#obviously not the same person and difference experiences but there is supposed to be a concurrent theme here of growth and goodness

[holocene-sims]

five oc facts

@sparkiekong tagged me a VERY veryyyyy long time ago and i'm just now getting to this tag months later (i'm so sorry 😭)

i'll tag: @thebramblewood @mangosimoothie @queeniecook @stargazer-sims @dandylion240 @jonquilyst 🤍

i just did a similar prompt for áine, who is this sim's niece, so how about facts for cathal? he's also a newbie to my sims universe, and i adore him and his personality tbh, but canon reasons make it hard for him to be included too much outside of random simblr posts like this

he is WILDLY younger than all his other siblings (like by 20 years) and was a total surprise baby. really, he's kind of a medical miracle because he was born after his mother went into menopause and was in her 40s, and no one knew he even existed until he randomly sprang into the world one august morning lmfao 💀

i think i mentioned it in one post but he's been a vegetarian for most of his life! actually, he declared himself a vegan when he was, like, six years old; he figured out what eggs and meat really were and then refused to eat animal products for decades. much to his dismay, he did have to introduce eggs and milk and whatnot back into his diet when he ran into a few nutritional deficiencies from veganism, but he's made his peace with being a vegetarian instead 🥦

he 100% does not remember his father outside of what he looked like. his dad (and aoife's younger brother) died very abruptly and super young of a heart attack when cathal was maybe three or so, and it's something that really nags at him. he's well aware there's nothing he can do about it, but he feels some strange mix of bad emotions that he never experienced a father-son bond, and that makes him 100x as serious about being a good father who'll be around a LONG time and just generally treating anyone younger than him well. he doesn't want anyone else feeling that type of loss 🥲

he actually writes an agricultural column in the local online newspaper and contributes to the county farmer's almanac lol. his big shtick is sustainability in agriculture and how new green technologies should be combined with traditional cultural approaches to the land so the earth doesn't die in, like, 10 years from excessive carbon emissions 🍃💚

he met his wife yvonne in a ballroom dance class! he was just bored one day in college and went to the class to do something new, and he immediately developed the biggest crush on the instructor. he just kept going back every week until he was brave enough to ask her out, and when he did, they hit it off. oh, and this is totally their thing - he has quite literally taken her dancing every weekend since they got together 😭😭😭

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

My brain is on fire same I can’t sleep and am thinking of this:

The way she writes about marriage/family/commitment through these different situations across the album is soooooooooo interesting.

You have a very intense first experience of it in “The Manuscript,” where it is first dangled in front of her/the narrator’s young, impressionable self as shorthand for real love in a situation that ended up being smoke and mirrors. She’s being told everything she wants to hear by someone who basically thinks it’s just foreplay. In the end, when it’s clear that the other person has no intention of actually making a life with her, it makes her feel used, but she forces herself to recalibrate and become the girl she thinks he and all the other hes want her to be. Easy breezy cool. But there’s a sense of loss in realizing those hopes were merely banter to the other.

You have the “grown up” version of it alluded to in “So Long, London” and “How Did It End?”, the years of putting in work to save a relationship and the “deflation of our dreaming leaving [her] bereft and reeling” leading to them “calling it all off.” The implication is clearly that they built a home together with plans for next steps at a point in time, but the commitment is shattered. (Obviously to me it sounds like marriage.) She’s bitter at spending her “prime” years with someone who ultimately didn’t want to be there, even if he couldn’t or wouldn’t admit it himself.

She felt like she did everything she was supposed to, but they were learning the right steps to different dances at as it were. Those dreams were at one point shared, but in the end they weren’t right for each other and she admits that, though bitterly (“I founded the club she’s heard great things about” eg the years she put in for him to help him grow up will end up benefiting his new lover, “but I’m not the one,” “you’ll find someone,” etc.). Mixed in with all this of her resentment of him wasting her youth (sacrificing herself at the altar), and his resentment of her for reasons less defined, and insinuations of betrayal in the shadows. The fantasy of the whole package disappears into the ether, yet she still has no answers as to how they got there.

Then in comes the wolf in sheep’s clothing in many of the rest of the songs, the one who promises her all those things she’s dreamed of since she was a kid instantly. After years of moulding herself to other men’s desires, someone comes in and tells her exactly what she wants to hear at the most vulnerable time of her life, as though the universe is answering her prayers, like some sort of cosmic payback for all she’s suffered, and it’s the most intoxicating drug of all. She’s gone from her wish for a family life feeling like she’s in a way being used for her body, to it being used as a chain to a relationship gone sour, to having someone put a metaphorical ring on her finger and tell her he wants to have babies with her, fuck those other guys.

In her grief and stupor, it’s too good to be true, which is exactly why she falls for it. But of course, it’s all an illusion, because this wolf is an amalgamation of the worst of all the men who came before him. He tells her everything she wants to hear not to make her dreams come true, but to make his. He takes the worst parts of these scenarios to make his move: he’ll stand by her, he’ll commit, he’ll do it out in the open under the spotlight’s glare (all things desperately lacking in her last relationship), but after he beds her he stabs her in the back in private and leaves her. He got what he wanted at the expense of her losing everything she wanted, this time as her world caved in seemingly for good. She feels like she gave up everything she thought she might have had for a chance that this is where the universe has been point her all along, only to be left broken for good (you represent the loss of my life as I knew it).

Then there are two sort of codas to this. In “But Daddy I Love Him” we get a sassier reimagining of “Love Story,” where the girl with the scarlet letter is mouthy and crass and tells everyone to go fuck themselves for cursing her in the first place, choosing her love above all else. And no, those haters can’t come to her wedding. Her daddy may have come around, but they sure can’t. Finally it seems someone is choosing her and will someday give her these things, and she’ll be able to show all the naysayers. (Also interestingly one of the more fictionally-veiled songs which ends happily vs the diaristic ones that don’t.)

Then of course there’s “So High School,” our first glimpse into what the future holds. Probably the only unabashedly happy (nay… electric?) song on the album, it’s all about reclaiming the buzz of youth (which is a whole other post) with a new lover. “Are you gonna marry, kiss or kill me? It’s just a game but really, I’m betting on all three for us two.” It’s, er, a direct nod to a certain now-infamous interview, but again, she’s staking her claim on her future, if not certain then at least hopeful again. This time the prospect doesn’t come with a “but.” It’s not, we’ll be pushing strollers but actually you’re too young. It’s not, we had these dreams for our future but actually I can’t move forward. It’s not, I’m going to promise you a ring and a baby but only until my needs are met and then I’m out. It’s, I know what I wanted and I’m not leaving, and thanks to that now she stays too.

The album dealt with the theme not at all in the way I expected, but is absolutely fascinating.

[c-is-for-circinate]

It feels like there's this narrative that fandom keeps wanting to explore, with Steve Harrington, about this very specific type of martyrdom where self-sacrifice is an expression of a lack of self-worth. And, like, yes, write the narrative that's meaningful to you, and yes ok Steve does admittedly get beaten up a lot, but -- legitimately I do not think this narrative is actually Steve's story.

Like, without gendering things too much, there is something in the Steve fanon that I keep seeing that's so reflective of the specific kind of sacrifice and societal pressures exerted on girls, specifically -- this story of 'you make yourself worthy and worthwhile by carving pieces out of yourself', of believing that you must always give and never receive to justify the space you take up in the world. Yes, boys can experience this same pressure (and obviously trans and nb people of all genders run into it as well! sometimes a lot!), but especially in the mid-1980s cultural context where Stranger Things takes place, it's just...really not likely to be a dominant narrative for Steve to be operating under? It doesn't even really match the Steve we see on screen -- who is happy to make sacrifices for the sake of others, yeah, when needed, but who's not particularly kind or giving unless somebody asks first.

And Steve does get hurt a lot on other people's behalf! And this is a problem! It's just a completely different problem than the one fandom keeps writing.

Steve, and I'm going to say this forever, is a story about toxic masculinity, which the show may or may not even know it's writing. The archetypes influencing Steve's character as it shows up on the screen (and the stories and messages that Steve would actually be surrounded by in his actual life) are not deconstructions of suffering heroes who never should have had to fight in the first place and were destroyed by it. That's the Buffy the Vampire Slayer story. Steve's not Buffy. Steve's cultural context is Indiana Jones.

Steve is The Guy! And part of being The Guy is that you're expected to take the hits -- not because Steve is less important than the women-and-children he's supposed to protect, but because, the story says, he will get less hurt. Why should Steve get in between Billy and Lucas? Because Steve is an eighteen-year-old athlete and Lucas is in middle school, and of the two of them, Steve actually stands a chance. (And yes, Steve got badly hurt there, and Max had to save him -- but if Lucas, if Max had taken that beating they would not have been running through those tunnels later.) Was somebody else better-qualified to dive down to the uncertain bottom of a cold lake in the middle of the night? Steve doesn't list his credentials there as a way of justifying some ideal of martyrdom; he is literally the most likely person on the boat not to drown.

And make no mistake: when Steve's pulled into the Upside-Down, he survives the bats long enough for backup to get there. Realistic or not, he's apparently tough enough that he's physically capable of hiking barefoot through hell without much slowing down. Steve is the tank for the same reason as any tank: because he literally has been shown to have the most hit points in the group. You cannot honestly engage with Steve in this context without dealing with the fact that he's right.

AND THIS IS A PROBLEM! This is still a problem! But it's not the same problem that fandom seems to expect. It's not an expression of caretaking or the need for self-sacrifice; it's not an issue with Steve valuing himself less. It's an issue of toxic masculinity so ingrained that Steve doesn't even recognize he's suffering from it, because one of the tenets of toxic masculinity is that Big Strong Guys don't suffer. It's just a concussion, it's fine, he'll walk it off. It's not that Steve thinks he deserves to get hurt, or even that he's less deserving of safety than the others. It's that absolutely nothing in his cultural context allows him to admit that he can be hurt in a significant way.

There's still so much tension that can be gotten out of this situation, I swear. There's so much that can be explored in writing! Hell, the show itself is deconstructing some of this trope, believe it or not, by giving us a Steve who absolutely can take all the hits thrown his direction but still doesn't know what the fuck he's doing with his life. It turns out that doing his job as The Guy is only mildly helpful in horror movie situations (mostly by buying time for smarter, squishier people to do the damage from behind him), and somewhere a little worse than useless in everyday life.

But Steve does not go out of his way to self-sacrifice, he really doesn't. He just does his job. He's The Guy. Of course he's not going to let a kid or a girl or some scared skinny nerd who just learned about monsters yesterday take the hits. Of course Steve's got this.

[elvensorceress]

In all the excitement about bi!Buck, (which— yay! Amazing! Very exciting! No notes!) I think there’s a part of this story we’re missing. I haven’t seen anyone talk about it, so have some rambling.

 It wasn’t just Buck who looked at this experienced, older, queer man and wanted to know him. It was also Eddie. 

We have never seen Eddie go so hard, so immediately for anyone. To the point his best friend of years felt like he was being ignored by him. Yes, Buck wanted Tommy’s attention for obvious reasons. But he was also slighted by the perceived lack of attention from Eddie. 

Suddenly, Eddie is spending multiple times a week going out with this man. Going to Vegas with this man. Working out with him, working on his car with him, doing karaoke and trivia night with him? Asking his alleged girlfriend to babysit more than once so that he can go out with Tommy? Obviously, it was from jealous!Buck’s point of view, but seriously. If Buck felt ignored, what is Marisol even thinking? Did Eddie bother to make time for his new girlfriend? What spare time would he even have if they work several 24 hour shifts and he’s also gone out with Tommy at least three times in one week? And is probably planning more?

Not that I think Eddie’s feelings for Tommy are necessarily in the same vein as Buck’s feelings for Tommy. But my gosh, Eddie giggly and kicking his feet and twirling his hair while on the phone with Tommy was so very loud. And actually a pretty neat contrast to being distracted and trying to text Marisol “hey mari it me eddie” to ask her out. Eddie’s sudden infatuation with Tommy was a thousand times more than anything we’ve seen from him for anyone. Considering that what he stated he wanted was the magical chemistry he’d found when he and Shannon got together, like… is that not what he just found with Tommy? 

Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean Eddie has any explicit romantic or sexual attraction toward Tommy. I suppose he could? But the point is more that wow, there is some kind of intense draw pulling Eddie to him even if we interpret it as platonic. 

Buck says at the end of the ep that they met this guy and he was so cool and Buck wanted to get to know him. Which makes sense given that Buck is canonically crushing on him and going to be dating him. But Eddie was actually the one who got there first. Eddie also had a reaction somewhere along those lines of “he’s really cool, I need to know him” to the point where he’s all of a sudden spending most if not all of his free time with him. 

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this person Eddie wants to spend time with is an experienced, out queer man who is comfortable in his own sexuality and his own masculinity. (He has so much in common with Eddie! They have so many similar interests! They have a magical click together that makes Eddie want to be around him all the time! There’s so much they can do together!) 

Eddie might not have even known it, maybe in the same way Buck also didn’t know it, but Eddie definitely latched onto that, too. Which is very interesting, no? Very— queers finding each other and bonding over shared experiences even before they know that’s what they’re doing. 

It can easily be someone who is likely confused about their own feelings but knows they are having certain feelings just not the names to put to those feelings, and consequently seeking guidance and reassurance that there are other people who are just like them who have these feelings as well. It’s realizing how they can be themselves, that they can be queer in a way that fits who they are instead of what they might conceptualize as queer because of stereotypes and preconceived notions. It’s learning you can be you and also be queer. That there are people like you out there. 

Eddie found something with Tommy that he hasn’t been shown to have found anywhere else. It’s a new and different thing for him, too. And if it were just about excitement over a new friend, why is it so much so quickly all at once? Eddie’s a social person. He’s a friendly, charming, charismatic person. He has friends. But it feels like this is a very different sort of friendship for him. 

And the fact that this is the same man who just gave Buck his bisexual awakening is verrrry inch resting. 

Also regardless of what kind of feelings Eddie and Tommy might have been having for each other, they were so going on dates. Flying someone to Vegas because you have tickets that have been sold out for weeks to something they enjoy? Like damn Eddie. You pulled a sugar daddy. 

Anyway. Eddie is queer, too. Double sexuality awakenings, ready go!

That is all! 💕

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Keep hearing people say maribug keep asking adricat if he's ok and he keep saying he's ok instead of telling her his problem but I don't remember it happened more than once in s4 in Rockettear but even then the circumstances of that episode did warrant the "nothing" answer he gave her unless he want to tell her that "nino tell me you let nino and alya know each other identity" which will reveal adricat identity. So when else did she ask? about the thing in hack-san, I think another credit goes to alya since she's the one who bring the topic to maribug who seems to be blissfully unaware that her leaving without telling adeicat that she send subtitute would be a problem.

I didn't get into this side of things in my other post because it was long and I wanted to focus on why Chat Noir's behavior was so frustrating, but this ask brings up the other big reason why the season four conflict was such a frustrating and terribly written plot line. Specifically, the part of your ask where you point out that Maribug seems blissfully unaware that her actions are having a negative impact on Chat Noir until someone points it out to her.

Yes, she is presented as blissfully unaware of this and every other interpersonal conflict we're given in season four. Your ask treats this as a failing on Maribug's part as if she should have obviously realized that she was in the wrong, but that's the whole problem. Telling kids - telling anyone really - that they should just magically know what others need is a frankly terrible life lesson as that's just not how the world works. You cannot just assume that everyone will have the same view of the world as you do and instantly pick up on the same issues as you do. That is the path to easily avoidable frustration and conflict. It also teaches people to assume that their view of the world is inherently correct when that is rarely the case. We often don't know the whole story and the other person's point of view may end up being equally or even more valid. This issue is extremely present in season four as Marinette has legitimate reasons to behave the way she does, which I'll get into in a bit.

If Marinette were written as feeling guilty about how she was treating Chat Noir, then this would be a different story. She'd be way more in the wrong and would shoulder a much greater portion of the blame. But as is? She has no idea that she's doing anything wrong. And until someone takes the time to tell her that her actions are causing harm, she is going to continue causing harm because she has no idea that she's causing harm.

In fact, I'd argue that the Alya thing in Hack San is a point in Maribug's favor. Throughout the episode, we see Marinette sending Alya messages on ways to be a good partner to Chat Noir, proving that she does in fact care about him. And then, as soon as Alya says, "You need to talk to Chat Noir," what does Maribug do?

She goes and talks to Chat Noir, giving him a pretty good apology for the problem she now knows she caused. Because, shockingly, Maribug doesn't actually want to hurt her partner. She also clearly cares about his feelings, making me want to take the season four conflict and tear it into itty bitty pieces because what is the conflict even supposed to be when you write shit like this?

I want to briefly step away from Miraculous and talk about this issue in a broader context via this YouTube short:

This short is from a Vietnamese woman who moved to Germany. Her YouTube channel is about her experiences there, including things like the short above which goes into the differences between what it means to be a dinner guest in Vietnam and what it means to be a dinner guest in Germany. In Vietnam, it's apparently standard for the guests to cook dinner with you where as, in Germany, you're expected to have the meal ready when the guests arrive, making this a situation where it's super easy to come across as rude just by doing what you think is normal.

Society is relatively aware that these types of culture clashes are a thing, but you don't have to be from different cultures to have these types of situations. Every person has their own unique needs and ideas of what "normal" is. The culture they were raised in will affect this, but so will their family, their personal needs, and many other factors. Two people can be raised on the same street and wind up with wildly different world views even though they supposedly share a culture. This is extra true when you add in compounding factors like neurodiversity, which is why it's an exercise in futility to say, "But Maribug should have realized..."

Well, she clearly didn't. And you can't change that she didn't realize whatever you're mad about. All you can do is have someone tell her what she's doing wrong. If she then continues the behavior, go ahead and judge away. But if she immediately corrects it like she did in Hack San? Doesn't that just prove that she truly didn't know that Chat Noir was hurting and would have probably fixed all of his problems if someone just pointed them out to her?

This is only exacerbated by the fact that Marinette's behavior in season four is largely unchanged from her behavior in previous seasons. The only major change is that she revealed her identity to Alya, but as soon as that's pointed out as a problem, she course corrects with an apology. After that, she thinks that everything is okay because why wouldn't she? Chat Noir said it was fine and everything else has been business as usual.

Bringing temp heroes into help as needed? That's been going on since season two. Having these additional members has been vital in multiple battles and there have been plenty of times where Chat Noir took a background role to the temp hero of the day like in Sapotis, Rena Rouge's season two debut. So why would Maribug suddenly think that this dynamic is a problem when it's been working fine for so long? We even had a whole episode about how Chat Noir was still needed in spite of the new heroes back in season three! Or, at least, I think that was Desperada's message? This show is shockingly bad at giving clear lessons.

Keeping guardian knowledge from Chat Noir? That's also been going on since season two and was even treated as a conflict that supposedly got resolved in the episode Syren which was the episode that ended with Master Fu coming to the mansion to talk to Adrien after everything was over.

When I watched that episode, I assumed this meant that Chat Noir was going to be more involved in things like picking the temp heroes. I actually thought this was how we were going to get Queen Bee because I knew she was going to be a thing, but it made no sense for Marinette to pick Chloe for a miraculous. Of course, I was wrong. Nothing changed after Syren. Chat Noir remained nothing more than the comic relief while Ladybug got all the insider info.

To be clear, I think that was a terrible move writing wise, but it doesn't change the fact that this is what they went with. This is the established dynamic. I can't even say that Alya learning Marinette's secret led to something new. She's just taken Marinette's old role while Marinette has taken on Master Fu's old role. This show loves it's status quo and Chat Noir has been at least tolerant of that status quo since Syren, so it's not surprising that Maribug doesn't register that this is a thing that should change and no one bothers to point it out to her even though she has a mentor in Tikki (and Su Han, I guess?) and a confidant in Alya and a whole slew of Kwamis who could also provide insight if they were allowed to do that sort of thing. (Sass and Wayzz were robbed of mentor roles.) Additional blame goes to Plagg because he should absolutely have told Adrien to talk to Ladybug. What is the point of giving these characters mentors who never mentor? It's aggravating in the extreme.

To circle back to the first part of your ask, outside of Hack San and Rocketear, I don't think there are any times when Ladybug invites feedback from Chat Noir unless you want to give credit to the end of Kuro Neko:

Cat Noir: (lands next to her) I've been a really temperamental kitty, m'lady. I didn't realize how much trouble I'd make for you by giving back my Miraculous. Ladybug: (sits closer to him) Just because I don't need you all the time doesn't mean that I don't need you at all, Cat Noir. No one could ever replace you.

Which isn't Maribug inviting him to tell her what's up, but she is clearly willing to listen to him and reassure him, further backing up my point about this conflict being some of the worst writing I've ever had to suffer through. If Maribug always fixes the issue as soon as she learns about it, you are not writing a situation where she's clearly in the wrong. You are writing an easily solved communication issue where she gets blamed for something she clearly doesn't realize she's doing wrong and it is so frustrating!!! I feel so bad for her. The next episode is Penalteam, btw, which starts the battle with this gem:

Ladybug: (laughs) Nice scare tactics, but it's not gonna work. Cat Noir and I are the best at soccer! Cat Noir: (Whispers to Ladybug) I don't know a thing about soccer M'lady. Maybe it's time to call the real team?

And basically just spends the whole episode making Chat Noir seems like a worthless partner while Maribug tries her best to make him - and everyone else - feel special.

Oh, and the episode before Kuro Neko? Well, it's technically Ephemeral, but that got magically overwritten so let's go one further back and we get to Dearest Family, which ends with this:

Cat Noir: (grabs a golden paper crown on the coffee table) Since I'm the king, (wears the crown on his head) would you be my queen, Ladybug? Ladybug: With pleasure, kitty cat! Tradition is tradition!

Oh yes, these two are in such conflict and Maribug does nothing to validate Chat Noir. He's in pain every episode and she's just totally oblivious to it.

If that was what they wrote, then I'd probably agree that we needed more instances of her asking if Chat Noir was okay. But it's not what they wrote. If you look through the list of season four episodes, you'll find that less than half of them deal with the supposed conflict of the season (by my count, only 8 of the 24 episodes before the final actually showcase the conflict and they are not in a logical order in terms of escalation as I tried to demonstrate above). The rest of the episodes flat out ignore it or even straight up work against the conflict like when Ladybug says this to Chat Noir in Guilttrip: "I probably don't tell you this enough, but I couldn't do this without you. And it'd be a lot less fun too."

Seriously, what even is this season? What is the conflict supposed to be? Because it sure as shit isn't Maribug undervaluing Chat Noir, if memory servers, season four sees her validate him more times than any other season. And it isn't her guiltily hiding things from him like so many fanfics claim because we have multiple points of evidence that prove that she's completely oblivious that there even is a conflict. So what conflict are the writers actually trying to write?

What's even more baffling is that none of this logically leads to the loss at the end of the season:

Maribug's new secrets didn't lead to her downfall. The only reason she lost was because of the secret that's always been there - a fact that's never revealed to her - and a freaking evil twin! So why did it matter that Maribug was keeping secrets? This is made even worse by season five maintaining all of the secrets, once again begging the question of what lesson were we trying to teach here???

Chat Noir wasn't needed for the final fight of the season, Maribug only needed the powers of a few of the temp heroes to win, a baffling ending to a season whose focus was Chat Noir feeling unimportant. You could scrap that conflict entirely and the ending would not change. In fact....

Adrien quitting to be nothing more than a good little boy who obeys his father would have actually saved the world from eventually being rewritten. If you think about it, the season four final actually punishes Adrien for being defiant. So does season five as, if Chat Noir had quit, his father would still be alive. I thought this show was supposed to be a romcom, not a tragedy. Why is Adrien being punished for being a hero? Is this supposed to be karma for lying to Ladybug with the whole Catwalker thing?

This shit is why I say I'm a writing salt, character sugar blog. I can't get mad at the characters when they're in such a nonsense story where things never logically tie together. They all deserve so much better.

None of this is meant to imply that ignorance is a blanket excuse for hurting others. Nor is it meant to imply that you have to forgive someone who hurt you just because they didn't mean to. There's a ton of nuance around these topics. But season four acknowledges none of that nuance while creating a situation that desperately needed nuance because there was no clear right and wrong here. Should Maribug work to be more away of others feelings? Sure, but that journey can only start after she's made aware of her faults and no one ever points them out to her. Does Chat Noir need to work on clearly communicating his needs? Desperately, but no one is teaching him that lesson so he remains a terrible communicator who suffers in silence. What impressively bad writing.

[patricia-taxxon]

So, I watched that response stream that DeadwingDork made about my furry boinking video, here it is if you're curious.

By some accounts, this gentleman seems like he means well, with regards to pronouns he pulls the "when in doubt, they/them" gambit, which is partway there. If he finds this, I'll politely let him know I don't use they, just she & it. Thanks!

I have good reason to believe he began this journey in good faith, but over the course of the video he slowly gives up being charitable, and it's very frustrating to watch. There's a few key moments of miscommunication I noticed that I'd like to clear up.

DeadwingDork and I got off on the wrong foot very early on, and part of that's my fault. I start the video openly lusting after Garth Alphandomega, and this put him on edge. This might be an ideological difference we can't get past, he says that Garth is "Just a wolf" when I personally think he's quite different from a wolf. After that, I do the joke where I say "If the opportunity presented itself I would fuck my-" and cut to The Flowers of Robert Mapplethorpe, but he didn't have the context to understand what I'm saying by cutting to that album in particular, so he thought I was jokingly saying I would fuck my dog. He spends the rest of the stream with that initial impression of me lusting after what he perceives as literal animals, it's kinda the initial rock that starts the avalanche and closes him off from understanding basically anything that I'm saying, until the end, where he's convinced I've just spent 43 minutes coming out as a zoophile.

This might just be a difference in artistic philosophy, like he interprets Alpha & Omega to be about wolves whereas I interpret it as being about people through the aesthetic lens of wolves. Metaphor isn't just for abstract art movies, after all. Garth walks on 4 legs, but he has enough obvious persistent human-like traits both visually and behaviorally for me to understand him as a person delivered via wolf. For the same reason, he is disturbed by my lusting for Shoukichi Pompoko, because he interprets that movie as literally being about tanuki. I think this the main reason the concept of a character being "simultaneously human and inhuman" completely whiffed on him. He skimmed over my segment on how Leo can be both a wolf and hispanic & didn't understand the relevance, because I don't think that contradiction can be resolved in his head.

The most frustrating part of this stream is the way he clearly picks up on a lot of the overarching subtext that I'm putting down, but by that point in the video he doesn't have enough faith in me to interpret it as being put there intentionally. He treats the connection between my special-ed dog training and my current animal identity as an unintentional self-report, when it isn't. There's this *maddening* segment where I talk about Pom Poko for the first time, and he... honestly quite accurately picks apart the picture I'm illustrating about alienation, but he handwaves it away in favor of his horrible mangling of the exact literal sentence I am saying at that moment.

He says:

"There's clearly a story here, but it's being buried. There's a lot of stuff that's leading towards... 'oh, you watched this movie and this movie and your parents did this and your fuckin' teachers did this, and that's why this is happening.' That's like the fuckin' undertones of this video, [but] the main takeaway is supposed to be that this movie... I dunno, makes you f.. is supposed to feel like how fuckin' animal people feel like they're... whatever, I don't, I don't... whatever."

He grabs at the subtext, the story I'm obviously telling with the surface level anecdote of my experience seeing Pom Poko when I was young. I say obviously, because he and his chat both understood it. But then he discards that, assumes it was unintended, and importantly, he doesn't have a good answer for what I'm actually saying divorced from that. Because... what's even left after you remove the subtextual story I'm telling with this anecdote? The anecdote itself? Of course he's empty handed.

Other notes:

He can't decide whether I'm an over zealous recruiter trying to call everything furry, or that I'm a gatekeeper trying to force robust definitions of 'furry' into the general lexicon. This isn't very important, it's just kind of funny.

He is dismissive of me saying I won't report news if my only source is Kiwifarms, but he doesn't really give a good reason for it. I am having trouble summarizing his argument for why I should have referenced a website whose users doxxed me. He hilariously suggests that I should negotiate with them to have my address taken down, as long as I'm not a "lolcow" about it. I'll be charitable and say that I don't think he's thought this through very much.

He hates that I "compare autistic people to animals," when that really just doesn't mean anything on its own. A comparison is a comparison, a follower of mine pointed out to me they could say that trans people are like cockroaches & it could either mean they are doggedly resilient in the face of harsh circumstances or that they are pests that need to be exterminated. I meant something specific by using an animal metaphor to describe my autistic identity, and it transcends the literal reading of "calling autistic people animals."

He derisively calls Echo a "gay furry sex game" when it simply is not. I'll forgive him for this because he hasn't played it, but Echo isn't porn, it's a horror game. There's sex in it, and it has the framework of a dating game, but it is far from the main appeal. I'm not saying this to elevate Echo above the degrading label of "porn," because Adastra is definitely porn and it's almost as good, just not as easily recommendable to outsiders.

He thinks its commendable that Sean Booth bought my album, which is nice.

Overall, I don't think DeadwingDork is outwardly hateful, but he is quite gullible. He accepts hate speech at face value and buys into narratives useful for hate movements. There's echos of trans groomer panic, that old "you're the reason people are transphobic" chestnut, and of course, using Kiwifarms as a news source. He said he came into the video knowing nothing about me and had no reason to be approaching me in bad faith, but he clearly doesn't trust me enough to think the main rhetorical thrust of the video was intentional.

bad stream lol

[alewritesfics]

Third time's the charm

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x Fem! Reader

Word count: 826

Warnings: unedited, fluff I think

A/n: A short little fic but I hope you enjoy it!

It has been said that every person experiences 3 types of love in their lifetime.

Of course, that same person may fall in love numerous times throughout the years but there’s only 3 that stand out from the rest, 3 different experiences that impact you and form you into who you are today.

That was the case for Anthony Bridgerton.

The first one is, obviously, the first love. The young, puppy love. For Anthony, that was Sienna Rosso.

When Anthony saw the opera singer for the first time, he was immediately enchanted and thus started their love affair.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go anywhere seeing as Sienna was from the low class and Anthony, as the Viscount, has responsibilities he needed to uphold.

After Sienna, Anthony wasn’t planning on falling in love again. It was a new season, he was planning to marry not out of love but out of duty.

Then came the second love, the hard love. Kate Sharma.

Originally, he was planning on marrying her sister, Edwina, but along the way both Anthony and Kate fell in love. It was a bittersweet love. It was beautiful, Anthony had never felt like that before, they were happy…..until they weren’t.

They started to clash. Their personalities were too similar, they were both headstrong, stubborn. It was amusing at first and something Anthony enjoyed, at least that way he would never have a boring day in his life but when it came to serious matters, they could never agree on anything.

So little by little, the love they had for each other faded. It wasn’t anybody’s fault especially not Kate’s, of course not, Kate was an amazing woman. Sadly, it didn’t work.

After that, Anthony lost hope, he was 31 and not yet married. With Sienna it wasn’t possible, with Kate it didn’t work out and he wasn’t interested by any of the ladies of the ton, so what was he supposed to do now? How will he continue the Bridgerton bloodline?

“Hey there old man”

Anthony was snapped out of his thoughts, his eyebrows furrowed as he turned his head to see your smiling face.

“What? Are you thinking of your failed love life?” You teased as you sat down beside him

Anthony rolled his eyes “I am not old” he scoffed “What are you doing here you little demon?”

“I beg to differ” you chuckle “I’m not a little demon, it seems you have forgotten but I’m a lady, old man”

He raised an eyebrow “Are you now? It’s hard to see with how much you act like a man”

You gasp offended “As if. Now I see why you’re alone, who on earth is able to stand you? I pity the woman that ends up marrying you in the future” you say

Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at you with a fond look in his eyes “Oh no” he tuts “You may want to take back your words, you never know, maybe you will be the woman that ends up marrying me” he teased

You hit his shoulder again “Lord no, don’t even joke about that” you shudder

“Hey!” he exclaimed “There’s nothing wrong with me”

You hummed unconvinced “Sure there isn’t, that’s why you’re so lucky in the love department, Mr. Viscount Bridgerton” You taunt before you laughed

“Mother” Anthony calls out making your eyes widen “Y/n is making fun of my love life-“

“Shut up you!” you exclaim as you cover his mouth with your hand

Anthony looks down at your hand covering his mouth before he looks back up at you, letting out a laugh.

The third love, the unexpected love. Anthony wasn’t looking to fall in love again but it crept up on him little by little. He never expected it to be you, the girl he’s known practically his entire life, the woman he saw grow up, his best friend.

And yet, he couldn’t help the warm feeling on his chest whenever he saw you. How his heart fluttered when he saw you smiling because of him.

It's you. It has probably always been you. You were the one that has always been there for him, through his father’s death, through the fights with his siblings or his mother, through his affair with Sienna and his failed relationship with Kate and yet, you always stayed by his side even if you were 5 years younger than him, it didn’t matter.

He was thankful for his failed relationships in the past. Because they helped him grow into the person he was today. It helped him learn what to do and what not to. It helped him to know how to love you.

The first and second love definitely helped him, no matter how painful they ended up being, they ended up preparing him to find his way to you.

“Marry me” Anthony said as he looked up at you

He loved you, he was sure of it.

[lorebeth]

HSR Headcannons

Hiyaa these are quick notes I think that different Honkai Star Rail characters would do or behave like ALSO IF YOU THINK IT'S OOC THAT'S FINE SHSKAHF I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH ANYTHING THEY DO IS REAL TO ME ❤️

IF THERE ARE SPELLING MISTAKES HELP SORRY

Characters: Blade, Dan Heng, Gepard, March, Serval, Kafka

Blade:

-He holds your hand when you cross the road (it seems like something he would do just absentmindedly, if you bring it up he won't do it again).

-He likes to take you places you've never been to, as chaotic as his person is, I think he really likes the more calmer days and enjoys finding new places with you, albeit he's also looking to run away from the authorities at the same time...

-I am a firm believer that Blade watches all types of movies, even romcoms. You enter the living room and see him watching '10 things I hate about you' and he's genuinely into it thinking about how he relates to a character.

-He has matching phone accessories with you. Kafka makes fun of him whenever he comes to work with a bright coloured pompom hanging out of his pocket.

-He is quite chill when you bring him little trinkets, he might not know what you're supposed to be doing with such an oddly shaped item, he might even stare at you blankly, but he knows the object reminded you of him and that makes him happier than he'd like to admit.

Dan Heng:

-He likes to smell you (THAT SOUNDS SO CREEPY). He loves the smell of your shampoo and has decided to buy the same one as you, however he didn't like it because March caught a whiff and made fun of him for weeks with you in earshot.

-He likes when you doodle on his hand with a pen or a marker. He also let's you do his eyeliner because you recenctly only realised he had one eye done and the other not, seeing as you start to do this more often, he buys more eyeliner and different colours for you to experiment with. (Although you both agree he looks better in red.)

-ABSOLUTELY 100% LOVES YOUR MUSIC! At first he didn't because he thought it was weird, but you eventually start catching him humming your favourite songs and you start to slowly make him play lists and organise an entire library of his and your favourite music together.

-He has matching plushies with you, you guys switch them every night and act like divorced parents who have to switch kids every weekend.

Gepard:

-He eats all the food in the fridge and you see him with his mouth dirty and can't help get too mad at him when he says he hasn't been in the kitchen all day. Other than his crimson cheeks, messy mouth and embarrassed eyes, nothing tells you more of his crime than his horrible acting skills.

-When he goes out, he likes to bring you back something, honestly anything. He once brought back an entire couch because he heard you needed a new one that fitted the aesthetic of your living room.

-Think golden retriever, you shall receive golden retriever.

-He likes when you praise him, it gets him happy and excited, a little shy and he just acts like he has just received the best present in the world, however it backfires when he compliments you as well. Your face heats up and even if he can't tell, he knows from your expression and attitude he got to you more than you let him see.

March

-She’s 100% tried to steal your clothes and you catch her every single time.

-She is so bad at hiding the fact she steals your clothing that whenever you walk into your room, you INSTANTLY sense your favourite sweater was taken hostage.

-Obviously she loves you and gives you fashion advice, but only when she’s ready will she let you borrow her own clothes. For her, this is an extreme act of love and trust.

-She totally takes your phone and blows up your storage with 100+ pictures of her or you sleeping, your phone almost shut itself down on multiple occasions 😭.

-Likes to try bake you little sweets from different planets. Due to her past, she cannot remember where she is from, so her love language is giving you things from other planets or your home planet, especially through baked goods! She’s either a cooking pro or she burns down the entire Express. It’s a 50/50.

Serval

-Loves hearing you sing. You sound like Gepard? It’s okay! She has her best smile on to encourage her lover!

-She 1000% stole your musical instrument (if you play one) and tried learning it for you if you don’t have a guitar.

-Not everything with her is musical, but she finds it does help when she’s cooking, cleaning, working in her shop, she even has a playlist that has your name on it and is full of songs that remind her of you.

-She shows you baby pictures of Gepard and Lynx. You’ve never ONCE seen her though. Kinda sketchy. Just ask Gepard and suddenly you have millions of cute chubby little Serval’s everywhere!

-That one fangirl who waits for Serval or tries to catch a glimpse? Not anymore! All the windows are now only see through on the inside and Serval has taken extra measures to keep her and your life private from her groupie. Will tell the girl to knock it off if you’re extremely uncomfortable.

Kafka

-She has the passwords to every account you’ve ever made on any platform. She doesn’t go through any of them but she likes that you share that with her, she in turn lets you go through her email. That’s all she has. 🙁

-She caught you wearing her uniform once and just stayed at the door watching you say her signature catch phrases. 11/10 embarrassing, 100/10 her thinking it was cute as hell.

-She doesn’t really have time for dates or anything of the such, but whenever you really need her, desperately, she’s there instantly. Sometimes you use your trump card when there’s a creepy bug and she catches it ONLY TO THROW THAT MF IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION.

-Has a pet snake. I genuinely am a firm believer she has a pet snake that she named in your honour. If you like snakes or not, you will have to feed it when she’s gone. 🙁

[powerofelvis]

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 | 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞

Pairing: Elvis Presley x f!reader

Summary: It’s 1961 and Elvis is in California filming Wild In The Country, so he calls upon the woman who he could count on when he arrives. Being the only female member of the Memphis Mafia comes with perks, even you had to admit that. But, what happens when your boss who had once dubbed you “his little sister” wants something a bit more?

Word Count: 9.4K

Warnings: angst, Elvis is “seeing” Priscilla (although she’s still in Germany around this time period), reader being nosy and listening to an argument, fluff in different spots (if you squint), smut, oral (f. receiving), unprotected sex (he does not finish inside of her), slight yandere themes

A/N: Before I get into my little rant, this fic was only supposed to be a standalone. However, if I would have kept it all together, it would have probably been pretty damn long. So, this will be a two-parter and don’t worry, this will probably have a happy ending for Elvis and the reader. Maybe. So, this fic came out of the blue and from the recommendation of @headfullofpresley, it obviously needed to see the light of day. I’m also revamping my taglist, so if you want to be added, please let me know.

masterlist.

Everyone knew about the Memphis Mafia, including you. If you were living in the same age as Elvis, you knew about his circle of friends who he dubbed worthy enough to be around him all of the time. 

You just never knew that you would find yourself among those lucky enough to gain his trust. 

Until the day that you came into contact with him at a stop light in the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard. At first, you thought that maybe he was trying to flirt with you and while you found him attractive, you weren’t interested in becoming one of his latest flames. 

He liked that about you. He liked how you weren’t throwing yourself at him or wanting to spend one night alone with him to experience his rumored expertise of mind-blowing sex. In fact, you made it known that you wanted nothing more than a platonic relationship where he would trust you to fix his hair up whenever his personal hairdresser, Larry Gellar was out of commission. 

This is the beginning of your relationship with Elvis, eventually gaining his trust and confidence that he made you the only female member of his circle of friends. At first, the group of men who he hung around weren’t convinced that opening up their friend circle to a woman was ideal but eventually, they grew to love you just as much as Elvis did. 

You were seen as a little sister that Elvis never had, becoming the woman that he could confide in and you would do the same. Whenever he was in Hollywood to film another movie, you would come out to meet with him and the guys, causing trouble and messing around with them like they were your older brothers. 

It was memorable for you, but you also didn’t know just how memorable it had become to Elvis. 

Elvis had phoned you a few days before he was set to arrive back in California as he was set to begin filming Wild In The Country. He told you that Larry wasn’t able to come along with him this time around because he had become ill and asked if you could fill in for him as his roots were beginning to grow back into his natural hair color. “Yeah, I’ll be here when you arrive, E. Just tell me when you want me to dye your hair,” 

You didn’t hear from him again for a while until he called you late at night to come over to his Bel-Air home because whenever he wanted something done, it didn’t matter what time of night, he wanted it done. 

You arrived at his Perugia home, immediately being greeted by Joe and Jerry as soon as you walked over the threshold. You asked them to help you gather up your things and you set off to find Elvis. “Elvis? Where are you?” 

You walked down the long hallway, immediately seeing Elvis coming out of the bathroom without his shirt. He was laughing the entire time, knowing that you would tease him about going without a shirt, revealing his ‘bird chest’ as you would always call it. 

“Y/N?” His southern drawl was deep and raspy as usual, but there was a hint of playfulness that he always displayed when he was talking to you. 

Elvis knew that you didn’t have a problem with seeing him without a shirt. You were his little sister after all, so he didn’t have a problem with being his usual self around you even if it wasn’t how he would present himself to others who weren’t in his circle of friends. 

You snorted as you took him in, rolling your eyes as you sat the supplies down on the bathroom counter. “You know we have to be on set early in the morning and here you are goofin’ around,” 

You turned him around to face the large bathroom mirror that sat in front of you, pushing him to sit down in the chair in front of you. You grabbed the towel that was in his hands before you draped it around his shoulders, your eyes never leaving his laughing expression that was on his face. 

“Y’know, all of the ladies here in California think I’m crazy for lettin’ ya do my hair,” Elvis laughed, his gaze still on you as he stared into the mirror. 

“But, I know that you know what you’re doin’,” 

“It’s only because they are jealous that they aren’t able to do it,” You replied, turning your nose up at the repugnant aroma of the chemicals coming from the hair dye that you opened. 

You enjoyed moments like this with Elvis. Being the only woman in his circle of friends, you would often find yourself in his company. Whether you were fixing his hair the way that he liked or keeping the boys in line, your relationship with Elvis was very special to you. 

“I appreciate that you trust me enough to fix up your hair. I know it’s one of your best features,” You teased him, pressing your tongue into your cheek. 

Elvis nodded his head and shut his eyes as you got to work. In his eyes, you were just as important to him and he knew he was to you. Being the only female in the Memphis Mafia meant that you had a closer relationship with Elvis. It was always known that Elvis felt much more comfortable having girls around than men. Even though he was close to his male friends, he still felt a connection with you. 

He loved the guys to death, but you were different. You were practically his little sister. 

“I trust you with my life, Y/N,” He laughed. 

“And with my looks, obviously,” 

You felt flattered that he trusted you with his life. You basically trusted him with yours in return. You knew that being the only female in his circle of friends made your relationship sacred, but you also took your role very seriously. “I trust you with my life too, Elvis. And, you should trust me with your looks. Who else is gonna make you look this good, huh?” 

You gently wiped away some of the dye that dripped down his neck before it had begun to sting. Elvis laughed at this, knowing that some of the guys often teased him because a woman would do his hair and sometimes his makeup for his films. He didn’t mind being the butt of their jokes, though. He was their boss, after all. What else could they say about him? 

As you continued to apply the dye on the roots of his hair, he sighed happily. “Red’s got his tail up with me right now, ya know.” 

You finished setting the dye up in his hair, stepping around him to wash your hands before turning around to face him. Red West was one of his closest friends, even you knew that. His relationship with Elvis was solid, but you weren’t always surprised when he and Elvis had a falling out. You raised an eyebrow before you figured you would ask. “What for?”

He rolled his eyes before leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, his cerulean hues meeting yours through the bathroom mirror. “What else ya think he has his panties in a twist for?” 

Elvis couldn’t help but laugh, his deep laughter roaring throughout the bathroom. Red made it seem as if he was upset that Elvis invited you over to do his hair, and he knew that Red was probably still mad about it, but he thought that his boss had a thing for you. “He’s thinkin’ that you and I have a thing going on,” 

You were confused only for a moment, thinking of all of the possibilities that Red thought up before you laughed softly. You knew the exact reason why he was upset. It was common knowledge among the men that Red had a crush on you. However, you didn’t feel the same. How could you? The red headed man was due to marry Pat, one of Elvis’ secretaries, in the upcoming months. 

“Well, I know why he’s acting that way. It’s because he’s the one who has a thing for me but isn’t he fixin’ to marry Pat? I’m not into him and even if I was, I don’t wanna hurt Pat, you know? She’s a real nice girl,” 

You leaned back against the counter, rolling your eyes at his audacity. He had a woman who loved him and wanted to be committed to him and he was catching feelings for another woman. You caught Elvis’ knowing gaze, chuckling softly before you raised a brow. “And how does he know that we don’t have a thing going on?” 

This was another reason why you and Elvis had an admirable relationship. You both liked to tease each other, never crossing the line as you knew that he was seeing another woman, Priscilla. She wasn’t around at this time, still back in Germany but you knew how serious he was about her—often finding yourself listening in on their conversations over the phone or catching him reading a letter that she had written. 

He wouldn’t get upset with you for snooping, though. Elvis laughed at your words, leaning in closely, his voice dangerously low. “Y/N…” 

You figured he would scold you, but it was the opposite. He took in your smile because your smile always made him happy. Your attitude towards Red and Pat’s relationship made him return your smile because he knew you were right. Pat was a lovely woman. 

“You know that you’ve gone and broken that boy’s heart, right? I’m surprised he still works for me,” 

You shrugged your shoulders, brushing off his words. It didn’t matter how Red felt about you, you weren’t the type of woman to get involved with a man who is in a relationship. It wasn’t your style. Elvis knew this, which is why he was adamant about you becoming a member of the Memphis Mafia. 

“He’s about to marry this woman but he’s talking about calling it off to marry me instead. I’m not going for that, E.” You started before you took a long pause of silence. 

Red wouldn’t leave Elvis. You knew this to be true because Elvis was a generous man. He gives everyone anything they could ever ask for. Red was no exception. “Besides, I don’t think he would ever leave your side. You pay him good money and you give the man anything he could ever want. He would be a fool to quit on you,” 

“That’s a good point, honey,” Elvis laughed as he moved closer until he was face-to-face with you. “He definitely would be a fool to quit on me,” 

Elvis took a slight pause before he continued talking to you. “You know that they think I’m crazy for keepin’ ya ‘round all of the time, too, don’tcha?” 

“I’ve heard,” You retorted, crossing your arms across your chest. 

You knew that although you got along with the boys and they enjoyed your company on the majority of occasions, men never wanted to share their friendships with women. You knew that in the beginning that they were weary about your blossoming friendship with Elvis and how close the two of you would eventually become. 

“It’s only because they are used to only having nothing but men around. But you have every right to add whoever you want to the group, we all work for you,” 

Elvis nodded his head, his face still close to you as he thought about what you said. You were right on both accounts. The Memphis Mafia had been strictly men since the very beginning, but he thought it would be fitting to have a woman’s touch. “You’re right, honey. You’re more than welcomed in the Mafia, no matter what they are sayin’,” 

He chuckled under his breath before he leaned back once again, his mischievous eyes locked in on you. “And you shouldn’t be listenin’ to these fools. There’s nothin’ going on between us and they know that,” 

“I could care less if they thought there was something going on or not. It’s not really their business, is it?” 

You knew that the guys were close and that they knew everything that happened in Elvis’ life, but Elvis never liked them being involved with his relationships with women. He was a very jealous man. “I’m not interested in Red. End of story. So, he should just go along with marrying Pat and put whatever he thinks will happen between me and him to rest,” 

Elvis couldn’t help but laugh at your expression. He knew that you only thought that Red was the only member of the group who had these feelings, but the truth was that a lot of the guys shared the same sentiment. You were beautiful, funny, and could keep up with the guys when it came to humor. You were never afraid to tease them right back. 

They would never act on their feelings, though. They wouldn’t betray Elvis’ trust like that, knowing how he treated you as family. Elvis took the time to search your face as he noticed that you were deep in thought. 

He snapped his fingers in front of your face, making you jump back in surprise. His deep laugh boomed through the bathroom, blue eyes squinted as he noticed how frightened you were. “Let’s finish up. I’ve got some work to do later, remember?” 

You and him sat in silence for the remainder of the time, occasionally catching his eyes watching you through the bathroom mirror. As you finished up his hair, his roots were now better than before. The dark locks shined under the bathroom light as you dried his hair before you stepped back. His eyes followed your movements as you cleaned up the mess that you made, packing everything up before you noticed that it was surely late from the moonlight shining through the window. 

“It’s late, I guess I should go,” You sighed, picking up your hairdresser bag. “I’ll see you in the morning, Elvis?” 

He stood up from his seat quickly as if he was trying to stop you from leaving. He gave you a sheepish smile, placing his hands on your shoulders before turning your frame to face him. His eyes held a slight look of sadness and something you knew all too well, loneliness. Elvis knew that it was a stretch asking for this, but he enjoyed your company too much to allow you to leave. 

“Is there anythin’ I could do to make ya stay tonight? It’s late a-and I don’t think a woman like you should be on the roads this time of night. It’s dangerous, you know?” 

You stared at him in silence for only a moment before a soft laugh passed your lips. You appreciated his generosity, but you didn’t want to overstay your welcome. You had never stayed overnight with Elvis, it was something that didn’t seem proper and you knew that the guys would surely think something was going on between you and Elvis. 

“Elvis, that wouldn’t be proper of me to stay here tonight. As much as I appreciate your invitation, I have to get home,” It was as if your words slapped him in the face because his eyes darkened. 

The loneliness in his eyes cried out to you, begging for you to stay. However, Elvis didn’t say a word as he released his grip on your shoulders before turning away from you. “I know, but…”

But what? 

Elvis knew how this would end. It always ended the same way, with you leaving to head home and him retreating to his room, alone. Although he was surrounded by people daily, he could never shake the loneliness that he always felt. He wasn’t sure if it stemmed from the loss of his beloved mother before his stint in Germany or because he could never tell if people loved him for himself. You were the only person in his life that he felt loved him as a person. 

Not as Elvis Presley, the entertainer. 

He sighed before he turned back to face you, a somber expression on his face. “Forget it, I’ll see ya in the mornin’. Drive safely, Y/N,” 

Elvis didn’t spare another glance in your direction as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving you standing alone in the middle of the floor. You watched as he walked away from you, your heart sinking into your stomach. You placed your hairdresser bag back on the counter before you put your hand up to your face, pinching the bridge of your nose. You didn’t know why, but you decided at that moment to stay. 

It couldn’t hurt, right? 

You pushed away the nagging voice of your conscience that was telling you that this was unacceptable. You couldn’t possibly stay the night here with him, but then you realized that the only reason you were so weary was because some of the guys were also here, scattered in different rooms on the property. 

Luckily for you, the guys had already turned into bed so you wouldn’t risk the possibility of running into any of them when you should have been long gone. You stood in the bathroom for what seemed like hours until you decided that you would let Elvis know that you would stay. You just hoped that you didn’t make the wrong decision. 

Your feet carried you out of the bathroom, eyes immediately narrowing in on his bedroom door and the light that was coming from the bottom of the closed door. Elvis never could sleep, often being the last to go to bed as his insomnia got the best of him. The feeling of guilt filled you as you slowly crossed the floorboards of the house before you stopped in front of his door. 

A gust of air filled your lungs as you slowly raised your fist to gently knock on his bedroom door before you cracked the door slightly to announce your presence to him. “Elvis?” 

Elvis was laying on his back in his bed, eyes trained to the ceiling as his mind raced with thoughts. “Damnit, Jerry, I thought I told ya that I don’t want to be disturbed,” 

You stepped back a little, clearing your throat before you spoke again. “I’m not Jerry. It’s me,” 

He sat up in the bed a little, holding himself up on his elbow before his eyes fell on your frame standing at the door. “Y/N, what are ya still doin’ here? I thought you had to go home?” 

Elvis scooted over to make room for you on his bed, if you wanted to sit with him. You silently stepped over the threshold before shutting the door quietly. The last thing you needed was Jerry or even Red to see you in Elvis’ room. You weren’t sure why you were going through with this, but from the look in his eyes, you knew that he was lonely. 

You never liked seeing him upset or even lonely for that matter, so as you crossed the bedroom floor, you were filled with a purpose of keeping him company. You kicked off your shoes before climbing into the bed with him, sitting on your knees as you faced him. “I felt bad for leaving you alone tonight,” 

His eyes showed a glint of confusion but he kept quiet as he knew you had more to say. You took a deep breath, placing your hands on your thighs before continuing. “I know you wanted me to stay here with you. I just don’t think it’s proper, but I also didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. After all, nothing good ever comes out of a woman staying in a house full of men overnight,” 

“But I’m here to keep you company only for tonight, if you still want me to?” You spoke softly, taking in the way that his eyes lit up with each word that passed your lips. 

“Of course I want ya here, Y/N. You’re my best friend, I’d never want you to go, you know that,” He smiled softly before opening his arms for you to come closer. “C’mere,” 

It wasn’t unusual for you to cuddle with him, at least platonically. There were different times where Elvis wanted to be affectionate but he also wanted affection in return. You scooted close to him before wrapping your arms around his torso, placing your head on his shoulder as he held you tightly. “I know, Elvis. But, I’m here now,” 

Elvis didn’t know why he was feeling this way, like holding you in his arms was the closest he would get to Heaven. You were his little sister, his best friend, a devoted member of the Memphis Mafia. He didn’t know why he didn’t want to sleep now, wanting to soak up every second with you. 

“I don’t know why, but it’s always so peaceful with ya here, Y/N,” He spoke as his hand caressed your hair gently. 

This was the norm, so you couldn’t have possibly known there was an underlying reason for him asking you to stay. Until the next words passing his lips made your breath catch in your throat. “I wish you could stay here with me every night, darlin’,” 

You pulled your head back into your neck to look at him, your facial expression showing confusion. You decided to play along with him, thinking that he was teasing you again. 

“Is that what you want, E? I can always sneak up here when the guys are sleeping and keep you company?” You playfully retorted, a teasing smile on your face. 

Elvis chuckled. The thought of you staying in his room every night on nights like these, just to be in his company made him feel at ease. He looked down at you, a sigh leaving his lips. His eyes lingered down to your lips only for a second before his eyes moved back up to meet your expectant eyes. 

He couldn’t help himself. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss those soft lips of yours until he couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t want to ruin everything by forcing you into a situation that you didn’t want to be in. He had Priscilla, and although she was across the world, he had promised her that he would wait for her. He made promises that she would come to Memphis when he finished filming, but here he was, wanting to kiss his best friend. 

He didn’t respond to you for a while, the silence deafening as he stared deep into your eyes. Then, Priscilla crossed his mind once again and he pulled himself back into reality. “You know what? Get some sleep, darlin’, I’ll stay up for a while,” 

Elvis assumed that you would take his suggestion, leaving him alone once again with his misguided thoughts. However, you weren’t planning on making things easier for him than he thought. “I’m not really tired, Elvis. I swear I think we have the same sleeping habits,” 

His lips pulled into a tight smile, his eyes meeting yours again and it felt as if the world was crashing down around him. He knew that you were always this beautiful, but something was different this time around. The way your hair fell into your eyes, your plump lips parted slightly, and the way your dress accentuated your curves made the walls of his chest cave in. 

Elvis knew that he was playing with fire and it wouldn’t be long before he was burned. You kept your eyes on his before you repeated yourself again. “If this is what you want, I’ll keep you company every single night,” 

His blues darkened as his breath hitched in his chest. A deep laugh forced its way from the back of his throat as he scooted himself back into a seated position. His fingers gripped your chin, tilting your head up so he could see you better in the dimmed room. “I want you to stay every single night. But darlin’, if you are plannin’ on staying in my room tonight, that means…”

Your heart flipped in your chest as his calloused fingers gripped your chin, tilting your head up to meet his seemingly endless eyes. The air grew still around you as it became harder to breathe. What was he doing? 

“That means what?” You found yourself asking, wanting to know just what was the purpose of his words. 

Elvis laughed once again when he heard your question. Your eyes were wondering what he could possibly want. He sucked in a breath as he leaned in closer to you, his hand that was once gripping your chin moved up to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. You looked so breathtaking to him, his heart racing like crazy in his chest. 

“You know what I mean, darlin’,” His voice was soft as satin as his eyes continued staring deeply into your soul.

It was then that Elvis realized the reason why he would look at you longer than usual. The reason he would find himself angry when the guys would flirt with you, especially Red. Elvis liked you. He liked you since that moment at the stop light when you made it evident that you weren’t looking to be another passing woman in his life. 

Elvis wasn’t sure if you knew how he felt, but with your next question, maybe he was easier to read than he thought. “How long have you wanted to do this, Elvis?” Your voice shook with uncertainty. 

His eyes continued searching yours, your face flushed as he saw his own thoughts confirmed. You had always known what he felt for you, even when he didn’t know it. You wouldn’t admit it, but that was okay because he knew. “Since the first time I laid eyes on you, darlin’,” 

He took a deep breath and scooted closer to you, pushing himself further into the moment. He wanted to kiss you tonight. No more hesitation. 

Your thoughts run back to the day that you met Elvis in Santa Monica. You were trying to get to work at the salon and he almost made you late because he was so adamant about you coming to work for him instead. You always wondered why he was so interested in you, knowing that he could have any woman that tickled his fancy. Now you know why. 

“Is this why you were so adamant about me working for you? I thought you saw me as your little sister? Now, you like me?” You asked him incredulously. 

His eyes softened at your accusations as he slightly tilted his head to the side. Your fiery personality only made him want to kiss you more than he ever had before. It was only a few more inches and he would be able to feel the softness of your lips that plagued his mind for so long. “Oh darlin’, you know that ain’t true,” 

A nervous laugh left his lips as he took hold of your hand, rubbing his calloused thumb over the padding of your knuckles. “Yes, I’ve had feelin’s for ya a lot longer than you realized. Even seein’ Cilla now, it was always you that I thought of. My eyes were always on ya,” 

Your breath hitched at the mention of Priscilla. While you have never met her and vice versa, you know your stance about being with a man who has a woman waiting on them. “So, you only saw me as a little sister because of her? Does—Does she know about your feelings about me?” 

He was taken back by your words, quickly hiding his expression by plastering a small smile on his face. He knew that it sounded like a bad thing, with him having feelings for another woman when Priscilla was waiting for him on the other side of the world, but the man couldn’t help himself. He had to have you. 

“She doesn’t, but does it really matter?” He spoke firmly, holding his hand up to stop you from speaking before he continued. “It’s not like I’m serious with her. She’s just the girl that the papers claimed got away when I was the one who left. She’s a young girl, I couldn’t wait around for her,” 

Elvis knew that his words made him seem like a terrible person but he knew that long distance would never work for him, which is why it didn’t work out for him and Anita like he had hoped. He didn’t want that to happen again and he wouldn’t let it happen, especially not with you. “I know how it makes me sound, but darlin’, believe me when I say that things are different with me and you,” 

You stared at him with wide eyes, your heart beating against your ribcage. You were blindsided, but you knew that Elvis wasn’t exactly the faithful type. “Now I need to know darlin’, do ya feel the same?” 

A moment of hesitancy passed through your body before you nodded once. Since you’ve been around Elvis, you found yourself wanting to be around him more than before. Elvis smiled at your revelation, taking your hands into his before his head tilted down to meet your gaze. 

“Then why didn’t ya act on these feelings, baby?” Elvis asked, wanting to know where your heart was. 

“Because of Priscilla, E. I was more than happy to be your best friend because you seemed so happy to finally find the girl who made you the happiest,” 

Elvis understood. He knew that you weren’t the type of woman to make moves on someone who was unavailable. You didn’t act on your feelings because of his situation with Priscilla and while he respected you for it, he knew that he couldn’t continue to go on and let you slip from his grasp. He gave you a smile as he scooted closer, tilting your head up once more. 

“Let me make ya happy, darlin’,” 

“How are you going to do that, Elvis?” 

His lips curved into another smile as he leaned in closer, his face only a few inches away. He had wanted this for so long and finally, he was going to make it happen. “This,” He whispered, his eyes on yours. 

Then, his lips found yours. His hand immediately gripped the back of your head, pulling you closer. His lips molded with yours as he kissed you deeply and for only a moment, nothing else mattered. You groaned as your eyes were wide for only a moment before they fluttered shut. Your hands moved up to grip his arms as he pulled you in. 

Your heart was pounding like bingos, body buzzing from the feeling of his soft and pillowy lips on yours. Your body jumped as you felt his tongue sliding into your mouth as he kissed you with fierceness. Elvis felt his entire body buzzing with excitement as the two of you shared the kiss of a lifetime. 

Elvis knew that everything that he felt for you was right there in this one kiss and he knew that he never wanted it to end. He didn’t care that they were in his bed lip locked anymore, he didn’t care if someone walked in on them. He could keep this going for the rest of the night for all he cared. His hand moved under the hem of your dress, grabbing your thigh gently as he pulled you even closer. 

He smiled against your lips as he heard your cute little gasp from the feeling of his hand gripping the supple flesh of your thigh. The sound of you muttering his name against his lips drove him nearly insane as his thumb rubbed circles on your skin. He groaned as you pulled away as if you were burned, your lips gently tugging at his bottom lip as your eyes fluttered open. 

His cock stirred in his pajama pants as he cleared his throat. He was beyond words at this point, never wanting to feel anything else other than what he was feeling in this moment. He finally had you in his arms, just like he wanted. His chest heaved as he looked into your eyes, his heart racing once again. “I don’t know why you waited so long to tell me how you were feelin’,” 

“You already know why I waited, Elvis. I have more respect for myself than to break up a happy home. I can’t bring myself to ruin what you and Priscilla have, it’s not right. This isn’t right,” You were beginning to regret coming up to his room now. 

“If I wanted to be with you, I wanted to wait until you were not exclusive with anyone. It’s not right to do that to Priscilla. Not right to you, and certainly not to me,” 

Elvis took in your words, knowing that you were looking out for your best interests and his as well. He couldn’t deny that you cared more for him than anyone else in his life and he would never forget it. “I get it, darlin’, I really do. But, what if I told ya that I don’t want to be with Priscilla anymore? That all I want is you,” 

“You don’t mean that, E. You’re just saying this because of the moment, right?” You were denying the obvious. 

Elvis wrapped his hands around your arms, pulling you so close that you could feel his heart beating against your chest. “I’m bein’ serious, honey. I’m swearin’ off Cilla and that’s the end of it,” 

You didn’t know Priscilla and while you knew you should feel sorry that he was talking about leaving her, you couldn’t hide the reality that you were overjoyed at the revelation. You were a hypocrite. You didn’t want Red to leave Pat to be with you and now you were hearing Elvis talk about leaving his woman for you. You sighed as you met his eyes, speaking words that you would otherwise slap yourself for. 

“If you don’t want to be with her anymore, I’ll be here once you end things with her. Until then, this can’t happen anymore. This—Us, we can’t do this. It’s not fair to her, E. You know that, right?” 

He nodded as he knew that he would have to make the hard decision to break things off with Priscilla. However, he didn’t want to be just friends with you anymore. He couldn’t deny the connection that he felt towards you, the thought of only being friends was now more painful than ever. “I know, darlin’,” 

You scooted away from him, keeping your eyes on him as you took in another breath. “Maybe we should go to sleep now. You still have to be on the set tomorrow morning and you know how you are when you don’t get enough sleep,” 

Elvis laughed softly before taking your hand in his, kissing the back of your hand before nodding. “Alright, baby, you win this round. I’m goin’,” 

Elvis didn’t stay awake for long, his arms holding you tightly as if you would disappear from his arms. You, however, stayed awake. Your mind was reeling from the night’s events and how you had hoped that things didn’t change between you and Elvis. 

The following day, Elvis didn’t wake you. He didn’t want to leave you, either. But, duty called and he had no choice but to answer. He figured that you needed the rest and as much as he wanted to lie in bed with you, kissing you until you were blue in the face, he had to head to set. 

You didn’t wake up until later on into the afternoon, knowing that Elvis would return shortly after. You sat in his bed, contemplating whether you were ready to show your face to the world. As you sat in your thoughts, you heard Elvis speaking harshly under his breath. It sounded like he was on the phone with someone, but your suspicions were confirmed when you heard the name that you thought about as he laid next to you, snoring softly the previous night. 

Priscilla…

“Goddamnit, Cilla. Y/N is staying and that’s final, ya hear?” His voice shook with fury from behind the door. 

You couldn’t hear what she was saying, but you knew it had to be about you. You knew that you made a mistake staying here, falling into his web of affection. Now, he was fighting with the woman that he was seeing and you were the topic of that conversation. 

“I don’t give a damn ‘bout how ya feel, honey. She’s a member of my goddamn mafia and if I say she ain’t goin’ anywhere, she’s not goin’,” Elvis’ voice raised more, making your heart jump in your chest at his rage. 

You knew how Elvis’ temper was. He didn’t show it often, but when he didn’t get what he wanted, it reared its head like a ravenous beast in search of its next meal. 

The next words that passed his lips surprised you, his voice becoming soft as silk. “Honey, don’t cry. P-please don’t cry, I just can’t get rid of Y/N. She means a lot to me, Cilla. I—,” 

He? You stood from the bed before slowly making your way to the closed bedroom door that separated you from him, pressing your ear to the door as you wanted to hear what he would say next. You could hear faint crying from the other side, a sigh passing Elvis’ lips as he tried to console the younger woman. 

“She’s not goin’ anywhere, Cilla. I don’t want to hear another word about it, honey. Now listen, I have’ta go.. No, ‘m not mad at ya, honey. I’ll call you later,” You heard the sound of the phone hanging up before a string of profanities left his lips. 

You pushed the door open, catching him by surprise as your eyes fell on him. You couldn’t deny how your heart flipped in your chest at the sight of him. His hair was tousled from what you assumed was from his fingers angrily running through his dark locks. His lips were curled into a snarl, an angry look on his face as he looked back at you. 

“Everything alright, E?” You asked softly, afraid to push him further. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, darlin’,” He sighed as he stepped towards you, his hands on his hips. “That little girl is just doin’ my goddamn head in about ya,” 

You pressed your lips together to keep your words in as you knew that this would happen. You knew that Priscilla would be hurt in the end and yet, you found yourself becoming pulled further in the dark hole known as Elvis’ world. He sighed as he took in your expression, stepping forward more before his hands snaked around your waist. 

“Don’t you worry your little head none, honey. You’re not goin’ nowhere and she don’t have the power to change my mind,” He reassured you, his blue eyes moving along your body, his plump bottom lip tucked between his teeth. 

You couldn’t find it in yourself to fight him. Your mind clouded with desire as he stared at you with hunger in his eyes. “Why don’t ya head on home? I need to be alone for a while, but I’m expectin’ ya to be back in my bed tonight, darlin’,” 

A firm nod of your head was all you could muster, slipping out of his embrace as you walked past him. You made your way down the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief that the guys weren’t in your line of sight. You forgot to grab your hairdressing bag, making a beeline for the front door with your keys in hand. 

You spent the remainder of the day thinking of excuses to get out of returning to that suffocating house on Perugia Way, but the thought of being away from Elvis weighed heavily on your mind. It weighed you down so much that you weren’t even sure when you arrived back in front of his home so late at night. 

The door was unlocked. Elvis must’ve told one of the boys to keep it unlocked but you didn’t know the excuse he came up with. You found yourself standing in the foyer of his home, a pink babydoll nightie adorning your body. Your feet slowly carried you towards the familiar path towards his bedroom door. 

The dimmed lighting of his room taunted you from under the door as you took a breath, talking yourself through knocking on his door before pushing it open like you had done the previous night. “Elvis?” 

Elvis was sitting on the bed, dressed in his nightly pajamas with a book in his hand. His head snapped up to look in your direction, eyes darkening as his gaze hungrily lingered over your body. He found himself lost in the sight of you, realizing that you were indeed his dream girl. You were perfect to him in so many ways. 

“C’mere, baby,” His voice nearly growled towards you, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth once again. 

Once you silently shut the door behind you and crossed the floor until you were close enough, Elvis placed his large hands on your hips as he kissed you as hard as he could. He wanted you more than he could ever express and tonight, he would have you. Priscilla be damned. 

He broke away from the kiss, taking in your breathless beauty as he gazed into your eyes. The hunger was still there, but there was something else there too—Love. “I love ya, darlin’,” 

Your breath hitched in your throat from his forwardness. You didn’t know what to say, your mind reeling from the kiss and the way his hands squeezed your hips showing his dominance over you. You didn’t respond to him and he didn’t expect you to, his lustful gaze still lingering over you. 

Elvis hummed as he pulled you into the bed with him, your body laying over his lap as he held you in his arms. “I think this is how our nights should end like this from now on,” A smirk ghosted over his lips as his hands lingered down your sides, before resting on your thighs. 

“Let’s cuddle together, baby,” He whispered as he laid you down gently on the bed. 

Elvis didn’t waste time, pressing his lips against yours once again. His tongue slid into your mouth, his body partially covering yours as he had you pinned into the mattress beneath you. He couldn’t think straight, the desire for you filling him. He wanted nothing more than to kiss you all over, making you cum until you soaked his bedsheets. But then, he realized that he had to be careful. 

He knew that you didn’t want this to go any further until he was officially finished with Priscilla. He pulled away from the kiss, his finger placed against your swollen lips as he stared down at you. “Darlin’, I want you to be with me more than anythin’ in this world,” 

Your brow raised as you were confused about how his voice changed so suddenly. “I know you ain’t wantin’ to continue this further until I’m done with Cilla, honey. Don’t look at me like that,” 

It was wonderous how you found yourself back in his arms again, considering how you knew he was right. You didn’t want to continue until he was through with her, but it was as if he had you under a spell. “I know and I still stand by that,” 

Your conscience was lying. You were lying to him but most importantly, to yourself. Your heart sank into your stomach as you returned his gaze, his hand gently taking yours. “I know you understand, honey. I respect ya too much to allow you to be the other woman, so for now we have to settle on these late nights because I can’t get enough of ya,” 

You nodded your head as you returned his gaze, his darkened blue eyes staring into your soul with love. It was only silent for only a moment, before it was as if something else had switched between the two of you. His hand let go of yours as his calloused fingers gently ran down the sheer satin material of your nightie. 

“Just one time for me, please, darlin’. I know it sounds selfish, but I just want to feel ya, more than I’ve ever felt anyone in my life,” His lustful tone returned. 

Elvis could feel the excitement returning as his eyes lingered on your body. Nothing or nobody would stop him from getting what he wanted, not even you. You looked into his eyes as you were trying to understand what he was asking for, but from the desire dancing in his eyes, you knew. “Are—Are you sure you want to do this, Elvis?” 

“More than anything,” His eyes met yours once again as he wanted you to see just how much he wanted this. 

He didn’t waste any time, his lips meeting yours for the third time tonight. He couldn’t wait any longer, wanting to see you in all of your beauty and glory. He pushed you back down onto the bed, slowly peeling off his pajamas as his lips never left yours. His kisses were filled with love, more love than he had ever felt for anyone in his life. 

His fingers moved up your body, hooking under the straps of your nightie before he pushed them off of your shoulders. Your body shivered as you felt the straps falling down your shoulders to reveal your perky breasts to his line of sight. His eyes rolled into his head at the sight of your breasts, a grunt leaving his lips. He couldn’t believe that he had gone so long without seeing them, kissing them, or even touching them. 

“My lord, darlin’,” He whispered before he kissed you again, unable to think straight. 

“Do you like them?” You asked, a blush crossing your cheeks as your lips molded with his once more. 

“Like them? They are the prettiest set of breasts I’ve ever laid eyes on, baby,” 

His hands reached for your breasts, caressing them as he wanted to feel you entirely. You were just perfect in every way, he wanted to do more. His thumbs and index fingers tweaked your nipples, a deep moan leaving your lips before his lips peppered kisses along the supple flesh of your breasts. 

He was losing control. His hands immediately pulled your nightie off of your body, leaving you in your panties. You found yourself becoming more heated as time went on, your eyes hooded as you watched him remove your pink sheer nightie from your body. He tossed the material off of the bed, his lips finding your nipples as his tongue swirled around the perky buttons. 

Elvis was in ecstasy. The sight of you in front of him, naked, made his cock stir. His lips kissed down your body from his previous position near your breasts, leaving a wet trail down your belly as his tongue lapped down before he stopped at the waistband of your laced panties. His nose inhaled your arousal, humming under his breath as his eyes moved back up to meet yours. 

“Goddamn, baby, I bet that kitty is just weepin’ for me,” he whispered, his lips kissing over your mound through your now wet and sticky panties. 

He licked his lips as his fingers hooked into the band of your panties, slowly pulling them over your hips and down your legs, leaving a trail of wetness behind. “Look at her, just cryin’,” 

He laid on his stomach before you, his arms hooking under your thighs as he pulled you closer to his awaiting lips. Your ankles hung over his shoulders as he peppered kisses around your pelvic bone. He had contorted you in the position that he wanted, his fingers pulling your vulva lips apart as he watched you drip with arousal. 

“Fuck, you’re soakin’,” He growled before his tongue lapped through your lips. 

It took all of your strength not to scream at the top of your lungs as he seemed to make it his mission to devour you whole. His tongue continued pushing your slit open before twirling around your quivering clit. He moaned as his fingers pushed your slit apart, his index finger sinking to the hilt inside of you as his tongue seemed to have a mind of its own. 

“E-Elvis, oh my god—,” You softly cried, eyes shutting tightly as all of your emotions collided at once. 

“Relax, honey. Let me give you want your body is wantin’,” He whispered against your pussy, his fingers slowly pumping into you as his tongue flicked against your bud. 

You placed your fist against your mouth to keep your moans low, hips slowly rocking against his mouth. He chuckled as his lips wrapped around your clit, sucking on it as if his life depended upon bringing you the pleasure. His digit curved into you, pumping at full force as your wetness dripped out of you. Elvis had no issues with this, lapping up every drop to ensure none would escape his grasp. 

His lips moved away from your clit before replacing it with his thumb as he rubbed small circles on it. His finger found the spongey spot inside of you, pushing up against it firmly. It was as if the dam had broken inside of you as you yelped and writhed on the bed. 

“That’s it, baby. Take what ya need,” His raspy voice called out to you as his tongue returned to your slit, lapping up the juices that flowed from you. 

Your eyes crossed as you felt yourself inching closer to completion, your body jolting and jerking with such force as he continued fucking his finger against your spot. It was then that he wiggled his fingertip against the spongey spot inside of you that your vision went black, your name flowing from his lips as he made you cum as hard as he could. 

His lips were glistening with your arousal, pulling his finger out of you before lapping up the remaining of your cum that was plugged up by his digit. He plopped his finger into his mouth, licking it clean before removing it with a slight pop. His hands ran up your sides before he wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. His lips found yours once more, giving you a taste of yourself. 

Your mind was spinning from the aftermath of your climax, gripping his shoulders as you searched for more. He removed his lips from you before he laid down beside you, turning your body away from him until you laid on your side, your back facing him. Your eyes widened as you wondered what he had planned. Elvis’ eyes lingered down your beautiful back, admiring how your curves were perfect in every way. 

“I love ya, Y/N. You make me crazy, ya know that?” He whispered in your ear as he pulled you against his chest. 

“You want me in this position?” You whispered as you turned your head to look at him over your shoulder. 

You wrapped your arm around his neck, your fingers running through his hair as you sucked in a breath. He chuckled, eyes glistening with desire and passion as he nodded. “I want ya in every way, baby. Every angle of you is perfect,” 

Elvis lifted your leg before pushing the sheets away with his knee, revealing just how perfect your body was to him. Your curves, soft skin, your back, everything was perfect to him. He wanted to touch you everywhere, he couldn't wait anymore. His arm hooked under the bent of your knee, pulling you closer as he felt your ass press against him. “You comfortable, b-baby?” 

You nodded as you turned your head to look at him once again over your shoulder, eyes pleading with him to fill you. “I’m comfortable, Elvis.”

Elvis gripped his cock, pushing his foreskin back to reveal his leaking tip as he aligned himself at your entrance. He was driven to the point of no return, he knew he couldn’t take it slow anymore. He slowly pushed his cock inside of you, splitting you apart as every inch slowly sank inside of your weeping pussy. You gasped, gripping his hair as he entered you. “Oh god..” 

Elvis felt his eyes widened as he was finally in the place he wanted to be. His lips kissed at the back of your neck as his eyes continued looking towards you with desire. His hips moved slowly at first, giving you time to become acclimated as his hips pumped into you. He couldn’t continue like this, though, picking up the pace almost immediately. 

His other hand gripped the sheets as he felt your body against his. He moved his hips faster, wanting to give you a feeling that you would remember. His lips found your ear as he began whispering about all of the things he wanted to do with you. “You feel so goddamn good, darlin’, fuck,” 

You let out a tiny cry as words escaped you. The sound of their bodies connecting filled the room, causing you to tilt your head back to rest against his shoulder. His fingers dug into your thigh as your body jolted with pleasure. “I need ya to be mine, Y/N. To b-be my wife, the mother of my children. You’re so goddamn perfect, honey,” 

You were so filled with desire that his words didn’t register until you found yourself crying out your response. “Yes, I-I-I will be your wife, the mother of your children. Please, don’t stop,” 

You whined out as his hips continued snapping into you, his balls hitting your pussy as he ravished you in his bed. Elvis was satisfied with your response, moving his hand that was gripping the sheets to gently wrap around your throat. His teeth gritted together as he grunted and moaned deeply into your ear, his breath hot against it. “Then, say it again. Say you’ll be mine. Say it, say it now,” 

“I-I’m yours, Elvis. Fuck,” Your voice shook as you found yourself slowly slipping into oblivion. You felt your stomach tightening, giving you the hint that you were about to cum once again. 

“Good girl, cause I ain’t ever lettin’ ya go. You hear?” He chuckled deeply, almost sounding guttural as he continued stuffing you full with his cock. 

His hand released your throat and your leg before his hands gripped your hips, yanking you back harder against him. Elvis had finally staked his claim on you and it was now that he realized that no one else would take you from him—not Red, not the guys, nobody. You whimpered as you felt your back arch, your body shivering as you came hard for the second time tonight. He let out another guttural growl, his cock hitting you in places that you never felt before. 

You whimpered as overstimulation began to sink in, wanting to run away from him but his grip on your hips were nearly bruising as he plowed into you again and again. “I’m ‘bout to burst, baby. Oh fuck,” He growled as his hips picked up speed, the bed squeaking and rattling from his rapid thrusts. 

He grunted as he pulled out just in the nick of time, his warm and sticky cum coating your vulva lips and slit as his hips stuttered. “The next time we fuck, I ain’t pullin’ out of ya,” He breathlessly laughed as he fell back on the bed, pulling you into his arms. 

It was silent as the only sounds were of yours and Elvis’ breathing. “That was…that was,” 

“Perfect, just like you, honey,” He whispered as he pulled you into his arms. 

You didn’t respond, the weight of the situation now hitting you all at once. As Elvis laid beside you filled with happiness and bliss, you laid there with dread and uncertainty. You had just had sex with a man you considered to be your best friend, the man who pays you to work for him. But this same man has another woman who is on the other side of the world, wanting to be with him. 

What in the hell have you done? 

taglist:

@headfullofpresley @elvisabutler @ab4eva @lookingforrainbows @vintagepresley @missmaywemeetagain @dkayfixates @notstefaniepresley @literally-just-elvis-fics @crash-and-cure @elvissbabygirl @samfangirls @cryingabtab @flwrs4aust @thatbanditqueen @loving-elvis @oh-my-front-door @presleyenterprise @precious-little-scoundrel @ccab @elvisthesillygoose

[doberbutts]

I very much see your points! I suppose the only real difference between your viewpoint and mine stands in the fact that while yes, I do agree that to use the terms TME/TMA to sort of "gatekeep" specific experiences is bad, I feel like that's more of an issue with individual (although decently widespread, unfortunately) misappropriation of the language, rather than a conceptual flaw with the framework. I believe there's a lot of people who intend to use the terms correctly, and if and when they happen not to we should aim to correct that individual behavior rather than throw the baby out with the water, so to speak. I do understand that it's a bit of a tall ask when everyone's at each other's throats and often not willing to return the favor, but at the very least that's what we should strive for if we want to reach mutual understanding (I say all this knowing that's your goal too, I wouldn't assume otherwise).

After all, I do believe that the way "transandrodorks" are treated stems from a similar misunderstanding or overgeneralization of what we actually stand for, and an unwillingness to reach out a hand and actually listen to what we have to say rather than assume the worst from a few bad actors. That's why when the positions are reversed I want to at least try to reach out and meet the other party in the middle, even if the same courtesy isn't always afforded to me.

As for your example with Caster Semenya, I do believe that intersex people should absolutely be allowed to use the term TMA to refer to themselves regardless of AGAB if they feel it's appropriate, as their experiences often exist outside the strict framework we tend to employ and they would know best which terminology applies to them and which doesn't (and should also obviously allowed to make up their own when needed). I don't see eye to eye with anyone who advocates for TMA/TME while disagreeing on this point (and I'll admit I'm not sure what the general consensus here is).

And as for the other example, I'm a bit hesitant to continue that specific analogy (which I do believe to be absolutely valid, btw) since I'm white and I would rather not say anything out of turn, so I'll instead offer the usual rebuttal to the analogous point: when someone who is TME experiences transmisogyny, it's an atomic experience, not continuous. They might be mistaken for a trans woman, but as they are not actually a trans woman they don't live in the same state of constant fear and threat of (this specific type of) violence. They can prove they're not transfem, and the attack will stop, or at least lessen. They have the option of simply not being transfem, something which obviously isn't afforded to transfems. That doesn't mean that the experience they went through didn't affect them, or did so less, but they would live it differently from someone who would be the actual intended target.

Now, I relayed that point but I personally am not sure I agree with it 100%, specifically the latter half. If the TME person being attacked happens to be another trans person, rather than cis, they don't get to escape the danger through proving they're not transfem, because then they're just trading a type of violence for another (the one actually meant to target them, which might look differently). Not to mention that you won't always be in a situation where you can/want to prove it, or where the other party will believe you or care either way. I guess the bigger point here is that if you're TME you're not always experiencing transmisogyny in every facet of your life, though.

Either way I believe there's plenty of more nuance that could be had here, and in that sense I do dislike how that's lost when using TME/TMA, but as terms they were never intended to encompass every possible experience in shorthand but rather just give a general idea, which could then be complemented by any additional info you would be willing to share.

Ah but you see, that's the talking over someone else's experience I'm talking about.

When TME people experience transmisogyny, it is incidental and not continuous. Well. For some, like my example of the idiot mistaking me for Mexican for being brown while saying a French word, that is true. I am not commonly mistaken for Mexican, though it's not unheard of, and it hasn't happened in years. Specifically, when I stopped wearing my hair long and started binding, I stopped being read as *Dominican* (which racist people do not see the difference between the various Latin American countries) and thus stopped experiencing this problem. It's incidental, but I still think that the best choice is to ally with Mexicans and other Latinos and Hispanics to stop the bigoted behavior from happening altogether.

But what happens when it IS continuous? Black cis women, also labeled TME, are disproportionately transvestigated and heavily punished by transmisogynist laws and rulings despite not being transgender themselves. Not only does showing birth certificates not help (and, also, I think this is Bad Logic, because if I have to show my personal private documents in order to be left alone, I'm still being Affected By The Oppression because I have to carry my documents everywhere. Like that's just Baby's First Fascism) but I have personally witnessed multiple black celebrity and politician cis women be forced to prove they are women *while they are pregnant*. And yes, that is misogynoir. But it is practiced by utilizing the exact same societal systems to hurt trans women. Thus my logic on the other post- all oppression hooks into each other and back onto itself somehow. Not only is that not incidental and very much continuous, but this a systemic problem and why cis and trans women and *especially* any person of color regardless of gender should ally among themselves to fight it.

And, finally "they can prove they're not trans fem and the attack will stop or lessen"- sure, much like how Hannah Gadsby was able to say "no no I'm not a faggot you see I am a lady a woman no man-liker here" and the guy left her alone wait no he didn't he beat the shit out of her anyway. Like that's the problem I have with this- the reality is that this does not apply to every single person and that real living people are being hurt and sometimes killed while being labeled exempt from the very thing that kills them. We have had cis people die due to bathroom laws meant to hurt trans women. It is absolutely not a matter of just proving you're not one because transmisogyny is one help of a drug and it is used as a dangerous weapon to any and everyone it's pointed towards.

And that is the crux of my problem. People can use whatever words they like to describe their own experiences. Pointing these words to describe someone else's experiences for them, however, and denying that their very real lived experiences have happened or that it matters less is where I draw the line.

[cinnamonest]

LENA HI i need to ask. how do you survive irl? bc personally im a radical feminist and im all for eradicating gender roles and empowering women so having all these raging fetishes that stem from misogyny is so shameful to me(not that i really want to stop anyway…) i walk around with millions of unwanted inappropriate thoughts produced by my noncon-adled porn-rotten brain. like i genuinely need advice(or at least reassurement…) from someone that can relate. even if you cant relate or dont want to answer, id be VERY happy if you could just post this to your board so maybe someone else could see it and send a reply, as another anon or as a comment to the post, idk. thank you in advance. and no i dont want to see a professional about this, the fuck am i supposed to tell them😭

I totally get that, I struggled with the same thing for a long time. I'm not great with explaining things like this, but I think the most important thing to address (the observation of which helped me get over feelings of shame and guilt) is

1) a disconnect between real misogyny and fictional misogyny, as well as 2) critical examination of fandom culture perpetuating shaming the content.

To be very clear: misogyny in real life is not like what I write about. Actual misogynists behave remarkably differently from what you see here. They do not cherish you, they're not just possessive or tsun, they genuinely do not see you as human, you are disposable to them, they hate you — and their behavior reflects that.

Secondly, I think it helps to become aware of a phenomenon I've noticed, increasingly so in recent years, where the same people vehemently hating on dark fiction will turn around and engage in very real misogyny. It's a bizarre phenomenon but it's definitely real and observable, and observing this over and over again has proven to me that fictional content does not at all facilitate real engagement.

I'm obviously biased to myself, and I won't say it's objectively true, but I personally think that the fictional content helps me recognize the real thing even where others often don't, and I've seen others in these spaces have similar experiences.

Which frankly, this contrast is not good because real misogyny, especially as it is casually woven into everyday life and culture, causes real harm, yet fandom culture is increasingly obsessed with fictional content and shaming consumers while turning a blind eye to it occurring in reality.

Recognizing the difference, for me at least, and the disconnect between them, as well as the realization of just how often real misogyny was a critical part of getting over feelings of guilt.

Tldr:

1) fictional misogyny and real misogyny are not only different, but often mutually exclusive, and

2) engaging with fictional content on misogyny does not inhibit your ability to recognize nor combat it — that's a matter of careful analysis of engagement with culture.

Also on another note — there are a lot of professionals who are very understanding about this sort of thing! I won't say every single one is, but there are plenty of non-judgemental professionals.

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

Some truths people need to accept about therapy

This isn't an anti-therapy post. If it works for you, that's great. I just see people getting a bit pushy when it comes to encouraging others to attend and not accepting different points of views. Some of these I've talked about before but figured I'd list them here anyway

-Bad therapists exist. Sometimes people aren't good in the field they chose. Sometimes those people are the wrong kind of people to be in that field. You know, like when they that the "mean girls" become nurses. A bad therapist, for example, might take the side of an abusive parent, using excuses like "they probably had a bad childhood" or "they did their best." If you're there because you're seeking help, that isn't helpful. Imagine being traumatized by the abuse you suffered and the person who is supposed to help you sympathizes with your abuser instead. It happens and it's not okay.

But I've seen people online that get defensive when these therapists are called out or the practice has any sort of criticism towards it. I think a lot of that stems from wanting to protect therapy in a sense from being badmouthed. But then you have this problem of shutting out anything that could be deemed oppositional and you hurt people in the process. (which I'll get into more on the next point). If you take criticism and believe that comes from an anti-therapy mindset, then you need to reflect and ask yourself why you only want to accept the positivity. Those bad therapists don't just cease to exist because you've shut the "idea" of them out.

Bad therapists need to be held accountable for their actions. And in sense, I'm not referring to "bad" as a bad fit for you. I'm talking about those that behave unethically or something else along those lines.

And no, saying that "well therapists are humans too..." is not an acceptable excuse. Sure, it's true but I hold people of certain professions to a higher standard than others. A fast food worker making a mistake and giving you the wrong food is one thing. But you'd probably have a much stronger reaction if a nurse gives the wrong dose of medication to your loved one because they weren't paying attention. Are you going to be placated by "they're only human"?

In the same way, you don't want a therapist that can worsen your mental health. A therapist is in a position of a delicate situation- bad ones need to be weeded out. I think too often people just shrug and tell others if they don't like their therapists then just try a new one. That's not always an option for someone, especially if for insurance reasons or whatever, they have limiting options of who they can go see.

-You shouldn't invalidate someone's experience. Kinda goes along with number one. As it was mentioned, a bad therapist can worsen someone's mental health. Someone might have had a bad experience and doesn't want to go back ever or they might be hesitant because they don't want to encounter it again. The thing is, though, in many cases if someone has a bad experience in therapy there's this assumption that it's their own fault. They weren't willing to work hard enough. They obviously don't want to get help. If you think about it, isn't that victim blaming?

Sure, there's people who go to therapy and are like that, but it's not the case for everyone. But I see this sort of thing online a lot.

-Not everyone has access to therapy, be that because of financial reasons or there isn't a place near them offering services. This is a huge one too. Online, people throw the word therapy around like there are no obstacles for anyone and if you don't go, you're just not willing to help yourself. Not everyone can go. Instead of acting morally superior, try to understand that everyone's situation is different

-Someone not having the time to go is valid. it's great that you're going to work full time, taking care of the kids, maintaining the house and having a social life while being able to squeeze in a therapy appointment but it's just not realistic for a lot of people and you have to understand that. And I know to some people it's as easy as if you really want it you'll make time for it but again, that's not necessarily how that works. You can really want something sometimes and it's just not feasible for you. You have to understand that your experience does not mean it's the same for everyone

-Be respectful if someone doesn't want it. Maybe they'll attend in the future or maybe they won't and that's okay. It isn't the only form of help they can get for themselves. You can't expect people to be respectful of you or others if you(/they) want therapy if you're not willing to be respectful in return

Again, don't act morally superior. Don't mock them. Just don't. It's not right and it won't bring someone any closer to going so I don't know why someone would do it

-It just doesn't work for everyone and that's okay

Don't be the kind of person to push someone away from getting help (be that for the first time or again)

Sometimes we get so enthusiastic (/ protective) of something we believe in that we push people away by being narrow minded and that's what I see happening here

[meraxesmoon]

May I request Yandere Platonic team black and team green (all of them separate) with a fem reader who is very flirty and sleeps with any person she wishes because she gives into her desires. Her platonic Yandere friends will not be happy when they find out she has been sleeping with a bunch of guards and Lords and ladies. They do lock her up once finding out, but what if the reader flirts with them and tries getting them into bed with her? Reader has sexual feelings for them and wants them badly.

warnings: yandere, degenerate behavior, unhealthy sex habits, aegon is not platonic, I think, this is called being hypersexual right?, some religious undertones

┍━━━━━━━ ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗━━━━━━━┑

Everyone is absolutely stressed.

I imagine that (Name) is like a sister to Rhaenyra, so Alicent most definitely blames her for their darlings corrupted nature. Otto tries to get their darling into some conversion therapy, but... it doesn't ever work.

The Targtower kids have very different views on (Name)'s sexual nature.

Aegon is the one who indulges in their sexual deviancy. I know everyone is supposed to be platonic, but I can definitely see him sleeping with (Name) if she would initiate it. He's a horny degenerative man and has little to no self-control. He'd happily jump into bed with (Name), and joins her in most of her sexual excursions. Aegon definitely gets a little jealous when he learns that (Name) is sleeping with tons of other people, though. He's sort of a baby.

Helaena is not involved. I can't imagine her having much interest in sex or anything similar, so she generally just shoots (Name) down when she wants to get freaky. Helaena adores her, of course, but she doesn't wish to be involved. That's not to say Helaena judges their darling, because she absolutely does not, but she just doesn't want any part of it.

Aemond would take after his mother in the way that he's very pious. He rarely takes part in any degenerative behavior, and is obviously repulsed by Aegon's behavior. You can imagine his panic when he realizes that his darling girl is sleeping around like that. Aemond finds this worrying, but ironically enough he doesn't blame his darling for their behavior. She's his sweet angel who can do no wrong! He's sort of delusional. If Aemond finds those who have corrupted his darling girl, they best pray for their lives.

As for Team Black, they're just... hypocritical. Rhaenyra especially.

Rhaenyra does not believe that her darling should be sleeping around with just anyone. She thinks that (Name) should be cautious of who they sleep with, and this mostly comes from her experience with Criston. Rhaenyra doesn't especially believe in sexual freedom. She just does whatever the hell she wants. However, she's also very protective of her little love, as she's very important to Rhaenyra.

Daemon, on the other hand, could care less. As long as (Name) is safe and not getting serious with anyone and debating marriage, he couldn't care less about who she's bringing into her bed. He just doesn't care, because he's also a whore <3

tried a little bit different formatting, I feel like my posts look messy and I don't like that lol

I also didn't add any of the velaryon boys bc they're babies, the same goes for daeron

[catnippackets]

My sister in law and I once had a very deep chat where she told me she's a bit jealous of how I'm "capable" of obsessing over interests; I got the feeling that to her it seemed like a specific type of joy she would never really know. In turn, I told her that even though I sometimes wish it had an off switch, I rlly can't imagine a version of myself thay doesn't get joyfully hyperfixated on things, since it's so intrinsic to my personality/neuro-chemistry.

Anyways, I totally relate to that feeling of detached embarrassment, but it was eye-opening to talk abt it with her and see that A) some people really admire the capacity for such "passion" and B) some people genuinely just can't have that experience, which seems both unthinkable and obvious lol

I genuinely can't imagine a life like that for myself either. I've gone through periods of time before where I wasn't hyperfixated on something and genuinely I felt like...deeply empty the entire time. As soon as something new entered my life to fixate on I felt like myself again. I definitely have interests and hobbies that I enjoy in a very normal non-obsessive way but it feels so different and they don't feel like...sustainable. like I'm just living off of bread and milk. idk how else to phrase that. because the things I always hyperfixate on are tv shows and fictional characters I kind of just assumed it came with the territory of being an artist, cuz as a creator it's like...this is what I'm meant to do with my life, right? I know I'm supposed to be telling stories and creating characters and exploring concepts through fiction so it makes perfect sense that I'm depressed without any source of inspiration or rejuvenation. Cuz it's inspiring as hell to be hyperfixated on something!! it gives me endless energy and inspiration to create and that makes me feel amazing.

most of my friends are ND too but I know some of them aren't the same as me in this regard and they've even expressed similar jealousy that they're not someone who obsesses over things. it's both understandable and so weird to me cuz obviously you can't pick and choose what your brain is gonna latch on to but like...you haven't even had ONE time in your life where you spent years only thinking about one thing? not even once? that's unfathomable to me, that's like my entire life.

and while I definitely do not enjoy the embarrassment of having feelings and how upsetting it can be to constantly be distracted from real life tasks that take priority and also feeling self conscious and wondering if I even have a personality sometimes beyond my fave video games/shows/movies, I'm really glad that I'm someone who can experience it cuz it really does feel like I'm just sitting around and waiting if I don't have a story to think about all the time. sometimes I hear people talk about how stressful and sad it is that they feel so deeply and I'm like yeah I mean sometimes but like...what about the joy. what about all the love. there's nothing sad about it! embarrassing sometimes yeah but that's worth it if it means I get to be so deeply happy and excited! I'll complain from time to time but never in a THOUSAND years would I ever want to change this about myself. I will take all the embarrassing annoying feelings if it means I get to experience pure wild autistic joy haha

[emmitaaa4]

I want to preface this little rant by saying that I am all for ship and let ship—at the end of the day none of this has any significance, and we should all get to enjoy our silly little ships to our heart’s content. Me personally I just want Elain to do whatever the hell she wants and be happy in the end. That being said, rn I just felt like getting something off my chest.

From what I have seen and understood, most of The Other Side believes that Azriel feels entitled to Elain. That he sees her as a sexual object, or at the very most as a rebound he doesn’t truly care for, nor respect; he does not think of her beyond what he can get from her sexually. They say his attitude towards her is toxic in its ‘possessiveness’; he doesn’t consider her an equal, for he sees her as a perpetual damsel in distress he must save; his attraction to her / feelings for her are a symptom of some twisted trauma response.

We know that they believe that. We’ve heard it. Over and over and over. Since 2021. Hell, everybody’s momma probably knows it, too, with the way that rhetoric is spread. But Elriels have made it plenty clear that we have a very different interpretation of the text and do NOT agree with those assessments of Azriel (nor half the things the poor man is diagnosed with, bless his fictional soul), considering what we do know of Azriel’s character and his relationship with Elain, based on the books--and yes, the bonus (see this, this, and this post). Otherwise—i.e. if we believed him an incel x fuckboy hybrid (probs the first of his kind!) who is only interested in getting her in is bed—we would obviously not be shipping them together: most of us (99% I’d say lol) care about Elain more than we do Az, or care about them both just as much.

So it is getting pretty tiring to see us shippers—the actual humans behind the screen—labelled as having a toxic/immature view of what love is, of being “too young/naive” to see the supposed red flags, of mistaking lust for love because we have not experienced a healthy relationship (?), of actually promoting toxic relationships & advocating for toxic masculinity (which someone told me on tiktok just now)(stay away from tiktok, folks). Those generalizations are wild to me, not only because they are wildly untrue and condescending, but because Elriels are a colorful bunch, you know—when you’re speaking of the fandom Villain™, you’re speaking of people of every demographic, speaking of daughters mothers grandmothers, depressed uni students (pardon the self-insert), etc... I need to get thicker skin, but those statements can get pretty hurtful in the long run. And I’m tired of feeling the need to justify myself as if we’re wrong for shipping two people who MUTUALLY want one another and lets be serious, no its not “just lust”.

I know I know, I am probably being dramatic. But it’s just weird to see a ship being so demonized and its shippers along with it, all because louder portions of the fandom disagree with our opinions and insist on toxifying ours. Just to be clear, I know that many have had unpleasant experiences/interactions with Elriels, just like many Elriels have had the same with Gwynriels and/or Eluciens. I condone none of the disgusting behaviour I’ve seen from some shippers, and in fact I abhor it. As everyone should.

To end this on a good note.

Elriels, I say we run with it. Az wants Elain for himself. He is jealous and his mind is plagued by thoughts of her. Her presence is too much to bear, for he can’t stand to be in the same room as her and pretend like he feels nothing. He is ready to beg on his knees for a chance to worship her, and it took Nesta one look to see it.

AZ IS OBSESSED AND I SAY WE EMBRACE IT.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

I’m newer to tumblr but an Arcana Veteran so coming across your account is a blessing 😭 your hcs are really good and I look forward to your posts!! I had an idea that I never executed on my own and i thought I might as well share it, so here goes nothing 😋

How would the M6 react to MC changing something drastic about themselves?

To be more specific, say MC always had long hair, more of a coolheaded attitude, or were always quiet and polite. And then out of the blue they’re shutting everyone out, slowly erasing almost every trace of their presence and being off the radar for a few months.

The LIs are worried because not a single soul has seen them. And then they suddenly return, and it’s like a new person, but very obviously still themselves. Shorter hair or other physical differences, soft-spoken personality, etc. But they come back to the M6 regretfully, never saying what *did* happen.

Assuming what they had was some strive for change, depression, or something else, it may be hard to explain to their dearest, but they eventually will. All they want is to be home.

just a silly idea of mine ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ



The Arcana HCs: M6 when MC changes without them

~ thanks for the ask @vegaspng! Sorry it took me so long to get around to but here it is. I'm writing this to be similar to what it's like in the recovery stages of PTSD or chronic depression, because I live for that kind of bittersweet hope. To anyone experiencing ot hoping to experience this, best of luck! You're not alone! - brainrot ~

- a little backstory-

The Devil is defeated. Vesuvia is safe. And your loved ones are building a new life with you that promises to be better than anything you can remember. Which is why you have to leave.

You've learned so much about yourself, your past, even the body you have now, and you're not sure what to do with it yet. That aside, you took on responsibilities and accomplishments the likes of which no single person could reasonably hope to carry, and you pulled it off. You didn't have to do it alone either. But now that things are going back to normal, you're stuck drifting in your own brain because you have no idea what normal is supposed to be like.

Your beloved has been wonderful. They've shown more patience than you ever asked for, listening to you process for hours and doing their best to help. You've worked through who you were after being brought back from the dead, you've worked through who you became through your fight against the devil, but you still know nothing of who you started out as. Which means you're not sure who you're supposed to be now. And you don't want to build a new life without knowing who you're building it for.

So one fine morning, you pack a bag, arrange for your absence, and kiss your beloved goodbye with the promise to return.

The journey is difficult, but rewarding. You travel across realms both magical and human, collecting traces of your past and encountering moments of who you used to be. You don't recover all of your memories, but you get the important ones. You find out who you used to be. It's less than you thought, but it's more than you had, and it's enough to move forward. So you set your sights for home and return to Vesuvia.

Your loved one is overjoyed when you return. They have a little adjusting to do, you have some mannerisms you didn't used to and they can't predict your behavior in the same way. But they're quick to recognize that it's all still you. Slowly, they get to know all the pieces you're building yourself with and fall in love with each one. And as time goes on, you get to hear about the whole thing from their point of view as well. What was it like for them, when you left? And what does life look like now that you're back?

Julian

The hardest part of you leaving was trying not to take it as a rejection of his love for you

He knows in his head why you need to do this, hell, the reason he ended up in Vesuvia was because he needed his own journey of self discovery

He just has to fight off his own inner demons telling him that you're going to realize you're better off without him and not come back

Which, for someone who found the drive to keep his own life because it had you it, can be quite the struggle

And because he's actually quite intelligent, he recognizes that it's not good to stay dependent on you to be his sole purpose in life. That's not your responsibility to carry

So he keeps faith in your promise to return, and puts all of his energy into becoming a better man for you to come home to

He spends time with Portia, getting to know her as an adult and becoming the kind of brother she says she wants and not what he assumes she needs

He seeks out time with Nazali so he can continue his medical studies and get more mentoring

He reconnects with Nadia and puts his knowledge of public hygiene to use with her plans for Vesuvia

He even manages to build a healthy friendship with Asra (who also misses you) and resolve their past toxic situationship

It's not easy, but he wakes up every morning a little more ready to face the day

When you come home, he's over the moon. Nothing and nobody can replace the happiness you bring him

He notices your changes right away, but he's too relieved to know that you actually came back to focus on them

Once you're settled back in with him and it's more apparent, he has a raging battle of opinions in his head about whether he should ask you about it or wait

He ends up asking you extremely vague, open-ended questions just in case you want to talk about it, but not letting himself pry

As time passes, he gets to know more of who you are and you begin to tell him some of the things that happened on your trip

He's fascinated, asking questions whenever you're in the headspace to answer them and connecting dots with you

He's never had the zest for life that he does now. Every night that he goes to bed with you, he's already looking forward to what the next morning will bring

And the best part? So do you. The future has never so been so desirable as it is now

Asra

They completely understand where you are coming from. In fact, they were the one who suggested the trip

He didn't suggest you going by yourself though

In the end what they care about more than anything is your happiness and wellbeing. So they'll give you every piece of advice and connection and helpful item they have, and promise to watch the shop while you're gone

But oh, he misses you desperately

When they gave up half their heart, it was in the form of their ability to have connections with other people. You being in their life covers for that

The only person he had a strong connection with before you was Muriel. And when you died, he went into the darkest, most twisted headspace he'd ever been in and did things he couldn't later comprehend

Their decision to bring you back, and the way they did it, is something you two have talked about once or twice, but there isn't much else to do besides try to forgive them and make sure it doesn't happen again

But this time, you're not alone. Which means he isn't either

Every day for the next week, someone new drops by the shop at your request to check on them

First it's his parents. Then it's Nadia. Muriel. Julian. Portia. Selasi, the baker. Natiqa on her way through town. Even Lucio at one point, with an apology letter that took months to help him write

Every time they feel like packing up and taking off until you return, they remember their promise to stick it out for you

And slowly, he begins to stay for other people too. It doesn't hit him until one month in that for the first time in his life, he's a part of a community because he's wanted there and wants to be there, not because he's with you

You're still their anchor, but now they have ties apart from you that give them a semblance of home, family, and belonging

The moment you return he's dropping everything. He will maintain some form of physical contact with you for the next 48 hours

They're one of the only people who remembers you before the plague, and seeing glimpses of that in who you are now makes them so proud and happy for you

You don't have to tell him everything right away. Though he is going to apologize profusely for every time he left you for a long trip with nothing to do but watch the shop and wait for his return

For every piece and memory you're ready to talk about, they will give you their undivided attention and then lavish the new discovery with all the affection they have

Nadia

She's torn. On one hand, her greatest joy is providing for you, so seeing the way you have an unmet need and can't come to her to fix it is hard for her

On the other hand, she perfectly understands the need to get away from it all to find yourself

And she's perfectly aware of how dominant her personality can be. You having access to your own space is very important to her

So she'll make sure you have everything you need and offer every available resource to you, and let you go

It's hard at first. You had been the one to wake her from her sleep, you had been the one to bring back her faith in herself

So without you around, her old insecurities begin to resurface. She didn't grow up in Vesuvia. She wasn't even the active ruler until several months ago

There were literal demons serving as her courtiers and she didn't do anything about them until you called them out

How is she supposed to speak with confidence if she doesn't have you to back her up?

And that's when, slowly, people start to drop by, and she's finally ready to accept their support

First it's Portia. Then it's Asra. Even Muriel drops by briefly. Julian makes a couple of calls as well

And then, it's her sisters

First it's Natiqa, crashing her lonely dinners and making her laugh with her wisecracks

Then it's Nasmira, quietly sweet talking the more stubborn courtiers into compliance

One by one, and never more than two visitors in the palace at a time, each family member stops by, taking their cues from Nadia and being her backup

And little by little, every childhood memory that haunts her gains a new light

She still gets tired of them and feels stifled every now and then, but she doesn't feel alone any more

It soon becomes known that Vesuvia doesn't just have an incredible Countess, their Countess has an army of loving supporters

When you return, she takes the next few days off and trusts her support system to handle the city for a bit

She'll ask questions, but as soon as she senses hesitation she'll give you space

She sees all these new flashes of personality in you, and as much as her heart aches for your trials, it flutters as you become more yourself

She already knew you were a worthy companion, but as you share more and more she's left in awe of who you are

The world is not ready for the power couple you two are going to make

Muriel

He understood what you needed to do right away. Going on a trip in search of his roots was exactly what ended up saving him

And getting to know you in the process was a delightful bonus

But when he realizes you're going alone, he's undeniably hurt. He's not the type to be selfish, but you went with him on his journey. He was vulnerable with you and it brought you two together

So why don't you trust him the same way? Why won't you make space for him in your life the way he did for you?

It's tricky to answer, because he makes a fair point and because he's never asked you for anything like this before

You're eventually able to explain the difference, how your trip is about finding out who you are on your own terms, when everything you've gotten so far has been on somebody else's

It's still painful for him, but he'll agree and let you go. He's not afraid of being alone

Until, for the first time in his life, he gets bored and starts wondering if someone's going to come bother him

Which is completely new. He's never had that train of thought before in his life

The closest was when Asra stayed with him and he wouldn't know if they would be back late or not

But now the hut is almost too quiet. The bed is too big. The forest is too peaceful. The eggs are too bland

And so, after two weeks of trying and failing to fall into old habits, he goes into town, grumbling under his breath the whole way

The panic that Asra greets him with when he walks into your old shop is almost enough to make him turn around and leave

Muriel? In town? By himself? Without being summoned? The world must be ending!

When he's finally able to mumble something about just wanting to visit and pick up some spices, Asra shatters a teacup

He's never been the one to surprise them before. It's fun. He could get used to this

And so, visits to Vesuvia get more frequent. Usually to the shop. Often to the palace. Several times to the community theatre, without needing to hide in the rafters

He's so relieved when you get back. You can hold a conversation with other people much better than he can

He notices the changes immediately, but he doesn't address them at all. His only desire concerning you is to be your safe place

He's come to appreciate the beauty of human complexity, so seeing new layers like this in you is heartstopping

You never have to worry about opening up. If you do, he'll accept you. If you don't, he'll accept you. He just loves you for you

Portia

Not gonna lie, it triggered her a little

She knows how this goes. You get tired of your quaint little life, you go off on an adventure without her, and you leave her to rot where she can't reach or help you with letters full of empty apologies

The conversation you facilitate between her and Julian after that rant is one of the hardest things you've ever done, but it's worth it

After things have settled, she lets you leave and holds onto the hope that you'll be back

And while you're gone, she distracts herself with work. She's got boundless energy, she needs to put that to use so she can't think too much

And so begins the craziest three weeks of her life. From the moment she wakes up to the moment she falls asleep, she does nothing but work

Normally, you're her reason to take a break. You put her back in the main role of her own life so she can let her hair down and live the adventure she's destined for

But without you around, the only role she's used to playing is support. So that's what she does, to the point of completely forgetting about herself

It takes a burnout induced three day fever to make her pause. Especially when she begins to recover and sees the sheer number of worried faces in her cottage

Nadia's spending every free evening with her. Julian's sleeping over most nights. Mazelinka's covering the daytime with her mysteriously perfect soup and brandishing a wooden spoon to keep her in bed

It makes her realize two things. First, that while it looks different, she has her brother's tendency to take on the world's problems to avoid taking care of herself

And second, that you shouldn't have to be the solution to that

It's rough, but she learns self care. Not just an extra step in her skincare, but letting herself do something just for fun. Putting herself first

Learning to sit and do nothing without feeling guilty because nobody can make some kind of profit from it

When you get home though, it's like she can fully relax again. You give her an importance that she has to fight to hold onto otherwise

She has the hardest time giving you space. All the changes you've made are so exciting to her, she wants to hear all about your adventures and growth!

You'll have to tell her plainly that you're not ready to talk about it right away, and she'll be very understanding even if it's hard

Every time you open up, she'll hang on your every word. You two are the main characters in her story, and she can't wait for the plot to develop with you by her side

Lucio

He doesn't make it easy for you to leave

He doesn't mind you going on a trip! Trips are fun! And even when they're serious and scary, like what he had to do with you in the Arcana's realms, they're always better with a loved one!

So why are you trying to go without him? Who's going to protect you?!

And equally important, who's going to be with him?!

He's thoughtless sometimes, but he's not dumb. He knows he's a better man because of you

And he also knows that he's not perfect. Deep down under all that bluster and ego, he's still a kid who never learned to love

You helped him with that. You unraveled every tangled oopsie with him, you didn't flinch when you saw the worst of him, and then you picked up his forgotten heart and filled it up with love

So why else would you be leaving except because you finally realized that he's not worthy of you?

You're able to explain it to some extent. You need to go on a journey similar to his. Only you need to do this by yourself because it isn't about fixing oopsies, it's about finding out who you used to be

He'll let you go because it's what's best for you. And he believes you when you say you'll come back. But what he can't bring himself to tell you is how afraid he is that who you used to be won't be able to love him

When you kiss him goodbye, he resigns himself to it being the last he'll ever get

At first he sulks. He crashes people's parties and picks fights with every bandit he encounters

But when he has the option to get blackout drunk? Take all the goods from the bandits for himself on top of the bounty money?

He can't

You taught him the importance of taking responsibility for his actions. Well, you made him a good man. So you're going to have to take responsibility for that and give him the chance to prove himself worthy of you

Which he does. He wakes up early. He moderates his drinks. He does the jobs he finds. He saves the money he earns

When you get back and fling your arms around him, his knees buckle from relief

He can tell you've changed, but it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. He can tell you all the ways he's changed instead!

If you were worried about his reactions when you do open up, you quickly realize you don't have to be

He doesn't expect you to be perfect. All he wants is for you to be you, for you to be happy, and for him to be the one you choose to do that with