#i love hostile introductions

[4giorno]

doctor daniil dankovsky....... 😭😭😭😭💖

[beanlot]

Sevika finding out her lover is a fucking MILF?!!!!?!!!? think about it, Sev goes to her lovers house for the first time, walks in and sees her girlfriend fuckin' breastfeeding or something 🥴

daddy sevika.. literally.

sevika doesn’t strike me as someone who loves kids - maybe it’s the stereotypical brawny figure and the way she’s presented with such authority, so it’s justified why you wouldn’t mention anything to her beforehand. but of course, you might pindrop a subtle hint, a little how do you feel about kids? just to skim the waters on a superficial level, and i don’t think it would be looking very silky for you on a conversational level.

kids aren’t my thing.

oh..

why?

i don’t know.. i was just thinking i’d have maybe one, i guess..

and sevika’s busy, it would be more inconvenient for her if she was planning on having any - which kept you maintaining this element of your life covert. but she’ll find out regardless, ambling into your home in the evening when you hadn’t shown up at the last drop or answered your door; disorientation on her face when she’d find baby toys on a playmat, that maybe she’d walked into the wrong house. but she’s an investigative type, walking stealthily upstairs when she’d identified enough of your belongings to confirm that this was your house - halting when she sees not only how you’re earthed into bed, but by the little human beside you.

and it’ll be one heck of an awkward and avoidant conversation of why didn’t you tell me? this wasn’t just a pothole in the road, this was face first in shit creek - but sevika isn’t someone who would get pissy purely because of her emotional discipline. she’ll keep you at arm’s length, sitting further away or avoiding eye contact until she relents to the turnaround. but as much as sevika’s emotionally disciplined, she can be sensitive when it comes to you - selfless when she sees the blemishes of mauve framing your dopey eyes and how enervated your shoulders are of their mettle, because being a mother isn’t exactly a walk in the park, and she’ll most likely want nothing more than to let you have a few hours rest.

sevika starts to marshmallow up, telling you that she’s not mad and that this doesn’t change anything between you.

she’s your softie.

even though sevika isn’t fond of kids, she’ll make an effort; she’ll improve for you, and it starts with a small and soppy introduction - she’ll be under the impression it’s gonna take a lot of time considering she doesn’t have the gift of your natural motherly and affectionate instincts enough to bond with a little guy. and maybe it’s because i like the image of barbaric burly sevika who’s customarily so hostile and bitter becoming a sweetheart when she makes eye contact with innocent doe eyes, but i think she’ll fall in love on the low.

it’ll start with the simple questions - names, what food goes where and what and why and how and when. and then it’ll be physical contact, small fingers wrapping around her ones of iron delicately. and then it’ll be sevika whispering how handsome/gorgeous they are in the sappiest voice, and then it’ll be waking up at midday because you’d finally had that full night of sleep for the first time in months only to realise sevika had stayed up all night for you, led on the sofa with said little human on her chest.

and then it’ll be the more sentimental things, like her being there for the first steps with her arms out. cuddling in bed with little human between you, watching sevika’s aggressive touch soften to one of humanity when little human huddles towards her chest.

excuse me.. milk-maker is on that side.

after all, you might be raising a new leader of zaun.

[btsmosphere]

hello :DD i saw your drabble game was up and i just couldn’t resist!!

may i ask for jungkook x reader ( she / her prns or gender neutral!), mafia/gang au, e2l, treating an injury and “what happened to you?” “where did you get that?”

thank you so much! i love your work and can’t wait to see what you do with this if you choose to work on it! <33

~summary: Close enough to touch, far enough never to dare. But Jungkook knows you well enough to know something isn’t right. And that locket the new player is wearing? Isn’t his. Will this be what it takes to break the distance you keep with Jungkook? ~pairing: jungkook x reader ~angst, fluff, comfort, enemies to lovers, mafia!au ~word count: 3k ~rating: pg13 ~warnings: violence, alcohol, blood, injury

~a/n: thank you!! you’re so sweet🥰 I’m sorry this has taken more than a week since the last request I posted but as you can see, it’s also longer than a drabble! srsly, the moment I saw this one in my inbox, I was thrilled. it’s like this prompt was made for me haha. the biggest problem I had was not making it too much like Flame on Water, but I’m pleased with what I came up with! I hope you enjoy it too!💜

Jungkook’s eyes flitted in your direction the moment you walked in.

The bar was dark, filled with people, but it was like he could sense you in spite of the hum of chatter and low music fighting for his attention in this atmosphere. Fingers circling the rim of his glass, he eyed you as you crossed the threshold.

Your little acquaintance with Jungkook began some time ago. But there had been no friendly introductions; you had had a knife to the throat of one of his members and the next thing you knew, you were being pressed against the ground with Jungkook at your back.

Over time, you had proved to be quite a match for each other. Just as your gangs skirted around each other, testing boundaries, winning and losing skirmishes for territory, the two of you were seemingly in orbit of the other. One way or another, you would always end up toe to toe, a constant challenge – or, perhaps, annoyance – to the other.

Tonight may be no different. Your eyes locked as you passed his table. Always close enough to touch, but too wise to move until the time was right.

In your line of work, you had to settle for a cool distance with the enemy. After all, you knew that while you were capable of taking him down, the opposite was also true. And either action would invite more conflict that your gangs’ tentative hostility could bear.

You approached and Jungkook sat back, anticipating your arrival. Neither of you would dare make a move in here, you knew that. But it was always fun to flirt with danger.

His smirk grew, a brow cocked as he waited for you to bite first. A simple ‘what are you looking at, Jeon?’ was enough for a spark.

Instead, your expression darkened.

“Not tonight, Jeon.”

Without even staying to hear a response, you kept your head down and moved past.

Jungkook frowned, leaning forwards to catch a glimpse of you, melting into the hubbub of this bar. Something was off.

For the brief moment he could, he scanned your form. He could be imagining it, but were you limping? If you were, you hid it well. In any case, you were gone too soon for him to be sure.

Still, his eyes lingered. He swallowed down a growing unease. This wasn’t like you – but then, why should that mean anything to him? Better still, he should revel in this. To have you in such a sour mood, something must have happened in favour of his gang. And at the expense of you.

He pretended that made him feel better.

But Jungkook had no time to spare thinking of you. Why he would ever want to was a concern in itself.

He was here for a reason. And that reason was crossing to the bar right now.

The man was alone, but Jungkook wasn’t stupid enough to rule out the possibility of anyone keeping an eye from the crowd. This was a new player in town, Ilwoon, but wasn’t someone Namjoon was keen to put in the ground straight away. He was clearly smart, having gained connections before trying to emerge as a powerful figure.

Jungkook had been given instructions for a hassle-free discussion and deal, but he took that with a pinch of salt. They didn’t know much about this guy, and it was Jungkook’s job to show him they weren’t going to be pushed around easily.

Still, he approached with a decidedly cool exterior, letting nothing slip in his expression.

“Two Manhattans.” The order confirmed to Jungkook that this was in fact the right man. His voice was rough, a contrast to the fine trimmed haircut he sported.

Allowing a cordial smile onto his face, Jungkook seated himself beside the newcomer while the bartender busied herself.

“Nice evening,” Jungkook muttered off-hand, “busy.”

Ilwoon bristled, clearly not sure what to make of the smalltalk. But a moment later, a smile bloomed on his face. Jungkook didn’t like it at all, but made sure not to flinch.

“Good place to end a long day,” the man said.

Their drinks slid across the counter, Jungkook watching the other take a sip first, taking note of the way his dark eyes crawled over the occupants of the bar. Like he owned the lot.

Taking a sip too, Jungkook could pass the disgusted curl of his lips off as a response to the burn of alcohol. About to resign himself to a tense but necessary conversation, he turned his eyes back to his drinking partner.

Jungkook’s hand tightened around his glass, not lowering it to the tabletop. Frozen, he stared.

Ilwoon lowered his arm, revealing a charming red pendant which was just visible around his shirt buttons. Finishing his own drink, the man noticed Jungkook’s staring and frowned, shifting in his seat. A small flash of red bounced from the jewel at the movement.

It was beautiful. Jungkook had always thought so. But that was just the problem.

“That isn’t yours.”

Raising his eyes fractionally, Jungkook finally met the man’s gaze with steel in his own.

Quirking a brow, that same repulsive smile flitted onto Ilwoon’s face.

“Told you I’d been having fun in this town,” the man shrugged, “now, shall we talk?”

Fast as a whip, Jungkook had sent his chair clattering to the floor as he sprung at the man, grabbing him roughly by his collar and sending him colliding with the bar.

Any previous noise dissipated, silence shooting through crowd place like a wave.

Jungkook didn’t even break the man’s gaze. One of the glasses slowly rolled off the table, smashed loudly on the floor.

No one moved.

Holding his stance, Jungkook’s only move was to tighten his grip, drawing closer to the man.

“For someone in your position, I would think you’d want to play nice,” he hissed.

Despite the way his feet scrabbled for purchase on the floor and his breath grew shallower, the other man narrowed his eyes, spitting back with vitriol.

“No honour among thieves, I thought. This shouldn’t be your concern.”

“You’re going to tell me who is and isn’t my concern?” Jungkook all but yelled, shaking him.

“I never touched one of yours!”

“They don’t belong to you either,” Jungkook growled. His spare hand reached up, just below the one holding his foe, to grab the locket.

It was true that it was nothing to do with bangtan. That his actions now would spark rumours of some weakness, some compromise. That he need not be interested in the fate of anyone other than the boys he called family.

But Jungkook didn’t recall seeing this around your neck earlier.

He tore it off. Releasing the man and leaving him panting, leaning against the counter, he stalked away without looking back.

The thin metal chain felt heavy in Jungkook’s fist.

Falling fast and heavy, his shoes clattered up the stairs. If Ilwoon had any sense, he would be long gone already, but he was a long way down Jungkook’s list right now.

The bouncer nodded him through instantly, Jungkook not even sparing time to look at her.

While this bar was supposed to be a neutral place for gangs (something he would certainly have to explain if the owner got wind of his little stunt downstairs), many of them frequented the place. With the absence of violence came somewhere for meetings, perhaps the only spot this side of bangtan’s territory where Jungkook could brush shoulders with enemies without trading blows.

At the moment, he was rather closer to shoving them as he carved a path through the crowd. The top floor was solely for those in his… profession. He had no doubt you had been heading here when he saw you earlier.

Emerging from the dense group by the bar, he quickly scanned the tables, ruling each one out.

Chewing his cheek, he exhaled harshly through his nose, turning his head erratically. You were nowhere in sight.

There was only one place left.

Walking purposefully past the tables, he pushed through another door. The bathrooms were here, four gender neutral ones lining the corridor.

Toeing open the nearest, he peered inside. It was empty, as was the lockable cubicle inside. Crossing the hall in one stride, he tried the next with the same results. The third, however-

You eyes snapped up, meeting his in the mirror just before you whirled around with a gasp, straightening your top.

Jungkook’s brow creased, gaze lingering even though you were now totally covered by your turtleneck. Once again, it had been too quick to be sure, but-

“What happened to you?”

Jungkook’s intense gaze met yours as he stepped inside, the door falling closed behind him. He didn’t miss your guarded stance, the way your eyes flickered to the exit.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jeon,” you replied tersely.

Turning back to the mirror, you leaned over the sink to make a show of inspecting your hair. As if you couldn’t care less about his invasion.

But much as you hated to admit it, Jungkook may know you more than most people. Despite your… situation, it was hard to keep secrets and emotions at bay when your lives revolved around pushing the other, whether it be in a physical fight or in tactical play. Even those in your own circle were kept at a further distance. Trust wasn’t exactly an abundant resource in your world.

You just hoped the amount of times Jungkook had seen you hurt, sometimes from his own doing, wouldn’t pay off now. You knew he was still watching you.

He ground his teeth, then looked down at something.

“What’s this then?”

Turning back to him in irritation, you opened your mouth, only to freeze like that when you saw the pendant dangling from his fingers. Your father had given you that, a symbol of your belonging to his empire just before he died. While many of his members believed you weren’t fit to be with them, it reminded you they wrong.

You always wore it.

Until…

“Where did you get that?”

“What happened to you?”

Jungkook repeated his question rapidly in response to your own. All it prompted was more silence. But he had watched your unbothered air crack in front of him the moment he showed you the locket – something was wrong.

“Listen, Jungkook,” you spoke low, trying not to betray your shaking voice, “I’ve had quite enough for today. If you want to add to that, go ahead. Just tell the cleaners on your way out.”

Your words jarred Jungkook. Reminded him of all the reasons you would expect him to be here, and with good reason. A startling realisation of how far his feelings seemed to have strayed from the familiarity of your rivalry.

He took a breath, horrified. Expecting you to laugh any second, or even kick him in the face.

But you just waited.

“What did he do to you?” he pressed, taking a step.

He jolted to a stop the next second when you actually stepped away from him, backing against the sink.

“You know Ilwoon?”

“I hate the bastard, but yes,” Jungkook spoke through gritted teeth, “care to tell me why he had this?”

You rolled your eyes.

“What do you think?”

“Is it the reason there’s blood in the sink?”

“Well done, Sherlock,” you bit, “don’t you think you could save your gloating for later?”

“He hurt you.”

You smirked drily.

“Are you just bitter because you never managed?”

He stared in disbelief. How were joking about this?

You still stared defiantly up at him, arms folded over your chest.

His next words came as little more than a breath.

“Let me see.”

You didn’t move.

“I’m sorry?”

He cleared his throat, suddenly hesitant to meet your eyes.

“Let- let me see. I can help.”

You were silent for so long that Jungkook looked back up at you, finding you still staring at him like he was crazy.

Perhaps he was.

But eventually, you dropped your arms and stepped to one side with a soft huff.

Stepping forward, Jungkook laid the necklace quietly on the counter before reaching out. Just before his fingers touched the hem of the fabric, he looked back up for confirmation.

You took a breath. Somehow, this didn’t feel as strange as it should.

A small nod from you, and he gently lifted the material, a crease emerging between his brows.

Chewing your lip, you looked away. Still, you couldn’t help eyeing the damage in the mirror beside you. The wound wasn’t of too much concern, but the blood was certainly a sight to behold. Your cleaning had done nothing to improve it.

A slash ran across your side. He had poor aim, the knife striking your ribs which had deflected it, extending the cut around your side where it was hard for you to reach without having to contort and receive a warning blast of pain from the injured spot.

You couldn’t help the hiss that left you when Jungkook’s fingers brushed against it. Withdrawing instantly, he looked back to you.

“Sorry, go ahead,” you muttered, averting your eyes again.

Still, when he turned on the tap to wet his hand, it returned cautiously, barely touching if he could help it. For the odd time he aggravated the wound, you simply bit your tongue.

Turning your eyes towards yourself in the mirror, you watched blankly. What should have been the most bizarre scene felt all too easy. Jungkook’s gaze remained focussed, fixed on his hands as they were painted red with your blood before it swirled away down the drain.

His hands left you then, prompting you to whip around in panic. Where was he going?

All you were met with was a low chuckle, a lopsided smile falling onto Jungkook’s lips. He stayed where he was, shrugging off his jacket.

“What are you-?”

Your question died on your lips as he bunched it up, bending slightly to tend to your wound again. Lost for words, you simply raised your arm slightly to give him better access as he pressed the fabric against your side.

Part of you felt bad for what was clearly an expensive jacket – the material wasn’t scratchy at all, barely irritating your injury.

“It should be treated properly,” he said.

“I’ll live.”

“I don’t doubt it. But… you’ll have someone look at it, right?”

You quirked a brow at him.

“So you can give me another one next week?”

“Of course not!”

His exclamation took you by surprise. Apparently, it did the same to him, both of you blinking at each other in the following quiet.

He sighed roughly, looking down to his shifting feet for a moment.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Why would I do that?”

Your protest was weak and you knew it. Your voice came out tired. The care Jungkook had just showed you left you caving to the very thing you had always tried to resist. But after today’s events, you just wanted to let your guard down and tell someone.

He didn’t even have to say anything else. You sighed, leaned back against the counter.

“The new guy wanted to meet up, talk business with our gang. I didn’t turn up expecting anything, but the moment he saw they sent me, he seemed to take that as a sign of weakness. Not a word of business, just him being a creep until he attacked me when I wasn’t having it.”

Kicking the tiled floor as you spoke, a bitter scowl took over your face. You were more than capable of taking on/quick enough to take on this stupid newbie, but the knife had really taken you by surprise.

“I shouldn’t have even given him the chance,” you cursed, “but when this happened, it threw me enough for him to grab me. He seemed to enjoy it. Like that necklace was a bleeding trophy.”

Jungkook’s expression of hatred mirrored your own.

When your eyes fell on the jewellery sitting on the side, his followed. Saying nothing, he reached for it, stepped behind you.

Instinctively, you turned, meeting his eyes as he came behind you in the mirror. The necklace glinted innocently in the light as he raised it above your head, fastening it out of sight at the nape of your neck.

His fingers only grazed your skin as he pulled away. And if he saw the bruises on your neck, he said nothing about them. He knew all too well how humiliating it could be to come out this side of what should have been an easy fight.

“He wanted discussions with bangtan as well,” Jungkook said, as if it was the most innocent thing in the world.

But his smirk in the mirror ignited hope in you again.

Spinning around to face him, you pretended not to notice just how close this brought you to Jungkook. You were no stranger to being a breath away from him, but it was a different experience now you weren’t trying to attack each other.

“You mean he’s been in contact with both of us?”

“Would have thought he’d be smart enough to know not to get between enemies. When our bosses find out he wants to play us like this I don’t think they’ll be too happy, do you?”

Like falling into your magnetic pull, Jungkook shifted closer still. A smirk was growing over your features, eyes glinting in the light.

Your gaze dropped slightly, a finger coming to rest on his chest. Looking up at him, you tilted your head playfully. This confidence fit you much better, more familiar than the weakness Ilwoon had inflicted on you.

“And what about how we found out?”

“I don’t think that should be of concern when he’s running for his life.”

And you fell together at last, all that time you had spent fighting fading in the work of an instant. The tongue that loved to cut you down now tasted so sweet as you indulged in his lips at last. How you had ever been able to resist, you didn’t know.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts💜

For more mafia fun (and other stuff too!), here’s my masterlist

Taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @un2-verse 

[loren91]

I’ve been talking a lot about Wilhelm lately, and that got me thinking about Simon as well. He’s a pretty complex character. The writers really made sure he’s a fully fleshed-out character and not just ‘the protagonist's love interest’. Arguably, it’s his story just as much as Wilhelm’s. So here’s a way too long analysis of him!

I talked a bit about character introduction in my post about Wilhelm, and it got me looking at how Simon is introduced to us. It’s a bit different with quite an interesting pattern that I actually didn’t think much about before. 

The first time we see Simon, it’s not from his own perspective, but from Wilhelm’s. And from that angle, Simon just radiates confidence. He’s owning that stage, responding to Vincent’s heckle by singing louder and prouder. He seems so happy and confident in his own skin, very much the opposite of how Wilhelm is feeling at that moment. No wonder he was drawn to Simon from the very start. Though from this, Wilhelm kinda glorifies Simon and sets up expectations of him that are far from realistic.

Next, it’s August’s pov. When he, Nils and Vincent are speculating on how to get drinks for the party. Simon walks by, and in that moment he doesn’t look as confident anymore, does he? He’s keeping his head down because he wants to get away from these bullies. Here, it’s made clear to us that he’s an outsider at school, due to being from a working-class family. So at first, August believes he can push Simon around however he likes because he’s of a higher status. 

THEN we finally get Simon's own perspective. His first spoken words being “Simon. My name is Simon”, a really nice touch btw. August approaches him about the party and we can see the expression of pure disgust on Simon’s face. He’s not remotely interested in helping August or going to any dumb party of his, because why would he? August and his henchmen are bullies and he has no reason yet to believe Wilhelm would be any different. So he just scoffs and walks away. Until he finds other reasons to take up the offer of course.

So we don’t get to know him properly within the first minute he’s on screen like we did with Wilhelm, but rather he’s presented to us bit by bit throughout the first episode, this establishes that he’s quite an elusive character. He’s reserved and guarded enough to not share all of himself with anyone. Not even to his loved ones. That way, every character has their own perception of him, and a lot of the drama is created when he breaks those perceptions.

While he may come off as nonchalant and self-assured sometimes, I believe this confidence is mainly situational and often used as a defence mechanism when he’s annoyed, hurt or angry. He has some trust issues, which is understandable considering the trauma he must be carrying from his father. 

He wants to be a dependable, loyal and trustworthy person, even if his circumstances can make that difficult to achieve sometimes. He wants to be better than his father. He’s very protective and caring for the people he loves, even to the point where he will sacrifice his own wants and needs to take care of them. He doesn’t prioritise himself. That’s why the end when he breaks up with Wilhelm is so rewarding. Because he finally lays down some boundaries and voices his own needs. 

Simon can be assertive in arguments but rarely resort to aggressive hostility, unless he’s pushed to his limit. He has so much patience with August and his excuses for not paying him back, but after asking for the money in a reasonable manner several times over, he’s so sick of being pushed around that he snaps and physically attacks August. (Again with August and bringing out the worst in people) Judging by Rosh and Ayub’s reaction, this is not the kind of behaviour they would expect from Simon and they make sure to tell him as much, leaving him feeling ashamed of his actions. 

Then there’s also Micke and how he keeps going back there, despite knowing full well he’s betraying Sara’s trust. Sara has a tendency to see everything in black and white. Micke did something bad, therefore he’s a bad person. But Simon just can’t think like that. He still loves his father, despite their history. Seeing someone you love hurt themselves like that is really tough, and while Simon knows he should stay away to avoid getting hurt, he’s still very much controlled by his emotions and can’t help but hope Micke will change. This is a direct parallel to his relationship with Wilhelm, whom he knows can hurt him badly, yet he can’t stay away.

Simon must have known from the very beginning that getting involved with Wilhelm would be a very bad idea. Before he starts singing in ep 1, he sneaks a little glance in Wilhelm's direction. Probably he already was attracted to Wilhelm at that point but didn’t want to admit it, considering how he talks about him with his friends later in the episode. Also, how he went to the party but then walks away when Wilhelm first approaches him. It seems to me like he’s fighting the attraction, but gives into it gradually, and then the movie night was his breaking point. After that, he’s particularly sweet around Wilhelm. He’s so happy when they are together, with bright smiles and giggles. He’s easily flustered and gets all nervous when Wilhelm is being forward. And cares deeply for Wilhelm, offering comfort when he’s hurting. Even though he will let Wilhelm know when he’s unhappy with his actions, Simon is rather quick to forgive when Wilhelm expresses remorse because, just like with his father, he wants to believe Wilhelm can be better. 

The argument in ep 5 says a lot about them both, but generally, it’s another display of Simon’s defence mechanisms. While Wilhelm wants to talk things through for reassurance, Simon wants nothing more than to just leave. Wilhelm raises his voice and slams his hand against the piano, Simon just gives him some sass and then walks away. His reluctance to speak to Wilhelm after he’s been hurt is his way to protect himself from further harm. He will not approach others to ask for help or comfort when he’s feeling vulnerable. Luckily, he has some wonderful, attentive people in his life to support him.

I would love to see Simon be more open and ask for the comfort and affection he needs in the next season. Him setting the pace for his and Wilhelm’s relationship in the future would be a really sweet way to display their growth as characters.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

I don’t want to repeat what’s already been said very well by @krokonoko in this post, but let’s talk about the opening voiceover in Dune because it is such a good example of how POV in film creates meaning.

In terms of its narrative purpose, this voiceover is a pretty standard exposition dump that introduces us to Arrakis, its colonized state and the fact that it’s being fought over by the various imperial powers of the galaxy because it’s the sole source of an incredibly valuable resource.

As @krokonoko​ points out, previous adaptations of Dune gave this piece of exposition to Princess Irulan, the daughter of the emperor and Paul’s future wife. So not only are we hearing the story from the perspective of an outsider and a colonizer, but on a metatextual level, Irulan’s narration plays a specific role within the storytelling of Dune.

In the book, most chapters are preceded by a short passage from something written by Princess Irulan in-world, looking back at the events that we are watching unfold in the main timeline of the story. We’re supposed to recognize that her version of events is history written by the victors; we’re supposed to notice its role as propaganda. So allowing her to narrate our introduction to Arrakis and to this story as a whole is...not a neutral choice.

Villeneuve’s Dune flips this around completely and has Chani tell us the story instead. Even if we don’t know who’s speaking right away, we know from the first sentence that we are being told about Arrakis from the point of view of one of its indigenous people, and we are being told the story of its colonization from the point of view of the colonized. Our first view of Arrakis is from the surface, not from space, and not as a resource to be exploited, or a political prize to be won, or a dangerous and hostile place to be conquered, but as a someone’s beautiful and beloved home.

(There’s a side point to be made about how so many people talk about Arrakis as a hostile and inhospitable place without mentioning that it was deliberately kept inhospitable in the service of colonial extraction; we learn that the planet could have been terraformed to be more suited to human habitation, but this would have decreased spice production, so it didn’t happen.)

But! We don’t stop there. We don’t just get introduced to Arrakis passively as a beautiful place that’s being ravaged by colonialism. We see that there’s resistance.

I really love this series of shots not just because we see that the colonized are not just passively accepting their subjugation, but for the camera placement: low to the ground among the fighters, as if we’re embedded with them. And, if we know who’s who in the movie, we see that Chani, who has been telling us this story, is active in the resistance as well, so it becomes a story she is telling us to explain why they are fighting, and to get us, the audience, on their side. Which is a really nice inversion of the colonizer/invader way of telling the story which often boils down to “those crazy natives who are just attacking us for no reason when we’re just here trying to help them/civilize them/take advantage of the natural resources they’re obviously not using!!”

This little prologue is only about two minutes long, but it does SO much narrative heavy lifting in terms of framing how we see the rest of the story. Getting this version of the story first (ending with Chani’s “who will our next oppressors be?” right before we cut to Paul) primes us to view everyone from House Atreides in a certain light, even if we’re not quite conscious of it at first. Which is important, because the leaders of House Atreides definitely view themselves as the Good Colonizers, who are going to rule by co-opting making alliances with local leaders instead of using only brute force like those savage Harkonnens. And even though we do see most of the rest of the story from a colonizer’s-eye view, the prologue gives us a just little reminder that we are not intended to see these people as reliable narrators of their own benevolence. Which I think is thematically important if you know anything about where the story goes.

It’s such a good example of how POV in film (both metaphorically in terms of who is telling the story, whose eyes we see the world through and who the narrative give agency to; and literally in terms of where you put the camera) is always a choice that has meaning, and how defaulting to what might seem like the “obvious” POV is actually a political decision that affects what you are saying with your story whether you’re conscious of it or not. Who we choose to tell the story matters.

[shea-writes]

Welcome to Equivocation, a work-in-progress interactive novel by me (Shea). Here is some information on this novel. Keep in mind that this novel is still in development, so many things are subject to change. If you have any feedback, or general ask regarding to the plot and/or the cast, I’m quite happy to receive them :)

Updates:

Cleaned up the codes for chapter 1

Added a bit of content

Made Julie and Hamish gender-flippable ROs

What to expect next:

Character portraits

Demo update

You are just one job away from completing your indentured service. It is supposed to be an easy job, for all you need to do is to retrieve a package from an independent supplier and deliver it to the headquarter of Dreamscape on Mars. Little did you know, the ‘package’ you need to retrieve is actually a living person. Then all the security drones in the area become hostile and you have to run for your dear life. Worse yet, after your escape, you discover that you are implicated and there is a sizeable bounty on your head for this botched-up job. Luckily, your co-worker is still with you, and that mysterious ‘package’ proves to be an invaluable crewmate. With them and a newly-acquainted doctor, the four of you leave the Jupiter Terminal in search for answers.

Note: I will use the default pronoun for two of the gender-flippable ROs for the ease of introduction below, but in game you can switch them around :)

Captain Julie/Jules Wells

Your co-worker and a talented pilot hired by the Dreamscape. She is exactly like the adventurers in any of the popular serials, with her reckless behavior, and the undying love for a bottle of good booze. The only thing you find jarring is that she is in the employ of Dreamscape, the company famous for its strict adherence to standards and policies. Someone like her could not possibly want a life like this, but Julie just shrugs and says that it is nice to have a stable job sometimes.

Appearance: Julie is an athletically-built brunette with beige skin and a pair of expressive hazel eyes. She is often seen wearing her lucky white vest and a pair of sturdy leather boots. Her favorite weapons are plasma sabers and sniper rifles, and it is fascinating to watch her fight with both - she can be fast like a pouncing cheetah in action and quiet like a slithering viper in wait for her prey.

Chi They are the ‘package’ you are supposed to deliver to the Dreamscape headquarter. Although they appear rather naive due to years of slumbering in a hibernation pod, Chi is frighteningly intelligent. They have a device installed on his nape to let him manipulate the cyberspace using raw codes, and for the love of Mother Earth, you cannot figure out how they are not insane yet (or maybe they already are, seeing that how strange they act sometimes). Unfortunately, like many other tragic prodigies, they suffer from a rare case of intermittent black outs, so they require constant monitoring from doctors.

Appearance: Chi is a youthful person with androgynous features and a pair of striking green eyes. After sometime of travelling, they manage to grow out a mop of red hair which is later styled into a slick-back look. Due to the strange illness, they wear a black bio suit with tubes and monitoring gadgets attached all the time, but that does not seem to deter them from helping you out. Thanks to the connector installed at the back of their neck, Chi can gain control of digital devices easily and short-circuit them.

Doctor Hamish/Yvaine McGuire Doctor McGuire is an outspoken secessionist living in the lower deck of of Jupiter Terminal, who happens to be the only medical personnel you can find to look after Chi without leaking your whereabouts to authorities. He is generally kind and understanding, but that does not mean that he would not use extreme measures to achieve his goals.

Appearance: Although Hamish is only in his mid-thirties, he already has silver threads of white hair near his temples due to prolonged period of overworking. With a ponytail made of messy golden locks, hollowed cheeks, and the old, shabby lab coat he wears, Hamish is no different from other denizens in the lower deck of spacer’s habitat. Like most of the spacers who cannot afford calcium pills and sun bathing, he appears lanky and pale, but underestimating him would be a huge mistake. He is deadly in combat with his surgical knives and taser guns.

Happy Adventuring!

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

15/50 Touches

hugging each other

Bronn x female!reader

Word Count: 935

Note: Highkey I’ve only watched through season 5, but like, let’s pretend this is the AU that it is, and this encounter happened sometime before everything went completely sideways. K? K.

You’d met a lot of people during your travels across Westeros, and almost all of them had been in passing. Nobles, you’d run into during your time playing guard for Genna Lannister. Everyone else was just on the road to some place or another. Of all, your personal favorite mildly-hostile encounter had been with Brienne of Tarth in a sketchy little inn at the heart of the country.

She hated you on the spot. You assumed there was a smear of blood somewhere on your black leather armor that you missed the last time you’d taken a dip in a river that tipped her off that you were more of a combatant than the average traveling woman. Or maybe it was the way you were hunched over the table, eating alone like you were one of the men that passed through places like this. Honestly, it was probably the knives that were tucked into your belt and the sword that kept knocking into the bottom of the table when you shifted. She’d had some terse words to say to a sellsword like you, but by the end of the encounter (and ensuing not-so-friendly spar to show off both of your skills) you’d earned a grudging respect from the woman.

Plus, you found it rather amusing to consider the fact that you were essentially her shadow self: great fighter, keep your word (for the right price), and constantly mocked by random men that thought a woman couldn’t do their job as well as they could.

This grudging respect (from her, you adored the woman as much as you loved riling her up) bloomed to a strange friendship when you ended up traveling with her and Pod to . . . somewhere. You hadn’t been paying attention to their talks of a destination; you’d been a bit distracted by the handsome stableboy that was eyeing you up at the time. 

And that friendship led you to absolutely laughing your ass off when the pair of you ran into none other than Jamie fucking Lannister and Ser Bronn of the Blackwater one the road, headed opposite directions. As soon as you saw them, your giggling started and it didn’t stop even after you were laughing so hard that you literally fell off your horse.

“Are you alright?” you heard Jamie ask.

“She’s finally lost it,” Brienne’s tired response came from next to you. “How are you, Ser Jamie?”

“I’ve been well, Lady Brienne,” was his automatic response. You could hear the smile in his voice. The polite way the friends greeted each other had your peals of laughter going even harder.

“Pod, would you mind holding her horse so it doesn’t run away?” Brienne asked. 

You heard boots hitting the ground moments before Jamie asked, “Bronn, where are you going?”

The footsteps paused long enough for Bronn’s gruff voice to indignantly say, “Where do you fuckin’ think?” Then as soon as he was close enough, you felt his hand grasp your arm. “Up you get, giggles.”

As soon as you were upright, you threw your arms around his neck in a tight hug and allowed yourself to be pulled into a heated kiss, smiling the whole time. You loved the way his arms felt around you. “Missed you.”

He shamelessly grabbed a handful of your ass and muttered, “Missed you too, sweetheart,” before turning to face your now shocked companions.

“Uh . . . Do either of you care to explain what the hells is going on?” Jamie prodded, looking more than a little amused despite the confusion.

“I assume Tall, Blonde, and Honorable and Ser Magic Cock already know this, but,” you snorted with renewed laughter during Bronn’s introduction of you.

“And how do you know each other?” It was Podrick that asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” you teased, knowing full well that it was certainly not obvious.

Bronn’s hand slipped inside the collar of your chest armor to retrieve the chain--and therefore ring--that hung there. “This is my wife.”

“Your . . . what?” Brienne looked totally scandalized. “But . . .”

“You and that stable boy last night!” 

“And Bronn, they had to chase you out of the brothel with a broom in the last town!”

Which, of course, only sent you into yet another fit of giggles while you laced your fingers with your husbands. Since it was clear that none of you were likely to depart this little spot anytime tonight and it honestly wasn’t a bad place to camp for the night, it was unanimously decided that you’d be sleeping here. The entire time setting up and making dinner was spent explaining that, yes you and Bronn had been married for quite some time, and yes, the pair of you loved your jobs and understood that sometimes you got a little hard up on the road, so you were fine with sleeping around as long as you weren’t an idiot about it. Then the discussions of where everyone was going came up, and that thoroughly moved the conversation on right up until Brienne asked the question that had probably been bothering her since the moment you fell off your horse.

“Why were you laughing so hard earlier, anyway?”

Just at the reminder, you snorted again. Looking over at your husband, you asked, “You wanna say it or shall I?”

“Considering even I don’t know what the fuck you’re on about . . .”

“Isn’t it obvious? Brienne and I are just the female versions of you two!”

Which took a second for the others to understand, but once it registered . . . Let’s just say there was probably no wildlife within a mile of the little camp after the uproar.

[sn1ckie]

okay because people wanted me to talk more about the motifs in each family in DNDADS, so let’s start easy with the stamper family, and then stepping up

major spoilers for all of dndads s1-s2/atmod

Starting with my main man. the one and only. the love of my life, Stud Stampler. He willingly gave up his dreams of perusing an acting career to raise his nephew willy. Stud was across the country and had no reason to claim sole responsibility over willy, other than familial ties. stud put his dreams on pause to get a real job to support a kid that doesn’t even like him. he then lost said job by stepping up and protecting “the little guy” on set. he stepped up and banished the doodler despite him going insane.

next willy. willy isn’t directly obvious. he’s the outlier, the only downright abusive parent in the stampler family (other than willy’s own father. i can’t remember if he was ever abusive or just an alcoholic). after death, willy was offered a way to live forever and stepped up. he brought together the omega daddies and presumably made the plan to get the s1 kids. he doesn’t cleanly fit into this motif, but i wanted to add this in.

now ron, the stepdad who STEPPED UP. even when Terry jr. resented Ron, Ron wanted to protect him throughout the adventure. because of Ron’s past and history of abuse, he does not communicate his feelings and emotions effectively to terry jr, creating a huge divide between stepdad and stepson. even with Terry's meanness and outright hostility, ron still tries to be there for him (even though he’s a little emotionally detached). Ron may not be the step day terry wanted, but he’s the one he got. Ron probably knows deep down that he will never replace the void left by terry sr in both terry he and Samantha, but he will definitely step up and try. We can even infer that by hints left in season 2, that D.a.d.d.i.e.s was either rons idea or ron taking a leading role in the company. after the sky turned red and the doodler was released, ron stepped up and created a whole new company to capture and detain the doodlers alkylates. ron was even in the original d.a.d.d.i.e.s introduction tape.

similar to Ron, Terry Jr (I'm just going to call him TJ) became a step dad to a less than willing stepchild. even though he can relate to what scary is feeling and going through, he never once disregarded any of her boundaries. when TJ asked what scary wanted, and she said for him to go away, he did without hesitation. even though he wanted to talk to his stepdaughter (for what could have been the very last time) he respected that she didn’t and left. and after the s1 dads disappearance/death, TJ (and the other kids but shhhhhh) stepped up to be the leaders of a whole secret company.

now scary. she doesn’t fit this motif just quite yet. to be fair, it’s still early in the season, but scary seems to reject the idea of stepping up. she’s rebellious and actively rejects any leadership roles that present themselves to scary. her patron is also willy, the only other stampler that doesn’t fit cleanly into this motif. by embracing willy’s power she completely opposes TJ and the rest of the stamper family. willy is everything the rest of the stamplers are not. and by drawing power from willy she rejects the idea of her being a stampler, for even a second. maybe later in her arc and story, she allows herself to be brave and step up

[sokkastyles]

I've been seeing a lot of "criticism" of Iroh lately that implies or outright states that Iroh failed Zuko because he didn't directly tell him that Ozai was abusive, or push harder for Zuko to see the truth. I've also been asked privately what I think of these metas, and I have to state that this seems to me to be a fundamental misunderstanding of how abuse works.

We see Zuko throughout the series deny that Ozai is abusive, believing that if he captures the Avatar, he will gain Ozai's love. This is a coping mechanism that many victims of abuse employ to deal with their situation, and it's one of the reasons it's so hard for victims to get help or leave abusive situations. Many victims do not want to see themselves as victims, and defend their abusers because they don't want to admit the pain and helplessness of the true situation.

We see Zuko be defensive of Ozai whenever Iroh gets close to telling him that he should not be trying to get back in Ozai's good graces. In season one when Zuko goes into Fire Nation waters, Iroh becomes incredibly afraid for Zuko and tells him he should not be breaking the parameters of his banishment. Zuko dismisses this and says he is sure the Firelord will understand, but Iroh says Ozai is "not the understanding type." Zuko completely ignores Iroh's words.

In other places, we see Zuko actually become hostile to Iroh when he tries to prevent Zuko from going back to Ozai. Because Zuko needs to believe that he can get back in his father's good graces, he would rather blame Iroh for trying to tell him that the relationship isn't good than admit that his father hurt him, and that it wasn't a justified punishment that he can atone for to regain his father's love and respect, it was abuse.

Iroh is put in the complicated position of trying to steer Zuko away from his abuser, but he also knows that because Zuko is hostile to attempts to get him to turn against Ozai, he risks alienating Zuko completely if he pushes him too hard, and indeed, we almost see that happen several times in the series.

We see this happen in the first episode of book two, with the introduction of Azula and her promise to take Zuko home.

Zuko: [Packing belongings.] We're going home! After three long years, it's unbelievable!

Iroh: [Staring out the window thoughtfully.] It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret anything.

This time, Zuko does not ignore Iroh, but becomes hostile the more Iroh pushes him to see the truth about his father.

Zuko: Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him! [Irritated.] He cares about me!

Iroh: [Turns to face Zuko and holds out arms in gesture.] I care about you! And if Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine.

And here we see the root of Zuko's hostility. He desperately needs to believe that his father really does care about him. Iroh, of course, is worried about Zuko getting hurt, but Zuko can't admit that his father hurt him and might do so again.

Zuko: [Turns his back to Iroh.] You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!

Iroh: Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem.

Zuko: [Turns to face Iroh.] I think you are exactly what you seem! A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!

Zuko does some typical things in this conversation that victims in abusive relationships do. One is to justify the relationship by telling the person who is on the outside that they just don't "understand" the relationship and how special it is. Zuko tells Iroh that he does not know how his father really feels about him. He also accuses Iroh of jealousy, which also feeds on the idea that Iroh just doesn't understand how special Zuko's relationship with his father is, and because Zuko knows that Iroh sees him as something of a surrogate son, he can tell himself that Iroh is just envious of Zuko and Ozai's father-son relationship.

After their fight, Zuko decides to go to Azula alone. Iroh, knowing the danger, chooses to follow him, but is immediately prepared to get Zuko out of there if he had to, and he did have to.

This is the first time Zuko chooses to leave Iroh over choosing Ozai, and it doesn't last long. The second time, though, is not too many episodes later.

In early season two, Zuko begins to use his Blue Spirit identity to steal things which he brings to Iroh, trying to gain for them some measure of what they lost. Iroh tries to tell Zuko that there is still hope, and that he doesn't need material possessions and wealth to be happy. Zuko insists that the only way he can regain his honor is to find the Avatar, and Iroh tells Zuko that he's not sure that even capturing the Avatar would fix all their problems.

This is the second time that Iroh tries to tell Zuko that following his father's orders won't fix what is wrong with their relationship. Zuko's response is to sink into a depression, then eventually decide to leave Iroh a second time.

Zuko: Uncle ... [Switch to a close-up of Iroh with Zuko on the background.] I thought a lot about what you said.

Iroh: [Iroh's sad expression clears up as he hears Zuko talk.] You did? Good, good.

Zuko: It's helped me realize something. We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together. [Iroh's brightened expression quickly disappears again.] I need to find my own way.

Rather than abandoning trying to gain his father's approval, Zuko comes to the conclusion that it's Iroh, the one who is telling him that he shouldn't be trying to seek Ozai's favor, who is holding him back and preventing him from getting it.

After Zuko leaves this time, Iroh lets him go but follows close behind, and is there to give Zuko a hand, literally and metaphorically, when he falls in "The Chase." Before that, Iroh tells Toph that he knows Zuko doesn't want him around right now, but that he'll still be there for him in the ways he can.

Iroh chooses to give Zuko space because otherwise he risks alienating him further, but provides support for Zuko when Zuko needs it. Which is sometimes the best thing you can do when someone won't leave an abusive relationship.

Zuko is not a small child that Iroh can force to stay away from Ozai, nor does Iroh want to force Zuko to do things. Zuko is a teenager and also has a degree of autonomy that real teenagers in the real world don't have. If Iroh doesn't give Zuko space, he risks pushing him more towards Ozai, and he knows it.

The one time Zuko does become harsh with Zuko is the third time Zuko leaves Iroh in book two to pursue Ozai's favor, when Iroh finds Zuko under Lake Laogai. The show itself makes the comparison to when Zuko left Iroh at the North Pole, but seeing it in relation to the times Zuko leaves Iroh in book two is an underrated aspect, I think.

At least, at the North Pole, Iroh knew that Zuko was leaving, and Zuko had promised to come back. What makes Zuko's pursuit of Appa in Ba Sing Se different is that, just like the other two times Zuko left Iroh in book two, Zuko and Iroh had had a fight beforehand about Zuko's future, where Iroh tried to push him towards abandoning his search for the Avatar, and thus, his relationship with Ozai.

When Iroh finds Zuko under Ba Sing Se, they have what is their worst fight so far. Iroh yells at Zuko and also makes it clear that he is worried about his safety, and Zuko concedes that there is no other course of action than to listen to Iroh, but he goes from snarling in anger to looking defeated as Iroh encourages him to throw away his Blue Spirit mask.

This is what leads Zuko to his spiritual sickness at the end of the episode. This is hard for Zuko because he again has to confront the reality that pursuing his relationship with his father is unhealthy, and he has to be completely dependent on Iroh. Zuko physically cannot run away this time, and thus goes through several scary experiences. If he hadn't gotten sick, though, I think it's possible that he would have tried to run away again.

The option to run back towards his father presents itself later, at the end of the season, after Zuko has already made strides towards accepting Iroh's love. In part, choosing to side with Azula and going back to the Fire Nation is Zuko giving in to those unresolved feelings for his father, and the fact that he'd been forced to rely on Iroh is part of what pushes him in the opposite direction. Being captured and forced to rely on Iroh for rescue also doesn't help that. Iroh is, of course, protecting Zuko, but Zuko processes this as feeling helpless and that leads him to feel resentment at Iroh.

Of course, it isn't Iroh who put Zuko in that position of helplessness, it was Ozai, in a broader sense, and Azula in a more immediate sense. But admitting this also means Zuko has to face the one thing he isn't ready to face, that his father's treatment of him was wrong, and that that relationship isn't worth salvaging.

On the flipside of people saying that Iroh didn't try hard enough to convince Zuko that his father was abusive, I also see people saying that Iroh pushed Zuko too hard, and I have to wonder what these people think Iroh should have done, and I don't think they understand how complex and delicate a situation like this is. As well as ignoring that a lot of what happened under Ba Sing Se was out of Iroh's control, especially considering that he was captured by the Dai Li for most of it.

[writeshite]

Ok so i had to get this thought out of my head. What if Eddie and Venom had a boyfriend that was a.....tall beefy four armed alien......ok I'll leave

Headcanons for Eddie and Venom With a Four-Armed Alien Boyfriend With a Tail

Pairings:

Eddie Brock/Venom x Male!Reader

Words: 835

Author's Note:

I am living for the fact that the collective mindset seems to revolve around Eddie having a giant beefy boyfriend. We live for that shit.

We all know Eddie and Venom are certified himbos, so a tall beefy four-armed alien with a tail is a dream come true to them. You met how many people met; you broke into his apartment, and they found you asleep on their couch. Now, Venom, surprisingly, was the voice of reason.

“Eddie, there is a stranger in our apartment, and he’s eaten through half of our meat!”

See, Eddie wasn’t listening; he was focusing more on your tail, which was swishing back and forth as you curled up the pillow in your arms. That and also you were bleeding purple blood on their couch. Despite Venom’s protests, Eddie crept towards you, reaching out to inspect you. Without warning, your eyes shot open, and he found himself pinned underneath you.

You growled at him, sharp teeth, hissing, slit pupils, claws digging into his skin as your tail applied pressure to his legs. ‘Still think this was a good idea?’ Venom’s mocking question was followed by a shut up from Eddie.

“Hey..so...you were bleeding, and I just wanted to help and if you could maybe stop squeezing me like a pincushion.” he gasped out that last part, as your hold on him had grown tighter. Now, at this point, Eddie should’ve let Venom take over, but some part of his mind likened you with a cat, so like he would with a cat, he reached out and scratched the back of your ear. The next thing he knew, he had a massive pound of muscle fall on top of him.

Yeah, Eddie saw this giant four-armed injured person and his mind went cat. Venom was unhappy about this; he complained the whole time as Eddie wrapped your injuries, reluctantly helping to move you from the couch to the bed, where there was more room.

After that, he went out to replace the meat you’d gone through; this time, when he came back to his apartment, it was to you standing in his apartment looking around in confusion. As soon as he came within arms’ reach, you lifted him off the ground, which Venom took as hostility. The symbiote surfaced and was growling something fierce, which in perspective was kind of like a chihuahua growling at a husky. You paid him no mind, doing the same thing you did to Eddie; you picked Venom up.

“You’re a funny-looking thing.” you muttered, “Don’t think I’ve seen one of your kind for decades.”

Venom struggled in your grasp, squirming as you poked him. “Put me down!”

You ignored him in favor of continuing whatever it was you were doing, when Venom hissed at you and bared his teeth, you hissed right back, and truth be told, the symbiote kind of found it hot.

‘What happened to him being dangerous?’ Eddie taunted.

Venom squinted his eyes, ignoring the taunt and all the others as he let himself be maneuvered by you into a semi-cuddle, hug thing.

After some introductions and some explanations, the three of you had come to understand each other. You’d been injured while trying to escape SHIELD and kind of just broken into the first place you saw, which happened to be Eddie and Venom’s place.

With all that down, there was only one thing to do, help you hide from SHIELD. This was mainly out of a sense of obligation to help; it wasn’t like Eddie and Venom were already kind of in love.

They were so in love. Maybe that was their problem; they fell in love too quickly; one look at your arms and Eddie was thinking of a thousand different things, not limited to but including if you had double the number of arms, did you also have double the number of dicks?

This thought often haunted him, as he sneaked what he hoped were subtle glances, while Venom told him he was not in any way being subtle. As if Venom could talk, Eddie was 99% sure the symbiote was thinking it too.

“Yes,” you muttered one morning as you walked into the kitchen.

Eddie lowered the bread in his hand and turned to you in confusion, “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I do have two dicks.”

Eddie felt his entire face go beet red; how did you know? He didn’t say anything, did he? Venom didn’t say anything unless he did, but he wouldn’t.

“No, he wouldn’t,” you said, “You didn’t have to; I can hear both your thoughts running in there.” You came up behind Eddie, pressing your body against his; Eddie gulped when he felt the distinct bulge of something big. “If you like, I could give you a personal showcase.”

Eddie woke up a couple of hours later to the afternoon sun and snuggled up close between you and Venom. Later on, the symbiote would regale him with the details, which summed up came down to; Eddie got railed, Venom got railed, and you left enough marks on his body, he might as well be a crime scene.

Bonjour my Croissants 🥐

Look, at this point I think we can all agree that Eddie and Venom will swoon over anyone whose taller, beefier and can deadlift them. Remember Requests are Open.

Thank you for reading my shite. Stay Hydrated.

[slowlydifferentbluebird]

Alright, here’s another prompt for a Mafia!Irene & Seulgi headcanon:

You’ve been best friends with Irene and Seulgi as far as you could remember. You’ve done everything together, from you sticking up for them when you were only kids to graduating high school with them.

But strange things have been going on between them. They’ve recently turned hostile towards one another. Even worse, you’ve occasionally caught them trying to start fights in public. You’ve also noticed how they seem to shoot you looks, only for them to become flustered when you look back at them.

And now strange black vehicles have begun to follow your every move. Unbeknownst to you, they are, in fact, the daughters of the heads of the two biggest mafia families in the city. And they seem to have fallen head over heels for you. But unfortunately, things seem to be heading towards a flashpoint between the two, with you caught in the middle of it.

Whatever shall you do? Will you attempt to reconcile their friendship, or will you reciprocate one of their feelings while leaving the other in heartbreak?

*****

Also, I really liked your response on my last prompt, it was really well written! But hopefully you’ll also find this prompt to be somewhat interesting! Once again, please and thank you!

Red Velvet headcanon - Mafia AU - Reader being fight over by Mafia!Irene&Seulgi

Requests are open

Hello and oh my God! This prompt is so good written, probably you could be a writer yourself. Like if usually I tend to write introduction in my works, this time you made for me, so everyone look at the request if you're searching for an incipit. Also, thank you for your feedback on my last work, this is the fuel that that the writers need.

Mafia!Irene&Seulgi X Citizien!GN! Reader

Doubts

"How did I get into this?". This was the question that has tormented you the last few days. Days in which you choose to not see neither Irene nor Seulgi.

You saw them last time exactly a week ago and it didn't go well...to say the least. The tones has become far sharper and the personal attacks become more virulent.

And that really pissed you off. You were a chill person in general, but seeing your bestfriends attacking each other in this way made you angry. So you took your things and left them there.

Both tried to contact you by phone, but the answer was the same: no. In fact you need some time and space from them, 'cause you needed to think about the situation.

And honestly you needed some advices too, so instead of seeing with Irene and Seulgi, you decided to meet your other group of friends: Wendy, Joy and Yeri.

In fact the trio used to hang out with you three in highschool, even with them being younger.

You explained them the situation. They seemed thoughtful, they looked at each other nervously. "Did you really miss anything, Y/N?" asked Joy. "I'm clueless", you answered.

All three of them sighed. "Y/N, we need to tell you something...", Wendy started. What happened next was them explaining to you facts the were clear for everyone, but you.

Irene and Seulgi daughters of the the two biggest mafia family of the town? Both being in love with you? You felt like your brain was going to explode for the quantity of news.

But how could you not see all of that? The answer of Yeri was "Y/N, you're a really smart person, but I swear that sometimes you are really naïve.". "However, nowdays mafia is not anymore the gangster things you could see in The Godfather, now it's more comparable to politics", said Wendy as your excuse.

You returned home with more doubts than before. You have always seen Irene and Seulgi as your bestfriend, but now that you knew the truth...

Thinking at Irene as your girlfriend made you so happy. And what about Seulgi as your partner? You could feel the butteflies in your stomach.

And what about the mafia stuff? It was a scary world, but, as Wendy says, it was more an economy thing than other. And then now you were more reasoning with your heart rathen than with your brain.

You can't be in that limbo forever. You needed to take a decision. You thought about it all night long, but when you woke up the next day your mind, or better, your heart has made its choice. A life-changing choice.

Final One: "My only"

You gave her appointment for lunch at the fancy restaurant you always loved, The Red Flavor.

You were anxious, so you arrived there half an hour in advance. Luckily your table was already available, so at least you could wait for her sitten.

But was her the right choice? Now that only few minutes separated you from your choice, the doubts were coming back. Yet the same doubts were gone the moment you heard her voice: "Did I make you wait long, Y/N?".

Irene was standing next to you with her usual sweet smile and her eyes full of love. She was stunning and now that you know the full truth It was impossible looking at her without falling in love.

Irene sat in front of you. "So, Y/N, what did you need to tell me? You said in chat that it regarded the situation of me, you and...Seulgi". You took a long breath before starting to talk.

"Irene, I know everything. I mean, about your families...", Irene's heart skipped a beat. Like, that was not really a secret, both her and Seulgi never hid it, but you were so oblivious about it, that there was no reason to tell you and risk to ruin your relationship.

"...and about your feelings.", now Irene's heart completely stopped for few seconds. When you realized it? Were they too evident? And what did you think about it? These and other 100 thoughts were crowding her mind.

"I pass an entire day, thinking about what to do. I mean, I love both you and Seulgi, but one thing is loving as a bestfriend, and another is loving...like I love you".

Irene couldn't believe what she heard. She only dreamed about you saying this words. Her poor heart now was beating faster than that of a horse. She could feel the dopamine expanding in all her body.

Nearly crying, she took your hand and kissed your knuckles softly. "Oh my God, Y/N, it's the best day of my life, you're making me the happiest woman alive".

You smiled at her, enjoying the moment. All the lunch was great, the food tasted better than usual, the weather was great and happiness was palpable in the air.

After the restaurant, you two went for a walk in the park, and while sitting under a big tree, you decided to tell Irene the last part of your discourse.

"Irene, there is one more thing I need to tell you. I choose you, you're the person I love, but... i'm not giving up my friendship with Seulgi.".

She listened to carefully, then crossed her arms and started thinking. "Hmm...I think that's fair. I mean, before starting to fight with her, she was my bestfriend too, and I would like to have her back. Just promise that...you will be my only, ok?".

In response to that, you kissed her passionately. She was surprised, but she didn't back down. At the end of the kiss you said "Pabo-ya, I'm already your only and I will be forever.".

Final two: "Hear the Sea"

The appointment was "tonight at the Sea". That's what you said to Seulgi when you called her few hours ago. So at the nine p.m. you were waiting on the beach, near to the old pier.

The sky, full of stars, was beautiful. The place was far from the lights of the city, but it was not dark at all, because the moonlight was quite bright.

You were watching the lightouse in the distance. Its everlasting movement was almost hypnotic.

There were only you, the light and the sound of the Sea... plus the the heavy breathing of Seulgi, "Y/N, I'm not late, right?". You looked at her. Even breathless, she was beautiful.

"Are you mad at me, Y/N? Please, don't be". How could a person so soft being the daughter of a mafia boss? She's always been one of the most gentle person that you have met. It was the first reason you wanted be her friends when you were kids.

You chuckled. "I'm not, Seulgi, don't worry. You aren't even late.", reassured, she smiled and she ran to hug you.

You sat on the sand and Seulgi did the same. "So, there is a reason if I asked you to meet you alone, and that i-", you were interrupted by your bestfriend. "Y/N, i'm so sorry for the scene of the last time. I don't know what's happening to me".

You stared at her with a raised eyebrow, "Really? Because I think to know what's happening". She gulped, "w-what do you mean?". "I mean that I'm not stupid and I'm gonna make you and Irene start a mafia war because of me".

She was beginning to panic, she never saw you so serious. She was afraid to lose you. "Please, Y/N, don't do this to me". "No? Shouldn't I? I thought that you would like to know that I want you like my girlfriend", and that said, you did to leave.

But Seulgi practically tackled you on the sand again. You were straddled by her, her hands blocking your wrists. "What did you say, Y/N? Did you like me?

"No, Seulgi, I don't like you...I love you". No more words were needed. The exactly moment you finished talking, Seulgi kissed you. The kiss was incredible, she was kissing you like she needed that, probably for a long time.

The rest of the night you just cuddled on the beach like the rest of the world didn't exist.

But it actually does. And part of It was Irene. When she heard the news, first she was furious, then became heartbroken. She closed in her room for days.

But time heals the wound, so after months and she accepted the thing and slowly you two became friends again. Years later, on the day of your marriage with Seulgi, she was sitten at the weeding table and she was truly happy for you two.

Final three: "Happily ever after"

The first thing you after you woke up was calling both of them. You invited them to have dinner at your house that evening. To avoid other scenes, you warned that both would be there.

Probably knowning that has created a sense of competion between the two girl. In fact since their arrival, they have tried to look better in your eyes.

Seulgi, the first to arrive, came in a fancy new sportcar, while Irene one minute later arrived in a white limousine, longer than your building probably. You, that have never been a fan of garish things, just rolled your eyes.

You tried to create a chill atmosphere, but the girls were on the warpath. The more time passed, the more they became meaner.

Already during the appetizers they were making mean comments to each other, but it was during the main dish that the situation degenerated.

In fact a comment by Irene has unleashed hell, "What lack of class! Like father, like daughter in that dog-eat-dog family.". "Don't you dare, bitch, your family can only clean my family shoes", responded Seulgi.

Irene didn't take well Seulgi's sentence, so in fury she thrown the contents of his glass to her. Instinctively you put yourself in the trajectory and now you were drenched. That was the drop that broke the pot.

"ENOUGH! How come you can’t be at peace like you used to be? I'm tired of this situation", your intervention was followed by silence.

Since none of the two was gonna answer, you continued, "I understand that you have feelings for me,but drag your families into the story is too much. I only want to have my bestfriends back, is that too much to ask?".

Your words were like a bucket of fresh water for them. They were so focused in conquering your heart, that they forgot about your opinion and feelings. They were so ashamed.

Irene was the first to speak "Y/N, please forgive, I was the worst bestfriend ever. And Seulgi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"I'm the one who is sorry, Irene. And Y/N, I know that we exaggerated, but please don't break our friendship.", continued Seulgi.

The rest of the dinner was full of embarrassment and shame, but at least they understood their mistakes, so till the end your anger was gone.

From the very next day the situation seemed to return normal. Even the residual sparks over time have disappeared.

You were so happy. It was a miracle. A storybook ending. So as it's written in Fairy tales: you three were happily ever after...maybe.

[diviner-alva]

You guys know what? Something I noticed and just love is that even if Kotallo is the only one at the base Beta doesn't mention talking to (that made me sad but understandable he's pretty scary and serious) he and Beta have a lot of intricate things? Let me elaborate: twice in the game an npc says to Aloy she can't save the world on her own, and the scenes that followed the statements were the introductions of both characters.

Kotallo show up seconds after Fashav says "A task so important and it's just the two of you? Take it from someone who aspires to be a diplomat, allies are essential". The camera focus completely on him they were not subtle, and we just get him so much later in the game too.

Beta appears minutes after Sylens says at the proving lab "Maybe saving the world is too big a task for any one person, even you", then Aloy finds MINERVA and replies "Still think I can't save the world on my own?" then again seconds later Beta appears on screen. Also the camera closes up on her like when it did in Kotallo's introduction.

But what I noticed is that they were hostile with Aloy at first, they weren't on the best of terms. Kotallo was frustrated with (everything actually) having to escort an outlander to his homeland to deal with the commander that exiled him. Beta is frustrated with Aloy's lack of progress and she panicked fearing she would be captured again. Not to mention they three share similar backstory and traumas, isolation, being sneered at by other people, shunned, stared at, being the object of other people's disgust... we all know the angst very well (Kotallo has a plus with Aloy, the Embassy was the Proving 2.0)

And I noticed indirectly how Kotallo and Beta are connected to a few things about Aloy, the introductions, trauma and backstory. But now you see, Beta gave Aloy the sunwing override, the one she used to save the tenakth and fly on the wings of the ten which made Kotallo be just in awe because he imagined this feat since he was a child. If he ever gets to fly on one would be something of extreme significance for him. But this wasn't even the primordial thing, it was the attack at the Zenith base, they only got their army because Kotallo blew up the regulator so Beta could inject HEPHAESTUS into the printer matrix. Without them they probably wouldn't have survived the Zenith base with the overwhelming amount of specter drones.

And what's amazing is how they grow, how Aloy help them to have confidence in themselves and how they are helping Aloy to rely on others. Kotallo learns to just be himself even after creating the mechanical arm, he wants Aloy there to test it with him. Beta at GEMINI did so much to capture HEPHAESTUS and Aloy gave her the confidence to do it. It's easy to see later how Aloy admires and trust both of them, the plan she made with Beta and Kotallo is the ultimate proof of that. There's also these beautiful exchanges they have with her:

K: I do not know what you have planned, but it doesn't matter. All that remains is to follow you to the end, whatever that may be.

A: Thank you, Kotallo. I'm glad all this brought us together.

K: You brought us together. And I'm grateful too.

*Focus recording at the basement*

B: Thank you, Aloy. You've been my shelter. And I would risk it all again to be by your side.

A: I'm sorry Beta, but I'm getting you back no matter what.

And also! With Beta, Aloy won't feel pressured into living up to Elisabet, which gave her so many fucking anxiety amongst other issues, she can be her own person and learn how to be herself (see what Kotallo said after the arm? "The rest of the time, I will simply be myself"). And let's say here that Kotallo is one of the few to now put Aloy on a pedestal, he minds his words with her, after she flew he told her how he felt instead of saying she was a deity (and even that made her a little uncomfortable). But let's mention that she doesn't mind the trophies he puts at the base of their victories together, she also didn't seem bothered when he defended her in front of Tekotteh.

I just like to think of how they are extremely important in the game, I just love so much this subtle things and yes I am using that as a reason to believe they won't die in the next game okay? I think they are one of the most complex characters with a lot of depth and would be a waste to make them like this just to kill off in the end. And plus they are the ones that seem to resonate with Aloy better, I think she needs them just as they needed her.

[bellafragolina]

Babes, babes, babes hear me out, Emmet’s s/o who’s back from Hisui, and of course he hears the stories on how dangerous it was, but then he accidentally walks in on his s/o changing and losing it at the sight of just how many scars they were given from the terrain and violent Pokémon

- Jes 🤠

Howdy, partner! Welcome back! Also, *bawls* Poor Emmet! This hurts so good, Jes, how are you so good at this??

🍓🍓🍓

Emmet hates letting you out of his sight sometimes. He gets twitchy, being away from you for so long. You've only been back for a week, and you've only been out of the hospital for a day. Your malnutrition and slow introduction back into the foods and sounds of the present was slow going, but you were home. And now Emmet can hardly stand to let you go to the bathroom by yourself.

Going to work is even harder.

The second he's back, he makes tracks towards the bedroom, where he hears you humming to yourself. Not wanting to scare you, he slows his roll, easing open the cracked bedroom door to see you taking off your shirt, pjs laid out on your shared bed.

Emmet freezes.

Your back is covered in scars. There are burns covering your arms, claw marks that disappear beneath your waist bad, and various thick scars along your spine. He stares at you, at your healed injuries that had to have been painful in the moment.

He doesn't realize he's crying until a sob crawls its way out of his lungs.

You whip around, clutching your shirt to your chest, only to drop it when you see Emmet. Your Emmet, who just cries harder when he sees the three, large claw marks that drag down your sternum, towards your tummy. He crumbles to the floor, heaving on his grief, his devastation that you were alone and injured so often while he was here, wallowing in self-pity.

"Emmet!" You cry, dropping down with him. You're confused, frightened, but Emmet can't make the words between his wails and gasps for air. You pull him to you, shove your legs beneath him, and position him in your lap for a hug. "Shh, shh, it's alright."

That just makes Emmet cry hard, clutching your bare back as he blubbers into your shoulder. None of this is alright, he wants to scream. You nearly died so many times, and he couldn't- didn't help you. He didn't try hard enough, didn't find you in time, didn't save you from what tore you away to a hostile land full of hostile creatures wanting to kill you day and night.

He hates it, almost as much as he hates himself.

"Emmet," you coo, rocking slowly, "oh, my sweet Emmet. I've got you, I've got you." Emmet hiccups, sniffling as he drags his fingers up the bumpy, healed flesh of a burn. You notice, and get an idea of what this is about. "I'm okay, Emmet. I'm right here."

"I failed you." He whispers.

"You saved me." You reply, running a hand through his hair. He shivers into you, cheek squished against your warm skin. "Every night, I couldn't sleep unless I was thinking of you. I got knocked down, bruised and torn up, but what kept me going was you. Knowing you were here, no doubt worried to death over me, suffering because of me, it made me determined to get to you."

"You-" Emmet gasps, but you cut him off.

"I love you." You press the words into the side of his, begging for his brain to take and hold them how you were holding him, tight and never letting go. "You were- you are the reason I'm still living. I would've given up, if it weren't for you. So thank you, for giving me a reason to want to see tomorrow."

Emmet cries himself to sleep in your arms, only to wake up in bed, tucked into you. You're asleep, curled around him, still without a shirt. He traces the scars on your chest, then kisses your heart, pressing his head to it to feel its beat against him.

"You were my reason for living too." He whispers into the night, soothed by the evidence of you, alive, next to him. "You're my reason."

He falls asleep again, and dreams pleasant dreams of you and him at the beach, your scars sparkling in the sun, exposed by your bathing suit. But your smile shines the brightest, and Emmet knows he would live through anything just to see your smile.

🍓🍓🍓

Emmet is such an interesting character when you wonder how a Hisui incident would affect him. God, I love him <3

Have a great night, Jes!

~Renee

[ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm]

[HP Meta] The Unicorn Report

Fragments from the 2022 Ministry of Magic UNICORN Report, a comprehensive overview of the history and rights of transgender wixen in Wizarding Britain, written by Hermione Weasley-Granger and dr. msci. Draco Malfoy. Also on A03

This is meta written for a prompt in the @hp-fanworks-central Out Of the Cupboard fest collection thingy. I'm gonna write one more chapter of it i think. this is super indulgent because i love reading legal documents and reports and things

This report is authored by Hermione Granger-Weasley and dr. msci. Draco L. B. P. Malfoy of, respectively, the MOM Department of Wixen Affairs and the WUCL department of Wixen Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology. 

This report uses the terms Wizarding Britain and Wizarding world in compliance with the joint UMN/MOM Statute of Secrecy article 1. The authors of the report would like it to be known that the term Wizarding is highly contested for its exclusionary nature, and that the use of it is mandated by the primary commissioning bodies for which this work is being produced.

Introduction

Following the unprecedented wave of blatant institutional transphobia since the appointment of the July 2021 Minister and MOM Cabinet, it is nearly impossible to paint a picture of Queer Wizarding Britain as anything other than a community under attack. The lack of support and often outward hostility of top-level Ministry officials has stoked the flames of a series of transphobic political and media campaigns, a host of physical and verbal attacks across Wizarding London and the entire nation, and has drastically decreased the legal protections and resources that transgender Wixen have grown used to under the previous administration.

A Brief History

While mentions of wixen who might today be referred to as transgender can be found in the earliest magical records throughout the history of today’s Wizarding Britain, including mentions of transgender individuals of Celtic, Roman and Belgic populations, the term transgender specifically is a Muggle loanword. Due to the diverse and often chaotic nature of the region’s magical history, and the many languages and dialects contained therein, not to mention the stark differences in wizarding culture and social structure from one part of the country to the next, it is difficult to refer to a unified history of any sort of transgender or genderqueer wixen, as their treatment, status, the terminology applied to their identity and perhaps most complexly, their fates, are so varied and scattered that each individual period, people and place may be considered their own unique history, one of many threads all reaching towards present day. The most common and often the first instance of a transgender individual that most people in Wizarding Britain will encounter in childhood is of course, Merlin. While Muggle lore surrounding Merlin refers to his shapeshifting abilities, and the obscure circumstances of his birth and conception, the magical records available in the Wizarding World, and protected by the joint UMN (United Magical Nations)/MOM (Ministry of Magic) Statute of Secrecy provide much greater insight into Merlin’s gender identity and presentation. While Merlin was an extremely accomplished wizard, and masterful at both transfiguration, charms and Wild Magic, an often overlooked detail is his lack of talent in the art and science of potions. Written and oral magical lore as well as crystal-preserved Pensieive memories confirm that Merlin kept in his employ an anonymous Potion Master, by all accounts a woman, who brewed and designed potions for him to specification. The same accounts that testify for the existence of this individual also speak of a potion designed by the Potion Master for Merlin and brewed daily, whose description matches most closely contemporary hormone potions, particularly ones which stimulate testosterone production. The timelines of mentions of the creation of this potion and Merlin’s use of it match up with instances in both Muggle and Wizarding lore where descriptions of Merlin by those who encountered him began to drastically shift from one instance to the next, particularly with references to his height, beard, voice and the color and scent of his magical aura. Throughout more recent history, there have been attempts by modern wizarding historians to cover up this particular detail, ranging from efforts to maintain image Merlin as a cisgender male wizard, to the more extreme factions of occultist and Pureblood society, who insist on referring to Merlin by female pronouns. The most widely known wizarding intersex individual is Godric Gryffindor, who was born with both Klinefelter syndrome (an extra X chromosome) and Spiral Core (a single magical core composed of two intertwined individual cores, usually the result of twin resorption).

Paths to Transition

While the presupposition for medical (and indeed, some categories of social) transition in the Muggle world require the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the process is much more straightforward in Wizarding Britain. An individual seeking to undergo medical transition may do so at any point in their life after their Core Stabilisation Period (ages 0-7). Incidentally, the law that regulates this also serves as an inadvertent but excellent safeguard for the bodily autonomy and integrity of intersex wixen, preventing their parents from making any life-altering choices for their offspring at birth or in early childhood. After a cisgender person’s magical core stabilises, they may choose to undergo any magical gender confirmation procedure, which are most commonly divided into transfigurational and non-transfigurational transition methods. Transfigurational magical gender confirmation procedures include magical surgery (of the sort performed in the cosmetic transfiguration and magi-surgery department at St. Mungos), which can provide long-term changes to a person’s appearance. This can include the removal or reshaping of breast tissue, genital reassignment or alteration, fat redistribution and facial feminisation and masculinisation procedures and changes to the voice box. The advantage to transfigurational transition procedures is that they are undetectable, highly customisable and long-lasting, while their primary disadvantage is that they are costly (as local masters of the craft are few and far between), and that they present long term strain on a person’s magical core. For this reason, some wixen may opt for Muggle surgery instead, which takes longer to produce desired results, but has no long term negative effects on wixen biology.

The other path to transition is non-transfigurational, which in the West has become synonymous with hormone potions, as well as modified and regular Muggle HRT. Despite their names, hormone potions themselves do not contain hormones, but instead inspire the production of estrogen, testosterone and progesterone to specified levels adjusted for each particular transgender wixen’s transition goals. Non-transfigurational transition may mean different things to different ethnic and cultural groups, both minority and majority, which live both in Wizarding Britain and elsewhere in the Wizarding World, and are not limited to the western conception of potions. These methods are rarely regulated by the ministry, as they often involve a combination of natural resources and culture- and language-specific spellwork, but are of equal or greater efficiency as standard magical gender confirmation methods. Muggleborn wixen can benefit from Muggle HRT, while people with part-magical heritage must use a magically stabilised form of HRT, which contains additional spellwork that allows the hormones to filter through a magical system, particularly through the liver which in wixen individuals breaks down enzymes in different ways. Finally, there is the matter of Transgender Creatures and Wixen with Creature Inheritance, who must use a combination of various transition methods that suit each particular creature-specific biology. It would be unfair to attempt to summarise the wealth of kinds of Creatures and their transition methods, so we can rely on a few brief examples, although it is important to state that these are just common and easily available references. Vampires must ingest their hormone potions through blood, which must come from a source that aligns with the particular hormonal makeup that they seek to attain. Transfigurational methods of transition and Muggle surgery do not work on fully turned or (un)born Vampires, and the majority prefer to use other means of transition to signal their preferred identity. Werewolves are unable to undergo any magical gender confirmation procedures, but can benefit greatly from Muggle HRT, as well as various other Muggle pharmaceuticals commonly used by Muggle and Muggleborn cis and transgender individuals for hair growth, PCOS treatment, muscle development etc. With regards to Unincorporated Creature Communities, including Mermaids, Centaurs and Selkies, the matter of transgender individuals is completely case-specific and their treatment, status, and ways of transition and indeed conceptions of gender are all tied to each specific creature type.

Legal Framework

While sex markers are noted on official medical records maintained by St Mungos and the private and state hospitals regulated by the WHS, there are no official sex markers on wizarding birth certificates or Ministry-issued personal documents. Transgender wixen in Wizarding Britain are entitled to change their sex marker in their Muggle liaison issued paperwork at any point after their Core Stabilisation Period. Transgender wixen are allowed to change their sex marker in their medical records after undergoing 1 or more years of “non-transfigurational” magical gender confirmation procedures, ie. hormone potions or (for muggleborns) 2 or more years of Muggle HRT. As of 2021, he cost of hormone potions and Muggle HRT is partly covered by OUCH Insurance (Ordinary Universal Care and Health) - specifically, at the rate of one covered dose per year per patient. This marks a downgrade from 2021, when non-transfigurational transition was still fully funded and protected by Ministry decree. The costs of transfiguration transition are not covered by OUCH Insurance, nor by 89% of surveyed private healthcare providers. The cost of these procedures and the long waiting times mean that transfigurational transition procedures often have to be undergone abroad, and paid for out of pocket. Ordering of hormone potions from abroad is cheaper or free, due to independent funding provided by NMOs such as The Unicorn Guard, but import duties regulated by the ministry and introduced by the newly installed MOM cabinet do not recognise foreign-made hormone potions as essential medicines and as such these products are taxed as luxury goods. These additional costs and hurdles of non-transfigurational transition further prolong the process of transition and increases financial stress. Furthermore, sex markers provided by the WHS are used as references for the Hogwarts admission list, and inform the pronouns, honorific and dormitory assignments for each particular wix. This creates unnecessary discomfort for both openly transgender wixen and for those in the process of coming out.

Ministry Action

No concrete ministry action has been undertaken under the current cabinet and Minister regarding the legal recognition of gender identity and ease of access to magical gender confirmation procedures.

The Basic Liberties action plan proposed by the previous MOM cabinet and minister, which outlines objectives and milestones for the inclusion, recognition and legal protection of queer wixen, has not been adopted by the Wizengamot, and has been addressed in session 2 times (out of 65 sessions in the current calendar year).

In the education sector, the incumbent Minister for Magical Education has pushed forward with the process of adopting action plans that seek to protect and improve the position of transgender wix in the educational system, particularly at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This has included creating guides and resources for dealing with transgender students, and providing additional training and accreditation to both professors and school staff (nurses, caretakers) in gender sensitive communication, as well as general additional trainings for dealing with marginalised groups, including creatures and persons with creature inheritance.

Guidelines for the Future

The Ministry of Magic must include magical gender confirmation procedures, including transfigurational and non-transfigurational transition methods, on the essential care list of services covered by OUCH Insurance.

The importing of transition-related materials into Wizarding Britain must be allowed without added import taxes or duties.

The MOM must streamline and create clear legal paths to sex marker change for all transgender wixen.

The MOM must adopt the Basic Liberties action plan, which would prevent non-essential details (ie. sex marker, creature status) to third parties without the consent of the person they concern. 

Additional funding should be allocated to the research and support offered to muggleborn transgender wixen and the interactions of HRT with magical cores.

[iwadori]

Haikyu Boys when they neglect you for another girl PT 2(Oikawa)

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Word count: 2.1K

Genre: angst,fluff

Oikawa:

You Oikawa and Iwaizumi have been best friends for as long as you can remember  

You thought that Iwaizumi liked you, but all thoughts of that left your head once Oikawa confessed to you when you were in your last year of middle school.

You and Oikawa started dating you in highschool in your first year and have been inseperable ever since.

You and Oikawa were as opposite as you were the same making you a perfect match.

It was the first day of your final term of your third year. You and Oikawa were planning to go the same university but to do that you obviously need to pass your entrance exams so you fully immersed in your studies.  

You have been the manager of Seijoh since your first year, but because of how time consuming it is and you now fully want to focus on your studies you decided to step down from your title. However, you still were fully supportive of the team making sure to go to every one of their games and even coming to majority of their practices with your textbooks and notes with you.

It seems someone took your place as the manager, yet you don’t know who as have been so busy all you could do in finding your replacement was stick up some posters telling whoever wanted the job to talk to the coaches. But you hope the new manager is at least half as good as you.

You decide after school, you were going to take a break from studying so you went to go to the gym to see your boyfriend and the guys at practice. When you enter, you see all the boys fussing and fanning over someone who you couldn’t tell who it was.  

You spot Iwaizumi away from the crowd tying his laces, when you approach him he looks up and smiles fondly at you, “Hey Y/N” he says schooching over so you can sit next to him.

“Hey Haji” you say ruffling his hair playfully “Who’s the celebrity?”  

“Oh Ririka-san” he responds “The new manager” when he says this he slightly scowls, but you don’t quite catch it as your focus is on your boyfriend who is being his usual boastful self infront of who you presume is ‘Ririka-san.’

As the group disperses, they all approach you with Oikawa lifting you up and spinning you obnoxiously making you laugh at his action. “Well hello to you to Tooru” you say kissing him on the cheek.

You look in front of you and there was Ririka with her hand extended out for you to shake “Hi I'm Yagami Ririka” she says “But you can call me Ririka, you’re Y/N right?”  

You shake her hand quickly dropping it responding with a dry “hi.” Oikawa notices the awkward atmosphere that you created with your response and decides to drag you away to show you his serves. You weren’t fully focused on your boyfriend, with your eyes occasionally drifting to the new girl who seemed to give you a bad vibe from your first introduction.

Practice ends, and Oikawa walks you home (per usual.) Once you are at home, you decide to social stalk Ririka to see if you can find something to confirm your suspicions on her. You’re claims weren’t based on anything besides a vibe but since she is apparently in your year and always has been you find it weird that you haven’t heard a word about her all until now. You don’t find anything on her, besides her being as ‘perfect’ as she seems.

As you and Oikawa walk home together again from the next day’s practice, you were hoping that he shared your same concerns about Seijohs manager but when you ask “Kawa.. Don't you think Ririka-san is a bit odd?”

He looks at you curiously, smiles and says “No of course not, Rii-chan is fine”

‘Rii-chan’ you think, a slight pang of jealousy surges through you at the use of this newfound nickname  

“In some ways she reminds me of you, you know?” he says chuckling, but you weren’t listening focused on the name he just called her.

“Rii-chan, huh?” you say

“It’s just a nickname Y/N, I give them to everone, you know that Y/N” he says

“Yeah yeah I know Kawa, I was just overthinking that’s all” you lie, you knew Oikawa gave everyone a nickname but this one definitely stuck on your mind then all of others and although you can admit your jealousy but there was something else bothering you.

“Well don’t overthink too much” Oikawa says giving you a kiss on the forehead “Don’t want to heart your pretty head about it.” Oikawa then lets you enter your house before taking off to his own.

Over the next few weeks, you are mainly focused on your studies, barely having any time to be with your boyfriend at all. However, if you did even have the time to spend with Oikawa, he was definitely not available since all his time was now with ‘Rii-chan,’ whenever you asked him to hang out with you or to go on dates he always used the excuse of ‘Rii-chan needs help with the schedule and since IM THE CAPTAIN I have to help’ or ‘Rii-chan has no friends in our year, and since it seems that YOU don’t want to befriend her im doing the nice thing by becoming her friend’ and with that you always wanted to reply with ‘maybe no one wants to be her friend because she’s such a bitch’ but you held your tounge.

Today you were fed up with your boyfriends lack of being around and decided to go to his house in the hopes that you can watch a movie or do something together. When you get there, you knock on his door and you hear him shout “Come up it’s open,” was he expecting you or something?

You go upstairs to his bedroom, where you know he’ll be and to your surprise when you open the door in his room it is basically set up like a movie date with food and snacks and a bunch of dvd’s and blankets set up on the floor. ‘Was he planning on you to be here?’ you think.

“Rii-chan you made I-” says Oikawa, stopping hisself when he sees that it’s not his beloved Rii-chan but only you his girlfriend Y/N.

“What the fuck Oikawa?” you ask  

“It is NOT what it looks like Y/N” he says standing up abruptly to approach you but you step back.

“Umm.. So it’s not my boyfriend of 3 years about to have a movie date with his manager after barely speaking to me, his GIRLFRIEND, for the past month?” you say folding you arms “ Did I get that right or am I missing something here?”

“Yes.. I mean No” he stammers “ It’s not a date at all, it’s just that Rii-chan say’s she never watched *insert your favourite movie here* and I thought it would be nice if I show it too her”

“Whatever you say ‘kawa” you say rolling your eyes, this seem to annoy Oikawa as he then sits back down harshly and says,

“God Y/N, ever since you met Rii-chan you’ve been so hostile for once can you not be a bitch! Me and her are just friends.” His aggressive tone shocks both you and him but he doesn’t seem to stop “All I'm saying is, you always wonder why me and Iwa-chan were your friends, haven’t you thought it was because you’re such a judgemental bitch”  

By now you were fed up, so you turn your back to Oikawa ready to leave the room but first you say “ Oikawa, I love you I always have, but I can’t be with you anymore especially since you can’t even see what’s going on. Remember when we used to have movie dates when we were ‘just friends” Your response leaves Oikawa with his eyes wide open since he didn’t expect you to basically break up with him, he thought this was a minor argument. Before he can speak, the door burst open and in comes Ririka who exclaims “Tooru! Im ready to watch M-….oh”  

“I guess I’d be taking my leave now” you say with tears in your eyes “Goodbye Oikawa this was fun”  

It’s been a while since the confrontation at Oikawa’s house and the school was a buzz since after hearing the news of yours and Oikawas break up the school immediately focused their attention on both Ririka and Oikawa the rumours of them being together spread like wildfire. However, to your surprise Oikawa apparently always combated the rumours claiming that him and Ririka were just ‘good friends and will stay that way.’

But you could care less, you still supported the team going to all the games they had making sure to stay clear away Oikawa and Ririka. You don’t go to the practices anymore since you didn’t want to submerge yourself in sweat and bad vibes anymore.

Graduation came and you were very happy, you could finally get out of this place. Once you get through the ceremony and all the boring stuff you go to the gym for one final ‘goodbye’ but before you have a chance to leave you are stopped by Iwaizumi  

“Hey Y/N” he says “how have you been?”  

“I’ve been good, pretty ‘busy’” you respond

“Busy as in, avoiding Oikawa at every cost” he says making you laugh “Come sit down with me for a second” to which you do sitting next to him on the gym bench.

You and Iwaizumi then spend the next hour reminiscing about all your past antics and stories making you laugh and smile fondly at all the nostalgia. After all your talk you pull out your phone to take a picture and you hear Iwaizumi whisper “He never deserved you” so quietly that you almost don’t catch what he says.  

Before you could respond in comes Oikawa of course panting “Y/N! Thank god you’re still hear I need to talk to you!”  

You look at Iwaizumi expecting him to say something but all his does is pull you into a tight hug and says “Goodbye Y/N I’ll miss you” he gets up and exits the room shouting “Make sure to answer my calls” making you chuckle.

Oikawa approaches you and sits in the spot that Iwaizumi does, he takes a deep breath and begins to stay “Y/N, you were right I was wrong. I am an idiot... Rii- I mean Ririka she tried to kiss me. Im sorry”

“Oikawa, you are right.. You're an idiot, but it shouldn’t of had to take me breaking up with you and Ririka trying to get with you to realise that I was right. Why did you even come here to tell me this, so I knew I was right? You didn’t need to confirm my suspicions I knew all along Oikawa”

You stand up to leave, hoping to find Iwaizumi before he goes home but Oikawa stops you. “Y/N I-I want to be with you, to go back to being how we were … don’t you want that”

“Oikawa...” you grab his hands “I love you, I always have and I always will... but I think we both know we aren’t meant to be.. Things haven’t been the best with us even before Ririka came along, it just took her to make us really notice it.”

“It’s him isnt it?” he says with tears in his eyes

“I think so... maybe it’s always been him I don’t know but we know how he is especially when we were 15 I guess you just got me to me first,” you say with tears in your eyes also

Oikawa pulls you into a hug and whispers in your ear “Go get him Y/N” you look at him and smile and nod you head “We will still be friends Tooru.”

You race out of the gym to look for Iwaizumi and you suddenly bump into him since he didn’t actually move he was there the whole time and it seems your indirect confession made him tear up too. “I love you Y/N” he pulls you into a hug which you return then pulls you into a deep kiss.

In the end, you and Iwaizumi do become boyfriend and gifriend still keeping Tooru as your good friend. You all also end up going to the same University and you and Iwaizumi live the rests of your lifes together as the ‘perfect’ couple with yours and Toorus relationship as a laughable memory.

AUTHORS NOTE: Please don’t hate me for this ending!! I had a bad day sooo I decided to switch things up please give me feedback on what you think !!

[benwvatt]

Grey’s Anatomy Has a Toxic Workplace Problem in Season 18 - aka why everyone keeps bullying Meredith into staying in Seattle

(Why is no one talking about this???)

Read my grey’s anatomy meta on ao3! Same format but I would love hear your thoughts

I can’t believe my biggest gripe with Grey’s season 18 is… fair labor practices? I mean, it’s usually more soap-opera stuff. Dead fiances come to life, disappearing girlfriends, surprise pregnancies, etc. etc.

But I keep seeing the same subtle problems arise. I’m going to call this the Webber-Bailey-Fox problem, because it seems that the ‘leaders’ of Grey Sloan Memorial are the most egregious and at fault. In short, why on earth do Webber, Bailey, and Catherine act as if the entire fate of this hospital hinges upon Meredith? Why won’t they let her leave for Minnesota?

She’s a famous surgeon who works there, not a goddess. The hospital isn’t going to magically disappear into dust and shadows if she moves to another state with her kids. If other key characters who are part of the Grey’s universe (Cristina, Alex, Jackson, Arizona, April, Callie, etc.) are allowed to move away and find new jobs, why do her bosses keep guilt-tripping Meredith into staying?

In general I’d give Season 18 a B+. In general my rule about TV is ‘keep watching if you’re having fun. Quit if you’re not!’ and I enjoy spending each Friday morning watching last night’s episode of Grey’s. I thought that many parts of S18 (like the introduction of Kai! Or letting us explore Bailey’s burnout and Maggie’s marriage to Winston!) were handled delicately. But at the same time, Webber, Bailey, and Catherine 一 mostly Webber and Bailey, obviously, since they’re series regulars 一 are just being manipulative toward Meredith.

Again and again on Grey’s, we see management whining whenever people don’t agree with them. In season 2ish, when Bailey considered switching from general to pediatric surgery, Webber was consistently whiny and cruel to her. He acted like she was throwing her career down the drain for changing. Bailey also sort of did this when Jo switched to OBGYN, and when Ben decided to become a firefighter instead of continuing his residency.

The Grey’s timeline is a bit wonky since seasons 1-3 take place during intern year (which I assume is 12 months), but I’d wager Meredith’s literally been working at this hospital for 16 years, give or take. She had her children here. She lost her husband. She dated and re-realized what it means to find love after loss. Is it so wicked and awful that she might want to move to Mayo Clinic instead of growing old and (pardon my pun) grey in Seattle?

During all of season 18, Webber and Bailey are just awful to Meredith. They treat her like a traitor and whine that she isn’t being ‘loyal’ to the hospital where she grew up (reminder: Meredith literally grew up here. Ellis trained at Seattle Grace and there are flashbacks of Meredith as a 6-year-old walking the halls.) If it’s indeed true that Meredith has lived much of her entire life in this one building, why on earth do her bosses keep manipulating her into staying? This is a textbook hostile work environment and it’s so puzzling that no characters in the Grey’s universe are acknowledging it.

A workplace culture where your bosses call you ‘disloyal’ for wanting to submit your 2 weeks’ notice is… not good. No wonder Meredith wants to leave if Webber and Bailey, who are supposedly her old friends and mentors, are so willing to turn on a dime and snarl insults at her.

Don’t even get me started on this Accreditation Council Lady in the finale, who acts as if Meredith’s departure is a key reason why the hospital is unstable. Sure, I assume Mer is good at bringing in fundraising money and good PR (and I know Council Lady feels that she’s been lied to so she’s lashing out), but Mer’s just the chief of general surgery. There are plenty of good general surgeons who can take her place.

And I know, the show is called Grey’s, not Pierce’s or Shepherd’s Anatomy. We all know Meredith is important. But it feels cruel to tell Meredith that she matters so that we can guilt-trip her into staying at Grey Sloan instead of moving away. When does it end? Will Meredith be tied in one place and forced to work at the hospital forever just because they can’t afford to lose her? What kind of awful workplace is this, where you aren’t allowed to leave because people seem to need you too badly? It’s kind of like a desperate boyfriend or girlfriend who refuses to let you break up with them because “they’ll fall apart without you.”

This is an incredibly toxic position from Webber and Bailey, and it makes me dislike them. They’ve been written so oddly this season, acting as if they’re gods who are above criticism and flaw. Their inability to recognize their own flaws is actually the reason they keep hurting the people around them.

So the Minnesota plotline may have its flaws (I’ll get to that later! What on Earth does Mer actually do at Mayo?) but it’s Meredith’s right to leave if she wants to. It’s not like she’s signed some lifetime contract or a blood oath tying her to one place. She’s successful, she’s excited to travel and spend more time with Nick, and the city of Seattle is always going to be haunted in some part because of Derek’s death. Why shouldn’t she get to leave? Why are Webber, Bailey, and Catherine allowed to intimidate and jeer at Meredith? Why do they feel entitled to her time and work? It’s starting to feel like Bailey and Webber are just bad bosses. If you can’t handle the fact that your employees may get a better offer and leave you, you shouldn’t be an employer.