#even if i was on my streamer's side i thought bad was a really fun character

[soulfireblue]

Unpopular opinion:

Badboyhalo can do no wrong and is always in the right every time

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

justification: now see anon i'd agree except there was that time that he was against my guy who can do no wrong and is always in the right every time. but i love and support you ghosties and love your guy even if he's committing minor atrocities. <3

bumped up to neutral though because there are too many situations where people claim bad's in the wrong when he's clearly not. they think he's a bad person because he... has a brain injury and was disabled by a nuclear explosion? because he killed people the same way everyone else also did in purgatory? he did no more wrong there than anyone else did ^.^

send me unpopular opinions!

[ronearoundblindly]

Midnight Kiss

Steve Rogers x reader

Just a little ditty in honor of the upcoming holiday. Warnings for suggestive language and bad puns. It's just cute, awkward, and chivalrous...until it isn't. If you couldn't deduce it from the title: they kiss lol. WC 1.5k+

He's happy to see the team having fun, but this isn't exactly Steve's 'scene.' Granted, his 'scene' flew the coop long ago, when his generation aged out of large, raucous celebrations, or rather, Steve never had any true social scene because he never really lived .

He's still trying, he swears; it's just...

really. damn. loud.

The lights are somehow too dim and too bright all at once. Everyone is happy and blitzed and dressed to the nines and leaning on the closest stable object. Any minute now, he'll bow out and call it a--

There's an ear-piercing cackle from a woman in a '2024' gold-streamered headband not two yards to his right, and she tips backwards, shoving an innocent passerby straight into his solid side.

"Sorry," you squeak, rolling your eyes because the word wasn't loud enough to shame the drunk woman beside you, but you're facing him, too, unable to see she's about to make it worse.

The woman snorts and laughs harder, toppling over because her party of friends have the reaction time of sloths, their hands full of dainty champagne flutes and mini-snacks.

Steve instinctively pulls you out of the way, his broad, strong arm wrapping your waist and pinning you to him.

"Oof," you grunt in alarm, the woman's drink spilling over your shoulder.

Hors d'oeuvres, Steve thinks sullenly, that's what people call them these days.

The woman doesn't apologize, and neither do her friends.

He counts a full five seconds before anyone in the small group even raises a hand to help the woman still giggling on the floor. Mostly, Steve is now concerned with the glass shards near your feet.

He's all for having fun, he's all for letting off a little steam, but he is not a fan of sloppiness. That's not a generational trait; that's simple courtesy.

"Ok, 'nough of this," he mutters, an itchy irritation scurrying up his body while he tries not to take over care of the woman. Instead, he checks your legs with a glance, sees the open toes of your strappy sandals, and hoists you into his arms.

He walks away from the bar, sound of crunching fading with each step, and finds a tiny bench--the only spot not occupied--where he can set you down.

Steve can't hear your shock or protest because his blood races past his ears. That was the last straw. He's annoyed now.

"Stay there," he commands, putting up a finger that gets shockingly close to touching your lips since you leaned in to speak. "I'm getting some napkins."

The bartender is oblivious, and why should he not be? The man is one of two serving over a hundred guests, give or take, for hours and hours. Steve doesn't bother getting his attention. He stretches a long arm over the bar top and grabs a stack of cocktail napkins.

It might as well be toilet paper.

He dabs and dabs at the sleeve of your dress, but the napkins dissolve and turn to damp pills. In his day, those results would make excellent spitballs to pass the time in class. They aren't so trendy on your black velvet.

"I thought this would work." He doesn't know what else to do but keep dabbing, so he anxiously continues, not noticing the precarious proximity to your chest until you put a hand on his.

You have kind eyes, he thinks, even though he can't fully make out their color in the mood lighting.

"Please, don't--" finally one of the woman's group yells over a quick sorry "--don't bother with that," you finish. "It's just a dress. You can go back to your people, Captain."

He scrunches his brow. He sometimes wants to introduce himself; he wouldn't always use his rank, but he rarely gets that luxury. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." You nod. "Was heading out anyway. I'll just sit a sec and then leave."

Sounds like the highlight of my night--leaving.

Instead, Steve stands to his full height and scans the busy room for any of his team. He shrugs to himself since, who's he kidding, no one will miss him if he disappears early. He's put in the appearance. He's made enough small drunk talk. Yikes, does he wish alcohol still affected him...

"I'll walk you out," he offers, careful to modulating his volume when one song abruptly ends and another starts lower.

At first, you don't take his hand, and your first two steps seem sturdy.

Then your weight crumples after a deep hiss.

Steve has you back up and carried to the bathroom in a flash. It's lit so he can actually see and muffled so he can actually hear, thank goodness.

Glass did sneak into your shoe, and it easily poked through the ball of your foot. He's so quick to find it that not one whole drop of blood has even eased out of the wound by the time he's pulling the shard out. His bare hands pinch the sizable chunk.

He's careful, slow, and gentle. He's also a touch proud that you make very little fuss, only squirming in discomfort while he works.

"All better," he says, dropping the glass into the trash bin. "We'll just wash it and...you alright?"

You're already pushing yourself off the counter top.

"You shouldn't put weight on it yet." Steve gingerly lifts your leg at the knee to keep the foot from touching the bare tile floor.

"Yeah, but--" you make a face "--you set me down in water."

Steve's eyes bug out. "I--oh gosh--so sorry, I--let me--" there are no paper towels, only an air dryer "--shit."

Defeated by modernity again, he sighs. "I just...I can get more napkins and maybe a first aid kit from--"

The crowd outside is starting to yell. They're counting, backwards, and there's no way anyone will understand what he's asking for in that chaos.

"Ten!"

Steve meets your eyes.

"Nine!"

He can see their full color now and that your dress isn't black. It's a very, very dark maroon velvet. Wetness is easily visible though, since your sleeve seems fully black at the shoulder.

"Eight!"

He points to the door. "Somebody I can get for you?"

You shake your head.

Not that he was fishing for your relationships status, but he's encouraged nonetheless.

"Seven!"

"Only me," you shrug, "braving the party for a thrill..."

"Same."

"Six!"

"How was the year?" he cracks with a smile.

You tilt your head. He's distracted by the cute gesture.

"Five!"

He stares.

"Four!"

"Not great," you admit.

Steve thinks while he stares.

"Three!"

Actually, no, that's a lie. He doesn't think; he just acts.

"Tw--"

He swoops in, big palms cradling each side of your face, soft lips pressed to yours for just an instant, but only because he wants more.

Unless tortured, Steve Rogers will never admit that he didn't plan for one instant where his tongue was not involved. He absolutely wants to taste you. He absolutely wants to own you, just for these few seconds. He absolutely wants to hear you moan in encouragement, the sound crystal clear in isolation from the party.

The roar of the crowd is soft static compared to that racing blood of his.

He pushes himself closer, his bent arms getting in his way, so Steve props up with a palm on the--oh wow, that is wet--counter. His thumb touches the soggy velvet covering your hip and thigh.

He'll buy you a whole new dress if only you lace your fingers in his hair, if only you take his bottom lip between your teeth, if only you whine just like that again.

By 'again,' he means in a few seconds, and maybe tomorrow, and, for good measure, whenever after that.

A loud thud on the door knocks him out of his lip-lock trance. It's not a single restroom, so he suspects another overly inebriated patron since no one comes through the door.

But now some sense is knocked into him, too.

He chews on his swollen lips for a moment, nervous to look up. He hopes you don't regret it, and he hopes you know that he does not, can not, and will never regret that kiss.

Your sated sigh breaks the tension after a beat. "Starting this year off right," you mutter, "at least for me..."

"Yeah," Steve chuckles, glancing at the door before finally taking in your lounging form, "the gang is gonna love how I ended up in a ladies' bathroom at the stroke of midnight, necking a stranger."

You snort.

"Don't leave out the part where I was wet for you, head to toe, huh?"

Too bad the florescent lights are bright enough to show his raging red blush, but he clears his throat with a deep growl.

"They'll never believe me..."

Steve sweeps you up into his arms again.

"...unless I take you as proof...and to get a bandage, of course."

You snatch up your shoe and purse, but he won't let this Cinderella run off. You'll be right here against him all night.

"Well, go ahead and splash my other shoulder," you tease. "I can't be lop-sided."

Steve grins, already adding more and more things to list of what he'll do for you, to you, and with you. The list can include parties, too, if this is how wonderfully sweet and silly they can all be.

Happy New Year, indeed...

@supraveng @1950schick @patzammit @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @spectre-posts @bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @fallinallinmendes @deandreamernp (My taglists are all jacked up again, so if you are missing from the list and/or want to be tagged, please let me know!)

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[lovelyjj]

Happy Birthday

jj maybank x reader

wc: 596

a/n: today is my birthday and i wish i had a JJ with me so i wrote this little blurb, enjoy!

You have always hated your birthday. It just reminded you that you have no friends. This year however you became friends with the pogues. So maybe your birthday won’t be as bad as the ones before. You were also dating JJ so maybe that might make things better as well.

Turning 20 felt daunting. You were no longer a teenager and that made you sad. You felt like you had to be an actual adult now. You woke up and checked your messages. All of the pogues including JJ wished you a happy birthday through text. You felt loved.

Unbeknownst to you, JJ planned your whole day. He was excited. He thought a lot about this. You meant everything to JJ and he wanted your special day to be the best day ever.

The first part of the plan was to celebrate with all the pogues. He went to your house to pick you up in the morning. He arrived and knocked on your window, which you gladly opened and pulled him in.

“Hey cupcake, happy birthday!” JJ embraced you.

“Hi, thank you Jayj, it’s starting to be a happy birthday now that you’re here.”

“Let’s get going yeah?” JJ walked you out of your house as you said your goodbyes to your parents. You had a small exchange with them before JJ got there.

When you arrived at the château, it was all decorated with streamers and balloons. There was a banner as well. It was amazing. John B, Sarah, Pope, and Kiara were all there and they all greeted you. They wished you a happy birthday in person too.

You celebrated with your friends and had a blast. You laughed and chatted and ate lunch. It was very enjoyable and fun.

“So what have you and JJ got planned for the rest of the day?” John B asked.

“I’m not sure he won’t tell me,” you spoke.

“Aw i’m sure it’s going to be good.”

“Don’t worry it’s gonna be magical,” JJ explained.

“I’m gonna spoil her rotten.” JJ continued.

You smiled at him. You loved him more than anything. You felt like he was your soulmate and he made you happy. Even if JJ didn’t plan anything for your birthday just being with him would be enough.

JJ took you to a fancy dinner which was wonderful. Then JJ took you to the beach. When you got there there was a blanked all spread out with a dozen battery powered candles. JJ set up a little spot to watch the sunset.

“You did all this?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s beautiful,” you said in wonder.

“Can I give you my present now?” JJ asked.

“Of course.”

The two of you sat in the blanket and cuddled up together. JJ pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to you. You ripped open the wrapping paper and opened the box. It was a beautiful gold necklace with a small heart pendant. On one side it had the letter “J” engraved.

“Oh this is so stunning, I love it! Thank you Jayj. Help me put it on?”

“Yeah for sure.”

JJ helped you put the necklace on. Then the two of you watched the sunset. It was breathtaking. Then JJ looked around and saw nobody was around.

“Wanna make you feel good angel,” JJ hummed.

Then JJ made love to you on the beach and you couldn’t be happier. Your day was filled with happiness and joy. JJ went the extra mile to make today perfect. With him you really did have a happy birthday.

[sunaluv]

I love the "Come get your man" series could you make a pt4????[you do not have to]

I love your work sm!!!keep doing what your doing!!!

Drink water, take breaks when needed, take care of your health both mentally & physically!!and see you next ask♡

wooo we back at it again! thanks for checking in on me bae 🥲 take care of yourselves too!

also thanks for 1k followers 🥳

part 3

feat. kenma, tsukishima, iwaizumi

steamer!KENMA

kenma loves his job. as a professional streamer he’s his own boss, he doesn’t have to be around people too often and he’s become really fond of his little online community (not that he’d admit that out loud).

it’s been a week since your unplanned debut on his channel. you didn’t realize he was recording when you came to drop of his snacks, doing your daily check in. ever since, all the tags with his stream name were aggressively loving, basically demanding him to bring back their ‘mother’ to the screen.

you drop in every now and then to remind his viewers to look after themselves, jokingly scolding them for not looking after your man aswell but it’s all fun and games on both ends.

whilst watching his stream in the room next door, you can help but notice a user in particular.

@/kodzubae: LMAOOO i thought he would be dating someone much prettier😭 didn’t know kodzu did charity cases.

even though the chat was moving before you could read all the comments, your eyes always managed to find whatever the user said about you, and none of it was nice. you didn’t have to be told not to read the comments— it’s an unspoken fact but your eyes and brain always seem to betray you, feeding into your minor insecurities.

you haven’t even realized you were staring at a blank screen. kenmas’ stream had ended whilst you were too lost in your thoughts.

“…you alright?” he asked hesitantly.

though your eyes lit up and your lips quirked at the sight of your boyfriend, he knew something was up— call it a sixth sense of his.

you wordlessly tried to convince him that you were okay, talking and joking the rest of the night until you fell asleep in his embrace but none of it felt genuine. he didn’t want to pry, but it physically hurt him to see you hiding things from him.

totally disregarding the first rules of boyfriend 101: “don’t go through your partners phone!”, kenma unlocked your phone, instantly frowning at the screen before him.

it was her twitter page. kenma knew his lifelong fans, and the handle on your screen now was one of them, except it was full of fan behavior for him and blatant hatred for you.

he felt bad.

it wasn’t exactly his fault, but he still felt responsible for the digs at you that were happening on his live.

the next day, you had woken up hours after kenma. you tend to do that when you sleep with a heavy heart.

in the distance, you could hear him talking, probably streaming. so you opened his stream on your phone and tuned in right on time.

“hey guys,” he greeted. “before we start i want to say something…i’ve become aware that ever since ‘mother’,” he emphasized on the quote marks. “made her first appearance, some of you have not been the nicest to her online and i just want to say that that’s a boundary that absolutely cannot be crossed.”

@/user1: WHAT? WHO HURT MOTHER

@/user2: i hope she’s okay :( luv u mom

@/user3: we’re just going to skip over the fact that he acknowledges them as our parents? okay…

@/user4: cross ken >:( cross ken >:(

“so from here on out, any hate towards her will be an instant block. i’ve told my mods too so behave…” he firmly, yet gently scolded.

“now that’s out of the way, today we’ll be…”

you watched the rest of the stream with a smile on your face. though you were working on voicing your concerns and discomfort, it was nice to know that kenma is willing to work for you whilst he waited.

TSUKISHIMA (tall!reader)

“you look so much taller when you’re not welded into tsukkis’ side, ya know?”

startled, you angled your neck down to see one of your classmates.

you had been avoiding her, and she, you. but it seems she’s finally willing to break this ongoing silent tension fest between you two.

“what do you want.” you deadpanned.

she gasped. “you’re too mean! tsukishima doesn’t deserve to be with someone like you, he deserves someone who is more down to earth, you get me?”

she eyed you up and down to emphasize her point.

taking your silence as willingness to listen, she continued. “i mean your too tall! granted he is too but opposites attract, he needs someone who will look good with him, like me.”

you folded your lips inward to contain your laughter. you and basically everyone knew about this girls love for your boyfriend, but you never pegged her as the type to come at you like this.

“you can have him if you want,” you waved. “kei looooves short girls.”

her eyes lit up in victory, obviously not sensing your sarcasm. “cool, just make sure you break up with him today because-“

“nobody is breaking up with anyone.” a voice shot.

low and behold, your six foot something boyfriend shutting down any advances you were planning to set him up with. though he joined the conversation, he only appeared to be addressing you.

“kei! i-“

“tsukishima.”

“tsukki! i-”

“no.”

he made eye contact with your smirking face over the girls head. “you were just gonna throw me to the wolves like that?” he asked offended.

you chucked. “there’s no wolves kei, look at her” you pinched the cheek of the stunned girl stood in between you two. “she’s harmless, like a poodle.”

she stood, mouth open seemingly in shock.

looking back at him, his face did not let up. you sighed.

“i’m sorry kei,” you breathed through your nose. “i will never subject you to such a horrible, earth shattering, torturous-“

“that’s enough, my god” he groaned. grabbing your wrist, he dragged you by the wrist, only slowing down when you rounded the corner, out of the girls view.

“you know i was joking, right.” you poked his cheek, to which he swatted your hand away.

“i know you’re joking,” his signature smirk appeared. “after all you wouldn’t throw away the opportunity to date the guy you’ve been crushing on for as long as you’ve been here. if i recall, your confession went along the lines of ‘i-“

you slapped your hand over his mouth in embarrassment. leave it to the guy to turn your confession into a weapon against you.

you playfully bickered down the rest of the hall, forgetting all about the girl who had tried to take your place earlier.

IWAIZUMI

“are you sure you’re not only using him to like, get to oikawa or something?”

the first words this girl had spoken to you. you don’t know who she is, or where she came from but she has some nerve coming with such a ridiculous question considering you haven’t formally met before.

“excuse me?”

“you heard me,” her tone was now accusatory. “i’ve seen many girls do iwa dirty because they want oikawa so if that’s the case save yourself an ass beating and leave him alone!”

you don’t know if you have bad memory or what because you don’t know who this girl is and as far as your concerned, neither does your boyfriend.

“i’m sorry, are you a friend of his?” you were more confused than anything.

“i am his and he is mine.”

woah.

you didn’t want to accuse her, but every sign she was showing pointed to a major case of FDS (fan delusion syndrome), a case of the crazies found in fans of the oikawa toru founded by you, maki and mattsun, but you were unaware that this case was also present in your boyfriends own… supporters.

you don’t blame them though because your man is a total hunkkkk. anyways.

right on queue, the door slid open and both of your heads turned to meet hajime’s, and of course he has to show up with a sweaty face, shirt practically clinging to his defined body.

“hajime!” the girl called, running and stopping infront of him. “she’s using you do get to oikawa, break up with her!”

he followed the finger that was pointed to you— confused and lost in the middle of the gym.

“that’s my girlfriend, she doesn’t like him like that.”

the sound of a shattered heart pierced the sudden silence. “w-w-what do you mean girlfriend, she’s after toru i’m sure of it!”

a humorless chuckle sounded from his throat. “trust me, she doesn’t ”

being cautious not to set the girl off, he traversed around her, and straight to you who watched the whole interaction both concerned and amused.

“wowww,” you breathed. “i didn’t know you were also a cause for FDS.”

“what?”

“nothing,” you straightened. “i don’t blame her though. i would go crazy if you walked around looking like that too.”

his face flushed and he turned away. “stop saying things like that…”

you smiled, poking his cheek. “what, i can’t appreciate my boyfriend who’s built like he was carved from the greek gods himself?”

he walked away after pushing your face with his hand, drowning your chuckle.

“c’mon haji, don’t be like that,” you chased after him. “you have to be feeling yourself a little after seeing the affect you have of the seijoh population!”

the girl watched as you made her ‘man’ flush, comment after comment, feeling numb as she watched him get more and more out of his reach.

[saiscribbles]

What are your future plans for your channel btw? Although I like your content criticizing Lily, I think it’s best for you to move away from her because her time on the internet is a huge trash fire that never leads to anything good.

I’d personally really like to see you talk more about Hazbin Hotel or Steven Universe! Your streams are really fun and I love having them on the side while I work. :)

BOLD OF YOU TO ASSUME I HAVE A PLAN!

Much like I never actually intended to start a Steven Universe AU series I never actually intended to become a YouTuber in the first place.

Here's the story:

For years now I've been doing a stream weekly on Twitch where I just talk with chat while drawing. One day Hiding in Public/Private released a couple of great videos on old SU hate videos, including Lily's infamous "Steven Universe is Garbage and Here's Why".

Not too long after that Lily released "Was I Wrong About Steven Universe?" as a nakedly obvious response. I thought hey, wouldn't it be funny if one stream I just react to this video? Just for funsies? To see if Lily has actually changed her mind on anything?

What I didn't expect was I'd end up spending like half an hour explaining Shoujo Kakumei Utena of all things during that video reaction.

I was kinda impressed with my own recall of Utena despite not having watched it in full in over a decade. So I thought eh for funsies lemme cut down that part and slap it on my account. Which is the same account I've had since 2006. I've put videos up there just for my friends and small number of fans before, as you can see from this Minecraft video from 11 years ago I filmed and edited for my friend for her birthday.

And then that Utena video got 5k views. On my completely unestablished YouTube channel. And I was like... huh. I knew people are annoyed by Lily Orchard but damn.

By that point I had also already decided to react to Lily's video on the Steven Universe Movie the next stream. Cause obviously the SU movie is something pretty near and dear to me that I know very well. And Lily's video was SO BAD and had so many OUTRIGHT LIES in it I thought well hell, let's cut down the two SU reacts into a video too!

It'll probably get like 10k views tops.

And then I'll just fuck off back into the shadows whence I came.

And I suddenly found myself with 3,000 followers.

And I suddenly found myself monetized.

And that video just passed 200k views now. In 3 months.

So I was like... well shit. Now I have this new audience over here on YouTube. I should probably actually give them something. I mean the added revenue stream is nice but I'm not looking to become a career tuber. Mostly I felt like I owed it to this new audience I now have.

So I started doing my art stream on YouTube as well! And I also have been game streaming, if you haven't checked my Lives recently. I've been streaming I Wani Hug That Gator, of all things, while doing silly voices and we're all having a blast. I already wanted to get back into game steaming this year even before this giant explosion in attention.

So for now that's the only thing resembling a plan! I'm gonna keep art and game streaming and cutting videos from those streams. I'm not a video essayist. I can't write and perform a script, I'm just not good at it. But I am very good off the cuff which is why I'm a streamer. I can explain things when prompted. So hey, come to my Wednesday art streams (2pm EST) and poke me for art and writing advice! Or to pick my brain about Steven Universe and Hazbin. I thrive on chat interaction! And then those can be shorts and videos too.

I do plan to do at least 3 or 4 more Lily reacts in the future just because they're videos I think would be funny to react to. But after that? Who knows!

[lianaloverr]

I Hate You, Right?

Paring: Non-streamer Quackity (Alex) x fem!reader

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Hello! I’m Liana and this is my first fan-fiction! It’s so nice to meet you. Pls don’t judge my writing it’s my first time lol.

Summary: you and Alex have been enemies since 3rd grade. After you thought it was the end of the world when you two got paired up for a project, you realized he wasn’t as bad as you thought.

Warnings: fluffy (kinda), use of real name.

3rd person

Really short!

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

“Ughhhh.” 5 more minutes. “Y/n wake up!” Mom says. *sigh* “I’m up!”

You slide out of bed and start getting ready to go back to hell. You wear *your choice* clothes for school. “Y/n, hurry and come eat breakfast before the bus comes!” “Okay!” You say. You walk down the stairs to smell that sweet smell of pancakes and syrup. You eat your food and wait for the bus.

*time skip to school*

You hop off the bus and start walking to the doors. Once you walk in you hear a familiar voice. “Hey y/n.” It was Alex. “What do you want?” You say, aggravated already. “Woah calm down, I can’t just say hi?” He says. “No actually.” You say as you walk away. You never really thought of why you hated Alex, it was just something about him getting on your nerves. Even since you met in 3rd grade you were at each other’s necks all the time. Like this one time in 5th grade, he tripped you in the hallway right in front of your crush. So you got him back by putting glue in his seat, it was funny nonetheless. But even all of this hatred you have for each other you couldn’t lie and say you’ve never had a crush on him. But since you were enemies, you never thought of asking him out, so you pushed your feelings to the side and kept the rivalry going. You snap out of you thoughts as you approach your first period, math.

*time skip to 5th period*

“Hello class! Today we have a project that you are going to work with a partner for it. But I will be choosing your partners.” Visible anger came form the class. “Okay settle down! Let me name off the people who are working together.” All the sudden you hear a voice behind you. “Hey y/n. I hope we’re partners. That means I’ll get to annoy you even more.” Alex said. “You know, I hope we’re not partners. Because if we are, it’s not gonna be good.” You say. “You know it’s a privilege to work with me!” Alex said. You roll your eyes, “you’re so full of yourself.”, you say as you turn back around.

“Okay, Max and Sarah. Keith and Liz. Y/n and Alex..” “What what!?” You say. “You heard me miss y/n. You will be working with Alex.” The teacher says. “Please there has to be someone else to work with!” You say. “No. You work with Alex or you get an 0.” You sigh as you look back at a smirking Alex. “This is gonna be fun.” He says. Oh boy…

*times skip to the end of school*

“You will not believe who I got paired up with!” You say to your friend. “I got pai-“ “Hey y/n!” You hear from behind you. “Ugh what?” You say, already knowing it was Alex. Do you want to work on the project at my house tomorrow?” Alex says.*sigh* “Sure, why not.” “Cool I’ll give you the address tomorrow at school! Bye partner!” He says as he runs off to catch his bus.

Although you acted mad about it, you didn’t feel all that bad about working with him. You were nonetheless curious on what his house looked liked or what he did in his free time.

But nothing could’ve prepared you from what will happen when you spend the next week with him working on the project.

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Heyy! Thank you for reading part 1! It wasn’t really well done, so it would be very much appreciated if you told me the mistakes I made! Tell me if you want part 2!

Part 1/?

[lunarfied]

19. WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP ME ? ; oops

scaramouche x gn! reader smau

both pov;

"welcome to the stream everyone!" you waved to the webcam as soon as venti switched over to the right screen. soon enough he pushed his chair into frame (and almost knocking you over in the process) and waved to the cam as well.

"what's up guys, your fav is here!" venti did a little spin in his chair as the viewers started rolling in. this would be the first stream you did since you face revealed last week and you expected to be swarmed with viewers but were still a bit surprised to see the surge in numbers only five minutes into the stream.

lunafied: omg my silly little pickles hiiiii machiroll: IS THAT MY FAV STREAMER VENTI !!111!!1111!!!!! ynventishipper: my fav couple streaming again awww creep: toe reveal?

"alright, alright - today we're going to do a fun little stream." you began, reading over the chat. at least you weren't alone and venti could also read the influx of messages.

"yeah! we're reading viewer's confessions~!" venti brought his knees up to his chest, "it's anonymous so you all could've gotten away with saying anything... anyways!" they turned to you, "since it's your stream, y/n, you should read the first one! here, i'll even pick, hehe."

"what the fuck are you making me read-" you cringed, running your hands down your face, watching venti laugh at the weird confession. and here you thought the stream wouldn't start off bad.

"there's no way that's even real- everyone knows i'm with xiao!" venti wiped a tear from the side of her eye. streaming with your friends was fun, but the downside of that always came with the fans who obsessed over your relationship with them. misconstruing every platonic relationship you had.

"gods, anyways, your turn." you gestured for venti to continue reading.

"can't even be upset with that one because it sounds just like me-"

"venti! stop!"

――――――

"i bet more than half of these confessions are people coming out to us."

"yeah, our fanbases combined are like, 90% fruity."

――――――

you both turned to each other in disbelief at what you just read. you didn't even know what to say.

"some things... you should keep to yourself..." venti stifled his laughter behind his energy drink.

you just kept staring.

――――――

"how do you accidentally... what were you even looking up!?"

"hey, don't question them."

you turned to venti with a raised brow, "did you send rule 34 to some by accident too?"

"i refrain from speaking at this time..." venti made a face and looked the other way.

――――――

"you pissed on your teacher!?"

"it wasn't on the teacher- they said in front! anyways i really hope that was fake or you were like, five-"

"why does that sound like something childe would do-"

"you're kinda right about that..."

――――――

"okay! i think this was a really fun stream, and even more fun that venti was here with me." you clapped your hands together, beginning to end the stream.

"aww, ending already?" venti pouted, moving closer to the mointors on your desk, scrolling through the google form. "let's just read one more, hm? here do a random number generator." they grabbed your hand, pulling you closer to the screens.

"oh wow, number 69, how nice." you rolled you eyes as venti cackled, pulling up the confessions form.

"alright, read away, my dear~"

"okay, okay ― let's see here; i broke up with my ex, and haven't spoken to them in years until recently due to hanging out since we have mutual friends. and then i kis- venti, is this a joke??" you turned to your best friend, confusion and annoyance mixed in your expression. whoever confessed this was oddly spot on with what was going on in your own life. venti stared at you with wide eyes, shaking his head quickly.

"no, this wasn't me ― promise! maybe childe? i don't know... who else knows about you and scara??"

"i don't kno ― venti! you didn't mute the stream!" you placed a hand over your mouth in shock.

lunafied: oooooo venti's in TROUBLEEE scarasleftnut: y/n and scara are dating?? since when?? akiangelenjoyer: you're out of touch im out of time angelfire69: THAT SHOULD BE ME!!!11!! markiplier: Hello everybody my name is Markiplier

"okay, uh, fuck ― just end the stream we can deal with this later." venti reached over to press the end stream button. you rubbed the side of your head in annoyance, already over the whole day.

"uh oh..." venti's mouth formed a thin line as she glanced over her shoulder at you.

"what?"

"i may have accidentally... raided scara's stream instead..."

masterlist | playlist | <- prev | next ->

-> notes: pls don’t come at me for my editing skills i have the oldest laptop known to MAN and the most cracked iphone ever ALSO!! i am well aware of the fact that when you raid someone on twitch, you have to type a command but i don't care it's my smau and i make the rules

-> 🏷️ (1/2): @machiroll @raideneiari @mariusvonhangme @inlustris-is-slowly-dying @sakiimeo @ferumie @plinkuro @scaraapologist @baelloraa @bubblesmei @lovelyiez @isa-solasun @lazy-sanns @thenightsflower @divinechicha @rxd-iant @elysiasgf @cerisearan @alwaysmentallyill @kaoyamamegami @richxelle @monochromaticelliot @kunikuzushiit @thedumboneforsomereason @lordbugs @osamusswife @useless-potatho @tsuyumbrella @orionicchaos @lxry-chxn @twistedrxses @akagism2 @kxr0mi @angryhope @ivylibrary-00 @makilovescofi @mechanicalbeat1 @erosdevil @ghostsaysno @anotherdayanotherobsession @garlicforthewin @oliver-s-worlds @lunavixia @arizzu @meigalaxy @hydration-is-for-weenies @yuyan @soleillunne @xiaossocksniffer

[allianettemie5]

Honestly, if any CC reads this I will have my goal achieved, so proceed

Warning: about CCs and fanfiction, so to those who can be triggered, pls skip this

I hail from a big streamer-based fandom, a place that had apologists, haters, and those who tried their best to be within everyone's boundaries of privacy; there were a lot of artists and writers there, excellent ones, who could rival published authors tbh. I am in awe of many of them. I mostly stayed out of any controversies, though they naturally were bound to find me in whatever corner of the world I was hiding. Privacy breaches, a lot of dirty clothes being dug out, CC targeting, mental illnesses, fans being unable to separate characters from content creators, and more. It's disgusting

I went to among us streamers in search for idk maybe more mature vibe, and I thought I found peace for just a short while. But lobby slot arguments, people not clicking with each other, that even led to shouting matches, bringing the group mood down. It was exhausting. The fandom was as creative, less explosive but was new, inconsistent and shaky, and it seemed that nobody knew each other

I don't see that much in PR1 streaming group and PR2 community. I enjoy talking to people that hang out here and enjoy the same things that I enjoy in a similar way that I do, and they are all just wonderful, just amazing, and fun, and crazy, and insane (in the best way possible). There is peace between CCs and fans, both sides addressing the bad things that happen in the fullest once, just once, and that is always enough for the both sides to keep the matter quiet and just keep up the positivity and mutual understanding

However

The recent events (that were basically just a sum up of several events prior to that, and it started way back a decade ago) actually rose a serious concern, that I was really hesitant to address, but it's that time I guess (yt "we have to talk" thumbnail)

I have not encountered online bullying directed at myself yet, and I hope I'll never have to, and I wish that my fellow PR2 people will not experienced that in the future

I know what irl bullying is though, I've experienced it first hand. I know what it is like to be hated and publicly laughed at because of being different. I know what it feels like to hear slurs and hate-talk about yourself and those who are very close to you from such a prejudiced point of view

I just escaped all of that. I have enclosed myself within a tiny space, consisting of only those who I want to speak to, those who I enjoy listening to, topics I feel safe reading and not going to lose my last nerves on

I'll say this once, and will not make another tumblong on this topic

If an abstract CC wants to read fanfiction sooooo fucking badly, they should

Suck it up and make an account, fucking coward

ASK THE AUTHOR FOR PERMISSION YOU ASS

Do not make fun of a real living person because they do what they enjoy for their friends to read

Do not make content of other people's hard work in a disrespectful way

Do not FUCKING STREAM reading the fanfic without EXPLICIT PERMISSION from the author

Imagine if the developers of a game, that you enjoy playing a lot and create playthroughs and guides and theory and lore exploration videos, come across your content and start yelling in their twits how fucking dumb you are, omg we can't believe that someone would in their right mind create these, LLOOOOOOOLLLLL WHAT AN IDIOT, what would you feel? You go to your comments and see haters and insults and you receive messages that you're a disgusting person and should stop doing whatever you were doing, what would you do? How would you respond?

If certain CCs don't learn that boundaries go both ways they can very well expect their fans number decreasing in a rapid rate

[lupins-hehim-pussy]

Must know your Furina thoughts cause I’m forever a Furina defender. I see her as different from Focalor and like… I get why Focalor did what she did but god I’m so… I don’t like her

I have more thoughts but I’d like to know yours and then I’ll explode

Heyy hiya hi hey! Sorry for getting back to this a bit late, I have been in a hole. You know how shrimps are

But the short answer is, regretfully, MHY's writing made me really viscerally dislike her, at first. There was definitely resistance in my heart and that was frustrating in itself, because I do not hate Her exactly and I see why a lot of people liked her a lot (my friends liked her too. I was pretty solitary in my extreme disdain of her). I just hated the story that MHY is trying to tell with her, I hated what she represents (to me, at least), and I hate that I'm seeing people being a lot more forgiving with her (compared to Ei) because she's shown to be more emotionally vulnerable, which makes her more relatable (this isn't so much as like, a 'her fans are bad!' take from me, just to clarify. More so, it is an observation about how MHY is able to very easily use their storytelling to sway the audience and keep their attention on certain narratives, and I don't like the effect of their writing decisions).

Disclaimer, though, I hate, hate Marie Antoinette and that "sad, helpless, rich (white) woman" archetype, so when Furina/Focalors clearly has some inspiration (and when I see the audience immediately make some of that connection), it was immediately rigged against her in my head, lol. She had no chance.

In retrospect, though, the Marie Antoinette reference isn't that strong, but I don't know if that's because MHY really chickened out of the French Revolution inspiration, or because they just vaguely wanted the vibes of it without ever intending on committing to it, and I end up looking silly because I'm making connections where there are none. MHY writing is notorious for making people do that because it expects you to extrapolate from minimal and vague writing at times.

Anyway, then I started writing her. I wrote her into the family dynamic of the WRLT family, streamer modern/future AU thing I've got going on, and even for my canon rewrite/reinterpretation/filled-in-the-shit-I-didn't-like-and-made-it-work-for-me fic where she shows up very briefly at times, I couldn't exactly make her completely villainous either. That role I reserve solely for Focalors (who, arguably, isn't portrayed as a villain in canon, either. I just hated her more, and she's specifically written as a scapegoat for Furina Criticisms by MHY, anyway, so she's literally used, narratively, as an excuse for Furina's action as the ruler of Fontaine, so. It's functionally the same shit as Ei being like "erm that was the robot, not me..." just much, much better executed).

And she's really grown on me! Like, if I'm not so hung up on her whole "I may be the ruler of a police state, but I have feelings, too" thing, I think her personal story of having to perform a role, and having to meet an expectation that just gets further and further out of reach, and how she was shown to quite literally fall apart under that pressure was (through gritted teeth) well done. I Guess. I liked the way they unravelled her on a literal stage at the end of the MSQ. If anything, I will give it to MHY for their understanding of effective visual storytelling.

In her defence, Neuvillette also had the whole "I may be the ruler of a police state, but I have feelings, too" thing going for him. In many ways, you can argue that he's Worse because he's the actual, functional facet of Fontaine's Justice System, while she was treated more as the theatrical side. But, I will Say, MHY tried to sneak it in there that she also does work behind the scenes to help vulnerable people, and they also tried to say that she takes her job very seriously behind the scenes as well. She just acts like she's all fun. But, once again, because of their writing, I think it's horribly executed. Because aside from those Few Specific Moments where they showed her doing these things, no actual impact of her leadership was ever shown within Fontaine aside from the way she represents the Theatre-Court thing, BUT EVEN THAT MEANS NOTHING ANYWAY.

(So once again, in the same way as my Neuvillette ramble, you have MHY being like "is she actually helpless? Is she not? Can she actually make changes, can she not???" and they end up playing Accountability Hot Potato between her and Neuvillette where they're like, No, Actually. You're the one In Power! No You! No You! I'm a clueless Sovereign, I don't know humans, you're the Archon! But you are the one people actually take seriously as the Iudex, you're the one with actual political influence, and I'm not the real Archon anyway! Then Focalors is like, Wah, Celestia! That's the actual party you should blame! I'm actually the martyr here! Feel bad for me! And if Celestia pops up with playable characters you know they're gonna be like erm, actually, we also have clones who's been acting as us who's the actual evil ones, but it's not us I prommie.)

Like how the fuck have they not figured out about the Primordial Waters shit, like, a hundred years ago. You're telling me they are so damn good at their jobs, but it took them this long? To realise??? The Primordial Waters can be a big ass problem in the future that they should have prepared for in the past? It's almost like a nod to how IRL governments will ignore global warming and line their pockets allowing big corpo to continue wrecking the environment at the cost of the common people— oh wait, MHY vaguely suggested that too in the world lore about pollution caused by Fontaine's rapidly growing technological landscape, but they didn't do anything with it, because the Government that would get narratively criticised in Fontaine is Entirely Made Up of the Two Characters Products they're trying to Sell?

Oh, you're telling me the way Oratrice Mechanique D'Analyse is feeding off the people's belief in Justice while it literally hoards all the energy of the nation in order to fulfil Focalor's plan can almost be seen as commentary on how Media like True Crime commodifies Justice while platforms like TikTok literally profit off your engagement— oh wait it falls apart the moment you try to say that Focalors did this out of necessity in order to give Neuvillette back his sovereignty because those vaguely evil, undefined Ceslestia people?

And I'm sure someone could pop up and say like That's The Point! They're trying to show that someone is always above someone else, pulling the strings, and that Everyone has to do a little evil sometimes! As if that's not the easiest excuse for MHY to wave off writing accountability into their character stories.

But you know what poisons all of their writing to me? Knowing that they make products first, stories after. Every writing decisions they make, I am sitting there like, "This is designed for an audience, this is specifically made this way to sell to the most people possible." I can't look at Furina and think "they're trying to make a sympathetic and relatable character" because I Know there is a board of Rich Guys somewhere who sits there and say "but she has to be redeemable, she has to be relatable, and she has to be just a little bit of everything to be palatable to the widest swath of people."

Like, all the "flaws" of Genshin's writing are barely "flaws" at this point, in terms of intention. There's no one sitting there being like "this is what we wanted to achieve, but we went about it wrong", it's more like "this is good enough to make us money. Some people might complain or look into it deeper, but most are still gonna buy and keep using our product." And they're right. Fuck, I might come back for Natlan just to see what the fuck they'd do. And I hate it lol

[princesspastel8]

Chapter 29

Third POV

It's Sunday. Eboni has spent her weekend trapped in EJ's Infirmary with Jeff by her side almost 24/7. The teen wants to address this, but she knows he'll just brush it off. She questions why he struggles to vocalize how he cares for her. In her mind, it isn't as difficult since his actions speak for him.

In honesty, she finds the killer being reluctant to voice his emotions kinda cute. Though she'll never admit that out loud. Her eye is healed enough for her to open it. Her cut lip is healed while the bruise on her cheek is fading. Her ribs still ache as well as her ankle, but nothing is broken- so she can manage. Her hand, though, is going to take the longest to heal. The serum is enough to lessen how large the cut is, but it's still going to require more stitching.

On the plus size, Eboni has gotten a chance to get to know EJ and BEN. They don't seem too bad, but BEN is a bit of a perv that's on drugs. If he offers Eboni another mystery pill, she swears to throw him into a tub full of ice-cold water - other than that, he's a good buddy to smoke weed with.

She finds EJ interesting. His knowledge within the medical field is a bit surprising until he opens up on how he became what he is. It's a bit disheartening that slenderman played a part in it, though, but he holds no grudges.

Right now, both Eboni and BEN are playing mario Cart on one of EJ's medical monitors. BEN, of course, hacked it so it can display the screen on his switch. The two have had three races, BEN winning all of them - Eboni in last place every time.

Eboni grabs her pillow, hitting the glitching demon multiple times upside his head. "The third fucking time!? And these maps are complete ass!"

"Ack! Aye! It's not my fault you suck at this shit! I thought you were a streamer!"

"In my free time, when I'm bored. I don't play Nintendo games, you elf!"

"What games do you play?"

"Shooting games - like Call of duty. It's fun pissing those gamer freaks off." She grins.

"Ugh- fine. I'll put one of those games in. What else do you play?"

"Cookin' momma and any just dance game."

BEN laughs, "Really? Just dance? Cookin momma? Those games are ridiculous!"

Eboni raised a brow, "so your saying that they're so bad you can beat me at them?"

"Hell yeah, I can - wanna bet?"

Eboni holds out her hand, the creature shaking it as she proudly says, "DEAL!"

Jeff and EJ sit back in one of the few chairs in the room, watching the two play. Jeff's attention is mostly on Eboni, not knowing that he's smiling rather softly towards her. These pass days, Jeff allows himself to accpet a number of things. The first is his overwhelming feelings for Eboni. Something about her - something within her - keeps drawing him in - making him want much more.

Nothing, and no one has been able to hold his attention almost constantly. His attention span is pretty short. It doesn't take the killer much to become bored rather quickly, but with Eboni, he doesn't face that issue. He seems to find out something new about her every day. Her attitude and feisty nature always make things more entertaining.

After spending two days with her, it still isn't enough. He doesn't want her to leave his side - not even for a second. He never thought he'll be this clingy. But after seeing her so bruised and hurt, a strong, overpowering sense of needing to protect what's his took over him completely. Jeff doesn't care what anyone says, nor how others look at her within the mansion. All he cares about, all he wants is for Eboni to be safe & feel safe.

EJ glances at Jeff, grinning a bit. "She really has you whipped, huh?" He teases, elbowing his shoulder playfully.

Jeff eyes harden, scoffing while shaking his head. "As if."

"Come on Jeff. It's written all over your face." EJ grins, glancing at Eboni. "She's really something. I see why you fell hard."

"I didn't fall for that fuckin' bi-"

"Sprout bullshit all you want. Everyone knows how you feel." The cannibal shrugs, giving the smiling killer a knowing look.

Jeff sighs heavily, leaning back in his chair as he watches Eboni begin to play just dance with BEN. "Whatever....how did yours make you feel?" He asks hesitantly, knowing how sensitive this topic is for EJ.

He smiles, showing his sharp teeth. "She was my world. She gave me this high that I've never felt before, my addictive drug."

"Have you ever...felt this overwhelming feeling to protect her? The thought of any other guy looking at her pisses you off?"

EJ can't help but chuckle. "Sometimes yeah, but you're far more possessive than I ever was. You never seem to leave Eboni alone - not that she minds."

"I..." Jeff doesn't know what else to say. EJ is right as he is most of the time.

"She gives you this sense of control that you've never had, even before being dragged into this mansion. It levels you- but no worries, you're still a crazy mother fucker." He said, patting his shoulder.

The smiling killer doesn't shrug his hand off this time. The eyeless cannibal is right - the desire to have complete control over something, anything, and Eboni gives him that. Giving him complete control over her life. The idea of having someone to control has always been appealing, thrilling even.

Sure, Nina could've filled that role, but she wouldn't have lasted, and her existence irks him. Throwing away such a good life - a life he sometimes wishes he had. Sure, he had a mother and a father, even a little brother, but it wasn't stable - he was never stable.

A cheer breaks him from his thoughts, Eboni performing a rather sensual victory dance while BEN lays on the floor - exhausted. Eboni completely floored BEN in cookin momma, just dance, and even a few shooting games. Even with all the cheat codes BEN gathered, he couldn't beat raw talent.

Eboni bends down, holding her hand out and giving BEN a mocking pitied look. "Switch, please."

Accepting defeat, he snaps his fingers as his Nintendo Switch system appears in her hands. With a giddy smile, she skips over to Jeff, showing off what she won. "I beat the game, demon!" She cheers gleefully.

Jeff stands, patting the top of her head. "Good job, princess."

"What the fuck man! You know how much I love that thing and your praising her!?"

Jeff grins, flipping BEN off as he moves onto Eboni's medical bed. "Go cry about it."

"Asshat!" He shouts before zapping away.

EJ laughs, standing from his chair. "Slenderman is requesting me. I'll be back to do one more check-up on her."

Jeff nods, watching the cannibal leave. He smiles at Eboni, patting his thigh. The teen eagerly jumps onto the bed, moving to sit in between his legs. The killer wraps his arms around her waist, sighing in contentment while Eboni messes around with her new Switch to fit her taste.

"Gonna open up about that little episode you had?" He questions, watching her fingers still against the joysticks.

There has been this unspoken air between the two. Most of it is regarding what took place Friday, the other being their feelings for one another that neither of them are ready to discuss any time soon. Eboni tenses a bit, leaning her head up to look at Jeff.

"I don't..." The topic of her parents has always been a sensitive one. But maybe it's time she forces herself to talk about it.

"If you do, I'll give you a reward." He whispers to her, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs against her hips.

Eboni gulps nervously, lowering her head as she takes a deep breath. "O-Okay..." she whispers, beginning her story.

It's Christmas Eve. Jacob, Eboni's father's family, has invited him to spend Christmas with them. It was surprising considering they've grown apart the moment Jacob proposed to his wife, Yasmine.

His family fought and never accepted Yasmina, which made no sense considering how sweet and loving the woman was. Unfortunately, she has no family of her own except for her husband and daughter - which played a role in Jacob's family disliking her.

However, both are individually successful. Jacob is a world-renowned martial artist, owning several self-defense studios across the United States. Yasmina is a world-renowned chef and retired gymnastics coach. They've paved the way for their eight year old daughter to have an amazing future.

The family is currently driving to Jacob's family home, which happens to be a huge mansion. Yasmine isn't looking forward to this trip, but Eboni is. The young child couldn't wait to see her aunt that she misses and loves so much. Yasmine was looking forward to seeing Jacob's older sister, though. The woman is the only one she gets along with - the only one she trusts.

"Honey, I told you we should've left before the snow storm gotten closer." Yasmine sighs.

"Yeah, yeah - I get it, woman. You were right." Jacob said, rolling his eyes playfully, which earns him a light smack on his arm.

"Oh, don't start! It's just the snow os picking up. The weather report also said to be mindful of black ice. Maybe we should find a motel and -"

"I've been driving since I was sixteen years old. I'm 30 babe, this storm is child's play."

Eboni giggles, playing with her stuffed rabbit, glances out of her window - gasping at the snow. "Ish so pretty and white! Lookie look!"

"I see, sweetie. It's very beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as my little princess."

Eboni giggles, squeezing her rabbit close to her chest. Swinging her feet at her father's words. "Momma is prettier!"

"Oh, Eboni, stop -"

"Mhm. Both of you are my gorgeous girls. Aaaaall mine." Jacob smiles, moving to place his hand on Yasmine thigh.

After an hour or so, Jacob notices this black van with tinted windows following them. At every turn, every stop light - the van is right behind them, tailgating them. Yasmine has noticed too but hasn't voiced her concerns, not wanting to scare her daughter.

Jacob and Yasmine share a knowing look as they hold each others hands. Jacob begins speeding through the snowstorm, running red lights and making a few sharp turns. Unfortunately, the black is still hot on their tail.

"Momma? Papa? Why is the car going so fast? Ish little scary..." she pouts, gripping her rabbit plush even tighter.

"No reason, sweetie! Daddy is just trying to get there as fast as he can since the storm is getting worse. We might get stranded in the middle of the road if he doesn't hurry." Yasmine explains as calmly as she could.

Eboni notices the two holding their hands and the worried expressions on their faces. Eboni reaches forward, placing her hand over her parents - feeling a sense of comfort now.

The comfort fades the moment Jacob loses control over the car after sliding on a large patch of black ice. The man keeps his composer, turning the wheel in the opposite direction - gaining control rather quickly. He smiles, looking at his wife then at his daughter.

"You guys oka-"

SKREEEEEEEET- BANG!

A sixteen wheeler comes crashing head-on into the family. The front of the car is completely destory, and Eboni's parents crushed. Eboni's eyes widen at the sight, screaming at the top of her lungs- crying out for her parents to speak, pleading with them to let her know that they're alright. Eboni was struggling to keep consciousness, suffering extreme internal bleeding. The last sight of her loving parents being their mangled corpses.

"The poor girl. Her father's family wants nothing to do with her..."

"Losing your parents. What kind of Christmas gift is that?"

Eboni slowly opens her eyes, blinking them a few times to adjust to the brightness of the hospital room. She tries to sit up, whimpering at the pain she feels all over her body.

"Oh no, no! You mustn't move, sweetheart. You have to rest." The nurse said, gently lowering the child back down.

"Momma...papa? Where are...momma and Papa?" Eboni questions, her voice horse. The child was stuck in a coma for a week.

The two nurses share a heartbreaking look. The first nurse slowly shakes her head. "Um... sweetheart, they aren't here right now."

"Wh...what? But momma and papa are hurt! Hospitals heal people! So they should be ok...momma and Papa are ok..right?" She questions, lips quivering. The poor child didn't want to believe the horrifying images of her parents being real. The doctors can just piece them back together. They're miracle workers just like her father taught her.

The nurses stay quiet, not sure how to comfort the child while trying to keep the heartbreaking truth from her.

"Then Tete? Where's Eboni's Tete?" The eight year old questions, referring to her auntie.

The nurses remain silent again, confirming the child's suspicions. Her parents are gone. They weren't coming back. The doctors couldn't fix them. No one could bring them back. Her other family, her aunt, has completely left her to endure this new painful reality alone.

"No... NO MOMMA! PAPA! EBONI IS AWAKE! SHE'S OK, SO YOU SHOULD BE OK!" she screams, forcing herself to sit up - the child slipping into hysterics.

The nurses begin to panic, phoning for the doctor to come. Once there, he orders the nurses to hold the child down.

"But she's just a kid!" The second tries to reason.

"And she'll injure herself further in this state! We have to sedate her!" He explains, pulling out a rather large needle filled with cheer liquid.

Eboni sees this and screams at the top of her lungs, the same gut-wrenching scream as before. She trashes around, the nurses having no choice but to force the child down and strap her in place. The doctor sighs, walking over and forces the needle into a vein within the child's arm - slowly pushing the liquid into her.

Quickly, Eboni begins to calm down heavy tears streaming down her face. From that day forward, the young child's world - that was full of happiness and love - will become a life full of hellish experiences, solitude, and a chain of endless abuse.

[fereldanwench]

a couple weeks ago, i saw a conversation asking if virtual photographers should be called "content creators," and it's a topic that's kind of been rolling around in my brain since i saw it. very raw brain dump under the cut:

the question was framed with the implication that "content creator" is a, idk, like some kind of aspirational, prestigious title, and since it was asked in a vp community, pretty much all the answers were yes. a lot of the reasons for why it should be considered content creation were like it's really hard work (with a fair amount of comments that it's harder work than streaming/making videos (which as someone who has done all of the above, idk if i'd agree with that, but ymmv)), it's an art form, it serves the same function for companies as other "content," etc.

there's a lot to unpack here, and this is just some cursory thoughts so im not gonna touch on all of it, but i just thought it was really interesting how so many people were so adamantly defending the honor of being called a "content creator" because I've long felt like it's a term that devalues creative work.

i'm especially not fond of it fandom spaces because i feel like it puts really weird and harmful expectations on people who make fanworks (either by the community or on themselves) to treat fandom like a side hustle or even a professional venture rather than a hobby. not that there can't be some overlap, especially nowadays, but i'm just very protective of my personal fandom experience being a reprieve from all that nonsense.

and tbh, i feel a little weird when people comment on my stuff and refer to it as "content." it's usually complimentary, which of course i really appreciate (and if you've ever referred to my stuff as "content," it's totally fine, please don't feel bad, especially if you're not a native English speaker--i know the term is ubiquitous in English-speaking social media spaces and these connotations aren't universal even to native English speakers), but i just don't think of anything i make as "content." even when i was a streamer and felt closer to the whole "content creation" mindset, i still always felt kind of disconnected from the term. and the stuff i do for cyberpunk (art, fic, vp, all of it), i would collectively refer to as "fan works," not "content." "fan works" just feels so much warmer and sincere and soulful.

i will say, though, that it's a battle of semantics that i've largely let go, tbh--even I've caught myself on a few occasions using it as a collective term for a creative body of work online--but i just thought it was kind of interesting that my immediate reaction upon seeing that question was "i don't want VPers to be called 'content creators' because i think that cheapens their work" only to see a slew of VPers proudly say YES WE ARE CONTENT CREATORS AND WE DESERVE THAT RECOGNITION.

my perspective, though, is from one as a fan who just wants to make and share stuff for fun and doesn't have any grand professional aspirations with what I'm making. i think the conversation i was reading through was between a lot of people who did have those sorts of aspirations with their virtual photography, which opens up a bunch of other shit that i don't feel like getting into right now bc it's getting late, lmao.

[eurofanamongotherthings]

Review: Live From Arena Stožice

can you tell i’m on winter break and have nothing better to do?

1) Sunny Side of London

• What can I sayyyyy! we’ve had this live version out for a while now and it’s probably the only JO song that I 100% prefer live. It’s MADE for a live performance, for an audience that will have fun with it and participate. Great opening choice too! 9/10

2) Gola

• Felt much more energetic than the studio version! Gola isn’t my fave but I definitely like it more now that we have this live version! 8/10

3) Bele Sanje

• I think the best part about Bele Sanje are the little nuanced things like the “lalalala” and some of the electronics which I can’t really hear in the live version BUT I can’t complain….I loved it, especially the extended guitar part at the end (which im assuming is Jan lol) and the boys going absolutely CRAZY on backing vocals!

4) Plastika

• THE TRANSITION FROM BELE SANJE TO THIS?!?! HELLO?!?? MY SOUL ASCENDED!!! I can hear all of the electronics and all of the energy! I love that you can obviously tell that Plastika is a fan favorite! Bojan’s emotion in this live version (especially on “ne morem se odločit al se jočem al smejim) just took it to the next level imo. 10/10

5) Proti Toku

•Not much to say about it, I think it’s definitely more fun than the studio version but it just seems quiet to me??? idk?? 8/10 tho, it’s still a banger

6) Dopamin

• THIS!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOOOVE THIS!!! I see clips of Dopamine on tiktok or something and it sounds more aggressive than in the studio, and im SOOOOO glad it sounds that way here! It’s such a cute, happy song but it’s so…HARD! Guitars were going CRAAAAAAAAZY, but we could still hear some of the little electronic bits. Byfar some of the best sounds of the album. 20/10

7) Padam

• I cry, I cry every time. Love the audience in this one and Bojan’s voice?!?? angelic. 9/10

8) Demoni

• WE FINALLY HAVE THE DEMONI SCREAM ON STREAMING PLATFORMS! The ONLY thing I think you have been better was just volume, i don’t feel the impact as much in this song as i do in some of the others (which is not the case for the studio albums). Loved how they kind of slightly played around instrumentally with the beginning and the end. All my homies love Demoni. 10/10

9) Katrina

• Ok so…..Katrina is by far my favorite Joker Out song so by default, I think this version is great. There was a lot more tension this go around which, in my mind, fits nicely with the lyrics. HOWEVER…… I think I hyped this up too much in my mind. It was still very very VERY good (and the sheer quality of Jan’s solo was just impeccable, which is what I was hoping for), just missing something that I can’t really put my finger on. 10/10 tho, stream Katrina for clear skin.

10) A sem ti povedal

Ok ok ok hear me out . I am an A sem ti povedal binge streamer, the studio version is what I think musical perfection is. Every time i see a live performance of it, it’s always tweaked in some way, which hurts my little studio-loving heart. I’m not gonna lie and say the trumpet solo was bad or anything, in fact I thought it was quite beautiful, but I don’t think it should have taken the place of the heart-melting intro in the studio version. HOWEVER, I got over that pretty quickly, with the acapella introduction and the buildup into the A-MA-ZING bridge. Personally I think Bojan’s little changes to how sings this one really made a difference, especially since they went ahead and changed like….most of the song anyways. Still, i was transported to another dimension with this one even though I am still a pretty strict A sem ti povedal purist. 9/10

11) Omamljeno telo

Fun, Fun, Fun! One of my favorite JO songs! It almost felt too short! 9/10

12) Kot Srce, Ki Kri Poganja

Martin girlies WYA?!?! EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS WAS PERFECT! from ACTUALLY performing Kot Scre, to releasing it in the album, to the evergy, and ESPECIALLY to having Matic and Martin, who absolutely ATE THIS UP!!! Did anyone else become a Kot Srce, Ki Kri Poganja girlie after this? because I certainly did! 15/10

13) Metulji

• Upon seeing a 6 minute version of Metulji i was very excited. Figuring out that most of it was straight up guitar was definitely something that grew on me after a few listens. One of my favorite things about the studio version of this song is just HOW Bojan sings (it just scratches my brain) and it still does that in this album, and it’s even MORE emotional! Instrumentally, I LOOOOOVED the little tiny changes they made, it really was so beautiful, and also tense, and a little scary! it’s crazy what you can do with sounds. 10/10

14) Vse Kar Vem

•ALSKDSKDKFJ I LOVE THIS SONG!!!! I dont speak Slovene but I FELT EVERY SINGLE WORD!!! Ofc knowing the lyrics helps, and all of that just made me …FEEL! I WAS FEELING FEELINGS! I could feel the audience feeling feelings!!!! What I don’t see talked about enough is how Jure SLAYED that drum break like LORD HAVE MERCYYYYY. 10/10

15) Barve Oceana

• BRAVE Oceana absolutely killed me…but speaking of Jure absolutely eating the girlies up, the drum break in this was just PERFECT. Also I loooooved being able to hear Nace during the first few verses, I never realized the bass part was so fun! AND THE BACKING VOCALS? THE AAAAAAAA’s? PERFECTION! 10/10

mr. maček i love you

16) Ngvot

• KRIS GUŠTIN YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS! ALWAYS! We all knew he could throw down with the songwriting, and it’s just so nice to be able to hear him sing it too! Ngvot is a classic, nothing much to say about this live version! 8.5/10

17) Vem Da Greš

• also another OP fave here and another beautiful transition into this from Ngvot! Also not too much to say about this one other than I felt it wasn’t as impactful as the studio version, like the buildups were just for nothing because the actual hits were lacking power. Also the faint children’s choir-esque sound was throwing me off? I heard it it Metulji too and idk what it is! 8/10

18) Ne Bi Smel

• part 3 of Jure absolutely killing it. Now THIS was powerful! So much energy, especially compared to the already super-fast studio version. Bojan’s voice was definitely one of the highlights (it is in every song, but especially here!)!

19) Ona

• to be honest, i’m not rocking with this jazz band version of it. The sultry sax intro was a great addition, setting up the plot of the song and everything, but this big brass thing throughout the song was not it for me. I think what I love about the studio version is the angry electronic things we hear, and we do hear it here, but it’s almost cancelled out by the brass? idk man, it’s a song about crying your eyes out every night because of a girl and it just wasn’t feeling like that! 7/10, I still love Ona

20) Tokio

• The audience did their part in this one! Another great one, I have no complaints. 10/19

21) Umazane Misli

• God i love this one! I think this had the perfect amount of experimentation in it for the song to sound like itself while also feeling fresh. Personally i would have preferred if there were no mics or instruments on during the part with the girl’s voice and just had the whole audience sing the whole thing, but that’s just a stylistic, nitpicky thing lmao. 9.5/10

22) Novi Val

• I cried, i’m still crying. 15/10

23) Carpe Diem

• Carpe Diem NEVER fails! This was the absolute best song to close out with in EVERY way! It’s fun with a sappy ending that wraps up the album and the show perfectly. I would have sold all of my limbs to be there during that. 20/10

[candycandy00]

The League of Villains Heroes Prologue 1

Author's Note: This is going to be a long, multi-chapter story about what happens after the end of the story, how the remaining members of the League of Villains adapt to their new lives full of therapy and new jobs and new relationships. But, when they get dragged into a fight against an ancient evil trying to take over the planet, this group of former villains might have to become a group of reluctant heroes. No smut. Some strong language and violence later on.

Prologue 1: Shigaraki Prologue 2: Dabi Prologue 3: Toga Prologue 4: Spinner Prologue 5: Mr. Compress

Shigaraki Tomura shifted on the leather couch, still feeling slightly awkward to be here, even after all this time. The woman sitting across from him sat in a plush, high-backed chair, legs crossed, a clipboard in her lap which she periodically made notes in. She was probably in her early 50‘s, attractive for her age, neatly dressed with her dark hair pulled into fashionably loose bun.

The woman tapped her pen on the edge of the clipboard as she looked at him. “So what happened after that?” she asked.

Shigaraki shrugged. “Nothing. The guy let go of my shirt and walked away. I think he flipped me off, but I wasn’t sure. I went the other direction.”

“And you weren’t even tempted to decay him?”

“Nah. I’m not going back to prison over that asshole,” he said.

The woman smiled. “Excellent. You’ve come a long way, Tomura. Two years ago you told me you were struggling to keep from using your quirk on people who provoked you. Now you can shrug it off. That’s progress!”

Shigaraki bit back the urge to roll his eyes. “If that’s all two years of therapy can accomplish, I’m not sure it’s going so well.”

“You also said you’re getting along with your coworkers at your new job. And you’re still doing video game streaming on the side, correct?”

“Yeah,” Shigaraki answered.

The woman leaned forward and patted his knee. “Good for you. You said you really enjoy this streaming thing, and one of the fastest ways to recovery is focusing on doing things you enjoy.”

Shigaraki glanced at her face. She was a nice lady, his therapist. He didn’t hate her. In fact, in some ways, she reminded him a little of his mom. Not really in the way she looked, but the way she talked gently to him. But because he didn’t hate her, he felt like he couldn’t be completely honest with her. What would she think if he told her he “enjoyed” destroying things? And decaying trash and plastics that can’t be recycled at the factory he worked at just wasn’t cutting it. His thirst had never been quenched. But a year in prison and two years of therapy had at least given him a desire to try to control his urges.

“I do enjoy streaming,” he said, “but I have to keep my face hidden. If people found out who I am, I’d probably lose every follower I have. Trying to destroy society isn’t exactly something I could make an apology video for.”

His therapist chuckled lightly. “Yes, I’m sure. But as long as you’re still having fun, that’s all that matters. And didn’t you say you did a joint stream with your friend the other day?”

“Spinner? Yeah. But he’s a much bigger streamer than me. He’s got three million followers. The joint stream gave me a boost but he gets nothing out of it.” Shigaraki was quiet for a moment, then said, “I thought you said it was a bad idea to have much contact with the other members of the League?”

Her face softened. “Yes, and I still feel that way overall. Having too much contact with them could take you back to a destructive mindset, and we don’t want any of you to regress. But I think cutting off contact completely is an equally bad idea. The five of you can support each other’s rehabilitation, in moderation. Just try to keep it down to online interactions or occasional one-on-one meetings.”

“Yeah, no problem there,” he said, and it was the truest thing he’d said to her all week. Spinner was the only former League member that Shigaraki was in regular contact with. Even that wasn’t all that often, with Spinner being so busy with his streaming career. The others rarely initiated contact with him, if at all. But if he texted them, all of them always replied, even Dabi (who was usually at least two days late and responded with as few words as possible). It gave him the sense that they were still there for him if he really needed them, and made him feel a warmth toward them that he frankly didn’t feel for anyone else. But beyond that, he had little contact with them.

He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t miss their company from time to time. The months they’d spent together, often homeless, often crammed into whatever space they could find to keep their heads dry, had made them feel comfortable with each other in a way people who aren’t family rarely do. He wasn’t delusional. The League wasn’t a big happy family that all loved each other, but they understood each other, to a certain degree, and that was enough. On some nights when he couldn’t sleep, he’d be struck by memories of curling up on a stained mattress on the floor of some abandoned shack, Spinner’s scaly arm draped over Shigaraki’s chest, Toga’s hair fanning out and getting in his mouth, Mr. Compress’s foot jabbing his leg. He’d thought it miserable at the time, but now… on those uncommon nights when sleep wouldn’t come, he would trade his spacious apartment with the queen-sized bed for that cramped shack in a heartbeat.

His therapist was talking again, asking him if he’d been forming any meaningful relationships at work. He got along well enough with the people he worked with. No one bothered him, and no one ignored him either. But he wouldn’t call any of them friends. “They’re just co-workers,” he said.

“Aside from Spinner, do you have anyone else you’d call a friend? That you actually spend time with?”

“Does my dog count?”

She smiled but shook her head.

Shigaraki thought for a moment, then arrived at an answer he wasn’t sure he liked. “I guess… Midoriya.”

Her face lit up. “Oh, the hero you have to check in with every week?”

“Yeah,” he replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. As part of his probation, he had to “check in” with Midoriya once a week. It could have been any hero, but Midoriya had volunteered, and Shigaraki had accepted. It wasn’t a huge deal. Sometimes they just met for coffee and the “check in” was done in ten minutes. Midoriya usually asked him the standard questions: How is work? Are you still going to therapy? How’s Mon-chan doing? Nothing too invasive, and Shigaraki appreciated that. But sometimes the hero stayed longer and talked to Shigaraki about his own life. At first, this had made Shigaraki feel uncomfortable, even awkward, but over time he’d come to enjoy the longer talks. He’d never say that to Midoriya though.

After a few more questions, the therapist laid her pen and clipboard on a nearby table and stood up. “Alright, I think we’re done for today,” she said.

Shigaraki stood up then too and pulled on his jacket. It was January, so the air was crisp and cold even though this winter had so far been mild.

“Have a great weekend!” the woman called as Shigaraki gave her a casual wave and left her office. He didn’t have to stop to schedule another appointment. He came in twice a week, like clockwork. This was another stipulation for his release from prison after only one year. If he ever refused to come in for therapy, or to check in with Midoriya, he’d be locked up again.

Shigaraki walked down the street, tightening his jacket around himself. It was late afternoon, and he thought he saw a snowflake fly past. He idly wondered if the trench coat in the back of his closet would be warm enough for snowy weather as he walked by small stores, ramen shops, bars, and the odd apartment building.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, so he pulled it out. It was probably a text from Spinner, or maybe his boss letting him know he had to come in tomorrow for some stupid reason. As he tapped his phone to look at the notifications, he was surprised that the text was from Mr. Compress (who didn’t go by that name anymore, but Shigaraki had as much trouble not calling him that as he had adjusting to calling Dabi Touya). He opened the text and stopped walking to read it.

“We’re having a little League reunion tonight at Chisa’s Bar. 7pm. Hope you can make it!”

Shigaraki looked at the clock on his phone. It was 5pm. He had plenty of time to go home, feed Mon-chan, rest for a little while, get his coat, and make it to Chisa’s. He quickly tapped out a response to the message.

“I’ll be there.”

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and headed for his apartment.

[fujoreads]

Weekly Update (1/9/2024)

Hello hello! I'm late to this update yet again, but it is what it is. I had a nice week, though :)

I started reading again! I read 30% of How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy... and then just skimmed through it—it wasn't what I was looking for. Same thing happened with Digital Minimalism in Everyday Life, a book more about the practical side of digital minimalism. However, I was expecting an approach other than "you don't need to ditch modern tech, just use it in moderation!! productivity!!1!!11!", especially after reading How to Do Nothing. I am tired of looking at screens and doing so much every single day, and would love to find a read on people like me, who are embracing older tech (or just ditching modern alternatives altogether); I'm aware it's not practical, but for folks who don't work with tech for a living, you don't really need to be online 24/7, be it in your digital life or in real life.

It's kinda baffling my family (and even past friends) saw me not wanting to be on whatsapp or social media, or even going as far as ditching my smartphone, and thought "he doesn't want to talk to us". It's not like I'm the most sociable person to begin with, but if you want to talk to me, you can talk, call, or even message me directly through the phone, instead of relying on an app.

Anyway, I'm also reading Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window and it's sooo lovely! I miss being a kid and being in the countryside. I never visited Japan, but I only want to visit its countryside, if I'm being honest. There's something about the calm of it all—not exclusive to Japan, fortunately.

Unfortunately I have no VN readings to comment on since my job has been so tiring that I can't look at screens for very long. My sleep schedule is a mess and I can't wait to get back to my early schedule.

I'm still playing Needy Streamer Overload—only 2 endings left!—and I'm enjoying it a lot :) I can't wait for Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis uuuugh

Still watching Serial Experiments Lain and really enjoying it!! I didn't make much progress this week due to work, but I am determined to finish it this week, and today is my final day of work :)

I finally started the famous Avatar: The Last Airbender and I'm enjoying it a lot!! I'm on episode 3 (Part 1) and I had forgotten how fun these types of series are. Last time I remember being this invested and entertained with a cartoon is with 2016's Voltron: Legendary Defender. In a way, Sokka reminds me of Lance and the internet tells me I wasn't the only one thinking that.

So, I watched Carol! I'm noticing I'm going through a lot of queer movies these past days, and they are all so depressing and bittersweet. It's like a guilty pleasure: it upsets me and I love it at the same time. That is to say, I'll give this a 3/5—it wasn't a bad movie by any means, but it didn't stand out to me.

On that note, I also watched Ammonite! This was a more interesting movie to me, although I wish they could have maybe developed it more. It felt to me like their relationship was somewhat rushed, although the ending was pretty good food for thought: 3.5/5 stars.

And that is it for the week! Tell me what you've been doing these days in the comments~

[recklawmusing]

Legacies

Recently I've been organizing a semi-regular movie night for some streamer friends. I was hoping to be intentional about community building, and wanted to give the group something easy to drop into if they were available and just vibe. It also ended up transforming one of my new year's resolutions. I had wanted to go out and see a new movie in theaters at least once a month, but instead I've been watching a lot of movies that came out years ago and I've never really revisited. Some have really held up, like Trolls and Kung Fu Panda 2. Others we watched have not fared as well. 

We recently watched Pitch Perfect, which still sounds like a fun movie on paper. Acapella group sing offs, musical mashups, a tiny bit of romance, and a star studded cast led by Anna Kendrick; I was honestly excited to rewatch it and laugh at a silly little comedy about singing. But then as we watched it, a lot of the jokes fell flat or felt out of place and there was so much more vomiting than I remembered. At least the music parts were still really fun, and I'm hopeful that there's more of those sections whenever we get around to watching the next one.

I also happen to love cheesy romantic plotlines, and the chemistry of the two leads was just enough to make me want to root for them. Skylar Astin had a puppy dog charm throughout the film; he was goofy and silly, and though parts of his pursuit were dated, his character always felt genuinely filled with joy and an openness. Halfway through the movie, his character reveals a passion for film scores, and lists of some of the greatest movies ever created as his inspirations. He wants to chase down the roads carved by the legends of the industry and make scores himself, and it's easy to find yourself wondering if Astin picked the movies to list off with the way he exudes pure adoration for the craft, even as Kendrick's character scoffs and dismisses the films.

This isn't actually about Pitch Perfect, by the way. 

This is about Star Wars.

"Are you a big star wars fan," I was recently asked on a dating app.

I thought for a few minutes before responding. Overthinking, mostly. In my mind, a big fan meant cosplaying characters, or creating works derived from the setting. A big fan would buy merch, have a whole display dedicated to collected toys or props, or have read all of the books in both canons, collected the comics, do things that proclaimed to anyone nearby "I'm a fan of Star Wars!" 

"I wouldn't say I'm a big fan, but I guess I'd be a medium fan?" I finally responded. "It's just always had a constant presence in my life."  

It's surprising to me that I don't really remember watching the original trilogy. I know that we owned VHS copies. The dark paper covers stood out on the shelf against the white plastic cases of the Disney movies, so it was easy to spot them anytime I went to grab some other cassette. I can't actually remember the first time I watched Star Wars, or even which movie I saw first. It's just a feeling, with no evidence to back it up, but I think the first may have been The Phantom Menace. 

I haven't watched the movie in over a decade, but I can still picture so much of the movie playing in my mind. Qui Gon slicing through the ship's door with his lightsaber near the beginning, the introduction of those rolling droids with the shields, Jar Jar Binks, the podracing scenes. Even tinier details like Qui Gon and Obi Wan using those little rebreather devices as they dive to meet the Gungans, or the design of the droid tanks that get used in the battle of Naboo. 

I saw the movie ages before I heard it being discussed as a "good" movie or a "bad" one. To me, it was magical; it was fun; it was impossible not to get hooked. Seriously, try being six years old (maybe) and watching the scene of Darth Maul facing off against Qui Gon and Obi Wan, "Duel of the Fates" crescendoing, and then his lightsaber ignites on BOTH SIDES. How are you not supposed to fall in love with that? 

And then to go on and watch the originals. Luke's journey from farm boy to Jedi. Han and Chewie's adventures in the Millennium Falcon. Princess Leia firing off retorts. The striking presence of Darth Vader. I didn't watch movies critically at that age, but I think part of me always knew instinctively that what I was watching was spun from the same fabric as other stories I loved. In Star Wars, I saw myths, fairy tales, the westerns I would watch with my grandfather. I couldn't have expressed those connections until I was much older, but I felt the influences in the films, and they resonated with me. 

I can remember practicing the sound of Darth Vader's breathing, one of the first sounds I wanted to mimic. I remember seeing Attack of the Clones (vaguely) and Revenge of the Sith (more clearly) in theaters, contributing to my love of watching movies on a big screen in a dark room full of strangers. I don't love every aspect of Star Wars. Maybe it's impossible to love every part of that galaxy, now that there's so much more of it. I went into The Force Awakens an eager nerd, ready to watch more adventures in a great big galaxy, and walked out enjoying what I had seen. Mostly. It didn't feel quite as fresh as I had hoped, but it was still more Star Wars! The Last Jedi was fun too, but parts felt a little like a let down. I don't even wanna talk about how walking out of The Rise of Skywalker put me off of going to the movies at ALL for months. 

One theme kept standing out as I watched the movies: legacy. Kylo Ren is so devoted to Darth Vader's legacy that he forsakes his father's name. Rey's story is constantly forced to become one about her quest to find her parents, to learn her own legacy. The First Order is just an attempt to regain the status of the Empire, Starkiller base echoing the Death Star, but in a bloated, distorted manner. Like it wants to become the superweapon we all held the Death Star as in our minds, something massive and undefeatable and overpowered. "Somehow, the Emperor returns," to remind us that the only real threat is and always has been Palpatine. 

Smarter people than me could probably dissect this theme and its prominence as a response to new leaders stepping up to direct these new Star Wars movies. Hell, they probably have already. And there's nothing WRONG with the theme being something the filmmakers might have wanted to explore in the movies. It just felt, to me, constricted. The Star Wars galaxy is massive, and yet, we had to go back to the same piano and hit the same notes that have already been played.

I've always enjoyed the Solo movie, with my main critiques being all those parts that exist solely to remind you that the main character is Han Solo. Watching the sequel trilogy felt like it amplified those feelings. The films told me that it mattered that they were Star Wars movies, not because of the inspiration they were rooted in, and the way they connected and expanded those base ideas, but because Darth Vader, and Leia, and Han, and Chewie, and Luke, and the Emperor, and Stormtroopers, and the Death Star were still there. 

The sequel trilogy movies, especially The Rise of Skywalker, told me that the magic of Star Wars I'd felt growing up wasn't really the important part. The important part of Star Wars is spelled out by Anna Kendrick's character in Pitch Perfect, as she scoffs at the "predictable" ending of The Empire Strikes Back. "Vader in German means father. His name literally means Dark Father." 

This isn't actually about Star Wars. It's about my father. 

My dad is not Darth Vader. He was enlisted in the Navy, and I could probably be cheeky and draw some parallels to my father working as a low-level imperial officer, but he wasn't some force of evil. 

He was distant. His work in the Navy bounced us up and down the east coast. We'd move every few years which made it hard to set down roots and really maintain friendships. Sometimes he'd get deployed and be gone for a few months, which only made it harder to ever find a rhythm to get closer to him. Even when he was home, our interests diverged and we never really found a way to connect. 

When I was in high school, my parents got divorced. It's hard to remember liking my dad before that time, my shoddy memory only highlights the times he'd be arguing with my mom in a raised voice, or spankings I'd gotten for some reason or another. But after that, I think I hated my dad for a while. The gap that existed between us widened, and I sawed off the ends I was able to reach to make sure it was as impassable as it could be. It was never enough to escape his orbit fully. 

My life's not a movie and it doesn't have themes, but my dad's legacy is one I've always run from. He was, as a metaphor, Anakin letting the hate flow through him. He was angry and stern and ordered, red in the face matching red of a lightsaber. I was scared that I was destined to become like him, that if I journeyed into that cave on Dagobah, I too would see my face inside my father's helmet. 

I wasn't a rebel and he wasn't the empire, but we stood on opposed sides over so much. I wasn't Luke. There'd be no meaningful redemption of my father in his final moments. He wasn't Vader, persuading me to join him and rule the galaxy forever. He was just an example of what I wanted to avoid becoming. 

I'm not just talking about my dad in Star Wars terms because they're fun imagery. I also cannot separate a lot of my memories of Star Wars from my memories of my dad. 

At the end of high school, I was briefly in a long distance relationship with a girl I'd never met. A week before we set to meet each other in person for the first time, she broke things off and shattered my heart. The next week, I was at my dad's, and we watched the original Star Wars trilogy. He didn't really console me, or offer any words of advice on how to process my heartbreak, and he owned the blu-ray versions of the originals, with all their strange additions and edits, but that's the only strong memory I have of actually watching those movies. A few years later, I stayed with him over my college's winter break. That Christmas, The Force Awakens was released in theaters, and I drove down the hill and saw it at the theater by his house. 

We saw The Last Jedi in theaters together when it was released. 

I don't hate my dad anymore. I still don't like him, and I don't agree with his views or how he treats waitstaff. I can't forgive him for how he's hurt people who I care about. But my present feelings towards my father are like those I have for the sequel trilogy - I try not to think about them that much. The galaxy is wide, and there are stories I love to watch instead, and people I love to focus my energies on. 

For all the interests I've shared with my mom though, she's never been a space adventures person. Someone else had to be the one to buy those VHS tapes I'd see on our shelf. 

So I do have to thank my dad for giving me Star Wars. 

[lunaekalenda]

you're still streaming!

about how streamer childe forgot to shut down his cam before enjoying his time with you... on a pretty naughty way

warnings: kinda smut (?), all the viewers of Childe's channel are +18, exhibitionism, dirty talk (?), praising, filming (?), idk i just got this idea while in heat i'm sorry, the streaming platform works how i want it to work don't blame my little pc knowledge pls, we imagine childe's community is super safe an everything gets deleted and no one saves clips most savage ones just jerk off, some uses of pretty princess.

ᴍɪɴᴏʀꜱ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛ ---- ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ

"And thanks to WhitedHaired for those subs!" Childe's hands are still quick on the controller as you keep observing him from behind. Your shared bed is a strategical point to be on, since his tall silhouette and the big chair he got last month cover you sitting on your bed side. You're reading a book, his grateful words and the way he talks with the chat constantly making you smile and give a look to your boyfriend.

Childe decided to try luck on that world after being a huge fan of the biggest streamer of all Liyue for months. He was even able to make a gameplay with Zhongli, even when his calm energy doesn't match your boyfriend's chaotic one. He got a lot of subs quickly, and he had a lot of good welcoming and love, so you're happy as well!

You've played some games with him without showing your face, because you don't really like all those comments of "look how he kisses her while playing, because she's so bad she need reassurance" and some others. Even when most of your boyfriend's supporters are nice people, there's a huge amount of them who want him all for themselves. And it shows today, when he asks you a question and you answer from behind him, making the wave of negative comments grow out of nowhere.

Usually, Childe has a couple moderators on his chat to avoid this type of things, but today he gave them a free day, saying that today's gameplay was age restricted because of the violent videogame content, and he really thought adult viewers would be pretty respectful, but he was wrong.

"You all better shut up or else you'll obligate me to ban each one of you individually."

The chat stayed quiet for a long while, and you knew Childe disabled the alarms to avoid you hearing all those shitty stuff while he bans some viewers, keeping the good chat and the jokes with the others. There's just ten minutes of stream left.

Faster than you thought, Childe is saying goodbye to them all. "Thanks for today's streaming, hope you guys had fun! I'll see you all tomorrow at 17:00 as usual!" Childe makes the next steps on an automatic way: closes the streaming window and, without even looking at the monitor twice, takes his headphones away and shuts off the monitor, already looking at you.

"I'm sorry for all that, baby. I tried my best to ban all of them." he walks lazily towards the bed. He doesn't know all his followers, the ones that stayed on the stream even knowing he shut down the laptop, are getting a free face reveal of the cute partner of their favorite streamer. Once he arrives, he kisses you in the most sweet way, both hands cupping your cheeks as his large body kneels on the bed, demanding more.

Some of the viewers try to warn him and most of them leave the stream, confused, but knowing he forgot to shut down everything and that they aren't invited to see that.

Even when Xiao, his friend, reminded him that every single modification you do during stream - as silence alerts, as he did.- needs a double confirmation. If you forgot to do that confirmation mid-show, the program will, of course, ask you to save the changes before closing it. The pop-up reminding Childe to save the configuration about the alarms is popping on his laptop. By shutting down just the monitor, he didn't shut the entire PC, so the webcam, with an imperceptible white light, keeps streaming the images behind his desk and directly to his bed. Even when the chair is sometimes covering both of you, the way he pushes your body against the bed is clearly seen by the couple viewers that are still inside. His mouth leaves a trail of kisses from your mouth to your jaw, down your neck and clavicle while he lifts your t-shirt enough to kiss your ribs.

"Didn't you had to watch Xiao's stream...?" you ask in low tone as your hands run through his hair, capturing orange locks as his head reaches your belly button.

"Mmh." it's the only thing that escapes his mouth before his long and delicate fingers reach your pants' waist, little by little taking them away while he licks his lips, impatient for the meal under them. Your legs shake by themselves and you can't help but put his head closer. You want him to undress you now.

"Wow, wow, so impatient." he teases, a little smile on his lips as his tongue plays with the fabric of your panties, soft black lace directly on his mouth. "I bet you can't even articulate a word now." His lips are now against the fabric, pressing a kiss as you cover your mouth with your hands. Even when you're used to this, it's true that Childe knocks you out every time he does it, every time he plays with your anticipation, tensing and loosening your pleasure as if it was a band. Making you reach the higher points still dressed to give you the hardest of endings against his bare tongue. "You thought I wouldn't notice, right?" he says, jokingly, as he takes air and passes his tongue again, hands sneaking up to take yours away from your mouth, as his fingers search yours, tangling them on your stomach, not letting you cover your moans again. "That I wouldn't notice how needy you were. You looked at that clock as if you were threatening him to pass hours faster." he murmurs as now his teeth give soft bites on your inner thighs, letting you rest from all the direct stimulation, making your skin shiver in pleasure. "You even went to the bathroom, I wonder why? It was too little time to masturbate, darling. I wondered what you were doing until I noticed something. You phone was with you." His lips are again against your panties, now soaked, as he goes with his little theatre play. "And, then, I remembered how much my pretty princess likes to take pics for me!" your cheeks are red. Totally red. He knows you too well. You did went to take some pics. You could tease him while streaming, just a little revenge on every single picture or video he sent you while you were working. But you decided to keep your composure and wait until he was done. "I would ask you to see them, but, we can save them for another necessity moment..." he takes your panties away with his teeth, sliding so sweetly down your legs. Once he has them out, hanging from his teeth, he gets closer to your mouth again, crawling on the bed, letting the panties fall to a side before putting his face close to yours. "... and you could show me live what you have under all those clothes, hm?"

Behind the screen, some of the spectators left - not a lot. - felt as if they were watching the best romantic film out there. Between all of them, Xiao's emoji popped. With a sigh and a cringing sound, he leaves as fast as he entered.

With Childe opening your legs and sliding his fingers down your stomach, free hand unbuckling his belt on the most hot way possible, his phone rings. He was about to ignore it, but you passed it to him.

"It's Xiao, maybe it's important." He growled as he sat in bed, doing you the same, covering your exposed body with the nearest blanket.

"What do you want?" he asked Xiao, a little anger on his voice. He was about to have probably the best sex session of the week with his gorgeous girlfriend.

"To tell you to please turn down your onlyfans stream."

The room gets silent. You're freezing and Childe doesn't know even how to act. Xiao hangs with a sigh.

Childe get's up running, making sure your body is still covered as he puts his belt back on, turning on the monitor. There, the goddam message to save the configurations makes the stream keep going, even when just some people is still in it. Childe sits in front of the computer again and takes his headphones. He takes air.

"I'm sorry for what just happened. It wasn't intentional and I'm really sorry this happened." his tone turns now a little more dark. "But, if I see a single clip, a single picture, a single meme about her... then be sure I won't be sorry for my actions."