#it's just like a personal issue i have with the way it's presented

[trans-androgyne]

For men having a rough time right now, my friends and I have put together a couple reminders:

1) You are not a monster. Nothing in your nature predisposes you towards violence. Your presence does not harm others and there are people who love having you in their space. Yes including around women. Yes including around children. You are not inherently dangerous, you are a person just like everyone else. Your body is not a weapon.

2) You don’t have anything to prove. You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to serve and protect others if you don’t want to. Even women. You don’t deserve to be treated as a punching bag for others’ anger or trauma at the hands of the patriarchy, and it’s not okay for them to take it out on you. You deserve to be protected too.

3) Your emotions matter. All of your emotions. Your anger isn’t dangerous. You can be sad and hurt and jealous and guilty and a million other things and express them in whatever way you need, all without being less of a man or more of a threat. Women’s needs and emotions are equal to yours, not more important. You’re allowed to talk about sexism and other issues you experience as a man—it doesn’t make you anti-feminist and it sure as hell doesn’t make you weak. Being mistreated can hurt, and you can let yourself feel and process it.

4) Manhood can be wonderful—make it your own. You don’t have to be masculine if you don’t want to. You can present and act however femininely you want without being any less of a man. You can also be the most masculine person alive. Masculinity is not toxic by itself. Being masculine does not make you toxic. Being a man does not make you toxic. Nothing about you is inherently toxic. Your attraction is not immoral and being attracted to you isn’t either. Manhood is not a contagion. Be whatever kind of man you want to be, it is completely up to you.

There are people who love and care about you. I care about you deeply and as an intersectional trans feminist I will advocate for you until my last breath. This goes for every single man alive. Cis men, trans men, intersex men, multigender men, straight men, queer men, White men, men of color, disabled men, and more; every single one of you. You deserve care. Let us care for you.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

remember how charlie started dating her gf back when she thought vaggie was a sinner who'd earned a place in hell, and then she found out the gf used to be a murder angel and got angry / hurt bc SHE tells vaggie everything so why didn't vaggie trust her with the angel thing??? does vaggie not really LOVE her????? oh yeah and murder bad too whatever- OH WAIT SO VAGGIE /DOES/ LOVE HER!? fuck yeah who cares about murder! the angel gf's wings are hot and charlie Will Hug Her

what im saying is... charlie doesn't just TALK about the fluffy vague idea of redemption

she's been living it this whole time

we see her CHOOSE to stay with vaggie even after having the exact terrible bad things vaggie did shoved in her face. there's no "she's just naive" excuse here

she knows. her kindness and hope doesn't come from a LACK of knowing how bad things or people can be

but that was vaggie's past. charlie talks about a breach of trust, of vaggie not trusting her with the truth, of the fear that other things between them hadn't been true too- Those are all PRESENT vaggie issues. they're all questions about the woman vaggie is NOW, and what kind of relationship charlie has with her, today

even charlie's line wondering if vaggie would've told her about an angel's weakness- it's not, "oh you're still one of them", it's "now i know there was something else important that you didn't tell me"

it's so quiet. that kind of, amazing moment. where charlie just unravels the whole idea of sin and flicks it away, like a speck of dust

being reminded of how many ways vaggie SHOWS who she is and who CHARLIE is to her, that settles charlie, answers all her worries and questions (she can trust vaggie) (vaggie is in this with her no matter what)- because none of them, those fears and pains, were about what vaggie had been

that's how the hotel can work. it's built on something REALLY strong- it's built on charlie honestly meaning what she says, and vaggie truly actively being her partner in it

we can't SEE that happening without looking at THEM

(we see people not taking them, or charlie, seriously- and getting fucked up when they Find Out)

them being and staying together is proof that the hotel can work, that angels can sin and seek redemption, that people- even sinners- can change

and when they change there'll be at least one place where they can BE that new person

at the hazbin hotel

[petew21-blog]

Am I evil? Stone swap Pt.1

Inspired by viceversa and his last Stone of change story that stopped on a beach. Hope you like it. I used to write stories, but got my account banned few years ago. So I figured I might get back to it again. Hope you enjoy

I always thought of myself as a good guy. But now I have to think hard about that. Is causing a massive and chaotic body swap a good thing?

Let me explain

There was this stone passed by people around the town that caused them to switch bodies. I got my hands on it as the last person on a beach one day, after it caused a great chaos. Thanks to some dumb luck I just swapped bodies with my friend, Mark. We were also shocked as everybody else, but we were the lucky ones that were left with the stone.

Then we made a deal. We would only use the stone while both of us were present and only if we could get the stone and our bodies back. Well, that's what I fucked up.

The Imagine Dragons came to town. I went to the concert, Mark was out of town. Obviously, I didn't leave the stone back in the appartement. I just couldn't pass the chance.

I mean. Just look at him. The body. The biceps. The abs. Who could say no?

So when Dan, the singer, came to me and included the stone in their show as a totem that would be passed by the crowd, I knew I would never ever see it again.

And after that I fainted. The last thing I saw was Dan looking confused and sleepy.

All I can say is that "chaos" can't even describe what happened after. But I made my way away from the stage. From the sleeping band and I headed with my bare torso through the backstag. Never looking back.

It's so great to see Dan in my own mirror of the bathroom. See him copying all my moves. Nah. That's me now.

And the voice. I touch my throat, forcing words out in this incredibly manly voice. My left hand stays on my throat, the other is touching my new defined pecs, slowly continuing to my beautiful pecs. A monster in my pants is getting bigger and harder.

I slid the pants down and grab it. "God damn" he is so fucking hung. I jerk furiously looking at my new image and just smile. I can't stop laughing how lucky I am. I pick up the pace

"This body is amazing! I'm so fucking sexy"

I cum all over my bathroom mirror. Exhausted from this little work out, I just stood there with my new dick in hand.

That's when Mark came back in

"What the fuck have you done?! You caused thousands of people to swap bodies. It made the news. A lot of people got hurt because of you!!! What were you thinking?" Mark screamed at me

I have no words. What have I done?! I wasn't really thinking what worst could happen. I just wanted Dan's body. Not to hurt anyone. That is the most evil thing I have ever done.

And now I am this incredibly hot man, covered in cum. Yeah, fuck that. I may have actually helped a lot of people get their dream bodies.

So, no. I won't be mad at myself. And I won't let Mark scream at me. He is definitely pissed at me more for losing the stone rather than causing the chaos. He is still in the body of his much older professor and that might be the issue. I don't know what is his problem. His body is hot and that's all that matters. Maybe I could show him just how hot the two of us look together fucking each other in front of a mirror

I am Dan now, and I won't ever regret the choice I made today.

I am hot. I am sexy. And I am never giving up this body.

Now, let's fuck this professor

[nsftventurelovebot]

A/N: Oh my god? A request? That I got done? No way– anyway sorry this took so long but here it is! Link to request is here!

Premise: As it turns out, there really wasn't anything to worry about. Fem!reader x AMAB!Venture!

Warning: None for this one!

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Kiriko asks.

You look timidly around the break room of the donut shop before speaking up again. She flipped the sign up front to 'Closed' so you didn't run the risk of anyone coming in and overhearing your conversation. No one else was present except for the two of you, and it was awkwardly quiet except for the hum of kitchen appliances that could be heard through out the store.

"Promise you won't laugh?" You ask, shame beginning to show on your face.

"No guarantees, but I can promise I won't make fun of you!"

Good enough, you guess. You sigh and slump into the worn down couch and cast your gaze downwards.

"Sloan is visiting me again tonight." You begin.

"Uh huh. And?" Kiriko sits across from you on one of the equally overused chairs.

"Never mind." You clasp your hands around your face in sheer embarrassment.

"You really came over here just to chicken out at the last moment? Is it really that bad?" She wonders.

You take a deep breath and lay your hands back down, but you still can't bring yourself to look at your friend just yet.

"We have a date tonight– and last time we– we tried to have– you know..." You explain the situation to the best of your ability.

"Okay, so what went wrong? Just didn't feel confident enough?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Kind of. I told them I was too nervous and that maybe next date we could try again, and they were fine with that! But..." You took one more shaky breath inwards.

"Please don't tell anyone! I'm a virgin–" You admit, your face turning ruby red at the mention of the word 'virgin'.

"Ah. I see." No laughter from Kiriko so far. Off to a good start. "Does Sloan know?"

"Yes! Kind of..." You bite your lip and ball the fabric of your clothes in a fit of nervousness.

"Kind of? What do you mean 'kind of'?"

"What I mean is, they know I'm a virgin... but what they don't know is..." You cower in defeat. If you were going to get advice, then unfortunately you were going to have to give a little more dirt on yourself. "I have never once... um... orgasmed in my entire life." The last part of the sentence leaves your mouth faster than a bullet train.

Kiriko thinks about your confession for a few moments. Thoughts race frantically through your mind until you hear her speak up again.

"There's not really an issue here. Not one I can see, anyway." She responds. "If I was them, knowing all of that would just make me work harder to ensure you had a good time."

You feel like you can relax a little more now. Your shy hand rubs your arm to try and bring yourself a little more comfort.

"So... it's not embarrassing?" You sincerely ask, glancing up to meet her gaze.

"No! Why would it be?" She gives you a smile.

"I don't know. I just figured having no experience was a turn off." You remember all of the stories you've read online. "It's just awkward for the other person, you know?"

Kiriko stands up from her seat to stretch. "Look at who you're sleeping with. Awkward is their middle name." She laughs at her own joke. "Let's get you some donuts. Everything will work out just fine, I'd put money on that."

You follow her into the front of the store and she graciously prepares you a to-go box with all the leftovers that didn't sell today.

"Don't worry about it, alright? Everything will work out. I promise." She hands you the box of goodies.

"Thanks again, Kiriko." You smile.

"You're welcome, [Y/N]. Now get out, I'm ready to go home!" She tacks another joke on to the end of her sincerity.

You shuffle out the door and back into the night.

"[Y/N]!" You can hear Sloan call out into your home, haphazardly tossing their jacket on to the floor and leaving their boots kicked off by the door. "Mi sol, mi cielo, mi vida–"

"Yes?" You cut them off by offering them a donut.

"Oooh! I love donuts!" They take one and immediately begin stuffing themself. "So, how was your day?"

"Uneventful." You decide not to bring up the conversation with Kiriko.

You watch as your beloved flops down on to your couch. "Really? Nothing interesting?" They ask with a mouth half full of pastry.

"Well– I got donuts. That's about it. We can't all live exciting lives." You take a seat next to them and place your head lovingly on their shoulder.

"I get that– sometimes I miss the peace and quiet." Their voice once again becomes clear, and you're a little surprised they didn't end up choking themself.

They lean over to affectionately nuzzle your face. "Or maybe just you. I can't tell."

You softly giggle as they begin to pepper kisses to your face.

"I missed you a lot today though! Look at what we were studying!" They take out their phone to show you the photos they took.

"Statues...?" You question.

The statues were absolutely beautiful– you were almost a little jealous. Whoever had created them clearly had an eye for their models.

"They reminded me of you, except you're much prettier!"

You can't help but turn pink from the compliment. "Aww, you're just saying that..."

You glance away to hide yourself, but they place a hand under your face to guide it back to their gaze. For a moment they're quiet as they study your features as if you were a true statue.

"No, I mean it..." They lean for a quick kiss.

A smile lights up your face.

"You belong in a museum. You're angelic enough to be the main display!" Their obvious, near cringe worthy flirting has you becoming flustered regardless.

"Oh, please..." You lightly brush off their sweet words again.

Without hesitance they bring your face back up to theirs and begin repeatedly placing delicate kisses to your lips. Warmth begins to stir inside your body from the affection, and you adjust yourself to perch on their lap as their arms move to wrap around your waist. You let out a soft sigh of content before they continue to run their mouth.

"I'd say you definitely deserve to be immortalized."

"Oh my God. Shut up!" You tease.

"What? Can't handle the truth?" They scoop you up and you lean into their body for support.

Before you can come up with a reply, they press more kisses to the exposed skin of your neck and you can feel your nerves sizzling after each contact. You can hear your breath grow heavier as they move lower down your neck before stopping completely at your collarbone. They tug at the top of their shirt and discard it to the side, revealing years worth of drill lifting underneath. Kiriko's words begin to echo in the back of your mind: "Don't worry about it, alright? Everything will work out. I promise."

"You okay?" Sloan's voice snaps you back to reality.

"Yes. I'm fine–" Your face was turning pinker by the minute.

"We can stop if you're uncomfortable." They add.

"No! It's alright, but–" The words you want to say become a jumbled mess in your mind. "Before we go any further, there's something you need to know–"

You can feel their grip on your waist relax before you continue speaking. "You already know the first part–" The words begin to throttle you relentlessly. "But– I've never came before in my entire life..."

You can't bring yourself to look at them directly after admitting something you found to be so shameful.

"I didn't want to say anything, but I figured you deserved to know." You bite your lip out of nervousness. "I didn't want you to be embarrassed about being with me..."

If it could get any quieter in the room you shared, surely you could hear them think. Then, as if fully done loading and processing, you can feel their arms around your waist tighten once more in an attempt to comfort you.

"[Y/N]... why would I be embarrassed about that?" They ask out of genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. I've heard people don't like it when their partners are inexperienced." You recount the tales you've read online, just like when you were talking with Kiriko.

With minimal effort they lift you off the couch and you instinctively wrap your legs around their waist before burying your face in their chest.

"I don't know who you've been talking to, but they're wrong."

You can feel them heading in the direction of your bedroom, and with each foot step nervousness swarms inside your stomach. They delicately lay your flushed body down on the mattress before standing back to admire you.

"I'm happy you trust me with this." You'd never get used to them sounding so serious– but you also have to admit it was a little bit of a turn on. "Let's get you properly taken care of."

Shyness begins to fill your body and you're unsure of what to do next. All you can do for now is watch as they work on their pants– unbuttoning, unzipping, and pulling the fabric down to reveal the noticeable bulge in their boxers underneath.

That's definitely all you can stare at for a minute.

"Now it's your turn." You can feel their fingers hook into your pants and you lightly lift up your hips to help remove them.

The air feels cool on your heated skin.

"I– I don't know if I'm ready just yet..." You bite your lip once more and squeeze your legs together in a poor attempt to ease the pulsing sensation present in your core.

Sloan gently removes your shirt next before laying it next to your forgotten pants. Now it was just the two of you, barely dressed, staring at one another in need.

They laugh lightly at your statement, but not out of meanness. "You will be when I'm finished with you."

Your heart leaps into your throat from excitement.

Their hand cups your face and another undetectable sigh leaves your mouth as you lean into their touch. A thumb lightly brushes over your lips causing sparks to dance across your frying senses. They lean over to give you heavy kisses next, your eyes squeezing shut to focus on receiving their affection, and with every kiss they place you can feel the elation in your body expanding in an almost overwhelming way.

They pull away long enough to give you instructions.

"Just lay back, alright?"

You do as you're told, your hair fanning out against the cold pillow underneath your head. Immediately they join you by your side, and you lovingly lean into their body for support. The hand that once cupped your face now slides down your clamped shut thighs and stops just above the fabric of your underwear.

"Open? For me?" They ask, almost plead, waiting for your permission.

Without hesitance your thighs part just enough to let their hand sneak in between them. Once again you can feel the sparks igniting as their fingers lightly brush against your clothed folds, your hips jolting upwards into their touch. You can feel them begin to tease you through the fabric, drawing an involuntary whimper out from your open mouth.

Your brain is already melting and they've barely gotten started on you.

Something akin to English starts to leave your mouth, but all that comes out is jumbled nonsense in between heavy pants. It draws out another laugh from your beloved.

You can feel your underwear being parted to the side, Sloan's face closing in on yours to smother you in kisses. Their finger slips in between your slick folds and starts to trace tight circles around your aching clit. This draws out the most heavenly sounds they've ever heard from you, and they swallow your moans whole with their tongue inside your mouth. An intense pressure builds up inside your hips as you revel in your new found euphoria, reaching up to hold their face with your sweaty palm as you start the chase the high they're providing you.

Without even realizing it, tears have started pouring out from sheer joy. So this is what you've been missing out on your entire life...? You are chained in the present moment, feeling every flick of the aroused nerves of your wet heat.

You can feel the intensity increasing with every repetition of their fingers. Your legs begin to tremble and you have to fight the urge to close them again– it's beyond overwhelming, the sensations were simply all consuming at this point. Your mind goes blank and glimmering stars begin to pop up behind your closed eyes. For what feels like an eternity, you brace for the inevitable as you push yourself against the warm skin of your beloved to let them know you're close. They only separate from your mouth to watch as your face transforms from the unfathomable amount of pleasure they're providing you.

They begin whispering to you in a raspy voice, and you can practically hear the grin on their face. "You look so beautiful like this. More beautiful than any statue I've ever seen."

The compliment would make you blush, if it wasn't for the fact you were already vermillion.

"Come for me." Once again, they sound as if they're pleading more than asking.

The words hardly register in your molten brain as your hips lift off the mattress in pure, unadulterated bliss. The wave of your orgasm hits you like an earthquake and nearly knocks the breath out of you– and one more follows suit before you can prepare for it. Only then do they remove their fingers from between your thighs, letting you gently fall into your after glow.

"You did so well for me–" You can hear and feel the panting of their heated breath on your sweating skin. "I'm so proud of you!"

"But I didn't do anything..." You reply.

"Yes you did! You were good for me!" They insist, and you feel your heart soften with their words.

Your eyes flutter open and you're greeted with an equally as red Sloan hovering beside you. The fingers that just sent you plummeting over the edge are brought up to their mouth, before they envelope them to taste the remnants of you. They look at you directly before they exit with a popping noise.

"Pretty good, in case you were wondering."

If only you could form a proper reaction to that sentence.

"So– you don't mind if I finish, right? I'm dying over here..."

For a moment you're confused until you glance down at them palming at the tent of their boxers. You currently have no energy left to speak up, so you simply nod your head in approval.

They sit up before positioning themself on their knees directly between your exhausted legs.

"I know you're tired, so I'll make this quick." Then the realization hits. "Not that I'm quick. You know what I mean." They defend themself a little too eagerly, causing you to let out a halfhearted giggle.

"We'll save actual sex for later... just be good for me one more time. Clamp your legs shut."

You do as you're told.

It takes a little more adjusting before they're fully ready, letting your legs rest on their shoulders as their hands grasp the outside of your thighs. Something hard prods against the back of your legs before it inserts itself between them, just above your clothed heat. You can feel it throb before it pushes out the other side and reveals itself to you.

The first thing you notice was the piercing.

Your beloved begins to thrust themself between your legs and you watch, practically hypnotized, as the metallic silver object disappears and reappears sporadically in between the folds of your thighs.

"Is there any way I can help?" You gather up the courage to ask, watching them continue to work towards completion on their own.

They look up at you and smile, sweat already forming on their body.

"You're doing enough already–" They let out a groan as you run a finger over the piercing when shows itself to you again.

"It's okay." You reach down to slide your underwear down your legs and kick them to the side. "I want to help."

Your legs timidly wrap around their waist to bring them closer. For a moment they can barely help themself as they grab their cock and begin rubbing the pierced head between your folds. You bite your tongue from the over sensitivity of your clit from two whole orgasms, but you persevere.

"You really don't have to do this–" Despite their body practically dripping with the near feral need for you, they hold back, just in case.

"I'm more than ready." You rack your brain for something more exciting to say, and pray it didn't sound stupid when it left your mouth. "I need it. Please? For me?"

"Aww... I can't say no to that..." They reply.

You can feel the head resting against your sobbing entrance. A sharp pain seers through your hips as you're slowly stretched out, and a pained whine leaves your mouth.

"I know! I'm sorry! You're doing so well, though!" Sloan encourages you, lifting one of your legs to place it over their shoulder once more. "I'm so proud of you!" They reiterate.

You take a deep breath as they push further inside of you before their piercing brushes up against the sensitive nerves within, causing an electric sensitivity to buzz to life.

"[Y/N]..." A desperateness taints their voice as they push further, and yet another cry from you comes forth. "Taking me so well..."

With one last thrust they finally bottom out and you feel a flash of relief. While the pain was still somewhat present you could feel yourself adjusting with each onslaught of their hips, with the metal grazing against the bundle of electricity inside you. It's just enough to keep you distracted before the carnal delight returns once more. Only then can you truly get lost in all the sensations they worked so hard to bring to you.

"More– need– more–" Drool begins to form at the edges of your mouth as you glare upwards at your beloved with glazed over eyes. "Please give me everything you have–"

Their fingers dig into your flesh and leave tiger stripes in their wake as the speed picks up. The rugged pounding of your hips sends ripples into the sweating skin of your legs– it was harsh, but it was everything you needed. All the sounds they were drawing from you were more than enough to keep them going for as long as they could manage.

And soon enough they are completely focused on just two things:

You.

And how pretty you were about to look painted in white.

You can feel yourself grip them as hard as you can to chase one last burst of orgasmic satisfaction. It's definitely not as intense as your first two, but it's there, and it doesn't go unnoticed by either one of you– it's just enough to let your back arch off the mattress one more time and flood your brain with the dopamine you're frantically searching for in all of this. The stars descend upon you again until you feel something warm coat your torso and part of your face that snaps you out of your trance.

Your fingers brush up against your cheek to wipe off the fluid.

"Uhh... sorry about that... let me grab a towel–"

They barely turn before they see you stick your come coated fingers in your mouth. You do the same to everything that splashed out on your stomach and chest.

"Pretty good, in case you were wondering." You mimicked their words from earlier.

If you both weren't so exhausted, seeing that would've made them hard enough for round two. Instead, you just watch as they collapse next to you and feel their arms wrap around you to hold you close.

Sweaty.

Sleepy.

Satisfied.

Your beloved nuzzles your face with theirs despite the dripping sweat– after all, it's not like yours is any different at this point.

"Are you okay? Was I too rough?" They worry, bringing a hand back up to your face to comfort you.

You shake your head.

"Good. Uh– I guess I also have a confession to make."

"Hm?" Your tired voice cracks making even the simplest noise in response.

"That was also the first time I ever came in my entire life." They admit.

Your eyes widen in surprise.

"So you really had nothing to worry about!" They add.

"You're joking."

"Nope! Kiriko told me everything. I figured I'd just wait and show you." They grin.

Kiriko.

"Remind me to call her later." You grumble.

The look on your face apparently said everything.

"Uh oh."

You sigh. "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it in the morning." You pause for a minute, thinking back to your conversation with her. "I guess she was right, though. I didn't have anything to worry about."

Sloan once again nuzzles up to your face and the annoyance almost immediately leaves your body.

"Let's just get some rest. I'm exhausted." You turn and finally let your body rest atop your beloved. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"Nothing could ever make me think less of you, mi tesoro. I promise." You can feel their arms wrap around you to hold you close.

For a minute you fall silent to listen to their heartbeat.

"It's mutual." You promised them back.

[cherry-pop-elf]

Morning Classes

Severus Snape x Reader

Summary: You spent the night in your boyfriend’s bedroom, at the school he works at. The issue with sleeping in a dungeon, is that you can’t tell when it’s sunrise. You slept in, and decided to make it known to everyone that Severus Snape CAN get some bitches

Warnings: None really, besides implied sexual content. But none actually. Also teenagers being teenagers, and poor Snape ready to have a heart attack

“Sevvy?” You yawned, as you would lift up your head. There you were, in satin sheets. Perfect for the muggy weather that the dungeons collected. Breathe able, light, and soft. Made you want to never leave the ink and emerald covers, but you wanted to get some breakfast with your boyfriend.

Another yawn left you, as you climbed out of the covers. Quick to steal one of his dress shirts, and cover yourself up in. You loved how it was a dress on you. Made you feel so safe, and warm. Emotionally, anyway. Despite the muggy weather of a dungeon, it can change and become so chill. Just a matter of when Peeves wants to snuff out the fire places.

“Sevvy? I want us to get some breakfast.” You called, as you stretched your body. The cold stones sending shivers through your feet, and up your spine. “And cuddles. I want more cuddles.” You cooed, as you would force open the heavy door. The one to lead to his classroom. Took some effort, but you broke through.

“Sevvy, sweetie? Let’s get some br…” Your heart dropped, as you froze. Seems you slept in, because class was in session. The familiar smog of the potions brewing filled the air, but never enough to hide the faces of his students. Along with himself.

The way every student was jaw dropped, at the realization that someone was in Snapes bedroom. Not only in his bedroom, but clearly having spent the night there. They just couldn’t process it, and neither could Snape. That ever cold scowl vanished, to be replaced with the most brilliant of pink cheeks. Seems Hogwarts was just a breeding ground of making sure he got embarrassed.

“Oh….I….Apologies….It can be kinda hard to tell the time, when you are underground.” You gulped, as you rubbed the back of your neck. You tried to step out of the room, but your back came into contact with the door. No way did you want to turn around, and risk exposing your naked butt to a bunch of kids. That’s not only gross, but also very embarrassing.

“Damn, kinda hot-“ A student said, causing Snape’s head to spin so sharply. You are surprised that no bones were broken in the process. As if he had time to figure out who said that. He had a partner to worry about. He cursed himself for letting you sleep in.

“Not. A. WORD.” He warned his students, as he quickly ran to your side. Swiftly he would take off his ever present cloak, and wrapped it around you. Let you be covered, as the students still stared. Never did they think Snape could be human. Find love, have a romance, be intimate with someone. It was just kinda assumed he was an entity all on his own.

“I am so sorry-“ You quickly whispered, with shame in your eyes. Way to go. You had to humiliate him. A man that’s been burdened with such all his life. You just had to give him more trauma. Way to go. That’s reading on your face like a book, and he won’t have any of that. He will break the cycle.

“I should have left a note-“ He tried to whisper back, but failed. The classroom was so silent, from shock, so much as his own heart beat could be heard. Was Snape taking responsibility for his own actions, and not wanting someone to feel bad? Who is this imposter? That was getting the class rowdy now.

“Students-“ He warned, but the teenagers in them were over ruled. They had so many questions. Who is this person? How did you two meet? Did you go to Hogwarts with him? Are you from another school? Pure blood? Muggle born? Did you top?!

“I uh. Just better go get some pants on-“ You swallowed, as he nodded. He was quick to open the door for you, and you ran in. It would then slam behind you, but it couldn’t muffle the gossiping of the class.

“Children-!” He warned, but their curiosity overruled their fear. They had to know. Who the hell were you?! Why would you settle for him?! So many questions, so little class time to figure it all out. They needed to know!

You made sure to hurry up, and slipped on some random bottoms. Along with a cozy top. Just clothes to actually wear, as to go out there and save your boyfriend. It must be an emotional nightmare to deal with. A bunch of students ganging up on him, much like his childhood. You will save the day.

“Hey everyone-! Sorry about that-! So uh. Hi! Yes, I’m his romantic partner. No, we didn’t meet at Hogwarts. I’m a-“ You began to rattle off, as to try and settle everyone down. Along with give Severus a moment to breathe. Breathe, and process what is happening. So much for staying under the radar.

“Why him?” Someone asked. Damn, even you could feel Snape’s death glare towards the student. Stings, but you snuck your hand to tangle with his. Comforting him, with brushing your thumb over his knuckles.

“Oh where do I start? Handsome, smart, charismatic, playful-“ That got a brow raise at the remark. The moment you kissed his cheek? Everyone was gagging, and making mock throwing up noises. You swore you saw a smile tug at his lips, at such foolery. Had you giggle, as you nuzzled your head into his shoulder.

“Thank Merlin, the bell-!” A student shouted, as the clock tower rang. Everyone was quick to bolt, leaving behind cauldrons full of left over potions. That had him rubbing his temples, but you already grabbed your wand. Working on the first one for him.

“The talk of the school….again….” He grumbled, as he would work on another one. He never liked being in the spotlight. If he could hide in the shadows, he would. Impossible now. Given the ‘scary potion master’ now had a romantic partner. Someone could love him? Such horror.

“Oh hush. Bet they are just jealous that I’m the lucky one.” You soothed, as you would give his cheek another kiss. Make that, multiple kisses. Just peppering him, and not willing to lighten up. Not until he smiled.

Took a minute, but he did. Just for you. He smiled, and soon returned a peck to your own. Far softer, and quieter. Just how he was. Like a gust of wind, in the moonlight. One of the endless reasons you adored him.

“So…..no breakfast-?” You puzzled, before he handed you over an apple. He had made sure to grab you something, after he had his own. He kept you in his thoughts. Had you just beaming, as you happily took it. Taking a large bite, as you now sat on his desk. Eye candy, as he worked.

Maybe today won’t be so bad after all. He’s in good company.

[cheolsfae]

Can you do Enhypen Heeseung as a partner ❤

Sure thing!

*not serious!*

Past: queen of cups, 8 of wands

It's like he's quick to confess to someone and he's super confident about it. Like he knows the other person feels the same way so he figures he might as well just lay it out on the table flat out and just show his cards. He isn't fearful of just saying what he feels for them. This might have been something he's struggled with before but no longer has this problem, now it's different.

Present: the chariot, the devil (reversed)

He's quick to push for something more serious very early on. This is a bad habit he's got. He could have been pushing for commitment after like 2 months of seeing someone (Now to me that is quick). Or maybe like 4/5 dates. He could be pushing that and it's too much for the other person to handle. But he "knows" what he wants and he wants to go for it full force but building a relationship takes time. He's kind of rigid with this kind of thinking. He sees it only in black or white. It's either you two are together or you aren't and you've wasted his time.

Future: page of swords, the tower

When he does manage to get into a relationship, he's very jealous. He is very watchful over who his partner is talking to. If they are secretly trying to find someone else. If they are seeing someone else. things like that. That could just be trauma from a past relationship but it also just could be how he is. I think this was a huge issue in all of his previous relationships. It might have been his huge downfall in all of them. He needs to wise up and not constantly assume the worse with all of his relationships!

*Oracle deck was used!

[rin-and-jade]

A Cup, and A Thread: A Post About System Communication

Hey, you know classic string telephone? The one made with two plastic cups and a piece of yarn, i suppose you recognize that old-school science toy? It's one of the simplest inventions that showcases how messages are sent from one place to another!

This little invention is very fitting to explain how inner communication works, so i hope today's theme of analogy will help you understand all of my messages im about to share, with a twist of a fiber.

There's a lot of things i want to address on this topic, thanks to all my 8 great friends who had helped me gather a variety of insights on what seems to be the problem, i have the answers right here that will be shared to the community, because of them!

You know what communication is?

I sure do, but let's both revise on what it means, according to Merriam-Webster, it's defined as..

"a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior."

It also means "a technique for expressing ideas effectively."

..Alright, we should be in the same page now, but, do we actually know what counts as 'good' communication in system context? After some examination from the given data, it was a resounding "No." This can also mean many may not have a clear idea on it, which will also be addressed.

Okay, tell me please?

Before i do tell, remember that communication is diverse, with no perfect or right way to do so. Just like animals, where different species use unique methods to pull it off, means can systems have their own unique styles too.

There are a few examples we see in animals; like how some use pheromones to talk to its own kind, while some read off from their signature body languages, and some use tones or cues that is meant to be recognized specifically, to each their own meanings.

So, good communication means ensuring that everyone in the system can understand and receive messages effectively which eases functioning and cooperation, regardless of how frequent or indirect the communication may be.

For us, systems have unique internal methods of communication that are based on how our brains function, not having any unique features in animals. These methods are very personal, so find what works best for you.

Here are the common styles so far:

Verbal: Where you talk aloud, or in a media like notes.

Abstract vibes: Where you speak no words, which encompasses feelings, or concepts, or ideas, that can be "felt" instead of heard or seen.

Images: Where the share of messages are conveyed through memories, expressive actions or symbols that are projected in the mind.

Direct thoughts: Where an internal dialogue is present, parts communicate using this inner voice, that can vary in different accents and intonations.

The media represents a lot of the stereotypical kind, direct thoughts, while the rest are less recognized. These four kinds are not limited to, but are the ones often represented, they are equally as important and real.

It's important to note that alters within a system can have different communication styles, or the collective may share the same style. You can't force yourself to use a particular kind, so focus on practicing and mastering your style.

..But there's many problems!

Which is why it's a good idea to educate yourself and find proper solutions in order to resolve them. I know some of them at best, as there might be issues i have not heard of, though will still be shared.

Consider a clear communication between two alters with an example of both cups, connected to the string with no obstructive noise at the background while exchanging messages, one conveys the content clearly, and the other hears and received with maximum clarity/understanding. This will be our main example that will be used to compare with the problems that usually arise in this topic.

The problem with multi-talking

Now, to explain interruptions from another part would be like having an extra string-attached cup tied to the middle of the initial cup, now with two inputs and one receiver, the messages will overlap each other and become obscured.

This can be resolved by being aware, then slowing down when talking and take turns between each other to avoid clashes which can easily overwhelm or confuse the receiver, or even the sender itself since losing track of thought or words can happen.

The problem with worser performance from stress

When stress happens, this can sometimes mess up your state to receive messages, imagine that outwards stressors had pulled and tugged your thread, now a bit twisted out and weak, which still can be used to communicate and hear, but now in a weaker clarity.

Because parts communicate mostly from internal ways, our brain networks are responsible to allow when activities inside (that doesn't necessarily involve system things) can happen. Just like how imagination runs in a mind that's wandering off, stress alerts you instead, snapping off from any safe or calm activities until the 'threat' is resolved.

You can gain temporary clarity by calming yourself down and bring all your focus to send your messages if any responds, if it doesn't happen, it would be best to wait it out until you naturally feel at ease once more, or solve the issue at hand and try again afterwards.

This may not work when you are in a fight or flight response, if you do got cutted off and need to contact anyone from inside, try using strong triggers to probe a response.

The problem with ineffective communication

It is like talking to a part who uses a rubber strand instead of cotton string as its mediator. Threads can conduct finer vibrations that can preserve the original verbal message, while rubber can represent for those who use vibes, as they're more broad and less specific. So if they attempt to talk to you with rubber, you might not receive it's message well,

This can be solved with having another part that are flexible or able to decipher, or find the middle ground where both can exchange better. (e.g. texts)

The problem of talking outside your subgroup

This is where it gets tricky, because there is a notable difference in communication where it's easier to converse inside your group while it's harder to converse outside of your group. What i mean by group is they are the people you meet and talk the most and have easy time communicating.

Imagine that the same group has the same length of the thread, the shorter, the better it retains or transfers message with no effort. Talking outside of your group would require you an extra pair of string telephone, but this time the thread is long as you're talking to another neighboring group, who isn't directly related with you.

Suggestions varies from trying different medias to contact with and see what works best, or rely on someone who have direct relations with the group you mean to interact with, acting as a bridge. Lowering barriers by consenting to get closer in co-conscious might do the trick too. Long term solution would be building ties to strengthen communication. (can also work with layers, better if you can 'travel' there to get direct interactions)

The problem with front and innerworld disconnection

It is normal to be out of contact from the inside when you're fronting, since this would mean you put down the cup to focus doing task or role job. To remedy this, try finding a moment to sit down or close your eyes, and feel yourself going back to your mind, since in order to contact those inside, you must lightly disconnect from the real world to focus better inwards.

The problem with having aphantasia

As if you heard the noise from the cup, but you're not sure where that sound is coming from nor aware of your surroundings as this condition blinds you visually (can vary from mild to severe, blurry/vague mental images to blank respectively).

Your innerworld is still there, using visualization is one way to immerse in, start relying on your tactile awareness, or your 'radar' that is, since it is possible to detect parts in your proximity. Rely on tangible medias such as texting or notes to keep track of things.

The problem with external noise

Having a comorbid of something, such as ADHD, autism, or OCD can create a mental chatter that exists in the background constantly.. if not most of the time, imagine that the location of the telephone is somewhere bustling, now it is harder to tell which one is intrusive, random chatters, or an alter's voice.

There is not a lot to say except learning how to separate those noises from your people, it is done best by slowing down and voice your messages wide and clear to create a distinction from such background chatter, making it easier to differentiate.

Other conditions like depression and anxiety can also affect the clarity and ease of communicating.

The problem with distinguishing others

For those with comorbids and aphantasia, this can make it much harder, though still possible! One last problem with communication is sometimes not knowing who is who, which creates obstacles in different ways. Imagine that there are multiple cups lined up to you as the receiver, this creates difficulty on pinpointing whose speaking. Thus, having problems on replying back or made sure if the first sentence relate to the second one, or it belonged to someone else.

The only solution there is, has to be a long term one. As you're suggested to slowly collect and recognize different speech pattern, assigned vibes of other parts, when they usually reply or what topics/mentions brings them up, and different accents or tone if any.

It is not required to 'know' physical attributes or what they look like, but this one will help a ton and usually the easiest way in distinguishing who is who. The solution is to go through a trial and error (arrange all the attributes you like/feel connected to, and see what sticks) and document all the findings somewhere, incase you're forgetful/difficulty memorizing.

Special mentions

It is worth knowing that communication is greatly affected by your state of mind + physical health, the conditions you have, the maturity of the alter in communicating skills, and the style you or the collective dominantly have.

That being said, having the same role, or source, or how old or new an alter is doesn't generally affect the ease of exchanging messages.

Lastly, inner communication also obeys similar rules to how conversation works in real life, this can be taken from examples:

The proximity of the talker you're with affects how much you can understand what is being said. It makes sense that you need to focus harder to hear what the mumbles meant when they're further away from you.

Being with people you can vibe along always results in a better and more effective exchange, as you don't have to explain twice for them to get the message. (mutual understanding)

How loud the environment is also affects how focused/undisturbed you are within a conversation, and it takes effort to separate the background noise to catch what they're saying.

People also have their own ways of expressing their message, some are more dominant in body language or etc. This is why it is important to recognize and understand what it means. You will always have your own dominant way of socializing, but this doesn't mean you can't learn other ways, partially.

Now comprehending the concept of system communication does become easier, right? This should serve as a good framework to start building and understanding connections.

One last phone call

I hope everything i have said here has been loud and clear, if there is a problem that has not been mentioned that needs fixing, give this string telephone a tug and i'd answer your call alright?

May this post address all the things you need more than a hotline help centre and leave with full satisfaction.

If you please, i will now indulge in the whole history of telephone strings, join me if you wish! Did you know it's originally made of tin can instead of a plastic cup?

-- The next post that will be out: all about introjection. Stay tuned!

- j

[themotherofallthings]

Someone give Louis Tomlinson his flowers already!

I woke up early this morning, as I often do, thanks to years of working and horrible insomnia. And like most mornings these last few years, I grab my phone and begin to scroll my twitter feed. Louis had a show last night and I wanted to catch up on anything I might've missed once the show had ended and I headed to bed. Per usual, there is a lot of beautiful pics and tweets from concert attendees, waxing poetic about how good the show was and how proud of Louis they are. Typical fare for this fandom, nothing new to add.

I keep scrolling and I land an account, tweet sharing what looks like snippets from an "article" or "blog piece" (not sure which) from the "Medium". I stop dead in my tracks and read the multiple tweet thread of the most biased, vile drivel I've come across in a long time. And I've been here a while.

Firstly, opinions are just that, opinions. And this person's opinions are theirs and theirs alone but sadly, speak to a larger issue within music, the industry and the fandom experience itself.

This writer attended a Louis show with a friend who was a fan. Their only "knowledge" of him coming from this friend & any indirect knowledge because of his time in One Direction. But from the outset, the writing and pov, comes off immediately biased and judge-y.

"a sea of teeth in braces, puffy cheeks and pigtail buns" - commenting on the appearances of the young fans - note - very young fans "Most attendees are too young to drink legally". Because that's what matters about attending a show. Moving on.

"There are no dancers, there is no set piece, there is no stage show, no performance, no outfit changes"

Every artist curates their live show for themselves & their fans. To achieve the best possible experience and set expectations of how the night is going to go.

Louis has no illusions here. He is not "the greatest showman that ever lived" and HAS NEVER PRETENDED to be. He is a straightforward musician who's job it is to sing and engage with the fans. Which he does. For anyone paying attention, he's definitely come a very long way from those 1st early shows and is far more relaxed than he was back then. BUT and this is a huge but, to see and understand this, you have to know his journey and his story, which this person does not (though she does allude to knowledge of AOTV).

She even comments on it by calling him "the least memorable person in a lineup of five" the very criticism he levelled at himself. It's a gut punch to read a rando say something like this, which, we as his fans know, is something he had always been made to feel like while he was in the band, despite most of the 1D fans acknowleding the loved Louis, as did all the guys. Niall, calling him "the glue; the guy who made sure they didn't lose the plot". This is all surface, she doesn't know really know or see him or his lost potential. Nor is she likley to care.

The other thing that I find troubling, aside from her personal views of his singing talent and lacklustre show and personality, is the comments levelled at fans and their enjoyoment/appreciation of 'good music'.

I won't get into the 3 "types of fans" that she describes present at the show she attended because it doesn't matter to the point of my rant (though is it pretty basic & lacking nuisance but I digress). The one label that did stick out was the "cheerleader fan" and her opinion that these fans are only here to support Louis - who by her own opinion and pov, stated was the least successful/memorable and "is forever defined against his more popular former band mate" for unknown reasons. I'm assuming she thinks they are here because they find him cute? Not sure.

"For the Underdog Cheerleaders, it’s not about music so much as it is about identifying with... the least memorable person in a lineup of five" because identifying with an artist is problematic? Dumb? Unimportant? Allow me to show you the stadiums filled with Taylor's fans, who all identify with her and her music.

That is sort of the fan's job. To support and champion their fave, especially when they are not given their proper due. Now I'm not mentioning TS and comparing her to Louis or vice versa, that woman has GOTTEN ALL HER FLOWERS and good for her, but she goes on to claim that "his lines are almost comically generic" speaking about his songwriting. This clearly tells me she wasn't paying attention or was at the bar or bathroom & must've been absent when Copy of a Copy of a Copy was performed. Or when he sang All this Time or Holding on to Heartache. Because you would have to be dead inside to not have had a reaction to the bridge of HOTH & not hear the emotion in his voice as exhales those words, "Nothing's ever easy, to be honest, I'm not easy on myself". Those lines cut me and left me bleeding on the side of the road when I first heard them. But you know, comicially generic. Whatever.

This entire article reads like a hit piece bought and paid for by some industry insider. She literally lists every critiques antis, toxic Harries and Swifties and even Simon himself have levelled at Louis over the years. But this article doesn't require a conspiracy theory to explain. She doesn't like Louis. Or his music. She finds him boring, and apparently isn't a "deep enough lyricist" for her cold, cerebal mind to engage with.

"I’m left wondering what all these thousands of young fans really care about...it doesn’t really seem to be about the music...at its innermost core, this fandom is about itself."

Let me first say this, music, like most are is subjective. It's personal taste. Some fans love country. Some love rock. Some love Classic metal punk with a side of Beethoven. It's music and because it is one of the most uniquie artforms, its enthusiasts will engage and appreciate it for different reasons. And one of the most amazing things about being a fan of music in this day and age, is fandom.

I am old as fuck. And I can genuinely say that being a fan of music since I was 8 years old and first discovered what the radio did in my parent's living room, I have been a fucking fan. But I grew up in a time where there were no online fandoms. No one to scream about Simon's cute outfit or Billy's snarling at an interviewer that one time, or dying with when Jon BonJovi cut his hair. It was a different fan experience back then. There was no online community. No fandom family to go through it with you when Wham broke up.

Fandom has always been controversial because it has always mostly been made up of young women. And young women have had their taste in music disrespected and vilified for decades (starting with the Beetles). Research it. So I find it kind of sad this writer questions why these fans love Louis and his music so much. Because the reasons don't matter. There are many or none. They just are. That's sort of how art works. You feel it. You don't really see it with your eyes but your mind. Your skins senses it before your heart does. And that is how music is or should be. It should not just be about catchy pop one liners or streams or charting. It's about how it makes you feel. The memories it in invokes when you hear a song many years later. It's the way we still remember the words to that one song from the summer during our 3rd year of high school. How do you quantify that? You can't.

I grew up during a very rich and varied musical landscape, so when I tell you that I have loved almost every genre of music, I have loved it for many, many different reasons. Sometimes (when I was younger) because the lead singer was cute and dressed nice and other times because the beat/bop was too good to ignore to not want to sing from the top of my lungs. NEVER ONCE DID I CARE IF THE LYRICS WERE "GENERIC" or that it wasn't popular among my friends or that it didn't fill my head with mythical imagery. If it made me happy and it entertained me, then it was enough for me. Not every artist is going to be Bob fucking Dylan or Taylor Swift. And that's okay. But Louis IS a great song writer and he himself has said he's not big on writing metaphors and cares more about conveying an emotion and a moment in time and we find that engaging. We are still moved when he sings "Saved by Stranger" or Paradise or Change. Because they are good songs that convey a particular moment, sentiment or emotion we can all connect with.

Look, I respect that not everyone is going to 'get' everyone's fave. I don't get Taylor Swift, but I can acknowledge that she has talent but I don't fucking need a show to enjoy her music. But she does that because SHE enjoys that and it definitely helps justify the cost of her tickets. No disrespect, I blame TM for that, mostly.

"To his credit, he really doesn’t pretend to be more than he is — that’s all other people‘s doing"

And that is sort of the point of him. He is not pretending to be something he is not. He is geniune and down to earth and not full of himself like so many other successful artists are and can be. He earned the right to put on airs coming out of 1D and their success. But he doesn't. He says, "this is who I am, take it or leave it" and for his fans, they take it, in spades.

So go read the article for context (or don't - it's probably better for you blood pressure & mental health) but understand that this one person's pov, is not going change who we are as a fandom. We see something in Louis that resonants with us. Maybe it's the "underdog" mentality. Maybe it's the 'cute lad from the north of England' vibe. Maybe it's his no nonsense approach to song writing and performing, but there is no denying there is something about Louis Tomlinson that draws you to him. You want to engage with him. You want to sing his songs. And you do. We all do.

So please, someone give this man his flowers. They are long fucking over due.

[eff-plays]

What is it that you struggle with in the vanilla durge story?

OUGH I just about stopped bleeding followers, now I'm gonna start again.

Oh well RIP in piss me 😔 You're my sweet cheese though so I'll answer 💖

Basically I find that Durge (as far as I know) actually having a pretty good time before Orin put a worm in his dome undercut a lot of the "oughough I'm struggling against my nature" storyline they're going for. Because Durge never chose to try to leave before being forced to, him attempting to redeem himself basically happened by chance, without any sort of motivation. And that makes sense for a video game character with amnesia, but that's where the "set backstory" clashes against player choice. What in-universe reason does Durge even have for trying to resist his urges? Just like ... an innate feeling of wanting to be good? But why? How? If he's made from Bhaal's flesh, why is that instinct even there at all? If he's a thinking independent being, why didn't he try to leave before Orin did the worm thing?

I'm not even particularly against the Urge itself, even if the way its presented is very edgy and juvenile at times. But the fact that it's implied the Urge was SO strong before but now is just gone and been replaced with a new personality just doesn't mesh with me.

Either Durge had some agency before and chose to be a serial killer horny for murder, and that's why his not remembering shit makes it possible for him to prioritize doing good now that his Urges are suppressed/forgotten. OR he's Bhaal's own flesh and the Urge is an intristic part of him and he physically cannot comprehend doing good.

But because the player needs to be able to choose whether to indulge or redeem Durge, why Durge is choosing/capable of doing good is left to the player. And that just doesn't mesh with the backstory they set up. The Urge was so strong before that he was gleefully a serial killer, but now it's so weak that he's able to resist? Why? What changed? Why was there a personality below the Urge at all? What use does Bhaal have of a puppet who is, on some level, able to think for themself? And if Durge was always able to think for himself, why didn't he rebel sooner? Well, because what if the player wants to play Evil!Durge, then it wouldn't make sense for Durge to rebel in his backstory!

My friend said it's basically a factory reset, and that's what's bothering me. It's unmotivated, it's chance, it's not Durge acting on his own accord. Larian are trying to have their cake (protag with a set background) and eat it too (protag is vaguely enough defined that you can just insert your own motivations into them).

Idk ... Does that make sense? It's a very difficult sort of incongruence to explain, so I'm sorry if I rambled a bunch and said fuck-all.

I'm considering making Phoebus into a classic Bhaalspawn from the previous games, but I'd have to do a bit of research to make that work.

[louismygf]

some louis tomlinsons i never posted ^_^

[lord-squiggletits]

Thinking about IDW Optimus again and the fandom's aversion to even acknowledging he exists bc he's a cop or whatever and like. Most of the time people literally just replace him in fic with some white bread knockoff archivist/librarian, not even bothering to keep in IDW OP's personality (which just bolsters my theory that the problem isn't him being a cop the problem is that he's too multifaceted but I digress).

And it's annoying because you could totally write IDW Optimus as not a cop while still keeping his canon personality. You just have to realize that the reason IDW OP became a cop in the first place is because his formative experiences when he was young shaped him to basically have two priorities: 1. To help people and 2. To do it by being on the ground actively doing something about the bad things happening to people.

IDW OP would not be a fucking librarian or archivist because even though those are noble pursuits that can help people and change the world, and Optimus is educated/smart enough for the profession, he wouldn't be satisfied just teaching people or spreading information about activism or social-historical studies or whatever. He's a mech of action: he needs to be doing things right now, in front of him, to people he sees/interacts with in his own eyes, improving society with concrete actions rather than indirect action or abstract inspiration.

So basically the alternate job ideas I can think of for IDW Optimus are something like being a firefighter (or any first responder really) or even whatever the equivalent would be to international charity organizations, those ones that send volunteers across the world to do stuff like build housing/infrastructure or distribute food or whatnot. I mean I can't imagine that the equivalents to these things would be exactly the same in IDW Cybertron, so you'd have to get a little creative with it, but these are just some ideas of jobs that would fit IDW Optimus' personality while still filling the niche of "not a cop" for people who are just that opposed to it.

Though I think the revulsion against coptimus is annoying in general tbh because IDW is already a continuity that rejects the idea of easily defined good/evil people or groups. It feels like people really want Optimus to be a good person in a very sanitized and academically approved way, so he has to be nice and squeaky clean but also like, a perfect leftist who knows theory and holds the most progressive opinions on every single issue....

There is no room for the idea that good people join bad institutions, there's no room for the idea that the reason people think cops are good guys who help people is bc of the government propaganda everything is saturated with. Hell there's even later issues of the Optimus Prime series by John Barber where Optimus like, MULTIPLE FUCKING TIMES, is shown in flashbacks grappling with the fact that he as a cop/Zeta's regime that he works for might not actually be improving society like they say they are, and dealing with the fact that he feels more like a lesser evil compared to the Decepticons (perhaps not "lesser" at all).

It's like there's this idea in fandom of like, fictional media and opinions on media having to strictly adhere to progressive ideals at all times. So people just go "cops bad, this character is a cop, therefore they suck" without being willing to engage with the idea of like. IDW OP is born wanting to fight injustice and protect people -> a good way to protect people is to fight the people who are hurting them and committing crimes -> surely following the law is a reliable moral code to guide him in this -> becomes a cop because he's been indoctrinated into a society (much like our own) where he was told that the state/the law exist to protect the people and being a cop means you get to fight bad guys that hurt people. There's really so many interesting concepts there that could be (and CANONICALLY IS) explored about how good, well-intentioned people can be led to harmful actions simply because they have been fed the idea that the things they're doing are good/helpful/noble. Which is especially important for a character like Optimus, I think, who has a cultural icon status as The Irrefutable and Perfect Good, so it's really important actually to use IDW Optimus as an example of how even the most noble people you know have held problematic beliefs or done bad things at some point in their life. You know, because no one is born perfect and ideologically pure, and in fact society is constructed in exactly a manner to make people drink the kool-aid and believe that the systems designed to hurt them/others are just a normal, if flawed, society.

I mean the writing in IDW literally has Optimus deal directly and indirectly with the harm he's done as a cop and how people don't/didn't trust him because of that. I don't know what the fuck else this fandom wants if the source material literally saying "OP realizes that cops suck and he hurt people and earned their disdain by doing the things he did" doesn't stop them from going EW cop bastard sucks and is the worst Optimus. Like the narrative barely stops short of outright saying ACAB and Optimus himself would agree with this sentiment.

At that point, the collective fandom beef with IDW OP isn't because he's a cop and the narrative didn't do enough to condemn that. The problem is literally just that people don't read and don't care

TLDR: Consider the fact that good people can do bad things sometimes especially when living from birth in a corrupt society that thoroughly disguises its vices/oppressive structures as completely normal parts of existence

[dennisboobs]

plain and simple i am not going to be able to remain in this fandom long-term if i have to keep putting disclaimers on every single one of my posts that say i don't condone dennis' bad, bad actions and that i am in fact aware he's got a history of sexual assault and dubious/nonconsent. the entire gang has done heinous shit. why is dennis the only one who needs to be treated like this? if some rando wants to post about how dennis is pookie pie that doesn't automatically mean they're blind to his crimes. every single member of the gang is a piece of shit. that's kind of the point.

draw dennis with cat ears who give a shit

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Points at you. 10 and/or 11 for starstruck?

Two starstruck asks,,,,,,joy of joys,,

Part of an ask game linked here.

#10. What's an au you have for them?

Since them meeting at all is technically an AU i have 3 different ways that they do meet up. There's the one where Juniper ends up with the agency/adjacent to and ends up working with Reggie (have written a fic with this). The next one is Juniper surviving but basically going stealth and living as normal of a life as he can and ending up meeting Reggie through chance (most recent fic I've written). And then there's my personal favourite where Reginald "You're lucky my tracking skills are still up to snuff" Crane keeping himself busy after Phoenix was MIA and finding Juniper still alive (fic I want to write but haven't started mainly because it may end up multi chapter).

In terms of more AU canon bending taking them and putting them in a completely unrelated situation...I have a guilty pleasure Warrior Cats AU for IEYTD in general. Both JJ and Reggie have perfect warrior cats suffixes in their names already (Juniper and Crane) so they're called Junipersong (charcoal bengal) and Craneflight (tabby Norwegian forest cat). It's very silly but the amount of scenes I have in my mind for it...good lord...

#11. How was their first kiss like?

Augh my friend Imp wrote an absolutely excellent fic about it (tragically in the realm of unfinished Google docs) and I'm shaking their hand about it so hard. Basically Juniper kissing Reggie but he like wasn't ready/fully expecting it and Juniper absolutely panicking because he thinks he's misread every interaction between them both since they got closer. The second one is much sweeter though,,

[quietwingsinthesky]

Do you agree w/ the fandom interpretation that john was so homophobic he’d have beaten up and abandoned his sons for being gay? Cause sure, he grew up in the 60s as a mechanic and then later became a marine during the vietnam war, but i also don’t think homophobia would’ve necessarily been a priority for him? Like obviously he’s not gonna be the full on supportive and politically correct loving dad, but i think that the fandom’s general opinion on that is pretty warped by people’s relationships w/ their own fathers

I do think this is one place where people tend to project. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that; working out our issues through fiction is healthy and good! I don’t think there’s any canon proof of it beyond, as you said, him being a marine from the sixties who would probably not be super knowledgeable about being queer, maybe a little apprehensive about it from what he’s absorbed through the culture he grew up in. I think we’d be correct to point out that if Sam or Dean were queer, he might be uncomfortable about it, he might try to avoid the topic, which is in of itself hurtful.

The thing about me is: I fully disagree that John was ever physically abusive towards his kids. At most, I will bend this interpretation to say he was probably too harsh on them while teaching them to fight and that maybe he and Sam have traded blows before when arguments got too loud (by blows, I mean, probably shoving with the yelling, you know, assertion of physical space. It seems realistic to me that two people who have been using violence for a long time to protect themselves, and for John, his family, down to the hierarchal power he’s put in place of him -> Dean -> Sam, would resort to it when things got too heated.)

(I also think that sometimes fandom’s insistence that John had to be physically abusive can sometimes get a little insulting because it perpetuates the idea that emotional abuse does less harm and can be overlooked and for flattening out John’s character in a way the show very literally pointed to and said He Did Not Do That. This is the entire point of Max’s episode in s1, for the show to point out that their experiences of abuse were different. How well it was handled is arguable, but I take it as clear evidence that when we talk about John’s relationship with his sons, the focus should be on the emotional abuse, the codependency he developed with Dean from a very young age, his neglect of them both, his attempts to suppress Sam, etc. And I appreciate this about the show, because you can’t talk about any of those things without also talking about why they’re happening, why John thinks this is necessary, how he loves his sons and isolates them to protect them and ends up doing more and more damage that will never leave them through their entire lives.

I’m sure there’s depictions of John being physically abusive that handle it with the same amount of nuance that the show handles him being emotionally abusive in canon. I have not seen them, unfortunately. I’ve seen John being physically abusive 90% of the time just being used as shorthand for him being Bad and Evil and A Terrible Father. Which does not interest me. So I will remain here as a staunch defender of He Would Not Fucking Hit His Kids.)

Sorry, okay, we got off topic there this is about gay shit.

The point of All Of That was for me to be able to say, John’s not going to react to his sons being queer by beating them. He’s definitely not going to abandon them. Hello? John Winchester? Abandon his kids? John Winchester, the guy who has been keeping them in warded up motel rooms their whole lives and moving them across the country out of paranoia the demon who killed his wife could find them if they say anywhere too long? John Winchester who only trusted one or two people to ever look after his sons when he went on a hunting trip too long? We think that John would ditch his kid because they’re queer???

Like I said, I think the most realistic reaction for John, (if not just flat out him going ‘that’s fine, now load this gun while I time you because that’s more important for me to know that you can do’, because. He kind of has bigger priorities to worry about here. Like werewolves.) would be discomfort and pushing it out of his view, ignoring it. Which would still fucking hurt! And would have horrible effects on Sam and Dean both, would encourage Dean to repress it if he thinks his dad is ashamed of him, would push Sam away if he trusts John with this fact about himself and can’t be accepted easily.

I just think this is truer to John’s character.

Anyway. If nothing else here persuades anyone reading that John Would Not Fucking Do That, well. He thought his kid was demonspawn, remember? He thought Sam was corrupted and might not be able to be saved. I don’t think you can get more clear queercoding than that, and you know what John’s very telling response was to that information, to finding out something a thousand times more terrifying than Sam being gay ever could be? To refuse to look at it. To insist to himself that whatever Hell wanted with Sam, he wouldn’t let it happen. To tell Dean to take care of it, because even when John is certain that his son might literally become a demon, he could never bring himself to pull the trigger on him. Because he loves Sam.

So like. He literally would not do anything for the much smaller realization that Sam is gay. His son has demon blood that might turn him super evil, and John still wouldn’t hurt him.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is, I try to keep the fact that John loved his sons at the forefront of my mind when I’m writing stuff about him, because I think if you let that slide out of your head, you can very easily make him much worse, much more flat than he was in canon. The real picture of him is just an extremely flawed man in a terrible situation who fucks up his kids as much as he protects them.

And also he wouldn’t care about them being gay because JohnAzazel real and true and they fucked sloppy in that hospital basement-

[seaweedstarshine]

You know that time in the comics when the Doctor is so depressed, he shuts off the lights, turns on an interrogation spotlight, locks himself in the console room, and argues with a bunch of judgmental shadow-figures resembling his past incarnations?

And all the TARDIS' lights go out and her interior becomes a maze to keep his companions out of the console room, all from her psychic connection with the Doctor (“moodbleed”)?

And his companions are left wandering in circles for two days as the air goes “stale,” not knowing where he is but thinking the worst, while he hallucinates in a dark room?

...because I'm thinking again about the times this definitely happened when he was with the Ponds.

[designernishiki]

I feel like I liked yakuza 5 a lot more than most people for some reason