#starker theme

[starker-sorbet]

Married Artificer Tony and Druid Peter joining an adventuring party to go on a quest together

[thestarkerisobvious]

OKAY I DID IT I WROTE THE THING I might publish it tonight

its so shiddy when u have to convince yourself to do your hobbies. like, its fun, you like it, why cant you just do it. do it. do it. but what if.... mindless media consumption instead....

[makimacult]

what's the deal with this "love" thing anyways? — part one.

credit goes to @amoransia for bringing these panels to my attention! something fun about the demon lords is how foreign "love" is as a concept to them. mammon feels affection for his followers, and explicitly calls them his comrades. that "love" necessitates special treatment for them—he calls tachibana his friend and promises to protect her, yet by the very nature of what he embodies, inflicts violence on her. he is greed, antithesis of equality. and yet that same greediness which discriminates & does not treat one and all equally: is what makes it natural for him to treat tachibana as an exception.

the next demon lord introduced is leviathan. how can you love that which is not equal to you? her children idolise & isolate her. she is too powerful to engage in normal "play", everything she embraces or touches breaks. the final conclusion leviathan reaches after fighting priest is that she should go about the world as her true self—other people naturally will have expectations of her, but she can't let those expectations tie her down. "the strong must acknowledge that they are strong"—prescient & sad words from priest-kun, who has been forced to acknowledge his own strength and bear expectations because of it since he was far too young. but this is a world where heaven and hell are proven existences—the strong must realise that they are strong, and the church exists as humanity's answer to the existence of gehenna. but what kind of answer is it? & what exactly is the border between demons and humans?

and with that we come to beelzebub. like mammon, he too has his own strange code of honour. he makes leah eat her own baby brother, true, but he spares her when he massacres her whole village. he is sadistic in the way of a natural calamity—gluttony as the choice to take from others to feast yourself. gluttony embodies several things in beelzebub's arc. hunger for food, leah's hunger for revenge, imuri's hunger to be closer to priest, verge' & the witches hunger for a seat at the table (side note: it's interesting that verge is the witch of gluttony in particular. sugar, like salt, can be used as a preservative. verge accepts beelzebub's contract and is frozen at, or near, the age he was sexaully assaulted. forever ripe...)

so what does priest hunger for? well, beelzebub would very much like to know that himself! what he's shocked by is how much priest has been starved of all wants by everyone around him. the facets of him reflected through battles with mammon and leviathan are now starker—he is strong, he knows he is strong, he knows what is expected of him, and that knowledge (& the treatment he was put thru to gain that state of mind) has resulted in someone who does not really have a reason to live. protect others, defeat satan—these are all causes. leah is priest's foil in this arc, and it's no coincidence that we see her and barbara embraced by cardinal heisenberg at the end of the arc. she has her cause (revenge) too, but she has something stable to come back to, at the end of the day.

and who does priest have? dante (who puts the dead in deadbeat) and imuri, the first person who truly is in priest, the person; and not priest, the apostle of god's corner. [1]

the conclusion imuri reaches at the end of leviathan's arc is that it is possible for humans and demons to be together—if she has the courage to reach out and extend her hand. [2]

asmodeus' arc touches most significantly on mtefil's themes as a whole. love doesn't always save people—asmodeus and sara did love each other, but that love just caused pain for them. asmodeus and sarah parallel bel and onesta as another human-demon relationship: but where priest tells bel that he should've been honest with onesta, what rejoinder can he give asmodeus?

the conclusion which asmodeus draws after her fight with priest is that forcing herself onto sarah would've resulted in misery in the end. priest never even finds out what the root of asmodeus' issues are, even though love between a demon and a human, where the demon wants to free the human from suffering imposed on them by human society... is kind of exactly what imuri wants to do for priest?

where all the other demon lords reflect some facet of priest back, i'd argue that asmodeus is the demon lord who reflects imuri back!

let's circle back to imuri's conclusion at the end of leviathan's arc—that love is possible between humans and demons as long as you're willing to extend your hand ie understand each other (i have talked about the lust arc conclusion for imuri before). her understanding is still incomplete however—after all, she does admit in her text messages that love isn't a cure-all:

and with that, we come back to belphegor's arc; possibly some of the most unsubtle (i say this with affection) writing mtefil has showcased so far. bel is also curious about love and marriage—he makes an effort to put himself on an equal footing with humans. can't we draw a parallel between bel's bracelet and the child form leviathan uses to appear harmless?

if beelzebub is at one end of the spectrum, and leviathan on the other, then bel is firmly in the middle. before his climactic shonen manga arc fight with priest, he is nihilistic, uses women as a scapegoat, and blames onesta for all his grief and rage for luka. priest tells him he should've been honest from the beginning, and is partially correct—but bel and the demon lords, by virtue of what they are, cannot be honest or even engage with humanity as equals.

now, what does this say for priest? his coming of age happens simultaneously through his relationship with imuri, and his battles with the demon lords. i've seen that priest = lucifer is a popular theory, but personally i like the flip side: that priest is a human who finds humanity as alienating and incomprehensible as the demon lords do, and is ironically taught of humanity and love by a demon.

[1] / [2] see part 2

[starkerfestivals]

May is coming to an end! Thank you to everyone who participated in our little Mer-may event. And now... it's that time again!!

StarkerFestivals Summer Bingo– No wait! It's now:

StarkerFestivals Bingo 2025

We've decided to make some changes to how we do bingo and here they are!

This SF Bingo will run from June 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025

Because this is no longer strictly during the summer, we're just now calling it StarkerFestivals Bingo 💗

Cards will have a theme and maybe a few theme related prompts for fun. (You can always request a prompt change if any of the prompts aren't to your liking)

This year's theme is travel/resort vibes. 🌍✈️

What else has changed? Not much else tbh!

For anyone new or just needing a refresher, here are the basics:

StarkerFestivals Bingo 2025 is an event where participants will receive a personalized card with a 5x5 bingo of prompts. To fulfill a prompt, participants create content using the prompt.

Sign Up Opens: May 25, 2025 Cards will be sent out by June 1st. Anyone signing up after June 1 will receive cards within 1-3 days. Duration: June 1 - Dec 31 2025 What is allowed: Anything! Fics, art, moodboards, gif sets, anything Starker related and fills the prompt, we'll accept it Minimums: No minimums Exceptions: Only one prompt per fill, or one prompt per chapter for multi-chapter works Tags: #SFBingo2025 and on AO3

We're excited to welcome everyone, new and old, back to SF Bingo!

Sign up here!

If you have any questions, feel free to send an ask to the blog or dm @the-mad-starker or @starkersparks

More info and FAQ under the cut

How Do You Play?

As a participant, fulfilling prompts can be done at your leisure. We want everyone to have fun, so whether you fulfill 1 or do the entire card, it's up to you! There is no obligation to "win" bingo, but for those who want to go for it:

To "win," you will need to get five in a row via horizontal, vertical, or diagonal means. You can also win by getting the free space and all four corners. Finally, you can get a blackout by completing every square on the board. Visual examples:

Free space is free prompt choice. You can write or draw anything you like as a fill. Just please make sure it follows the rest of our rules as they apply.

Please elaborate on the "one prompt per fill"/multi-chapters?

The only rule is that it is one prompt per fill. The exception would be multi-chapter fics (ex: the prompt "falling in love" can be claimed for chapter 1 and then a 2nd prompt, first kiss, can be claimed for chapter 2. Or you create an accompanying moodboard with the prompt "Falling in love" and the fic is used to fulfill "first kiss".)

Is there an age restriction to join?

All ages are welcome! The sign-up form will ask if you would like SFW, NSFW, or both. Only 18+ participants may receive a card with NSFW prompts.

Filling out the Sign Up form– What are the different sections?

Username: Where we'll send the card (can be tumblr or email)

Card section: where you select the type of prompts you want (SFW, NSFW, Both)

Likes: This will give us a general idea of what prompts to give you.

Triggers/DNWs (Do Not Wants): Please let us know any triggers or DNWs and these will not show up on your card.

Prompts section: is an area where you'd like to submit prompts to our prompt generator.

Additional comments: Anything you wanna tell us that isn't included in any of the previous questions.

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Yes! While StarkerFestivals is based on tumblr, participants are free to post anywhere they want- we only ask that it's not behind a pay wall.

Can I sign up for multiple cards?

You can only have one card active at any time. You may ask for another card after you have won your old one. As for a new card, you should receive it within 1-3 days.

Do fills have to be strictly Starker?

They do not have to be strictly starker, but we ask that the focus is Starker since this is a Starker bingo.

Can I use a work to fill both my Starker bingo prompt and another event's?

Yup! We're cool with that, just make sure the other event is also fine with it.

[definitelynottony]

Monster Among Men

"I will not stop you if you wish to fall in love with a monster." The older man tenderly traced the back of his hand against the boy's cheek. The cool metal of his rings made the boy shiver; however, that didn't stop him from affectionately nuzzling into the hand that showed him such sweet attentiveness.

"I could never turn you away. I don't have the strength to say no to you. Nor do I want to." The man continued. "However, I will warn you. When I love, it is all consuming. I will love you with every fiber of my being." The dark haired man lifted the boy's chin. He held it between his thumb and index, radiating power and authority over the teen. Forcing him to look only into his eyes.

"That is a threat - so head me well. Once you surrender yourself to me, you will have no escape. Wherever you go, I will be there."

A soft gasp left the boy's parted lips. His eyes grew wide from the man's conviction.

"Wherever you hide, I will find you. If you wish to no longer love me, I will hold you prisoner in the deepest crevices of my being. I will chase you through every lifetime from here on out."

The teen whimpered quietly. His entire body grew weak and flushed as he listened. Listened as if his life depended on it. The man rubbed his thumb over the teen's bottom lip.

"I will bring down heaven and scatter the stars above to retrieve you. If you wish to love a monster, a villain, do not expect the chivalry and selflessness of a hero. Do not expect me to part ways if you tire of me. If you grow bored..." The man's eyes intensified.

"For I will attach my soul to yours. I will make us one. I will drink your blood and bury every part of myself inside you until I sprout from the marrow of your bones. There will never be a you or an I again. From hence forth, there shall only be we."

The older man let go of the boy and widened the distance between them. His voice, while less intimate, wasn't any less serious as he continued to speak. "Make your choice understanding the severity of your decision, Peter... Choose wisely." He advised.

"There is no turning back once you've invited a monster in."

____________________________

(I will admit this was originally a poem I wrote the other day for @pretty-bratty .I decided to tweak it and add some non-dialog to fit starker. Because I don't like wasting good monologs. I'm a villain like that.)

@starkerfestivals Bingo 2025

Theme: free space

[secfics]

my favourite starker fics, part 2

hi. for my second reclist in this blog, i put together more starker fanfics that i’ve been discovering lately and have made their way into my personal list of favourites that i re-read again and again. in no particular order and with some cw/dark themes here and there, here they come:

• pete’s eats; by bloodgutsandstarbucks (ao3) aka @darker-soft-starker, Teen and Up, 9’3k, oneshot

Peter having a YouTube channel where he just drinks wine and teaches people how to cook things if they live in a mediocre apartment. While cooking and drinking he just talks about stuff like memes and school and, most importantly, his undying thirst for Tony Stark.

• naturally; by ursafootprints (ao3) aka @ursafootprints, E, 16’3k, 3/3 chapters

"Mr. Stark," Peter whispered for the third time, his voice now airless where it had previously been rough from sleep. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Stark's thumb was slowly tracing back and forth over Peter's temple, but it stopped its trek as he finally took a deep breath, the first sign that he was really hearing what Peter was asking.

Voice rough with something other than sleep, Mr. Stark said, "No," and leaned in to kiss him.

Or: Unbeknownst to Peter, Tony gets dosed with sex pollen (sex serum?) on a mission, so he's nothing but thrilled when all his wet dreams about Mr. Stark suddenly start coming true-- until the morning after.

this app won’t let me add links to all of the titles for no reason so i’ll add extra links after the summary of the ones i wasn’t able to, here is the link:

• you’re not yet done; by ursafootprints (ao3) aka @ursafootprints, E, 166’7k, 14/14 chapters - cw: rape, bad guys made them do it

Tony didn't know what it would do to either of them, to play this out like a shadow cast by the real thing, real love and sex and intimacy. But it was what Peter was asking him for, so he did it.

In the aftermath of a traumatic abduction by a villain, Tony and Peter have to cope with their not-entirely-in-sync coping mechanisms, concerned family and friends, figuring out who exactly really arranged the whole thing, and their evolving feelings for each other.

link:

• the leash; by downjune, M, 30’2k, 2/2 chapters

Peter didn’t know if they talked to anyone else who carried them, but when he had the Infinity Gauntlet tucked under his arm, he could swear the stones were trying to…commune with him. They wanted something from him. Wanted to be used. He wanted to be rid of them.

Until he found Tony Stark leaned against some torn up tree roots and rock. He found Tony dying.

At that point, Peter was ready to bargain.

• velvet elvis; by orphan_account, M, 45’7k, 7/7 chapters

Peter just wants Tony to feel comfortable in Peter's new home. That's it. He totally has no ulterior motives whatsoever. Nope.

link:

• practical results; by anonymous aka ‘is this thing (an)on?’ tag, M, 81’4k, 12/12 chapters - cw: dubious consent/bad guys made them do it

This isn’t his bedroom - not the one at the compound, or the suite in Milan. Definitely not the penthouse in New York. In all honesty, it looks like the inside of the fucking Spaceship Earth ride at Epcot.

“Kid,” he tries again, more urgently now, “where the hell are we?”

“Uhh, the guy said we’re someplace called Sakaar.”

“The guy? What guy?”

Let's say that after the uprising on Sakaar, the Grandmaster manages to cling to power by offering people an even better form of entertainment than the Contest of Champions: Porn. He offers them porn.

• rebuild; by tuesday (ao3) aka @everysecondtuesday, Teen and Up, 14’7k, oneshot

Tony lives, falls in love despite himself, and spends entirely too much time in California.

• in the hands of gods; by therogueheart (ao3) aka @therogueheart, E, 20’2k, oneshot

Peter has known nothing but the God Stark his entire life. The blessings he gives; and the cruelty he can deal. When Peter comes of age he must begin the next phase of his worship to the God - Sexuality.

But Peter has never been good at following rules, and he does the one thing that no man is permitted to do.

He touches.

link:

• expiration date; by learnedfoot (ao3) aka @learned-foot, E, 12k, oneshot

Tony knows exactly what this is. First big breakup, go for a fling with a completely inappropriate person. It’s basically a cliché. He kind of thought Peter was better than that, but apparently being brilliant and one of the bravest people on the face of the planet doesn’t mean he’s immune from being a stupid college student who makes stupid college student mistakes.

AKA Tony is sure this is just a fling, and he deals with that about as well as you’d expect.

link:

• the last five years; by orphan_account, M, 71’1k, 9/9 chapters

Tony Stark has spent the last six months trying to find a way to bring back those lost in The Snap, but when he succeeds and Peter Parker and the rest of the lost Avengers return he discovers that it has been a little bit longer for them.

• prototype protocol; by roamingsignals (ao3) aka @spider-mancan, E, 82’8k, 8/8 chapters

Tony Stark isn't good, despite years of trying. When the multiverse dumps a younger Tony into their laps, Tony is split between solving the problem and protecting Peter's virtue.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Stark.” Peter’s eyes are wide and unassuming and Tony is a bad man. “I’ve been handling you for years. I can handle him just fine.”

“I’m sure you can,” Tony's throat is really dry, for some reason. “I trust you.”

He just doesn’t trust himself. He doesn’t trust himself at all.

link:

• the friendly neighborhood; by postelectric, M, 22’9k, oneshot

“Mr. Stark?”

Before Tony looks, he hopes to every god whose hand he’s shaken that he’ll meet an uncanny Parkeresque-but-definitely-not-the-real-Peter Parker doppelganger who just happens to know who he is. That’s what he tells himself, anyway. It’s not impossible. Tony saved the universe. Most people know him, even with the giant face scar. Maybe because of the giant face scar.

It’s the real Peter Parker. He’s barely taller than he was at sixteen and he has pretty much the same amount of hair, but he’s got more in the shoulders and jawline these days. “Mr. Parker. You grew up.”

“Yeah,” Peter says. “That, uh, that happens sometimes, if you’re lucky.”

“You got lucky.”

(or, in which the friendly neighborhood spider-man from queens doesn't become an avenger and doesn't turn to dust. or, in which tony stark restores the universe for pepper potts and then lives to tell about it, which is not according to plan.)

link:

• permission; by cagestark (ao3) aka @cagestark, E, 15’8k, 5/5 chapters

During drinks with the Avengers, Peter admits that he enjoys orgasms more when someone is giving him permission, though since he's single, there isn't anyone in his life to offer it.

Generous Tony offers to offer it.

link:

hope you like them as much as i did!

[vaguekiwi]

Hiii! I’m a huge fan of yours!! Do you have any fics or anything where Tony is in love with Peter and he kidnaps him? Just lots of noncon with dark Tony?

Hi anon, I don't have any fics like that myself, but I love fics like that so let me see if I can recommend a few:

-My Doll by my friend @babybatscreationsv2 (this is a goddamn masterpiece I swear to god)

-Good Boys by my (same) friend @babybatscreationsv2

-The Deprivation series by my friend @tomandpeterthings (This series fundamentally changed me. I think her Cruel(ty) series has a similar theme, too? Though I haven't read it.)

-@lanyakea-universe has several incredible (and I mean stupendous) non-con verses (there's a SIM one that comes to mind, but I'm gonna link this mafia ficlet here.)

-If I may stray from the request and recommend some noncon Spiderio: see here, and here by @graceful-starker. (Also if someone can find me that one where Beck kidnaps Peter and keeps him in the back of a van and, like, pimps him out that would be lit.)

-Also tagging my friends @khalixascorner @the-mad-starker @starker1975 @authoressofdarkness and @starkerkitty who have probably either written something like what you're looking for OR will have recommendations for you 😘

[horizon-verizon]

GRRM masterfully intertwines their Targaryen women’s personal struggles with the larger theme of intergenerational trauma, particularly around women of power being either exalted or demonized, depending on how they fit into the agendas of men. It’s not just about individual characters like Rhaenyra or Daenerys—it’s about how their very existence, and the existence of their foremothers, reflects cycles of trauma that have been passed down within the Targaryen family for generations.

The idea of Targaryen exceptionalism—the notion that they are “gods above men”—adds a fascinating layer to this. Women like Rhaena, Alysanne, and Aerea are taught their whole lives that they are extraordinary, able to command dragons and defy the usual limitations of society. But the harsh reality is that this exceptionalism only extends so far, and when it comes to gender, they are still bound by the oppressive rules of patriarchy. As you pointed out, no matter how powerful a Targaryen woman might be, she is still subjected to the same expectations and limitations that society places on all women. This is especially apparent when we see how they are denied the privileges that their male relatives take for granted—whether it’s being sidelined in succession, forced into marriages, or vilified for their ambition.

Rhaena Targaryen’s story is particularly telling in this regard. She had all the makings of a powerful Targaryen: she rode Dreamfyre, was the first grandchild of Aegon the Conqueror, and should have had autonomy over her own fate. She was a person with some of the highest potential for greatness in ASOIAF. Yet, despite her dragon and her lineage, she was still forced into a marriage with Maegor and eventually pushed aside in favor of Jaehaerys. Her gender determined her fate more than her birthright, and that is a tragedy we see repeated throughout Targaryen history. If Rhaena had been born male, her story would have been entirely different, but as a woman, her power was constrained and her choices were dictated by men.

Alysanne Targaryen, while often viewed as one of the more empowered Targaryen women, also faced limits despite her influence. She advocated for reforms that benefited women, like the abolition of the First Night and the protection of women’s inheritance rights. Yet, even she could not sway Jaehaerys when it came to critical decisions, like the succession. Her daughters, despite being princesses of House Targaryen, were subject to the same patriarchal expectations of marriage and childbirth, and Alysanne’s heartbreak over their fates highlights how even the most powerful women cannot escape the trauma of being female in a patriarchal society.

Aerea Targaryen, perhaps the most tragic of the three, serves as an even starker reminder of this. Her decision to seize Balerion and fly away was an act of defiance, an attempt to claim the power and freedom denied to her as a young woman. But the horrific consequences of her journey—her body physically ravaged upon her return—symbolize the ultimate cost of challenging the gendered structures that confine her. Aerea’s fate, like those of so many Targaryen women, reflects the danger of trying to break free from the roles that society, and even her family, imposes on her. Despite her bloodline and the power of her dragon, she was still a victim of the same forces that diminished her foremothers.

These patterns of trauma and repression don’t just affect the individual women—they become part of the larger narrative that defines House Targaryen. The lives of women like Rhaena, Alysanne, and Aerea contribute to a broader cultural mythos where female power is either exalted or demonized depending on how it aligns with male interests. Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne is undermined by the propaganda that paints her as unfit simply because she is a woman, while Daenerys’s story is filled with echoes of these earlier women who sought power only to be punished for it. The same patriarchy that diminished Rhaena, Alysanne, and Aerea laid the foundation for the later conflicts that would tear the Targaryen family apart, from the Dance of the Dragons to the eventual fall of the dynasty.

Ultimately, GRRM’s depiction of Targaryen women is a powerful critique of how patriarchal societies simultaneously elevate and destroy women of power. For all their greatness, these women are still trapped within cycles of trauma, repression, and violence that transcend their personal struggles and become integral to the history of their house. This cycle continues right up to Daenerys, who, despite being House Targaryen’s last hope, is subjected to the same forces that destroyed her ancestors.

The Targaryen women embody this tension between exceptionalism and oppression, and their stories are a reminder that even the most powerful bloodline in Westeros cannot escape the brutal realities of gendered violence and systemic trauma.

Take notes, all!

[thelegendofalyssa]

Hello, I’m MuteHero86!

I go by Al but I made my tumblr long before I had discovered many things about myself (and thelegendofAl isn’t available). (Find me as MuteHero86 90% of places.)

I use he/they pronouns and am AroAce. As I’m 27, there will be a few reblogs that are NSFW. My blog isn’t overtly sexual, but its certainly not 100% SFW. I sometimes get into “problematic ships” and am a proshipper. Sex positive and LGBTQ+ friendly too.

My blog usually consists of my current hyperfixation as I’m AUDHD. My inbox is always open for whatever you’d like to say or ask.

No matter the hyperfixation, my blog will ALWAYS have Zelda reblogs. Expect to see cats and cute various art pieces I see. I don’t have a specific theme though, be warned.

Current Hyperfixation:

Spider-Man

Loki

Iron Man

Specifically; Spideypool, Starker: Tony & Peter (in any way, any version).

[ceilidho]

I finally got to reading “Fear of God” and I can already tell this will be one of my favourite fics of yours. I love how ominously you write the entire environment, isolating reader and making them have a dynamic with the rest of the crew a “you vs them” kind of theme.

ahhhh thank you!!!!

I’m trying to walk a fine line right now of reader just feeling awkward because this crew has all known each other for years and she’s the new addition, without them actively excluding her. The only one that’s actually a dick is Graves because that’s his personality (in this fic); everyone else is trying to be welcoming to her at this point. It’ll become much, much starker though as the story progresses :)

[mariacallous]

One of the Western populist right’s enduring myths about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia is that it is steeped in traditional values, a bastion of virtue standing in opposition to an increasingly godless West. In the United States, the fascination with Russia as a supposed global center of conservative virtue has especially gained currency in MAGA world.

This image of Russia as a traditionalist’s paradise led former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson to offer both Putin and Russian far-right philosopher Alexander Dugin, one of Putin’s most vicious cheerleaders for genocide in Ukraine, the opportunity to expound their views to millions of Americans in a comfortable, uncritical setting. It is the reason that MAGA-aligned U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene talks about Russia as a strong protector of Christianity. And it’s why former Trump administration National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has framed Putin as a defender of “family and God.”

The contrast between myth and reality couldn’t be starker. The truth is that Russia is one of the world’s least religious societies, with only 9 percent of Russians attending religious services at least somewhat regularly, according to a poll conducted in 2022 by the Moscow-based Levada Center. By contrast, nearly one-third of Americans are frequent churchgoers. Just 1.4 million Russians—a mere 1 percent of the population—attended the most recent Christmas services. The Russian state also persecutes Christians who do not adhere to Russian Orthodoxy, including Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and, of course, anyone connected to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Nor is Russia a bastion of what true conservatives would consider traditional values. Based on data calculated by the Guttmacher Institute, the Russian abortion rate from 2015 to 2019 was nearly four times higher than that of the United States and more than twice as high as that of Ukraine. Russia also has the fourth-highest divorce rate in the world—60 percent higher than in the United States and more than 50 percent higher than in Ukraine. Those among the U.S. and European far right who project their own ideals onto Russian society ignore the obvious and copious evidence.

The false image of a god-fearing Russia is hardly accidental. It is the consequence of systematic efforts by Putin and his propagandists to craft talking points for the global right—an effort that has accelerated since Russia launched its all-out war on Ukraine in 2022.

It wasn’t always so. After the Soviet collapse in 1991, a Russia shorn of most of its empire struggled with its post-communist identity. Under its first president, Boris Yeltsin, the country waded into the waters of a Russo-centric patriotism. But his chosen successor, Putin, supplanted this worldview by nostalgia for the former Soviet and Russian empires, as well as adulation of brutal autocrats such as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and Tsar Peter the Great.

Today, to both mobilize Russians for a bloody war and undermine support for Ukraine by appealing to the political extremes in the West, Putin and his ideologues have crafted a new mythology that depicts Russia as a bastion of traditional values rooted in religious faith.

This theme was front and center at Putin’s fifth inauguration as Russian president on May 7. In his address, he declared that “support for centuries-old family values ​​and traditions will continue to unite public and religious associations, political parties, and all levels of government.”

From their putative moral high ground, Putin and his propagandists in the Kremlin-controlled media have used the bully pulpit to rail against Western “woke-ism,” political correctness, and secularism, earning admiration among right-wing populists in the West. By projecting Russians and the Russian state as deeply religious and steeped in tradition—and by denouncing the Western establishment for its supposed attacks on traditional values—Kremlin propaganda has made serious inroads among cultural and religious conservatives in the United States and elsewhere.

This has helped create some measure of sympathy for Russia’s war against Ukraine among certain segments of the far right, which see Putin as a powerful voice on their side of the culture wars.

Margarita Simonyan, the head of Russia Today, the state media conglomerate responsible for most of Moscow’s global propaganda, crystallized the postulates and far-reaching ambitions of Russia’s traditionalist propaganda during a television appearance in February.

Speaking on the heels of Carlson’s fawning chat with Putin, Simonyan saw a major opportunity for Russia to find fellow travelers and new allies among those disgruntled by secularization in the West. Unlike Ukraine and its Western backers, which she called adepts of “satanism,” she described Russia as “the city on a hill” to which the world’s traditionalists can now flock to escape their stifling secular societies. She declared that traditionalist messaging is the “beacon of a wonderful idea” whose appeal can be likened to that of communism during the Soviet era. Russia, she continued, might even counter its severely shrinking population by attracting disgruntled traditionalists from around the world as immigrants to a new promised land of traditionalism.

To this end, the Kremlin announced a new decree on Aug. 19 that eases residency rules for refugees from countries where “traditional values” are under attack from “neoliberalism” and other supposed secular ills.

Aging Russian kleptocrats such as Putin, who formerly served in the security services of the atheist Soviet state, engage in performative religion at most. As the investigations conducted by the late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny documented, the Russian ruling elite, including Putin himself, is obscenely wealthy and deeply corrupt. But state media outlets diligently portray them as god-fearing believers, generous patrons of monasteries, supporters of religious media, and sponsors of newly built churches—all paid for with money they have stolen from the Russian people.

These performative good works are applauded by the security service operatives who control the upper reaches of the Russian Orthodox Church. Purged and brought under complete state control under Stalin, the church has consistently promoted the aims of Soviet and now Russian policies. It is a vocal supporter of Putin’s war against Ukraine.

At the apex of performative piety stands Putin. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, born Vladimir Gundyayev and believed to be a former security services operative, has lavished praise on Putin for being “truly the first Orthodox president” of Russia. The link between Putin’s proclaimed religiosity and something approaching a divine right to rule Russia has also become part of the new ideological canon—back to the roots, if you will, of Russian Orthodoxy as an imperial church.

“May God help you to continue to carry out the ministry that God himself has entrusted to you,” Kirill said during Putin’s inauguration in May. Given the long-standing collusion between the Kremlin and a compliant church, it is little wonder that religious leaders actively support Putin’s war and encourage Russia’s young to lay down their lives.

To mask the degradation of spiritual and religious life, Russia has built a vast Potemkin village of new churches. Around 30,000 new parishes have been added in the post-Soviet era, averaging nearly three every day since 1991. Given Russians’ negligible interest in religion, they stand largely empty.

Simonyan’s comparison of Putin’s traditionalist, pseudo-Christian posturing with the global appeal of communism is apt in ways that she did not intend. Like communism, whose façade of equality and social justice masked mass repression and the emergence of privileged, all-powerful elite, today’s Russia has little patience for moral and ethical principles. Instead, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church serve the exigencies of a kleptocratic mafia that rules over a deeply damaged, militaristic, and highly unequal society.

Indeed, in time, Russia’s newest state ideology is very likely to become another God That Failed—the title of a landmark 1949 book in which six Western intellectuals broke with communism, declaring that it was just a cover for a new form of dictatorship.

For the moment, none of this matters to the Western populist right, which has blithely ignored the carnage that Putin has inflicted on Ukraine. Nor will Russia’s performative religiosity put those Westerners off; their projection of virtue onto Putin’s Russia has become too important a part of their cynical politics. If your enemy is the West’s liberal and tolerant society, then the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

[starkerfestivals]

StarkerFestival's Extended AUpril!!

Hello everyone! Thank you to all the participants that joined us for our Valentine's Day exchange! We still have a few posts we're waiting on to close the event and once we have everything collected, we'll have a master post for the gifts.

Meanwhile– Us mods are extremely excited to announce our newest event! We are calling it Extended AUpril, and I believe we may have done something similar in the past.

For AUpril, we have made 2 community 4x4 bingos. The bingos will last all three months, and are light and dark themed. (Note: The prompts are themed this way. You do not have to do angst for dark prompts and fluff for light prompts. Feel free to be as creative as you want!)

Duration: This event will start today and last until the end of May.

Reminder: There is no obligation for these community bingos. Do them all, do exactly one prompt--it's completely up to you! Just make sure to tag properly.

Other Events:

March - There will be a list of 7 prompts dedicated to Omegaverse week (info post will be tomorrow). While it is a 'week,' this event will last the entire month of March.

Edit: This event is now live Here!

May - Mer-May week to be posted in May! Again, although it is a week's worth of themed prompts, it will last the entire month of May.

Below the cut are the written versions of the prompts.

Extra rules:

In order to get it reblogged, please @ us here, and feel free to use these hashtags! #StarkerFestivalsEvents , #SFAUpril24.

Crossovers are allowed and welcome for all prompts! Some of the prompts themselves are cross over prompts, please feel free to do so!

Edit: 1 prompt per content created. Multichapter fics can claim 1 prompt/chapter. Ex: One shot and moodboard = may claim up to 2 prompts)

You only have to complete one card to get a 'bingo.' We only separated the light and dark prompts for people who prefer to avoid angst! A bingo is four in a row for this event, meaning horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Tag every trigger appropriately, as always.

Have fun with it! This is to encourage AUs, not any specific prompts. Feel free to take it in any direction you want to.

Happy AUpril everyone!

Light Bingo AUs:

Royal

No Powers/Modern

Coffee shop

Education (Teacher, High School, College, etc.)

Celebrity (Actor, Singer, Streamer, etc.)

Artist/Author

Fix-it

Librarian

Star Wars

Magic (HP, Realism, Fantasy etc.)

Aged Up/Down

Angel/Demon

Lesbian Starker

Decorator

Soulmates

Cottage/Countryside

Dark Bingo AUs:

War/Military

YA Distopia (Hunger Games, Divergent, etc.)

Criminal

Superior Iron Man  

Supernatural (Ghost, Vamp, Alien, Were, etc.)

Firefighter

Game of Thrones

Detective 

Apocalypse

Break Up/Make Up

Blood

Lovers to Enemies

Stockholm Syndrome/Kidnapping

Historical

Hospital (Staff, Setting, Sick, Diagnosis, CI, etc.)

Mafia

[eilnosy]

Hi, I'm accepting fanfiction requests to improve my writing ^^

It would be more than 5mil words for each oneshot. I only accept requests for these couples:

- Luo Binghe/ Shen QingQiu | Original Jiu

- Peter Parker & Tony Stark (No Starker)

- Peter Parker/ Deadpool

- Shen Jiu/ Yue Qingyuan

- Hwang In-ho | Front Man/ x character (only bottom In-ho)

- Hannibal Lecter/ Will Graham

- Others (Don't hesitate to ask, I'll be kind ^^)

I'm accepting any kind of theme, don't be shy to ask me. Here are some of the themes I accept:

- Non-con - Kidnapping - Soft - Toxic - AU - ABO

—I still reserve the right to reject requests that I don't want to write (Either because of lack of attention or because, for example: I don't like Shen Jiu top, if you want Shen Jiu top, sorry, go somewhere else).

[secfics]

my favourite starker fics, part 1

hi. for my first reclist in this blog, i put together my personal favourite starker fanfics that i re-read again and again. in no particular order and with some cw/dark themes here and there, here they come:

• maybe different, but remember; by RoamingSignals (@spider-mancan), E, 18k, 2/2 chapters

Peter is working at Delmar’s, sorting out tabloids on the rack in the front, and he sees Tony’s face plastered everywhere and then Peter is reading words and then he can’t read anything because he’s crying and his shaking hands rip the magazine in half.

Tony Stark…alive.

He saved the world, saved Peter, and Peter never even got to thank him. Not that it matters now. If Peter was a factor in Tony's decision to snap his fingers, Peter will never know. No one will ever know, because Peter fucked up and now he doesn’t exist.

• touchpoint; by RoamingSignals (@spider-mancan), M, 57’6k, 2/2 chapters

Peter lost a lot of things in Boston. When he lists them out, they fit in the margins of his napkin; his career, his degree, his motivation, his boyfriend, and himself. Not in that order. Not all by mistake.

“You’re just a secretary.” Tony tuts.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a secretary,” Peter says. “Your old secretary is the CEO of SI, these days.”

“Pepper Potts is the smartest woman I’ve ever met,” Tony agrees. “And she never let anyone call her ‘just a secretary.’”

• scaling the walls; by Starker1975 (@starker1975), E, 42’6k, 13/13 chapters

Peter is tired of crushing hopelessly on Tony, so he decides to create an online dating profile to meet someone new. Neither Peter (Webster01) or his strange beau (Mark70) have pictures on their bio. They decide to keep it that way so they can focus on bonding over things besides appearance.

Meanwhile, Tony decides to start spending more time with Peter because people always become interested as soon as you try to move on...

• fucking if; by Graceful_Starker (@graceful-starker), M, 9’7k, 2/2 chapters - cw: implied non-con, not between starker

Peter and Tony in a beginning phases relationship. Then the snap. Peter coming back to Tony, Pepper and Morgan.

• revelations; by Anonymous (#author has already arranged a ride to church trust me), E, 126’8k, 19/19 chapters

“I still don’t get it,” Ned says. “How you just... keep being ordinary in spite of all the craziness you’ve lived through. You were in space. You helped Iron Man save the universe. And nobody knows it was you.” His tone softens, becomes almost sad. As though he realizes that what he’s saying is so completely alien to him that he will never be able to understand this part of Peter’s life. “Peter, don’t you want people to know you for who you are?”

An AU where they get the Gauntlet off of Thanos that first time, on Titan.

• closer to a prayer; by LearnedFoot (@learned-foot), E, 17’4k, oneshot

“I think I’m dying.”

Peter stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, blinking. It feels weird to say it out loud.

In which Peter's powers turn against him, Mr. Stark is back and suddenly acting kind of weird (and by weird he means flirtatious), and it’s all a lot to handle at once.

• stuck; by Heathertastic (@heathertastic), E, 5’4k, oneshot - cw: Accidental Penetration

Tony and Peter get stuck together in a closet the size of Peter himself- and yeah, it’s basically porn without plot.

• Give Me Your Wallet (And Your Watch); by airebellah (@airebellah), M, 30’5k, 10/10 chapters

It was pushing midnight when Peter sent a text to his friend Ned asking for help with a chemistry problem. I know I'm doing something wrong but I can't figure it out, he wrote. He received a text with a picture of the solution. The elegant script should have been the first clue; the fact that it was on the back of a napkin the second. But he was tired, and failed to notice such details.

You misplaced your decimal when converting degrees to Kelvin, came the reply. Rookie mistake.

Gee, thanks, Peter replied with a roll of his eyes. Anything you need help with?

Yeah, who the fuck am I talking to, exactly?

• covet; by Anonymous (#author has already arranged a ride to church trust me), E, 33’9k, 5/5 chapters

Peter has a new boyfriend. Tony starts drinking again, for unrelated reasons.

• uranium heart; by spqr, M, 11´3k, oneshot

It’s probably better, Peter thinks, that he doesn’t know who his soulmate is. He wouldn’t want to lie to them about Spider-Man, but he doesn’t think he’d be able to tell them the truth, either. Not when he knows it would make them a target for every villain who wants a piece of him.

When he has enough free time to feel sorry for himself, he thinks about how lonely he is and how much he wants someone to talk to--just talk to. But he doesn’t really have that much free time. And anyways, there are thousands of lonely people in New York. Peter’s nothing special.

• another life; by InColor (@incolorwrites), E, 9’3k, oneshot

Tony comes back to a world where everyone's moved on without him.

Peter helps.

• secret santa, baby; by orphan_account, E, 17´3k, 5/5 chapters

Tony never intended to become Peter's Secret Santa. He just sort of stumbles into it. But now that he is, he's going to take advantage of it. Tony's got one week to spoil the kid, one week until Christmas. He just has to make sure that his secret stays secret.

• your thoughts are my desires; by Sparcina (@zsparz), E, 6’2k, 4/4 chapters

Peter doesn't know that Tony can read his thoughts.

Alternatively: Tony gets intimately acquainted with Peter's fantasies feelings.

• peter parker, sexter extraodinaire; by Sparcina (@zsparz), E, 7’5k, 4/4 chapters

Apparently, sexting Mr. Stark by accident is a thing Peter does now. While touching himself. And Tony... Well, he probably shouldn't fantasize about Peter, but the kid's just too damn attractive and brilliant for his own good.

• just for tonight; by keenwonderlandcollector, M, 31’1k, 10/10 - cw: incest/father-son incest

While out at an exhibit, Peter gets into an awkward situation and pretends that Tony, his father, is actually his boyfriend. Tony goes along with it, and Peter soon finds himself enjoying it a little too much…

• from the bounty; by feyrelay (@feyrelay) & natureboy, E, 31’8k, 3/3 chapters

Tony’s eyes are always dark, but now there's almost no iris left. He looks hollowed out. There’s something terribly hungry there, despite the feast they've filled themselves on.

(20k words of food erotica foreplay and 13k words of porn)

• better than; by unsettled (@unsettledink), M, 40’6k, oneshot

Maybe there isn't really a fixed point where it starts, where any of it starts, nothing Tony can point to and say, there, there is where I made my mistake, there is where I could have stopped this, there is where I can stop it from happening again.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been something Tony tried to stop.

(or: the one where Tony is going to be responsible for once, okay? He is!)

• worth the word; by unsettled (@unsettledink), teen and up, 5’4k, oneshot

Valentine’s Day is not Peter’s favorite holiday by a long shot. And it’s not just because he’s a little jealous of everyone else showing off gifts from their partners.

But it’s still really nice that an unknown someone sent him a gift this year. Or two. Or— okay, this is getting out of hand.

• above and beyond; by unsettled (@unsettledink), E, 12’8k, oneshot - cw: incest/father-son incest

Trans Peter telling his dad that he’s never had an orgasm. And Tony eating Peter out until the boy’s oversensitive and crying out “dad” as he comes.

• still use work; by LearnedFoot (@learned-foot), E, 6’5k, oneshot

“In the spirit of scientific discovery,” Tony adds.

“Yeah, the spirit of scientific discovery, exactly.”

Or: Peter has a problem. Tony attempts to solve it. To be helpful, obviously. That’s the only reason.

• a familiar stranger; by Starker1975 (@starker1975), E, 132,1k, 21/21 chapters - cw: incest/father-son incest

Peter's tired of being single, but online dating scares him, so he creates a fake profile to scope out the playing field before fully committing. He isn't sure what to think when he sees his dad's profile on the app.

hope you like them as much as i did!

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Though I do think TTPD is a very adult Red album I’m also very into how different it feels because it’s almost like a resolution? Obviously in the bigger history of her albums Red feels very much like a transition album, but also back when it was first released it also felt that way. Sonically with her trying a bunch of things , and the material trying to find the balance between vulnerable but also comfortable (especially in light of how restrained OG 1989 seemed). Like there still felt like there was so much to say and learn. Which is ironic with Red ending with Begin Again which feels like a nice bow placed on it . But TTPD feels like her purging everything, the good, the bad, the ugly. While being confident in how she jumps through sounds and uses them to tell a story. Even the Manuscript and Clara Bowe seem so much more accepting of cycles and just trying your best instead of a clean slate.

It’s just such an interesting parallel but with an adult kind for progress

That’s a really interesting analysis anon!

If I had to guess, I think Taylor liked to tie albums up and make them ~cohesive~ in the past both out of self-preservation, and to check off boxes of what made a good album that would be successful — and she was probably right at the time, too. But yes, it’s incredible how the vault tracks for Speak Now/Red/1989 recontextualize some of the albums, or at least fills in the lines. So, for instance, OG Red ends with a neat little bow with Begin Again, but the vault is like: actually behind this I’m a mess, I’m worried I’m not good enough, I’m worried I’ll be replaced as an artist and as a lover, this person I loved has treated me like a nuisance even though he claims to love me back, I’m ashamed but I don’t know what to do, etc.

But again it comes down to the fact that the success of folklore and subsequent albums has cemented her status for the rest of her career, so she has the freedom to explore whatever she wants. She opened the door to even starker vulnerability with every subsequent album and has been met not only with commercial success but also continued appreciation by fans and the people who matter in the industry. So success begets success, and vulnerability begets more vulnerability. She doesn’t have to worry about “cohesive” anymore because her perceived success is no longer dependent on it, so she has the clout to, for instance, release a 31 track album detailing some of the darkest moments of her life. She can chase themes and stories and sounds to her heart’s desire, and she knows it’s gonna hit with someone.

And I also suspect a lot of it also has to do with how much better she knows herself now, too, and the support she has in doing that.

I think all the time about the bit from LPSS where she and Aaron are talking about hoax, and how when she started writing it she didn’t really know where she was going with it which was unlike her, and Aaron pushed her to keep following that thread wherever it led. Even if it felt weird or uncomfortable, it was worth her time to keep fleshing it out to see where the song went. Hoax is kind of emblematic of her whole music-making process since 2020; she follows the muse (as in the idea, not the person) and doesn’t worry about where it goes. Between that and Matt Berenger telling her to push through the discomfort about writing about personal moments in a relationship because it ends up being a more honest song (or words to that effect), I think she’s taken that to heart to really write unfiltered, whether or not it ever ends up being consumed by the public. It keeps the muscle primed.

[clown-cult]

Mucking around with more redesigns. This time, Hades and Zeus. My mission to go against expectations and against the grain of Greek god redesigns continue.

One of Hades symbolic animals is a snake. So, like a venomous snake, his small stature yet bright colours are a warning to give him his space. His suit is shiny to reflect reptile scales. I gave him a brighter, starker colour scheme also so he sticks out more against the darkness of the underworld. I haven’t drawn her yet, but his flower is the same colour as Persephone.

Zeus, meanwhile, has some of his design points taken from bulls, which is one of his special animals. I also took particular issue with a reoccurring theme in LO where Zeus is somehow portrayed as the only one unaffected or unhurt by the Titanomachy because he shows no physical scarring or symptoms, so I upped the ante. Zeus’s size and inhuman appearance is heavily altered as a result of exposure to the sheer undiluted power of the titans, his blackened hands and feet another sign of this and from his lightning use.

I’m hoping to elaborate more on these yet. Hope it made sense ✌️

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