#//i hope you all like my censoring skills

[kittyskitty-pokehub]

//I doodled her if Sylvester evolved into an umbreon before all that stuff(tm) happened so she never had to move and has wayyyy less therapy bills!!!

//yall what if Siobhan had an umbreon and had way less therapy bills....

[ham1lton]

superstar.

pairings: oscar piastri x uni student!reader.

faceclaim: _jannah on ig!

summary: lando knows oscar is hiding something from him. he attempts to go on the hunt but unbeknownst to him, the truth is an open secret. he’s dating you, the incredibly smart, talented child prodigy.

— part five of my 500 followers celebration ♡ —

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liked by oscarpiastri, friend1 and 12,728 others.

yourusername: travelling is cool and all but i miss coming back to pepper. show jumping is my one true love. <3

view all comments

friend1: babe omg where did you go?

->yourusername: internship in new york! very blessed and the pizzas were incredible.

user56: where is ur bf? miss his comments on ur vlogs.

-> yourusername: he’s working!! hopefully he can rejoin us again soon <3

user1: she’s living the life.

-> user7: being pretty, smart and athletic? that could have been me if bed rotting wasn’t so addictive.

-> user9: me if my mama didn’t perm my hair 😒

user2: oscar… babe 🤨 why are u in her likes…

-> user5: she has good study tips! maybe he’s into that content?

-> user2: girl i think he wanna do a different kind of studying w/ her if u get my drift…..

-> user5: ?? virtual or in person i’m confused…

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liked by yourbffname, logansargeant and 32,838 others.

yourusername: my two weeks off have been very productive as you can see.

view all comments

yourbffname: omg is that *****

-> yourusername: you don’t have to censor him 😭

-> yourbffname: i don’t like typing men’s names. i’m allergic.

friend1: you look so pretty!!

user2: TWO WEEKS NO Y/N VLOG…. SHAKING FROM WITHDRAWAL…

-> yourusername: i’m coming back next week! <3

oscarpiastri: are you single?

-> yourusername: no.

-> oscarpiastri: damn.. i hope he dies.

-> yourusername: WHAT?!!

user7: not oscar flirting with y/n when she has a bf?

-> user27: he’s a homewrecker ew :/

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liked by landonorris, user76 and 1,288,929 others.

yourusername: date night <3

photo creds — oscarpiastri

view all comments

user12: not oscar third wheeling? 😭

-> oscarpiastri: use ur critical thinking skills. thanks. 👍🏻

user3: MORE BF VLOGS? 😁

-> yourusername: he said yes 😍‼️

user6: being a gorgeous show jumping debate president who studies at a top ten university on a full scholarship with a hot formula one driver bf? i’m so jealous!!

-> user9: real 😩 living vicariously through her

user90: oscarpiastri have you met pepper the horse yet?

-> oscarpiastri: i have. she loves me.

-> yourusername: only because you bribe her with apples and she loves apples. he classically conditioned her.

logansargeant: NOOOO THE SECRET IS OUT…. lando was going to get me a car next….

landonorris: if i buy you a car yourusername will you tell me all of oscar’s embarrassing stories?

-> yourusername: i am very loyal. i will not sell out so easily…

-> yourusername: but… just for curiosity’s sake. what car?

-> oscarpiastri: NO 😟😰

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taglist: @23victoria @luckyladycreator2 @alexmarie29 @mxdi0 @booksandflowrs @cuteskz @purplephantomwolf @casperlikej @nichmeddar @decafmickey @evie-119 @moviecritc @wildflowermarns @lichterfee @d3kstar @f1kenzzz @ravisinghs-wife @blupblupfish @demvnsriot @ajvaix @au-ghosttype @thehistoryone @raevyng @colmathgames2 @iloveyou3000morgan @namgification @formulaal @firelily-mimi @lemon-lav @67-angelofthelordme-67 @snapeeballsack @bernelflo @mehrmonga (wanna be removed? let me know via ask!)

— want to join my taglist? join here!

[theacemenace]

Booktook imploding

I've just seen all the “booktook is not political” drama. I'm letting out an evil laugh as I write this. I don't care if it sounds arrogant, but I WARNED YOU. I spent over a year on that damn app warning about the consequences of the growing anti-intellectualism in the literary community. Who knew that inducing an entire community to turn off their brains 24/7 on the excuse of “let people enjoy things” and attack anyone who raises any questions would result in a severe decline in reading and interpretation skills. This was supposed to be a place that encouraged people to acquire reading habits, expand their horizons and have fun while doing it. Instead we have a place full of alienated people, complaining that books have too many words in a constant battle of egos over who reads more without actually reading. The cherry on the cake is that books are not political, according to certain booktook influencers who walk around with a stanley cup in one hand and an Amazon shipment in the other, saying this while a wave of books are censored in various states.

While I was most active on tiktok, I not only pointed out how people were increasingly being misled into lacking critical thinking skills, but how the “it's not that deep” narrative was being used as a pipeline by the far right. For those who are more attentive and know how conservatives tend to interpret works like BioShock or songs by bands like Rage Against the Machine. None of this is new; emptying works of their social issues is an old tactic. I had hoped that the booktook, being a place mostly for young people, I thought we had already evolved as a society so we wouldn't fall down a rabbit hole.

In any case, my soul has been washed clean by these events. Obviously I'm not happy about the situation, but knowing that after all this time I've been called crazy, elitist, a conspiracist, etc., it's extremely validating and frustrating to see that I was right but that I wasted my breath in vain.

literally my reaction

[northstarscowboyhat]

Welp, here's two pics of the Lucky Clover Fit

Eyes censored because basic internet safety and all that, y'know? But also I can't just hide the little smirk. Unfortunately it's not possible to see, but I am wearing big round glasses because yeah

Anyways, here's another

You ever seen a cowpoke do archery? Now you have. I was talking to Hollow about how well Clover would be at archery and thought this would be a good time to ask. They'd probably be good with aiming since gun skills but awful at everything else

Actually speaking of being awful with bows, the string for mine came off because the poncho got caught in it so uh... whoops

I do have a third photo that was taken at school and will be in my school's yearbook. I asked if it could be emailed to me so I'll send it when I get it emailed to me. I'm doing the Star pose because of course I would (I think the hat is on backwards, but that just sort of seems in character for Clover to have something be off)

Anyways, have fun with these and the knowledge that someone dressed up as your character, that feels like an accomplishment of some kind

OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S LUCKY CLOVER IN REAL LIFE!

Oh my gosh this is so cool? I'm like, shaking with excitement right now! That costume looks amazing, the poncho and scarf and even the feather in the hat! As someone who can't make clothes or costumes to save my life, it's so neat that you could make this costume and have it look so accurate! Amazing work!

Clover doing archery is so fun... I could definitely see them being into it! Any type of ranged shooting is fun for them, even if it's not strictly a "cowboy" thing. I could see them having a great aim but then immediately tripping over their bow and dropping all of their arrows LOL.

I can't even express how flattered I am?? I've never had someone dress up as a character of mine (or, well, an AU version of a character here haha) so this is so so cool? This is extremely cool and it honestly means a lot, I definitely feel accomplished! Thank you so much for sharing, if you're comfortable sharing any other photos always feel free to post them in my inbox! I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

[idesofrevolution]

Let’s talk honestly

So I just wanna share where I’m at these days with Tumblr, the community, and some concerning developments as of late. Firstly, I want to thank all 5k of you for supporting me for almost a decade on this platform. It has been a wild ride with ups and downs but this community has really given me an overall positive impact on my self image, bettered my writing skills, and helped to come to terms with who I am as a person and as a kinkster. So above all, I have so much gratitude for y’all, thank you.

Over the last couple of months, I have taken notice to some difficulties on behalf of Tumblr and their censorship efforts against queer erotic writing. I have had to fight more flags and community labels than ever before, and it has really affected my desire and motivation to publish more stories. If only certain folks with their mature censor turned off can read my posts, that fuckin sucks. But I admittedly got rather stoned last night and thought about why Tumblr is cracking down so viciously on our content. I think I’ve come to my own conclusion there.

I am and have been extremely alarmed by a number of tropes that have become relatively commonplace in recently posted tf prose. As I have mentioned countless times before, underage people have no business being in your sexual fantasy fiction whatsoever. The amount of writers I’ve seen recently posting stories focusing on 12-16 year of children being erotically transformed is disturbing to put it delicately. Especially those which maintain the children’s psychological age intact, but even without that trope it is inappropriate, unacceptable, and should not be platformed on Tumblr.

In addition, I’d like to touch on another trope: homophobic tf. Now I have no issue whatsoever with Gay to straight, as being straight is a valid expression of sexual orientation. There is nothing wrong with featuring characters from a wide array of identities. That being said, this new content of lib to con, MAGA tf, gay bashing tf… it’s disgusting. In the current world we live in, these types of archetypical characters do exist in the real world and are causing real significant harm to queer folks. These groups of people are actively, in their own words, trying to eradicate the LGBT community in America. These types of people exist all over the world as well, and queer identifying people live in legitimate, actual fear for their lives. I question why we fetishize individuals who seek a literal genocide of an entire peoples, and whether it is acceptable to do so. I point to the fetishization of Nazism as an apt comparison: a hypermasculinized group of people who sought eradication of a group of people based solely on concrete identities which could not be changed. I believe we as a community have rightly deplatformed such content, and I cannot fathom why this current iteration is in such a Renaissance.

These are just two examples of obvious reasoning as to why Tumblr might righteously suppress tf erotica on their platform. Can I blame them? No. Frankly, I understand completely. If the community refuses to monitor and moderate its on content, then Tumblr as the platform most certainly will.

I’m unsure as to what the future looks like for Ides, as this current trajectory is not something I’d like to participate in. I’m hoping like minded writers will be a bit more critical in choosing the tropes and prompts for their stories, but in all honesty, I have significant doubts. Rest assured, I will touch base with y’all before I do anything drastic. But in my opinion, the writing is on the wall.

[whiskers-my-beloved]

Hello there again :D Man page 16...really sweet to see my progress with the story. And now we are really getting further along in the Umbrella Chronicles section of the story. How do yall in generel feel about the Ivan Tyrants? Interesting how more humanoid they were compared to the RE1 Tyrant. And how ...they got normal slavic names too. Ivan is like a super generic name there lol.

But yeah. This time around Wesker assits you in this, usually he'd leave you to do your mission alone. But I thought that be kinda lame since he does all that stuff alone ingame. The main change I really did was to make Wesker way more focused on hand to hand combat. Since in Umbrella Chronicles you mainly use guns with Wesker. Well Wesker in all games uses mainly guns and rarely his meele skills ;w;

Also I hope the page wasn't too brutal ? The last panel is a hard censor since I thought that part is too much ;w;

(English is not my mother tongue so please excuse any mistakes)

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[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

The Apothecary Diaries

S1E5 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

If you want to start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character cheat sheet

Basen - shirtless eunuch

Yinghua - pink flowers LIW

Okay we open with a dude panicking while looking at his diseased cursed hands. He isn't familiar to me but he is dressed a lot like Gaoshun, so he's probably a fellow eunuch in the rear palace. The office he is sitting in looks a lot like Jinshi's but maybe that's coincidental.

Oh yeah, the "eunuchs" are practicing sparring - shirtless! (What are the chances this ever gets a live action adaptation AND this scene doesn't get censored?)

The eunuch, Basen, is clearly not a match for Jinshi. Both are sweating but Basen is out of breath and using everything he has in this match. Jinshi on the other hand deftly avoids attacks, easily maneuvers around the yard, restrains himself to smaller more efficient motions, and doesn't bother with an attack until he can land a decisive blow. Jinshi is the superior swordsman and honestly I'd be disappointed if he weren't.

Jinshi easily beats this guy and they both know it, but Jinshi compliments him on his strengths and encourages Basen. We're seeing another side of Jinshi here. One where he is a capable, wise, and motivating leader. He's also earnest, not teasing or manipulative as we have seen him with Maomao.

As Jinshi has a servant lady wash his back, his first questions to Gaoshun are all about Maomao. How is she? How is her health? Do you think she misses me? Okay, maybe he kept that last one in his head. He's still captivated over seeing Maomao's righteous fury last episode and Gaoshun is not sure he likes it. The lady cleaning his back loves it. Everyone in the room knows Jinshi is simping for the apothecary, even if Jinshi thinks he's hiding it well.

Maomao's delighted to find some mushrooms but doesn't want to reveal her secret mushroom hunting location so she decides to meet up with her servant friend Xiaolan instead of going to the kitchen to prepare them. The time at Crystal Pavilion was really stressful on Maomao and she's lost weight. Everyone has noticed from Jinshi to the ladies of the Jade Pavilion. The latter of whom continuously ply her with delicious food. She's come a long way to developing relationships with the people around her. They notice details about her health, they care, and offer her support.

Palace gossip! A servant girl seduced a military officer who infamously hates women. In typical Maomao fashion, she doesn't care. But I do! Is Maomao the servant girl?! Is the rumor about her? Is Jinshi the woman-hating military officer? Military experience would explain his sword skills. Did the back washing lady spread the gossip? Probably not! But here's hoping! Oh, the servant girl in the gossip used an aphrodisiac to do it! Maybe it really is about Maomao!

How cute that Maomao has become such close friends with the doctor. And both of them are positively salivating over the mushrooms Maomao found. Another link in her support network.

The cursed hands mystery is solved as soon as the story is out of the man's mouth. Maomao truly is superior. The palace doctor boasts about her just as Jinshi walks in with an additional compliment. Jinshi has the doctor well trained to disappear so he can talk to Maomao.

Their interaction is a little different today. A little, I don't quite know, inauthentic maybe? Careful? Calculated? I blame Jinshi, he's almost certainly up to something. Maomao greets him politely, with only the barest hint of sarcasm, but she really can't maintain that level of civility with Jinshi because Jinshi is all ✨sparkles✨ today which means he wants something.

Jinshi: Isn't it all right if I just want to stop by and not talk business?

Maomao: Honestly? Absolutely not.

A hilarious riposte, but also very, very true! He's the palace master and it's not okay for him to simply drop in on a lower ranked servant for anything personal. It could easily land Maomao in trouble if anyone thought there were something going on between the two of them. And people do think that! With the rumor that is going around it is even more important that these two aren't found meeting up in any way that isn't absolutely proper.

Jinshi is momentarily disappointed but not deterred. He makes Maomao take a walk with him. Ultimately, she doesn't have a choice but to obey the palace master.

The guy with the burnt hands must have gone to Jinshi before visiting the doctor, because this is why Jinshi sought out Maomao. He asks for her insights on caustic chemicals. Maomao explains to Jinshi how they work then asks if he needs anything else. To which Jinshi asks her to teapot steam his? I don't know what this means. Is he asking her to make him one of the caustic chemical sticks? That doesn't seem right. Maybe something was lost in translation? Or maybe just lost on me. He also says, in a singsong voice:

I'm counting on you Apothecary

And she says:

He knew the whole time?!

And... it is now occurring to my slow processing mind that they are talking about those mushrooms.

I imagine that these wooden sticks are a secret way of sending messages in the palace. You get a stick that is seemingly nothing important, then in secret you burn it to see what color it is. It would explain why there was a set of ladies robes with burnt sleeves in the trash. She probably caught her sleeve on fire while trying to reveal her secret message.

Whatever it is, Jinshi sends Gaoshun to find everyone who has a recent arm burn.

And Maomao is on the edge of something dangerous now. If it becomes known that she exposed the methods of an illegal group, she could end up as a target. Jinshi didn't tell her what is going on, but he knows she is smart enough to figure it out, and he must trust her to handle the information confidentially. She knows this business is nothing good and wants to stay out of it. She really does try.

And I'm realizing why their conversation earlier was weird. Jinshi wanted to give the impression to any listening ears that he wanted to talk to Maomao privately about something personal rather than business related because he doesn't want it known that she is involved in this case. Which means it probably is something dangerous. And also that he cares if something happens to Maomao. Whether that is because she is a useful detective/doctor for him or if he has more personal feelings for her, who can say. Actually, we can. We've been watching this show and it's increasingly obvious that he totally cares about Maomao for all the reasons!

Oh sweet! The emperor is throwing a garden party and Maomao has to go! I am so excited for this, maybe not as excited as Yinghua, but close. We get the run down from Yinghua that the four highest ranking concubines and their retinues will be there. Lady Gyokuyou doesn't have as many ladies as the others so everyone is being called to battle attend including Maomao. And since there is food being served, especially Maomao.

Maomao worries that she'll run into Jinshi at the party to which I say - I frickin hope so! These girls are going to give Maomao a glam up and seeing how Jinshi responds to that is now my greatest desire from this show.

Maomao is nervous but goes through a list of the most likely things to irritate her at the party then makes a plan to mitigate what annoyances she can. Cooking up a medicinal remedy is a no-brainer, but she also sews warming pockets into her undergarments proving that her versatility in solving problems extends outside of medicine. The other ladies beg for her to help them too. This group is a team. They support and care for Maomao and she returns favors in a variety of ways.

But oh shit, how exactly did Jinshi find out about her sewing project? Now she's sewing for him? And... everyone wants them, including the emperor's seamstress and head chef?! That's the cost of being an innovator I suppose.

Okay, so what is the deal with Maomao's arm? Why is this the thing she can't heal? I feel like there is a whole lot more going on with this bandaged arm than simple experiments she tested in it. And oh... it occurs to me that maybe she hasn't been experimenting on her arm to injure herself and test poisons, but maybe she has been experimenting on her arm to try and heal it. Hmmm. Something to consider.

But speaking of harming oneself, Maomao has been working herself to exhaustion, and she's not quitting. *Sigh* Sleep is also an important preparation for the party.

The ladies of the Jade Pavilion are preparing on the day of the party. Lady Gyokuyou gifts jewelry to each of them and the ladies conspire to put make-up on Maomao. They wash her face and discover... she's been altering her appearance to appear less appealing? Uh-oh. That's probably not a sign of anything good. I wondered a few episodes back if Maomao had been sexually assaulted or something similar in the past, and this behavior would align with that. I do hope there is another explanation that I'm not thinking of.

Okay, Jinshi's looking pretty good in his party finery. He's also so excited to see Maomao. Gaoshun refers to Maomao as Jinshi's favorite toy. Not a flattering description. He then complains about how troublesome Jinshi is. So, I guess Gaoshun isn't going to help build this ship then. Unfortunately for Gaoshun, Jinshi doesn't need any help building his own ship.

And thank you Jinshi for giving me everything I wanted from this scene. He hops over to Maomao like a damn fool pretending that he going to look at the baby.

Now, to check in on the princess!

But he's staring at Maomao and trying to get her attention instead of actually going to the baby. He's trying to tease her I think.

And yes, stupefied is a new look on Jinshi. A very good one! It takes him a good long time to come to his senses after seeing Maomao in all her glory. He then asks a very inappropriate question:

Are you wearing makeup?

They then have a confusing conversation where Maomao wishes she would have simply lied to him instead of telling the truth while trying to withhold the truth about her freckles. She finally comes out with it, and unfortunately it's pretty close to what I feared. She managed to escape but men had tried to assault her before. The kidnappers that took her did so illegally and now Jinshi knows that (My thoughts and prayers to their families).

Actually Jinshi does pretty good in his reaction to this news. Taking it seriously, offering his sympathy. He regrets what happened:

If only we could have policed them better.

We? Is this issue something a rear palace manager has any jurisdiction in? Or are you talking on behalf of the empire? Where do you get the authority to criticize or offer apologies on behalf of the empire?

He does seem genuinely sorry that Maomao ended up sold to the rear palace. And Maomao... gives him an out?

I don't particularly mind now. A buyer can't tell if you were kidnapped or just sold off legally. They can't tell, and they really don't care.

And now we see something very genuine from Jinshi. He's a buyer, or he's at least in charge of the people who do the buying. He is culpable in what happened to Maomao and others like her, even if her couldn't tell she was kidnapped when she was bought. And he's especially culpable because he didn't care about the evils of human trafficking until this very moment.

He can't even meet her eyes in this moment. The guilt is so great. He asks:

Doesn't that make you angry?

Maomao, misreading Jinshi's emotional crisis, deals a critical blow:

Of course it makes me angry. But it's not your fault, and what can I do at this moment?

And Jinshi is overwhelmed. He takes a pained breath and you can hear the emotion he's trying to tamp down. He manages to get out a shaky "I'm sorry." And Maomao hears it as authentic. She's not understanding the full meaning behind Jinshi's reaction, but she knows it's real.

He pulls the hairpin from his own guan and puts it in Maomao's hair! And fuck me, I wish I knew the symbolism of that. I can guess it isn't a casual gesture between colleagues. After pausing the scene on the reactions of the people in the Jade palace, I can tell than not a single person present thinks that was a casual gesture either.

Jinshi blushes then promptly leaves. To cry. Or maybe order the execution of some slave traders. Maomao thinks it's odd to have received a man's hairpin, but the other ladies take it as a kind of declaration. Which, yeah. Even Lady Gyokuyou says:

It would appear that you are no longer mine alone.

Implying that Jinshi now has some kind of claim on Maomao. This is going to be troublesome for Maomao. And delicious to watch.

Maomao, flabbergasted, asks what it means. Immediately after which a drum is heard and Lady Gyokuyou says:

So it begins!

And boy, if I ain't ready! Ready for this party, but also ready for Maomao and Jinshi to take the next step.

This is absolutely delightful.

Want to start at the beginning?

Episode 1

Next episode

Episode 6

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #323

The results of the vote are in. The bad outcome happened. Of the people who voted, over half of them voted for the candidate who wants to exterminate LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, non-Christians, and more. They voted for the candidate who wants to see women and brown-skinned people go back to being considered "property". The voted for the candidate who wants to make this letter to you be considered "pornography", and thus outlawed, simply on the basis that I made mention of LGBTQ+ people such as myself.

I don't know what to do. I don't know how to prevent the loss of life that I know will occur. Already, lots of LGBTQ+ folks are calling suicide hotlines, and it's because we all know that there's a decent chance that pretty soon, our existence is going to be outlawed altogether. There's also a non-zero chance that access to abortion will be outlawed everywhere in my country altogether - it's already illegal in some places, even for cases like rape, incest, or if carrying the pregnancy to term would kill the mother. It's absolutely senseless.

I am sterilized via tubal ligation. I chose this because I don't want to bring a child into a burning, dying world. In the place where I had it done, it's a procedure in which one's fallopian tubes get tight bands wrapped around them. The tight band cuts off the blood flow to the tube, thus killing it so that eggs can't get from the ovary to the uterus. It's generally a safe and effective procedure, but there's still a very small chance of ectopic pregnancy - where a fertilized egg implants itself somewhere other than the uterus. This can kill a person if left unattended. If this administration had it their way, I and others like me wouldn't be able to get an abortion, even in this scenario.

...Sephiroth. There are already places in my country where abortion is, effectively, outlawed. There are already people with uteruses dying because of it. If this becomes the law everywhere, so many more people are going to die. I don't know what I can do to prevent this kind of loss of life. The only thing I can think to do is get out of here before things get even weirder and scarier than they are already. So M, J, and I are looking to immigrate to the country that is north of us. That place is called Canada. And... I don't know if they'll take us. But the odds of them taking us are not zero, since we all count as skilled workers. We have to try.

...The process of immigrating is very convoluted, though. I've been having difficulty trying to sift through the information and ascertain in which order I'm supposed to do the steps in. It seems very unclear.

...Or maybe it's not unclear, and I am just panicking. I've wanted to scream and cry and throw up all day, for all the lives I know are going to be lost over the next 4+ years, and for all the absolutely nothing I'll be able to do about it. Either way, I did email some Canadian immigration lawyer place, and I'm hoping they'll outline the steps I need to follow, and in what order I'm supposed to follow them. M is going to get a new passport; he has an appointment to get that taken care of tomorrow.

I also got a terabyte drive in which to put all the letters I've already written to you; I suspect in the coming months, some of my letters to you will be considered "pornography" and censored, due to the fact that I mention LGBTQ+ and polyamory stuff in them. I don't want the things I've written to you to disappear, so... I'll put them where I can't lose them.

...I've already done as much about immigration and backing up my work as I could today. So then I started cooking, because... I didn't know what else to do.

I started by putting potatoes on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper:

...And then I put a whole lamb leg on 'em!!

From here, I got out all my seasonings that I wanted...

...And with these, I seasoned the lamb!!!!

Then, you put a tinfoil tent over it!!! Which... I guess I somehow managed to neglect to take a picture of. But I'll do ya one better and show you a page that has a little video of how to make one!

From here, I stuck it in the oven at 325 degrees F (or 162.8 degrees C) for around 4 and a half hours. The idea was to steam the lamb leg in its own juices along with the potatoes until it's tender enough to be pulled off the bone with a fork!

In the meantime, I worked on the pumpkin soup. First, I sliced up an onion and put it in my handy-dandy veggie chopper!!!

I then chopped them up a little to reduce the space they take up a little. And I added 4 garlic cloves, after cutting them in half...

(...I know, I know – only 4? Who am I, and what have I done with myself??? Hahaha...)

From here, you turn them into a puree...

...And then you fry it in a pan with butter! It'll look like this at first...

...But then, after a while, it'll look like this; make sure you cook it on a medium-low heat and stir it continually so it doesn't burn!!

To this, I added that pumpkin puree we made earlier in the week, and also a jar and a half of my famous (it's not really famous, haha!) bone broth:

Do you remember the last time I made pumpkin soup for you? I made that one into more of a savory concoction, I think. This time, I wanted to try for something sweeter – something that tastes almost like pumpkin pie. So... I added some cream...

...And then I added these things!!!

...I basically kept adding and rebalancing these things until I tasted the soup and thought, “yes – this is pretty much pumpkin pie now.”

...It was absolutely fucking DELICIOUS.

But I had to set it aside; the lamb wasn't nearly done. I floundered around for a long time. And then M surprised me by getting a bag of cookies!!! Behold!!!

In my area, you will not find better packaged chocolate chip cookies ANYWHERE. They are crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside. They're not too sweet, and the dough itself is good even without the chocolate chips.

Just look how pliable it is!!!

...And look at that texture!!!!

...Isn't t beautiful...??? And lemme tell ya, they taste just as good as they look!!! I... probably ate far too many of these today, haha... It's a wonder my guts didn't feel icky afterwards...

I sauteed some mixed mushrooms. I like to combine shiitake with maitake and portobello. Lion's mane is a wonderful and flavorful choice, too, but... last time I went to the grocery to look for them, the ones that were available were kinda... brown and goopy-looking (blecch...), so I didn't get any.

The lamb was done by the time these finished sauteeing:

...And it was not fork-tender. No... it was so tender that you could pull it a part with your freaking fingers:

Absolutely fucking delectable.

...Want some...?

...Here, have a bowl of soup, too:

...I wish I could give you these things. But it's about to get dangerous where I live, so... I'm glad you're not here. I wish instead I could somehow just “zoop” it right over to you. Like, just snap my fingers, easy peasy, and BOOM, it's right where you're at, so you can enjoy it, too...

...It'd be nicer if somehow we of my house and all my cats could just “zoop” on over to where you are. And then we'd be safe, and maybe you wouldn't hafta be lonely. I could legit make you all the freaking pumpkin soup you could possibly want, and... it wouldn't be some fucked-up, fake-ass dream shown to you by some weird fucken entity tryna get you to lower your guard so it can fucking use for for goodness-knows-what. I'd just make you pumpkin soup because I wanna see the smile on your face when you taste it and realize just how wholesome and good and real it is...

...I wish I didn't feel so powerless and afraid all the time.

...Hey. So... I don't know for how long I'll be able to post up the letters I write to you publicly. But... I will keep writing them to you, at least on my laptop. And if I don't have any laptop, then I'll write them on paper. And if I don't have any paper or pen... then I'll write them in my head. I'll keep writing them until there isn't any breath left in this weird, clunky body of mine, okay? So... keep your ears open, if you can; I understand that those ears of yours are very keen.

And please. Please try hard – really hard – to make good use of my voice while it's still here. And if the shit really hits the fan and I end up being yoinked from my current meat-mech prematurely... count on me to try to figure out a way to get myself to where you are, as impossible as that probably sounds; no matter what happens, you're not alone. You're not alone, just like when I was 13, you showed me that I'm not alone.

Know it in your bones, okay? Know it so hard that you work tirelessly towards that normal life you wanted. Know it so hard that you have all the courage you need to make kind and compassionate choices.

I love you so much, and that's never going to change, no matter what's done to me and no matter what form my being takes. I'll do my utmost to let this love inspire me to do everything I can to get through whatever's coming up next, and to help others do the same in whatever small ways I can. Watch over me and lend me a bit of your determination and strength, okay...? Unless you don't wanna, or unless you can't. I know it's impossible anyways. And that's perfectly okay, too; I'll figure something out.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[needtoloveoutloud]

Apparently, a hot take on hive-mind tumblr?

Every time I see a post that equates pro-shipping or difficult, problematic themes in (fan) fiction and books and other stories with actual, real-life SA or whatever the topic is, I automatically assume that the OP lacks critical thinking skills and media literacy, fell for the dangerous Puritan movement that's sort of going on in the US (and other countries, too) right now and is likely 14 y/o (or at least mentally stuck at that age) and simply jumped up on that dangerous bandwagon of wanted censorship.

Also, a little bit of hope dies within me.

I could write a damn essay on why equating the “experiences” of fictional (read it again: fictional aka NON-EXISTENT characters) with the trauma and experiences of real-life people is incredibly harmful and hurtful.

To somehow put the plot of a story on the same level as what actual victims went through under the guise of "omg you write/read something like that, so you must support this" is so disrespectful, on so many levels. To everyone affected.

(for example: in my story, I wrote about a 4 y/o girl that got kidnapped by child-traffickers. Does not mean that I a) condone that shit in any way shape or form in the real world and b) am a kidnapper and/or child trafficker myself...? I don't even know why this needs to be clarified?)

Only because some people don't like something that does!not!actually!harm! a real-life person, doesn't mean that that thing should be forbidden or censored. This is so, so incredibly dangerous. I feel like we have learned nothing from history. How about we just start burning books again? That worked out amazingly in the past and wasn't a catalyst for any big issues at all, right?

Assuming stuff is properly tagged, it's your own responsibility for what you consume online. If you are under 18, this applies too. A lot of authors feel uncomfortable to sharing their work with minors, which is completely fine, and they are in the right to do that. If you still continue to read a story (or in the case of AO3, click "accept" when the warning pops up that a story might include adult themes (graphic description of violence, sex, language, whatever, really): then it is on the minor (or the parents who didn't oversee their child's internet activity). Authors are not their parents or guardians. If minors have unrestricted access to the internet (which I am not sure they should have, at least not when you're 12 or something, but then again: I'm no one's parent), then all you can do is learn by experience. You lie and pretend you're older than you are? You click "understand" and read a story that involves adult themes?

If you do all that, despite the site's warning or the author's warning, then you do not get to complain that the story is intended for people who are older than you, have more media literacy and critical thinking skills to be able to differentiate between fiction and real life or the fact that the story contains adult themes — as it was tagged. WHATEVER adult themes are included.

Trying to censor stuff or illegalize things only because YOU subjectively think they are wrong or immoral or whatever opens the door to a lot of dangerous effects that we, in a civilized society, had to work hard to bounce back from in the past — historically speaking.

Some countries still have major restrictions and censorship of stories, books, and whole websites (that do not harm people) and it was often possible to implement such laws and censorships because it was argued (in the beginning) that it was for the protection of young people or because all porn is inherently bad or stuff like that. Then, it opens the doorway to a lot of other censorship, and then it's too late or very, very hard to reverse.

Idk, there are just so many things wrong with the notion of "anti-shipping" or "I wanna censor shit you read/write because I don't like it/think it's immoral" and, personally, it just rubs me the wrong way.

God, I can already feel people starting a discussion or blocking me or unfollowing me or whatever. And you know what's the beauty of it? You can do that — because we, luckily, have the power and responsibility to be in charge of what content we actively consume online. :)

P.S. I shouldn't have to say this, but obviously (as stated) my take on all of this only applies to fictional characters. Writing SA stories on real, existing people (celebrities or not) is not okay.

Feel free to ignore this, feel free to jump in to discuss this topic like adults, idc, really :D Just wanted to voice my thoughts to the vast void of the interwebs

Also: feel free to help educate me if you think I lack background information or stuff.

[lixenn]

Hi lili!!! 👋🏾 Hope you are well! For Chief...!

💔 (broken heart) - Who has your character hurt most? Physically or emotionally? How did it feel? Do they regret it?

🥩 (steak) - Does your oc have any coping mechanisms? Healthy or unhealthy?

🪓 (axe) - Does your oc have survival skills? Have they ever had to use them? What would they do in an apocalypse? Could they survive?

Heya Momo! I'm hanging on by a bare thread but I'm still kicking so that's something (I will defeat this thesis, I will kick it to the curb! I will murder it dead <- straight up in denial OTL)

Chief questions! Chief questions!!!

Let's see...

💔 (broken heart) - Who has your character hurt most? Physically or emotionally? How did it feel? Do they regret it?

Well, Dani-boy ain't a saint so he certainly hurt quite a bit of people. As for who he hurt the most, well that's [redacted] Ummm... huh? That's strange... Let me try again. Dan [redacted] ... One time he [redacted]

Whut?

*contacting the nonsense generator*

...

Error 404 Answer not found.

You have entered the spoiler zone. Varia Quality censoring engaged. Please try again at a later date.

🥩 (steak) - Does your oc have any coping mechanisms? Healthy or unhealthy?

Dan is a solution orientated person. If there's a problem, he tries to fix it. If there's no problem? Well, there will be future ones so he plans ahead. ("Paranoid much Chief?") So you could say he copes with things by planning and scheming and working. He loves lists and graphs, likes sorting his thoughts by writing them down. He will list all the things that could possibly go wrong and then meassures to prevent them or how to react to them. Not really a healthy way to cope with life but when your part of the Mafia where sanity often goes on permanent vacation it can save your ass quite a bit.

When confronted with situations that are not in his plans (aka the newest Varia shitshow) or that simply make him uncomfortable (aka Vlasta's nonsense) then he often shuts down. Dan knows the value of a strategic retreat and he's not afraid to use it.

He also heavily abuses his hard workload as a distraction tactic. What do you mean Ottavio wants to talk to him? Can't you see that he's busy doing budget reports? Come in late (read: never). (There's no time to worry about the high death toll when he's mind is occupied with numbers and to-lists and meetings. Chief is good at compartmentalizing, locking bad memories into boxes and hiding away the key)

To break it down: Dan copes with contingency plans, compartmentalization and just plain noping out of the problem. It's not exactly the healthiest way to cope because he tends to take these methods to the extremes but it could be worse.

🪓 (axe) - Does your oc have survival skills? Have they ever had to use them? What would they do in an apocalypse? Could they survive?

Survival skills huh... bit of a broad term but I will try my best 🫡

Dan knows first aid and hand to hand combat. It was drilled into his head by his parents because they know how dangerous the mafia can be and they wanted him to be equipped to deal with it. (His siblings got the same training, yes even his sister though she isn't a fan of getting her hands dirty). He knows how to make a fire, set up camp and how get food in the wilderness (though his cooking skills are... not up to par, it's enough to survive but not really all that appetizing). Dan learned those skills on various camping trips he went on with his dad, it was their way to bond since Dan loves nature and his dad likes to hunt.

As for the apocalypse... Please, he has contingency plans for an eventual Varia zombie outbreak (he doesn't trust PoisonChem or R&D as far as he can throw them, he wouldn't be surprised if they cook up a zombie virus in their labs. Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? No.) and several other apocalypse scenarios. So as long as it isn't something that insta kills lots of people (aka natural disaster shit) he would be fine. He has a couple safe houses, common sense and knows how to use a shotgun. Also he's just way too stubborn to die because the world's gone to shits. Plus for some reason someone up above (the author) wants to torment him on a daily basis and he's got to be alive for that to happen so yeah...

He'd either be roped into some leadership role in a survival camp or he'd be the grumpy guy in the woods living off the land. Could go either way.

Red emoji oc ask

[babybatscreationsv2]

I watched Deadpool and Wolverine and I have thoughts

Spoiler buffer for people with notifications on

...

First of all

...

...

ELEKTRA

I cannot believe I saw my girl Elektra again and yes I would have cried and thrown up if they killed her. If Blade and Gambit are both getting a new movie where's Elektra's?? I say we riot. And I'm only a little bit kidding. Spider-Man needs a new mother figure after all. How about an Elektra/Jessica Drew team up? OMG I'm just realizing they could have put her in the canceled Shang-Chi film. Does the Hand never face off with the Ten Rings? You would think a couple of a martial artist gangs would have a rivalry. We could have been shipping Elektra and Xialing 😭

Okay actual movie thoughts

Yes the car scene was in fact a sex scene and I don't even think that's even debatable. You can't tell me Hugh Jackman threw his head back like that and groaned like he was fucking cumming and it wasn't an analogy for sex and then following it up with a pan away/sunset shot? It was 100% an ode to the many gay writers who hid their desire to penetrate another man through swords, guns, and fangs. Bram Stoker would be proud

Do not watch this movie if you're uncomfortable with inappropriate sexual touching, or language for that matter. Everyone's getting sexually assaulted and it's a joke every time, but at least they call it what it is I guess?

I feel like the amount of graphic sex jokes was to cover for the fact that they were told not to joke too much about drug use. Although choosing to joke about how they can't do coke was possibly my favorite joke, don't ask me why

They sure did let that little people joke in there though... yikes. Disney is really begging people with dwarfism to jump their asses this year

The weakest part of the film was definitely the villain dialog. I guess they didn't want any big plot twisty reveals because man these dudes came out monologing and like who asked? Nobody. Why are they talking so much?

I have a genuine love for Happy becoming the new Stan Lee cameo. I just love that man as a character and it feels right that he has a hand in everything.

I saw someone on here pouting about the photo of Tony and Peter together and how Peter's face was covered BUT ACTUALLY it's a running gag in the comics that Deadpool can't see Spider-Man's face or hear his name. Even if Peter takes his mask off right in front of him the "Marvel censors" hide it from Wade and I hope to god that's why they covered it because it'll be so damn funny if and when they're both in a film together

Speaking of funny, the comedy in this film was so well done. They poured most of the jokes out in the first act and left room for the movie and the characters to be taken seriously. I'm here praying that the other Marvel writers take notes because while I'm a very emotional person who requires comic relief to get through most movies without crying, we all know the humor in Marvel films is getting to be a bit much.

I was holding my breath during the big team up thinking it was going to be Deadpool 2/Suicide Squad all over again, but they actually got to have their hero moment and it was beautiful.

But WTF? Why did Blade and Gambit get a big moment where they show off their skills but Elektra gets half the screen time during the fight and her moment is just her kicking someone? She has magic ninja abilities?? She could have also done something cool?? The martial arts stuff was cool in her stand alone film, it doesn't impress in a crowd of people who know how to fight. At least let her skillfully throw her sais or something, damn.

And how good is Channing Tatum as Gambit? I'm not a Channing Tatum fan or anything, but damn does he nail it.

NICEPOOL I love Nicepool, I have no idea what Deadpool variants exist in the comics because I actually hate multiverse stuff that isn't spiderverse, BUT it's canon that if Deadpool were to stop killing people that he would become pretty again and I love that there's a universe where's he just insanely nice and handsome mostly because I don't think they would ever make a Spider-Man/Deadpool film so at least we acknowledged that this happens, sorta, they don't really talk about why he's pretty and our Deadpool isn't

I love how it was a Deadpool film, but also everyone got their moment. It was barely even about him. He was the vehicle through which Wolverine and Nova and Laura got to tell their stories and it worked really well

I also feel like Wade getting Johnny killed felt weird and mildly out of character. He's an asshole, not a sadist. There's a big difference. If they wanted him dead to get rid of Chris Evans and still have their cameo, it didn't have to be Wade's fault

Wade and Logan recognizing Chris's face as belonging to Steve also sets a precedent for RDJ playing Doom. (It also means that yes people in universe will recognize him and angst will happen, I'm still crossing my fingers that there's multiple Dooms)

I give the whole thing a 4/5 had a good time, few complaints

[oatmealdaydreams]

Violets & Shy Gladioli

I was going to write this a long while ago, but I forgot. Whoops. So yeah, here's the nerdy!Roman & skater!Virgil oneshot thingy. It's more of a crackfic/drabble. Not something very serious but still fun to write!

EDIT: whoops, not a drabble. It got plot now. This turned into something else, my bad. Hurt/comfort alert. If y'all want a part two or something, just put in an ask.

{@goldnskyart hey, hey you. Yes, you. I did a thing. I hope you like the thing.}

Prompt: here (from @goldnskyart)

Pairings: romantic Prinxiety, platonic Dukeceit, Creativitwins

Trigger/Content Warning: borderline stalking? (kind of??), sexual commentary, very brief mention of vague past trauma, bullying, panic attack, slur (twice very briefly; censored at my own discretion), brief dissociation, murder threats (towards the bullies)

Description: Virgil is a skater at the local skatepark. He notices he has a lil nerd watching him.

Extra: Human AU, Highschool AU; set in goldnskyart's Skateboards & Jam AU; idk romance works, so it'll be kind of bad. I've never written a kiss scene before, so prepare for sappy cringe.

[Masterlist] | ao3 link

[Read under the cut]

Roman is so unbelievably gay, like holy sh*t. Holy sh*t. He is so helpless.

Why must boys be so attractive?

At least, that's the reason he settles on as he watches a specific boy from behind a tree. It's at the local skatepark, where all the shakers and troublemakers tend to hang out. There are benches and a small playground nearby. The whole place is surrounded by oak trees and flowers. It almost feels like you're in another world there, but the sound of cars from the nearby road kind of ruins that.

It's very beautiful, oh indeed it is, and Roman is certain that the boy on his mind just makes it even prettier. Cause this skater boy is very pretty, and funny and kind- and oh, does Roman have it bad.

So yeah, there he is, watching the boy of his dreams from behind a tree near the skatepark.

No, it's not stalking- okay, it's close, but he promises that's not what it is. He's just nervous, okay? He's even tried talking to him at school, but it always ends with unintentional bickering and insulting jabs at each other. He hates how his nerves mess with his ability to function around boys. That, and the gay panic every time he sees him.

Virgil Cleome, a perfect array of purple jackets and snide smirks.

A skilled skater, by highschool standards. A baseball hat put on backwards in a cool fashion, a purple-patched jacket always on his shoulders, the one person who can wear eyeshadow under his eyes and make Roman fluster just from that. His eyes- oh, his eyes- are a heterochromic beauty. One dark green, the other something close to hazel or purple. Roman doesn't know if you could have a purple iris, but Virgil's is damn well close enough.

God, when he concentrates on something? When he's focused? Yeah, Roman could just die at that cute face he makes. The classic tongue-slightly-stuck-out. He also does this thing where he scrunches his nose up. Like, when he doesn't like something or when he's confused in a mocking kind of way. It's just- ugh. How dare he be so f*cking attractive and funny. And have you heard his laugh? Roman heard it once in passing, and he couldn't function for almost five gay minutes because of it. Like, holy hell. Jesus.

Like I said, Roman is helpless.

He feels like Eliza when he's around Virgil, and he wants him to be his Alexander.

So yeah. He's got it bad. He is entirely hopeless.

And that's why he hides behind a tree, watching his seemingly unrequited love have fun at the skatepark.

It's not like he ever notices, right?

...right?

~~~

Virgil definitely notices every time he's being watched by the cute nerd, too shy to actually approach him.

The fact that it's Roman kind of confuses him, since almost all their interactions are borderline hostile on a good day. At least, that's how it feels. Perhaps it's a rivalry, of sorts. Just bickering, insults, and weird nicknames that could pass off as pet names if you were an innocent bystander. But they aren't pet names, okay? Of course they f*cking aren't. Why would they be?

So then, why does Roman watch him shyly from a tree? He just... stares. It's borderline creepy, but that's not the issue. The issue is the fact that Virgil doesn't mind it. That he might like being watched by Roman- not in that way, don't make it weird- and likes his attention on him.

Also, how can Roman ever be so... nervous? Is that the right word?

Normally, when in school, he's always this pompous princely nerd with confidence pouring out of him. He knows what he's talking about. He's not very studious, not exactly, but he knows practically everything about theatre and its history. He knows a lot about history in general. And he's pretty great at the Creative Writing class they're both in.

His glasses are pretty cute, too. His smart little face, the red streak in his hair. The faintest of freckles on his cheeks and nose. The small moles on his neck. He's just so adorable-

Ack. Just f*cking- ugh. Why must Roman be so adorable yet so frustrating all at once?

Virgil is too gay for this sh*t. F*ck this. F*cking hell. Just- okay. He needs to chill out.

Just focus on skating. Ignore the cute little prince who keeps watching you. Just- jesus. Yeah, cause that's f*cking easy.

Virgil tries, he really does, but his mind keeps drifting to red bowties and clever comebacks. His skating buddies already know about his crush- not a crush, he tells them, he just thinks he's neat- and are frankly very tired of the obvious pining.

Hey, it's not pining- okay. Just- ya know what? F*ck you. Shut up.

Roman f*cking Solana.

Jesus.

It doesn't help that one of his friends, a fellow skater, is Roman's twin brother. So, he already sees Roman enough at school, but he also sees him whenever he hangs out with Remus at their house. They don't stay at the house for long, usually, and just go to the skatepark and meet up with Janus.

Yeah, being friends with Remus is always a new adventure. That also means the ungodly amount of innuendos and teasing just gets worse. Of course it f*cking does, it's Remus. As soon as he first heard about Virgil liking Roman in any romantic capacity, he would not leave the poor spiderling alone. That is, unless it got too close to a boundary line. Remus may have poor impulse control, but he'd never cross a boundary with his friends or family. He's not a monster.

He's a self-proclaimed freak, but not a monster.

Which brings them all to right now, a teasing Remus at the ready as Virgil messes up the same trick for the fifth time in a row.

"Dude, what's with you lately? You usually don't mess up that badly," an unnamed skater comments as Virgil gives up and sits down at a nearby bench.

Virgil rolls his eyes at the unnamed skater. Not worth his time. It's not like they're a part of his inner circle, anyway.

"He can't help it, little Virgey's distracted," Remus teases, wiggling his eyebrow.

"Shut up, Remus," Virgil grumbles.

Remus snickers at him.

"Aww, but it's so fun f*cking with you."

Virgil rolls his eyes again, this time at Remus.

"Then again, I know who you'd really like to f*ck with. Well, more like who you'd like to f*ck."

Virgil chokes on air for a moment, his face now burning red. The unnamed skater turns bright pink in second-hand embarrassment and shuffles away, deciding now is a good time to go back to skating. Virgil glares at Remus in his own embarrassment as the green-coded dumbass cackles at him.

"Remus," he scorns, voice cracking at the implication.

"Listen, you're so easy. I just- ha! You're so red!"

Virgil hides his face in his hands, groaning loudly in annoyance.

Where is Janus when you need him? God, the one time he gets too sick to come and skate with us. God f*cking damnit. F*cking bastard.

Janus is usually the one who Remus would listen to. Those two had been through thick and thin, in a lot more ways than Virgil had been with them. There are just some things, some very bad things, that unite people together in such a close bond. Going through trauma together is... it's something they hope Virgil will never experience. It's something that brought those two so close together, but both of them still wish it hadn't happened. The world tends to be a truly cruel place to those who just want to be.

Anyway, after a while of Remus tormenting Virgil, they go back to skating. Remus tends to do more dangerous stunts as if they were at a beginner level. Virgil sticks with what he knows, what he can't mess up, being what his friends call 'stupidly safe' and 'boring'.

Virgil still thinks back to Roman, who is currently hiding behind his signature tree. What he'd never admit is how Roman's attention on him makes his heart beat out of his chest. How his voice makes his heart flutter like a bunch of dumb little moths. How he makes him laugh and let himself exist. How this damned nerd makes him... just smile. He doesn't just smile for anyone. The stupid f*cking cherry-red bowtie. The spotlights in his eyes.

He and Remus may be twins, but they don't exactly look like twins. And that makes it so much easier to feel so cheesy about him. He could never feel cheesy, in any romantic capacity, about Remus or Janus. They're more like family than anything. Oh, but Roman...

God. He wanted to be the Jack to Roman's Sally.

Like I said, he feels so f*cking cheesy about Roman.

After a while of f*cking with each other like they always do, Remus decides to abruptly leave. Virgil asks where the f*ck does he think he's running off to, only to get a one-word answer. That reasonably excuses him.

"Janny!" Remus shouted as he skated away on the sidewalk in the park, heading towards the neighborhood.

Virgil shakes his head fondly. Janus doesn't even need to text or call Remus for the octopus-loving weirdo to know he needs him. A friend instinct, Virgil supposes. Part of their uniquely close platonic bond. Some weird ass sh*t.

Not wanting to skate without one of his friends, cause that just feels weird, Virgil decides to retire early for the day. He goes back to the bench he sat on earlier, setting his board wheels-up by his feet. Finally resting there for a moment, sighing as his back relaxes. He glances over at where Roman probably still is, but-

But he's... not there?

Maybe he had to leave for some reason? Like, his mom called him or something. That happens. Right? Yeah. It's probably fine.

I wish he was still here, though.

Virgil stops himself before he can pout.

Stop, stop it. You're not even friends. This shouldn't f*cking bother you. He's fine.

Why does it bother him?

It just feels wrong. Odd. He's just normally still there, and...

And he's grown attached.

Ah, f*ck me.

~~~

Roman is in theatre. He's almost always the star of the show, the central sun in a musical. When he's on stage, he truly becomes a prince. Whatever his role is, he is. It's a nice sight to see.

So yeah, he's in the Drama club, of course. What thespian wouldn't be? And they always meet on Tuesdays after school. So, as far as Virgil knows, Roman is still at school afterhours on Tuesdays. So is Remus, but that's only because their mom makes them walk home together.

Today is no different. 

Virgil somehow managed to get an after school detention. He'd been too 'disruptive' during class (he was having a panic attack, how the f*ck-), and now has to stay in the library until all the clubs got out. Great. Just f*cking great. Another reason why he hates his dumb math teacher. Because of course, of course being emotionally distressed is less important than f*cking algebra.

Anyway.

So, there's very few people he knows who have after school activities. I mean, he's not the only one ever who gets detention, but apparently today is an exception because he's the only student there that isn't a library tech. He simply listens to music with his headphones on, doing homework so he doesn't have to deal with it later. He has one headphone out, but only so the librarians can't yell at him for it. They usually don't care, but detention students are some sort of disease or something because they eye him like a pack of f*cking vultures. To be fair, Virgil isn't ever really in there unless he has detention. And, you know, your classic stereotypes and narrow-minded assumptions you see from people who need a large heap of therapy. So yeah, not a great time.

Being watched by the librarians isn't helping Virgil focus, and he's two seconds from f*cking decking one of them. The library tech doesn't seem to care. They're just shelving books and minding their own damn business. Virgil likes the tech better.

Aside from the dumbass Karen librarians, there's some sort of commotion coming from the hallway. It could be the theatre kids; the library is close by the Theater. It's all shouty and sh*t, loud and all that. The future scholars in dramatics, otherwise known as actors, tend to always be loud and mildly disruptive. It's not anything new.

Virgil tries to scribble the last of a science formula down, wanting nothing more than the school day to be over. It's not over until he gets to leave. And he can't f*cking leave yet. Stupid b*tch of a teacher. Just- ugh. Math sucks.

Virgil startles when he hears something that sounds like a slap. He sharply turns his head to the doors, which are left open until the clubs are over.

What the f*ck.

He knows his school has bullies. In fact, he's had his fair share of dunderheads picking on him for sh*t he can't control. But most of the students are gone, and only ones who aren't are the theatre or art club kids. And the art room is all the way at the other end of the school. So, the only kids who'd be here... would be the theatre kids... but he's never known any of them to- well, he's seen more gay-ass motherf*ckers in there than he can count, and they sure as hell aren't ones to be assholes unless someone actually deserves it. Or to be funny, in a sassy and dramatic way. Which is the reason why Virgil doesn't mind them. They don't really bother anyone.

Another suspiciously violent sound and a cry of pain, and Virgil flinches. He stops his work. He can't focus with all that noise, and the fact that someone could be getting hurt right now.

"Stop being so dramatic. God, you'd think he'd learn by now?" one voice complains.

"I know, right? He's so annoying! You wouldn't be in this situation if you kept your mouth shut," a second one adds.

A poorly-concealed whimper.

"Okay, that's it. We're being nice, you know we are. But I am two seconds from making your day a whole lot worse," a third one threatens.

Virgil feels stuck in his seat. God, he wants to get up and march over there, and just- what poor kid are they tormenting? It sounds like there's three of them- bullies always travel in groups- and their victim sounds so hurt.

He hears frantic mumbling, and he wishes he isn't so anxious because he'd like to help now, thank you. The worrying thing is he recognizes the first voice. It's familiar, but also not, and that's not a good sign. It's familiar in a bad way, in a 'oh god please not be them' kind of way.

"You were just saying how we shouldn't do what exactly? Hmm? Aww, why so quiet now?" the second one continues.

"I think he's scared, Jackson," says the third one.

"Oh Kayla, I think so, too."

The second one, Jackson, snickers at whoever the victim is. More mumbling. Something happens, and the first one seems to speak again, but it's muffled. The third one, Kayla, laughs at whatever the victim's reaction is.

Jesus, what's f*cking wrong with them? I need to get up and get someone. What do I do, what do I do? I don't know what to do.

Virgil still feels frozen to his seat. He hates how he doesn't know. How he can't f*cking move. Why must his own anxiety paralyze him like this? He's not even the one getting bullied. It just reminds him... of someone. It's getting kinda triggering at this point, even though he can't pinpoint who it reminds him of. He just feels so f*cking stuck.

Someone shushes Jackson and Kayla. Probably the first voice, who's probably the leader of their cruel trio.

"Hush now, stop being a baby. You asked for this when you got in my way, you stupid attention wh*re," the first one lows their voices in such a cold, cynical way.

Virgil loses it when he hears that.

Omg, omg, omg. What the f*ck. They called them a f*cking slur.

He feels so mortified for whoever their victim is.

Okay, that's it. F*ck this, f*ck my stupid anxiety. That's not okay. Those f*cking b*tches.

Virgil blindly bolts to his feet, leaving his headphones and everything behind on the table. He ignores the librarians' steely eyes and quiet shouts for him to sit down. He runs out the f*cking library, nothing but pure adrenaline fueling him. It's all of a blur of him running over there, but luckily- or unluckily, cause how are no adults handling this- the commotion isn't that far. In fact, it's near the Theater. In the hallway in-between that separates it from the library. Where anyone could see.

Out in the open and no one's helping, dear f*cking god.

And Virgil isn't exactly quiet as he runs over. So, the bullies hear the footsteps rapidly approaching them. One of them mutters something like hey, maybe we should not get our asses caught, and what sounds like three pairs of footsteps scatter around. When Virgil gets there, all he sees is a heap of white and red crouched on the ground. They look shaky and small, so damn small, and their bowtie looks a little f*cked up.

Wait, bowtie? Red bowtie. Wait- omg. Oh sh*t.

That's Princey, the cute little nerd, looking small and terrified on the hallway floor. His glasses are the only thing that don't look damaged. His clothes look scuffed up. Tears are pouring down his face, from eyes that look too dazed. A hand mark on his cheek-

Those little assholes. I'm going to f*cking kill them. I'm going to sink Remus on them, and he's going to kill them. I-

Wait... if Roman is here, then...

Where is Remus?

Virgil shoves his thoughts away as he carefully approaches the poor little thing, crouching down to his eye level. He looks distant, almost like he's somewhere else. Maybe he is. Maybe he's mentally somewhere away from all that just happened. Somewhere that feels safer.

When Virgil puts a soft touch to Roman's shoulder, however, he flinches hard. He startles, turning sharply to face Virgil. His eyes are now very aware of where he is, frantic and panicked.

Oh, Princey...

Virgil takes his hand away, going slowly so Roman can see his movements. The poor nerd is panting like a cornered animal. Scared, he looks so scared.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now, Princey. It's just me, Virgil. You know me, yeah?"

He keeps his voice low and soft, easing just a little bit of the panic out of the poor thing's eyes.

That's better.

He still looks a little scared, though. It takes him a moment, but then recognition lights up in his eyes. He whimpers.

"Oh sweetheart, it's okay. I'm right here. You're safe now."

Virgil carefully cups the nerd's non-hurt cheek, thumbing away unnoticed tears. Princey flinches as soon as he feels touch- it's less, but still- but calms down as he realizes it's just Virgil.

Virgil would never hurt him. Virgil is safe. Virgil is good.

They may tease each other, but it's never to go as far as intentionally hurting someone.

Roman remains tense, but slowly melts as Virgil moves his other hand to card through his hair. He lets out an undignified whine, leaning into the touch.

"There, I've got you."

Roman leans against Virgil, resting his unhurt half on his shoulder. His face squished against him, letting himself relax a little more. Virgil moves his hand from his face, wrapping his arm around the poor prince. He holds him now, keeping close and cuddled in his lap. Roman's head falls until it rests against Virgil's chest. He can hear his heart beating. It sounds a lot calmer than his own. A hand still cared through his hair.

"You need to breathe, sweetheart. C'mon, breathe with me, okay?"

Roman slightly nods. He listens to Virgil's heart, trying to match his breathing to it. His lungs stutter a few times, but the constant stream of comfort and reassurance helps. After a while of finally breathing, he just collapses into a limp lump of exhaustion into Virgil's arms. He doesn't tremble or shake anymore- hardly at all- and instead focuses on the feel of warmth that his rival-friend-person gives. He doesn't know how to categorize them quite yet, but it seems pretty friendly right now.

Which makes him wonder why they aren't usually friendly like this. Maybe Virgil's just being kind. Maybe it's pity. At this moment though, he doesn't find the energy to care. He basks in the safe, safe, safe person holding him.

"There you go. Good job, sweetheart. You're okay. I've got you, I promise."

They just breathe together for a moment. Just co-exist and the world feels frozen, halted. Like nothing could get them, no harm could come their way, no evil could touch them. Roman's eyes droop, very much ready to fall asleep like this. He's all relaxed and calm now. He's okay. He's safe in Virgil's arms. His glasses screw up a bit as he somehow melts further into the purple-themed skater. He hears a soft chuckle from somewhere.

"You relaxed, Princey? All nice and cozy?"

"Mhm."

"Good, that's good. As long as you feel safe, sweetheart."

Had Roman been more awake than he is, he would've blushed at the pet name. But he isn't, so it flies completely over his head. He feels warm and floaty, and just all light. He likes this feeling. He doesn't want it to go away. Secure in safe arms. Safe, safe, safe.

A text beeps off somewhere. Roman idly wonders if his phone. He gets answered, unfortunately, as he feels Virgil move slightly against him. Probably pulling something out of his pocket. By the sound of it, it's his phone. Another text beeps. Sounds of typing. Virgil sighs, something like relief, and types more. Sends whatever he types to whoever texted him. Another text comes in. Virgil makes an idle hm noise. He puts his phone away.

He holds onto Roman tighter, a protective huff slips out. He pauses for a moment, glancing down at Princey.

"You comfortable like this, Princey? Not hurt anywhere, are you? Besides the, uh, the face."

Roman hums.

"Jus' the face," he provides.

The mark on his face still slightly burns, but it's manageable. Tolerable. Not hurt that much anymore.

"'Kay, good."

He readjusts to hold him tight again. Roman finally closes his eyes, nearly passing out from the sh*t that just happened. It doesn't process in his gay mind that he's practically sleeping against his crush. Yeah, a little too exhausted for the thought to even cross his mind.

"Hey, sweetheart. Remus is on his way, okay?"

"Mm, Re?"

"Yeah, Re. Your bro's on his way to help."

"'m fine, though."

"Princey."

"Mm, really. Safe now."

Virgil smiles at that, warmth spreading in his chest. And not from the fact that he has a body against him.

"Good that you're safe. But you went through something scary. We gotta talk about it."

Roman groans sleepily.

"If it makes you too uncomfortable, we won't. But we need to know who did the sh*t, so they can get their asses whooped."

Roman huffs out a laugh at the mention of 'asses whooped'. Not something he thought he'd hear from Virgil, but funny nonetheless.

"Little sleepy head."

"Not little."

"Could've fooled me, all sleepy and small like this. You're just a little puddle."

Roman makes a half-hearted noise of protest, but just drifts off after that. His breathing evens out, and now he's asleep. Virgil's heart melts because he feels safe enough to sleep in my arms, omg.

After a few minutes, he hears a worried shout.

"Roman? Roro?"

Ah yeah, that's Remus. Worried Brother™ mode is activated, isn't it?

"Ro? Vi, where are- oh. Okay, good. Right there. Okay."

Remus spots them on the ground as soon as he turns the corner. He barrels down the hallway to them, muttering about how they're right there, they've got each other, Virgil ain't gonna let anyone hurt him. He nearly crashes into them as he runs and dives to sit by Virgil and his sleeping brother.

"Whoa, hey. Hey, he's okay. I've got him. He's also asleep, so be careful, Rem."

The light chide dies on Virgil's tongue as Remus growls protectively at sight of his hurt twin. Virgil sighs, knowing Remus isn't going to listen to him while Roman is like this. He doesn't blame him. Roman comes first, always.

Remus catches the mark on Roman's face, and his growl intensifies. Virgil stopped carding a hand through the poor nerd's hair a little bit ago, instead just holding him like something precious. That being said, he sees the pure and horribly overwhelming worry in Remus' eyes. And decides to hand over the sleeping prince.

"Rem, here. He's okay now. He's safe and okay. Right here."

Remus takes his brother carefully. The sleepy Roman whines in protest as he feels Virgil let go of him. The emo skater makes a comforting noise and mutters about what he's doing so the other will be calm. Once fully in his arms, Remus hugs the life out of his brother and holds him in his lap. Roman lets out a pleased hum as he drifts back into a comfortable slumber. He nuzzles into his brother, clinging onto his shirt like a little kid. Remus rests his chin on top of his brother's head.

"...who the f*ck messed with him?"

Remus' glare is deadly and cold, but he doesn't look at Virgil. It's not directed towards him, anyway.

Yep, there's the Protective Twin™ mode.

"I don't know. He hasn't said anything yet, looked a little scared to."

Virgil's voice nearly matches Remus' in cold venom. It's low and cruel, and he's going to do horrible things to the people who did this.

Virgil glances at Remus as he kisses his brother's hair softly.

"I told him we need the name of those f*ckers. I technically didn't ask him, but he still seemed... he's just so tired, Rem."

Virgil's voice almost cracks with emotion near the end. Remus grunts in response. His grip on his brother doesn't waver, not even for a millisecond.

"I heard names of two outta three, though."

Remus sharply turns to him, demanding the names with nothing but a look.

"I- I heard it from the library. One of them is, uh, Jackson. The other one is Kayla, I think."

Remus' eyes wide slightly for a second at the mention of Kayla, and it doesn't take basic observation skills to realize that he may know her. Probably not for a good reason. Virgil doesn't ask.

"There were three?"

"I didn't catch the third's name."

"And where were you, then? How could you hear names but not stop this sh*t from happening?"

Remus' voice cracks mid-sentence. Tears prick at his eyes, and he glares at Virgil like it could be his fault. Maybe it is. Maybe if he wasn't a little coward, he could've stopped it. If only he didn't fail at such an important time.

"I- I was in detention, and- uh, and I heard noise and voices, but I froze and I couldn't move-"

Remus' face softens, regret flooding in as his friend stumbles over panicked words.

"Hey, hey. Sorry. I know you wouldn't hurt him."

Virgil simply nods curtly, easing himself out of his own panic.

"I found him, dazed and on the floor. Rem- Remus, he looked so terrified."

I should've got to him. Goddamit, why am I so f*cking stupid? Just- what the f*ck is wrong with me?

Remus bumps Virgil's shoulder lightly, bringing him out of his thoughts. His own tears threaten to spill. He simply sniffles and wills them away. At least, he holds those stupid tears in for as long as he can.

"...I'm gonna beat and kill their asses."

"I'll bring the bat."

The duo lightly chuckles at each other for a moment. They focus back on Roman, who looks so peaceful in his sleep. Peaceful and safe. It's almost surreal, in a way. He was just hurt by some dumbf*cks, and now he looks like nothing's wrong in the world. They almost don't want to wake him up.

He beats them to it though, groaning and slowly opening his eyes. He first notices purple patches across from him. Then the fact he's being hugged into the Aether, hugged by someone strong and... is that green on their weird vest thing? Wait, green...

He sees Remus' signature skull necklace, and everything catches up to him.

Remus is here. Re is here and I am safe. Safe. Virgil's here, too.

He feels soreness creeping in as he wakes up more.

Ugh... goddammit.

He groans in slight pain.

Wait f*ck- Virgil is here. Holy sh*t. Omg, omg-

And then a little bit of gay panic sets in.

Roman feels his face heat up slightly, and he hides it in Remus' chest. Remus, being the ever-loving twin that he is, just snorts at him once he notices him blushing. Virgil raises an eyebrow at him, but Remus just ignores it and snickers.

"Mm, f*ck you, Re," Roman mutters.

"Yeah, he's okay," Remus says.

"Pft- you good, Princey? What's got you hiding?"

Virgil's own tears are long forgotten as he watches Roman groan pathetically, oblivious to the fact he's a little flustered because of him.

"Seriously though, are you okay?" Virgil's voice softens again.

Roman peeks out from his hiding place, nodding.

"Hm. Then why don't we talk about it, if you're okay and all? We still have asses to maim."

The princely nerd huffs, sitting up in his brother's lap. He avoids their gazes as he speaks.

"'s nothing to worry about."

Remus gives him a the f*ck it isn't look.

"Nothing to- Roro, they left a mark on you. They hit you. That's something to worry about."

"Re-"

"He's right, Princey. They shouldn't be messing with you like. No one gets to f*ck with you like that."

A few seconds of tense silence.

"it's not like it's anything new..." he mumbles.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm killing them-"

Roman tugs on Remus as soon as he feels him try to get up, telling him to stay. Remus rolls his eyes affectionately, staying put and keeping a hold on his hurt brother.

"Fine. Later, then."

"Princey, I- what? Have they been hurting you for a while?"

"...I should be able to take it."

"Oh, no- no, sweetheart, that's not what I meant."

Roman blushes lightly at the pet name, but Virgil ignores it.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Princey..."

"Ro, why didn't ya just tell me? Or us? I could've used Ma's hunting knife on them! Perfect practice!"

"She would kill you if you took her knife, dumbass."

"Not if she knew it was to protect you."

Roman rolls his eyes. Virgil is about ready to steal their mom's knife himself because who the f*ck do they think they are?

Then, he remembers something he heard back when he was in the Library.

Wait, didn't they call him a- oh, oh sh*t. I'm gutting them, omg.

"Sweetheart, how long have they... called you things?"

Roman shrinks, knowing exactly what he's asking. He sheepishly shrugs. Remus makes a concerned, confused face.

"What are they calling you? Bro-bro?"

"...'s fine. It's not that bad."

"Not that- Roman," Virgil's voice bleeds with horror and worry.

Roman huffs stubbornly.

"Ro? What are they calling you?"

He stays quiet, still avoiding their gazes. He feels embarrassed about this entire situation. He should be able to handle it fine, shouldn't he? He's smart and charismatic. He's a prince, if theatre is anything to go by. Aren't princes supposed to be strong?

Isn't he supposed to be strong?

"Roman- Princey, can I tell him? If you won't, then can I?"

That nickname is sounding a little too endearing, and Roman is on the verge of giving in just from that. He meets Virgil's eyes, not expecting the utter weight of naked concern on his face. He bites his lip before nodding and hiding his face in Remus' chest again.

"They called him a slur."

Virgil feels ready to cry again as he speaks, and he's not even the one who got hurt.

"They did what?" anger bleeds through Remus' voice.

He holds Roman tighter, if that's even possible at this point. Roman whimpers as the smallest echo of the slur replays in his head.

"I'm killing them, I'm f*cking killing them. I'm burying them ten feet underground, and I'm killing them."

Roman grips Remus' vest as he tries to push the faint memory of the bullies did out of his mind.

"They don't have any f*cking right to-"

"Not new."

Remus stills. He almost pales as he processes his twin's words. Virgil, in fact, does go pale.

"Roro?"

"Oh, God-"

"Ro, bro-bro, they- they f*cking what?"

"I got a role they wanted. I always get a role they want. They don't like it when I get what they want. It's... 's fine. Nothin' new."

"Oh sweetheart, that's not fine. They- they shouldn't be calling you a slur over a cast role."

"Those b*tches-"

"I should be able to handle it. I'm- I'm supposed to be a prince, aren't I? Princes handle things on their own."

Princes are supposed to be strong, he thinks but doesn't say.

"That's... sweetheart, no. No, princes can ask for help if they need it."

"...but I'm supposed to be strong. Mom calls me her prince, and I want to be strong."

"Asking for help is strong, sweetheart. Strong is being scared and hurt, but surviving anyway."

"Ma calls you her prince because you are strong."

"She also calls you a gremlin Dorito because you have a weird obsession with demonic triangles."

"Cipher is f*cking funny-"

"He literally rips teeth from a deer, what the f*ck-"

Virgil spares a snort as the brothers briefly bicker.

"Not the point, Ro. She also calls me her duke because she said I was meant to be different from you. That you and I are both her precious royals."

Roman hums in response.

Virgil shuffles closer, sitting against Remus' arm. There's more silence. Remus is plotting death for those b*tches who hurt his brother. Virgil is probably doing the same, though he keeps glancing at Roman to make sure he's alright. Today was just total sh*t, huh?

"...they called me an attention wh*re."

Roman's voice cracks as he whispers, curling up in Remus' arms and wanting nothing more than today to have never happened. Remus growls protectively, resting his chin on Roman's head again. Virgil takes one of the nerd's hands, squeezing it softly. He squeezes back.

"Logan's dad knows the principle," Virgil says, rubbing circles on the nerd's knuckles. "Patton told me. We could f*cking get them."

Remus nods sharply as Roman seems to drift off somewhere.

They three stay there, in the empty hallway, as clubs end and other students decide to avoid the murderous looks on Remus' and Virgil's faces.

~~~

It's not even two days later when Jackson, Kayla, and Jackass Number 3 get expelled from school.

Not only does Logan's dad know the principle, but he also seems to be old friends to the district's Superintendent as well. Apparently, his dad knows some friends in high places. Good thing Virgil is intent on remaining on Logan's good side.

Roman and Virgil walk to school together, mainly because Janus is feeling better and Remus wanted to go f*ck some fences up with him. Plus, Roman's mom is even more insistent on him having a walking buddy now that she knows he'd been bullied. As overprotective as she can be, his mom cares a whole lot more about her sons than anything else.

She sneaked a wink at Roman when Virgil came over to walk with him, since his brother couldn't take him anyways. Remus must've tattled on his gay ass because now his mom kept giving this look whenever Virgil visited.

So yes, now he walks with his crush to school. As Remus is being a little criminal and doing God knows what, Roman is fighting a gay panic. Virgil's hand has brushed his twice already, and he thinks he might die if it happens again.

He drifts off into thought for a moment, wondering about a couple of days ago.

"Hey, Virgil?" his voice stays surprisingly steady as his heart thrums in his chest.

"Yeah, Princey?" Virgil glances over at him, and oh god, gay panic, now's not the time.

"Uh, when you... I mean, back when you found me in that hallway and helped me out, uh- well..."

Virgil's gaze softens. He offers a hand, and Roman takes it hesitantly. He squeezes lightly, causing the nerd exhale his nervousness.

"Um, when that happened, you kept calling me 'sweetheart'," Roman couldn't stop the smile on his face. "What was that about?"

His chest burst into butterflies as they both stop walking, and Virgil gives a fond smirk. He avoids Roman's gaze now, a light blush on his face.

"I- uh, sh*t. F*ck, sh*t," he mutters.

Roman waits, though his eager heart beats loudly against his chest.

"I, um... I care about you. You're important to me."

Hi, yes, hello. Uh, Roman's not here right now. He's currently bursting into a million fireworks.

"You- uh, what way do you mean?" Roman can feel how red his face is.

This is when Virgil looks at him, anxious and biting his lip. Flustered, he's flustered the skater boy. His face is red too, though debatably not as red as the nerd. No, Roman's face almost matches his bowtie.

Virgil takes Roman's other hand, shaking slightly from nerves. He stops biting his lip. He risks a brief glance at Roman's lips, and- omg. Omg, I'm going to die.

Both of their faces are burning bright red.

"You... want me to be your sweetheart?" Roman is breathless, and honestly a little overwhelmed by the fact his crush stared at his lips, oh Jesus f*cking Christ.

"Yeah, if you'd have me..." Virgil is just as breathless as they glance into each other's eyes, baring their souls and hearts to one another.

"I'd, uh- yeah, I'd like that."

Virgil moves one of his hands to hold the back of Roman's neck, and Roman's now-free hand rests on Virgil's shoulder. They both glance at each other's lips, hearts pounding and butterflies swarming their insides.

"Can I kiss you, sweetheart?" Virgil looks at him gay in the eyes, and Roman nearly melts.

"Yes," is all the nerd can muster.

They lean in awkwardly, considering they're inexperienced highschoolers, brushing their lips together. They each pull back from some initial shock, slowly leaning back as they gain what little confidence they have. They quickly peck each other, nerves turning into bursts of explosive colour and excitement in their guts. Roman looks at Virgil, his heart fluttering as he recovers from that. Virgil smiles fondly at him. His sweetheart- omg, he's his sweetheart now- smiling back. They're both in a daze. Faces bright pink, heads feeling light like clouds, and hands stay surprisingly steady as they gaze at each other.

It takes them a few moments before they realize that they're going to be late for school.

"Oh sh*t- uh, school's about to start," Virgil cusses as he takes his hand from the back of Roman's neck and looks at the time on his phone.

"Uh, yep. Yep, we should probably go an'- and stuff," his nerd awkwardly stumbles over his words, moving his hand off of Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil pockets his phone as they continue walking to school, picking up the pace a little. They still hold hands as they go. Gay panic roaring in their minds, a swirling mix of emotions leftover from kissing and confessing.

They don't part until needing to go down separate hallways for class.

[feral-ballad]

Hey

I need advice and I feel like you might help me. To start off I'm Muslim and part Arab. I support Palestine 1000%

I've been in therapy for 2 years for depression and trauma issues. My therapist is a middle aged white christian lady. She was wonderful for the most part.

Last week in therapy she brought up the issue of the conflict and she was completely blank on it, didnt know shit about anything but she wasnt pro isnotreal either. She asked me to send her resources and articles so she can get informed. I sent her so many articles, interviews, documentaries, statistics, videos of the atrocities that are happening there and literally all she said was thank you. It annoyed me ngl so I sent her a long note saying I hope this made her more aware of the situation and that she be on our side and help spread the truth about whats happening she point blank said to me

They are ALL in my prayers (aka both sides)

And that its not about the side and that she wants the suffering to stop.

Her neutrality boiled my blood. Like I get it US media waters down and heavily censors everything but for the love of all that is holy use your critical thinking skills!

I dont feel comfortable continuing with her and I wanna cut my ties with her. My friend thinks im over reacting but I think im under reacting tbh. What do you think?

Also sooo sorry for the long ass post

Much love

🪽

hello, darling🌷 i understand your discomfort and anger 100%, i’d be the same if i were you. maybe try talking to her one more time and educate her that the attacks are basically one-sided? israelis are not suffering in the least. the neutrality is so so wrong and it’s just her downright dismissing this genocidal removal. there’s NO “neutrality” in genocide. if she’s still neutral, i’d say cut her off tbh. but that’s just me. sending love, i hope all is well with you🫀💌

[ohbother2]

hi! so like, i might try writing smut soon enough (because why the hell not amirite?) so like, is there any advice you could give me? like DOs and DONTs, tools that could be useful to avoid orthographic errors etc etc (im used to using chat GPT to look at my horribly, horribly written texts and correct them, but i've got a feeling it will straight up censor it, and english's not my first language, so anything that would make my dirty dirty texts into dirty clean text would be dope)

Hi!

I'm sorry but because you're an ageless blog I'm not going to give actual smut-writing advice, but ig it's okay to give general writing advice?

Just a reminder to everyone, if you're a minor please do not interact with me or my posts!

In all honesty I don't really know what I even do when I write, the words just sort of appear and I'm like 'yep, that works', but that's not the most useful advice, lol

I envision the story I want to read, and then I write it how I want to read it. I hope that makes sense

I guess my main advice would be to find your own niche, like, are you a dialogue or an 'action' based writer? Ofc it's good to be good at both but people have their own strong suits. For me, for example, I'm much better at descriptive writing than dialogue so that's what I focus most of my writing around

People also have their own unique styles and formatting to their writing - I feel as though mine is pretty distinctive with certain types of vocabulary and paragraph spacing/grammar/etc - so I guess it would be good to find a style that works good for you! For example, don't stick to lengthy paragraphs of immense detail if that doesn't come naturally to you, etc

My absolute top priority when writing is to not tell the readers what's going on, but to show it. Sometimes 'They felt X/Y/Z' is a useful tool for emphasising a particular point, but sometimes it detracts from the writing overall.

As an example: 'He felt as if his heart was going to burst from his chest...' (This can be good when used in the right moments, but if that's the only descriptor the writing loses a bit of life to it)

Compared to: 'His heart hammered painfully against his taut ribs as he gasped uselessly for breath...' (This is showing rather than just simply telling, and is how I personally prefer to write a majority of the time)

It's also important not to repeat yourself unnecessarily - it can be good to repeat when you're really trying to emphasise a point, but sometimes writing can stagnate and become less engaging? It's very difficult to find the right balance but it makes a world of difference to a piece of text

For dialogue (arguably my weakest skill) the best piece of advice is that you cannot write accurately how people in real life talk. When we talk we mostly fill out thoughts with nonsense and fluff out the main point - you can't write this because the readers will become disengaged. There's an important balance to find between being too formal for speech, maintaining the main point of the conversation, and ensuring the characters still sound like themselves. I tend to really try and put myself in the characters heads, think about what they'd actually say, and then 'translate' it into a written format that works whilst keeping that characters traits.

The way I 'learnt' to write was through reading, and I'd really recommend you read in your desired writing language (I'm guessing English from your ask) to see the typical structures and vocabulary of that language when written down. Direct translations don't always work, especially with literature, because there are phrases and sayings and common slights-of-tongue that are language specific, so I think it's really useful to get used to that language in its own written form, yk?

I forgot!! But it's also important not to tell your readers everything. Let them fill some gaps in on their own - they don't need to be told how a line of dialogue was said if it's obvious in the speech and context, and they don't always need to know how a character moved across a room or what their hands are doing 100% of the time. Sometimes the best parts of stories are the bits that go unsaid :)

Sorry, this is rambling and probably not very useful, but I've never given writing advice before.

Writing really is all down to the author finding their own 'voice' within their texts, and I'm sure you're writing will be great!!! I hope this helps! :))

[lutawolf]

Hi Luta,

I hope that you are doing fine. This is regarding Build's situation. Answer only if you are comfortable.

I find it ironic that most of the people who talked about justice and victims so loudly are now extremely quiet. Like now that Build filed a criminal lawsuit and it seems that Poi hasn't even filed a lawsuit against him...all those who wanted justice are ignoring it.

People who called this issue extremely important are now ignoring it. I find it extremely hypocritical that these people who so vehemently wanted justice now don't even care about it. It all seems so fake now.

This is nothing but performative activism .

Thanks for reading Luta .

Hey nonnie,

I think there are several things to consider here. Those of us that have never sinned against another, should cast the first stone. I am not perfect. I never claim to be. I can say that I strive to be a good person and to not go out of my way to hurt others. I think that's all we can ask of people. Didn't Build forgive the 17-year-old that spread assault allegations against him? Why? Because he knew that he wasn't perfect and had made mistakes, and here was his opportunity to forgive his younger self. Which leads me to the next thing to consider.

The age and maturity level of a lot of these fans. So let's talk developmental thinking skills. Please keep in mind, the chart below varies due to environmental factors by about three years. Meaning, due to those factor, a person could mature faster or slower depending.

So around 20 is when people start understanding that life isn't black or white. We start developing the ability to understand that there are layers and when we should truly be developing critical thinking skills. A majority of the fans are under the age of 24.

Even if they were at an age where they should have paused and thought things over. Where were they emotionally? Do you know that only 6% of those who commit sexual assault will see jail time. Even then, only 3% will see more than a year. Can you imagine being a victim with no justice? How angry that makes you? As I explain in my TharnType reviews, that kind of hate can blind you. Right or wrong, is this crime so bad that we can't offer compassion?

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not particularly happy with how the haters behaved. While not at the same level as Build, I was attacked as well. The funny thing being that I wasn't even a Build fan until all this shit went down. I'm pretty damn impressed with how he has handled himself. Anyway, I think it's pretty clear that these people were full of anger and hate. And now they don't know where to go from there. I've been there. I get it. I just hope that we all learned something from this because there were lessons to be learned.

Don't come at me, peeps, I have a right to my opinion. Don't like it, there is a block button. I'm tired of people thinking that they can tell me what I can and can't say on my page. Like I should censor myself. I'm not living that way.💜💜💜

[lookingupatthesamemoon]

new year, new pinned :)

rye/miss ryan ☆ she/her ☆ 23 ☆ carrd

hi hi !!! my name is rye or miss ryan, and i feel a lot of feelings about fictional characters !!! i've been a selfshipper for a little while now, but i haven't been too involved with the community - i'm hoping to change that !!! please check out my BYF/DNI before interacting !!! other than that, here are some things to know about me:

☆ i am an adult selfshipper !!! minors can interact - i just likely won't interact back.

☆ i am currently a college student who also works part-time - i'm a pretty busy bee !!! this means my posting schedule will likely be all over the place, and my response times might take a little while.

☆ i selfship for a mix of fun and comfort - my main ship with joe dirt is very much a comfort ship and i treat it as a real relationship. that being said, i am NOT comfortable sharing him under any circumstances.

☆ i'm pretty 50/50 when it comes to sharing f/os - some i'm iffy about sharing, but others i'm totally cool with sharing !!! check my carrd for more info regarding this.

☆ i ship with a lot of live action characters - this does NOT mean i ship with their real life actors.

☆ i am, unfortunately, not a visual artist. i wish i could contribute visual art, but i don't have the skill nor the time to develop the skill to feel comfortable doing so. instead, you will likely see writing from me !!!

☆ i am trying to get better about reblogging posts, but sometimes i miss things !!! if i fail to reblog, just know it's never personal !!!

☆ i try to keep things clean over here (content wise - language wise i don't censor myself too much lmao), but if anything pushes bounds, it will be tagged as suggestive. i am working on a spicier sideblog over at @darksideofthesamemoon - 18+ only, any minors and/or blogs without an age listed will be blocked immediately.

☆ i don't bite !!! i would love to be friends :)

proship/comship dni