#[tw it does have a graphic rape scene]

[tocomplainfriend]

Episode 4

TW: Rape, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Physical abuse.

So uh, I really did just guess "there is no way it's that bad, right?"...

OK, SO LET'S TALK. So again if you haven't seen the episode big Trigger Warning for its content! It's real heavy, explicit and on your face. I'm a Sexual abuse victim talking about this, just so you know.

I think the bigger problem I have with the episode, it's the context surrounding it and what happens later on, specially. Many people can have different views on the poison scene itself, for their own. But that scene, even if you as a victim relate, can only really work in a vacuum. Why? Let's see... hum.... The jokes of male SA in Helluva Boss? How it's written as funny to Moxxie to get assaulted? By the Succubus, Blitz, Chaz? Not seeing any problem in Stolitz, and victim blaming Blitz.

Suddenly Viv wants to be like: "Male sexual assault and abuse it's so not talked about, I'm going to write about it". As if she didn't write all those HB jokes. All those jokes are only men getting assaulted too, by other men or woman. The SA and r-pe it's funny when it's done to men, why did this even happen?

Even if the entire episode 4 was good, why did the same person write all this jokes? Is the sexual harassment Angel does to husk, even going to be addressed later or...? The biggest problem, it's the bad execution. Something happens a lot with HB and HH, it's that scenes and concepts work In isolation, that way you imagine in infinite possibilities of the "what if this". But they give you is in it'self not that good. The series does expect you to be a fan, and have to watch the pilot. Because it doesn't really bother to introduce the characters or anything. So the emotional bits don't hit that hard if you didn't already care about the characters since or before the pilot.

Since the first episodes, Valentino has being changing between fucking idiot and horrifying monster. In episode 2 he is treated as a stupid dumbass. I feel like all the episodes until 4 were too much, on the comedy shit- to immediately jump into explicit abuse and SA is a lot. In the end of the episode they also shift back the tone, weirdly.

So we jump into Val and Angel's work, showing how shitty val is. Charlie jumps into interrupting the hole thing. AND VAL ASSAULTS HER TOO??? I didn't expect that. He grabs her kisses and lick up her arm, and gets too close to her in other scenes. Then Charlie accidentally ruins the set, and Val ends up physically abusing Angel. Living him with a black eye, and it's shown Angel did a deal with him. Leaving him fully trapped with him (not a legal contract, but a devil/sinner bound magic thing). Then it's poison music number.

Many people feel like it's too graphic. Other people will say it's okey, because it shows the problem straight on, and it's supposed to make you uncomfortable.

Explicit doesn't = good.

You can talk a lot of what does this level of graphic/explicit add to the conversation.

My main problem with it being so explicit comes from who is directing that hole part of the episode. I talked about it in the post above. The person in question:

(BLURRED CUT PICTURE)

Does this scene above seem familiar to you? This person put together with how the poison part of the episode is played out AND all the disgusting "SA is funny" jokes HB make this a fucking problem.

AND THEN THE FUCKING ENDING IS CRAZY BAD LIKE HELLO???? At the end, Angel is at a bar, and his drink gets spiked. Husk gets him out and fights against the guys that spiked the drink. Then they kindly have an argument... To get through the whole heavy ass episode- to then Husk hit with a song calling Angel a baby IS FUCKING CRAZY. I see what the point was supposed to be, but the execution absolutely kills it. The song tries to compare Husk and Angel, to say shit sucks but hey it's okay we are in this together, BUT HOLY SHIT. Why, comparing Angel Dust being sexually abused under a demonic contract (HE IS STILL UNDER)- to Husk having to work for Alastor. Yes, Husk fucked up his life in hell do to gambling- that's not comparable to Angel being in an abusive relationship where he gets taken advantaged of. Calling Angel dust a baby loser, "everyone got it difficult get over your self"- it's fucking crazy. The fact that the episode ends on everyone happy and laugh it off it awful! WHAT HAPPEN???????? Like Angel is still under Val's contract- his going to have to go back to work, or to any other place where his drink could be spiked. We are still in the same problem. I don't- I don't understand. The song wasn't even a "I'll help you", it felt more like "Hey shit sucks, get over it". How did you write that? I don't think the series has the time or good enough space to treat the subjects- and they are dealing in the worst way.

EDIT:

I cannot believe this woman made a cum joke, about the song that it's about being trapped with your abuser- that comes with really graphic scenes of assault and r-pe. Like the whole song it's about that???? It's not a "Hot sexy" song, it's literally all sexual assault and workplace abuse.

This scene is from a non canon comic from the same artist above, got immediately referenced in the scene after poison. That's crazy. Also, The artist is... uh......... Did you know that in episode 4. It got showed that Angel's real name is Anthony? They changed their name to Tony, make themselves look like Angel? Now does sex work like Angel. They choreographed the pole dancing in Addict?

AND Viv just reduced Angel's Sexual Harassment of Husk as:

Angel trows himself to Husk, grabs him, touches him, makes unwanted sexual comments. You, have never left the weird shipping of queer of mean that revolts around sexual harassment. It's like old ass garbage Wattpad yaoi, not acknowledging those problems. Why is there more attention to that than Charlie and Vaggie, who lacks so much personality and everything. WLW with no condiments and artificial as fuck MLM with microplastics.

[cosmerelists]

Five Reasons I like Sanderson's Prudishness (And One Reason I Don't)

Brandon Sanderson is a self-proclaimed prude (from the WOB where someone asked if there could be a triad with Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin, and Sanderson said that while Shallan & Adolin might go for it, Kaladin was likely too much of a prude, like him). And honestly, I am a pretty big fan of most manifestations of this "prudishness" in the Cosmere novels. And here's why!

[TW: Discussion of off-screen rape in Cosmere novels & rape as a theme in grimdark fantasy generally]

1. I like the lack of sex scenes

I think probably the biggest manifestation of Sanderson Prudishness is that characters just don't have sex on the page. There's a sort of sex scene in Warbeaker and I think Shallan & Adolin cuddle in bed once, but there's definitely nothing graphic. Barely anything tame. And while your mileage may vary, that happens to be my personal preference--I'm a prudish reader, so I'm solidly "meh" on in-novel sex scenes. This, for the record, is not a moral stance but just a personal reading preference. In this, I seem to line up with Sanderson's own preferences, so good for me I guess!

2. I like the fantasy swears

Sanderson also can't let his characters say "fuck." Instead, he uses a variety of made-up fantasy swears which I discussed in another post just the other day. Swearing actually does not bother me, either in real life or on the page--if Kaladin was swearing profusely the whole time using real swears instead of "storming this" and "storming that," I'd be like, "Yeah, that's fair, dude." But I actually like the fun and whimsical nature of made-up fantasy swears, so I'm a fan of this as well.

3. "Prudish" does not preclude gay people

One danger of "prudishness" is that it is sometimes a cover for homophobia--some people will claim that gay people are inherently sexual and that therefore a "clean" text must avoid gay people "for the children" or whatever. Bullshit, etc. So I like that Prudish Sanderson does not do that. Gay people do exist in the Cosmere and they do have (presumably sexual) relationships--they're just entirely marriage-focused and have never even HEARD of casual sex, just like all of the non-gay people. People of all sexualities are equally and strangely prudish, like Sanderson himself, and I think that's beautiful.

4. There is not much rape & it's all off-screen

On a more serious note, I don't like reading rape scenes, and plenty of fantasy novels have them--and a lot of them. Sanderson's novels do contain rape: there are a lot of references to skaa women being raped in Mistborn Era 1, and there's a quick reference to Sadeas, like, gathering up captured women in a Stormlight flashback. But there are no graphic rape scenes and on the whole, Sanderson avoids including any sexual assault, even by allusion. And frankly, I like that. It gives me less anxiety while I read--like, when Shallan joins up with the all-male company of slave traders, I had absolutely no fear that the book was building up to her assault. During Dalinar flashbacks where he was a warlord and killing machine, I was not concerned that rape would be used to make him seem more vile. And that is definitely my preference.

5. I just don't like grimdark fantasy, I guess, but I do like adult fantasy

Again, this is a personal and not a moral stance, but I just don't like grimdark fantasy. And I feel like so much adult fantasy is that--but while I like YA fantasy too, I do still want to read adult fantasy novels. So Sanderson is kind of perfect for what I'm looking for, being an adult-level, perfectly complex and interesting book series that strays away from all the stuff that populates grimdark books. ...Well, aside from that one time when a whole city got burned alive, I guess.

6. But there is one thing I don't like...

And that's the scene when all of the bridgemen are out after the highstorm when it's just raining and they're tossing around a bar of soap to shower together and they don't take off their underwear. When do they clean down there if not then?? Can they really not get naked together??? It's so unhygienic!

Sometimes prudishness can go too far. 😔

[chaifootsteps]

I just don't get how Viv expects anyone to believe that she cares about being careful how she represents SA when she has:

made a sex joke when talking about the visuals that accompany Poison

allegedly not even put trigger warnings on what looks to be an incredibly graphic rape scene in a show with a 16+ rating

decided Blitzo is in the wrong when Stolas coerced him into a sex for services deal to keep his job going when he was being shot at, just because she decided to change tack halfway through and make them a couple

liked a Tweet saying Blitzo could have just 'negotiated his way out' of having sex with Stolas, despite Stolas having all the power and being a Prince (major yikes, don't know why that didn't get more pushback)

has a long history on HB at this point of depicting powerful people as being the sympathetic ones who need protection from the evil, vindictive poors who ought to be happy with their lot in life and not complain when the rich want to use them for their own benefit (which could easily be projection at this point given Viv's habit of using and discarding people with less privilege and social capital than her)

has a long history of misogynistic writing on HB where most female characters are either the Missing Mom Saint or else they're bitches or monsters (in other words, the Madonna-whore complex). The one exception is Millie who is the most underwritten character by far, and Loona who is constantly sexualized by the fandom and is barely even a character by s2

portrays abuse solely through the vector of 'who do I want the audience to feel sorry for because I like them?'

promoted a pin set with Angel and Husk being chained up by Val and Alastor, and acted like it's 'just an angst thing'

allegedly allowed Raph to storyboard the Poison sequence despite knowing they ship Angel and Val and maybe aren't the best choice if she wanted to avoid making this sequence just exploitative and shocking?

either outed Raph has having been a victim of SA, or lied about it since it contradicts Raph's earlier statements. it's hard to believe she got permission to say this when it came out in the middle of an ongoing Twitter slapfight

this sort of thing is exactly why people say her work is like fanfic. it's not only the 'shrew Stella stereotype', it's the insistence on shoehorning in dark themes and then handling them with all the grace and sensitivity of a 13 year old. it's the exact same impulse as the non stop swearing - it's wanting to be seen as adult in the most childish way possible.

if she really cares about SA and how it's represented - don't let someone who clearly has a history of drawing Angel being graphically abused be involved in the making of scenes including Angel and Val! (You managed it for Addict, what the heck happened??) Don't throw a temper tantrum, step back and think about what you're actually saying and what message you're sending to your young audience! Do the bare minimum courtesy of having TWs for the one thing pretty much universally agreed should have a TW!

but I don't think Viv will do any of that, because I think she cares more about being seen as a genius flawless writer than she does her audience or any actual victims of SA who don't agree that the way the show goes about it is good.

the problem is not Angel Dust or his being hypersexual.

the problem is Viv and Raph

Couldn't have said it better.

[irislikeswriting]

Finally, an imagine. I am working through all the requests, slowly but surely, as well as a few other ideas of my own.

This was a request by @alannnina for a halstead!sister who is in an abuse warning.

This is a heavy one and there’s a few big TWs. So tw for graphic scenes of psychical and verbal abuse. Mentions/hints of rape and sexual assault to minors, as well as a description of what rape is. Lots of misogyny towards women and misogynistic language is used.

I do have ideas for a part two if people enjoy this. It’s also not fully edited so any mistake please point them out! And without further ado, enjoy!!

"You're late."

You jumped at the sudden intrusion of the silence, knowing it was just Jay, and so let the door slam shut, not bothering to close it quietly anymore.

"I know," You were uncomfortable, you always were when Jay took the authority role, way more so than with Will, "Sorry."

Jay would use his police voice on you, some sort of an attempt to psych you out, or to scare you. You didn't know which was more important to him but you did know it wouldn't necessarily stop you from doing whatever you'd done again. Not know that you knew why he'd use that voice. And, it was Jay, you brother, who you were never scared of because you knew him. You trusted him.

"Jesus, Y/N, where were you? I was worried," Jay dropped the bad-cop act and instead let his voice show emotion, "I tell you a time and you've gotta be back by then."

"I know," You shrugged, "Time just got away from me, I guess."

"Time just got away from you? You're sixteen. That's not an excuse."

"Sorry." You shrugged again, what else were you meant to do?

It was just something that happened to every teenager, a bit of healthy rebellion or just having fun. God knows that Jay must've done that, even if you weren't privy to that stuff.

Jay searched your face, just standing there slightly illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window. Jay hadn't shut the blinds in the living room, he never did.

It was a few more beats until Jay spoke again, "Go to bed. We can talk about it more in the morning. And I mean go to bed, no sitting on your phone or whatever you think I don't know that you do."

You couldn't help but smirk a bit at that one, because you did know that Jay knew, you were way too confident in his detective abilities to assume anything else. But he never told you off.

“You want me to turn the light on?" Jay asked, his hand reaching up the light switch.

“No!" You said, a bit too quickly and a bit too loudly and Jay furrowed his eyebrows at you, "No. It's fine. I'm used to the dark."

Jay knew something was up, of course he would now, how could he not? He wasn't going to let it go, and it was going to become harder and Jack was going to become meaner and it was all more things that you'd have to deal with when you were already dealing with enough-

Suddenly the light was blinding your eyes, and causing a headache to begin to pulse in your head.

"Jay, no. I said no!" You tried to turn away from Jay before he could see your face, even if it was pointless because he'd see it anyway, he wouldn't let it go now.

"Y/N," Jay's voice suddenly sounded very, very old, "What happened?"

"You're not angry?" Was the first thing you could think to say. You'd spent so long being angry at recently.

“It was Jack." Jay said, not a shake in his voice.

“No," You shook her head, suddenly feeling a very deep need to explain it all before it could get out of hand, "I mean, yes, it was but Jay you don't understand. It's not what it seems like."

“What does it seem like?"

“Abuse." It was the first time you had said that word out loud.

“If it's not then why did you say that?"

You felt hopeless, you felt that returning feeling rising up from your stomach, numbing your body, "It's what it looks like, I guess. But that's not the case, I swear."

“Will needs to look at your face," It wasn't phrased like a question, but Jay was still watching you, and you knew he was waiting for permission.

“Okay but can we- can you not tell him anything. I don't want him to get the wrong idea or anything."

Jay just looked at you.

—————————

"So, I've heard you're having a bit of a tough time recently. You want to talk about it?"

You were sat opposite Dr Charles, it'd been a week since you'd come home to Jay waiting in the dark for her. You hadn't been able to see Jack during that week and so you'd refused to go to school. You'd see him there, is what you said. Really, you just didn't want to go. You hated it and you'd hate it even more with a massive bruise on you face.

Jay had relented almost immediately, and you had your way. You had your phone and you could just leave the apartment during the day. Jack would skip, and then you could explain this all to him and he would understand and it'd all be fine. Some big misunderstanding.

That hadn't happened. Instead, Jay took your phone and when you got it back you couldn't find Jack's contact, nor could you add anyone new to message. Not just on your texts, on anything. And to be honest, you were shocked. You didn't think Jay knew about any of these apps, or at least not enough that he'd know to do all this.

But it was whatever, it was fine. You could still go and meet Jack during the day.

Except Jay had other plans for that. So you went and sat in the break room at the precinct and did work online. You couldn't even leave the room because of all the stuff the team were doing outside. However, true to his word, Jay hadn't told anyone about it. The team were confused, sure, but no one looked at you any differently. Even if they were trying to hide it.

Will, however, had known almost immediately. You had told him he had it wrong, and he didn't argue. Just fixed your face and told you to get some rest. No doubt so he could sit and talk to Jay about you.

"Y/N?" Dr Charles said again, "You with me?"

“Sorry," You said, you didn't want or need to be here but you liked Dr Charles and so you would play along, "Just got a lot on my mind."

“I bet," Dr Charles smiled lightly, "So, Will didn't tell me too much. You want to fill me in?"

“Sure," You sat forward slightly, putting your hands under your thighs, "It's not a big deal or anything, though. Just so you know."

“That's fine," Dr Charles smiled again, "Just take you time."

“Uuuh," You shrugged slightly, "They think my boyfriend, Jack, is abusing me."

“But he's not?"

“No," You shook your head, "It's not abuse. I'd know."

"And, if you don't mind me asking, how would you be able to tell if it was abuse?"

“I'd be scared. Of Jack."

“You aren't scared?"

You shook your head, "I'm not scared of Jack. I'm scared of the way he acts when his brother is around."

“Is that not the same thing?" Dr Charles asked.

“No." You said, because it wasn't and you knew that even if Dr Charles didn't.

“Alright," Dr Charles smiled, "I want to talk about Jack and his brother some more, is that okay?"

“Do I have a choice?" You asked.

“Yes. Of course," Dr Charles said, "If you don't want to we can have a game of chess, how about that? I already talked with your brothers and I'll see you every week but it will all be at your pace, Y/N."

“Okay," You knew Jay or Will would probably be pissed but Dr Charles was the psychiatrist, not them, "Let's have that game of chess."

————————

The team had been gone for a while and you were bored. You'd been left with school work to complete, Geography, and you had finished hours ago.

Normally, you'd wander downstairs, maybe say hi to Trudy. But today something felt wrong, deep in your stomach you could just feel that something bad had happened.

Your fears were confirmed when everyone arrived back and Jay had that look on your face and he was trying not to look at you but he still was. And so he was talking about you.

He came towards the door of the break room and you almost wanted to ignore him, pretend you were annoyed with him so he'd go away and wouldn't tell you whatever bad news he had.

“Y/N, I need to talk to you." Jay shut the door behind him, so it was just the two of them.

“What?" You asked, ready to try and delay things, "Now? I'm, like, busy."

“You need to sit down," Jay pulled another chair out, opposite yours and so you listened to him and sat.

“It's about Jack. Y/N, I need you to listen to me."

You nodded, sick of hearing about Jack but the tone of Jay's voice almost made you feel sick.

“He has a younger sister, right? Sarah."

You nodded, "Yeah. She's 11 I think. I went to her last birthday."

Jay nodded but you knew he wasn't fully listening, "Jack, he hurt Sarah. She's in the hospital."

“Hurt? What do you mean he... hurt her? Like he hit her or?"

“He did something much worse, Y/N. I can't tell you the details but he hurt her."

“It was because of those videos, right?" You couldn't stop the words from spilling out because if you had just told someone then maybe Sarah wouldn't be hurt.

You had known the videos were bad news but you'd just say and watched them and nodded and agreed to what Jack said to appease him.

Maybe he hasn't abused you. But he'd hurt Sarah and he had hurt you. Even if that wasn't him. It wasn't the Jack before his brother showed him videos. It wasn't the Jack that you knew Jack was.

But it had been Jack who had hit and punched and strangled and apparently really hurt his sister.

“Videos?" Jay frowned, leaning in closer to you, "What videos."

“Um. He used to show me these videos that his brother shared to him," You said slowly, not looking at Jay, "They were of these men and they were saying stuff about how your girlfriends should behave. How women should behave. I just, I thought that, that..." You trailed off because you didn't know what you thought. You didn't fucking know.

Jay paused for a second before talking, obviously realising this was progressing to something that may need to be recorded, “Y/N, Kim is going to join us." Jay said and you nodded. That was fine. Kim was fine.

Jay gestured through the window on the door and Kim came in, smiling at you and pulling a chair up. Jay spoke to her in a low voice and she nodded

“Y/N, can you tell me what the men in these videos said?" Kim asked, "You can stop if you feel uncomfortable."

You bit the inside of your lip, "I guess. For Sarah."

“Y/N, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. But it would help."

You nodded, "I know, so I'll tell you."

You didn't know where to begin because the videos were all so long and the men in them all had their own ideas and opinions but you just said what you remembered. Starting slowly and it all came tumbling out afterwards.

“They said your girlfriend should do what you want. If she didn't, you should punish her. Like, hit her or slap her. If she misbehaved too often then you should get her to count the bruises. Tell you what they were for. If you want to kiss, she should kiss. If you want to.. have sex, then she owes it to you. You shouldn't let her speak out of turn, or be rude to you. You shouldn't let her mock you in public and she should just let you show her off."

Jay had written most of it down, but you could see where his handwriting had gone weird, or messy. Presumably because of the things you were saying.

“That's really helpful, Y/N. If it's okay could you tell us about an instance of where Jack hurt you?" Kim asked, smiling at you.

You shrugged, "I guess."

Kim nodded for you to go ahead and so you did, but not before taking a deep breath.

“We went to a party. One of those massive house parties you see in the films. I was 15 so it was like, 6 months ago I guess..."

“I didn't know these actually existed!" Y/N clung on to Jack's hand, looking around the room.

There were people everywhere, they were even holding those little red cups that the teens do in the movies. Fuck yeah. You were one of those teens now.

You and Jack both grabbed your own red cups, filled with some nondescript alcohol that burned your throat when you drank it.

After saying hello to your friends, Jack led you over to a group of boys on the sofa. You recognised a few of them, being Jack's older brother and his friends.

They whistled lowly when they saw you, one going as far to wolf whistle. It made you feel uncomfortable and you went to look at Jack to let him now but he wasn't looking at you. Instead he was beaming over to the group of boys. Looking like he was showing off a trophy.

And so you didn't say anything, letting Jack pull you down on to his lap. You tried to move off, to have your own space but he held on to you tightly and tilted your face over to his.

“Gimme a kiss, baby." He said, tapping his cheek.

You did as he asked but it was weird. He'd never called you baby and he'd never asked you to do that and he had never acted like this with you in front of his brother.

After giving him a kiss he pulled you back down, kissing you. His hands made their way to your dress straps, pulling them down and there was whoops on the background and what the fuck was Jack doing?

You pushed him off of you, "Jack," You hissed, "What are you doing?"

“He, like, shoved me off his lap then and his brother said something to him. But I was trying to pull my dress back down and fix it so I didn't really hear. But then Jack dragged me away and I let him because I wanted to get away from all those boys. They scared me."

“I just didn't want to sit on your lap and make out in front of all those people, Jack. They're older than us, it just freaked me out!" You stepped away from him when he shut the door to the room he had dragged you in.

“So my brother and his friends freak you out?" Jack's eyes were little slits and you would be lying if you said you weren't a little bit scared. But you were mostly annoyed, very annoyed.

“That isn't what I said and you know it." You shook your head, "I'm going to go find Katie or someone, I'll see you later. There's no point us hiding down here fighting."

Jack grabbed onto you wrist and you turned around, your eyes already rolling, "Jack, c'mon."

Suddenly your back was smacking against the wall and you couldn't even cry out because you were so fucking shocked. You didn't know what had happened.

“Jack?" You was staring, wide eyed and his name was the only thing you could get out because what the fuck? And your hands were shaking and your voice was, too. And you felt a bit sick.

Jack pressed his forearm against your throat, cutting off your air supply slightly, "When I want to make out, we make out."

“Jack?" You said again, it was all you could say and you instantly wished you hadn't when Jack pressed his arm harder and okay, now you couldn't actually breathe. At all.

“I could knock you out, right here. I'm in charge, bitch."

You didn't know what to do and your entire body was pulsing with fear because you were so fucking scared. You'd never been so fucking scared before in your life and all you could think was that you were scared.

“Do you understand. Y/N!" Jack barked your name at the end and you opened your mouth to speak but you couldn't because he was pressing against your throat too hard.

Jack laughed then, and let his arm come away from your throat a bit, "Stupid bitch."

“Yes," You gasped out, "Yes, Jack."

Jack smiled then and stepped away, "Good girl, Y/N. I'm sorry I had to do that but you embarrassed me, y'know. My brother and his friends, they'll laugh at me if you don't listen to me. They barely believe I have a girlfriend, it hurts."

You held your throat, trying to ignore the pain in it and the ache in your chest from the lack of air and listened to what Jack was saying to take your mind off it.

“Please don't tell anyone. I was just scared. I act out when I'm scared and I'm sorry....."

"... I won't do it again. I promise. I'm sorry." Y/N recited the words Jack had told her that night, still avoiding looking at Kim or Jay.

“I knew then I wasn't going to tell anyone."

“Why, Y/N?" Jay said from beside you.

You stiffened slightly, "Because he was right, his brother was a dick to him. And it was easier. I loved him. I really did, and I didn't want to lose him."

“How often do you think these events took place?" Kim asked, still not looking at you any differently.

“It wasn't like... regular or anything, it was just here and there."

“Could you tell us a few more of the instances? What he did and what happened before and after?" Kim asked gently.

“Yeah, I guess," You didn't know where to start, what would be most helpful to Sarah's case, "Uh, the night I got back late. We... I just told him I had to go, because it was late. But I'd told him I'd ask Jay if I could stay round, even though I knew he was going to say no. Jack got mad that I couldn't, I guess. I said I had to go and started to leave but Jack followed me downstairs and we argued for a bit. Then his brother, Aidan, was stood in the kitchen right next to us. He was laughing, or smirking, I think. And then Jack got angry. I mean, so angry."

“Why do you love to make me into an idiot, huh? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jack was in your face and you wanted to get away from him but there was no room.

“Jack, I don't- I don't do that. I just, Jay he'll be angry I can't stay." You spoke as quick as you could, needing to get the words out.

“Wow. I wouldn't let my girl speak to me like that, Jack. Mine would be apologising." Aidan called from the back of the room.

You closed your eyes, wanting to get out of this situation.

“He's right. You love to make me look like a fool, why are you denying it?"

“I'm not-"

The slap came so quickly you ended up hitting the wall behind you harshly, biting your lip to stop yourself from crying out.

“You are, you bitch." Jack hissed, spit hitting your face.

“I'm sorry," You forced out, "I'm sorry I don't think you're stupid. I love you, Jack. I'm sorry. You're right, I do."

“I am right," Jack nodded, "You should be grovelling."

Aidan started towards the two of you, talking as he came, "She admitted it. So she needs to be punished, little brother."

“I'm sorry." You said again.

“How many bruises does she have this week?" You heard Aidan say to Jack.

“I don't know," Jack turned to you, "How many bruises do you have, bitch?"

The number was burned into your memory, it always was, "Seven. I have seven. I'm sorry. I swear, I'm so sorry."

Neither boy listened to your apologies, "It's eight now, I guess." Aidan shrugged and then clapped his little brother on the should, "You're the boss." He said before smirking at you and walking away.

You shrunk away from Jack, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

He rubbed a hand over his face, "I don't want to do this, Y/N! But I have to. You have to be better, okay? You understand that?"

You nodded, "I understand." You sniffed, preparing for the hits to come.

Jay looked like he was ready to leave, whether to cry or to kill Jack, you didn't know. But he was on the edge of his seat, his eyes small and his leg moving. He never jogged his leg unless he was seriously upset.

Kim was hiding her true feelings, you had no doubt, "That's really helpful. And I'm sorry that happened."

You shrugged, not replying.

“I need to ask you a quick question, okay Y/N," Kim said, and you nodded, half knowing what Kim was doing to say anyway, "Did he ever force you to have sexual intercourse against your will?"

“No," You shook you head, "We did, uh have sex but it wasn't rape. He didn't, like hit me to make me." Y/N almost blanched at the word rape and the fact that Jay was sat right next to you as you were saying all this.

Kim leant forward, ever so slightly, "Did he ever pressure you into having sex, and I don't mean did he hit you. I mean did he tell you you owed it to him, because you were his girlfriend? Or did he just keep saying he wanted you to make him feel good? Maybe you refused at first but eventually agreed because Jack seemed like he really wanted you to?"

You clenched your jaw, "That's not rape, okay? It wasn't rape it was just a girlfriend helping out her boyfriend. And I don't want to," You turned to Jay, "Can we stop? I'm finished I don't want to do this anymore?"

Kim stood up before Jay replied, "I'll leave you two here. You did great, Y/N. It will really help Sarah."

Kim left and you and Jay sat in silence for a few seconds, and you knew he was going to say something but you had to first.

“I don't want to talk about it right now, Jay, okay? You can send me back to Dr Charles and I'll took to him tomorrow but right now I just- I just want to ask you something and then I want to go home. I don't want to think about this anymore today." The tears were coming to your face and you wiped them away angrily, "Why did Jack do it? To Sarah? To... me?"

“We can't know for sure yet, Y/N but those videos you described? It sounds like they radicalised him." Jay answered, focusing on your question and for that you were grateful.

“He's just a kid. How can a kid do all this?"

Jay took your hand suddenly, squeezing it tight, “What he did wasn't okay, Y/N and we will get to the bottom of it. But you don't need to worry about him anymore."

“But there's going to be a trial, right? For Sarah. Maybe for me. This is going to be hanging over my head for years until it's done. And I just want for Jack to be gone. I don't want this to have happened to me, Jay."

Jay pulled you into a hug and you clung on to him, the sobs coming so suddenly you could barely breathe.

“You don't think these things, do you? That the men said?" You had to ask him, you had to know.

“What those men said is wrong. It's not true. I will never, ever expect anything from you or from Hailey. Or from any other women. I will never look down on you. I will never punish you, or Hailey. I swear to you, Y/N."

You believed him, you'd always believed that. But you had to ask because you had to be sure. You had to know that there were men like your brothers out there, among all the bad.

You'd have to face Jack and a trial. You'd have to tell people what he'd done and what you hadn't done. You didn't have a choice.

But you did have two brothers who loved you and who didn't blame you. Not only did you have them, you had people they worked with who were basically a family. Who would all fight to support you.

Nothing was okay right now, but with the love from the people surrounding you, you believed it could be.

[naranjapetrificada]

Good morning, crew mates.

Last night when I should have been asleep, I read about the rumored behind the scenes bullshit that tried to take our pirates away from us. This morning, I'm thinking about Batgirl and that Scooby-Doo film that both got canceled despite being almost complete. I'm thinking about Coyote vs. Acme. I'm thinking about Turner Classic Movies.

But also, because of my current WIP set in a similar (but OFMDified) world, I'm thinking about another IP owned by Warner Brothers now. One that even before Zaslav the Destroyer arrived, was canceled earlier than it was meant to be. One that was also groundbreaking in its own ways. One that's offering me a type of consolation in these trying times.

I'm thinking about HBO's Rome.

It was absolutely not perfect, especially around certain things to do with in-world consent and sexual assault. I'm not making this post to litigate that, though I will say that it was made in 2005, when we as a society certainly weren't having mature conversations about consent.

[Also that it was set in a society so patriarchal that daughters didn't receive their own given names, just names that said who their fathers were and designations that told you where they fell in the birth order (i.e. the daughters of Lucius Vorenus are named Vorena the Elder and Vorena the Younger).]

But it did pave the way for the sort of gritty, trope-inverting, epic series we saw different networks take a stab at in its wake. Many people say, correctly, that Rome walked so Game of Thrones could run. And yeah, GoT eventually ran right off a cliff, but the fact remains that networks, including HBO again, became willing to make large initial investments in shows with lavishly and lovingly detailed sets and costumes, top-notch casts, and beautiful but expensive effects in part because of the prestige and lasting praise for Rome.

So what does this have to do with OFMD? Besides being canceled after two seasons when there were plans for more, the way it redefined a setting and genre that previously felt stale, and the way people will probably talk about its unanticipated influence for years? I'm thinking about scenes that I'll never forget, and how both shows have those indelible moments, and how emotionally cathartic certain moments from Rome feel in the context of the cancelation of Our Flag Means Death.

I'm thinking about the rivalry between two characters in particular, Atia of the Julii and Servilia of the Junii, and the way the show depicted their conflict during their bitterest, most desperate, and most devastating moments. Obvious spoiler warnings for the second season below, including the death of a character, but also TW for a brief mention of rape, and for canon-typical (but not especially graphic?) attitudes toward and depiction of suicide. Because Rome was ugly, and if the show had one guiding principle it was to remind viewers that Rome was ugly.

But also: a character reading another for absolute and utter filth, and two truly terrifying curses, in case there are any studio executives you're feeling angry towards.

Firstly, there's the moment when Servilia curses Atia, inspired by IRL lead curse tablets found in Roman Egypt iirc.

"Gods of the inferno, I offer to you his limbs, his head, his mouth, his breath, his speech, his hands, his liver, his heart, his stomach..." indeed.

The second, which I won't embed because it is quite dark, features some things that I'd guess lots of folks have increasingly wished on Zaslav, especially "let [him] taste nothing but ashes and iron" for me.

And last but not least, some hope. Even if our efforts for a reversal of the decision or a move to another network don't come to pass, we will still be here. Artists will keep creating and figuring out new ways to share their work with the world.

Zaslav is not the first executive to destroy an industry but the fundamental human impulse of art is eternal. Remembering that makes it feel much more possible to look at this whole fucked up situation and these fucked up capitalist ghouls who aren't unique at all and point to their predecessors and say "go and look for them now."

[merymoonbeam]

I’m sorry, but you elriels are being genuinely ridiculous about the gwynriel art.

People are allowed to artistically depict events that happen in the books, even the traumatic ones. To say that they’re exploiting SA for profit is an insanely absurd take. Do you say that of SJM, who has written multiple SA scenes, and has a net worth of 40 million dollars? What happens when the ACOTAR TV show depicts Gwyn’s SA on the big screen, to millions of people around the world, and rakes in huge profits as a result? Or, what if instead, SJM decided to publish ACOSF as a graphic novel, a comic book, or a webtoon? Real storytelling mediums that exist, and display the exact same traumatic events as a normal book would - but in visual form. If anything, some would argue that describing SA in text is more triggering, as using detailed words to describe an assault creates an uncensored and undiluted imagery in your mind - whereas a visual depiction is usually much more censored and toned down. So what exactly is your issue…?

Like it or not, Azriel did rescue Gwyn that day. It forms a pivotal part of Gwyn’s story. Yes, elriels are correct in saying that the scene isn’t romantically coded - but what’s your point? What does that matter? You claim that gwynriels are ‘romanticising’ this scene, when literally no one is doing that. People can recognise that an event is deeply traumatic and disturbing, but still feel fondness, admiration and respect towards Azriel for saving Gwyn that day. Appreciation for Azriel’s heroic actions doesn’t suddenly mean that people think that scene was sexy or cute or hot.

It’s literally no different to all the art of Rhys rescuing Feyre on her wedding day to Tamlin. And, I also don’t see any elriels complaining about all the suggestive art of Feyre and Rhys UTM; where he drugged her, touched and kissed her without consent, twisted her already broken arm, and forced her to dance provocatively in a near-naked state. I also don’t see complaints about the countless art pieces of Rowan punching Aelin.

You guys don’t actually care about any of this, you just want a reason to shit on gwynriels. Because if you did care about respectful portrayal of SA, you wouldn’t be making theories about Gwyn being evil and ‘luring’ Azriel, you wouldn’t be pushing the narrative that Gwyn can’t be with Azriel because she hasn’t healed from her SA, and you wouldn’t be making jokes about how Azriel ‘didn’t even save Gwyn that day’ and just ‘passed her to Mor,’ as if one of the most awful and traumatic events to happen to Gwyn had to centre around another man anyway?

And even beyond all of this, it’s a fictional book. Bullying and ganging up on real artists, who are real people (and possibly even SA survivors themselves) is genuinely gross.

oh boy...get a life for reals.

let's explain this bit by bit.

TW: SA and other things. keep in mind.

Real storytelling mediums that exist, and display the exact same traumatic events as a normal book would - but in visual form. If anything, some would argue that describing SA in text is more triggering, as using detailed words to describe an assault creates an uncensored and undiluted imagery in your mind - whereas a visual depiction is usually much more censored and toned down. So what exactly is your issue…?

with writing sarah is giving gwyn a background and life story that was explained in the book. people go into these books expecting it to be "adult" books with triggers. ngl sarah's books should have a trigger warning page for her books but mostly traditional published books don't have trigger page for it and that's another issue in book marketing. but with that gwyn fanart or the way gwyn's trauma explained by the g stans it is not "showing" gwyn's trauma. it is made to be about Azriel and Gwynriel. how "passionate" it was (yes this is the word that handprint fanart artist used) and how their story started when she was raped. the scene wasn't about gwynriel or azriel as I keep saying it. if people wanna artistically depict events they can do this without making Gwyn's trauma about gwynriel or gushing over how Azriel and making him naked in the fanarts when in the actual book gwyn was raped, her sister was killed, probably other bodies laying in the background.... it was Gwyn's trauma. think about that.

Like it or not, Azriel did rescue Gwyn that day. It forms a pivotal part of Gwyn’s story. Yes, elriels are correct in saying that the scene isn’t romantically coded - but what’s your point? What does that matter? You claim that gwynriels are ‘romanticising’ this scene, when literally no one is doing that.

let's give examples..

1.Azriel is always naked while holding gwyn which never happened and the girl literally couldn't be in the same room as a male bc of her trauma but yeah let's make azriel naked in all those fanarts and him holding gwyn

2.writing possionate and emotional in the fanarts when it was fucking traumatic for gwyn.

these should be enough. these are literally romanticizing the scene. and what does it matter? g stans are literally romanticizing sa scene that was traumatic for gwyn into something "meet cute" and when SA survivors say how triggerring that fanart is the artist deletes the comments?

People can recognise that an event is deeply traumatic and disturbing, but still feel fondness, admiration and respect towards Azriel for saving Gwyn that day. Appreciation for Azriel’s heroic actions doesn’t suddenly mean that people think that scene was sexy or cute or hot.

you can do this while not romanticizing the scene and writing how passionate it was or make azriel naked in the fanarts with holding gwyn when the girl couldn't be in the same space with a male...maybe respect the girl's trauma but they only "respect" her trauma when they can use it againts elriels as a weapon.

It’s literally no different to all the art of Rhys rescuing Feyre on her wedding day to Tamlin.

are you for real? that's all I'm gonna say for that.

And, I also don’t see any elriels complaining about all the suggestive art of Feyre and Rhys UTM; where he drugged her, touched and kissed her without consent, twisted her already broken arm, and forced her to dance provocatively in a near-naked state. I also don’t see complaints about the countless art pieces of Rowan punching Aelin.

are they making it out to be something passionate and I don't see fanarts of that scene everyday making rhys naked and holding feyre right after she was raped? this is like comparing apples and pears. Those are not the same. that scene really happened in the book. and people are potreying that scene. with gwyn fanart they are altering the scene to get a gwynriel point and make azriel hold gwyn when it didn't happen that way. and I only saw one fanart of rowan and aelin and it is by an artist I do not support anymore bc they are already bad and they are already profiting by Rhys' SA....

You guys don’t actually care about any of this, you just want a reason to shit on gwynriels. Because if you did care about respectful portrayal of SA, you wouldn’t be making theories about Gwyn being evil and ‘luring’ Azriel, you wouldn’t be pushing the narrative that Gwyn can’t be with Azriel because she hasn’t healed from her SA, and you wouldn’t be making jokes about how Azriel ‘didn’t even save Gwyn that day’ and just ‘passed her to Mor,’ as if one of the most awful and traumatic events to happen to Gwyn had to centre around another man anyway?

did you know that there are SA survivors who are also bad? do you know that there are people who are sexually assaulted can assault someone later in life? not that I'm saying gwyn will do these bc we know she won't but my point is you can't go around saying if a person is SA survivor they can't do nothing wrong...they can. it is normal life. people can be triggered by little things and it can cause them to do something bad.

Gwyn can be a gray character like all of Sarah's characters and can do something bad and for the luring part...luring can happen without it being sexually. Rhys was sexually assaulted for years but he can alter people's mind and make them do whatever he wants. Gwyn is a SA survivor and she can still be gray character.

and for not being "healed" from her SA. we never said that. we said that as far as canon goes Gwyn doesn't show that she is ready for a sexual relationship with the way she returned to library where she went in the first place bc of her trauma at the end of the book.

also who is joking about azriel saving her? we are just stating a fact that g stans cannot get it right. he saved her that day but he didn't hold her in his arms or touch her in anyway. he passed her to mor who gwyn was probably more comfortable in the moment with a female and I keep repeating Gwyn was so traumatized that she couldn't be in the same room with a male for two years and it took nesta getting cassian to the library to make her decide to sign up for the training even after that when azriel joined them cassian noted how he should have talked with gwyn first and later in the book they talk to her about another males joining them for training with the blood rite qualifiers.

And even beyond all of this, it’s a fictional book. Bullying and ganging up on real artists, who are real people (and possibly even SA survivors themselves) is genuinely gross.

beyond all of this, it's a fictional book. Making fanart and romanticizing the SA scene for a ship and when SA survivors say they were triggered by it and deleting the comments and blocking people is genuinely gross. that's all.

[theravenmuse]

Guide for content warnings on fics

Robust content warnings are something that I take very seriously as a dark content creator. I’ve had many many compliments on my tagging and content warnings so I thought I’d give a few tips.

First, I’d like to mention content warnings (CWs) vs trigger warnings (TWs).

Functionally, these serve very similar purposes, but they have different connotations. Listing trigger warnings would indicate that everything on that list is a potential trigger, as in something that could cause severe emotional distress and or/or a medical episode. Content warnings have a milder connotation, which also means they can be more indicative of what a work actually contains. These things may be potential trigger warnings, but they may also indicate types of content that just doesn’t appeal to everyone.

An example of a content warning might be knotting from omegaverse. That’s not likely to trigger most people, but it may be content that certain people want to avoid. It may also be content that other people look for.

Another example of a content warning might be CNC (consensual non-consent, typically as in role play). This content absolutely can be triggering for some people, but again, it may be content that other people seek out.

I choose to label my warning list as content warnings rather than trigger warnings both because it’s less work for me to try and determine if content is triggering enough to include and because it helps alleviate some of the “I like things on the trigger warning list” guilt that some people may have in seeing one of their kinks listed.

When I list my content warnings on AO3, I try to include everything in the tags in the most effective way for people to both filter out and filter in that content. A lot of this comes from looking at how others tag their works as well as my own personal practice in tagging.

I also list my content warnings in the beginning authors notes on my fics. Sometimes these are listed only on the first chapter and sometimes I will divide up content warnings and place them on the relevant chapters. When I list these out in the notes, I try to give more information than I give in the tags, to let people better decide if this is content that they are interested in and can safely engage in.

An example. This is the tagging and CWing from Fire in His Veins, my ongoing sex venom fic.

Major Archive Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, non-con

Tags: Dead dove: do not eat, sex venom, sex pollen, forced orgasm, made to watch, torture, sexual torture, explicit sexual content, orgasm denial, kidnapping, Aziraphale rescues Crowley, BAMF Aziraphale, Aziraphale loves Crowley, Crowley loves Aziraphale, Lucifer loves no one and is loved by no one, post almost apocalypse, eventual happy ending, sort of

CWs (from the author’s note): DEAD DOVE; Non-con between both Crowley/Lucifer and Crowley/Aziraphale; non-con sexual acts both before and during the effects of the sex venom; Aziraphale is forced to watch Lucifer rape Crowley; sex venom causes unwanted sexual desires; Lucifer both forces and denies Crowley's orgasms at different times; non-consensual sexual torture which may include things like bondage, whipping/hitting, edging, and psychological elements (I have not written all of these scenes yet so can't give details at this point); Lucifer kidnaps Crowley and takes him down to Hell. This fic DOES end with both Aziraphale and Crowley safe and as happy as they can be after going through this.

You can see how I include everything in the tags in my lengthier CW, in case someone who skims missed something, and also expand on certain things to explain them better. For example, I clarify that the non-con tag is applicable to both Lucicrow and Aziracrow. This is something that you might assume only applied to Lucicrow if you were left with only the tagging, and something that might turn this work from a yes to a no for some people. I also explain the “happy ending, sort of” tags, another thing that many people factor in when deciding if a fic with this type of dark content is one they want to read.

Ultimately, my goal as a dark content creator is to have readily available all of the information needed for someone to determine if my work is safe for them. I am not alone in this. The creators and consumers of dark content are the loudest proponents for thorough content warnings, and that’s because we want people to be safe.

[cyansadness]

Look What You Made Me Do

So this is a part two to @swifteforeverandalways fic 'Better Man'. Read that first to get context for this fic and also because it's amazing. TW for referenced rape by coercion. Also I reference the movie 'Luckiest Girl Alive'. It's on Netflix and a good movie. The subject matter and some of the scenes are really graphic and unsettling so proceed with caution when watching it.

Tag Squad: @swifteforeverandalways

It was a normal Saturday night. The Sirens, Emma, and Louise were all at Louise’s condo watching a movie. Ava and Louise were on one end of the couch while Destiny and Mouse  were on the other end. Samantha and Emma were in the two chairs that were turned around to watch the movie while Kate was on the floor in front of the couch. There were a bunch of blankets and pillows around the living room, accompanied by snacks.

They were watching Luckiest Girl Alive. Mouse chose it because the others wouldn’t stop arguing over what to watch. She said Harper had read the novel and recommended the movie. 

Mouse had mentioned that there were some rape scenes that were pretty graphic. Louise grabbed Ava’s hand when she felt her freeze up for a second. “Sounds interesting. Let’s do this.” Ava said, squeezing Louise’s hand. 

They were about a half hour in when the first scene started. The tension grew thicker as the scene continued. Louise held Ava’s hand and wrapped her arm around her when Ava started to lean against her.

Ava was tense. Her body was as stiff as a board, her eyes never leaving the screen. Flashbacks of certain events from the last year crept up on her. She let Louise’s touch keep her grounded. ‘Just keep breathing,’ That mantra kept repeating itself in her head. 

The movie continued on, Ava’s resolve crumbled little by little. By the last few scenes, her hands were trembling and she kept wiping her eyes to get rid of the tears. 

Finally the movie finished and the credits started rolling. “I’ll be right back.” She muttered softly as she stood up and went upstairs. Louise immediately followed her.

Ava opened the door to Louise’s room, trying to hold back her tears. Louise came in right behind her and quietly shut the door. Ava turned around and just looked at Louise, tears welling up in her eyes. Louise just hugged her, holding her close as Ava sobbed into her shoulder.

“I didn’t say no. Why didn’t I say no?” Ava cried as Louise led them to sit on her bed. “Because he made you feel like you couldn’t. This isn’t your fault babe. None of this is your fault.” Louise explained, holding Ava’s face in her hands. 

“I shouldn’t be crying about this. It’s been a year.” Ava moved away from Louise, angrily wiping away her tears. “Ava, he raped you..” Louise started before she was angrily cut off by Ava who had stood up from the bed. “Stop saying that. Stop treating me like I’m some victim. I’m not.” Ava shouted, gripping on Louise’s vanity chair for support.

“It’s been a year, I should be over this.” Ava mumbled under her breath. “There’s no timeline when recovering from something like this.” Louise said gently. “I just feel so horrible. Should I have told someone? Should I have fought harder? What did I need to do so it wouldn’t feel this awful?” Ava asked, voice growing desperate.

“Ava, he is a horrible person. He got what was coming to him.” Louise said, going to stand closer to Ava. “No, not just that. I want him to hurt like he hurt me. I want to make him feel powerless like he made me feel.” Ava said, gripping the seat in front of her. 

“Does that make me a bad person?” Ava looked at Louise directly and Louise could almost see every little emotion going through her head. “No, I think it makes you human.” Louise answered, walking in front of Ava to hold her hands. 

They would have continued talking until they heard voices from the other side of the door. Ava’s eyes widened as Louise went to open her bedroom door. Emma, Mouse, Destiny, Samantha, and Kate came toppling down over each other. 

“How much of that did you hear?” Louise asked seriously as she looked at Ava’s terrified face. “Not much.” “All of it.” “Mouse.” Voices rang out as the five talked over each other. “Okay, quiet.” Louise raised her voice, promptly shutting everybody up.

“Nick raped you Ava?” Mouse asked, concern washed over her face. “Yeah, he did.” Ava looked down at her shoes, wrapping her arms around her middle. Samantha went over to Ava and hugged her. One by one, the girls had joined, turning it into a giant group hug.

They all separated and had made themselves comfortable in Louise’s room. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Emma asked. “When you’re homeschooled, you don’t learn the difference between consent and coercion. Which really fucks with you when your boyfriend basically manipulates you into sleeping with him.” Ava laughed bitterly, playing with the rug on the floor.

“So how are we getting this asshole back?” Destiny asked. “What?” The group was confused. “That waste of oxygen hurt our teammate, our captain. He isn’t going to get away with it. So what are we doing?” Destiny asked, looking at the group.

“You guys would really get in trouble for me?” Ava asked, looking around the group. The team all nodded their heads. “Mess with one of us, mess with all of us.” Destiny said. “Let’s do this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~Time skip brought to you by my hyper fixation~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are we really about to do this?” Samantha asked, nerves flowing out of her. “Yes, we are.” Kate said. “There it is, that’s his truck.”Ava pointed out. The team, dressed in all black and hoodies with the hoods up, ran to the car.

“Ready?” Louise, who is still the leader of the group even though Ava is captain now, asked. All the girls voiced their agreement. Louise nodded before opening her bag to get the supplies.

She pulled out spray paint, eggs, pocket knives, and a crowbar. “Pick your poisons.” Ava smirked. Ava reached for the spray paint, Louise grabbed the crowbar, Kate, Destiny, and Emma grabbed the knives, and Mouse and Samantha grabbed the eggs.

Kate, Destiny, and Emma used the knives to slash Nick’s tires. The hissing as the tires deflated brought a smile to Ava’s face. Mouse and Samantha start chucking eggs at his car, erupting into giggles with Ava shushing them. Emma used her knife to scratch up the passenger door.

 As soon as they had done their job, they stepped back. With a devious smirk on her lips, she used the crowbar to smash windows. Broken glass fell to the floor and into the car’s interior. She finished the car door windows and the back window before stopping. The smile never left Louise’s face. 

“Your turn babe.” She turned to Ava who was already shaking the paint can. She uncapped it before starting to write something on the hood. When she finished, she stepped back to smile at her work. Rapist, written in red spray paint stood clear as day against the light gray truck. 

She handed the can to Louise who then gave her the crowbar. Ava gripped the crowbar so tight that her knuckles turned white. She hit the dashboard over and over again, letting her anger seep out as she destroyed the glass. 

When there was nothing left, she dropped the crowbar as she breathed heavily. Louise grabbed the bar and stuffed it in the bag with the other supplies. “You did great, Aves.” She whispered, intertwining their hands. Louise started to pull Ava away. 

The Sirens ran back to Louise’s car. As soon as they were all seated, they bursted out into laughter. “I can’t believe we just did that.” Emma said. “Mess with one of us, deal with all of us.” Mouse said. “Thank you guys for doing this, really.” Ava smiled at her friends. Sometimes she wondered if she made the right decision, not going back to the tour. This moment, laughing in her girlfriend’s car with her friends after they put themselves on the line to get payback on a guy who wronged her, shows her that she made the right choice. 

~~~~~~Second time skip brought to you by the lack of Lava fics in this fandom~~~~~~

It was Monday morning and the girls were still talking about the prank. Someone had posted Nick’s reaction on Instagram and it went viral. Ava felt good. She paid him pay but something in her gut was telling her that it wasn’t over. 

They had walked into practice to find Korn and Holly talking quietly in the gym. “Starters, my office now.” Korn ordered, pointing towards the door. The girls cringed as they walked towards the office. As they walked into the office, they saw Nick and Louise in the office, glaring at each other. The tension was so thick, you needed a saw to cut it.

“Girls, please sit down.” Holly said, pointing to the chairs in front of Korn’s desks. Ava sat next to Louise and the rest of the girls made sure to put as much space between Nick and Ava. “Girls, we need to talk to you about an incident that happened Saturday night.” Holly started as soon as Korn entered and shut the door.

“Incident? Coach, they destroyed my car.” Nick yelled out in outrage. “We did not.” Destiny yelled. Soon, everyone started yelling over each other. “Everybody shut up.” Korn shouted, effectively shutting everybody up. 

“Girls, did you do this?” Korn looked at his team. “No, we didn’t” Louise spoke for everyone, her voice was calm and collected. “We were at my house, watching movies all night.” She explained. “Girls, you do have a history of dangerous pranks. This is a big deal. Nick is considering pressing charges.” Holly said to the girls, all of their eyes widening in realization. 

“Girls, if you just tell the truth, we can come to an agreement.” Holly tried to reason. “No agreement, they tell the truth and then I press charges.” Nick said, fury in every inch of his voice. “Do it.” Ava spoke up, surprising everyone. “Then we can explain to the court why rapist is the only word on your car.” Ava glared at him, ignoring how Holly and Korn’s faces contorted into ones of confusion and slight anger.

“You never said no.” Nick snarked. “I sure as hell never said yes.” Ava shot right back. Nick didn’t respond. “You press the vandalism charges, I will press charges for statutory rape. I was 16, remember?” Ava stood up, staring him down with a wicked smile. “Let’s see which holds up in court.” Ava smiled before sitting down. 

The room was quiet, everyone trying to process everything that just happened. “Okay, Nick, get the hell out of my office. I don’t give a damn about your car. Just get out.” Korn shouted. Nick stood up and left, angry and a little scared. As soon as he was gone, Ava let her shoulders sag as she slumped in her chair. 

“Ava, why did you tell us what Nick did?” Holly asked gently. “I didn’t know any better. I didn’t want my mom to find out. It was easier to just not talk about it.” Ava explained. “Do you want to press charges?” Korn asked. Ava shook her head no. “Wait, why not?” Louise asked, also confused. “Because I don’t want my senior year to be tainted by a case I won’t win. I got my closure when I broke his dashboard” Ava smiled at that last part.

“Well, I canceled practice because I thought this would take longer. Go enjoy your last day with Louise before she goes back to LA.” Korn said, basically kicking them out of the office. They said their goodbyes before heading back to the locker to change. As the others were entering, Louise held Ava back. “Hey, I’m proud of you. Not everybody has the guts to threaten their rapist. I’m glad one of those people is my girlfriend.” Louise smiled as she pulled Ava into a kiss.

The kiss was sweet and soft before Ava pulled away. “And it was also very hot.” Louise whispered in Ava’s ear.  “Now go and get changed so we can get gelato.” Louise basically pushed Ava towards the door. Not all stories end with a happily ever after. This one isn’t the exception but it’s pretty damn close.

[theladyofbloodshed]

I just finished The Story of Old and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you 😭😭

SPOILERS DO NOT READ PAST THIS

I was a little unsure but was Elsa raped? 😢

Hello - I do hope you enjoyed the book.

I am going to put all of this under a read more. Please don't read if you don't want spoilers (also a few general ones relating to the second book) - also a tw for rape

Yes, she was.

I debated taking it out for a long time because I am so tired of it happening to characters for shock value. I changed the scene a lot because it was quite graphic in early drafts, but decided it was important to Elsa's journey and sadly, does happen too often in society.

Why did I keep it?

Elsa is naïve in the first book having grown up in Old where crimes do not exist. Mazir also sees her as a possession - who has wronged him - but also knows that doing that to her would be one of the worst things he could do because of the ideals they have in Old about saving themselves for marriage.

In the second book, we will see her adjusting. It picks up immediately after the first ends.

It will change her view of her body/sex/relationships in a positive way. Elsa will understand that her worth does not lie between her legs and that sex can be loving between partners (as well as something done for fun and doesn't have to happen within a marriage).

It alters how trusting she is with the new characters that will be introduced and she learns to rely on herself to keep herself safe. That naivety is gone. Elsa understands this new world. She also stops taking any shit and stands on her own two feet.

Sometimes she grows, sometimes she's stagnant with her recovery and it is reflective of a healing journey. There's a scene near the end where she completely panics when somebody touches her, and even Elsa can't understand why her body goes into shut down.

However, it also alters her relationship with the Gods. Elsa knows that Mazir is not the only man like him. She begins to wonder why she must give up her life for people who don't deserve it and why the Gods don't intervene - so we do get a bit philosophical as Elsa's faith strays from the Gods.

There will be justice for Elsa too. No forgiveness, only justice.

If anybody has debated reading it but they aren't sure how graphic the scene is etc, I am happy to send you that part if you do want to have a look, just message me on chat.

[topazadine]

TW: sexual assault

I am begging male writers to stop putting sexual assault scenes in their book for no fucking reason.

I was just reading a book where the characters are off on some journey and the author literally does a flashback just to put a rape scene in.

Like. Just has to put it in there. HAS to do a fucking flashback so he can put the rape scene in. Absolutely needs us to see the female MC get assaulted by her uncle. Can't possibly write it any fucking other way! Nope, we gotta go back in time just so you can see her get assaulted.

There's no goddamn reason for that. We already know she was assaulted, you already told us that. You do not need to pause the main narrative JUST to show us that.

It's like these authors genuinely believe that unless you show us the assault, we won't get it. Ohhhh you've got to give us the gory details!! No. No you don't.

I'm not saying you can never put a rape scene in a book. Sure, I'm certain there's times when it's necessary for whatever reason. But most of the time it's not. And most male authors do not seem to understand that.

About 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted. I would hazard a guess that a very large portion of that 20% do not want to read graphic rape scenes, and a big portion of the other 80% don't either. You're just closing yourself off of a big selection of people who would otherwise like your book simply because you want to write about a woman being raped.

If you have a rape scene in your book that really does not need to be there, I am putting your book down and walking away.

[thewhumpcaretaker]

Hi, I hugely admire your writing and blogging! I’ve been thinking all day about the issue raised of some assault/abuse survivors feeling dirty or erased due to increasing restrictions on sexual content, or even being attacked for writing content that may help them, but harm others.

IMO what is needed is greater acceptance that both safe spaces where certain content restrictions apply and uncensored/DLDR/“anything goes” spaces can exist, and a clearer separation/designation between the two. Because we do need both! Trying to make every space one way or the other is impossible, and inevitably hurts someone.

I think we also need a norm that if something is posted in a designated uncensored space, it should not be linked to or discussed, even for purposes of hating it, in spaces with content restrictions that it violates. Granted, this would take some fun away from those who are motivated more by feeling morally superior and harassing others than actually protecting anyone, but would help those who sincerely want to avoid that content. Because even just hearing about how awful this thing is and how evil this person is for writing it is still hearing about it, you know?

Thank you so much for being willing to have this conversation.

TW: discussion of SA and ethicality below

First I want to get really clear about what we’re talking about. We’re talking specifically about fictional, graphic scenes of SA in which there’s no prior consent and in which this would be traumatizing for the character either in the moment or long term, and yet it’s treated as erotica for the audience. We’re also talking about any fictional CSA shown on the page.

We’re not talking about personal accounts of real assault stories. We’re not talking about character backstories. We’re not talking about tactfully handled scenes that are meant to show the horror of rape and focus solely on its impact for the survivor. We’re not even talking about dark romance/yandare/dubious consent stuff where both characters are into it and it’s far removed from what actual assault looks like, because that’s basically just a BDSM scene idea with the BDSM framing removed for better immersion (this is a grey area for me, it depends how it’s handled, anyway I’m getting off topic).

Okay, so these are my thoughts:

Those divided spaces exist. They exist all over the place, including plenty of communities within tumblr. Heck, all of tumblr that is correctly tagged, because you can filter out words like SA.

This works great for things that are “icks” for many people, content like scat or bloodplay or even SA within character backstories. Some people don’t want to see that and others do and that’s fine. It does not work for content that is bad to create. I personally do think that some content is bad to create. I know some people don’t, but that’s my opinion. I think, even in the privacy of your own home, there’s something not cool about wanting to make and view scenes of CSA. Obviously I can’t stop you. Obviously you don’t have to care what I think. I was asked my opinion like a week ago about whether someone should create that kind of content and I said no. I wouldn’t have even given my opinion on that otherwise, just out of the blue. It’s not something that I want to talk about. I acknowledge that I may be biased, I’m not some moral arbiter, I don’t know what’s right any better than the next person. But to me personally, that does not sound right, and if someone asks me if they should write/draw that, I’ll say no. The space where they’re doing it doesn’t make it okay - to me, one random person on the internet.

I also want to make a huge distinction between saying that I think it’s a bad thing to do to create a certain kind of content, and saying that the person who is creating it is bad. I don’t believe in shaming. I don’t believe certain people are bad. I don’t believe in throwing away the whole person. It’s not helpful. Please don’t harass anyone over this. But if someone wants to have a conversation about whether they should make this content: again, my answer will be no.

Finally, I just want to say, please stop. It’s a request, you don’t have to. But I don’t want to talk about this and I’m not doing okay. I will continue talking about it if given thoughtful asks like this one, because I care about the people on this blog and want them to feel heard. I don’t feel I have a right to turn you away. But I am very distressed. You can talk about this on your own blog if it’s important to you.

[elliepassmore]

The Blood Years review

4.5 stars/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fiction, WWII, non-German/Britain/US WWII, Jewish characters, younger teen MC Big thanks to Netgalley, Balzar + Bray, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! TW: Holocaust, rape I always enjoy reading historical fiction books set outside the traditional countries we see historical fiction set in (i.e., USA, Britain, France, Germany...maybe Russia, but not many of those). This book is set in Romania and starts slightly before their occupation and ends almost immediately after liberation ('liberation'). It was interesting to get a different view of that era of history, especially since Romania had to deal with both Soviet and German occupation. It was interesting to read about the recent history of Romania leading up to WWII since it isn't really a country I know too much about. The parts about the Soviet and German occupation were also interesting, but at least I know what to expect from that (and I also actually read a nonfiction book about Romania in WWII in 2022 or '21). Both occupations are horrifying in their own ways and have slightly different threats and rules. The juxtaposition between the two worked well to highlight both the similarities and the differences between the Soviets and Germans. Frederieke, Rieke, starts the story around age 12/13 (except for the prologue, where she's 6), when things are tense in Europe but still relatively calm in Romania. At the time, her life largely revolves around school, ballet, her sister, and Opa. Over the course of the story Rieke has multiple points where the world shifts under her feet, both in small ways, like her father leaving, and in big ways, like occupation. Each time her world shifts, Rieke must reorient and make a decision about how she is going to move forward. This next part is slightly spoilery, but I'm not putting a spoiler warning since it relates to one of the TWs: There is a part toward the end where Rieke is raped by an older man, though the scene isn't particularly graphic, and it's mentioned as happening several more times before Rieke is hospitalized for an unrelated illness. It is also heavily implied that Astra was raped during Soviet occupation. Opa, Rieke and Astra's grandfather, has already lived through one world war and isn't looking forward to a second one. He tries to protect the girls and his family as long as he can, but the hate of others isn't so easy to hide, and their hardships only become worse when the Germans take over the country. Despite everything going on, Opa continues to put his family first and continues to strive to uphold the morals he holds close. Astra is a hard character to fully like. At the beginning of the book, she's relatively okay, but the more Rieke remembers her younger childhood and the more we see Astra falling in love, it's clear she's not a very nice person to her sister. Since Rieke is the narrating character, that makes it kind of hard to like Astra even if Rieke loves her older sister dearly. That being said, Astra becomes much better toward the middle/later parts of the book, though she still has her moments (and I'm not super thrilled that she allowed what was going on with Rieke toward the end). I will say though, by the end of the book it's very, very clear that Astra loves Rieke dearly, even if it isn't always expressed. Marcel does fit with Astra, though he's largely flighty only with her. Rieke doesn't like him at first, and so I didn't like him at first either, but he really does come through for the family he becomes a part of. I won't comment on his romantic flightiness, but he definitely isn't a bad person. I think the author did a good job capturing the wider picture of what was going on in Romania while also keeping the focus on Rieke and her family. She also does a good job of shifting between the two, with Rieke being able to note the larger changes occurring around her by noticing the ones that impact her and the daily lives of those around her. The historical part of the book was done very, very well in my opinion. Overall, this was a good book. Obviously I am not a fan of the second TW, and on the one hand I'm glad it was kind of brushed over but on the other hand I do feel like more attention should've been called to what was happening. Unrelated to that, I liked that Astra, Rieke, and their friends were dancers. There really aren't enough books where people are just casually ballet dancers.

[nightcoremoon]

spiderman 3 wasn’t bad because of bully maguire

spiderman 3 was bad because it was a chopped up incoherent mess of conflicting ideas, tones, GENRES.

TW rape mention. yes, really.

sandman and harry would have been good. sandman and venom would have been good. harry and venom would have been good. and all three at once could even have been done satisfactorily. but together it was a horrible disaster. none of them had their time to shine. flint was a magnificent way to tie into the first movie. harry was a magnificent way to end his character arc. topher grace, much as I love him, was horribly miscast for eddie brock. venom, fine, but not eddie. tom hardy played both well. but I think hardy is a much stronger actor than grace. one played charley fucking bronson and the other played eric fucking foreman. y’all gotta know your reaches! but anyway it’s fine I guess. it made for a decent viewing in no way home (which I have my own laundry list of gripes about). but even then, that’s not the biggest problem with the movie. and no, the emo peter wasn’t a problem either (it actually makes perfect sense for his character; it’s what peter himself thinks is cool, not what actually is cool). and NO it wasn’t wasting dr connors not once not thrice but TWICE.

the SECOND biggest problem is with the editing.

ok so individual scenes look passable to… beautiful. the introduction of sandman is obviously the highlight of the film. it was a very important pioneer for graphics design technology, and in my mind it’s probably the single most important thing in the history of making cgi look true to life (for all of its glory… and all of its horror). all of the fight scenes are well choreographed, visually stunning, and advanced the plot somehow. all of the character defining scenes were well done save for one character in particular who I will discuss momentarily. the scenes are good in their own rights. but they’re out of order. peter dancing in the street looking like dahvie vanity was not supposed to happen after supposedly killing uncle ben’s murderer, it was SUPPOSED to happen after getting the job over brock. and everything else was nonsensically crammed together like tetris sardines. it RUINED the pacing. there is a 40 minute period where venom does not appear or speak, and he is supposed to be the main villain of the movie. that’s the second biggest problem.

the biggest problem is Mary Jane.

Kirsten Dunst did as good a job as she could with the material she was given. but what is her character arc in each movie? be the love interest who needs to be saved from everything all the time. that’s it. the green goblin is attacking and MJ is in danger, Peter rescues her and she gets a crush on him. those rape dudes are attacking (told you) and MJ is in danger, Peter rescues her. they kiss. oh no the green goblin is attacking AGAIN, MJ is in danger AGAIN and Peter rescues her AGAIN and she falls in love with him. and so on. all she exists to do in these movies is get kidnapped and make peter’s spider dick hard. it is such a damn shame that those movies happened before the feminists really pushed to have women with agency in films and books and video games and stuff. remind me what aunt may did in these movies again? or gwen, or betty, or… anyone who was female? contrast with the amazing spidermans and the mcu spidermans. AND SPIDERVERSE. totally different beast there.

MJ’s character is unlikable, peter’s character does shitty things that make him temporarily unlikable, and their dynamic together is very… bland. you could cut MJ from 2 and 3 very easily and still potentially have a cohesive movie. raimi has strengths and he has weaknesses and his weakness is ingrained subconscious misogyny. oops. we expected better from the man whose claim to fame was a movie where a tree rapes a woman? 🤔 yeahhhh I don’t like evil dead 1. 2 and 3, good and phenomenal, but 1 is like. :/

so it’s nothing to do with the easy answers and it’s everything to do with the director is a little weird and Sony has never made a good business decision in its life.

[seoafin]

have u read berserk? if so, what are your thoughts on it??

I love how this anime reader insert blog has devolved into anons asking me for my opinions on different anime like my opinion actually means something😭

but not completely LOL I read some of it a while back (when I was like in middle school which is smt I definitely should not have been reading) and I do have friends into it + who have been pushing me to read it so I am familiar with the plot and several of the characters on some level.

I've also heard very conflicting opinions on it. it probably does not help that beserk attracts a very specific demographic of weird incel weebs that are drawn to the gratuitous violence and rape scenes in the manga.....

[grxdge]

I HIGHLY recommend the Ju On novel. It's a good read and adds on to the lore of the films.

[celiabowens]

Adult SFF edition

High/Epic Fantasy

The Lies of Locke Lamora: heist fantasy following a band of misfits! It has morally gray characters, fun banter but heartwrenching moments and a pretty complex plot. It’s a classic to say “if you liked Six of Crows and want to try adult SFF try this” and it’s probably true. 

Kushiel’s Dart: a political fantasy tome loosely inspired by Europe in the Renaissance. Pretty heavy on romance and erotica (with BDSM elements) as it follows a courtesan navigating the political scene. It has an amazing female villain.

A Darker Shade of Magic: probably the easiest way to approach adult fantasy. It has multiple Londons and a pretty unique magic system and concept, plus a crossdressing thief, knives and great banter. 

The Poppy War: grimdark fantasy (TW: abuse, self harm, rape, drug abuse), inspired by Chinese history. It’s adult, but follows younger MCs and the unique blend of different historical periods/inspirations makes it extremely interesting. The characters are extremely fucked up in the best possible way, plus the use of shamanism is awesome.

The Sword of Kaigen: if you liked The Poppy War you could like this one. The Sword of Kaigen is an Asian-inspired militaristic fantasy, with elemental magic, a badass housewife dealing with her past and hiding a sword in her kitchen’s floor. It has interesting and nuanced family dynamics and a great reflection on propaganda and the use of narratives.

The Priory of the Orange Tree: high fantasy, featuring dragons, a F/F romance and pretty complex world building. The author reuses typical fantasy tropes and roles in a fresh way. Very readable in spite of its length.

Empire of Sand: inspired by Mughal India, this one focuses on culture and religion and has great slow burn romance (TW: abuse, slavery). It’s pretty slow paced, but the payoff is great. Also a good "YA crossover”.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: first book in a companion novel trilogy, following a young woman who finds herself at the center of a vicious political struggle, as she’s suddenly become the heir to the throne. 

Black Sun: first book in a new series by Rebecca Roanhorse, inspired by pre-Columbian societies and cultures. It mainly focuses on religious and political conflicts. TW for abuse, mild body horror and suicide (not very graphic). Nice inclusion of lgbt rep across the whole cast + one of the main characters is blind. Great world building!

Historical Fantasy

The Night Circus: perfect transition from YA to Adult for a reader, The Night Circus is a gorgeous historical fantasy romance. The author’s writing is amazing, the descriptions and the subtlety of the main characters’ relationship are to die for.

The City of Brass: political/historical fantasy tome featuring Middle Eastern mythology. It follows younger MCs (honestly another series that could be a good way to approach adult SFF) and has great character growth throughout the series. The first book has some more trope-y elements, but the payoff is worth it. 

The Golem and The Djinni: historical fantasy (if you loved The Night Circus you could like this one), following two mythical creatures as they navigate New York in 1899. Slow burn romance, rich descriptions, fascinating combination of Jewish and Syrian folklore.

Gods of Jade and Shadow: a fantasy bildungsroman set in Mexico during the Jazz age. Another great way to approach adult SFF as it follows a young girl on a life changing adventure. It features Mayan mythology and a god slowly becoming human.

The Ghost Bride: set in Malaya in 1893, it follows the daughter of a ruined man as she receives the proposal to become a ghost bride. Lovely setting, rich in culture and extremely atmospheric.

The Bear and The Nightingale: a coming of age story inspired by Russian folklore. Another great way to start reading adult SFF: it’s very atmospheric and fairy tale-like. Also frost demons are better than men.

Queen of the Conquered: first book in a fantasy duology(?) set in an alternate version of the Caribbean at the time of Scandinavian colonisation. It follows Sigourney, a biracial woman (her mother was a slave, freed by her father) and the only islander who is allowed to own and use kraft and therefore has a position of privilege, which she constantly abuses, while telling herself she’s doing it for the islanders’ benefit. The book is hard to read, because the MC is no hero and her POV can be quite challenging to get through, but if you’re up for it I’d totally recommend this. (TW: slavery, abuse, death).

The Lions of Al-Rassan: this one has minimal fantasy elements, much like other Kay books, as it reads more like an alternate history. Using Moorish Spain as a template, it deals with the conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Much like Under Heaven and most of his historical fantasy it shows common people being swept up in dramatic events. 

Urban Fantasy

The Divine Cities trilogy: starting with City of Stairs, it follows a female diplomat and spymaster(!!). The whole trilogy features an interesting discussion about godhood, religion, fanatism, politics, without ever being boring or preachy. It has complex and rich world building and a pretty compelling mystery.

Foundryside: heist fantasy following a thief as she’s hired to steal a powerful artifact that may change magical technology as she knows it. Also, slow burn F/F romance.

Jade City:  a wuxia inspired, gangster urban fantasy. Great family dynamics, very interesting political and economical subplots. 

One for My Enemy: sort of a modern Romeo and Juliet, but set in New York, starring two magical gangster families. The female characters are to die for.  

Trail of Lightning: inspired by Native mythology and the idea of subsequent worlds. It has a kickass MC and a good mix of original elements and typical UF tropes. You could like this if you liked the Kate Daniels series.

American Gods: a classic of the genre, pretty much brilliant in how it reuses old mythology in a modern setting.

Retellings

Spinning Silver: a very loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, with a gorgeous atmosphere. It mainly follows female characters from different social and economical backgrounds and reuses the original tale to challenge the antisemitic ideas around the role of the moneylander.

The Queens of Innis Lear: fantasy retelling of King Lear, very atmospheric and gorgeously written. Slow paced, but very satisfying build up, lots of backstabbing and miscommunication. (heads up though, one of the MCs is coded as aroace and I found the rep pretty bad on that. The book does feature casual bisexual rep though, which was great)

Lady Hotspur: genderbent retelling of Henry IV, set in the same world as The Queens of Innis Lear. Lesbian and bisexual rep. Heavy on political subplots, features ambitious women growing into their roles.

Deathless: sort of a retelling of Koschei the Deathless set in the first half of the 20th century. Brilliant reuse of Russian folklore to weave together politics and history. It does have pretty brutal descriptions of war, morally gray characters, unhealthy relationships and overall a lot of mindfuckery.

Space Opera

A Memory Called Empire: space opera inspired by the Mexica and middle period Byzantium. It focuses on topics like colonialism and the power of narratives and language. It has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to live in between spaces I’ve ever read. Also very interesting political intrigue and has a slow burn F/F romance (and a poly relationship recalled through flashbacks).

Ninefox Gambit: a Korean-inspired space opera with a magic system based on math. It’s honestly quite convoluted and difficult to follow, but it also features some of the best political intrigue I’ve ever read. Plenty of lying, backstabbing and mind games. It also features lesbian and bisexual rep and an aroace side character (TW: mass shooting, sexual assault).

The Light Brigade: militaristic space opera set in a not-so-defined future in which corporations rule Earth and space in general. The book follows a newly enlisted soldier as they go through gruelling training and experience the side effects of being broken down into atoms to travel at the speed of light. It’s a heavy book, featuring raw descriptions of war, and quite difficult to follow (non-linear timelines...) but it’s also an amazing critique of capitalism and political propaganda (TW: death, mass shooting).

Gideon the Ninth: pretty much lesbian necromancers in space. Very loose world building, but a fun mystery full of banter. Can be quite confusing in the beginning, but a relatively easy and fun way to approach science fiction.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet: character driven space opera featuring a found family journeying through space. A fun read, that also deals with topics such as sexuality and race. Quite easy to go through, as the world building and plot aren’t particularly complex themselves. Also features a F/F romance. 

Science Fiction-Fantasy that I can’t fit anywhere else

Vicious: college roommates put themselves through near-death experiences to obtain super powers, only everything goes wrong. Follows a great band of misfits (and pretty much everyone is morally gray).

Middlegame: a brilliant and complex tapestry of alternate timelines, following telepathically connected twins trying to escape the alchemist that wants to use them to obtain godhood (TW: attempted suicide).

Piranesi: the long awaited return of Susanna Clarke, Piranesi is an odd, mysterious book set in a house with infinite rooms and endless corridors, apparently inhabited by only two people. 

Bonus Novella recs: novellas are amazing and don’t sleep on them!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune: an Asian-inspired fantasy novella, it gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric (non binary rep) as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. It focuses on bonds between women and the power that lies in being unnoticed.  

The Black God’s Drums: an urban fantasy novella, based on Orisha mythology and set in an alternate, sort of steampunk, New Orleans. 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015: alternate steampunk Cairo populated by supernatural entities. It has a compelling mystery, starring a great lead.

This Is How You Lose the Time War: epistolary set during a time-travel war, F/F romance and gorgeous prose. 

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls: a novella set in the Xuya universe (a series of novellas/short stories set in a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration), but can be read as a standalone. It’s a space opera featuring a disappeared citadel and the complex relationship between the empress and her daughter as war threatens her empire.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate: an incredibly heartwarming and yet meaningful novella about research and the meaning of it. It’s the tale of 4 astronauts on a crowdfunded mission to explore space, to observe and report without conquering. It’s written in lovely prose and is very casual in its lgbt rep.

The Deep: very good novella set in an underwater society built by the descendants of African slave women that were tossed overboard. It’s not an easy read at all, as it deals with trauma, both personal and generational ones. 

Bonus short story collections recs

A Cathedral of Myth and Bone: 16 short stories featuring myth, legend and faith, that mainly focus on women reclaiming their agency. 

The Paper Menageries and Other Stories: features plenty of different fantasy and science fiction subgenres. The Paper Menagerie in particular is an extremely moving tale.

Conservation of Shadows: science fiction-fantasy short stories that focus on topics like colonisation and the role of art and language. 

Graphic Novel

Monstress: series set in an alt 1900s matriarchal Asia, following a teenage girl who survived a war and shares a connection with a monster that’s slowly transforming her. (TW: slavery, death).