#and i dont want fistfights in my inboxes

[flat-neines]

I have a serious question, if rhysand was written as more of a highly accomplished general in the NC with the inner circle being his merry band of sworn siblings he met in the armies rather than the highest authority of his court, how much of his behavior (SA not included) would be moderately more ...reasonable?

[official-impravidus]

"Dont touch her/him" with jealous parkner please ;)

I was clearing out my inbox and I thought it would be funny to reply to this prompt from like 2019 but I accidentally wrote a good fic and also may have gotten myself back into Parkner??? @peachy-keener 👀

Peter never considered himself a jealous person. He was protective, sure. He cared about the ones he loves deeply but he’s secure in the knowledge that they love him too, enough to not abandon him just because they make other connections.

(That’s a lie. There’s a festering fear that bubbles beneath the surface of his skin at every given moment that he will lose someone he loves again. And though the losses he has had were through death, out of his control no matter how much he blames himself for it, he can’t help but fear that the next time he is left again will be completely and utterly his fault.)

When he met Harley, he didn’t expect to love him the way he does.

It’s different for his love for Ned. His love for Ned is fierce and all consuming, the feeling of being known so deep that you are not a separate two but intrinsically combined, merged together through time, influencing the way the other grew and evolved as he grew and evolved with him.

His love for MJ is something steady, something that he considered to be romantic love but didn't quite understand as he felt it. A love that was all butterflies and fireworks yet also a moment of reprieve from his crazy life, a steadying silence and a moment to breathe. Something that didn't necessarily dim or dull but dissipated into something less like a passionate infatuation and more like contentment. A love for a moment, not a love forever.

Harley is… indescribable. What he feels for Harley isn't what he ever understood love to be and that's why he wasn't able to tell what it was. Fleeting moments shared in passing that slowly lingered until the two needed to pry each other apart. The need to listen, to know everything about him, to learn everything that makes him Harley but also the need to be heard and seen and listened to in a way you can't even listen to yourself.

It's a certainty. An unspoken trust built on respect and communication and painstakingly chipping away at the walls that they had built into themselves.

It's warmth and it's safety and it's good and nice and right.

Love for Peter has always been something so big. Love that he would lay down his life for. Love that was expressed in grand gestures and grander words just to prove even a sliver of the sentiment. Because he loves so big and the love he feels is inexplicable, not because he doesn't understand how he feels it, but because there is no way to explain it.

But with Harley, there is no need to address it. It is just known. And somehow, without clarification, he knows that he is loved too.

It's easy. It's simple. It's good, nice, right.

So, when Peter feels a pool of fire in his gut, the sort of burning roaring passion that he had once felt with his first love, for a moment he thinks that what he had adjusted to believe love could be was not all what love is at all.

But it's not the kind of overwhelming emotion, a maelstrom of feeling that pulses and pushes like how he had felt for his first love. It's not kind or love-like at all.

It's an ugly kind of passion. One that he attributes more to fistfights in the moonlit streets, bloody knuckles and bruised ribs, the ache that pulls for him to take a step to far that he can't quite cross.

Peter has never been one whose first resort is violence.

But right now, he wants to punch someone so hard that their stupid face with their stupid smirk caves in.

He and Harley are out at the park both in desperate need of fresh air and sunlight on their faces after holing themselves in the lab for far too long.

Harley had stepped away to get them a treat from an ice cream truck — "They made popsicles of you! They've got gumballs for eyes and there's a less than one percent chance they're in the right place, but I've think I've got good odds." — leaving Peter behind to pet the swarm of dogs that fight to have a spot in his lap.

When Peter hears Harley chuckle uncomfortably, his head immediately snaps up, eyes zeroing in on Harley who stands across the park.

A guy has a hand on Harley's arm, looking him up and down with hungry eyes and smirk that looks more like a snarl. Harley, polite as always, does his best to not engage but considering their positions in the line, there is nowhere for him to escape.

Peter is moving before he realizes he is, legs moving without him, a magnet pulled to Harley, but this time in a way that feels more like a planet being pulled into the gravitational field of a blinding sun.

"Don't touch him."

The guy doesn't move his hand. He just cocks a brow, shooting Harley an annoyed look as if Peter is the one who is unwanted there. "There's a line, buddy."

"I was actually saving him a spot," Harley says, finally ripping his hand from the guy's grasp as his fingers slacken at the statement. Harley wraps an arm around Peter's waist and presses a kiss to his temple. "Remind me what you wanted again, darlin?"

"Whatever you want," Peter says, the double meaning clear in the words.

"Well, I want a Spider-Man popsicle. And I want to be the lucky guy who gets the one with the eyes in the right place."

The guy, now realizing that his attempts at pursuits are futile, huffing petulantly, steps out of line and storms away.

Harley leans his lips down to Peter's ear. "You jealous?"

"No," Peter says quickly.

"Well, I wasn't lyin' when I said all I want is your eyes in the right place." Harley pulls away and looks into Peter's eyes. "On me."

[silenthillmutual]

hanchanarts replied to your post “there’s literally no reason for us to have to read The Merchant of...”

Learning it in yr9 (grade8) , we were forced to believe that shakespeare was ahead of his time by addressing the anti-Semitism in their society (especially with Shylock's speech). But to me it didn't feel like that seeing as the only Jewish character was the villain AND was forced to become Christian as punishment, as well as his daughter converting for the sake of marrying a Christian man. Its sad to think that the education system is trying to make this seem okay

The only time that we discussed anti-Semitism was very briefly (which is just. appalling considering that it was college) when going over the Debate (TM) between Shakespearean scholars about whether the Merchant of Venice is truly meant to be seen as a comedy (which it is automatically classified as because it ends with a wedding, which was the only qualification for the category at the time) or as a tragedy, and whether you are meant to see Shylock as the villain or the hero of the story. depending on the version of the play and the staging, it may be implied that Shylock kills himself rather than to convert to Christianity.

But i really never got the impression that you were supposed to sympathise with Shylock. Shakespeare was ahead of his time in a lot of ways - The Tempest predicting America and how the English would treat the native peoples, Othello being a condemnation of racism, much of his poetry is about his love for men - but I really don’t think this is one of them. Of his tragedies that I’ve read (Othello, Macbeth, King Lear [another horrid play but for personal reasons], Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet), all of them make it clear from the outset who the villains are. Even his comedies (Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night) do that and so does his only romance (The Tempest) (I don’t remember much of his histories tbh... I only remember Richard III). The heroes might be bitter (Hamlet and Prospero, for example) but they are bitter for really good reasons and it’s clear that the audience is meant to sympathise with their pain and watch either their descent into despair or vindication as the plot unfolds, with the villains (Iago, Claudius and Gertrude depending on the adaptation, both of the Macbeths and Richard III himself, Demetrius for a comedic example) being very clear about their motives being heinous, sometimes breaking the fourth wall to illustrate that they are doing evil and they know they are doing evil even when they are the protagonists of his work. The heroes, especially of his comedies, tend to be affable, sometimes devil-may-care (for the men) and intelligent, often eye-rolling at the antics of their friends (usually the women). All of those describe Antonio or w/e the fuck his name was (I. utterly detested that guy so i never bothered to learn anyone’s name. i just remember it started with an A and Shylock’s daughter was Jessica), and there’s a speech where Shylock talks about knowing that taking a pound of flesh will kill Antonio and he wants it done anyway, he wants Antonio to die.

If that really wasn’t supposed to be anti-Semitic sentiment... first, why the hell did it end with a marriage, making it a comedy? He didn’t have to do that. I don’t think it would have been too much for him to flat-out make Shylock the protagonist and make it a tragedy. He was fully capable of doing that, considering that you are not supposed to doubt for a second that Othello is being wronged. Every racist remark by people during the course of Othello is clearly framed as being evil even if Iago’s motives are never entirely clear (is he racist? does he think Othello has slighted him? is he in love with Othello (there is actually a substantial amount of evidence to suggest that Iago is gay, and he and Othello do technically get married)? is he just a bastard? who knows!), it is clear that how people treat Othello is wrong. It’s never clear in Merchant whether you’re supposed to view how people treat Shylock is wrong or not. His comeuppance at the end where he is told “you can have you pound of flesh as long as it doesn’t kill him, also become a christian or kill yourself” is viewed as a victory and again it ends with a wedding and his daughter states how much she hates him and it’s just......... the whole thing is nasty.

Sorry this got REALLY long. I jsut really fucking hate this play lol

Also, like, just look at how Shylock is drawn on the cover of the manga (I don’t have this but my ex-qpp does. I have the copy of Othello around somewhere):

I know everyone is drawn with elf ears but this is still really gross.