#<- all of this is just for organization lol

[sandontshengshou]

Let me scream into the void about this.

1. “The patient does not need to be informed about who is donating the organ” does not apply because he thought he was getting a MAGIC NEW ONE.

2. Donor privacy applies to hospitals, not two mad geniuses illegally and non-consensually performing a never-done-before experimental operation on an oblivious patient. If we’re being particular about the legality and ethics of surgery, let’s get into that, holy shit.

3. Jiang Cheng being suicidal or mentally unstable doesn’t give anyone the right to do anything.

4. “Wen Qing is a brilliant doctor and she should have the right to save her patient using means she deems necessary” huh? Okay not to play this card but I’m a medical student and this is bullshit. I have literally had classes where doctors explained to me that it is the right of the patient to know exactly what is being done to their bodies unless they are unconscious or near death (which JC was NOT). Normally, I would have dismissed the ethical violation that wen qing committed because I am a hardcore wq Stan but since OP wants to get into ethics let’s fucking go ig

5. “Wei Wuxian didn’t say any about it because he knew JC’s inferiority complex would get worse and he’d flip his shit” okay??? This makes the fact that they operated on him without consent better how?? (Btw it says in the books that JC wouldn’t be able to face the GUILT of taking wwx’s, not because he’d get bitter about the credit going to wwx)

6. “The truth is we don’t know how much JC was told about the operation” idk how much was left out but we DO know that he was lied to. It’s clear as day, please pick up the book again.

7. “Jiang Cheng didn’t even ask any questions about it” because he trusted wwx’s plan? Because he really, desperately was hoping to get his core back? Because getting his core back was nothing short of a miracle? The idea of transferring cores was unheard of in the cultivation world, and he had already been given a clear answer as to where it’s coming from. Was he supposed to magically figure out that his core came from wwx? Bro what 😭😭😭 and btw he WAS suspicious and he DID ask wwx about it. And then wwx lied again so that jc would just accept it and take the core!

8. Calling Jiang Cheng emotional is crazy when Wei Wuxian begged Wen Qing to perform- again- a never before performed surgery that had a 50% chance of failing because he couldn’t bear to see Jiang Cheng suffer any longer. If that’s not action driven by emotion idk what is. That was the tragedy of it all! Also, Wen Qing, the doctor who isn’t supposed to be swayed by emotions according to the oh so important medical ethics, only did the surgery as a favour to Wwx and out of guilt or gratitude, not out of benevolence (though I’m sure that a large part of it was because she wanted to help).

I could go on forever but that post has already been torn to shreds. I’m still so confused about it though lol

Fuck, I'm here again. Goddammit. I've been doing well. I've been keeping Jiang Cheng off my mind (and my computer screen). Things have been peaceful.

And then today happened.

Again, a fic. Again, not naming names, both because that's rude and also because this issue is hardly specific to one fic alone. I've seen it many times.

But I've been pacing for half an hour, too agitated to keep reading, so I'm just gonna get this off my chest, and then skim through the fic 'til it stops talking about it.

I need to talk about the golden core reveal.

Specifically, I need to talk about an attitude I've seen cropping up recently in a lot of fics. (By recently, I don't mean it's only recent fics that do it, just that I've only noticed it recently.)

So it'll be a fic, usually canon divergent, but prior to the golden core reveal. Wen Ning or Wen Qing will often be involved (though I can think of a few times it was Lan Wangji). And the character, who knows the truth about the golden core transfer, will urge Wei Wuxian to tell Jiang Cheng.

They'll say "you have to tell him". They'll say "he'll find out eventually". They'll say "he deserves to know".

And... the fic will support this.

Will frame Wei Wuxian as irrational, paranoid even, to keep it secret.

Will sometimes even punish him, narratively, for his "failure" to disclose such a thing.

And I am... completely baffled.

Where the fuck is this coming from?

I suppose, if I'm being generous, I can kind of see why an individual sympathising with Jiang Cheng might have a knee-jerk reaction to this. If you see them as being essentially family, the idea that a family member that you love deeply, keeping what amounts to both a huge sacrifice and a massive disability from you would be extremely painful. You might feel hurt, that they didn't tell you. Angry, at the implied lack of trust.

I get it, as an emotional response you might have in the moment. I don't find it particularly relatable, but I can follow the thought process.

But like... that's an emotional response. Surely, at some point, logic has to kick in, right?

Because the thing is. Okay, there's two aspects to the secret, right? One, is that a medical procedure was done to Jiang Cheng, sort of like an organ transplant, I suppose, but he wasn't told that the organ was donated by Wei Wuxian. And the other is that Wei Wuxian made this huge sacrifice for Jiang Cheng, and didn't tell him.

But thinking about this for even five minutes should tell you that... neither of those things are actually Wei Wuxian's responsibility to deal with?

The first one is the by far the more common argument I've seen. I've read fics where Wen Ning and Wen Qing are tortured with guilt over having performed the procedure without telling Jiang Cheng all the details. I've even seen people have them blame Wei Wuxian, for demanding they keep it secret, had them secretly resent him for it. He's portrayed as deeply selfish, for keeping the truth of Jiang Cheng's operation from him.

But the thing is... if you're going to apply modern medical ethics to the situation... Wei Wuxian was in the right? They all were?

Under modern medical ethics, you have no right to know the identity of your organ donor. That can feel a little weird (it's probably why people often have a knee-jerk reaction that demands the opposite); after all, it's my body, shouldn't I have a right to know where the organ that goes in it comes from? What if it has cooties?

But according to medical ethics, the donor's right to medical privacy is more protected that the recipient's right to that information. Right to medical privacy is pretty highly valued; it kind of ties into body autonomy, which is kind of the keystone of... most modern ethics. You have a right to control what happens to your body, and that includes controlling whether or not people know about any medical conditions/procedures. So you might have an emotional response, thinking Jiang Cheng is valid for being upset that his golden core came from Wei Wuxian without him knowing, but... ethically, Wei Wuxian has the right to withhold that information.

But! some scarecrow says, If a person has the right to control what procedures happen to their body, surely that means Jiang Cheng has a right to control what happens to his own body! Therefore, the procedure was still unethical, because he didn't know everything!

And I say, well... not really. The reality is, we don't actually know how much Jiang Cheng was told. He was told to walk up a mountain, lie to the person he encountered about his identity, and ask for a golden core. And he left that mountain with said golden core... but we don't know how much Wen Qing told him when he reached the top. We know he believed Wen Qing was the Baoshan Sanren. We know he received a fully developed core, not just the ability to form a new one. Was he told that the core was from someone else? Were there signs of the transfer? Did he know the chance of success/failure? Did he not find any of the situation dubious?

(Did he really spend two and a half years fighting a war alongside, and then running a sect for a year with, someone and not realise they didn't use orthodox cultivation even once?)

The truth is, a doctor is required to inform a patient of risks, and answer any questions they ask. Wen Qing may well have disclosed the risk (if there was any to Jiang Cheng, other than potentially the transfer failing) prior to the surgery, we just don't know. We don't have any evidence that Jiang Cheng asked any questions, and from what we see in the novel, it seems likely that he simply didn't want to know. He got a core, his life was somewhat back on track; we never see any evidence of curiosity or confusion in him as to the specifics of how that happened.

The only lie we are sure that he was told was the identity of the person who he met on the mountain, who "gave" him the core. I could be petty and point out that as he was also lying about his identity, it kind of cancels out, but that would be a bit ridiculous, and unnecessary besides. The truth is, ethically, Wen Qing could have knocked him out and performed the surgery from the comfort of her own office. Because one of, if not the main reason you can ethically violate someone's body autonomy... is to save a life. And Jiang Cheng, after losing first his family and sect, and then his golden core, displayed clear suicidal ideation. He indicated, repeatedly, that he wanted to die. He refused food. Wei Wuxian even doubled checked, before giving him hope of getting a new core, that he was serious! (Rereading that scene is horrible; Wei Wuxian's dread, and eventual resignation/resolve becomes very apparent once you know what's happening).

The characters around him, including a trained doctor, believed that if he didn't get a new core, he would give up and die. Under those circumstances, a doctor has authority to make medical decisions, without a patients consent, if they believe it is a medical emergency. Wen Qing was an unquestionably brilliant doctor; if she believed doing the surgery was the right/necessary decision, who the hell are we to dispute her?

So, to be clear, under modern medical ethics (which seems to be what is being applied in these claims), Wen Qing has the right to do whatever surgery she feels necessary to save the life of her patient, no consent needed, and Wei Wuxian has the right to keep his identity as the donor a secret, since that's his own private medical history. Modern medical ethics (a bit ridiculous, when talking about magic powers, but I've seen the argument) supports our protagonist.

Now, onto the other thing. This is a lot less... ethics discussion and a lot more feels-bad-so-wrong type thing. Wei Wuxian kept the loss of his golden core a secret.

Jiang Cheng being upset by this is understandable. Like I said, I can follow the emotion/logic. Someone keeping a big secret from you can be hurtful.

But just because it's hurtful to you, doesn't mean they're in the wrong to do it!

If someone I cared about kept a massive secret from me, and I found out, I'd be upset! But my first thought would be 'Why did they feel they couldn't tell me?' And the answer here is obvious; Wei Wuxian didn't think he could tell Jiang Cheng because he knew he'd be horrible about it! Wei Wuxian admits, after the reveal, that the process of losing his core was distressing, and that he wasn't as okay with it as he pretended to be. If something like that happens to you (not... that it can, but, you know, equivalent), and you're struggling to hold it together, the last thing you want is someone you care about yelling at you about it, insulting you, making you feel bad for what happened!

Wei Wuxian didn't tell Jiang Cheng because he knew Jiang Cheng would be awful to him because of it. Jiang Cheng's jealousy when they were young was something Wei Wuxian felt he had to manage*, and he knew Jiang Cheng would feel inadequate if he realised his accomplishments were made with Wei Wuxian's core. And he would then lash out at Wei Wuxian for it, at a time when Wei Wuxian was already feeling emotionally fragile. Hell, nearly twenty years later, Jiang Cheng getting up in his face was enough to cause a Qi deviation; I can't imagine it would have been better any sooner!

No one wants to think of the people they love keeping secrets from them. And sometimes, people who keep secrets are doing it for their own sake, because they're scared, or unsure, or guilty, or whatever. But sometimes, when a person keeps a secret, the reason is not internal. If someone acts horribly to you when you tell them things, you're going to stop telling them things. And the person responsible for that gap in communication is them; all you're doing is protecting yourself.

And before anyone thinks that I'm assigning reasoning to Wei Wuxian that he doesn't have; he essentially admits it. After the reveal, Wei Wuxian states that he knew Jiang Cheng would react badly (though he didn't expect it to be quite so bad). Wei Wuxian is shown to have been managing Jiang Cheng's moods since they were young**, it's probably not the first secret he's kept. But that's kind of just... how that works; if a king kills every person who brings him bad news, eventually, all his advisors will only ever bring him good news. And he has no one to blame when his kingdom falls but himself.

SO. tl;dr. Modern medical ethics supports Wen Qing performing the golden core transfer, and Wei Wuxian keeping his identity as the donor a secret. Jiang Cheng can be upset at Wei Wuxian for not telling him that he no longer has a core, but it's not unethical, or selfish, and the nature of their relationship, with Jiang Cheng lashing out with impunity and Wei Wuxian trying to manage his moods, meant that secrets like that were pretty much inevitable. Unhealthy relationships are unhealthy. Truly, newsworthy take.

And one final note, on Wei Wuxian keeping secrets from Jiang Cheng and being portrayed as selfish for doing so; I have yet to see a. single. fic. that says Wei Wuxian keeping his sacrifice secret is wrong, but then goes on hold Jiang Cheng equally accountable for keeping his sacrifice secret. Not. One. Jiang Cheng often tells Wei Wuxian afterwards, that he deliberately got the Wens attention, but he's never framed as selfish for keeping that secret. Not. Once.

* see post-Xuanwu argument, when Wei Wuxian drags himself out of his sick bed, having just woken up from a coma, to reassure Jiang Cheng that he's no threat to his birthright. Because Jiang Cheng was jealous that his father acknowledged Wei Wuxian's skill in surviving, under horrendous circumstances. -_-

** childhood flashback; after arriving in a new place, having a massive change in lifestyle and meeting many new people (and, it seems, trying to make a good impression), Wei Wuxian took the blame for his broken leg, despite it being because Jiang Cheng locked him out of his room and threatened to sic dogs on him. Entirely because he knew one of them would get blamed, and he wanted to keep Jiang Cheng happy. People who grow up with aggressive/abusive family/people around often end up learning to juggle mood changes.

[noircheols]

⸺ NO ORDINARY LOVE. 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚

an anthology of love stories almost never told.

PREFACE. love has been far from perfect. you thought you would stumble upon prince charming organically. unfortunately, this is a big fat joke in the 21st century. reluctantly, you open the app store and download something you always believed were better off for finding potential enemies or friends with benefits... a dating app. it’s time to give your phone cupid’s bow and see who it hits!

PAIRINGS. svt x reader (seperate)

WARNINGS. suggestive, cursing, varies from fic to fic

SCHEDULE. every monday (i hope.)

TAGLIST. @jjjjeonww @shirebusking @shinwonderful @tokitosun @unlikelysublimekryptonite @wonkierideul @flwrshwa @syluslittlecrows @macapunoz @paradiseoflosers @seokmn

open! please feel free to dm/reply/ask

STATUS. ONGOING!

AUTHOR'S NOTE. AAAAA i wanted to write something inspired by hinge's no ordinary love campaign. reading it was so lovely and i wanted to write something alongside the same premises. hinge if ur seeing this please dont sue me </3. THIS IDEA IS NOT MINE AT ALL simply something inspired by it. i hope you all enjoy!! peep the ugly header LMAO graphic design is my least fave thing ever as u can see. happy love month to all the losers (affectionate) who enjoy!! i hope you all find love in the people you adore, the music, food, and most importantly, yourself!!!!

NETWORKS. @kstrucknet

♡ ‎ kisses are always promises ── 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐋

a love story for people who deserve peace of mind and torment themselves for being unable to give others the same.

LIKES : popping boba, working out, my dog kkuma, giving gifts and making them feel special, confidence

DISLIKES : lack of effort, ghosts, fries (got doxxed for this)

♡ ‎ let your habits control you ── 𝐘𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who want somebody they can be themselves without any qualms, flaws and all.

LIKES : somebody who keeps me on my toes, napping, taking photos of my pet rock, cashmere pajamas

DISLIKES : somebody who monitors my every behaviour, judgemental

♡ ‎ heaven knows i'm miserable now ── 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐉𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐎

a love story for people who are looking for the best in people (and always end up finding the worst).

LIKES : optimism, deer print, sunsets, big smiles, playing guitar, an open heart

DISLIKES : poor manners, gaming, isn't understanding, just don't be a horrible person lol

♡ ‎ swimming fool ── 𝐖𝐄𝐍 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐔𝐈

a love story for people looking to dive head first beyond the surface of dating to understand themselves and their partner.

LIKES : exploring new possibilities but having somebody to call home, cat cafes, matcha, hmu huzz 👅👅👅

DISLIKES : misunderstands me and my humour (or chooses to), isn't on the same wavelength

♡ ‎ i don't wanna watch tv anymore ── 𝐊𝐖𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆

a love story for people who are scared to pick up their broken hearts and close themselves off from being hurt again.

LIKES : TIGERS, going to the arcade just for the dance machine, somebody to share fun memories with but also can feel safe with

DISLIKES : spicy food, pent up emotions, lack of ambition

♡ ‎ focus ── 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐎

a love story for people who know that seeing is believing, that to be loved is to be seen, and that to believe is to love.

LIKES : hoodies, gaming (league of legends, genshin, valorant), reading, somebody to sit in silence with after a long day

DISLIKES : obnoxious, believes things revolve around them

♡ ‎ chocolate strawberries ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐉𝐈𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐍

a love story for people who put up walls and are waiting for the right person to knock them down.

LIKES : anime (jujutsu kaisen, naruto, kimi ni todoke), personal space, my personal space being invaded

DISLIKES : my personal space being invaded, physical touch

♡ ‎ keep you close ── 𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔

a love story for people who know what they want, and knowing what you want makes you lonely.

LIKES : cooking, trying new cuisines and restaraunts, unboxing collectibles, being appreciated

DISLIKES : heights, avoidance, mess

♡ ‎ weather forecast ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐊𝐌𝐈𝐍

a love story for people who worry about being too much or too little, but never enough.

LIKES : long walks at public parks, cupcake-scented things, visiting the dog shelter, rock music (fun fact i was in a band!!!)

DISLIKES : nothing!!! everybody is awesome and cool in their own way :D

♡ ‎ cloudburst ── 𝐗𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐎

a love story for people who don't appreciate what they have.

LIKES : art history, exhibitions, mala xianguo (or any other spicy food)

DISLIKES : being held back, long-term commitments, being deprived of choice, everything

♡ ‎ ‎stuck by the glue ── 𝐁𝐎𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐊𝐖𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who are chronic people pleasers and give to the point of exhaustion.

LIKES : ballads, family, when somebody is caring and affectionate, tangerine flavoured desserts, iced americano

DISLIKES : making somebody upset, being found annoying, chan

‎ ‎♡ ‎ ‎starshy ── 𝐂𝐇𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐋

a love story for people who deserve to be taken seriously.

LIKES : visiting record stores, charli xcx, cloudy days, making personalized spotify playlists for each other

DISLIKES : dismissive, puts me down

‎ ‎♡ ‎ ‎hot n cold ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who make up their mind and change it the next minute.

LIKES : somebody who loves having me around, doing everything together, somebody dynamic

DISLIKES : seungkwan (DNI!!!!)

@noircheols do not copy or translate

[faunandfloraas]

I am fairly over the continued "let's make seungmin the butt of the joke" thing. Not bc he's a poor little baby or something, he purposely courts that attention /sometimes/ but because it's frequently unfunny and like. Been done way too many times? Like when those moments organically happen, they can be good fun but lately it's just forced and I'm like Oh this again?

[yesimwriting]

I need to see some one on one bestie and Armand interactions! I bet he finds her humanity endearing even if he acts like a dick about it !! We need them bonding over art

a/n love this sm, he's so secretly invested but also so deeply unchill <3

this is the painting i reference in this fic by name, seeing it isn't necessary for you to get the fic but it's one of my favorite paintings so i thought it'd be fun to add it here :)

also i'm not saying reader has perfectly recreated a famous painting lol, it's more about the vibes/aesthetic of the painting

----

Everything passes in threes. The careful tapping of your thumb's nail against the pointer finger of your opposite hand; the way that your eyes shift between the ground, the wall, and him; even the rhythm of your heart feels like a trinity.

You're not exactly nervous, but you are tense, rigid in a way that you never are in Louis's presence.

There's something about being the source of your uneasiness, of being able to witness his presence embedding itself into your mind that's almost grounding. It's as consuming as the sense of rejection your silence is forcing onto him.

Armand shifts slightly, his hand moving away from his lap and onto the couch's cushioning. The gesture is meant to remind you of your similarities. Mortals are more eased by the small, insignificant movements than they realize. They perceive the pointless shifting of others as evidence of life, as proof of an intrinsic likeness.

The movement seems to serve its purpose, because you relax your hands, ending your three-tap pattern before allowing your arms to fall to your side. "Not being able to offer you anything to drink really has me at a loss."

The response, though cloaked in your usual humor, feels much smaller than the way you usually are. He supposes you're not the only one to blame for your uncertainty. Louis suggested that you spend an evening alone with Armand to help the two of you argue less...and apparently, Louis had warned you to be on your best behavior just as much as he had warned Armand.

Instead of pointing out the fact that you've never struggled to socialize with Louis despite being limited in the same way, he decides to reciprocate what you're giving him. "You could offer me an alternative."

Your eyebrows begin to draw together, but something about the barely there parting of your lips implies something other than surprise. If you were someone else, Armand might consider your expression a byproduct of morbid curiosity.

Your gaze flits away from him and towards the hands innocently resting on your lap. You're quick to dismiss your line of thinking, your body straightening slightly as you look at him again. "I think blood donating's more a third date kinda thing."

The framing of the sentiment, though clearly an attempt at humor, digs at him more than it should. He pushes against his instincts before responding. "Third? I didn't realize you were so easy."

You press your lips together to keep from laughing. It's an expression he's seen directed at Louis several times before. "There's a reputation." You relax slightly, your shoulders easing as you exhale. "So, what do you want to do?"

The question is a careful thing, as if you're doing all you can to make sure that what you're asking doesn't remind him of how little alone time you've spent together. He's never seen you have to think about how to connect with Louis.

When he doesn't respond, you continue, "We could go out and get some air, or we could stay here and watch something..."

You lift your hand just enough to tap your fingertips against your knee. Armand's focus moves away from you and onto the rest of your apartment. He's been here before in a variety of contexts, and he can't remember it ever seeming this organized. There are no work-in-progress pieces taking up your dining room table or paint swatches and sketches covering the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Or uh--anything you want to--"

"You've mentioned having a studio space before."

The interruption surprises you, but you're quicker to recover your expressions than you used to be. Perhaps it's the constant awareness of the fact that you're thoughts are nowhere near as private as you once believed. You nod once. "Yeah, it's the room just past the kitchen."

He turns his head enough to look at you again. "Can I see it?"

Your breathing falters, the air in your lungs stalling so briefly it would have likely gone unnoticed if Armand had been any less determined to take in your reaction. You've mentioned your studio space without being prompted before, but always with a certain level of guardedness.

"Okay," and then, as if realizing the smallness of your response, you tack on a much more definitive, "Yeah, sure."

You're quick to commit to your promise, looking away from him before moving to stand. Armand follows, making a point to remain a full pace behind you as you move through your living room and past your kitchen. You lead him down a short hallway.

You don't stall until you're in front of a door. "I uh--" Your mind is wracked with a flighty nervousness. "Just keep in mind, everything in here's a work in progress."

There's a vulnerability pressed into the syllables that's nearly enough to soften you. So often, your existence feels like a force capable of rivaling the sun. Now, though, thinking about what you've created and how he might perceive these extensions of your being, you seem...reachable. Much less like the first few rays of sunlight bleeding over the horizon at daybreak, and more like a girl of your age.

This version of you must be closer to what Louis sees when he looks at you. Perhaps the instinct that encourages his companion to keep him away from you isn't entirely wrong.

"I understand." His voice is devoid of sentimentality.

You don't seem put off by his blankness. If anything, his limited interest makes it a little easier for you to reach for the door's brass handle. You push open the door. Armand enters the space first.

The room is what's expected--a space absolutely brimming with life. A large worktable covered in sketches and small canvases takes up most of the room's center. Shelves and cabinets line the room's back wall. There are several incomplete works throughout the space, a few paintings propped up against walls and more textured pieces resting against any available flat surfaces, but none draw his focus like what's sitting on your easel.

The painting is familiar in a way that practically makes something inside of him ache.

"It's oil instead of acrylic," your explanation is careful, almost shy. "I'm trying something. The drying between layers is almost impossible, but I like the blending."

Trying something. This isn't even your perferred medium and you've stumbled onto something sharp and moving. It's still unfinished, and he can already tell that the woman you've depicted reading by candlelight is reminiscent of a time outside of your own.

"It's familiar," the reaction feels like a confession. He presses his lips together, a part of him relieved by the fact that you're a few paces behind him. "The lighting--it's similar to Georges de La Tour."

"Really?" You're more enthusiastic than you want to be. "Magdalene with Two Flames was one of my reference photos."

Of course it was. Leave it to you to be capable of accurately mimicking your influences.

You walk forward, stopping once you've reached his side. "This is the first time that someone that doesn't particularly care about my feelings is seeing it, so you can be as honest as you want."

Armand has to work at keeping his expression neutral. It's not enough to be the gifted artist that's sensitive about their work, you also have to be gratingly humble.

He keeps his gaze focused on the painting as he speaks, "You'd be more tolerable if you were less talented." Your skin flushes, blood pulling itself up your neck. "I don't mean it as a compliment."

"I know." Armand can feel how much you mean the response. "I think that's why I liked hearing it."

Something uneasy settles in his chest. You smile at him, your eyes bright and teasing like the both of you are now in on some joke together. "Searching for punishment?"

You straighten slightly, head turning away from him and towards your painting. "Searching for honesty." You're focusing on your work, on separating yourself from personal sentiment. "Though, I guess, sometimes that's the same thing."

There's nothing shocking about your prioritization of honesty. Mortals like to think that candor means something to them, that having the reality of a situation presented to them openly makes things easier. Your kind is much more protected by their obliviousness than they realize, but he's willing to humor you. "It's familiar in other ways, as well."

You're slower to understand his implication than you usually are. Armand can't quite bring himself to fault you for it. You're detached from what he and Louis are.

He turns his head slightly, allowing himself to watch you from his peripheral vision. Louis is committed to shielding you, to masking their differences from you as best as he can. You're not used to being reminded of the eternity they're meant to have.

You blink, your eyebrows briefly pinching together. "Right," this is mumbled more to yourself than to him, "...Because you would have been around when things were like this." You sit with the reminder for another moment before finally turning towards him, "Would it be really lame if I asked what it was like?"

There's a carefulness to your curiosity, a hesitation behind your interest. Your restraint is primarily rooted in how little time the two of you have spent like this, but there's something else behind your uncertainty. Louis loves you the way one loves a childhood blanket that's at risk of becoming threadbare. He doesn't want to lose you to his nature, so he does what he can to pretend it doesn't exist. But you're nowhere near as uninterested in vampirism as Louis would like you to be.

Perhaps this is the only thing that Louis isn't willing to give you himself. "Not really lame." The corner of your mouth tugs itself upwards at the opening. "As I'm sure you know, it was a time of great, artistic flourishing..."

He stops, his mind latching onto aspects of his reminiscence with a vengeful sharpness. A gifted young artist desired by vampires for their beauty and talent.

His unexpected silence forces your thoughts away from curiosity and towards something much more akin to worry. "It was also a time of great brutality."

You're quiet for a stretch of time that feels much more significant than it is. "I'm sorry."

He isn't sure if the apology is an attempt at expressing generalized sympathy or if you're feeling guilty for asking the question in the first place, and he can't bring himself to examine your thoughts for clarity. It should bother him either way. Your presence is enough to agitate the part of himself still susceptible to this kind of vulnerability, he doesn't need to add to that--not so openly, not with you right next to him.

Your proximity is a source of discomfort that's much easier to focus on. You are, by far, the gentlest of his afflictions. For once, he permits himself to lean into the warmth of this uneasiness, his hand extending towards you. He keeps his attention focused on the painting as he takes your hand.

Your shock is enough to briefly amplify your thoughts as an anxious warmth begins to crawl up your neck. The initial surprise quickly fades into a dismissible mental static, leaving a marginal concern in its wake. He presses into your thoughts. You're slightly worried over his shift in demeanor, and you feel a little out of your element, but you're not uncomfortable.

When no other sudden movements pass, you drag your thumb along his knuckles. The heat of your skin amplifies the gesture's soothingness.

He allows the silence to linger for another minute before breaking it, "What are you going to do with the painting once it's finished?"

The question seems to throw you more than the position that you're in. "I don't know, it doesn't really fit into the collection I'm working on." You pause, thinking through your answer. "Maybe I'll hold onto it...or send it to my mom. It seems like something she'd like."

Armand nods once. "Would you consider selling it to me?"

Your nervous warmth returns, blood shifting beneath your skin. "If you want it, you can just have it."

This is an argument that he knows you're familiar with. You're always resisting Louis's attempts at offering you anything you deem expensive, even if it's a payment for something you've made.

"You're an artist," he begins slowly, "You should be paid for your work."

You're not impressed by his logic. "Yeah, but we're friends."

"Are we?"

You weren't expecting an argument. "I think so."

There's a genuineness to your response that's almost hard to bare. Perhaps the financial argument could be reserved for another time, or maybe it'd be easier to gift you something instead. It's a strategy that Louis's used before. "Do you want to watch one of those shows you and Louis are always talking about?"

The question makes you grin. "Yeah." You turn away from the painting without letting go of his hand, pulling him towards the door. "I'm ruling out reality TV, because I don't want to lower your opinion on humanity any further."

"How kind."

You look back at him, smiling, "I'm very altruistic."

----

The television provides a comfortable background, the TV show you put on serving as both a source of sound and light. It also helps that this is a method of bonding you're familiar with.

As far as artistic merit, the show you were so excited to show him isn't exactly life changing, but he's experienced worse evenings than this one.

One of the main characters on the screen accidentally comes across an incriminating note that the audience learned about in the first episode. It's an incredibly predictable twist, but you're studying his reaction like there's something life changing about this revelation.

"This isn't realistic."

The comment makes you sigh. "It's not meant to be realistic, it's meant to be entertaining."

Armand instinctually turns his head towards you. The passive aggressive response he was ready to offer you feels a lot less significant now. You're close, closer than he's used to you being. Maybe there is something entertaining about this.

"It's inconceivable for this many things to be happening on the same street." The words leave him much slower than he meant for them to.

You don't notice his lap, your gaze briefly shifting away from him and onto the screen. "I'm sorry, supernatural being, are the events taking place on Wisteria Lane inconceivable to you?"

It's a relatively fair point, but he has no interest in letting you know that. "But it's not about the supernatural, it's about reality."

His phrasing seems to stand out to you. Instead of attempting to counter his response, you tilt your head slightly before relaxing against the couch's cushioning.

"I don't know," you whisper, the words soft in their distance. You ease further, your head shifting towards him until your temple is resting against his shoulder. The warmth of your skin burns through the thin layer of fabric dividing the two of you. He cannot bring himself to move. "You seem real to me."

He wouldn't put it past you to be able to speak him into existence. Armand turns his hand over carefully, his fingers intertwining themselves with yours.

----

chat does hand holding warrant a content warning

[astros-turf]

As an additional reply to @turgidscum (great username for that opinion btw, it is swollen scum, please rethink your opinions!) up there... You do know that phalloplasty works by taking *your own skin* from elsewhere on your body (typically thigh or arm skin if I remember correctly) to create the penis right? Like we don't have a limited number of phallus prototypes sitting on a shelf somewhere just waiting for the next phalloplasty patient. (Tho that would be hilarious ngl)

So actually, if the laws and processes changed and made it easier for cis women to undergo phalloplasty, it would actually make it EASIER for trans men and non-binary people and anyone who wants to undergo that surgery to go ahead and get that surgery.

Additionally, cis women wouldn't be able to just walk in and get it done no problem, insurance covered no problem either. People can't even get hysterectomies covered or approved for their *own* bodies half the time. Also, penises aren't specifically male organs, as plenty of trans women have them and while that may make some women dysphoric, it also is perfectly acceptable for them to be ok with their dicks and want to keep them and consider them part of their female anatomy since they are in fact female. Same with trans men and vaginas. Also, this take of yours is completely ignoring intersex people that are constantly operated on without their consent or even knowledge most times mutilating their genitals to fit a stereotype of what mostly Republicans think genitals should look like. Sickos tbh. We should definitely be supporting bodily autonomy for all, and you should work on your biases! Dick ≠ man, vagina ≠ woman, and people should be allowed to make body modifications that make them happier in their own body. So long as it's not hurting them, I support them 100%. The regret rate on trans surgeries is so fuckin low, that honestly I believe that if cis people started getting those surgeries too the regret rate would still be low and a lot more people would start being cooler about trans people.

Source: I'm a trans man not interested in bottom surgery lol but have asked before about hysterectomy and found out what a pain that process is.

So yeah, just wanted to back up @official-penis-posts here and be like yeah bro stop fighting imaginary battles that literally do not exist and are not problems. This is how fear mongering works. Don't create issues that will wrap around and hurt trans people. Instead, let's push for bodily autonomy no matter WHO you are!

(in case any of your followers know about these kinda stuff)

Can a cis woman get a phalloplasty simply because she wanted a peanits? Are there any records of that happening?

Good question!

Does anyone know?

[tifalikesart]

(WKDG AU) 🌊🌿- Is Anyone There? (short thing)

[Aviva Really hated going into the Forest. It wasn't because she was scared of it or anything. It was just too high of a chance she'd get lost in the trees.. She was already pretty deep in, as the dusk turned the beautiful forest into a place where anything could jump out and get her. Her Lantern was slowly running out of light, and she needed to find her Invention fast. Or what was left of it anyway.. but.. as she was in her own thoughts, a rustle was heard from high above the trees.]

"what was-" [another rustle cut her off. She raised her lantern high, trying to get anything close to a figure. Aviva looked behind, starting to feel really tense..]

[The Inventor was about to step backwards and go back to the kingdom gates, she felt her boot step on something which cracked, she looked down, seeing some sort of wooden arrow with a green paw engraved on it.?]

"okay.. don't panic- uhm.."

[She took a breath.]

"Is anyone there?" [She asked. Her voice echoed.]

[After about a minute of waiting. She just assumed it was just an animal. Aviva picked up the two broken halves of the Arrow and placed it in one of her many pockets. Deciding to try and look tomorrow for her Invention. But it's probably long gone already.. so, she turned back hastily.]

[little did she know.. there was someone there. Two people in fact.]

"It seemed like you missed an arrow Mr Organized.."

[Martin spoke as he whispered to his younger brother. Both of them high up in the Branches looking at Aviva's lantern light slowly as it fades far off..]

"well sorry. Look. She seems.. safe. Enough. Plus i don't think she's gonna think anything serious with a single arrow. I mean that could be anyone's arrow!"

Martin nodded.

"i mean yeah, you might be right.."

The green Kratt leaned back on the bark.

"anyways.. i think it's time to head back home."

"mhm. Lets. Where do you wanna rest tonight?"

"well.."

[The two brothers climbed through the trees into the night.. choosing to hit the hay.]

Hope you all enjoyed! I'm not a good writer but hopefully this was decent enough.. btw got lazy with the kratt bros so i didn't draw any bodies lol

[another note this is placed before Aviva even knew about the bros existence]

[into-fiction]

I love your headcanons!! do you have anymore for these sweet girls 🥹 if not can you just do some for glinda/galinda?

Oh gosh, I've done so many gelphie headcanons I can barely remember them, so I'll take the easy way out and just do Glinda lol.

First set of glinda headcanons found here.

General

she's clumsy, not in a 'trips often' way, but in a 'bumps into the corners of tables enough times to have a permanent bruise on her side' way

also: her hand-eye coordination is shit

she tries hard to be timely and organized but forgets the little things like drinking water and eating meals

she's also easily distracted in a 'elphie holds her hand so she doesn't go darting off in crowded places' way

she's not big on exercising bc she hates sweating

her parents believed in corporeal punishment

she's scared of needles (hence her ears not being pierced)

she color codes everything

she's a bit touch starved

she loves the snow

she's a visual learner - verbal instructions go in one ear and out the other

she's really good at mimicry/impressions

she's a poor sleeper

she's terrible at navigation

if there were other languages in oz, she'd be very gifted at learning them

she's always been insecure which is part of why she relies on validation from others so much

AuDHD Galinda

she was a "late bloomer" in many ways as a toddler. her mom homeschooled her so she wouldn't stand out amongst her peers

she was a very quiet child

she rehearses conversations with herself

she learned pretty quickly how to stim in 'socially acceptable' ways

she's sensitive to texture & clothing, part of why her uniform is custom

she gets lost in conversation easily, esp if there's background noise

she became obsessed with learning all the "rules" for fitting in

she has echolalia (mostly internal, but occasionally out loud)

when she feels herself slipping in class, she'll pinch herself hard to give her brain something to focus on

sometimes the adhd part of her brain that leaves things messy or is impulsive or has time blindness conflicts with the autistic part of her brain that likes things organized and structured and planned and it's exhausting

she has rejection sensitive dysphoria!!

she feels really strongly about the idea of someone else feeling disappointed or let down

she doesn't have a strong sense of self

she has no idea what masking is. truly. no clue she's doing it

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

it's super frustrating to me that the long-covid activists who have burst onto the disability advocacy scene have this pattern of being, like... totally uninterested in disability solidarity and community care beyond their claims about masking being The Most Important Intervention For Disabled People (factually inaccurate, air filtration is, and y'all have already heard my rants about how the "mask up ONLY and before ANYTHING else" shit is actively harming high-risk people lol).

like... the masking thing seems tied to that, tbh! like there's this scene of single-issue activists that only talk to each other, only get resources from each other, and rhetorically claim to be organizing for All Of Disability, so when the pre-existing advocacy & solidarity network provides information on how their tactics are harmful and not actually achieving the goals they're looking to achieve... there's just not a way that information could be taken well and translated into material action.

but it's like, a larger issue, obviously. like a lot of these activists make outright violently ableist claims about childhood development milestones and suggested courses of action for early childhood intervention (under the argument that covid is damaging infants' brains so severely, it is causing developmental delays); if you have solidarity with developmentally disabled people, you won't be advocating for increased pipelines to institutionalization and behavioral therapies. or hell, even the complete lack of engagement with pre-existing networks of solidarity for ME/postviral illness is really concerning; a lot of these activists are constructing from first principles theories that ME communities have been openly discussing for decades at this point! people are completely missing invaluable, necessary information because there's so little intentional solidarity and outreach and efforts to learn from the people who have already been here for decades. a lot of long covid activists don't even know that long covid is just another manifestation of postviral illness.

i dunno i'm just. frustrated!!!

[thisonemadact]

dr. White, yo

I found this doodle I made so I guess it’s the last thing I’ll post today lol I have so many ideas to drawww

headcanons

-way younger than the other scientists/doctors, like in his twenties

-23 or 26 in my opinion

-Leith chose him because he obeyed orders well

-he’s probably tired

-hates harley

-looks up to Harley tho

-like he looked up to Harley because Harley was a genius but despised how Harley treated him

-if Harley had a son white probably reminds him of his son

-survives only on espressos

-just a chill dude

-never scared leith

-terrified of cats

-Harley is a cat person btw

-not squeamish at all, I mean he cut up Harley into bits😭

-probably super meticulous, I mean Harley’s organs were CLEAN

[audacityofbird]

Hey, look I'm using this account lol. I'm chronically inactive on Tumblr and bluesky. Looking to rectify that. And why not rectify it with kindness?

The @st-loveconfessions is doing a kindness week and I felt inspired to do today's challenge. Two fics cross my mind often when I'm bopping along to my playlist on shuffle so I made a mini playlist for each of them. First up, @arimakes fic, fill my lungs with sweetness

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58766857/chapters/149761072

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2HqeHe5nNf9eG5o1DxpxQu?si=h6D-0aPqR4GIe4C1PNQbfA&pi=zzFGVNqTSGuA9

Here's a little playlist for wabisabipapi and their hanahaki apocalypse fic. A lot of them are just vibes but I'm gonna write below the reasonings behind my choices as well as the song title and artist.

I hope this silly little playlist does the the fic justice because it truly is wonderful and beautiful.

We'll become silhouettes - postal service

Mainly vibes. A lot of them are just vibes but it reminded me of Eddie's time in his home / bomb shelter and then their shared time there.

Don't panic- Coldplay

This mainly was vibes but the irony of Eddie being afraid of the world they lived in and it being seen as a beautiful world by either of them felt like the back and forth of Steve cracking Eddie's hard exterior. Steve trying to encourage Eddie go out into the world and those who are left are there to lean on one another.

Come into my arms- november ultra

This reminded me Eddie and his mom and all he internalized about her and how he missed her and how they translated to how he inevitably opened up and closed off to Steve

Surface tension- Genevieve Stokes

This felt like Eddie vibes to me. Denying himself what he doesn't think he can have.

Silhouettes- colony house

Again vibes. This felt vibes of the both of them during their time together and the very end.

Tourniquet - Jeremy messersmith

This felt like a Steve to Eddie song. That he would have been there for him no matter what after the time they spent together no matter what the unreliable narrator in Eddie's head told him. No matter what Eddie's fear told him.

Under my bed- provoker

This felt like Eddie's fear in a song. There's a part when all feels lost and Eddie is consumed by his fear which is just a surrender to the fear he already has on the surface all along.

Gilded lily- cults

Another Eddie song around being consumed by the fear of dying and being consumed by unrequited love and all he sacrificed unknowingly because of his fathers choices and then eventually having glimmers of hope that he may be wrong about Steve coming back for him.

Into my arms- nick cave and the bad seeds

Again vibes. I'm sorry. But this felt very much like vibes for the end of the story to me.

Bloom- paper kites

I had to mainly because it's the song the title comes from but also every time I hear this song I think of this fic.

[comradekarin]

https://youtube.com/shorts/JBeJPnP16R8?si=LEg8g3aVYBpW54Gf

Everyone who says " Beyonce's album wasn't even country! " needs to watch this rn and you have been preaching the gospel since she finally got what the industry of white bigots have denied her since the album released.

Beyonce is country. In fact, if you like country, you have black people to thank for it existing ( I could rant forever about this but basics is a lot of the instruments that make country music country music were either invented by enslaved black people or were most notably used by enslaved black people, which I find it funny in a sad way that white people are still taking our shit and pretending it was all them )

Also for the Bille fans, go harass all the white people who were competing and who beat Bille now or forever be labeled racist bc that's what you are. ( not you op you're doing God's work )

Also we need to start calling people racist more often bc I have never in my life seen so much of it after one night I swear ( that's a lie but I'm sure you can guess the other nights )

CLOCK IT ANON!!! country is a historically black genre that’s been co-opted by white artists. this album is a love letter to BLACK southern culture, music and way of life in the same sense that renaissance was a love letter to the BLACK queer and trans community, to house music and ballroom culture, to her uncle johnny who inspired her as a child. in the same exact sense that lemonade was her personal experience as being a BLACK woman, of her husband’s infidelity, her journey from betrayal to heartbreak to forgiveness, of all the emotional baggage black women are expected to hold (just for people to say she wasn’t being vulnerable at all or shaming her for staying with jay). beyonce should have won album of the year from self titled all the way to cowboy carter, and it’s not even close. time and time again white people disrespect black artistry and people but be the first ones using AAVE to call you a fucking slur lmao.

as for billie, i already said the album was cute, but it did NOT deserve AOTY. the fact that people think they can disrespect beyonce and CC despite admitting to not even listening to it tells me everything I need to know. cc was filled with rich cultural references, black history, discussions of the black experience and her experience with being disrespected and excluded by the cmas. the first SONG literally has giselle saying “they used to say I spoke too country and then the rejection came and said I wasn’t country enough. said I wouldn’t saddle up. if this ain’t country, tell me what is?”!!!! ???? ameriican requiem alone smashed all of her competition out of the water. competition that have been repackaging the same sounds, same concepts and production from before. that’s also why they’re trying to gag the hive by bringing up how many writers cc has as if that very organic collaboration isn’t why her albums are always so fresh and innovative and good.

billie dressing like a flava flav cosplayer while her fans calling me slurs over a fuckass grammy. she can feel sad and shit, but I remember when beyonce teared up at the 2017 grammy’s after adele’s acceptance speech and they called her bitter, jealous and narcissistic. they still do! billie liking tiktoks of her crying (with racist ass comments in those videos) pissed me off too. grow tf up. nine grammies, two oscars before 23- you will be just fine baby girl. and this is all imma say about that girl. I won’t get nasty about her, but this white outrage over their white darlings not getting their way is just as I expected.

and you’re so right. “DEI awards”, “this is what it feels like to lose to a black woman” “beyonce doesn’t have a fraction of billie’s talent” id rather them call me and her a slur. say it with your chest lol.

[ame-in-the-rain]

misc. sketches that i forgot to share except one's from a month ago and the others are from the past 24 hours

[missusruin]

witchsona commission for @/battleteacake

dawn / orange blossoms / dappled light witch

[planariaareneat]

How The Nocturnal Bottleneck and Nipples Make Us Human

Almost every post here considers what humans do have, really. It’s a little tiring; realistically every world has its harsh environments and vicious species and a sophont to match. We probably wouldn’t be unique for our adaptability or our persistence or even adrenaline

But our evolution is fucked up as hell, to put it lightly.

Mammals went through what’s been dubbed the nocturnal bottleneck essentially since the start of the mesozoic right up until the Cretaceous ended the archosaur’s exclusive hold over the daylight. We lost a lot of things from every mammal spending most of its time in either a cramped, suffocating burrow or scrounging around in the faint hours of nighttime. Our blood cells lost their nuclei to hold more oxygen while we spent time deep underground, we lost protections against ultraviolet rays in our skin and eyes, we can’t even repair our own DNA using the light of the sun. Most aliens probably wouldn’t have such traits unless their evolution followed a very similar path to ours. They’d be able to see ultraviolet and wouldn’t have to worry about sunburn and all the wonderful privileges essentially all fish, birds, amphibians, and reptiles enjoy as we speak. 

There’s also what we gained from spending so much time in the dark.

Brown fat is only found in mammals, it’s a special type of fat which bear cells with several oil droplets and are utterly jammed with mitochondria. This lets it make heat, a lot of it, fast. We don’t even need to shiver to induce this heat generation from brown adipose tissue - factor in our downright hyperactive mitochondria, and we can warm up quickly. Sure, it doesn’t have too much use in adult humans, but it keeps our infants warm and still provides a little boost the whole run we have in this universe.

Unless aliens also went through a time where their small ancestors had to face cold nights, they’d have to produce heat the old fashioned way when chilled. Aliens might have to shiver the whole time they’re in a cold room while the human watches in confusion, quite literally unshaken, and wonders if the room is a lot colder than the thermostat set to 60 says. The aliens stare at their companion in confusion, it’s just a normal temperature to shiver at after all, how is the human sitting so still?

Our small ancestors spending all their time out foraging at night is also why we have such a good sense of touch, smell, and hearing. They were more important senses than vision (we’re lucky to have even redeveloped basic color vision, frankly) at the time and place and simply ended up continuing to serve us well. Birds and reptiles rarely have acute senses of smell and the latter especially are lucky to have acute hearing, and birds rarely have impeccable hearing themselves either. Our skin is free of scales and honed to sensitivity, and our external ears and complicated ear bones provide an immense range of hearing (from 20 all the way to 17,000 hertz!).

Aliens might not be able to pin down the chirp of a cricket or the light click of a lock being picked. The human might be the only one on board a ship that can pick out the finer sounds of the engine’s constant thrum and know the critical difference between when everything is fine and when something is wrong. The human could probably pick out the sounds of an approaching enemy’s careless footsteps - they’re only as light enough for *them* to stop hearing them, after all - and be the one to see the horrified expression (well, more on that later) on their face when we get the drop on them in spite of their perceived stealth. 

But perhaps the most versatile, convoluted, amazing, and utterly unique trait we have is right on your face this instant. Lips.

Lips in most animals are a simple seal to hold in the mouth’s moisture and protect the teeth, even if they’re supple they’re NEVER muscular except in mammals, and we have only one thing to thank for it; milk and nipples. Lips evolved exclusively to allow babies to suckle, it required a vacuum to be created in the mouth, and with no other animal having anything like a nipple it never happened in other animals. Many animals make milk, to be frank, but no other animal has nipples.

Your cheeks and lips are a marvel among tetrapods, no other animal can suck like mammals can. Aliens wouldn’t have straws or even be able to sip from the edge of a glass, they’d have to have a proboscis or simply tilt the whole thing back. Aliens likely won’t have woodwind instruments or balloons you can blow into. We take so much about our lips for granted. Hell, our muscular faces are vital for expressions, we’re probably absolute facial contortionists among a cast of creatures with mandibles and beaks and expressionless scaly maws. Aliens might find us ridiculously easy to read, if anything, compared to their own kind (all the better to deceive them) - or perhaps they’d find us hard to decipher anyways, with our lack of color-changing skin or erectable crests of bright feathers. Baring teeth might not be seen as a sign of aggression in most of the universe, smiling would be all too distinctly human. 

Perhaps with how infectious we are sometimes, that’s what we’d contribute to the universe; others might have to make do with opening their mouths just enough to show their teeth or splaying their innumerable mouthparts with just the right curve, but perhaps we’d teach the galaxy to smile, one ally at a time. 

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

[marzipanilla]

I was going to jokingly be like 'three threads one post GO !' lol but then I was like- no, I need to sit down re-read all of this and organize my thoughts better and probably still miss stuff I wanted to say. Time to have multiple tabs open !

Mark and Kate talking about surviving horrific body altering trauma! About struggling to relate to people after enduring horrible shit! yess. Figure out that you can be vulnerable with someone and you don't have to be having sex with them or insisting you love them so much they have to understand- you CAN have platonic meaningful relationships with people! Sometimes it IS very good to have an outside perspective. If TT were essentially Kate's family (and then they just... splinter into nonsense- okay- detour- why the hell weren't TT WAY more up in Robot's bizz about the fact he was a 30 year old man hanging out with teens for years? Aside from just letting the narrative give us general logistics on how they all got together- where are their personal feelings on this? Presumably they did treat him differently bc they believed him to be a robot- how do they feel about that trust being violated? Things they were willing to say to him? Things he might have seen? Why would any of them be okay with someone who lied to them like that still being in charge of their well being? Why am I once again stuck with an awkward romance storyline (Amanda and Rudy) instead of what is naturally there in the TT dynamic? Just?? hello?? Like, 'I violated one of my coworkers bc I realized he made you horny' is wild as it is- but the fact that I am getting that storyline instead of 'my coworker is mad at me because I lied to him for years'? Where are the GoG and TT dealing with liars meetings? Where is Immortal talking to them about what its like to have someone not turn out to be who you thought they were??

TT and GoG 'guess I wasn't the only one being lied to' dynamic we SHOULD have gotten.

On the retiring heroes line- where is more stuff with Samson! He didn't retire, he was SIDELINED bc he lost his powers and then he clawed his way back in. How does he feel about people willingly stepping away? Is he an insane adrenaline junky? Was he going to lose his health insurance if he didn't get back into things? What are his motivations !! If he was a member of GoG why wasn't he at the funeral. Why wasn't he up there talking with Nolan. Why didn't he come by for drinks. Lemme see THAT dynamic. Let's hear what Nolan has to say about his 'coworkers' when one of them trying to mourn is RIGHT THERE. What would his advice be to Mark about loss? Like, people who work jobs like that have a certain degree of disassociation from things/dark humor etc etc, but how would he not have a different outlook than Nolan? Was he pissed at GoG bc he wasn't with them after his powers were gone? How did he feel about the Nolan reveal? Secretly glad that you weren't around with the deaths happened? Insanely guilty that you weren't?

Aside from Atlantis being pissed about their dead king, like... did any other country demand reparation for what Omni-Man did? Was all that destruction apparently limited to the USA? Were aide packages sent? Refused? How many times even outside of contexts like that, were heroes sued for interfering in the matters of other governments workings? What are the extradition laws of superheroes? If they are all secret identity types- how do you identify where to send the court order? Do all heroes belong to a global registry official or not, and that is where their rights are determined? There has to be some sort of court for dealing with heroes no ??

Nolan isolating Mark and Debbie initially viewing it just as him being protective, bc it's a dangerous world out there! Stuff happens! But then Mark starts to push back against his dad, and she wants him to have human friends and suddenly it doesn't seem so protective bc Nolan is ALSO keeping him from that. Debbie finding superhero partners but struggling to find superhero PARENTS and just trying to figure out where the line is. Why are so few heroes parents? Just bias of where she is? Do most retire/take a break to raise their kids before going back? Are most too paranoid about the GDA taking an interest in their offspring to risk it? Are there RULES/laws about heroes having kids? How fucked would that be?

Does Mark ever wonder why he's an only child? Did they only want one kid? Was he an accident? Was Debbie willing to have more but Nolan's behavior with bby!Mark weirded her out too much? Was him being absent just enough of a deterrent to her not wanting to deal with all that again? If the GoG were a network for them, was Mark like a weird little celebrity to THEM bc yeah, heroes tend not to have kids? Aside from just being nepo baby, was he basically only child'd by an entire superhero team? What was that like?

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

class swap design masterpost for convenience (from top to bottom: bard!riz, cleric!gorgug, sorcerer!kristen, barbarian!fig, artificer!adaine, and rogue!fabian)