#(even if i want to talk about them very badly)

[normalwomanontheinternet]

I've known quite a few subs that have serious problems expressing what they want, and expect doms to be able to read their mind. This is actively dangerous for everybody involved.

Subs: Nobody can read your mind. For you to get what you want you're going to have to talk about it. It's not just hot when a sub expresses themselves, it's mandatory. Doms like it when you use your words, even if what you're asking for is a gag that'll stop you using your words or for the dom to take complete control and make all decisions in a scene. The worst outcome of expecting doms to read your mind is that if they do something you don't like, you might end up feeling hurt and violated and that it couldn't possibly be your fault because you didn't ask for any of it. A more common outcome of expecting doms to read your mind is that you'll be stuck at home hornyposting on Tumblr instead of actually having the wild sex you want to be.

If you haven't already, please go and read I'm A Much Better Bottom Than You. Here's Why by Nea Ching. She lays out three skills important for subs: self-awareness of desires, communication, and respect for doms as people. I think a lot about how much of the sub posting I see on Tumblr fails on at least one of these criteria. Hornyposting is, of course, not the same as sex, but if you'd like to be having more kinky sex you should consider it your mission to practice those skills while posting.

Doms: If a sub cannot tell you what you want, they are not a safe person for you to dom. I think the post above shows one potential way that you can help shy subs express themselves by making it horny, but it is not your responsibility to tease the desires out of somebody if you don't want to. Ask yourself: if I am having to put in this much work to help this sub communicate their desires, do I trust that they will speak up if they feel like something's not right? Are they just going along with what I want because they are an agreeable person who thinks I'm hot? If this scene went badly, how would you both feel? Are they likely to blame you?

A lot of queer subs tend to see doms as somewhere between vending machines of sex and safeguarding officers, and it will benefit you to avoid letting yourself be put in that position by subs who don't see your humanity. If a kink scene goes very badly, you are simply more likely to suffer the effects of any social fallout than the sub is, and it's part of your responsibility to not fuck people who you don't trust to tell you what good fucking and bad fucking looks like for them.

I love telling subs that I'll give them whatever they're brave enough to ask for. Watch their face light up with hope, then blush with embarrassment and shyness as they realise they have to speak up. Describe exactly what they want me to do to them, tell me what names they want to be called, lay out their most desperate desires without hiding behind hints and whines.

Come on darling, use your words.

[asterkatt]

ISAT ACT 5 SPOILERS!!

okay I said I was going to give more thoughts on act 5 of ISAT and then uh. I didn't. oopsies. but we're here now!!

I loved Odile's friendquest in this act SO much. one of my favorite things about the way the game handled Siffrin's actions throughout the entirety of act 5 in general is that everyone's reactions to him were so DIFFERENT. but not only were they different, they had reasons for being different. it wasn't just "Siffrin says something messed up, hurts someone's feelings, pushes it down, rinse and repeat". each "breakdown" was specifically tailored to be character specific. to fit in with how they've behaved in the story thus far, as well as how Siffrin feels about them/tends to respond to them in particular. with Mirabelle, it really was entirely accidental. Siffrin didn't even realize how their wording might come across in the moment. It wasn't him lashing out in any way - just him genuinely trying to cut corners. Odile?? Odile's was very different. it's easy to see that there's a lot of tension between Siffrin and Odile - more tension than there is with anyone else. Odile has been a thorn in Sif's side - constantly observing and watching and theorizing about why they're behaving strangely. I did the sus quest. Sif knows that she has the ability to figure it out. Consequently, they have to be way more aware of her than anyone else. (side note that's not entirely relevant to this but I want to bring it up - the fact Siffrin believes that her constant eye on him is because "she doesn't trust you" makes me sick. because that's not it at all. they might pretend it is. hell, she might act like it is. but it's not and she knows that. she knows it's because she's worried because she cares and Siffrin can't understand that.) so I feel like they took the "mistake" of messing up with Odile harder than they took any of the other interactions. because how could they be so stupid. how could they forget. how could he forget that she always figures it out.

so of course he lashes out. not only are they being faced with the same blinding mistake they've made over and over and over again, it's also a reminder that she doesn't trust him. (and why should she?).

and then she goes and makes it all worse by calling him a "friend". because they know that's not how she sees them. he believes that she doesn't trust him. so it must seem like she's directly lying to his face - and she thinks they're too dense to see through it.

I love that Odile doesn't back down. she doesn't shy away when they start yelling at her. she doesn't let it slide just because she made them upset (Isa and Mira both probably would - though Isa would try and get them to talk about it later). she pushes, because that's the only way she's going to get any answers.

the way you can feel her anger when Siffrin hits her where it hurts the most (without even seeing her face) is just AUHGSKJDHFKJSH. the writing of this game. the details. never cease to amaze me. I love the way she snaps back. she doesn't get angry, she doesn't yell - and yet somehow it hurts just as badly.

I also love the way Siffrin reflects on it - the way they acknowledge that "she was only worried about you!!!" because deep down he knows that their friends do actually care about him. the way Odile handles the situation afterwards as well - at the clocktower?????? I love that you can tell she's trying so hard to make the "right" choice to not endanger them when it's not what she wants. she doesn't want to leave Siffrin behind. If they weren't going to take on the King the next day, I guarantee you she'd be using anything in her power to figure out what was going on with him. I don't have the exact quote rn but at the end of the sus questline she mentions that she can't let something go when she finds it odd - and this is BEYOND odd. but she has to put the safety of the whole group and their mission first, and I love seeing that side of her.

[spacegyaru]

cw: very toxic shidou! also, i'm having a baby fever rn after meeting my bf's nieces sooo. also, they're both 23 here!

toxic! shidou ryusei is the type to make you beg no matter what the circumstances are. whether it's in and out of the bed, if he has the chance to be a menace, he totally would be.

you remember staring back at the two lines that your pregnancy test kits left three weeks after officially breaking up with him. you cursed at yourself upon seeing it.

"ugh fuck," you whispered to yourself, after looking at the white stick you just used. you discovered that you were officially pregnant with your ex-boyfriend, ryusei shidou's baby.

well, the circumstances of the breakup weren't exactly ideal. you loved shidou dearly, but he started becoming a little bit toxic. it all started when you asked to break up with him for the sake of your career, but he refused to— you ended up having make up sex until you forgot about breaking up. after that, whenever you guys start having an argument, he brings up the fact that you almost broke up with him, even to the point of accusing you for cheating— but he wasn't agressive. it was more of a taunt to you, given his smug personality.

eventually, you got sick of it and broke up with him. now, you're in your bathroom, thinking whether you should tell him or not. you sigh, setting down the three tests, and taking a photo of them.

if you're going to be honest, you'd love to have kids— babies to be exact. but you're not sure about who their dad would be. also, you're not sure if your menacing ex would be the ideal man for that. besides, you're broke right now... which means, you'll be needing his help.

so with a little bit of hesitation, you texted him after deleting his contact, and not talking for the past two weeks, sending him a photo of those three tests.

this is the first time he left you on read, and it made your blood boil. you were so mad.

after that, you tossed your phone on the bed. why were you hoping for a good response from shidou anyway? that's like waiting for a shooting star.

until the next night...

you couldn't stop your blood from boiling upon reading this. so you devised a plan to confront. the next day, you were angrily storming in to the sports arena, after his football practice. there's not a lot of people during that hour and he's usually the last person to leave. you entered the locker room, where you met him, with his towel hanging low from his hips. he smirked upon seeing you with an angry expression while approaching him.

"yo y/n—" shidou tried to greet you, but your palm came across his cheek. you slapped him with full of anger.

"you have the guts to greet me with a 'yo' when i just told you that i'm pregnant and you literally ignored me?!" you almost caused a scandal in the locker room, but it's a good thing that there's only the two of you in the whole place.

you thought shidou would argue back, but he didn't. he smirked, ignored you, and just got dressed. all while you waited for his answer. this is shidou's usual trick to provoke you. he's going to be quiet and wear a smug expression, until you get so angry... and eventually, you're gonna find yourself calming down.

"r-ryusei— hey, d-don't ignore me! hey!" you tried chasing him as he almost left while carrying his sports duffel bag, but you blocked his way, almost doing a t-pose. and he laughed upon you doing this. you got so embarrassed and flustered by his reaction.

"you're so funny, y/n." shidou said in a smug voice, "if you want my help, you gotta at least be nice to me, you know? you'll need to take me back to your life.~"

oh hell nah, shidou knows a lot. he knows that child was made by you and him. but of course... he won't give you what you want. not until you beg for it. not until you show him how dependent you are to him.

shidou didn't expect you to give in so fast though. but you had swallow your pride. you badly need his help.

"i-i— don't leave me alone, ryusei. this is your child too. i—" you were having a hard time blocking his way and he's surely having fun watching you chase him like this. "f-fine, i'll play nice and do whatever you want!"

again, for the third time, shidou managed to make himself crawl back in your life again. you could never get rid of this man.

[atleastpleasetelephone]

Number 35, kissing bruises and scars with Walter Gulick, and I want it dirty, please!

A/N: Happy Birthday @sissylittlefeather!! 🥳

I hope you don't mind me outing you, but here is your request! 💕 I really hope you enjoy it.

Kiss it better

Pairing: Walter G x ring girl reader

Word count: 2.8K

TWs: Bruises and blood (from Walter fighting), size kink, smut.

You’ve never seen a fighter who’s taken so many hits without getting knocked out. It’s actually unbelievable. But there he is, bruised and bloody and somehow still conscious, and the referee is holding his arm up in the air in a declaration of victory. You walk out again with his score on a big card, holding it above your head and spinning around, grinning. You're not sure you like this job - parading around in your underwear celebrating men being punched in the face - but you need the money so you do it anyway. And try to keep smiling.

Walter grins through the pain. He's sore, and he knows he's in for a cracking headache later. But another win means more badly needed money. He takes a bow and then heads for the dressing room. On his way he looks around at the cheering crowd, holding a hand up and doing his best to carry on grinning. That’s when he spots you, with your lovely figure and little smile. This whole ring girl thing is new and it would be silly to say he doesn't like it. Who wouldn't like pretty girls wandering around in bikinis between rounds? It's a little distracting, but he'll take that. Since things didn't work out with his last girlfriend he's been trying to enjoy the single life, although he’d prefer to settle down sometime soon. He’s just been struggling to find the right girl. 

You watch one of the boxers walking away to his dressing room and find yourself with the strangest urge to follow him. Okay, so maybe it’s not that strange. After all, he is very good-looking. And you like his name - Kid Galahad - it makes him sound noble and chivalrous. You can���t remember his actual name right now, you weren’t really concentrating when they made the initial announcements, but that shouldn’t be a problem, you’re sure he’ll tell you. Your feet seem to move of their own accord, ducking into your dressing room first to pull on a robe. It’s probably not appropriate to talk to him dressed as you are, even though that would be a sure fire way of getting his attention. You can hear the other girls tittering about him and how handsome he is, so you get back out again quickly, trying to avoid them asking what you’re up to. Dashing across the corridor, you find yourself in a room filled with people and him at the centre. They’re taking his gloves off, unwrapping his hands, dabbing at the blood on his face with a wet cloth and someone is even taking off his shoes. You weren’t expecting quite so much hubbub, so you stand awkwardly in the corner hugging yourself, your initial bravery starting to wear off a little. What were you thinking, coming in here, exactly? 

Walter spits out his mouth guard and finally looks around him a little. His robe is thrown loosely over his shoulders, but he’s starting to feel the chill of sweat drying on his skin and so he starts to pull it on properly as he scans the room for something, or someone, interesting. Eventually his eyes land on you, tucked away in the corner of the room, looking awkward. He immediately recognises you from earlier, but you seem shy for someone who was just wandering around in basically her underwear a few minutes ago. Waiting to catch your eye, his fingers drum impatiently on the table. Eventually you look up and he smiles sweetly at you, and is gratified to see you smile back. It lights up your face and he’s suddenly desperate to speak to you. He gives you a little encouraging head tilt, and when you just keep looking, uncomprehending, his smile turns into a lopsided grin and he holds up his hand, extending a long finger and curling it towards him in a come hither motion. 

You blush when you look up and realise he’s been looking at you, but he’s smiling and you can’t help smiling back. After all, you did come in here to get his attention, didn’t you? And now you have it. It takes you a while to realise he’s trying to signal for you to go over, and even when he literally beckons you, you still put your hand on your chest in surprise and mouth “me?” as if the room were full of women and you could’ve mistaken his advances. His enthusiastic nodding finally gets your legs working, and you make your way through the thinning crowd of men over to where he’s standing.

He’s even cuter close up, big bruised lips and long eyelashes, and a brooding sort of expression, when he’s not smiling. Which he seems to do often. 

“Hi there, honey,” he drawls, softly. “I’m Walter.” 

Walter. That was his name. It comes back to you now and you smile, giving him your hand which to your surprise he raises to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the knuckles. The combination of the touch and the way he’s looking at you, coupled with the fact that he seems to be getting more handsome by the minute, has your voice trembling a little when you tell him your name in return. 

Your nervousness doesn’t last long, though. His easy manner has you enjoying talking to him almost immediately, conversation flowing between the two of you without you having to worry. He asks you about being a ring girl and you both giggle about your similar outfits. “Your robe is almost as nice as mine! Maybe you should moonlight as a ring girl in your free time.” And you ask what it’s like being a fighter and how he can cope with being hit so many times. “I ain’t got much brain to begin with, honey.” All the while, everyone else is slowly making their way out of the room, congratulating him with a word, a slap on the back, or both. Suddenly, you turn and realise that the room is empty, save for the two of you. He notices too and smiles. 

“Looks like I got ya to myself.”

He’s been picking up your hand and playing with your fingers periodically throughout the conversation, and now you’re alone he takes hold of it properly, resting his other hand on your hip and looking down into your face. 

“It looks like you do,” you reply, smiling up at him. 

He’s so easy to be with that you’re eager to kiss him, and it seems like he can tell, leaning down and gently pressing his lips to yours. His lips are soft and you want more, but he moves back quickly, wincing a little.

“Sorry, honey.” His tongue pokes out and gives his lower lip an exploratory lick. “Guess he musta split my lip.” 

Reaching up to stroke his cheek, you notice the area around his eye starting to swell. 

“I could kiss it better?” You suggest.

He smiles instantly, nodding as you press a delicate kiss to his lip. Continuing your way over his cheek and up to his temple, you hear him hum softly in appreciation as he bends down to make it easier for you to reach.  

“Mmm. You’re a good little nurse, ain’t ya?”

You wrap your arms around his neck and smile back at him. “I’m glad you think so. Where else are you sore?”

Walter’s smile turns a little wicked, feeling his dick stir at your words. “Think we better close the door if you wanna find that out.”

You both giggle, and you nod enthusiastically. Your shyness is completely gone now, and you’ve become very aware of how scantily clad you both are, feeling your nipples harden through your bikini top and the thin robe. When he comes back from closing the door you run your hands from his shoulders down his chest, letting them come to rest on the tie of his robe. 

“You mind?” You ask, and he shakes his head. 

“I don’t mind at all, honey.”

Untying it, you let it fall open, exposing his chest. You slowly push it off his shoulders, revealing numerous cuts and bruises just waiting for your healing touch. He watches you with interest as you trace the scars on his body with your fingers and then press your lips against the bruises and cuts you can reach. But he’s much taller than you, so you struggle to reach the bruise just above his collarbone, even with your heels on. 

“You’re too tall!”

He laughs and walks backwards a few steps until he reaches the armchair at the side of the room, and then he sits, spreading his legs wide. Now you’re effectively looking down on him, you notice his erection for the first time. It’s visible even through his baggy boxing shorts, and you nibble your lower lip thinking about just how big it seems. Moving closer, you step between his legs and return to your kisses, feather-light over the purple bruise on his shoulder. His hands find their way to your hips and hold them gently, enjoying the feeling of your silken robe against his skin. 

“Mmm honey, that feels good,” he tells you, as you kiss from the base of his neck to his ear. 

“You sore anywhere else?” You ask.

He smiles. “I don’t think so.”

“No… aches, anywhere?” Your hands move to his thighs, slowly making their way up them as you continue kissing his neck. 

His breath hitches as your hands get perilously close to where he really needs them right now. He hadn’t been sure that you’d be up for this with someone you’d just met, but your touch is so gentle and loving he’s really hoping it might extend to somewhere else. 

“Well, maybe one… little ache…” he mumbles.

He’s not expecting you to drop to your knees between his legs, and he gasps when you pull his half-hard length from his shorts. You make a little involuntary noise too, it really is big, bigger than anything you’ve ever seen before, the thing has weight to it and it makes you a little nervous. 

“Honey, ya don’t haveta…” he begins, awkwardly. “I know it’s… girls have said it’s too big…”

You look up to see him blushing, and then you look back down at his dick and wonder exactly how big it will be when it’s fully erect. You also wonder just what it would feel like inside you. Moving closer, you dip your head down and set to work kissing every inch of it. After all, he had said it was aching. He moans, head lolling back on his shoulders, overwhelmed by the physical sensations and the sight of you on your knees, worshipping his dick. You kiss his balls too, and by the time you’re done he’s even more flushed and his eyes are shining brightly as they look at you. He’s positively smoldering, and you can’t resist him. Shimmying your panties off, you get onto his lap and hold his dick against your pussy, rubbing yourself up and down his length. 

“Shit. Honey,” he mumbles in surprise.

His big, gentle hands grab you just a little more determinedly as his mouth falls open and his eyelids half-close. You feel so good against him right now. He could probably cum from just this. 

“I don’t think you’re too big,” you whisper, continuing to move, feeling yourself getting wetter and wetter. 

He whimpers softly and one of his hands moves to the back of your head, tangling in your hair. “Ya don’t?”

You shake your head, turning your head to kiss the inside of his forearm. Then, as if to illustrate, you pause your movements and get up onto your knees on either side of his hips, teasing your entrance with the head of his dick. 

“Oh God.”

It’s been a while since he’s done this. Towards the end of his relationship, his girlfriend had stopped wanting to make love because it was still so uncomfortable for her. And probably because she’d fallen out of love with him too. Anyone he’d seen since tended to look so worried when they saw the size of him that he just went down on them instead. All he’d had for a while now were handjobs, which were no better than his own hand and often worse. But here you were, with barely any foreplay, trying to sit on it.

You stop teasing and start to guide him inside you. The tightness makes him see stars and you keep having to remind yourself to breathe as you take him further. It hurts, but once the head is in it’s suddenly much easier and you slide down the rest of his length, settling yourself down and letting out a long breath. The way he’s stretching you feel so damn good you think you might lose your mind. From the sounds of it, it seems like he feels the same. 

“Shit. Fuck. Honey. Ohmygod.”

You put your hands on either side of his face, kissing his lips gently again. Forgetting his split lip, he returns the kiss enthusiastically, his tongue pushing into your mouth, moaning as you start to rock your hips. 

“Baby, I ain’t gonna last long…” he mumbles against your lips. “Let me…” he trails off as his fingers find your clit and start to rub there. 

The sounds of your moans mix in the air, mumbling each other’s names between hurried kisses. His fingers are working their magic, and you feel yourself getting close now too. Your orgasm comes quickly and intensely, washing over you as you bury your head in the crook of his neck. 

“Ohhh. Walter.”

He lets out a loud groan at the feeling of you squeezing him, and then his hands are under your ass and he’s fucking you on his dick, picking you up and throwing you back down as he chases his own high. The intensity of it seems to prolong your orgasm and you keep moaning until he cums too, snapping his hips up into you with a satisfied groan. 

Sighing, you rest your head on his shoulder as you listen to the sound of his breathing coming back to normal. You lick your lips slowly and taste something metallic. Opening your eyes in confusion, you see blood streaked across his lips, like badly applied lipstick, and realise what must’ve happened. 

“Oh, your poor lip,” you coo. 

He looks down at you and giggles. There’s blood all around your mouth. “Looks like ya really messed up your lipstick, honey.” Licking his thumb, he drags it over your lips to try and remove some of the blood, but he only makes it worse. 

You giggle too. “Think we might both need to get cleaned up before we leave…”

You ease yourself off him, standing up to pull your panties back up and properly do up your robe. He gets up too, looking around for something to clean you both up and make you respectable again. He eventually finds a cloth and some water and you help each other get rid of the blood. His gentle touch is enough to make you melt, in stark contrast to the feeling between your legs. You know you’re going to struggle to walk tomorrow. It’s a good job you have a day off. 

“I um… I should go and get changed,” you tell him. You’re not sure if he wants anything more than what you’d just shared, and you don’t want to push him. 

“Oh… uh… sure, me too…” he replies. 

You smile and give him a quick peck on the cheek. “This was fun.”

“Sure was,” he mumbles, watching as you start to walk towards the door and out of his life again. The way his stomach flips at the thought of not seeing you again makes him realise that he has to say something.

“Hey, uh… w-what are ya doin’ now? Tonight?”

You stop and turn back towards him. “Not much. Why?”

“Ya wanna… um… g-go for dinner?” He doesn’t know why he’s stumbling over the words, so nervous asking you to go for dinner when he’s just had his dick inside you. 

“I’d love to!” You reply, a grin breaking out on your face. So he is interested, then. “Just let me get ready and I’ll meet you back here?”

“Sure.”

You pause, wondering whether to say anything, and then you decide you may as well. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me again.”

His eyes almost pop out of his head. “Are ya kiddin’ me? Couldn’t let ya get away. Not a girl game enough ta…” he blushes. “Well, ya know.”

You giggle. “I like a challenge.” Your eyes flick around the room, again wondering if you should carry on, but you don’t seem to be able to stop your mouth running away with you. 

“Maybe next time I’ll see how much I can get in my mouth…”

aglist:

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[livingdoll13]

catradora and the perfect victim complex

(i literally fucking think about this all the time so this just gonna be a rant lol)

i really, truly think that people in general don’t put the effort into understanding characters who are imperfect victims. for them, it destroys the appeal of victimhood. victimhood (especially when the victims in question are girls, women, femme presenting people, etc.) needs to be beautiful and tragic. think characters like ophelia, snow white, odette, juliet, the lisbon sisters. otherwise, their victimhood is no longer attractive.

catra is an imperfect victim. shadow weaver’s abuse did not make her soft, weak, timid, or fragile. it made her bitter, angry, and resentful.

i once saw a catra anti saying some bullshit about how they might’ve liked catra more if the writers had spent more screen time showing shadow weaver abusing her, specifically her when she was a kid.

this person wanted to see catra’s pain as beautiful. they wanted to see her ONLY as a child to be pitied, the little kid who cowered in fear instead of fighting back, and not have to acknowledge catra’s more complicated character traits.

i also think this is why these same people often talk like they love adora, like “adora deserves better than catra” and all that shit. adora (to them) is easier to see as a perfect victim. shadow weaver’s abuse made her obedient and self-sacrificing. it made her put others before herself, even to the point of fucking death. adora is selfless and brave. she’s so determined to be a perfect hero, to protect people, to care for people, to love people. these traits are easier to romanticize. it makes her seem beautiful.

if you ask me, this is a really fucked up way of viewing adora. i don’t love adora bc she’s a “perfect victim”, i love adora bc she, like catra, is also flawed. adora’s determination to be perfect leads her to abandoning catra. her inability to empathize with catra leads her to behaving the way she did in taking control. adora isn’t fucking perfect.

(for context i do also think that catra was in the wrong in that episode too, but i feel like we don’t talk enough about how badly adora was handling the situation. like seriously girl catra is here basically telling her “i don’t trust you bc i don’t believe that you could ever love me bc i’m inherently fucked up and unlovable” and adora’s immediate reaction is to blow up at her. it makes sense given what adora has just done for her, but it’s another example of adora being incapable of empathizing with catra. also calling her a stubborn brat? yeah uh that wasn’t funny adora, especially not with the ways that shadow weaver talked about catra.)

but i love that adora is flawed, and i love that catra is flawed. they’re not archetypes. no real person experiences abuse like they did and comes out perfect. catra’s intense fear of abandonment and resentment issues are a very fucking real response to the way she was traumatized. regardless of how ugly it is.

at the end of the day, i think that people can’t wrap their brains around this concept and refuse to empathize with imperfect victims bc they don’t want to admit that they, too, are imperfect victims. the perfect victim isn’t real. it’s a fucking myth.

in real life, people are messy and complicated, like catra and adora. it’s why i love them :)

ugh i could literally go on about this FOREVER i swear.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think the Hogwarts houses are stereotyped quite a bit in fanfiction?

I know the obvious answer would be: yes, duh. I mean Exhibit A would definitely count the Hufflepuffs – and with good reason, as they are flanderized the most often and often reduced to meaningless fluff with bits of stuffing like a Christmas Turkey – and then you’d get the Ravenclaws, and it’s safe to say that almost all houses face this problem.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about it – apologies, if you already have – but I would like to talk about Gryffindor and Slytherin, particular with how they’re characterized with respect to each other.

Now, I know the books have treated Slytherins horribly. They’ve all been painted with the same brush and it is outright stated that not a single person in Slytherin is decent. (The book does try to showcase that people of other houses can and are terrible people – see Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart – but does nothing to counter the statement that all Slytherins are bad.)

So, it was wonderful to see people write Slytherins as people. People who are human and made mistakes while also pointing to Gryffindors shortcomings — however, I do think that in the spirit of the occasion, they’ve become the very thing they sought to destroy.

I feel as though ‘mean, bullies, blood-purist, dark-magic hating, stupid, quidditch obsessed, calling everyone a death-eater’ Gryffindors have become the norm nowadays. In contrast to this, all Slytherins are just absolute angels who are snarky and witty and dripping in intelligence and elegance and grace and wrinkle their noses daintily and delicately at such uncouth behavior, ‘tis the lord and the ladies of houses we’re talking about!

I feel like that came off a bit bitter, sorry, I really have no problem with someone characterizing them this way. It’s fanfiction, it’s supposed to be fun. But what does get on my nerves is when people start believing that it is that way. That everyone does hate Gryffindors. That there’s not a single good quality about it. That everyone in Gryffindor is under Dumbledore’s control and spits out pure, light-magic loving propaganda.

(There is proof, of course, that the Gryffindors are biased and quite ruthless in their rivalry with Slytherin – which seems to be mutual – as with the comment of “why don’t they throw all the Slytherins out?” in Chamber of Secrets and the sheer, electricity crackling tension with Gryffindor vs. Slytherin matches. But I think it’s quite shallow to strip them of their complexity.)

And I think somewhere along the way, people have come to see Gryffindor not with bold, courageous or brave hearted. But instead, people who are foolish, reckless and brimming with stupidity. The same way people view Slytherin as politically charged, fancy tea parties and gothic style dark academia vibes – which I can admit makes fabulous Pinterest Boards, I mean, have you seen them? – instead of people who are cunning, ambitious and resourceful.

Then, of course, you have the sheer disrespectful way they treat Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but this has already gotten too long—I’m so sorry—so, I’ll cut that tangent before it can spiral. Sorry for this long spiel! 😭😅

No worries about the long spiel, I get it. I talked before about how houses seem to be treated in-universe here, which is honestly not too different than how the fandom treats them (stereotypes galore, although the stereotypes are a little different).

I mean, McGonagall literally throws all the Slytherins out of the castle in DH, assuming none of them would want to stay and fight against their families (even though that's precisely what Sirius did). The fact that everyone believed Sirius was a traitor so easily because "his family was dark and Slytherin, it was in his blood".

How stressed Ron was about not being worthy of Gryffindor and wanting to be there so badly so his parents would be proud. Neville fearing he isn't worthy of Gryffindor's reputation. Draco saying he'd just leave if he was sorted into Hufflepuff, James saying the same about Slytherin, etc.

But the books show us that the house traits aren't everything when it comes to sorting. I talked before about a bunch of the NPC Hufflepuffs and how a lot of them aren't really the epitome of what Hufflepuff stands for. Draco isn't all that cunning in my opinion either. So, sorting is more complex than just what traits you have

The fandom is stereotyping the houses for sure (if way way less than back in the day, I think the fandom is chiller about it now) but so do all the characters in the books. These ideas about the houses didn't come out of nowhere.

Though I have to disagree on the no good Slytherins bit, I mean, the books didn't handle Slytherin well, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be. Snape, Slughorn, and even Draco (to a degree) are actually pretty good examples of Slytherins portrayed as people. Regulus is a non-entity character, but he's also in the books to push the idea that Hagrid, who said: "There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one," he was wrong. Regulus is literally a star in the Leo (lion) constellation, the symbolism is ridiculously on the nose.

Lockhart, Quirrell, and Peter are all there as examples that Hagrid was and is wrong.

Sirius says: "Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters" and he's the one the narrative treats as in the right in this regard.

Becouse not every mean person is a Death Eater and not everyone who isn't a Death Eater is good. Sirius grew up around Slytherins, and if we look at his first talk with James, while he doesn't like his family, he doesn't see Slytherin as the source of all evil the way Hagrid and James do.

Even the Snatcher in DH says that being in Slytherin and knowing where the Common Room is isn't enough for him to think Harry is with the DE — because he knows not all Slytherins are the same (Unlike McGonagall, just saying).

So, while it could've been done better, I don't think the books are that bad when it comes down to it. The wizarding world is too obsessed with houses, don't get me wrong. The characters in-universe treat houses like they're way too important (including Harry for most of the series), but the narrative itself goes out of its way to show the characters who tell all Slytherins are inherently evil are wrong.

(There were some easy things that could've been done to improve this point. Mention Quirrell and Lockhart were Ravenclaws in the books and not just on Pottermore, or have one Hufflepuff Death Eater. I always headcanoned Barty Jr as a Ravenclaw, so making that canon, would also serve this idea. Similarly, explicitly stating either Kingsley or Moody were in Slytherin to show some Slytherins on the good guys' side that aren't complicated like Snape and Slughorn)

I think JKR meant to make it more obvious than how it turned out and it might have been in a prior draft, but I still think the elements are there. (The epilogue was also meant to drive this point home with the "slytherin isn't all bad" talk. It was just clunky and came off really awkward and forced, in my opinion)

As for the fandom misconceptions of Gryffindor and Slytherin specifically, like, I'm not a fan, but it could be worse. Like, I think Houses are treated too much like aesthetics in parts of the fandom, but I've also seen plenty of people who have more interesting things to say about houses — it's a big fandom.

I would personally say the jock stupid Gryffindor annoys me way more than the Slytherins who can do no wrong (because of the effect it has on characters like Harry, Sirius, and Ron). I mean, jock is such an American concept that I wouldn't really call any of them jocks really, it just isn't the right vibe. And while there were definitely bullies in Gryffindor, there were bullies in Slytherin, Hufflepuff (the Hufflepuffs made Harry's life hell in 4th year, it wasn't just Slytherin!) and Ravenclaw (Luna's housemates are the ones that bully her). And Gryffindor has so many good traits. Courage, determination, and chivalry are good traits. All houses stand for traits that can be good under the right circumstances. It's part of the fun.

I generally dislike the shallow approach to houses as very surface level aesthetics when in the books it's anything but — plenty of characters don't really portray their own houses' values. Draco isn't subtle, Remus is a coward, Severus is constantly putting his life at risk, Zachariah Smith isn't kind, Ernie Macmillan cares more for the appearance of fairness than actually being fair, Crabbe & Goyle aren't cunning, Lockhart doesn't care to learn about anything basically, etc. And characters that show traits of other houses — Harry is cunning (it's a whole plot point that he was almost in Slytherin), Ron is ambitious, Hermione loves learning, etc. There are so many examples of characters not fitting their houses' various stereotypes, I just listed a few that came to mind.

But, then again, more simplistic aesthetics are easier ideas to work with and they are pretty — so I can see why it happened. It's a process of simplification of concepts that many characters have gone through as well. It's fandom, it happens. (I also think it's a movement that comes from a place of being edgy — liking Slytherin and hating Gryffindor is not what you're supposed to do, so there's the edgy, rebellious component to that opinion that people like)

I will say the house stereotypes in the fandom changed throughout the years, I remember back when the sorting quiz on Pottermore became a thing, people got really upset about getting a Slytherin. So, yeah, it's fandom, and things like this happen. Can't say it isn't annoying, but I don't really engage with it 🤷‍♀️

[maximsdeadwife]

desperate to know how sub!mark s would react to reader breaking a uniform policy to get his attention and how badly he’d stumble over his words trying to reprimand reader and maybe it gets a little spicy?

Thank you so much for this ask because this actually turned into a very nice warm up for what I’m trying to write for him and has, I think, got me out of a bout of writers block!

I’ve put reader (gn) in Helly’s shoes for this imagine, it just worked best for this scenario as I was writing it. I intended this to be a few headcanons but ended up with a bit of dialogue and a little story unfolding into approx. 1k words, so it’s basic and my first time writing for him, but hopefully reads ok! I kept wanting to add in bits about Petey x Mark and things they might have got up to in the past because I’m shipping them like crazy, but I refrained this time. If anyone wants that in though… lmk 👀

∘₊✧─────────────────────✧₊∘

Emerging from the bathroom with as new a look as you could manage with what your outie dressed you in, you turn the heads of everyone in your department – all three of them. Mark S however, is the only one who’s heart skips. 

Despite already feeling a pull toward you, Mark S has never before experienced the thrilling sensation of seeing someone he finds attractive looking completely different in a new style, and the way it somehow makes them ten times hotter.

When Irv and Dylan turn to glare at Mark, waiting for him to take action, he knows he has to talk to you. It’s a breach, and he needs to know why you’re doing it and restore your outie’s clothes to their former state before you leave for the day. It’s his duty to take good care of you after all, and he wouldn’t want to see you get into any trouble for this. He needs to be the one to do it, rather than leave you to be picked up by Mr Graner should this cause any kind of stir.

He’s unable to look you in the eyes when he stutters out his request for you to accompany him. How will he make it down all those hallways to a spare room with you looking so sexy, alone together the whole time?

When he stands, a few papers drop from the binder he shakily pulled out (the one with the scripts to follow – hopefully there’ll be one about uniform policy), and he fumbles awkwardly at your feet as he tries to pick them up.

Irv and Dylan peer around the desk dividers. Dylan is in awe because he knows how into Mark you are even though you’ve tried to keep it hidden. Irv rolls his eyes, suspecting that Mark won’t be equipped to handle this, not with you enticing him anyway. Irv also suspects this was designed to tempt Mark, but he’ll bite his tongue. For now.

Mark keeps his eyes forward and strides ahead while you wish he would slow down just a little. Opening the door to the nearest office he finds, he squeezes his eyes shut as you pass through into the room, trying to remind himself that he’s a professional macrodata refiner and he can do this. Petey would have been able to do this. Petey would also have ribbed him for weeks if he knew he was so turned on by you simply showing up with a new look, but Petey isn’t here and no one needs to know.

Perching awkwardly at the edge of the nearest desk in the uncomfortably sparse room, Mark suddenly can’t remember how to sit. Or stand. Or what he usually does with his arms. This is new, too. Is he unwell? He clutches the binder close and smiles at you; a smile Irv might describe as ‘goo-goo eyed.’

‘What is it, Mark?’ you ask, and he lets out a breath, waiting for the tug of war in his mind to decide whether he’s looking through the binder or just going to come out with the truth. 

You step closer and he flinches, feeling his trousers tighten. Oh no, not now, not here- and with that, the binder is strategically placed over his crotch. 

‘Am I breaking the rules?’ you ask, close enough now for your knees to touch his. You see his pupils, even within those deliciously dark eyes, dilate. 

‘Y-you’re not supposed to- you can’t- your outie-’ he tried. And tried again. But with you so close he could feel the warmth of your breath on his cheek, it was harder by the second. He was growing harder by the second, too.

‘I promise, I’ll tidy myself back up before I leave today, make my outie proud. Is that what you needed to hear? Or did you need to follow procedure and do this by the book?’ You tug at the binder, the only barrier between you and him, and his breath hitches. You reach up to run your fingers through his thick dark hair and he drops it, papers scattering from within. His cheeks flush.

‘I don’t mind if you do, I just really wanted to see you like this. All out of breath and-’ you place a palm against his thigh - ‘is this ok?’ He nods so desperately you have to stifle a chuckle. ‘Out of breath and whimpering-’

‘I’m not whimper-ah!-’ he whines. He doesn’t want you to stop, wants you to keep touching him exactly like this but… maybe a little faster? Or harder? Maybe without the layer of fabric between him and your hand? He’s not sure what he likes, never having had the chance to explore it, but he knows he likes this feeling and wants to chase it.

‘You’re just how I imagined you’d be,’ you whisper against his ear, ‘I can’t concentrate on those goddamn numbers when you’re right at the other side of that divider.’ The hand in his hair moves to loosen his tie.

He can feel himself leaking, not sure if this is a good thing, but it must be because it still feels incredible, and without expecting to, he moans. It’s a gorgeous, loud, hungry moan that startles him and pleases you, and just as your lips ghost over his, he jumps back. Milchick is coming down the hallway. Mark smooths his hair into place and picks up what he can of the binder to place over his still tented – and now stained – trousers.

After an uncomfortable interaction, you’re both back in MDR; you dressed as your outie would want you to be, and Mark with an uncomfortable heat in his core. An itch left unscratched. A horribly awkward silence fills the vast space. Mark wonders if Irv and Dylan know, somehow. And why does that make him feel embarrassed that if they did know, he didn’t finish – or satisfy you?

You carefully slide your divider down, gaining a raised eyebrow from Irv, and flash Mark a knowing smile. He blushes. You pass him a note – Store room, 5.15? Mark nods, rushing off to the bathroom to hide what the thought of it did to him.

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12

[falmerbrook]

How I look reblogging posts about embracing your weirdness/being indulgent and how cringe culture is dead when I'm too scared to post anything about my favorite characters out of fear of someone getting mad at me or thinking I'm cringey

[anxiously-sidequesting]

I personally love and obsess over disillusioned and self-isolating protagonists which is one of the reasons why I advocate for a Young Wizard who just leans so much into their role as the Savior that they're now just this broken down individual who now genuinely shares everyone's fears and legends of them of being this Ultra Powerful, Non-Human, Above-All-The-Peasants Legend Amongst Men. Being picked apart and analyzed (INCORRECTLY might I add) by strangers and people who fear/hate/revere you, no matter where you go or what you do, over and over and OVER it just literally whittles away at who you used to be, what used to make you happy and now you're replaced with what everyone made you into. Not You, but a Hero.

But you know what's even better 😈😈😈 a wizard who cracks in a different way and is now just baaaareeely holding it together. A wizard who just is not All There anymore. A wizard who's Good Maybe, but someone who genuinely gives you a GOOD REASON to fear a switch in allegiance. Someone who reminds you that your entire life depends on their mood

Give me Harley Quinn YW, give me a YW who cackles and shrieks in joy as they batter the evil to the ground, give me a YW who pushes at the very edge of the EXTREMES even when they don't need to. I want a YW who doesn't carry around a gleaming sword, or a mystical staff, but a bat with nails studded inside or a rusty machete; I want poems and songs of not a Hero but a wolf in sheep's clothing who just barely gets by in masquerading as the Commoners. An unhinged YW is the second to best Bad Ending you could ever get from this situation and I want everyone to think about this actually

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

im so infinitely stressed rn i need to get off here

[couldthatreallyhavebeenit]

my fyp has been taken over by would you fall in love with me again, from epic the musical, and naturally i am regular and could not stop thinking about rose and tennant with that song

tennant didn't go through nearly the same character changes that odysseus did, especially not without rose, but after years and years of working as an assassin, it must take its tool. and i cannot stop thinking about him coming back home on naomi's birthday, trying everything to just keep it together, and still scaring his kids - what was going through their mind then?

[scentofpines]

i just remembered that one time when i was at a psychologist as a teen and i forced myself to talk to her and then at some point i was like "yeah and that makes me feel sad" or something like that. And then. She genuinely asked, i kid u not, "and how does that make you feel?". And I was like...... 👁👄👁....... "sad?" LMAO

[falmerbrook]

Thinking about that post from a few days ago about being too nervous to post fandom analysis type stuff out of fear of looking stupid... I think it's doubly so for old fandoms/media. Like, I got into elder scrolls (like, really got into it, not just running around in Skyrim every few months) about 3-ish years ago now. It's a 30 year old franchise. It says something about the series that we can still have interesting discussion and theory-crafting about it still, but that's 27 years prior to me of random lore tidbits being doled out in forums that don't exist anymore and fans theorizing about things that I wasn't around for. It can be quite a bit intimidating potentially interacting with other fans who have been here way, way longer than I have (hell, a rare few longer than I've been alive). Like, are there any original thoughts to be had at this point? Probably. But the question is how many of them am I experiencing.

[wild-at-mind]

If you ever see me becoming one of those transmisandry people, please fucking call me out immediately.