsters here

Andrew on the spectrum here

autistic monsters-story focused here 

more autistic foxes here

autistic Andrew here

adhd/autistic Andrew here

new autism fics here 

‘A Study in Feelings by Aaron Minyard’ (since updated) here

‘The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Teacher’ (since updated) here

‘just know you're not alone...’ here 

The Fear of Being Known by infernalstars [Rated G (we say T), 2188 Words, Complete, 2020]

Bee suggests that Neil might be autistic. He doesn't handle it well, but Andrew's there to help.

tw: ableism, tw: dissociation 

pretty boy by lervoids [Rated G, 3273 Words, Complete, 2020]

Neil knows that Andrew finds him attractive... But does he think he's pretty?

An offhand comment makes Neil realize he likes wearing skirts more than expected.

This is the sea by Sharking [Not Rated, 5125 Words, Incomplete, Updated Dec 2020]

Andrew and Neil become unlikely friends to fulfill Neil’s final wish, to see the ocean before he dies.

tw: major character death, tw: terminal illness, tw: poverty, tw: child abuse

angel from hell by deveil [Rated M, 4023 Words, Incomplete, Updated Oct 2020]

Neil Josten has been dead for six years. For six years he has been a guardian angel, completing assignment after assignment, guided by the cold and unfeeling hand of Death….Neil expects his next assignment to be the same: simple and predictable. Dismantle. Discover. Discard. But Andrew Minyard is anything but simple and predictable.

tw: past major character death, tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: blood/gore, tw: violence

the prince in the raven tower by whichlights [Rated T, 16537 Words, Complete, 2018, Locked]

When Kevin was small, too small to know any better but not too old to have lost all imagination, he dreamed that a dashing prince would come to rescue him….And of course, his prince would be very good at Exy

tw: psychological trauma, tw: homophobia, tw: transphobia, tw: violence, tw: abuse, tw: implied/referenced drug use, tw: alcohol, tw: referenced suicide, tw: canonical character death, tw: blood, tw: implied/referenced rape/non con, tw: implied/referenced animal death

Making bad decisions by Wildeforthemoon [Rated T, 360 Words, Incomplete*, Updated March 2021]

Kevin Day doesn't know what to do. And maybe that's okay. Or Kevin Day working through his issues one step at a time, from when Riko breaks his arm.

tw: implied/referenced violence, tw: vomit

*NB: Although marked complete, this appears to be a WIP with more to come

Kevin Day is ND hc by @kevinandthepalmetthoes [Tumblr, 2021] 

when I first read aftg, I immediately recognised myself in Kevin. what I saw was a lot of my autistic traits in his character, and I was sort of shocked when I found out it wasn't canon that he was autistic/adhd. 

Reply to comment on Andrew’s character in Minyard-Josten Rivalry by @andrew-is-foxy [Tumblr, 2021]

I write Andrew as autistic because it’s my interpretation of his character...

autistic neil josten headcanons by @fxndowstuffwhynot [Tumblr, 2020]

- Neil’s special interests would probably be exy and languages right??

- Even when he had money to buy new clothes he refused cause the worn out fabric from his old clothes didn’t give him sensory overload

per your post "every single one of the monsters is autistic and/or adhd" will you elaborate on that? hc by @palmett-hoes [Tumblr, 2020]

okay so i’ve written several posts before about why andrew is autistic. his moral code, the roundabout way he communicates, his body language, his stimulation-seeking behavior, his strict adherence to transactional deals, the emphasis on honesty, and a dozen other details. at this point i just take andrew being autistic as fact, not just an interpretation

[siriuslywolfish-pg9]

I shared my Dessert! (And my heart)

- by Perrygrace9 (ao3) A Drarry one shot.

Based on a Prompt I received on tumblr: “Ok hear me out. This is based on how I got with my bf. Draco has had a crush on Harry forever(and they're sorta friends but not really) One day Harry walks in on Draco crying in a stairwell of a hotel, harry goes to comfort him and Draco fesses up to how he feels. Ok this is just what happened to me with new names but still it would be dope to see it written out.

________________________________________

Draco buried his face in his knees, his fingers fisting his hair as he bit his lip in a vain attempt to stifle the sobs that wracked through his chest. 

The image of Harry kissing Oliver Wood was still flashing through his mind, burning and stinging his heart, scorching him to the very core. 

He hated it! Hated the way Harry was leaning against the counter in that easy confident way of his, with his strong arms wrapped around Wood's waist as the Quidditch star nipped and licked at Harry's neck while Harry chuckled before leaning down and catching his lips in a heated kiss.  

He hated how easily Oliver Wood had taken the glass of scotch from Harry's grasp—like he owned the man—and had nestled into Harry’s arms before proceeding to make out with him, as if Wood belonged there, as if he was laying claim on Harry by kissing him in front of everyone, right at the bar counter in the middle of a party for all the world to see that he owned the saviour who was coveted by the entire wizarding world. 

It made Draco sick. And so he had chucked down the last of his drink and stormed out of the hall, leaving Pansy surprised and calling after him. But he hadn't turned back, too desperate to hide his tears and leave the hall before they fell and spilled from his eyes, making him the object of ridicule. 

He shouldn't have come to this stupid ministry gala. But he did anyway. Just to look at Harry. To see him dressed up in all his glory and see the shine in his eyes. Harry looked beautiful in his full Auror uniform, his medals and tags adorning his chest and shoulders. His eyes sharp and his smile genuine and kind as ever. It was a rare sight and Draco didn't want to miss it for the world.

Last month Draco had received the invitation for the gala—which he knew was partly Harry's doing since the ministry would never voluntarily invite an Ex Death Eater to a function, even though Draco had been acquitted and had been serving as a healer for the past few years, doing his utter most to make up for the damage he had caused. 

He had been hesitant to go to the gala at first, not ready to face so many scornful eyes and glares. But the other reason why he didn't want to go was because he would have to see Harry taking someone else as his date. Draco had tried, or fantasised really, to ask Harry to be his date, but he knew it wasn't possible. Even if Harry agreed simply out of politeness and the goodness of his heart, because the idiot was too soft hearted to reject someone, Draco still did not have it in him to create problems for Harry by being with him so publically. He knew how draining Harry found the hungry media. And Draco would be  nothing but a stain on his shining golden image.

In the last few months they have become tentative friends and Draco respected and cared too much for Harry to hurt him in anyway, especially not after how kind Harry had been to Draco when the world had shunned him.  

But even worse was watching so many people asking Harry to be his date. Every time Draco had been at the ministry to drop Auror medical reports or samples or anything, he had seen someone asking Harry or hinting to it or making a pass at him. And each time Draco's insides had clenched in a tight knot, afraid that Harry would agree. But for some reason Harry had turned down everyone, saying he had someone special he wanted to take. 

And that had been worse to hear. This whole time at least Draco had told himself that Harry was single. That even if it was impossible, Draco still had a chance. He could almost delude himself into thinking that he had time to get close to Harry, to know him and love him. But now, knowing that Harry probably already had someone special, had nailed down the reality for Draco and his hopes and dreams had come crashing down. 

At last, he had asked Pansy to be his date. Even though he knew he would regret it later, it was impossible for him to miss the chance of seeing just who Harry's someone special was. His desperation and curiosity had gotten the better of him. And now he regretted it tremendously. 

He cursed himself, a choked sob racking through his lungs. He was so stupid. What had he expected to gain by coming here? That somehow a miracle would happen and Harry would confess his love for Draco? He had known Harry would be bringing his "someone special" . Harry himself  had told Draco when he had asked Draco if he was planning to go to the gala. 

Maybe some stupid part in Draco, a naive and hopeful and idiot and stupidly in love part of Draco had hoped it to be untrue. Had hoped that Harry's partner would be someone who didn't deserve him (not that Draco ever considered himself worthy of deserving Harry, but still!). That way at least Draco would have someone to hate, to scorn and detest and direct all his resentment and frustration for not being able to express his feelings for Harry, and eventually get over Harry. Even though Draco knew that would never happen, he could never get over Harry. 

But it had turned out to be Oliver Wood. The famous, charming, successful and dashing Oliver wood. Draco never stood a chance against Oliver. It was pathetic to even dream about it. 

But what could he do? Draco was known for making the worst decisions, for screwing up the simplest of things. And now he had fallen in love with Harry. Stupidly and madly in love with Harry. He had tried so hard not to let himself be carried away by those piercing eyes every time they had looked at Draco with warmth and sympathy and understanding. He had tried so hard not to trip over and fall for that lazy smile, charming and goofy and yet so open and honest. 

After Harry had ensured the safety of his family and kept him and his mother out of Azkaban, Draco had done his best to make the most of this generous second chance, but to also avoid Harry at all cost. But Draco being a healer and Harry being an Auror prone to injury had made their meeting inevitable. And before Draco knew it, Harry was inviting him for dinners and pub nights and friendly outings with friends.

Draco had tried to refuse, partly out of wounded pride at being perceived as a pathetic loner (although now he knew that Harry didn't see him that way) and partly because he knew he wouldn't be welcomed. But Harry's sincere attempts to mend things between them and his earnest eyes had been difficult to rebuff. 

At first it had been awkward, and more than once he had caught Harry glaring at someone or pointedly shutting them up if they tried to say anything mean or degrading to Draco and his friends. Yes, Harry had been kind enough to extend his generosity and his forgiveness to Draco's friends too, so that Draco didn't have to come to these gatherings alone. The noble, pure, giant hearted idiot that Harry was, how could anyone not fall for him?

And look where it had all ended up. With Draco crying on the eve of Christmas in the dark corner at the bottom of the steps of the empty stairwell of a grand hotel, while the rest of the wizarding world celebrated in the grand ballroom. The ceremonies had ended long ago, giving way to the more raunchy after-party with booze and band and blasting music. It was then when Draco had seen the sight which had broken his heart into pieces. 

He had known this was coming, he had always known that this would end in heartbreak when he had first realised his feelings for Harry. But he had no idea that it would hurt this bad. To see someone else in Harry's arms was gut wrenching.  It was like Draco's heart was imploding into itself. But it was happening slowly and torturously, as if every chunk was falling piece by piece, every vein and tending snapping like a thread one after the other, and pain chipping away at his insides until Draco couldn't take it anymore. 

The place where his heart should be felt hollow and painful, and heavy, and it ached! It ached so bad. Worse than the cruciatus, because at least the pain of the curse always ended. But this? This heart break? This loss? No. Draco already knew that this was a wound that would never heal. 

"Draco?" 

His head snapped as he looked up, his eyes wide. Harry was standing there, leaning against the column, one hand in his pocket. His medals glinted in the moonlight. His hair was tousled and the top buttons of his collar were open. He looked breath-taking. 

 

"Harry?" Draco choked out and looked away, sniffling and hastily wiping his tears. "Wha--what are you doing here? I thought you would be at the party." 

"I was looking for you. You suddenly disappeared." 

"Oh." Draco looked at his lap, he hadn't expected that answer. Something warm spread through his chest, like a gentle balm soothing his flaming nerves. Harry had come looking for him. "You—" his voice caught, scratchy from crying. He cleared his throat, "You should be inside." 

“So should you." 

Draco remained quite, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. He was well aware that Harry could see his tear tracks and his rumpled, dishevelled appearance, and was desperate to avoided this conversation before Harry had a chance to make any enquires about his well being. 

“Are you alright?" Harry's voice was soft and so full of concern that Draco wanted to just pull him close and spill his heart out to him and never let him go. 

Instead Draco just glared at the floor, stubbornly pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves. 

Harry sighed and sat on the steps, facing Draco. Leaning his back against the railing, he scrutinised Draco with a grave expression on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. "Draco, look at me." Draco didn't. "Did someone say anything? Was it the media? You can tell me, you know, I will see to it that they--" 

Draco shook his head and the tears that had been clinging to his eyelashes rolled down his cheeks.

"No, no one said anything,” he mumbled in a small voice. Harry's protectiveness and indignation on his behalf was bitter sweet. It made Draco crave him even more, but at the same time the realisation that, no matter how close Draco got to Harry, Harry would always be just out of his reach, tarnished and chilled the warmth that he had felt moments ago. 

More tears fell down his cheeks. "Fuck!" He cursed under his breath, angrily wiping them away.  But they kept falling. "Shit! Don't--" 

"Hey." Harry's voice was soft and oh so tender. Warm hands cupped Draco's cheeks as Harry turned his face to make him meet his eyes. "Draco, look at me, please." 

Draco slowly peered up at Harry from under his eyelashes, his vision a little blurry from tears. Harry's expression was concerned, and there was such tenderness in his eyes that Draco felt his heart breaking, he could almost hear the crack, like the shattering of frozen ice over a lake. He choked on a sob. 

Harry’s expression went from concerned to panicked, and he pulled Draco close, wrapping him in his arms. And Draco knew he had lost it. It was a hopeless battle to begin with. Loud, broken sobs wracked through his body as tears flowed down his cheeks in abandon, soaking Harry's expensive robes. 

But Harry didn't seen to mind. He just held Draco close, drawing soothing circles on his back, shushing and mumbling sweet nothings into his ears. 

If anything, it made everything ten times worse. How could Draco ever be expected to forget this beautiful, caring, selfless man? Especially when he was hugging Draco like this, like he was the most precious thing in the world. In that moment, Draco wanted to stay in Harry's arms forever. He would happily embrace death in that moment if it meant that he would die in Harry's arms and Harry calm, loving voice would be the last memory resonating through the beats of his fading heart as he took his final breath. 

But at the same time having Harry so close and yet so far was torture, and Draco wanted to pull away from him as if burned, unable to endure the agony of his yearning heart anymore. 

"I am sorry, Harry," Draco mumbled between his sobs, his voice muffled and  strained with guilt and shame. "I am so sorry. I tried--I tried to stop it, I really did—but I can't anymore, I am so sorry." 

Harry hugged his tighter. "What are you saying," he said softly in Draco's hair. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Dragon"

Draco’s breath hitched at the use of the pet name, it was something he allowed only Harry to call him. His face still buried in Harry's chest, Draco shook his head. It was now or never. "I—I like you Harry. I like you a lot."

Harry froze. Draco felt it the instant when Harry's entire body went rigid. Draco's stomach dropped. 

Harry pulled away, keeping Draco at arms length, his jaw slack as he looked at Draco with an unreadable expression in his face. 

Draco dropped his eyes to the floor. His heart hammered against his chest, filled with guilt and self loathing. How could he even dare to like Harry, let alone love him. And now Draco had gone ahead and dumped his feelings on Harry. It wasn't fare to him. He was sure Harry would hate him now. Or worse, he would try to make it up to Draco, and would be too careful around him to avoid hurting him by further. 

"I will understand if you want me to—” Draco hiccupped—"I would understand if you don't want to remain friends with me anymore. Not that we were ever friends. I wouldn't be so arrogant as to assume that but—I know I shouldn't—It’s okay if you hate me. I deserve it. I would never say it again, I promise. These are my feelings and you don't have to—" 

Draco's rambling was cut off by a pair of soft lips crashing into his in a chaste but firm kiss. Draco's eyes widened, but then they fell shut on their own accord as Harry snaked an arm around Draco's waist, his hand coming to rest on the small of Draco's back and pulling him close, his other hand cupped Draco's jaw before burying into Draco's hair as the nape of his neck. Draco gasped, Harry deepened the kiss and continued to kiss Draco like a traveller in desert quenching his thirst. 

The kiss was languid and sure and warm and chaste, full of assurance and meaning, like the sweet words of comfort or the safety of Harry's embrace. Harry kissed like he protected, like he cared and like he loved. With his entire being, giving away his everything, without demanding anything in return. Just giving and giving and giving...

And Draco was drowning in it. His toes curled, and the very tips of his fingers tingled with the sweet sensation of the feeling of Harry’s lips on his, Harry's hand on his back, his firm chest and his strong shoulder in Draco's grip where he clutched onto Harry for dear life. 

Slowly, the heated kisses turned gentle and light and lazy, and Harry finally pulled away, his hand still on Draco's cheek, the thumb of his other hand tracing circles on Draco's back, teasing the hem of his shirt where it had ridden up. 

Draco's eyes fluttered open. Harry was staring back at him, his hair and eyes shining like a mossy lake under the moonlight. He looked ethereal. 

“Why?" was all Draco could manage.  

"I like you too." He tentatively wiped Draco's tears, caressing his cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I am sorry I didn't say anything sooner, love." 

"Do you really mean that?"

 Harry nodded. 

"But what about Wood?" Draco asked, his voice just above a whisper , afraid that this was a dream and he would wake up  if he raised his voice. He deliberately stopped himself from fixating too much on the fact that Harry had just called him love. "I just saw you two together..." 

Harry's mouth formed an "O" "You saw that?" 

Draco nodded, his cheeks burning pink, whether from embarrassment or fear, he didn't know, or maybe it had something to do with Harry's closeness or the affection in his eyes when he looked at Draco. He suddenly realised that Harry had been giving him that look for weeks now, only he had failed to notice it in his apprehension. 

Harry ran a hand through his hair, “That was just drinks and we were being stupid....Oliver would be leaving tomorrow for his tour anyway. There is nothing between us. We were just fooling around." 

"But wasn't he your special someone?"

Harry laughed, then shook his head when Draco's eyes widened in horror, thinking that Harry was mocking him and that this was all a sick joke. Harry stopped and smiled fondly at him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Draco's ear. "No, you prat. Oliver isn't my special some, you are." 

Draco stared at him dumbly. "But I thought—Why didn't you ever say anything?" 

“I tried! I tried to ask you but I kept chickning out and then you said that you were going with Pansy." 

"I said that because I thought you were going  with some one else and I didn't want to—you know..." 

"We are so stupid." 

Draco pouted. "Speak for yourself, Potter. You are the one who chickened out of asking me to the ball. It was all your fault." Draco sniffed. "We could have avoided all the angst, but no, you had to go and make me cry. You enjoy it, don't you?" 

Harry burst out laughing and pulled Draco close again, smothering him in a hug. "Like you gave me any chance. You are as cold and stiff as an iceberg." 

Draco pulled away just a little from where his face was smushed against Harry. "I was obvious, Harry. You were just too oblivious to notice." 

Harry raised an eyebrow. 

Draco held up his hands in a gesture of dramatic defeat. "I shared my desserts with you and sacrificed my beauty sleep from time to time to be with you. That's as obvious as it gets. Even Blaise knew, and he is a slut who only concerns himself with the matters of his dick, and even he saw that I was arse over tit for you!"

Harry opened his mouth and closed it again, looking amused. "You are ridiculous." 

"No, you are just thick!" 

"Hey! That's no way to treat your boyfriend." 

Draco’s stomach flipped and he blushed. "Boyfriend?" 

Harry looked away, "I mean, if you want to." 

"Do you want to?" 

Harry glanced at Draco and nodded. 

Draco's heart skipped a beat and he inched closer to Harry. Boyfriends! 

“Wait. If you and Wood are not an item then why were you snogging his face off? I can understand why he was doing it. But I thought hook-ups weren't your thing?"

Harry flushed crimson, looking sheepish. "I thought you would never reciprocate my feelings. I was trying to get you out of my system." 

Draco's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "By snogging Wood?" 

“Yes?”

“Why would I not want you, Harry? Have you seen me? Have you seen yourself?" Draco gestured at Harry from top to bottom, generally encompassing his whole being. 

Harry just blinked back at him. And Draco realised that Harry, stupid, idiot, modest, wearing-his-heart-on-his-sleeve, dorky Harry, really did think that Draco would reject him. 

Draco couldn't help the fond smile that curled across his lips. Harry's innocence in such matters was endearing. Harry really had no idea how amazing he was. It looked like his dreadful relatives really did a number on him when it came to self-appreciation. Well, Draco would just have to rectify that.  

“So," Harry said haltingly, almost hesitant. “Now that you know everything, may I kiss you?”

Draco blinked, his lips parting in shock. He was still a little dazed and incredulous at the turn of events. The first kiss had been sudden, barely giving Draco any time to think before he had reacted. But this time it would be for real. 

Harry took his silence as a yes and slowly leaned in, giving Draco enough time to pull back. His lips graced Draco's, gentle and tentative at first, then sure and firm and full of promise as he pulled Draco close. 

Wrapping his arms around Harry's neck, Draco kissed him back with fervour, almost climbing onto Harry's lap. 

Draco stopped, panting. "You know, there are a lot of rooms here," he mumbled between their almost touching lips. 

"Yeah? Would you like try one?" And without waiting for an answer he hauled Draco up with ease. Draco squealed and instinctively wrapped his legs around Harry's waist.  

"Someone is impatient," he said, breathless, brushing his nose against Harry's. He felt so elated he could fly. 

"You bet I am." Harry mumbled before attacking Draco's exposed collar. He pinned Draco against the nearest door, his hand fumbling as he swiped his all access Auror card to enter the room, all the while not taking his mouth off Draco. The moment the door was shut behind him, he pushed Draco against it and latched onto his neck. "I have been waiting for this for so long, you have no idea." 

Draco moaned as Harry sucked at a specially sensitive spot. "Really?" 

Harry broke away, "My fantasies were getting so blond It was creepy." 

That startled a laugh out of Draco—who would have guessed?—but it was cut short as Harry grinned and attacked his mouth again. 

Safe to say that Draco had an amazing Christmas.

[miseriathome]

I find the mods of the blog this is from predictably pedantic in their racial politics and grasp of intersectionality as a general rule, but I do want to critique both the situation they’re responding to as well as their response.

it’s a privilege to get to ask people to tag it so you can tune it out

It’s not. It’s literally fucking communication. It’s not a privilege to ask things. Asking is how you communicate that you have a need that’s not being met; asking is how you create a dialogue about whether it can be accommodated. Asking if somebody can tag something is a reasonable course of action and falls neatly into expected social justice tumblr etiquette.

In this specific instance, one person asked one other person to tag that content. That happens every day on tumblr. If the answer is no, then it’s okay to answer no, because ultimately even a request for a tag is ultimately just that; non-blog members can’t control the tags that appear on that blog’s posts, thus giving them the power to decide whether they are going to tag something or not. Likewise, the follower of the blog has the option of not following that blog if it becomes unsatisfactory. This is an opt-in experience on both sides. There’s no fucking “privilege” involved in asking whether it’s worthwhile to keep up the relationship, it’s just a damn inquiry. The asker bears the responsibility of either unfollowing or finding a different way to adapt if the blogger (an individual person, not an institution) can’t accommodate them, and the blogger has the responsibility not to assume bad faith or bigotry just because somebody asks.

Black people don’t get to tune this stuff out, which might be why that blogger came to the conclusion that you’re racist

First of all, neither person involved in the ask/get-called-racist dynamic was black, that was explicitly stated--by this logic, the non-black PoC who refused to tag police brutality for the white asker is contributing to black people not getting to tune it out, since black followers wouldn’t get to make use of blacklisting tools, either. Which, you know, many do! And in my opinion, protecting people who opt into reducing burnout is just as worthwhile of a social justice goal as raising awareness and spreading information. One style of blogging isn’t wrong or racist simply because another also exists; tagging and not tagging are both valid ways to blog (hence why tumblr doesn’t force tags), and yeah, stuff is allowed to both be meaningful activism and to both have pros and cons! Some people get arrested at protests and some people avoid protests but show up at the holding station to take care of their detained peers when they get released, and one isn’t racist for not doing the other.

Coming from a white person, the question can feel a bit like avoidance of an issue of white supremacy.

Look. I’m gonna be blunt. Framing police violence as a black issue that can never be relevant to white people is not intersectional.

You know who else doesn’t get to “tune this stuff out?” Trans and gender non-conforming folks, disabled folks, poor and homeless folks, sex workers, several varieties of immigrants, and many many other classes of people who might end up also being white and not feeling the express need to declare all their conflicting marginalizations and statuses in order to prove that they’re deserving enough of blacklistable tags. You know who else might be white but might have perfectly valid reasons to feel deeply disturbed by a constant bombardment of unavoidable shock horror on their dashes? White friends or family of past victims, white people who have also been abused by cops, white people with trauma to violence/murder, white people who are white supremacy survivors. Do people have to tell you they’re traumatized in order to ask if you would be willing to accommodate that? They shouldn’t fucking have to! And it’s important to recognize that compassion fatigue, feelings of helplessness, distress, and the other feelings that folks with no specific trauma can feel in reaction to being unable to escape discourses about police violence can lead to trauma. The fact of the matter is that we live in an age of widespread collective trauma. And it’s actually really bad for activism if we all burn ourselves out 24/7 for the sake of moral purity, because then nobody--not even the “least affected” white people--has the damn energy to do things about it.

But also just in general it’s a disservice to neurodivergent people and people with trauma as a whole to frame blacklisting as a flawless way to “tune things out.” Because as anybody with triggers can tell you, nobody is capable of tagging everything thoroughly enough; something always slips through, or some trigger-by-association always slips through, or some associations will be way too complex to be able to describe to even the most well-intentioned conscious taggers. People aren’t being lazy intellectual activists when they blacklist things, nor are they getting a lovely walk in the park because of it. People wanting some amount of control over their environment is a completely rational response to the turmoil of society and politics right now and to the turmoil that trauma brings. Tagging is one way for compassionate people to offer support, but it is not a magic wand that makes life a fresh summer breeze for those who ask.

Well, it probably seemed like a “I’m white and I don’t want to hear about this stuff, tag it so that I can blacklist it”.

I don’t necessarily think you’re racist for asking, but think about how it came off.

I just want to mention that the mods and I do agree that it’s not racist to ask for tags of such a sensitive topic. But I also really can’t stand this implicit judgement. The anon they were responding to didn’t use any more specific language than “asking a blogger to tag ‘police brutality.’“ Their responses as they relate to insensitivity and such all make the assumption that the act of asking wasn’t done tactfully enough. But there are several questions: how tactfully is tactfully enough, and how tactful was the particular asker in question? Also in this particular situation, since the refuser-to-tag-and-accuser-of-racism was a non-black PoC, how much of the defense of black people is actually applicable (given that black folks are not unified in “we don’t get to avoid it so nobody should”), and how much of the critique of the white person is actually critique of non-blackness (since the mods frame this as a black issue) which should supposedly also fall on the non-black accuser-of-racism? It’s silly to treat each person’s tumblr blog as a microcosm of who they are, since we don’t all use the site the same way; even people who are deeply affected by any given current events can have a fun dash that they visit to get away from the stresses of life.

And just as a final point, I want to say that personally, I feel more gut-instinct comfort with the kinds of people who support the right to blacklist-at-will and the right to opt-out of distressing engagements in order to refresh themselves so they can reengage much more effectively later... over the kinds of people who seek to radicalize others through compassion fatigue, scrupulosity, and literal snuff films, who view simple inquiries as a threat to activism. There’s some amount of value in raw, uncensored grit, but nobody should be made to feel ashamed for not devoting enough Thought Time to the people who live in the middle of it, especially not when they self-proclaim that; we all grieve differently and effective praxis always has and always will require many levels of emotional involvement.

[laufire]

Hi, yes. Remember when I said I was going to pace myself with Black Sails?

So, that was a fucking lie xDD

Out of curiosity I looked up when Madi first appeared and saw it didn’t happen until season three like. wtf. xD. So I decided to have a lazy weekend to meet her sooner, and to get to the good parts of Max’s story.

Some thoughts on s1 under the cut. CW for mentions of rape.

Max

First of all. My girl. I already adore her in s1 and I’m excited for what’s too come, especially after a quick look at some tags LOL.

Full disclosure, sometimes with finished shows, if I want to judge whether to lose time with a story when I already know I’m going to invest on a character, I like to check out if they have an anti-tag LMFAO. They’re a good place to see if there was concern trolling, smugness, resentment (and on whose behalf), etc. And Max is both short and GLORIOUS. My favourite one is the post bemoaning she outlived Blackbeard xDD

Now, for the storyline. Though I understand the sentiment about wanting sexual assault stories to just be gone, when it comes to case by case analyses I try to judge them on their own.

I’m trying to say this next part in a way that doesn’t get misinterpreted or twisted into something else, but my experience on tumblr is that happens either way, so: there are two things I value out of this storyline, as a narrative.

The first one is that it wasn’t “of no consequence”. That it tied to the plot, to Nassau’s politics, to key characters of the show etc. If I had watched the show live, I’d probably resent the focus Eleanor gets on this, but knowing how things end for each of them makes a difference. And instead, I can appreciate how it impacted Anne’s and Jack’s lives, especially, and later Nassau as a whole.

The second one, and most important, is the way it showcased who Max is. Because I find myself adoring who Max is. My dash had led me to believe she was great, that she would be my fave and that I would love her, but guys. You’ve been underselling her to me, okay. I love that she refused Eleanor’s protection again and again, knowing what it’d do to her. I love how she tried to maneuver her terrible situation. I love how when she came back to the brothel she immediately saw her opportunity to ally herself with Jack and become the Madam.

Related to that: I can appreciate how this storyline challenges certain ideas of “Good Victim(TM)/Bad Victim(TM)”. Because Max is a sex worker; because she refused Eleanor’s protection and instead went with the crew that had already raped her, etc.

I even loved her final conversation with Eleanor, of which I was wary as hell. But I loved that the take away of it all was that, yes, Eleanor put her interests and ambitions above her, and that now she will do the same (all while Max looked poised and vaguely threatening and Eleanor felt every hit and indirect). I can’t wait to see her gather more and more power and take Eleanor’s position, and then some.

And like. Other people I guess?

-Another character I feel you guys have undersold is Jack. He’s so no what I expected and I kinda love him? I love how quick on his feet he is. He caught my eye on the second episode when he dared talk back to his captain, and later when he kept going behind his back to do shit LOL. Like, with some of the ways fandom talks about him, I imagined he’d be kind of useless and cowardly but in an endearing way xD. But nope. I liked Anne a lot too (from the beginning, but I was a fan especially on her scene with Eleanor, where she just rips her a new one lmfao), and the two of them together. I look forward to see how they and Max work together.

-Silver’s ways of getting out of trouble are so hilarious and vaguely relatable to me lmao (obviously, I do it without a death toll duh. But the “talk and talk and spin things around and maybe at the end you’ll be fine because you’ve talked them into existence”, “fake it till you make it”, aka the Moist von Lipwig method xD, is definitely something I’ve used to avoid trouble xD). He reminds me a lot of Moist in general, actually. He just tries to be liked, guys xDD.

-Though I have no love lost for Eleanor, I don’t dislike her as much as I expected to. Again, part of it is hindsight. But also, the fact that Max was a lot less vulnerable to her than I had been led to believe? I mean, she put her foot down on episode two and maintained that position through the whole season, with no reconciliation in sight. Maybe it also helps that the show is very clear about who Eleanor is (how quick she is to say “Max chose this, not me”; how in the middle of her ire against Vane’s crew for raping Max she has time to further her agenda and get them to go to Flint’s --I like to think my compatriots killed them all in the finale lmfao--; the conversation where Silver points out that she wasn’t just angry about Max and that it was about her ego too, about wanting to prove what happened to those who crossed her). But yes, it’s mostly the Max part LOL.

-Slightly related to that: I really like Mr. Scott and I love that he’s now leaving Eleanor. LOVE IT. And yes, he’s going about it in good terms etc., but it doesn’t escape me that this came after his experience with the other slaves, and after explicitly telling Eleanor he’s a property to her family. Their relationship annoys me, far more than Eleanor/Max, and I want him to part ways from her (I’m spoiled about his ending so I’m not getting my hopes up for his arc, but I’ll enjoy every little bit I get).

-At this point, I’ve lost track of all the conspiracies going on on Flint’s crew LMFAO. I do love how he deals with them (though I in turn root for every member of his crew who thinks he’s shady as fuck and wants to overthrow him. I contain multitudes xD), and I love the actor, period (though I think he shoud’ve brought his mother to the show for a little cameo at least, just sayin’ xD). I wonder how I’d feel about him if I didn’t know he was going to eventually give me a big queer love story lol, but then again I’ve loved characters of his ~vibe before. HE’S SUCH AN ASSHOLE AND I’M ENJOYING IT WAY TOO MUCH LOL.

-I liked Miranda too, especially when she went behind Flint’s back to write that letter (the “impossible sacrifice [to apologize to England]” scene was A Lot. Like on practical terms I could be with Miranda, but gosh. I Felt That xD). I also loved how she described Thomas (aka hers and Flint’s paramour): “You think I can play devil's advocate. Thomas would have played that game with you from dusk until dawn. And everything you hold sacred, he'd leave in tatters. Not from malice or hate, but from love. From a desire to see the yoke of shame lifted from your shoulders.” Like. I just love it. The actor I’ve seen playing Thomas doesn’t make me feel anything on gifsets but I hope that changes (also, I love when she tells the priest Thomas “would’ve loved to have met you”. Like wtf lady. Were you and your husband going around seducing unsuspecting men into your marriage or what xD).

-We all know Billy Bones will survive the show but I’m still afraid for him woe. He’s just very likeable xD. I love that the crew is “we can forgive stealing, we can forgive him killing the other dude or lying and using the crew, but we can’t forgive Billy’s being thrown off the ship!”. AKA, the one thing Flint MIGHT not actually be guilty of LMAO. That’s so typical.

-I’m !!!!!!!! at the ship’s accountant LMAO (or whatever his official position is). I don’t remember his name because I keep calling him Ponder Stibbons (he just looks EXACTLY like how Discworld’s Ponder Stibbons must look, okay). When he bit that men OMFG O_O

[myforeverforlife]

Chapter 6: Baëkhyun

Sehûn smiled triumphantly as he took aim, arm pulling back when a sudden flash of bright light engulfed the room. You covered your eyes instinctively, the blinding radiance of light visible even behind your eyelids.

And as soon as it came, the light was gone.

Lowering your arms, you hoped that it was another hidden bit of magic that your keys had. All of the blood drained from your face once you realized who it was.

“Baekhyun.”

Masterlist

Obsession Masterlist

Trigger warning: Mentions of blood

Baekhyun’s lips formed an amused smile, even as his head tilted slightly to the side. “Baëkhyun,” he corrected, voice low and smooth as velvet. “Although your pronunciation is almost correct.”

Sehûn was gone, and you were no longer in the room filled with windows. This room was the complete opposite ⁠— no windows in sight, the walls obsidian black. The only door stood at the other side of the room, right behind Baëkhyun. You peered down at your necklace for reassurance, eyes widening when you saw what you stood on. Beneath your feet, the flooring was made of... ice?

Noticing what you were staring at, Baëkhyun followed your gaze with a proud grin. “Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s made of my light. Regular glass tiles, add a little magic light and you get a floor that brightens up the room. But,” Baëkhyun’s voice dropped. “I didn’t bring you here to discuss interior design.”

You gulped, Baëkhyun’s light blue eyes hardening. He wore a thin chain on his face, draped over his nose while the ends disappeared behind his ears. In his hand were two swords, the light from the floor morphing the dull-colored metal and highlighting the sharp blades.

“You know, it’s sort of funny how long you’ve lasted. Chanyeøl was furious when he heard that Suhø wanted to keep you as one of our own. But I have to agree with Suhø, I think he’s right. Our dear leader usually is.”

Baëkhyun switched one of the swords to his other hand, flipping it in the air and catching it easily, in no danger at all of accidentally catching it on the blade. “None of the others from your realm have lasted nearly as long, and they definitely weren’t nearly as interesting as you.” A haunting smile appeared on his face. “And oh, how I’ve missed playing games.”

Oh no. You didn’t miss how Baëkhyun’s hands tightened their grip around the sword handles.

“I’ll make a deal with you, because I like you so much. If you can beat me in a game of my choosing, I will let you walk free, even escort you to the door. But if you lose,” Baëkhyun’s smile disappeared. “Then you must give up ownership of the keys to me, and you’ll basically be at our mercy. My brothers and I, that is.”

Even as you stood practically trembling jn your boots, it was hard to keep your curiosity at bay. “Suhø mentioned that too,” you spoke up. “Giving up ownership of my keys? You mean handing them over?” You were confused ⁠— even if they had the keys, they wouldn’t be able to use them. Hadn’t they already learned?

“No,” Baëkhyun said, a look of mock pity on his face. “Your keys have magic, we have magic. You, lost Gatekeeper, have some of your own. Because the keys are tied to you, they use some of your unique magic. They’re attached to you,” he clarified.

“If you wished, you could sever the magic connection between you and your dear keys. The same would happen if we were to kill you. That’s also part of the reason why Chanyeøl is so pissed that Suhø stepped in. Arguably, we’d have the keys already if he had just let you burn, but Suhø has a thing about not wasting resources.” Baëkhyun rolled his eyes with a wry smile.

Your heart rate quickened as you realized what Baëkhyun was saying. Either way, they would gain control of your keys ⁠— whether you were dead or alive. The choice was up to you.

“So,” Baëkhyun spoke up, grabbing your attention. “What’s your choice? I promise to go easy on you.” He let out a small laugh, both of you knowing that the opposite was true.

It all boiled down to how you wanted to lose ⁠— stay alive but betray your home, or die and practically hand your enemies the key to their victory. But if you did play against Baëkhyun, and you actually won, you’d be free. There was no guarantee that he would honor his promise if you won, but still... You couldn’t possibly ignore a chance like that, no matter how slim it was.

“Okay,” you said aloud. “What’s the game?”

Baëkhyun’s grin turned mischievous, his face so much like your own Baekhyun that it hurt your heart a little to even look at him. “Swordfighting,” he announced. “First one to get close to the neck wins. And to even the playing field,” Baëkhyun removed the chain from his face, throwing it to the side. “There. No magical powers of mine for you to worry about,” he crooned in a sugar-sweet voice.

Interesting. You hadn’t even known that their magic relied on a physical object, much like your own.

He dropped one sword to the floor, kicking it over to you. With trembling hands, you picked it up, taken aback by how heavy it was. You had never trained with a sword ⁠— the weapons were considered ancient in your universe.

Baëkhyun waited until you were ready, a bloodthirsty look in his eye. Once you had the sword ready in both hands, he dashed forward, aiming for your chest.

You moved to the side, avoiding the attack and backing up before he could strike again. Baëkhyun was swift, easily holding the sword like it weighed nothing.

Clearly, he was an expert.

You noticed how he tried to keep you away from the door, shepherding you further back into the room with a quick swipe of his sword whenever it seemed like you were getting too close to his side of the room. Unluckily for you, this meant that he was pushing you closer and closer to the wall behind you.

At this point, you were evading his attacks rather than taking the offensive. Your keys swung wildly as you ducked and moved out of the way, falling back against your chest.

The keys. They couldn’t touch them, and even if they did, the keys were like poison to them.

Your mind flashed back to Kāi, how he had reacted as soon as the keys made contact with his skin.

In a lapse of focus, Baëkhyun’s sword managed to swipe against your arm, cutting through sleeve and skin as you hissed in pain.

“Pay attention. It’s no fun when my opponent is spacing out,” he taunted.

Now impaired and struggling even more with your sword, Baëkhyun was getting closer and closer to winning. He rushed forward, pushing you into a corner as the tip of his blade pressed against your stomach.

He lowered his sword as he leaned in, barely out of breath as he smirked down at you. “You made this too easy for me. I was hoping you had more fight in you.” Baëkhyun’s face hovered over yours as he raised his sword, just about to press it to your throat.

This was your only chance.

You dropped your sword onto the floor, ignoring how it clattered loudly as you reached for your keys, wielding them firmly in one hand. Wasting no time, you reached up and slashed Baëkhyun across the face, watching as foul, dark blood immediately spilled from the cut. 

Baëkhyun backed away, howling in agony and unbridled rage as he brought his hands to his face. The cut had gone straight across, marring his perfect features. Some of his blood had splattered onto your face and shirt, but you had other things to worry about.

There was no time to lose.

You sprinted past, dodging away when he reached out to grab onto you. The keys began to heat up, much like they did whenever you approached the doors in the Realm of Gateways.

Was the exit close by?

Your hand fumbled with the doorknob, sweat and nerves making it difficult to turn it easily. It was then that you realized that you were locked in, the door refusing to open up no matter how hard you jiggled the doorknob.

You were crying, on the verge of hyperventilating. It was too much, too much for any person to go through. How could this happen to you?

A shadow appeared from behind, growing larger and larger as the figure approached. You only realized until it was too late, spinning around to see Baëkhyun hit you on the side of the head with the blunt of his sword.

You fell to the floor, body lifeless as you blacked out for what felt like the millionth time.

“Fuck, not again,” you managed to think to yourself before your eyelids closed.

Baëkhyun stood over you, chest heaving up and down. He was absolutely filthy, face and shirt covered in the grotesque black blood, but he didn’t even notice.

“Did you see that, Chën?” he asked, looking up and towards a corner of the room. A tiny camera was set up there, red light blinking back at Baëkhyun.

“You’re in for a treat.”

A/N: I had this posted already but when I went on tumblr mobile to fix the tags cause they weren’t showing up, all the text got erased??? so I apologize in advance if there’s any typos, this is almost exactly from what I copied from where I emailed my first draft to myself, and I was like frantically editing it right now so I can just post this and go grocery shopping LOL

Tag list: @thalasoophilia​, @skjdln​, @trishmarieco​, @jongin-be-my-jagi​, @violentcosmicsymphony

[blood-powered-radio]

Hello Creeps, Freaks, and Geeks! Halloween is nearly upon us!

Do you feel your playlists and musical habits need to reflect the season more?

Do your musical habits reflect the spooky mood perfectly but you wish to discover new jams?

Do you want Halloween music to appear on your dash year round?

Than my friend this is the blog for you! The Blood Powered Radio posts a Halloween-themed track bi-weekly, and although we are in prime time right now, the posts will continue past Halloween for year long creeps!

Please do check it out, tune in, and follow for more!

(I have to make self-promoting posts like this because it seems that [tumblr] still refuses to let posts with links show up in tag searches, so, basically, every video post I make. Apologies.)

[ofcacthuxandkylosaur]

FAQ

1. Where do you find those AU’s?

Well, mostly those are the AUs that cross my dash - when I happen to be active on tumblr. So you see, it is a bit restrictive and means there are probably lots of AUs I never found and I don’t even know exist! Every once in a while, I try exploring blogs or using tumblr search engine. It gets me results, but not as much as you would expect (tumblr search engine is not the most effective tool for that kind of things...). My ask box is also open in case you want to suggest a new tag/new post (see Q4 & Q5).

2. Are new AU tags meant to be added on the list?

I intend to. But it vastly depends on the AUs that cross my path (see Q1) and of the time I can manage to spend on the list. But I am always happy to discover new AUs :) On a side note, I intend to edit this version of the list rather than posting new versions. As long as I don’t have to split it again it should be fine!

3. Do you continue tagging the posts you reblog?

Yes, I try. So if you click on the same tag now and then in a few months, you may see new posts. ‘May’ of course, because I don’t encounter every AU everyday and some AUs are more popular than others...

4. Can I suggest an AU tag?

Yes please! The more tags the better. I can’t guarantee I’ll add it to the list though. Maybe I already use a synonym (or a concept too close to create a new entry). I also need to have more than two posts about an AU to create a tag (otherwise, it will be tagged as “Other AU” and possibly “Other /thematicName/ AU”). So it is best you also suggest post(s) bond to the AU you suggest (please send me links to those or directly submit the post(s) otherwise I might never find them!). It can also take me a few weeks to effectively add the new tag to the list since I must check possible affiliations/redirections/proximity (see “HOW” section of ABOUT) and see if it fits in any thematic list.

I must also warn you that I reserve myself the right to refuse an AU I am really uncomfortable with (typically heavy gore and obvious/graphic abuse). I try to be inclusive but there are some things I can’t bring myself to reblog. You can try reblogging and tagging that AU yourself, then create a post with a ‘yourBlogName.tumblr.com/tagged/tagName’ type of link, and I might add a link to that one post in the list. To be discussed. However, I will not add a pe /dophilic AU to the list. Ever.

5. Can I suggest post(s) for existing AU tags?

Yes, please do!! You can send me the link via an ask or submit it. Just try to look at the post’s notes beforehand (”see notes”) to see if I haven’t reblogged it already.

6. Can I suggest a new thematic list?

Yes you can! I can’t guarantee I’ll have the time to make it, but it could happen. Please try to provide an explanation for the theme (to make sure I get what you mean), with maybe a definition and an example of which tags you can see belonging to it (and which you think don’t). Note that all the tags appearing on  thematic lists already exist in the general AU list, so I won’t come up with new tags for a new thematic list.

7. What about Kylux adjacent?

I only included technicians (Matt/Techie), since it was the first adjacent paring to emerge. Also, since Matt is a radar technician he is still technically in the Star Wars universe. I wish I could have “tracked” every adjacent pairing but there are so many and I lost count. It would have taken me an incredible amount of time I didn’t have. If you happen to have your own tag list referencing all/part of those adjacent ships, you can contact me if you’re ok with me adding a link in my AU list redirecting people to your blog for Kylux adjacent.

8. The same post appears twice or more for the same AU. Is it normal?

No, I try to have each post to only appear once for each AU. BUT this list has been in the making for so long and some tags have so many posts that it is sometimes difficult to avoid duplication. If it bothers you, you can send me the links to those posts (all of them please) and I’ll try to settle it.

9. I am confused as to why you tagged a certain post like you did. Could it be a mistake?

It could. I do my best but sometimes it is hard to sort posts into tags. It could also be that the post comes from a series of posts and that it only becomes clear that the serie belongs to an AU when you read/see all the posts. Both scenari are an option, so feel free to message me about it. 

10. I am the OP of a post and you definitively tagged it wrong...

Ooops sorry! Please send me an ask so I can settle this!

11. I encountered a broken/incorrect link inside the list...

That is not normal. All of the tags displayed in the list should be working. This is however possible. There are many tags and I might have made a mistake. Please send me an ask with the name of the broken tag so I can fix it!

12. In ABOUT you said that there needs to be more than two posts for an AU to become a tag. Yet I found an AU tag with only two posts...

It happens. As I said in ABOUT, this is a general rule, and there are exceptions. If there are only two posts, but (one of) those posts are(/is) long, contains multiple art or a combination moodboard/fic, I might decide to make it a tag anyway. If, on the contrary, you spot a tag with three or more posts that doesn’t have a proper tag in the list, please let me know!

13. I don’t understand why you tagged a specific post “other” alongside  already existing tags...

“Other AU” is a default tag I use when there is no existing category fit for a post. A post tagged “other” can also be tagged “Other /thematicName/ AU” if it fits in any of the thematic lists. Also, you must remember that posts can be multi-tagged as a same post can have multiple “dimensions”. For example, it can depict a scene happening on a boat (”Cruise AU”) where Kylo happens to be a secret agent (”Agent Kylo AU”). Thus, if there’s a specific dimension about an AU that would justify the creation of a new tag, but I don’t have enough posts of that kind to actually create it (yet), the post will be tagged “other”, even though the other(s) dimension(s) are already depicted by existing tags. Let’s pretend that in the previous example, “Agent Kylo AU” was not yet part of the list. I would have tagged it “Cruise AU” and “other AU” (+ “Other Jobs AU”). I might even have added the “Agent Kylo AU” tag for internal purposes (so I can check how many of them I have and determine if it is time or not to add a new tag to the list).

14. A “Read More”/redirection link on a post doesn’t lead anywhere...

A “Read More” link redirects you to the OP blog. If the blog has changed name/been deleted or if the OP removed the post, you will end up nowhere. It is sad but you won’t be able to read the full post and there is nothing I can do about it. When it happens, you can however send me a message so that I can precise on the post that the “Read More” option is not an option anymore (please send me a link to my reblog of the post otherwise chances are I’ll never find it). Same goes for any other redirection link(s) present on the posts. If the page you were supposed to land on doesn’t exist anymore, I can’t do much about it, save warn people about it.

15. You reblogged comics in the wrong order...

Reblogging multiple pages comics is difficult. Either you reblog it entirely at once, either you reblog each page as it goes (the comic appears thus in reverse order in your blog). And if you miss some, it quickly becomes a mess. I tried to reblog relatively short comics at once, starting with the last part (so that the first page appears first when people scroll/navigate) but I often couldn’t. Some comics are not even complete, either because they were left unfinished, either because I just lost the thread. If there are navigation links within the posts, it is probably best you follow those. If not, maybe try to open the pages in different tabs and to order those accordingly. Or, and this is probably my best advice, try looking on the OP blog. They probably have a tag for their comic and it may make things easier!

16. You reblogged one of my posts and I’d rather not have it referenced by your list...

No problem! Please contact me I’ll untag it asap!

17. I have a question regarding the list that is not referenced above. Is it ok for me to ask it?

Yes, of course. Just be sure your answer doesn’t already lies in the ABOUT section (and refer to Q18 in case my answer doesn’t come too fast...).

18. I asked you a question but am still waiting for an answer...

Obviously (except if you were sending (anon) hate), I am not mad at you. I might need a few days to answer you. If a week has passed and I didn’t post an answer, chances are: 1) I didn’t see your message (tumblr eats it sometimes) or 2) I’ve been out of tumblr (busy with work, on holiday or something) or 3) my brain is not really complying at the moment. I do have down periods and, when it happens, I might not have the heart/energy to answer. It can last a few weeks or several months. I try to look at my inbox when I come back on this site but I might miss a message if too much have been sent. In any case, you can try and send your question again later.

See ABOUT for more general information

[sheikah]

Ugh, I know what you mean about that ant*-darkling community, I've seen them around talking bad about anyone who likes Aleks. The Darkling is one of the most popular YA villains there is and I still remember how some of them were angry that Ben Barnes and the Darkling were the most talked about things when the S&B cast was announced (mostly everyone just thirsty lol). What we need to do, is to ignore them and make as much Darkling and darklina content as we can, and they can stay mad about it.

Oh, I couldn't agree more. Which was why my first reaction was to make my little gifset I posted haha. I didn't interact with or engage any of these people. I guess I was just surprised? Tumblr recommended a blog literally called "wehatethed*rkling" (don't want this to show up if they track a tag or anything lol). And I thought to myself, "Wow. That's a little extreme." So I went to the blog and the person is 100% serious. They're active, and though they appear to post content in addition to anti stuff, that's the url of their personal blog! And I scrolled a bit to find that they have a whole circle of people who are very passionate about being ant* darkling and/or darklina to the point that they're posting about this daily.

The only reason this surprises me is that it seems to be a bit of a moot point with a villain character. I come from the GOT fandom, for example, and there was a lot of anti content circulating, especially between stans of the leading ladies. And since those ladies were protagonists, the anti content focused on trying to prove how awful and evil Dany or Arya or Sansa was--because the stans of each of those characters defended them as heroes, and antis disagreed. There was no anti blog for, say, The Night King. Why would there be? He's a villain. With a character like the Darkling, I don't get why there are antis or what they are trying to prove. He's the villain. We get it. We know. He delivers dialogue specifically calling himself a villain. I get that and I like him anyway just like I like Anakin Skywalker and just like I continue to love Dany. It's not that serious!

I just blocked all of these people, so hopefully it won't really be an issue for me moving forward. It's just that it like instantly activated my fight-or-flight lmao because I was like, "Oh, no... not AGAIN." Because the bulk of my tumblr experience was dedicated to stanning Dany and Jonerys and that became all about discourse. My whole presence here was about being on the defensive. I was constantly answering asks both from antis and fans, defending Dany and trying to justify myself for loving her and shipping Jonerys. It ultimately became miserable. My whole experience with GOT became about the discourse. Every new thing that would happen in the series became weaponized either by antis or by those of us on the defense, and it made the whole experience less fun. So seeing that there is already a robust anti community before the show is even out is really disheartening to me.

I don't want to be that person this time. I'm hot blooded and impulsive and a huge flaw of my personality is that it's very difficult for me to drop it and move on when I see hate in my inbox or on my dash or in a tag I track. I'm DETERMINED not to be the wank blog when S&B comes out. I'm going to talk about what I love and that's it. I've been doing ok so far! I didn't engage with those antis and I've gotten about four anti anons since I got this URL and I've deleted them all instead of posting and trying to defend myself.

And that's the crux of the issue by way: having to defend MYSELF. Idgaf if these people trash talk the Darkling. The problem is that they take our interest in the Darkling and use it to make character judgments on our morals as real people. THAT is what's hard for me to ignore--people in my inbox saying I support grooming, paedophilia, and abuse because I like the Darkling. That's stupid, of course, and I'm getting better at breaking the habit of responding to that to defend myself. I don't have to! None of us do! This is supposed to be fun.

The only thing I will say directly addressing their wankiness, though, is actually related to what you said about Ben. You're right: it's all anyone talked about, and we were thirsting and celebrating. But in my brief trip down the anti rabbit hole last night I saw two very shocking (and honestly hilariously dumb) claims by anti bloggers:

1. We Darkling stans are mad that Ben was cast. Apparently we wanted someone young and boyish because we refuse to admit the Darkling is old as hell.

And I have to laugh because all I saw was widespread celebration and flailing over the casting news. Literally every single fan I've encountered is over the moon about this. Why wouldn't we be? And yeah, the Darkling is an immortal old guy. An overused trope I am still 1000% obsessed with. Happy to acknowledge that.

2. We Darkling stans will hopefully stop stanning him now that they cast someone "ugly" with a "patchy beard" to play him.

Yeah, you read that right. This person called Ben Barnes ugly with their whole chest and I honestly have nothing to say to that 😂

Anyway sorry this got so long! Like I said I'm going to try to be positive wrt this fandom and the stuff I like so I'm getting as much salt and sadness out as I can now, while we don't really have new content to discuss anyway 😅

[olivewritessometimes]

Bittersweet Blue Sin (1/2)(Corrupted!Lance)

lust ləst/ noun 0. 1. 
very strong sexual desire.

~•~

Lance suddenly gets corrupted by one of the Dark inter reality creatures, he suddenly begins to slowly start becoming less of usual self and more seductive and lustful.

How will he be able to break free from this deadly sin?

-------------

I have a friend, and her name is @che1sea-xiao-long. (Everyone go like her posts! She’s awesome!) You may remember a while ago when I made that post about a Dark!Lance fic I was working on. A while ago, I was searching through the Dark!Lance tag on Tumblr for inspiration, and found the prompt listed above. I liked it, then continued searching. The prompt in particular didn’t have many notes, so the next day, I got a message from her saying she noticed I liked her post, so I replied asking if I could write a fic about it. She said yes, but I got a little carried away, so I had to split it into two parts. Here’s Part 1! Link to Part 2 will go here once it’s posted.

Side note: Che1sea, thank you so so SOOOOOOOOOOOO much for letting me write this! I had a load of fun imagining the scenes myself, and I hope you’ll like it too!

--------------

  “Only one more to go,” said Sam, as medics wheeled the unconscious Altean away.

  Around a month ago, they had discovered the dark being inside the mind of Tavo, one of the six Alteans they’d rescued, and Shiro had ordered they remove all of the beings from their minds to prevent Honerva from mentally injuring them.

  So far, they had removed the beings from five out of six Alteans; they had finally stopped refusing to let Allura reach into their minds to pull them out.

  Gradually, they had all started changing their minds after being tormented nonstop by Honerva, and the last Altean was to have Allura remove the being from her mind the next day.

  As Lance watched through the window, Allura, controlling the creature between her palms, brought it towards the containment unit the medics had left in the room.

  She lowered one hand inside it, still holding control of it, and grabbed the lid to the unit with her other.

  In a movement faster than lightning, she pulled her hand out of the unit, and slammed the lid down, trapping the creature.

  After screwing the lid on as tight as she could, she stood up with a smile, and gave a thumbs-up to the window, signalling that it was secure.

  Lance breathed a sigh of relief. He could hardly stand it whenever Allura performed an extraction, because it put her in horrible danger every time.

  “Okay, we’re clear,” Sam mumbled to himself, pressing a few buttons.

  The door opened with a shh noise, and Allura stepped through, instantly being wrapped in a large hug from Lance.

  “You know this is really dangerous, right?” he mumbled into her hair. “You already have one of the things inside you, and another could kill you.”

  “Yes, I do,” she replied. “But we’re doing it for the Alteans. They need the help.”

  “Right,” he said, pulling away from her.

  Taking his hand in hers, Allura turned to Sam.

  “The containment unit is secure,” she said.

  “Thank you, Allura,” he replied, standing. “Oh, and before I forget: Shiro wanted you both on the bridge.”

  “Thanks, Sam,” said Lance, leading Allura to the door.

   No one else except for Shiro, Coran, and the crew members whose stations were on the bridge were there when they arrived.

  When the door slid shut, Shiro turned around, and upon seeing them, his face lit up.

  “I was wondering when Sam would send you up,” he chuckled. 

  “He did as soon as we were done,” replied Allura.

  “We have something to show you, and we want your opinions on it,” began Shiro. “We’ve already shown Hunk, Pidge, and Keith, and we were waiting for a time where you could both come and see it. Pull it up on the screen.”

  The screen flashed into life, and a video feed appeared on it.

  It displayed how the hangars for the Lions would work when the IGF-ATLAS was in its humanoid form.

  When the ATLAS was first built by Sam, they hadn’t planned that it could transform, so the hangars were on the giant robot’s legs, facing downwards, which was an awkward angle to launch from.

  “We were thinking of how annoying it normally is to launch when the ATLAS is like this, so Slav came up with an idea,” continued Shiro. “We could-”

  “We could have them rotate the Lion’s positions so they will launch the same way they did in the Castle of Lions!” shouted Slav, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

  “Where did you even come from?!” cried a startled Coran.

  “From below you.” Slav shrugged his shoulders, and pointed at the screen. “Now, let me show you how it will work.”

  The screen started demonstrating Slav’s plan, but Lance was hardly paying attention.

  All he was mainly thinking of was how dangerous the extractions were. For Allura, for the Altean, for the medics in the room, for pretty much everyone, if it escaped.

  But that wouldn’t happen, he told himself.  Allura wouldn’t let it.

  The next day brought upon the same series of events.

  Lance woke up, got dressed, headed to the dining hall, had breakfast with his teammates, then headed to the medical bay with Allura to prepare for the last extraction.

  Just like the day, the extraction went as they all did.

  The medics brought the Altean’s bed into the sealed room, followed by Allura, who was carrying the containment unit which would hold the inter-reality being. They injected the Altean with something that knocked him out painlessly and instantly. Then, they stood to the side while Allura pressed her hands to the Altean’s temples.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, but her grip on the Altean’s head remained gentle.

  Slowly, and carefully, she lifted her hands up, and the being was dragged out of his head.

  The medics grabbed the Altean’s bed and took him away, and Allura finished up the operation.

  Just like the previous few times, she lowered it in, and quickly trapped it.

  She stood up to give the all-clear signal, but instead put a hand to her forehead, and held her other hand out for balance.

  She looked like she was about to faint.

  Is she alright? Lance asked himself.

  When she began to seem unable to hold herself upright, he turned to Sam.

  “Sam, let me in there.” He had a determined look on his face as he gestured to the door.

  “U-uh, Lance, I can’t exactly do that-”

  “Sam, let me in there.” He had a fierce tone to his voice as he gestured to the door again, masking his worry for Allura with anger.

  “Lance, I can’t let you in there,” Sam tried again. “If she didn’t close it all the way, the being could infect one of you and kill you.”

  “That’s exactly why I have to go in there,” Lance retorted, calmer this time. “If the being infects her, it could kill her. I have to make sure she’s alright.”

  “Lance, it’s safer to have the medics be sent in there, with their special suits to protect them,” Sam reasoned. “You’ve got nothing to protect you. You’d be putting yourself in horrible dange-woah Lance what are you doing?!?”

  Lance had made his Bayard appear in the form of a sword, and was hefting it towards the door.

  “Protecting my girlfriend,” he answered, then sliced the keypad keeping the door from sliding open in half.

  The door slid open, and he rushed inside, just as Allura was beginning to collapse. 

  He caught her in his arms, and slowly lowered her to the ground, taking care that she didn’t hit her head.

  Her eyes fluttered open, and a look of confusion dawned upon her face.

  “Lance? What are you doing in the extraction chamber?” she asked.

  Just then, a group of medics burst into the room, heading for Allura.

  One of them gently lead Lance away from Allura, to the corner of the room, while the others unfolded a stretcher, and slowly shifted her onto it.

  “What’s wrong with Allura?” Lance asked, trying to look at the scene over the medic’s shoulder, but he kept moving his head in the way.

  “She will be fine,” the medic answered. “She’s just exhausted. We’ll bring her to the medical bay so she can rest up, and then she’ll be right as rain.”

  The medic was wearing a mask, so Lance couldn’t see his face, but he had a feeling that he was giving him a cheery smile to make him feel better.

  “You just wait here. She’ll be fine, we promise.” The medic crossed the room to the stretcher, grabbed a hold, and then they all lifted Allura out of the room.

  Through the window, Lance could see Sam following the parade of medics.

  Alone in the room, one would have thought it would be completely quiet, but it wasn’t.

  There was a soft bom, bom, bom noise that was starting to drive Lance insane.

  He looked around to see what was making the noise, and his eyes fell upon the containment unit, from which the being was trying to get out by ramming itself against the wall.

  He sighed, and kicked the unit into the corner.

  Crack.

  Oh, no, Lance thought to himself, but it was too late.

  He could only watch as the creature took advantage of the crack in the glass, and hit itself against it until the unit burst open.

  He dashed to the door, but the medics had closed it after they had left, and since he’d broken the keypad on the other side, it was sealed shut.

  “Help!” he cried, banging on the door. “The creature is loose! Guys, help! Help! The creature, it-”

  His cries were cut short, as he felt a stinging sensation in his backside.

  It felt as though someone was stabbing him with an electrified sword, and some subconscious part of his mind knew that the being was infecting him.

  “Help,” he cried out again, weaker this time.

  His banging slowed, growing softer and fainter, until it stopped entirely.

  He slumped to the floor, trying to keep his eyes open, but it was getting near impossible.

  “Help,” he tried, one last time, barely audible to even himself. “The creature…”

  He slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

  Keith was sitting in the mission briefing room, waiting for the meeting to start.

  There were a few other people in the room as well, including three of the four MFE pilots, Hunk, the Holts, a few crew members, Coran, and Shiro, who had called the meeting.

  He glanced around for Allura, since she was normally one of the earliest people when meetings like this were called, but then remembered what had happened.

  News traveled fast on the ATLAS, and word of Allura fainting had reached him pretty quickly.

  Not to be rude or anything, but he wasn’t worried about her. It was tiring work, and he’d expected her to pass out from exhaustion sooner or later.

  Besides, knowing Allura, it would only be a matter of time before she was back on her feet. She was tough like that.

  Who he was really worried about was Lance. Keith knew how sensitive he was when people close to him are hurt, and Allura was his girlfriend. Surely, he must be stressing out right now.

  Well, speak of the devil, thought Keith as Lance walked into the room at that very second.

  But upon closer inspection, Keith became confused.

  Lance didn’t seem worried or stressed at all, which was very surprising to Keith.

  In fact, Keith could swear he saw the remnants of a smirk on his face as he took his seat.

  What’s he so happy about? Keith wondered. His girlfriend is in the medical bay, and he’s normally sensitive about loved ones being hurt. What’s up with him?

  A few minutes later, the meeting began, but Keith hardly paid any attention. It was just suggestions for the lion’s hangars, nothing important.

  What he did pay attention to though, was how differently Lance was acting.

  He didn’t seem upset at all, despite Allura passing out and being brought to the medical bay.

  So what had happened that was making Lance so happy? Or what was keeping him from worrying about Allura?

  Before he knew it, the meeting was over, and people were starting to file out of the room.

  Keith stood up, and started heading for the door, but a voice made him stop.

  “Hey, Keith! Wait up!”

  That was Lance, unmistakably. That was the voice he’d grown accustomed to calling him ‘Mullet’ over the past few years. The voice that would throw insults at him, which he would retort to, causing endless banter between the two.

  The voice he wished would call his name the way it did Allura’s.

  He knew it would never happen, though. He didn’t even know if Lance liked boys. Keith doubted he did.

  Which is why he was surprised when Lance grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the wall.

  Seeing Keith’s shocked expression, Lance began to smirk.

  His hands started roaming around Keith’s body; down his arms, across his back, finally finding a resting place on his hips. 

  The closer Lance got, the more worried Keith was.

  What-why-what is happening? Thoughts like these and many others raced through Keith’s head.

  Lance immediately caught on to what Keith was thinking, and leaned close enough to whisper in his ear.

  “Scared, Kitten?”

  A few minutes later, Lance finally backed off.

  Without Lance’s hands holding him against the wall, Keith slumped to the floor, with a hand pressed to his head.

  The room seemed to be spinning around him; he was finding it hard to breathe; confusion was taking over his mind; his vision was blurry; and to top it all off, Lance was still there.

  He crouched down so he could look Keith in the eye.

  “Don’t tell anyone about this, okay Kitten?” His voice was sweet, as if nothing had happened.

  Keith wanted to retort, but his mind was too scrambled to think of anything to say.

  Instead, his eyes welled up, and he brought his hands to his face to cover them.

  “Not as tough as you seem, huh Kitten?” Lance stood up, and walked towards the door.

  “See you soon, Kitten!” he called as he left.

  Keith sat for many minutes against the wall in the mission briefing room, trying to comprehend what the hell just happened.

  His mind was still fairly muddled, leaving him unable to come to any proper conclusions.

  Overwhelmed, confused, and bewildered, Keith was hardly able to stutter out a quiet, ‘What?’

[dualitysdownfall]

Portal 2 turns 8 today, so here is the third and final-for-now android GLaDOS I designed. This is the first full piece I’ve done of her, and the most detailed. Many new things were tried as well.

But instead of talking about the art I’m going to talk about the game. It’s not the anniversary of my art after all.

I only discovered Portal a little over a year ago, through SnapCube on YouTube. (Go check her out, she’s wonderful.) I constantly watch her videos even if I know nothing about the game just because she and her friends are so great and funny. I figured the same would be the case when I clicked on the first episode of Portal 2. It was when I was having to re-watch the same part of the video, once to see what the game was saying and once to see what Penny and Ryan were saying, that I figured I should probably look further into Portal.

So I did. To this day I’m still not quite sure what about it captivated me so--it’s quite evident, to me at least, that it’s not as simple as how it appears to my brain at first glance. You can tell, because of how many comments and tags I’ve written about its complexity. I guess even despite being panromantic and nonbinary, I don’t work well with things that are ambiguous or not clear-cut. And a lot of Portal’s story and characterizations lie in gray areas. You could say GLaDOS is the villain, and maybe she is in the first game, threatening to kill Chell right up until she meets her own demise. But that certainly doesn’t remain the case. Would a truly, wholly evil villain grant Chell her freedom? I think for the most part she was misguided by the scientists who made her and affected by the circumstances she was in following her activation. But I still stand by the assertion I indirectly made over a year ago in starting to write Humanoid Nature; that being that at the end of the day, GLaDOS is, despite her appearance, far more empathetic and far more human than she cares to admit, and her refusal to embrace that even after the events of Portal 2 (see her comments in co-op) is doing her no favors. She’s hurt and killed numerous people, she’s hurt and almost surely traumatized her best and only friend (we all know who that line in Want You Gone was referring to, no matter how immediately you denied it, GLaDOS!), and she’s still trying to convince herself that it’s fine, that she doesn’t need Chell or anyone else. Maybe deeper inside she feels not that she doesn’t need Chell, but that she doesn’t deserve Chell. Sure, they’ve both done awful things to each other. They’ve been antagonizing each other this whole time. But Chell saved GLaDOS and brought her back to power. And GLaDOS let Chell leave the facility and find a new life on the surface. Maybe she thinks she doesn’t deserve Chell, or anyone, she’s hurt all these people, she deserves to be lonely, at least that way the only people she’s really hurting are easily-reassembled robots who don’t seem to mind all that much.

There’s a lot to analyze in Portal, and I can’t analyze to save my life, not this kind anyway. But that last sentence was something I came up with entirely on my own, not influenced by a fic or anyone else’s analysis, which is why I’m very self-conscious that it’s probably not as good or accurate as someone else’s might be. But carrying on.

No one in Portal is definitively good or definitively bad. They’ve all done some bad things. But they have their redeeming qualities, and I love them. 

I wanted to try to keep this thread going, about what I make of the game itself, but I lost my train of thought entirely and don’t know how to tie it to a new one. So I’ll just start talking about the community.

Uh, it’s great. Despite not having a canon release in 8 years, the Portal fandom (especially on tumblr!!) is still going strong and creating amazing fanworks. Though the dedicated Portal fan has become an endangered species of sorts, I see beautiful Portal art every day, and have read so many fantastic fics, that I was inspired from the get-go to start making my own. And honestly, it’s resulted in some of my proudest creations. We even have a pretty dedicated RP community. 

So here’s to the friends, mutuals, and acquaintances I’ve made through the Portal fandom @tacothehawko @cave-science-johnson @ask-glados @beth-the-robot-enthusiast @thevoidsflame @arya-skulblaka

So yeah, maybe I was so late to this one that I have to follow the glados, chell, wheatley, and chelldos tags to get the amount of content on my dash that I can for something more recent without following any tags, but the nice part about being in a fandom 8 years after its last canon installment is that you know the people you’re interacting with really care about it. Either they have for years, or they too are discovering how beautifully the series holds up even after so long.

I think that’s all I have to say for now. Portal really means a lot to me so it was only fitting that I do something for the anniversary of Portal 2. I might finish another drawing later today, if I do I’ll post that too, keep an eye out both here and on @melancholy-starlight-art.