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yoonia · 29 days ago

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🖋️ one your stories that sticks to me the most was the (im)perfect ending. I really wish to see how you visualize their lives after. will Joon ever find out about the baby? will they reunite again? what happens when they do🤭? will Joon finally get his head out of his a** and end his marriage and be true to his feelings 🧐 or will OC has her own happy ending with someone else🤔?

💌 I think other people have said this before, but you are an admirable person that I've ever met online. You've worked hard on your stories and have always given us a lot. even now, you choose to spread positivity and share gifts for others to celebrate your birthday and I think that's the sweetest thing anyone could ever do. happy belated birthday, Dia. You deserve so much happiness and a lot more. I hope your coffee is always hot and your pillow always warm. wishing you and all your precious kitties an abundance of health and joy 💝💝

omg I've been getting the same questions sent to me for this couple, so I guess this might be a good chance to provide some answers for those who have been waiting for it lol

I know that the last letter mentioned in the fic didn't specify how much OC shared about her baby, so I guess this is where we get to see what other things she sent with the letter for Namjoon. I hope you enjoy the snippet and the visualisation below!!

— title: Our Imperfections| pairings: Namjoon x female reader| genre: second chances!au, infidelity!au, post divorce/break-up!au, angst | word count: 1,410 words — summary | Namjoon is on a mission to fix the mess he created. — ratings & warnings | +18 / M for mature; talk about divorce and custody, post break-up, mentions of infidelity

— original: The (Im)perfect Ending by @yoonia — fic drop date: Oct 30th, 2024 — song companion: loved

“Don’t forget that you need to pick up Sunny early Saturday morning for her class camping trip.”

Hearing her voice on the phone, clipped with orders, used to make Namjoon wince. Now he is used to it. Always so business-like, even when talking about their only child.

“Did you get that?”

Her voice returns when he doesn’t answer. He holds back from rolling his eyes and calmly answers. “Yeah, I got that. Saturday morning. Early.”

His reaction isn’t the only thing he is holding back. Asking why six-year-olds would go on a camping trip might only end up with him getting a long lecture through the phone. He doesn’t have that much time to endure that. And having his ear burning from it is really the last thing he needs right now.

“Right. I’ll text you the details.” A sigh, then, “Sunny also wants you to be the one to drive her to school Monday. So I’m packing up extra clothes for her to stay with you another night. Is that good?”

Namjoon closes his eyes. As much as he loves having extra time with his daughter, having the child’s mother schedule their time for him without consulting him first rubs him the wrong way. If he doesn’t know any better, he would have thought that she keeps doing this as a payback. Causing trouble and brushing his ego for choosing to step out of their marriage—the marriage that she had worked so hard to paint as perfect for the world to see.

But Namjoon knows better.

He knows that she has always been this way.

Even when they were still together, she always had to be the one running the show, while Namjoon would have to follow. She was the one holding the pen, writing the story for them through her rose-coloured glasses, while forcing him into a role that he never felt like he could fit into.

At one point, it caused him to lose himself.

Only that he realised it too late. Far too late, because it hadn’t just started when they got married, but long before—when they grew up together and being fed their parents’ beliefs that they would end up together once they turned adults; when they became teenagers and she insisted that it would only be right if they started dating to make their parents’ dreams come true and when she started planning their wedding day just when Namjoon was starting to find a chance to write his own story, to walk a different path, with a completely different person.

It wasn’t until he was able to find his old self and feel like himself again through the mistakes he made when he finally found the courage to leave that life. Yet, once again, he was too late.

Far too late.

“Namjoon? Do you—”

Her voice breaks him out of his wandering thoughts, only for her words to get drowned by the sound of the announcement blaring through the speakers above his head.

“Attention, passengers on Flight 345 with service to Sydney. We are now beginning our boarding process at Gate 12B. Please…”

The voice fades as passengers rush in front of him to find the departure gate, and Namjoon waits until the announcement stops before taking his palm off his phone.

“Where are you? Are you on another business trip?”

Namjoon almost laughs. He finds it hard to believe that after spending an entire fifteen minutes on call with him, she never thought about asking him where he was or where he was up to.

Business as usual. Even when it’s about our new arrangement.

“Australia. I just landed. That’s why I couldn’t take your call until now.”

“Oh…”

“You do realise the longer you’re on this call, the more expensive it will be, don’t you?”

Silence, then her bitter voice is heard. “How was I supposed to know where you were?”

You could have asked.

Sighing, Namjoon shakes his head. “Look, just text or email me all the details about Sunny’s trip. I’ll be back in Seoul Friday afternoon. Okay?”

“Okay.” Her voice softens. “Take care, Namjoon.”

The call ends, and Namjoon breathes a heavy sigh. Feeling exhaustion after speaking to her is one thing, but once it wanes, guilt always seems to take root. It doesn’t matter if he had fallen out of love a long time ago. He cannot deny that he has made too many mistakes that he is still trying hard to make up for. His decision to stay in the marriage for Sunny, using her as an excuse to hang on to the final threads that were offered to him instead of stepping away from that fallen marriage, was his last, yet probably most detrimental for his own mental health and any chance he ever had to make things right for everyone.

Including you.

Hoisting his duffle bag on his shoulder, Namjoon walks across the airport’s lot to find his ride. There is a reason why he is here, and he isn’t going to stop until he finds what he is searching for.

It takes him nearly an hour to reach his destination.

The small coffee shop looks quite inconspicuous as it stands between various other shops downtown, yet it still catches Namjoon’s eyes the moment he arrives.

Quaint and delicate, with natural wooden colours chosen as the accents at the front side of the shop and dark window frames, it reminds him so much of you.

The sound of the bell chimes above his head as he steps in, immediately welcomed by the fresh scent of coffee beans, chocolate, and a bit of cinnamon. Spicy and sweet and pleasantly warm. A young boy with a thick Australian accent welcomes him from the cashier, yet his eyes travel across the room, where the figure that has been filling his dreams at night appears.

Smiling at the young barista, he walks up towards you instead. You have yet to notice him in the room. Your eyes are locked on the small child sitting on the sofa by the corner, swinging his legs as he receives a small sip cup from your hands.

His eyes find him first, looking over your shoulder while you still have your back facing Namjoon and the front door.

“Now you sit tight right here until Mommy finishes work, okay? And don’t—”

“Mama?” the boy cuts you off before you can finish speaking, his chubby finger pointing towards Namjoon, “Da..?”

Your body freezes. Namjoon hears a soft gasp before you straighten up and slowly turn to face him. The moment you see him standing there, your eyes grow wide and you quickly move to hide your son behind you. Only the child is quick, as he hops off the sofa to stand right behind you, clinging onto your legs as he peeks at Namjoon.

A line which he read from your letter echoes in his mind as he returns the boy’s curious gaze, just as it does many nights after you were gone—

“I have a boy. He’s here. He might have a dimple on his cheek too that might show up once he’s grown a bit older. His name is…”

Namjoon bends down. “Sammy, is it?”

The boy, Sammy, slowly nods. Namjoon smiles. “You look handsome. You’re being a good boy to your Mommy now?”

“Yea…”

Chuckling softly, Namjoon straightens up to face you. Your eyes are covered with tears as you look back at him. “How—” you gasp, “What are you doing here?”

Because I’ll chase you to the end of the world if I could.

Those are the words that Namjoon has always wanted to say to you. A promise that he never got a chance to say before you left him. It was a mistake that he had been dreading the most when he first received your letter, along with a copy of your sonogram and your final word of goodbye.

“Keeping a promise,” he merely says. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

A deep sigh escapes your lips. The sound pains him. But the sight of every tension being lifted from your shoulders gives him a sense of calm.

“I guess we do,” you whisper to him with a broken smile.

A lot of them.

He can almost hear those words coming from you. Just like he almost says out loud,

I have all the time in the world to talk and listen now. For you.

For your fall tune, I think this song will fit perfectly well for this.

𝖙𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖆𝖉𝖊: dia’s birthday bash 2024 ⇝ closed!

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raniaelalaoui · 12 days ago

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Fanfiction & Criticism

I’m not sure if this is going to blow up or if anyone will even see it, but this is my first post tackling a topic that definitely needs some discussion.

I know this topic has a bit of a negative angle, which might rub some people the wrong way—and hey, I get it. I’m not here to judge anyone. I’m just going to share some facts and opinions, and I want to start with respect and end with respect, too.

Because, let’s be honest, when you dive into something objectively, it’s tough not to let a bit of personal perspective slip through—unless you’re writing an academic essay! So if I come across as amused at any point, it’s not about judging anyone; it’s just me reacting to the absurdity of the topic itself (all my subjective take, of course).

Anyway, the first topic I’m diving into is...

Fanfics.

FANFICTIONS—just hearing that word gives me goosebumps. I’ve been reading fics for a long time; they’ve been with me through every stage of my life. It’s wild how they became a part of my existence, especially during those lonely teenage years when I dove deep into that world. Honestly, I never want to leave it, because I truly believe fanfiction holds a hidden power—a power that not everyone recognizes, but it’s there, right between the lines. This hidden power is remarkable, and that’s why I see fanfiction as a unique art form. It’s where someone pours their entire essence, their feelings, and emotions into a narrative we don’t usually get to hear from people.

Fanfiction creates an incredible universe that expands on another one, letting us see different perspectives, plot twists, and character developments. It’s like stepping into a life we crave, seeing everything we yearn for. I won’t get too deep here, but you know what I mean. I’m talking to those who understand the magic of reading a fanfic—exploring a world you wish so desperately to be a part of, finding hope in those pages to dream, explore, and experience so much more.

I want to share that I’ve been around since the early days. I remember when fanfiction.net came online back in, what was it, 1998? Maybe 2001? After some years, that’s where I started discovering fics. Then I moved on to AO3, Quotav, Tumblr, and FictionPress. I never really got into Wattpad much, though, because when Gen Z started discovering it—no disrespect to them—their mentality and writing style just didn’t fit with mine. You know, the whole cringey trope of the shy girl falling for the bad boy? That wasn’t really a thing in the early 2000s, (not entirely).

No shade to the writers of those fics; I’m just saying there’s good, and then there’s better.

Honestly, I think I’ve read more fanfics than actual books—probably three to four hundred of them. My parents used to "ground" me for the amount of time I spent consuming content on those sites. So yeah, I’ve had my share of experiences in this world.

But the main reason for this topic is about one PARTICULAR fanfic in a SPECIFIC fandom.

When I say “this fanfic,” I mean one that’s insanely well-known and famous within that fandom for a particular ship. Which, by the way, is NOT canon, so keep that in mind.

This fic is everywhere.

If you look up that particular ship, or if you’re into reading about it, you’ll find it. It has a massive amount of fan art, audiobooks, even some AI content. People treat it like it’s a published book because they think it’s so amazing—which, hey, that’s their opinion, not mine.

And the reactions? Nothing but positive.

People call it heartbreaking and dark. Sure, it’s dark, but I wouldn’t really say it’s heartbreaking. That’s just their feeling, and the “darkness” is part of the author’s intent.

People are constantly saying they cried, that they felt numb after reading it, that they couldn’t think about any other fic or anything else for a while.

I’ve read this fic six times, seriously—word for word—and... I just didn’t have that reaction.

I’m not judging anyone; I’m just emphasizing the impact this fic has over its fandom. I’m not going to name the fic or the fandom (which, by the way, is super toxic yet somehow comforting, since I grew up with it). But out of respect, I won’t dive into that or analyze it. I’m just here to highlight the issues in it, in the fandom, and in some people within it.

So, the other HUGE part of this topic is focusing on—well, actually, it’s hard to focus on that one part because it’s tied into the fic. So I’m going to bring up some personal issues I have with it (and I think others might, too). But the main topic here is:

CRITICISM.

Yes, that’s the word; that’s the topic—Fanfictions and Criticism.

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading an article called “On Fanfiction, Fandom, and Why Criticism is Healthy” by Stitch. Here’s a bit of the introduction to give you a general idea of what I’m about to discuss (what follows is the article’s perspective, summarized—my own thoughts will come later).

On January 15th, Twitter user @Benedict_RS sparked major backlash with a lengthy thread about fanfiction. “It’s incredibly bleak how many contemporary aspiring writers cut their teeth on fanfiction, a form that actively teaches you to write worse,” they wrote.

Clearly, this clearly struck a nerve—it now has over 8,000 quote retweets and hundreds of comments, sparking passionate defenses of fanfic and fandom from various outlets and writers.

While Benedict’s thread was obviously meant to provoke discourse and drama, the argument itself wasn’t new or groundbreaking. What proved most interesting were the responses. Most people who reacted did so in defense of the fanfiction they wrote or read—stories that actually helped them improve as writers or even led to becoming published authors. Many also argued that fanfiction was simply “just for fun,” and that criticism didn’t need to be part of the equation at all.

So here we are—there’s fanfiction and there’s criticism. Criticism is, by definition, the analysis and judgment of a literary or artistic work, while fanfiction refers to stories written about TV, film, or book characters by their fans—people who admire them. For example, fanfiction is booming on websites where amateur writers continue their favorite stories.

Okay, this is an issue, though; it’s intricate and should be detailed bit by bit.

Fanfiction can evoke powerful emotions in readers because, let me tell you, people can get so passionate about these stories they read and write—like it’s their whole life. And I get it; it’s a powerful world. Some fics have this incredible ability to hit you right in the gut and leave you feeling all kinds of things, like joy or heartbreak or just pure numbness. Then you have folks who are out here crying about a particular fic, saying it changed their whole perspective on writing and life, which is intense—and I respect that. But then you have the flip side, where some people argue that fanfiction isn’t real writingand that it teaches bad habits, sparking a whole debate. Because let’s be real: everyone has their own opinions and experiences with it.

So let’s dive into this whole idea about fanfiction and criticism, because there’s this ongoing belief in fandom that if something is beloved, it shouldn’t be critiqued—as if loving something means you have to accept all of it without question. And that’s a bit, unfortunately, just wrong.

I know, I know—it’s fanfiction, I know it shouldn’t be criticized, but there’s a reason why sometimes it must be, not just that it should be. And the article claims that’s just not how art works. There’s this space where we can absolutely enjoy fanfiction while also acknowledging that some stories have serious issues, and those issues deserve to be talked about.

Yes, I’m talking about THAT particular fanfic that has THAT serious issue, that particular theme that deserves to be discussed because fandom isn’t just about fun and escapism. This brings us to critical thinking, which is insanely crucial to our lives—literally in every aspect. Because honestly, if you grew up with fics and you want to move to books, you’ll see a whole lot of different worlds, different writing styles, different plots. So you actually need that power of critical thinking when reading fics. It’s also a community where critical thinking can flourish, and honestly, it should, because when we ignore the problematic elements in our favorite fics—and guys, seriously, this is the reality—there are fics that are harmful, and there are fics that are unharmful. And the fics that are harmful are harmful for a reason.

When we ignore the problematic elements in fanfics, we’re letting harmful ideologies slip by unchecked, and that’s where things get really problematic. Let’s be clear: it’s not about censorship or trying to ruin someone’s enjoyment of a story; it’s about fostering a space where all voices can be heard, and that includes the voices pointing out that certain themes can perpetuate bigotry or reinforce harmful stereotypes. When fans just shrug off transmisogyny, ableism, or, even worse, rape, as just part of the narrative, it becomes this dangerous cycle where these issues get normalized and accepted as part of the fandom culture.

And that’s not okay, because saying “don’t like, don’t read” or “your kink is not my kink” is a way to deflect responsibility from engaging with the content meaningfully.

So while I totally get the impulse to protect what you love, there’s also this responsibility to engage thoughtfully with the stories we’re creating and sharing. And that means recognizing when a fanfic crosses a line or promotes harmful ideas, because at the end of the day, we can love fanfiction and still demand better from it and from ourselves as a community. It’s about striking that balance between enjoyment and accountability because both can coexist, and that’s a powerful space to be in as a fan and a writer.

So, let’s consider what Chelsea Steiner points out in her essay for The Mary Sue, where she says, “LET PEOPLE LIKE THE THINGS THEY LIKE.” She writes, “I would like to propose something radical in 2021: LET PEOPLE LIKE THE THINGS THEY LIKE. Unless those things are nazism or animal cruelty or a violent insurrection to overthrow the government...” And honestly, I’m not sure why she didn’t mention rape or the romanticization of it or normalizing it. But the point here is that people should be free to enjoy what they like without guilt or judgment. Steiner goes on to say, “I can’t stand gory horror films, but I don’t begrudge those who do. Let people live their damn lives.”

But here’s the twist—what if you enjoy critical analysis and don’t want to be labeled a “hater”?

What if you want to engage deeply with the media you consume, recognizing its flaws without it meaning you hate it?

This is where the conversation really gets interesting. If I’m critical of a problematic pairing, a popular idol group, or even fandom dynamics in general, it doesn’t mean I’m coming from a place of hate. It just means I’m trying to navigate the complexities of what it means to be a fan and to create in a space that can be both joyful and troubling.

And that’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it? There’s this underlying belief that you can’t critique something you love without being seen as a hater. But that’s a false dichotomy because engaging critically actually allows for growth, improvement, and accountability within the community. When we let the notion that love means silence dominate our discussions, we’re doing a disservice to the very art we cherish. It’s entirely possible to love fanfiction while also demanding better from it. And that’s what makes the community vibrant and rich—when we’re willing to dive into those messy conversations and not just brush aside the problematic aspects as if they don’t exist.

In 2021, it seems like criticism is just not in vogue anymore. No one really wants to engage with it, no matter who’s saying it or how it’s delivered. Sure, it doesn’t exactly provide that instant serotonin hit we crave in our online interactions, but that doesn’t mean it’s not vital to the conversation we’re having as fans and creators.

The phrase “let people enjoy things” has become this sort of shield people raise to deflect even the gentlest critiques about everything from politics to pop culture to that certain British author who claims she’s being “canceled” for her outright bigoted views while really she’s just not facing any real consequences.

It’s baffling how this mindset permeates through stan culture, where any critical opinion about a beloved artist or anything related to them is met with hostility. A slight critique of Taylor Swift’s Folkloreor a thoughtful discussion about the instances of antiblackness within certain fandoms can spark outrage and even threats of violence from stans who feel their love is under attack.

But, it’s not just stan Twitter where criticism is treated like some sort of taboo.

In many fandoms where fanfiction thrives, criticism of fictional relationships or the troubling aspects of certain narratives gets equated with a sort of anti-fandom sentiment or even censorship—like it’s the Hays Code of old shaping what can be written and read. That’s such a harmful mindset because it stifles growth and accountability within the community. If we can’t talk about the problematic themes or harmful narratives that exist in fanworks, we’re doing ourselves a disservice as creators and fans. That silence allows those issues to persist unchallenged, and that’s just not conducive to a healthy fandom.

I get it: we’re all wired to take criticism of the things we love personally. It feels like an attack on our very identity when someone points out flaws in the stories or artists we hold dear. If someone calls out a Korean artist for cultural appropriation, fans often feel like they’re being labeled as racist by association. Similarly, when someone critiques a celebrity’s past actions, their fans often think they’re being insulted as well. But good criticism isn’t personal, even when it’s directed at a person or a work; it’s about recognizing the complexities of what we consume and how it affects us and the communities we’re part of. Fans need to understand that we have the power to choose how to respond to critiques—whether that’s engaging thoughtfully or just dismissing them out of hand. Every conversation about the art we love should be allowed to include critique alongside the joy we find in it, and that’s what makes fandom such a rich and dynamic space to inhabit.

Within fandom, critical analysis often gets lumped under this umbrella term called meta, which is basically fans writing non-fiction about any aspect of fandom, fanworks, or the source material. But here’s the thing I’ve noticed: a lot of folks will refer to any criticism of fandom, especially when it touches on issues like racism in fanworks, as censorship and even liken it to book burning. That’s just not accurate because criticism is not censorship; it’s a necessary part of dialogue that allows us to explore the very issues that might be holding us back from fully enjoying what we love.

When the article’s writer discusses topics like cultural appropriation and the ways Blackness is commodified in Korean pop music, they’re not coming from a place of hatred or negativity but rather from a deep disappointment about how their culture can sometimes feel like it’s being reduced to a mere costume for others to wear. It’s frustrating and disheartening, and what many fans are doing when they critique platforms like Archive of Our Own for not removing blatantly racist fanworks isn’t an attempt to shut down the space; it’s an effort to push for deeper reflection about what we’ve accepted as “okay” within our fandom communities. Engaging with these issues doesn’t mean we’re trying to tear fandom apart; it means we’re hoping to make it stronger and more inclusive.

You don’t have to engage with bad faith criticism of the things you love because that can be draining and unproductive. But taking a closer look at what you read or create is such a healthy practice; it encourages growth and helps us understand the nuances of the art we consume and create. That kind of thoughtful engagement doesn’t just elevate individual works; it elevates the entire community and fosters a more welcoming and understanding environment for everyone involved.

When we open the door to critique within fandom spaces, we’re actually enriching our experiences and creating a culture where all voices can be heard and valued. That’s the kind of fandom we should all strive for: a space where we can love what we love while also having the courage to discuss its flaws and work towards improvement together.

But let’s talk about some particular fics that engage in harmful content, specifically those that use rape as a plot device.

When we look at the use of rape as a plot device in popular fiction and specifically in fanfiction, it’s crucial to recognize just how deeply problematic this trend is. The notion of using rape as a mechanical plot device to drive a male character’s narrative journey really highlights the issue at hand. It often reduces a horrific act to mere background noise for a hero’s arc, framing it as something that either turns a character into a villain or positions them as a savior when they intervene to “rescue” the victim.

That’s not just an irresponsible portrayal; it’s a dangerous narrative that perpetuates harmful tropes about violence and gender dynamics.

By allowing these narratives to exist unchallenged, we risk normalizing harmful attitudes towards consent, trauma, and victimhood. It’s vital that we engage critically with these themes, pushing for more thoughtful storytelling that respects the complexities of these experiences rather than reducing them to mere plot points. This is part of the accountability we owe to ourselves and to the communities we inhabit as fans and creators.

In many fanfics, this trope can manifest as a way to generate drama or emotional conflict without truly engaging with the trauma that comes from such an experience. While some might argue that it’s just fiction and shouldn’t be taken too seriously, we have to acknowledge the real-world implications of normalizing this kind of storytelling. It can desensitize readers to the severity of sexual violence and create a false narrative that frames rape as an acceptable plot twist rather than the devastating reality it is. This becomes even more concerning in fandom spaces where younger audiences often consume these stories and might not fully grasp the complexities and consequences of such portrayals.

When we allow rape to serve as a plot device, we risk trivializing the experiences of survivors and reducing their trauma to a mere storyline. That’s a disservice not only to those who have endured such violence but also to the broader conversation about consent and agency in both fiction and real life. It’s essential for creators to approach sensitive topics with the care and nuance they deserve rather than using them as easy shortcuts for conflict. Every narrative choice has the potential to reinforce harmful ideologies or challenge them, and in a space where we’re already grappling with issues of representation and accountability, we have to be vigilant about how we depict violence and trauma.

Engaging critically with these narratives doesn’t just elevate our understanding of the art we consume; it also cultivates a healthier dialogue within the community that honors the complexities of these experiences and fosters a deeper connection to the stories we love.

This isn’t to say that difficult subjects shouldn’t be explored in fiction; rather, it’s about how they’re handled and the messages they convey. When rape becomes a tool for character development rather than a serious subject worthy of thoughtful exploration, it reflects a broader cultural issue where violence against women is downplayed and marginalized.

So let’s encourage a more responsible approach to storytelling in fanfiction and popular media—one that respects the gravity of these experiences and fosters meaningful discussions rather than perpetuating harmful tropes that only serve to trivialize such an important issue.

When it comes to fanfiction, there’s this troubling trend where authors engage with sensitive topics like violence and trauma, but instead of treating these subjects with the seriousness they deserve, they end up romanticizing them in ways that are not only problematic but also dangerous.

Often, we see the female lead portrayed as weak and vulnerable, a damsel in distress whose entire narrative arc hinges on her victimization.

The male antagonist, meanwhile, is often depicted as misunderstood or even forced into his villainy, as if his actions are justifiable because of his tragic backstory. This kind of portrayal does a serious disservice to both characters and readers alike.

By normalizing these narratives, we risk reinforcing harmful stereotypes and diminishing the voices of those who have experienced trauma. It’s crucial to create space for stories that engage with these themes thoughtfully and respectfully, allowing for a nuanced exploration of the complexities surrounding consent, agency, and the impact of violence. When we advocate for better storytelling practices, we contribute to a healthier dialogue in fandoms that honors the experiences of all individuals involved.

What’s especially frustrating is that these narratives can perpetuate the idea that a woman’s value lies in her suffering and that a man’s villainy can be excused or softened by his circumstances. This isn’t just bad storytelling; it’s an insidious trope that reinforces harmful stereotypes about gender dynamics in relationships and power imbalances. While it might seem like a compelling narrative device, it fails to recognize the complexities of real human experiences and the serious implications of portraying violence as a means of character development or romantic entanglement.

In fanfiction, we should strive to create stories that avoid these pitfalls. Instead of glorifying toxic relationships or minimizing the severity of abuse, we could explore healthier dynamics that prioritize mutual respect and agency for all characters. Yet, it feels like this romanticized view of violence and vulnerability is present in nearly every fanfic I come across. The idea that a woman must be saved or that her worth is only validated through her trauma is so prevalent that it’s hard to escape.

This is concerning because these narratives can shape how readers view relationships in their own lives, reinforcing damaging beliefs that can lead to real-world consequences. It’s vital for writers and readers alike to challenge these tropes and advocate for more responsible storytelling that uplifts rather than diminishes the experiences of individuals, particularly those who have faced violence or trauma. We need to foster a narrative landscape that reflects the richness of human relationships—one that values individuals for their strength, resilience, and capacity for agency, rather than their suffering.

We need to critically examine these patterns within fanfiction and challenge how we approach storytelling about violence and villainy. It’s absolutely possible to tell complex stories that include flawed characters and difficult situations, but we should do so without romanticizing the harm inflicted upon others or simplifying the realities of trauma into a plot device or a love story.

Creators must acknowledge the weight of the subjects they’re tackling and represent their characters in a way that respects their agency and humanity, rather than reducing them to mere archetypes of victim and villain.

Let’s advocate for a shift in how we write and engage with these narratives in fanfiction—a movement toward stories that prioritize healthy relationships, personal growth, and the nuanced realities of human experiences. We need to move away from recycling tired tropes that perpetuate harmful narratives.

Every story we tell has the power to shape perspectives, and we should aim to use that power responsibly and thoughtfully. By doing so, we can create a richer, more inclusive narrative landscape that reflects the complexity of real life and promotes understanding rather than misunderstanding.

When we talk about fanfiction that tackles serious themes like violence and trauma, it’s crucial to emphasize that these stories need to be approached with care and depth. They shouldn’t be treated as mere entertainment or escapism. It’s simply not enough to throw in elements of trauma or abuse for shock value or to create drama without thoughtfully engaging with the implications of those narratives. This is where criticism becomes vital.

While fanfiction is a space for creativity and personal expression, that doesn’t mean every choice made in writing should go unquestioned—especially when certain themes are treated flippantly or romanticized in harmful ways. We should hold these works to a standard that respects the gravity of the topics they engage with and encourages authors to think critically about their portrayals of characters and relationships.

Unfortunately, there’s a segment of the fandom that falls into this trap, believing that any critique of their beloved fics is an attack on their enjoyment or even their identity as fans. These are the same readers who cling to the idea that “if you don’t like it, don’t read it” as a way to deflect any discussion about the flaws in the narratives they love. While it’s true that not every piece of fiction will resonate with everyone, using this phrase to shut down meaningful critique stifles growth and understanding within the community.

This mindset creates an environment where harmful narratives can flourish unchecked, allowing readers to overlook serious issues simply because they’re too invested in the story to confront the uncomfortable truths lurking beneath the surface. We need to foster an atmosphere where critique is not only welcomed but encouraged, so we can enrich our storytelling and elevate the conversations we have within fandom.

These readers often avoid grappling with the flaws in the things they love, whether out of fear that it will tarnish their enjoyment or a belief that acknowledging these issues somehow diminishes their experience. But that’s a narrow perspective. Loving something doesn’t mean ignoring its problems. In fact, being a thoughtful consumer means being willing to engage with the complexities and imperfections of the stories we cherish.

It’s through this critical lens that we can foster a healthier, more inclusive fandom—one where stories can be enjoyed while also being subject to thoughtful discussion and critique. Acknowledging the flaws and limitations in our favorite works doesn’t lessen our love for them; it enriches our understanding and appreciation of the narratives we consume.

By embracing both the joy and the critique, we create a space where all voices are heard, where we can celebrate what we love while striving for improvement.

Then, when we look at authors who write fanfiction and then transition to publishing original works, it raises some serious questions about how they engage with criticism, especially when they’ve shown a clear reluctance to accept feedback on their narratives. Many of these authors create stories that incorporate troubling themes, like using rape as a plot device, and yet when critiques come their way, they often respond defensively rather than reflectively. It’s baffling because if you’re taking the step to publish something that originated in a fanfic, you’re essentially opening yourself up to the same level of scrutiny and critique you’ve faced in the fandom.

So why not take the time to acknowledge the harmful elements in your work before it reaches a broader audience?

Subjectively speaking, the idea of using rape as a plot device is not just problematic; it’s downright insane.

It’s a horrifying approach that trivializes the experiences of survivors and reduces an act of violence to a mere storytelling mechanism. This kind of portrayal perpetuates damaging stereotypes about trauma and can desensitize readers to the severity of sexual violence, making it seem like just another plot twist instead of the life-altering experience it truly is. When authors choose to employ such a tactic without fully understanding its implications, they’re failing to respect the gravity of the subject matter and the real-world consequences it can have on how people perceive and react to sexual violence.

And then there’s the added layer of these authors stepping into the realm of published works, often without addressing the issues that permeated their fanfiction. It’s a missed opportunity to engage with their audience in a more responsible way.

If they continue to ignore the critiques they’ve received in their fanfiction, how can they expect to create something meaningful in their original writing?

It feels like a reckless disregard for the responsibility that comes with being a storyteller, especially when dealing with sensitive subjects that can deeply affect readers.

The backlash they face as published authors won’t just vanish; it will follow them, and it should serve as a wake-up call to engage thoughtfully with the themes they choose to explore.

Their work has the potential to shape perspectives, and by not reflecting on their choices, they risk perpetuating harmful narratives that could impact countless readers. So it’s crucial for these authors to confront the realities of their storytelling decisions and understand that criticism isn’t an attack; it’s a necessary part of growth as a writer and a human being who engages with complex and often painful subjects.

It’s truly disheartening to see how some people defend the use of harmful narratives in fanfiction,especially those that trivialize serious issues like sexual violence or depict toxic relationships as romantic. It’s even more frustrating when these stories receive praise and recognition that feels utterly undeserved, because at the end of the day, the writing might be technically sound, but that doesn’t excuse the content that reinforces dangerous stereotypes or normalizes abusive dynamics. This creates a bizarre environment where the craft of writing is celebrated while the underlying messages are deeply flawed, leaving many readers to grapple with a distorted view of love and relationships.

What’s particularly alarming is how media consumption can warp our perceptions of what’s acceptable or even desirable in storytelling. Many fans become so immersed in these narratives that they start to see toxic behavior as part of a “tragic love story,” mistaking manipulation and violence for passion and intensity.

It’s a dangerous trap, one that romanticizes suffering and paints a skewed picture of what relationships should look like. The idea that pain and trauma can somehow equate to love is not just misleading; it’s harmful.

And it’s sad to realize that so many people are consuming this media without recognizing the implications, believing that it’s normal or even cute when, in reality, it’s anything but.

This manipulation by media feeds into a larger culture that often glorifies unhealthy dynamics, leading readers to overlook the flaws in these stories and prop up narratives that should be critiqued instead of celebrated. It’s disheartening to see how these works can escape scrutiny while more thoughtful, engaging narratives that tackle similar themes in a more responsible manner often go unnoticed or unappreciated. That’s a shame because those stories—ones that challenge harmful tropes and explore the complexities of love and trauma—deserve to be highlighted and celebrated rather than overshadowed by narratives that prioritize sensationalism over sensitivity.

The reality is that when we fail to criticize these troubling portrayals, we’re complicit in allowing harmful ideologies to thrive in our storytelling landscapes. And that’s not just a disservice to readers; it’s a disservice to the very real experiences of those affected by the issues being depicted in these fanfics. So we need to foster a culture that values thoughtful engagement and meaningful critique, pushing back against the tide of glorified toxicity and making space for narratives that genuinely respect the complexities of human relationships and the weight of trauma.

One of the most frustrating aspects of fanfiction is how it can take beloved characters from established universes and reshape them into versions that bear little resemblance to their canon selves.

This phenomenon is especially disheartening for fans who have invested time and emotion into these characters, only to encounter fanfics that seem to disregard their established personalities, values, and motivations entirely. It can feel like a betrayal when a character you adore is portrayed in a way that’s completely out of line with who they are in the original narrative, and this can be a human disgrace, particularly when the character’s essence is compromised for the sake of a plot twist or sensationalism.

The impact of this alteration goes beyond personal disappointment; it risks damaging the character’s canon reputation and creating a skewed perception of them among readers who might encounter these fanfics without any prior knowledge of the source material. This is particularly concerning when these fics gain traction and accumulate thousands of hits, leading new fans to mistakenly believe that these interpretations are valid representations of the characters when, in reality, they are far removed from what was originally intended by the creators. It fosters a distorted understanding of the character and their story, making it harder for fans to engage with the original material without being influenced by these out-of-canon portrayals.

Objectively speaking, fanfiction is often seen as a space for creativity and exploration, allowing writers to take liberties with characters and plotlines in ways that may not be possible within the constraints of canon. But this doesn’t mean that all interpretations should disregard the core of what makes a character who they are. In fact, incorporating canonical elements into fanfiction can make stories more engaging and relatable for readers, as it allows them to connect with the characters they already know and love while also exploring new scenarios and relationships. It creates a sense of familiarity that enhances the storytelling experience and provides a richer context for the narrative.

When fanfic writers choose to honor the essence of a character while adding new dimensions or scenarios, it can lead to compelling stories that resonate with both long-time fans and newcomers alike. This approach not only respects the original material but also enriches the fanfiction landscape, demonstrating that it’s possible to be creative and innovative without sacrificing the integrity of beloved characters. It’s about finding a balance between imagination and respect for the source material, ultimately creating narratives that enhance the overall experience for everyone involved while still allowing for the freedom that fanfiction inherently offers.

Okay, recently I read a comment on TikTok about fanfiction which had me in stitches.

Someone said, “Think of a fanfic like a friend bringing you a pie; they made it out of love and for free. Publicly saying that you didn’t like the pie is poor etiquette. Same with fanfic; it’s all done out of love.”

Now, I’m not judging—everyone’s entitled to their perspective on fanfiction—but that was a really terrible analogy. 😂

It’s like saying if your friend brings you a pie that’s burnt and tastes like cardboard and shit, you should just smile and nod because they made it with love.

I mean, come on.

Come. On.

We’re talking about a dessert that could seriously ruin your day and maybe even your trust in their baking skills, lol.

So why should fanfiction be any different? If someone hands you a story filled with harmful tropes or problematic portrayals, you absolutely have the right to say, “Hey, this pie needs some work!”

If we don’t offer that honest feedback, how will they ever improve and stop serving up these metaphorical burnt pies of storytelling?

It’s kind of absurd to think we should accept everything with a smile just because it’s made out of love. Love doesn’t magically erase the fact that the pie is inedible or that the fanfic is damaging. Honestly, it’s a disservice to both the writer and the readers to just gloss over the flaws. We’re all here trying to enjoy the deliciousness of good stories, not choking down a slice of someone’s misguided attempts at creativity. So sure, fanfic can be a labor of love, but it doesn’t mean we should just eat whatever they throw at us without comment, because that’s how we end up with stories that glorify harmful behaviors or misrepresent characters we love.

So let’s just picture it: you take a bite of that burnt pie, and it’s all crunchy and sad. You’re thinking about how this friend might really need some baking lessons. Instead of pretending to enjoy it, you’re like, “Hey friend, I appreciate the effort, but maybe next time try not to set the oven to incinerate, because that’s not going to win you any baking contests.”

And really, that’s the same energy we need to bring to fanfiction.

If someone serves up a story that’s full of problematic elements, we should be able to give constructive criticism, not just for their sake but for all the readers who might stumble upon that pie and think it’s the best thing since sliced bread.

It’s about nurturing growth and improvement because, ultimately, the goal is to create better stories and make the fandom a more enjoyable place.

So let’s not just eat the burnt pie in silence; let’s offer some suggestions so that next time we’re treated to a delicious slice of storytelling that doesn’t leave a bad taste in our mouths. That’s the only way we can ensure that the art of fanfiction evolves and flourishes, and we all end up with something that’s truly worth celebrating instead of just another questionable dessert disaster.

In the end: if we’re going to keep munching on the endless buffet of fanfiction, we might as well sharpen our forks and dig in with some honest feedback. Nobody wants to end up choking on a slice of burnt pie or a cringe-worthy plot twist. Who knows? Maybe with a little constructive criticism, we can help our favorite writers whip up some five-star stories instead of serving up those "burnt pies". 😂

Because in the world of fanfic, it’s all about finding that sweet spot between love and honest reviews, so let’s keep our storytelling standards on point.

#ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #archive of our own #ao3 writer #ao3 #books & libraries #literary criticism #constructive criticism #constructive feedback #ao3 link #opinion #rapeawareness

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onlycosmere · 2 years ago

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Victor-Romeo: Some very successful authors have difficulty in delivering books to wrap up the series. Why do you think this happens, and what is the best attitude and healthy behaviours die hard fans should use to encourage authors to deliver the books they are hanging out for?

Brandon Sanderson: Anytime you get into “should”, that is dangerous ground. I am a creator and I do not think I should be dictating fan behavior. That’s your world as a community to decide upon; I prefer to let the community do it's thing.

I do not think there is one good answer to this. (IE, why other authors are sometimes slow.) One common answer is that it has been a hard decade for a lot of people. Man, there are often difficult things about this last decade that have been draining to people. Then add on to that personal issues, and it is very hard for some of my colleagues to be creative in the way they have to be to write a novel.

Another big reason is that many authors tend to be “discovery writers.” Their biggest strength tends to lie in character interaction and believability in those characters. They give their characters so much volition. A discovery writer does not know their ending, they just start writing and let the characters interact. While those interactions often shine, the authors often have weaker endings. That is not to say that all discovery writers have bad endings, it just takes much more revision. It tends to be very daunting and slows them down towards the end. It is simply an outgrowth of their writing style.

Add on top of that expectations, and maybe never having finished something on this level before, and suddenly your stress is through the roof. These authors, I should remind, just started out like the rest of us. Unknown and just trying to tell a good story. To suddenly have the world watching can be extremely daunting, and there's really no way to practice for this. It can honestly be debilitating.

I think all the various fan reactions are understandable and in some ways they are necessary to the fandom’s psychology. I do not visit the places that exist to complain about me, to complain about my style and tropes. But those places existing is healthy. It is healthy to have a place to talk to people with similar opinions to you or to just post some memes and have some lols.

It can be unhealthy when it becomes harassing behavior. One thing I do not like is how our society treats people who like things. If you speak about liking something online, people will try to rip that away from you. This rubs me absolutely the wrong way. This isn't to say all criticism and disagreement should be done away with. I like is interesting conversations between people who disagree. I disagree wildly with Peter (this is Peter Ahlstrom, my VP of editorial at my company) about Into the Spiderverse. He could not stand it, while it is one of my favorite movies. (He didn't like the framerate of the animation; it drove him crazy.)

Fan criticism also becomes toxic when it becomes harassment to the creator. I do not know where these lines are, though. It's a tough one, because simply posting your opinion online shouldn't constitute harassment.

If you want my opinion, if an author says they are working on a book, they are. I know these people; they want to be done as much as you want them to be done. But there are mental, emotional, and sometimes physical difficulties preventing it. At this point, there really isn't much you can do. And I bet that the harassment of these creators has slowed the release of these books.

#cfsbf #brandon sanderson #wob #branderson #root

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lastoneout · 1 year ago

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@ashstrashbag You asked for it!! (Also again this is me being a huge hater bitch so feel free to ignore me, I'm not trying to say anyone is bad for enjoying the youtuber's content or trying to be a wet blanket or anything this is just me being me, okay? Okay.)

Okay, this literally doesn't matter at all but god I hate Mark Rober so much it's unreal. Like he always kinda rubbed me the wrong way?? But I didn't really Think(tm) about it until I was rewatching some of his glitter bomb videos and I was like, look this guy clearly could just solve his neighborhood's problem with package theft, right?? He makes all kinds of interesting and nearly impossible contraptions, it would be REALLY easy for him to just make a drop-box or something, or hell just make it so all of his packages need to be signed for, that isn't hard and would solve the problem.

But he doesn't, instead, he makes videos "catching" the thieves, posts them online, and then makes tons of money off of them. What???

And you'd think like, oh well they're stealing, they deserve it! But if you stop and think about poverty and crime and how it all ties together, you realize what's really going on is some fucking rich asshole who could easily solve the problem of people stealing his amazon packages is baiting poor people to commit easy crimes before turning them over to the cops and then making boatloads of money off of their reaction.

And he barely does anything to hide their identities in his videos?? He's posted footage taken from inside people's LIVINGROOMS, of their houses, their cars, they are Recognizable and he's putting that out there in front of MILLIONS of viewers. And we know how the cops are and what's on the line when someone gets arrested. That stuff can get you fired, get you taken away from your family and put in prison, risk your disability or food stamps, risk having your kids taken from your family, risk getting you KILLED or ASSAULTED by cops or other people in jail/prison. Some of the people in these videos are people of color, and almost all of them seem poor, being arrested can and probably will ruin them and their family's lives, and he doesn't care. He's legit ruining people's lives for clout and money.

People don't steal things for shits and giggles, people turn to crime because they are poor and desperate, and many of them probably think grabbing an amazon package off a rich person's porch is something that won't really negatively affect the rich person in question(I mean come on, amazon will give you your money back if you complain that your package was five seconds late, I doubt these people think these crimes will actually cause harm, and tbh they're right cuz this guy stuffs brand-new iphones and cameras in these packages, he has clearly has money to burn), but this guy, rather than just SOLVE THE PROBLEM or like, start a charity or something, spends tons of his time and money baiting poor people to commit crimes before turning them over to the cops and pasting their damn reactions all over youtube for his MILLIONS of subscribers to laugh at.

It seems harmless, but when you actually stop and think about it and think about the truth of crime and poverty you realize how fucking evil what he's doing actually is, and I truly hope he learns and stops.

Also, he did a huge charity event benefiting Autism Speaks which is fucked for five billion other reasons, and at the height of COVID he took a private trip to the Bahamas just bcs he could, which pisses me off specifically. Bro is so far up his own ass. I can't stand him.

I need you all to appreciate how hard I'm working rn to not be a massive bitch and go on a rant about a popular youtuber that I can't stand

#like fr ignore me I'm sorry I'm just salty #I'm so salty #but also FUCK the police

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kasey-writes-stuff · 2 years ago

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Since U been gone

Your boyfriend of three years had broken up with you and you were utterly heartbroken sure the relationship wasn’t always the best.. At times it was toxic but there was still love there you still loved him so when he couldn’t even be bothered to come to you in person to break up with you and instead he called and you heard a girl in the background asking him when he was coming back to bed it made it sting even more… After the call you were a mess you were lost you were in tears, so you decide to call your best friend Luke better known online as Punz.. When you guys met online as teenagers sure you had a little crush on him but then you guys lost connection and only got it back a few years ago and sure you never really forgot him but you were sure your feelings were gone I mean you got a boyfriend no problem so they’re were gone right? Right?

“L-luke… ” you couldn’t even say his name without crying, “Y/N? What’s wrong? What happened?” You burst into more tears “I-it’s I-it’s Y/BF/N he.. he broke he broke up with me… over the phone” Punz felt a surge of anger fly through him “HE WHAT?!? I’m on my way don’t worry” you sniffle softly “o-okay…” Punz only lived about ten minutes away but you could’ve sworn he made it there in five, he didn’t bother knocking he simply grabbed the spare key and let himself in “y/n?” He quietly said as he carefully walked in… His heart broke as he reached the living room seeing you curled up on couch snot running down your nose, your eyes red and puffy… He quickly got some toilet paper and a bottle of water, once he returned he helped you sit up and wipe your nose and then opened the water for you and set it on the table… Once he sat down you immediately flung into his arms! He pulled you onto his lap shushing you softly as he rubbed your back “it’s okay he didn’t deserve you anyways you deserve better, I’m sorry he hurt you like that” it takes a few minutes but you manage to sit up and stop sniffling “w-when he called I heard a girl I heard her… I heard her ask when he was coming back to bed… I- I think he was cheating on me…w-why w-what what why what did I do wrong? Luke am I really that bad?”

He felt another rush of anger surge through him but he took a deep breathe and held it back “You’re not bad you’re not bad at all it’s his fault for not being a man and breaking up with you properly… I’m sorry he did that I’m so sorry is there anything I can do?” You cuddle closer to him and shrug softly “I don’t know there’s not much I can think of so I’m I guess I’m open to whatever” Suddenly a memory flashes in Punz’s mind from a few weeks ago on stream to a song he,Karl and Sapnap jammed out to… He smiles softly “I got just the plan, I’ll be right back okay? I’m gonna order some food and find your speaker” you nod softly “O-okay” within minutes he’s back with the speaker and has the food on it’s way.. He connects it to his phone with ease and opens YouTube quickly searching up “since U been gone” he waits with a soft smile for your reaction once you realize what the song is “No way I haven’t heard this song in forever” suddenly the same memory punz had flashed for you because you remember watching that stream… and suddenly you realize… oh no… no it can’t be nope you’re just gonna ignore it… he laughs softly “dude you literally watched my stream when this was played just a few weeks ago” you manage a small smile rolling your eyes “look I have bad memory okay” he laughs shaking his head…

The chorus gets ready to start and you stand up taking Punz’s hand and he stands as well, you move away from the couch and the table… Punz has a lovesick smile on his face watching your smile widen, once satisfied with where you guys are your smile widens slightly as the chorus begins and you begin practically shouting the lyrics

“But since you been gone

I can breathe for the first time

I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah

Thanks to you

Now I get what I want

Since you been gone”

You and Punz dance together jumping around aimlessly smiles across your faces and it’s feels good to let go… the more the song plays the more you remember all the toxic moments with your now ex, the more you realize you should’ve left him sooner… the more you realize… You still have feelings for Punz… As the song reaches the final lyrics you grab Punz’s hands and pull him closer to you… You stare into his eyes as you sing…

“I can breathe for the first time

I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah

Thanks to you (thanks to you)

Now I get (I get)

You should know (you should know)

That I get, I get what I want

Since you been gone

Since you been gone”

He stares into your eyes and then glances at your lips, you nod softly giving him permission and so your lips connect and you know how the books and movies always talk about sparks and fireworks? You had always thought it was fake you thought it was all for dramatics but kissing Punz you realized it wasn’t… You realized it was real… You break apart after only a few seconds and he smiles cupping your face softly “I… that was… wow…” you giggle softly “Wow what profound words Luke who knew you had such a way with words!” He rolls his eyes softly “whatever whatever, so um how slow do you wanna take this?” You shrug softly “I’m not sure I mean I know I just got out of a serious relationship but I also know I’ve liked you a long time Luke a really long time… sure the feelings were dormant for a while but now with all of this I think they’re back in full swing… I- I don’t wanna burden you with my break up problems so I don’t know I don’t wanna take it overly slowly but I also don’t think I’m ready to tell anyone okay? I wanna tell them about the break up first and then give myself a few weeks we can see where we’re at and then maybe tell them?” He nods kissing your forehead softly “your problems are never a burden I will always be here to help you with them okay? And we can take as long as you want I don’t care if we never tell anyone because as long as I know I have you and I know you have me no one else needs to know..” your face reddens as you cup his face rubbing your thumbs on his cheeks and you kiss him once more…

Soon after the pizza and wings arrived, and so you spent the rest of the night eating and then wrapped in each other’s arms watching classic Disney movies and your friends streams… it was a perfecting ending to a really really bad day…

#Punz x reader #Kasey writes stuff

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mild-lunacy · 11 months ago

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I've noticed this online, where it makes sense to a degree... I mean, to a person interacting with strangers or projecting identity at least in part to strangers. I dunno, but I think the commercialization of the internet has created a dynamic where there's the world of DMs and the world of TikTok/YT branding and content, and these are very different. The issue is that the media and younger people's understanding of reality is influenced more by this commercial filter than by the personal filter in some of ways. Weird.

Anyway, while I see this in the media landscape and how things get represented in the Discourse, I've always assumed the Discourse is bullshit. I think it's 'cause I'm older than 'the youth' (who weren't here when it started) but still significantly younger than the Boomers, who often seem to be losing their minds to fear and reactionism. Though older folks fretting about 'kids today' and 'society nowadays' is as old as dirt. Anyway, it seems like many people even 10 years my junior seem to believe the Discourse is real, and even the Conservatives (as you say) are playing the same game but on the opposite side. Of course, 'real' is always negotiable in society. We made these things, they are now real.

I also think (assume) that people with three braincells to rub together don't actually believe this unless they've been radicalized. Overall... I think most people are too busy and self-centered to be overly radicalized, though it doesn't take a lot of people to create a big problem. But anyway, this can still move the Overton Window and create a chilling effect on the stuff people are willing to say online or in public, 'cause people don't like being bullied/doxxed/etc. And there's the fear that simply being thoughtful and nuanced in the wrong way may include wrongthink about something others we value... value.

I assume this will sort itself out in a few decades, as this sort of thing is probably part of the growing pains of the social Internet. Probably what we understand as the Internet will not be... this way, as in, probably social media will curdle and die, more or less, as we know it. It will take awhile to get back to 'normal', and I'd also be interested if 'actual' VR would create a new hellscape or if we would have learned some way to deal with this sort of thing better by then. Probably a little of both.

I should add, a lot of this is just normal behavior for teenagers. I used to be really into labels, and calling myself things. I mean, it's not like those labels are now false, or I'm not that thing anymore. I guess I now don't think it matters that much (but not like it ever did). My attitude is probably because I'm really asocial and not part of any ingroup (or outgroup... or just group) in any real way, so of course group stuff ceased mattering to me. It's hard to disregard it if you still want to achieve X social acceptance goal, presumably. Anyway, ultimately, part of the issue is that teenagers create the Discourse online, and then it filters down to the activists, the influencers, the media, and finally the antis, who disseminate it for clicks.

Y'all…I'm having a very disturbing realization dawn upon me. I don't really have a way of articulating this clearly yet, but I wanted to bring it up in case other people know about it:

I'm noticing that many people (namely white Americans) seem to act as branded-versions of themselves rather than who they genuinely are. Specifically, what I'm beginning to understand how insanely pernicious it is. I knew it existed because I grew up in it, but didn't realize how uncanny it actually looks when you watch it happen, nor what the implications are that we do this instead of connecting with each other as people.

It seems like any descriptor under the sun can become a brand, so long as it's understood that way more than it's understood as just a descriptor. "Man" is a brand. "Punk" is a brand. "Conservative" is a brand. "Left" is a brand. "Queer" is a brand. "Protestant" is a brand. "Catholic" is a brand. "Anticapitalist" is a brand. "Young professional" is a brand. "Good" is a brand. Words like "BIPOC" are also interpreted within a brand context.

I'm not sure if this is something that has always been there, but I only just noticed? Or if it's on the rise with commercialization? A bit of both? Something else?

#me myself and i #pointless rambles

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jiminrings · 4 years ago

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petition for stem koo to do all the things for oc he originally said no one does (make her lunchboxes, makes her cheerful...) bc i think that’s a beautiful redemption arc

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

jungkook's day one of his redemption agenda doesn't go that well in the end

"namjoon!!! my man. got any updates for me?"

seokjin strolls coolly on the way to his office, hair slicked back and his dress shirt definitely missing more than a few buttons

what's head admin gonna do??? dress-code him???

fire him???? PLS HE'D BE BETTER OFF!!!!

jin makes student affairs his bitch,,, not the other way around

"for the last time, i am nOt your secretary!!" namjoon stresses as he ceases his typing just to glare at him

he's the university registrar and everyone needs to go through him and at this point he's like a historical landmark from how he's made impact in less than two years

and he and seokjin graduated from the same batch!!!! they're the uncanny always pair for the subjects they shared together

it was definitely weird but functional lol cause one is uptight yet hardworking and the other's relaxed yet smart

sue them for working in the same place they swore they'd never go back to after graduation </3

"if you say-"

"some kid's been waiting for you even before i opened the office. made him sit inside but i just told him that he'd be expelled if he even tries to touch your coffee machine."

namjoon says even before jin could finish the sentence, clearly holding that in until the last minute

jin's obviously a lil annoyed because he's starting work as early as now but the way that joon laid all that out on him is a highlight for him

"thanks. knew you're a secretary for me first and a registrar second."

"no. i'm a national citizen before-"

alright alright he's not listening anymore

this bETTER be important because jin has to hold out his morning routine for whoever this kid is

"what can i possibly do for you today?" he rubs his eyes in preparation, intentionally dragging his steps because just looking at how near he is to his work computer gives him vertigo

"mr. kim!!!"

there is no way

there is no fATHOMABLE way that this has got to be happening to seokjin right now

"..... jungkook. what a pleasure."

he sits on his chair, voice gritted and monotone and he could just feel his eye twitching, his clenched fist under his deck now flipping off the kid in secret

it's a last-minute realization that he grasps that jungkook doesn't know you're his friend and it presents some really unique vantage points

like the time that seokjin recounted about a ridiculous student's filing for theft of his lunchboxes and he turned out to be your crush

or when he used his student affairs capabilities and pulled up resources left and right when jungkook broke your heart then seriously contemplated about messing up his academic record

or that time when he delivered a high and sleepy you to bed and then heard the entire conversation (if you could even call it that) between yoongi and this fucking nerd

"i need your help, mr. kim. you're the closest one to me i could ask!!" jungkook pleads desperately, the big doe eyes not really inducing an effect on him whatsoever lmao

"mhmm. i may not be the person for the job. counseling is right next door."

jin hums without even attempting to get jungkook to elaborate because for all he knows, his services aren't exactly open for people who hurt his friends >:(

(a guy once bumped shoulders with yoongi twice on the same day with aTTITUDE!!! and seokjin just dismissed the dude's concerns when a prof of his, who's a buddy of jin's, suddenly gave him an F)

seokjin IS student affairs

“no, no. you’re the only one who can help me!! you see, i-i just feel this brotherly connection with you and-“

“we talked once.”

god what did you used to see in this kid??

a crybaby aND an easily-attached personality to him? god it’s like jungkook’s just asking jin to pick on him

jungkook doesn’t seem to pick up how jin’s making it obvious he really doesn’t want to be of help if it has something to do with him

he likes interrupting and jin’s just the perfect match to interrupt him even earlier so now they just sound like one of those dubsmash snippets

“MR. KIM!!! how do you make lunchboxes? i don't know how.”

jeez where are his manners :O aren’t nerds like him supposed to worship the ground that admins walk on,,,

but what did pique his attention is the content of what jungkook just said

.... lunchboxes?

jin doesn’t want to give the kid benefit of the doubt because the last time he did that, you got hurt!!!!

if he has to hear hyeji’s name one more time, he’d really waste no time in stripping jungkook’s name from the honor roll

“remember that time i thought someone was stealing my lunchboxes?” he quizzes jin like it’s his job, clueless how he’s poking the bear even more with where he decides to go with this, “yeah. turns out no one was.”

was that not made clear the first time around!!!!!! he knows for a fact that a uni student would trade a classmate for a pack of gum but nO ONE would go for stealing a lunchbox

no one wakes up one day and decides that they’d steal a lunchbox. literally none

“but then this random girl claimed that it was hers a-and well i-...”

kook pauses to gauge jin’s reaction, clearly seeing now the one brow that’s raised at him

oh so if jungkook just asked him how to make a lunchbox, and he called h-word random,,,, then that would mean-

“i may have hurt the original giver of my lunchboxes at the process.”

.... that means he’s asking how to make a lunchbox for you

well that was a pleasant surprise

seokjin snorts briefly at that, dryly chuckling with his eyes widening to stress out his “non-threat” that’s pretty mUCH a threat

“wow. i might just give you a sanction for that.”

does he think jungkook’s a good person? lol he has to think about that for a month

was he wrong for hurting you that way? ultimately yes

but did he think at some point that jungkook’s completely heartless and wouldn’t try to redeem himself to his senior? no, not completely

but is he still on your team, regardless if the kid begs for mercy and you forgive him? yea a hundred percent :D yoongi and seokjin could never be brought out from your circle

"and you're doing this why?"

this is a no-brainer question for jungkook but the question still spooks him, feeling the chills at his neck that responding to seokjin is like a sTEPPING STONE when it comes to you

lmao if only he knew

"i uh, i just really wanna make this right. i messed up completely and it's pretty much unforgivable, but i atleast wanna try and give my best even if she doesn't forgive me, y'know?"

interesting

"mhmm. right, right."

???

he's still mad but he appreciates that jeon's doing the bare minimum of redeeming himself

speaking of, the poor kid looks like he's pissing himself because he may have just embarrassed himself with how long the silence stretches out

maybe,,, just maybe jin's gonna try and be a bridge this time

but like as soon as jungkook lacks for a fourth of a second, seokjin would BURN that bridge faster than a blink

"well first of all, you buy a lunchbox."

RIGHT RIGHT

jungkook grabs a literal pocket notebook and jin pretends he didn't see that because WHO the hell does that!!!!

"of course... okay, proceed!! i'm taking notes," jungkook nods in understanding, jotting down the very important advice of not ordering from online because you can't smell the material through a screen

p.s. smelling containers before you buy them is a VITAL thing to do!! it already tells you about the quality at the first sniff

"are you buying one?"

"buying one for every day of the week. i'm thinking if i should get extras too-

"good idea. i recommend buying eight."

alright seokjin's mentioning some very specific colors and schemes and jungkook's not complaining!!!

MAYBE HE'S ONTO SOMETHING!!!

"what meals should i make? i don't even know what she likes!! and even if i knew what, how would i make it?"

why is his heart racing

yoongi may have taught you how to do your taxes but jin taught you how to cook food that's more than four steps!!!

he taught you how to not flinch at all when you're frying and that's the equivalent of raising you to be the woman that you are now <3

look at him and yoongi being your best friends!! teaching you about taxes and being unnerved at cooking oil and busting out a smoke ring or two <3

in fact, the lunches you've cooked for jungkook are all inspired and derived by seokjin!!!

the fact that jungkook's plan isn't bad and the way everything pieces together with his insight,,,, goosebumps luv

"....hypothetically? what i think she'd like?"

jungkook eagerly nods with stars in his eyes, fingers gripping onto his pen for dear life as he tries to channel all his listening techniques into this lecture

"get a bigger notepad."

wow

"look at you!!" yoongi gushes the moment he sees you, waiting at you from the front door

you're going back to your classes again :D

you don't look as worse as you did four days ago!! you're not as sluggish and as animated too

"please don't," you snort as yoongi doesn't seem to stop looking at you like you've saved the world, giving no fight when he insists on carrying your backpack to your first class of the day

the past four days,, yeah they were undoubtedly rough

you slept as much as you could and for the moments you weren't dejected enough to be awake, you spent it surrounding yourself with seokjin and yoongi as much as possible

that's the beauty of hanging out them!!! you're not required to have a single thought lmao

except for the time when yoongi wondered aloud how eels even live and die (or if they even do???) in the first place and that sent everyone in a spiral and you didn't think of jungkook for a single seconds

you're not intimidated to go back to regular programming or with the fact that it's nOT unlikely you'd see a glimpse of jungkook in the hall and such

but that does mean that even if you're the bigger person, you're still gonna avoid him for as long as you could

speaking of!!!! you're looking for the person now that you're eager to find

"taehyung!!"

there he is :D you'd recognize that fluffy mop of permed hair anywhere

"y/n!!"

tae jumps over chairs in excitement to finally see you again after being so worried for you, engulfing you in a hug immediately

alright you see why yoongi thinks he's a golden retriever

you're clearly not a touchy-feely person but you'd let this one pass,, tae helped you (even indirectly) throughout your downtime anyways

"thank you so much for the cookies. i tried taking smaller bites just because i didn't wanna have them disappear that easy," you confess sheepishly, knowing how you had to pull the i just got my heart broken like two days ago multiple times so the two menaces would stop stealing from your stash

jungkook's excited!!!! seokjin may have given him a tip that "he felt it in his gut" that you were gonna go to class today

he came a little late because he wanted to perfect the very loaded lunchbox that's in his backpack right now

oh weird

you're not in your usual chair

bUT jungkook sees a glimpse of your hair and he's certain that you're there and his heart may be beating out of his ribcage

a baby peach lunchbox with a sticker (of what seokjin said he thought you'd like) on the middle of the lid :D

pork katsudon with furikake rice aND coffee jelly pudding on the side!!! it was definitely pressure-racking to strictly adhere to jin's recipe but god does it look worth it

jungkook's only did miniature taste tests on it and he had to stop himself from devouring the lunch that he's made specifically for you

the lunchbox itself is tied neatly with a silk wrap, adding his touch of sewing your name visibly on it aND there's a scribble taped to the lid too

god jungkook really can't wait to make it up to you

sheesh that was one of THEE longest lectures you've ever felt you had

it was actually the same amount of time it's always been but maybe you've been out of practice from just staying at your dorm for days

tae's great company but he could be a little bit chatty!!! you just nod when you feel his voice go up and he apparently gets excited by that easily

.... he apparently also has a small bladder and he told you that within the whole hour of class

"hold on. i gotta pee before next period. go without me!!!' taehyung hurriedly slings his backpack to his arm, looking ridiculous in a rush

tae's sometimes unintentionally funny because you don't even share next period anyways

you're on your way to the exit when a shiny scarf catches the corner of your eye, having to squint at it because wow does it look pretty

is that-

is that your nAME???

you pick it up before you could even rationalize it, realizing then what it was wrapping when you feel the warmth on your hands

:")

"sorry i forgot my headband!!!"

taehyung stumbles back into the room, catching his breath to run back to his seat and fetch the headband he took from his hair to play with awhile ago

he looks shocked to see what's on your hands, flicking his gaze between you and the item but he doesn't think much of it

wOW that's a really shiny scarf!!!

"tae?"

"hmm yeah? what's up?"

he's about to jog back to the comfort room because he hasn't really relieved himself yet, not bearing to leave his headband in the room when anyone could snatch it up

you raise your lunchbox, a thankful gaze on your eyes that looks so close to crying which is why tae's mORE than lost now

"thanks for the lunch."

.....

jungkook could only helplessly watch.

#EEEEEEEEK :D I HAVE A REQUEST QUEUED UP NEXT BUT WHAT DO YOU WANNA SEE IN THE NEXT PARTS #stem koo #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #jungkook oneshot #jungkook oneshots #jungkook au #jungkook drabble #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook angst #college jungkook au

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the-witches-you-couldnt-burn · 3 years ago

Text

It started with a whisper

I originally wrote ‘Like I did with you’ as a one-shot but people wanted a sequel. This turned out to be waaaaay longer than expected (4.7k word count). Inspired by Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. I hope you lot enjoy!

Ao3

(Also this is Mari’s new outfit, all credits go to the original artist)

————

Two teens stood upon the balcony of a large banquet hall, exposed to the midsummer night air. The sky was a lilac blanket that hung over the Parisian buildings, speckled with glowing stars. The moon, with it’s crescent smile, beamed down of the young couple.

Hey, baby, won't you look my way?

Marinette’s eyes were closed as she rested her head upon his shoulder, relaxing after the night’s rapid escalation. Tonight she had arrived at the ball with the intent to be there for her friends, but somehow she found herself within the arms of Gotham’s (and probably Paris’) Ice Prince. She had overheard his nickname from the Gotham students, one of which being Jon, who was in the middle of mocking the young Wayne. She had never considered that nickname as suitable; sure he was temperamental & had a tendency to snap, but icey to the core? No.

I can be your new addiction

Damian was calm. For the first time in his life he felt like he could take a breath. His exhale was carried off by a small gust of wind, the bush over hanging the stone railing rustled. With his inhale, the scent of Marinette’s perfume became present once more. Mixed with the crisp night’s air, her usual scent of pastries was mixed with what could only be described as ambrosia. His phone vibrated within his pocket, it was never on volume due to the potential risk it caused during his heroic activities.

“Shit.” Notifications covered his screen, multiple tweets, Instagrams and Tiktoks in which he had been tagged in. But the alert came from his family’s private messaging chat. The whole thread was a shit storm, Grayson and Todd’s messages were completely capitalised (he learnt years ago this meant ‘to yell’ in writing form) and both had multiple ‘keyboard spasms’. Drake, like the thorough detective he is, had combed through the images and videos, investigating their validity. His honorary sisters had replied with ‘awwwww’(s) and ‘Omg we MUST meet this girl! I need to know how she tamed the demon!’. He could practically hear Brown’s shrill voice from across the ocean.

Hey, baby, what you gotta say?

No reply from his father or Alfred. The two of them were the only semblance of ‘normal’ paternal figures he had within his life, after the sham of a relationship he had previously held with his grandfather. Their silence unnerved him.

Marinette had noticed his attention had shifted to his phone, her own mobile was buzzing away within her baby pink purse. Messages, notifications of account tagging and comments galore. A sigh left her lips when she saw her parents seemed to be none the wiser. Good, she didn’t need to deal with future adoration for ‘The boy who swept our daughter off of her feet’ (or something along those lines).

Her cheeks regained some of the warmth they held before as she thought of her parent’s reaction. Scrolling through her Twitter she saw her friends had posted multiple images of the night’s events, majority being her shared dance.

Chloé Bourgeois @TheBestBourgeois

what kind of Disney shit is this? (Insert video of two teens dancing around an mostly empty dance floor.)

Alix Kubdel @Sk8trGirl

Replying to @TheBestBourgeois

I KNOW RIGHT?! THEY WERE FUCKING FLOATING!!!

All you're giving me is fiction

She was thankful that they hadn’t tagged her but she hadn’t been spared by others in attendance. Her post thread had blown up, thousands had commented and even more had viewed the evidence. There was no way she would come out of this unscathed.

“Has anyone been on Twitter today?” The blonde of the family asked as she walked into the dining room. Her eyes focused on her scrolling screen, brows furrowed in confusion. “Actually has anyone seen what’s happening on any of our socials?”

It was early in the afternoon and the family had recently returned home after a straining stakeout. The Joker had broken out of Arkham and the Batfam had to deal with his minions. Dick’s arm was in a sling (sprained from a grapple gone wrong), Jason was icing his hand, Alfred was stitching Bruce’s chest wounds while Tim and the girls escaped without severe injuries. All were still recuperating and finally able to recharge.

Alfred always enforced a strict ‘no devices at the dinner table’ rule; no matter how urgent it was, it could wait until after sustenance was consumed. Tim strongly opposed this, but there was no arguing with Agent A. This all surmises that probably no one had seen the crap storm on social media.

I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time

Bruce sighed, bringing his free arm up to rub his eyes. Tilting his head back to look at Steph, “Who was it this time?” Barbara quickly took out her phone to see what Stephanie was talking about, all the while glancing accusingly at Dick and Jason. Both of whom held up their arms (or in Dick’s case arm), declaring their innocence.

“It wasn’t fucking me!”

“Jason! Language!” Dick shot a glare at Jason and was met with one in return. “It wasn’t me either.”

“Then who-“ Bruce started before being cut off by his most rambunctious daughter.

I found out that everybody talks

Stephanie with a squeal, exclaimed that it was Damian. Visions of what the Wayne brat could have done flashed through the heads of everyone in the room. He had been sent overseas before the quarantines and lockdowns hit. During Damian’s first month in France he had been forced into online schooling and then finally when he got to go to in-person classes he hated it. Described the class as a kindergarten with petty and vindictive toddlers.

Had he broken someone’s arm? Was that person of such importance that it had spread over multiple social media platforms? France’s government had announced on June 15th, that teens were now being inoculated so him having COVID-19 was doubtful. Had he insulted the wrong person? Had he taken over the government? He certainly had the potential.

Everybody talks, everybody talks

What they saw stunned them, even Steph as she watched it for the 7th time. Damian Wayne was dancing. But not only that, he was dancing with a girl.

It started with a whisper

“What is this shit?”

No one verbally objected to Jason’s outburst but he was sent a harsh glare from Alfred, Dick and Bruce. Their focus soon returned to the images and videos before them. Babs’ and Steph’s phones were returned to them as the others ran to grab their own devices. They all met back at the table, comparing the posts and comparing their notes.

I can hear the chitchat

“There’s no way this can be real.”

“Jesus Tim,” Barbara rolls her eyes, “have you seen the amount of posts there are? You’d be an idiot to think otherwise.”

Take me to your love shack

“I’m with Tim, how do we know this isn’t some skit. I mean, Demon Spawn almost looks normal. That’s a matter of concern.” He almost dry heaved when he agreed with Tim. Damian couldn’t be capable of naturally exuding that amount of humanity unless there was something in it for him.

Mamas always gotta backtrack

“I was just saying Babs, that we should check the credibility of these images. For all we know they could be gorilla glued together and trying to get unstuck.” Tim cringed at his own reasoning, he really needed to either sleep (probably not going to happen anytime soon) or find his favourite coffee brand (which had been one of the first to vanish after the covid hoarders appeared).

When everybody talks back

Dick was too busy freaking out and spam messaging the youngest Wayne, to defend Damian’s humanity. The family saw this and followed suit, wanting to get information from the source.

Chat name: Alfred supremacy

BigBird: AHHHHHH DAMIAN!

BigBird: YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!!

BigBird: HAIFJDNDNFI

LittleWing: WTF HAPPENED DEMON SPAWN YOU LOOK ALMOST HUMAN

Babs: who knew the city of love would influence the brat

Blondie: they are so cuteeeeeee!

Blondie: We HAVE to meet her!

Silent-but-deadly: agreed.

Timbo: YO DEMON

Timbo: Apparently the videos are legit

Timbo: are you being blackmailed?

And it just devolved into more chaos from there, fueled by the fact that they saw Damian’s ‘Blood Son’ account appear online before vanishing once more. Dick shrieked, “I FOUND HER ACCOUNT!”

The family gathered around the eldest son, peering over his shoulder to view his iPhone 12max screen. They saw a young girl’s Instagram account. It was locked but they could see her profile pic, the girl had black hair and looked to be if Asian decent. They compared it to the videos but it was hard to see due to the hall’s lighting and the minimised facial features of the pfp. Alfred suggested that they search up her username and see who has tagged her, some might have other photos of her.

After research for awhile, the family began to get frustrated with lack of results.

Hey honey you could be my drug

You could be my new prescription

“Come on!” Jason complained, “What kind of teenage girl doesn’t post her life online?” He ignored the girls glares and went back to researching. How had the account by the name of ‘mariiiiinette’ to managed to prevent the entire Wayne clan from accessing it? Damn Instagram privacy settings. He groaned, dragging a hand down his face, “We are fucking stupid. Why don’t we just use the Bat-computer? It would be so much fucking easier.”

“It shouldn’t be used for civilian issues-“

Too much could be an overdose

“The girl could be a meta for all we know! We aren’t safe until we know who she is.” Jason points a finger at Tim, his paranoia flared up and even though he would never admit it, Jason would do anything to protect each member of his family (although Bruce is still debatable).

All this trash talk make me itching

Barbara and Tim took their usual positions as Oracle and Red Robin (who had been banned from patrol due to lack of sleep). The rest of the Batfam stood behind them either with arms crossed or still failing at researching.

Oh my my shit

“The account is owned by a girl called Marinette Dupian-Cheng. She is French-Chinese and her parents own a popular bakery. Also if it wasn’t already obvious, she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont, aka Damian’s French school.” Tim begun informing his nosy family, “But this account has been inactive for the past 6 months, which is strange due to her frequent posting schedule before hand. It seems she probably has a second account and this is her old one.”

Everybody talks, everybody talks

“Not only that,” Barbara interrupted. “There are unopened messages from other accounts that accuse her of being a bully. There is a whole Facebook page about this girl and how she has been hurting her old friends, but neither side seems reliable. The so called victims seem to be twisting the truth but there is barely any information about Marinette so we can’t disprove it either.”

“Read out some of the messages.” Bruce took a cup of coffee from Alfred and sipped it.

The main screen of the bat computer displayed a Facebook group with the banner picture being a photo of Marinette. “They are mostly complaints expected of teen girls when there is a girl they don’t like; ‘Marinette is such a know-it-all’, ‘She is constantly insulting Lila’s intelligence’. They go on to talk about how Marinette was briefly expelled from the Collège before being reinstated by the principle for a reason unknown to them.”

Everybody talks too much

“Her school reports up until this year were good. The newest one states, ‘While Marinette is a wonderful and bright student, I encourage her to settle her disagreements outside of class. This seems to only be a recent occurrence and I implore her to go to the guidance council if she is in need of help.’” A beat of silence echoes through the cave, Tim sighed. “Jason’s meta theory could be correct. She could have just recently started exhibiting her abilities and using them to get what she wants.”

“Bruce what do you want to do?”

“We’re going to Paris.”

She opened her eyes to the blaring morning light that streamed through the blinds. Her lashes still painted with mascara that refused to leave. She felt a pang of sorrow when she was removing her makeup and dress last night, she never wanted the night to end. She shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen, covering her mouth when she yawned. She greeted her mother as she entered the kitchen to get breakfast.

She glanced at her phone and there was the chaos that was started hours ago and it was still occurring. It was the weekend, she wouldn’t need to deal with her classmates until Monday. But she would still have to survive her parent’s interrogation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her mother smirking at her.

Everybody talks

“Nadja told me some interesting news about last night.” Marinette held her breath, glaring at the toaster, willing it to hurry up so she could escape. “Well,” Sabine patted her shoulder before rubbing Mari’s back. “I know you didn’t want to go but I hope you had fun.”

With that she exited the kitchen, probably going to help her father in the bakery. The ravenette stared after her, eye widened in shock, jumping when the toaster went off. Buttering her toast she went over the conversation, her brows furrowed in confusion. She had expected a ‘When do I get to meet the oh so famous prince?’ or ‘Should I be expecting a new guest sometime in the near future?’ or at least a ‘Who was that young man, Bǎozàng (宝藏 it means treasure)?’ But she said nothing.

A small smile was plastered upon her face as she changed and went down to help her parents in the bakery. Her father didn’t say anything either, he gave her a knowing smile before continuing to kneed the dough. She sat at the the store front as the cashier whilst her parents were busy making ‘Paris’s Finest Pastries’.

Her musings slowly faded as she was brought back to reality by badly hushed whispers. Two young preteens were by the bread roll casing near the door. She had seen them come in before with their parents, the girls went to the prestigious international school over in the 16th arrondissement. The one with purple hair kept whispering to the brunette, both ‘subtly’ glancing towards her. Using her enhanced hearing she listened in on their conversation.

“That’s her, I swear that’s her in the video.”

The blonde’s face soured likes she sucked on a lemon. “No, it wasn’t good lighting there is no way he would dance with someone like her.”

Everybody talks

Marinette had tough skin but their words had an impact, only a small one due to her defence mechanism of repressing emotions. She stopped listening and went back to drawing in her sketchpad, she was in desperate need of a new school outfit.

The two girls eventually came up to the counter, goods in hand. Marinette rung up and bagged their items (paper because save the turtles sksksk) in a tired daze. A phone was shoved into her face, her eyes barely adjusted to view the screen before the blonde spoke.

“Is this your instagram?” She asked in a tone so snobbish that it should be illegal from a person her age. Marinette finally was able to view the screen that was barely an inch from her face. Her old Instagram ‘mariiiiinette’ was displayed on screen, she hesitantly nodded, gaze flicking back to the two in front of her.

The blonde’s nose scrunched up and the purple goth girl squealed in delight. They soon after left the store, their conversation had devolved into ‘See! I told you’ and ‘Yeah, yeah. You were right.’

Walking to school on Monday, she had finally come down from cloud nine. She still rode the tail end of her high as she rushed along her path to her campus, she wasn’t going to be late but she sure wasn’t going to be early. She had spent the better part of the weekend designing and sewing a brand new outfit. Her new look was composed of a black cropped singlet (L'amour gagne hemmed into it and it’s straps), paired matching peach plaid cropped overshirt and a-line miniskirt. Her hair was down, ballet flats were worn and her makeup was the usual with the added edition of a rose gold eyeshadow.

Even though her face was covered in a black and gold mask, she looked hot.

She reached the campus and the whispers started again, people were still buzzing from Friday night. Her classmates, the majority of her grade and the younger years seemed to gossiping before class about the formal’s events. She couldn’t spot any of her friends or the two Gotham transfers, so she was stuck listening the the chitchat. Why couldn’t she have been late like usual?

Damian had a fowl disposition and it showed in multiple icey glares (and that was before he even reached the collège). His family had made their appearance known in Paris at 1am Sunday morning. He could have used his dorm to escape but his family didn’t have the word ‘privacy’ within their vocabulary. He didn’t want to have to pay for a lock replacement due to his brothers’ (most likely Todd with Drake & Grayson laughing at him) lock picking habit.

The Ice Prince was back with full force. He had just been... influenced by all the other couples. Yes he did respect Dupain-Cheng and he appreciated her company & pleasant conversations. He would struggle to hide a small smile at the memory of the dance, even if he denied himself the happiness of normality, he felt content when reminiscing.

“Ooo the Ice Prince is here, did he have a fight with his princess or something?” The voice seemed to mock him.

“The Disney Magic is gone. The demon is back.”

Everybody talks

At the second jeer he shot a glare at the perpetrator. Jon held his hands up in an ‘I surrender manner’, laughing as he joined Damian at his side. The two entered the school’s large foyer and looked to see if any of the classes were open yet. Sadly they weren’t, before he was wrong and the his class was plain torture but this was truely hell.

He saw Dupain-Cheng sitting alone on the stairs, drawing within her sketchpad. He wondered how a girl like her, who always seemed to be involved in other’s lives (for the better) was ignoring all of the comments about her. She felt his focus centre on her, eyes flicking up to meet his, she provided him with a small wave before continuing to draw.

Jon nudged him with an elbow to his ribs and dragged him off to the side, into the boy’s locker rooms. Jon scowled at the door, “It’s a mad house out there. You’ve heard what some people are saying right?”

“Why would I care about these imbeciles?”

Jon jabbed Damian in the chest, causing the demon to stumble. Green eyes darted from blue eyes to the tan finger. “You care when lies hurt people you care about.”

The day began to rapidly decline once the two dance partners took their seats, next to each other. They had both been placed up the back of the class and them sitting together hadn’t been a problem until now apparently. She wasn’t even safe when the teacher started their lecture, whispers and glances were cast towards them. Once the two got to biology it was better, Ms Mendeleiev was a strict teacher and was able to control the class.

Everybody talks

But the recess came. When the bell rang she slowly started packing up her equipment, Alix and Max (who she shared biology with) waited for her; she watched as the Ice Prince left through the door. She knew she didn’t need to be concerned about her friends joining in with the gossiping, if anything they would dispel people and tell them to ‘Mind their own fucking business’ because this whole situations is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

She did receive some slight teasing from Alix about being a Disney princess, but Marinette quipped back about the skater’s fairytale story being ‘Pinknette, the Geek and the Beast’. The three met up with the other two of their group, they had just come from geography. Kim was complaining that Argentina was a state in America.

“That’s Arkansas you idiot!” Chloe shrieked, lightly hitting his arm with her white handbag. Max held his head in his hand as he approached, how had his tutoring sessions failed so badly?

Chloe turned to Marinette, a smile forming from her glare. The blonde examined the designer’s clothing, nodding. “You look like you are about to have a hot girl summer.”

Marinette’s face burned, the tips of her ears coated in red. Alix chuckled and nudged her shoulder.

Everybody talks

“Look at her, she is so desperate for his attention that she probably copied those designs.”

“Why do you think he danced with her anyways? Maybe she has something on him? I mean, she forces him to sit next to her in class, who knows what else she has done.”

What. The. Fuck.

Chloe glowered towards Lila’s posy. “We have a fucking seating plan, those cretins-“ She made a motion to storm over but was caught by the ravenette, looking back to Mari, her rage decreased from a boil to a simmer.

“No Chlo. It’s fine, it’s not worth it.”

Everybody talks... back

The group walked out to the school’s front steps, it was a mad house... a mad courtyard? Students sitting on the stairs, on the grass and standing around mingling, all of them now were staring at her. She held her backpack close to her chest (she had swapped her signature coin-bag purse for the pastel pink bag), pretending its a shield. Her friends circled around her becoming an obstacle to prevent their stares. If people were afraid of a scowling Kim then they don’t know the scorn of Chloe or Alix’s bite. And Max, sweet quiet Max.... you better hope he doesn’t have blackmail on you (he probably does), he can dismantle your life with a single anonymous post.

Rushed footsteps approached them. The group was broken apart by a rude Wayne boy, he swept Mari away from the school and the gossip crowds within. Her four friends shouted at him and he kept walking, shooting a glare at them in response. He kept pushing Marinette forward with a hand placed on the small of her back, her backpack was now swung over his other shoulder.

They ended up in her favourite alcove. She had brought him here with the other Gotham transfers for a native’s tour of Paris. It had always been her safe place to be creative.

It started with a whisper (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“My apologises for our rushed departure but you seemed to want to get out of their anyhow.” His gruff tone danced through the silence, his head still peaking around the corner; watching for any unwelcome guests.

“Thank you.” She whispered, her voice almost being carried off by the gentle wind. A genuine smile illustrated upon her face.

“We weren’t able to converse after the events of the other night. I would like to formally apologise once more for my actions causing this adverse reaction. If I had kn-“

“You don’t need to apologise!” She squeaked, hiding her eyes behind her fisted hand. Her shoulders curled inwards as she tried to make herself seem as small as possible, a side effect of her common use of her secondary miraculous form: Multimouse.

“I chose to dance with you, you don’t need to apologise for my own actions.” He stared at her with confusion. He had taken the blame so she wouldn’t need to do so herself; but she had taken it anyways. He had given her an out. Why does she always take the blame, even for things out of her control?

“But if I hadn’t danced with you then you wouldn’t have been the focus of the entire school.”

Marinette stepped forward, her eyes hardened and blazing. “Damian Friday night I went there out of obligation to my friends, I didn’t want to be there. But dancing with you? That was the highlight of my week, probably my month too. I enjoyed our time together.” Her face softened, lips twitched downwards ever so slightly. “I don’t regret anything about that night, but do you?”

He was bad at comfort. Everyone in his family avoided him when they were in need, he plainly didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t visibly upset but he sensed that she is disappointed that he apparently didn’t share the same opinion of the night. The only thing he regretted about that night was letting Jon call him a coward, but then again if he didn’t he never would have danced with Dupa- Marinette.

He picked up her clenched hand, the tension in her body alleviated at his embrace. He remembered how Grayson would apologise to Kor’i or how his father interacted with Ms Kyle. He brought their hands up and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.

And that was when I kissed her (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“I do not regret anything either—“ he cleared his throat, “In fact, I’d appreciate if we would be able to interact more, especially outside of that cesspit.”

Was he...?

It didn’t matter.

She smiled the same dazzling smile she gave him at the dance. She nodded while laughing, “I’d love that.”

Everybody talks

The two stay talking, hidden within their secret alcove for the rest of the day. She texted her parents to say she was with a friend and would be back later that night. Damian didn’t bother texting his family, Marinette knew he had to be back soon due to his dorm’s curfew.

The sun was setting at they walked back together, he did the gentlemanly thing and dropped her off at her bakery door. She could see her mother behind the register inconspicuously looking over at the two of them. Damian’s lips quirked upwards, she was satisfied with his kinda-smile.

He walked back, hands in pockets and a neutral expression upon his face instead of a scowl. He reached his door and took his keys, he found that it was already open. Damn.

His family was splayed out within his two roomed dorm. Todd and Drake were fighting over a place to sit on his bed, whilst his father sat at his desk, watching the commotion. The three of them turned to him as he enter the room, they were the only family members able to attend on short notice; Cain had a ballet audition, Gordon & Brown had concert tickets for tomorrow, Grayson had to take care of Mar’i while Kor’i was on Tamaran and Alfred stayed to ensure no one died during their night time activities.

“We need to talk Damian.” His father stood, leaning onto the desk chair. “The school called and said you had an unexcused absence for half the day. Where were you Damian?”

Damian stared into his father’s eyes. He was fifteen, almost an adult, but was treated like he was ten again.

“I was with a friend.”

“Probably the girl from the dance. Marinette, right?” Todd mocked him. Damian snapped his head in the direction of his bed, glaring at both his brothers.

“That’s what I want to talk about with you Damian. Now I don’t know her personally but from what we’ve discovered through our investigation we have some concerns. What’s happened Damian?”

The youngest Wayne’s glare shifted off of his brothers to the floor, and then finally to his father; his family sitting in wait for his answer. Straightening his posture, his shoulders clicked as he rolled then back. His statement’s tone was sure and steady, “Everybody talks father.”

Everybody talks... back

#maribat #marinette x damian #mlb x dc #batfam salt #batfam is concerned #Daminette #the aftermath of ‘Like I did with you’#everybody talks by neon trees #max kante has blackmail and will use it #Alix will bite if provoked #dc x mlb #damian wayne x marinette dupain cheng #Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a meta?#supportive Dupain-Cheng parents ❤️

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honeypiehotchner · 4 years ago

Text

beauty isn’t skin deep (Hotch x Fem!Reader) -- headcanon

what’s up i’m back with another wildly specific headcanon that definitely only applies to like 13% of my followers BUT this one is for all my babies out there who have eczema xx.

mine can get pretty rough, like it is right now, so i needed some comfort

Warnings: anxious thoughts, sad thoughts, mentions of blood, mentions of picking at your skin

HOTCH MASTERLIST || CRIMINAL MINDS MASTERLIST

aaron knew something was wrong when you canceled dinner plans out of nowhere

usually he’s the one canceling on you, but tonight you were the bearer of bad news

you’ve only been dating aaron for a few months, and it’s going well

but you hadn’t had a bad flare up yet

it started this morning

you woke up sweating because you were under too many blankets

and to make matters worse, you found that the patches of eczema on your elbows and calves had gotten worse

but that was fine, that was fixable, you’d just wear long sleeves and jeans to dinner tonight instead of the dress you had picked out

the idea seemed doable enough, until eczema popped up in the middle of your back and your forehead

you almost never get eczema anywhere on your face, so you nearly burst into tears when you felt the tell-tale itching when you were trying to cook lunch

walking around in a bra and shorts is fine, but it isn’t exactly dinner attire

or anywhere-outside-the-apartment attire

so, after lathering your body in the prescription cream your dermatologist gave you, you sent a text to aaron

Hey, I hate to do this, but can I get a raincheck on tonight?

aaron has canceled a few times on you before (for good reason) so you don’t expect him to be mad

but you do anticipate questions, and he doesn’t disappoint

Hey, that’s okay. Is everything alright?

you don’t know how to explain what’s going on, or that you just don’t want to be seen right now, so you settle for being vague

All good! Just had something come up :)

he doesn’t reply, but that’s also not uncommon for him

sometimes he gets caught up in work and replies hours later, or replies with a phone call when he’s driving home

so you think nothing of it

until there’s a knock on your door

you grab a cardigan you had laying over the back of the couch and shrug it on, grimacing as the fabric scratches against the eczema on your elbows

“one second!” you call out, shaking out your arms and wincing

when you peak through the peephole in your door, you gasp

“aaron?” you whisper, pulling the door open. “what are you doing here?”

“hey,” he smiles, holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. “i could tell something was wrong, so i wanted to drop these off.”

“you...” you pause, shifting on your feet, feeling an itch beginning on your calf. “thank you, really. you’re so sweet.”

you take the flowers from him and smile, their familiar scent flooding your senses

but aaron notices your small grimace when you stretch out your arm, and he’ll kick himself all night if he doesn’t ask one more time

“are you sure everything’s okay?” he asks

“yeah,” you answer too quick, and you feel awful about the whole situation and because your skin is on fire, so you say, “do you wanna come in for a second? i should put these in a vase.”

he gladly accepts and you lead the way, speeding off to your kitchen while he closes the door

“how was work?” you ask

he can tell you’re trying to fill every second of silence, so he knows something is really wrong

“it was good, we might have to leave this weekend for another case.” he always gives you a heads up when he can, and you appreciate it

you frown like you always do as you cut off the stems and place the flowers in a vase, smelling each one as you go to keep yourself as occupied as possible

you try to contain your grimaces of pain and the shuffling of your feet as you fight against the urge to scratch and claw at your skin

scratching it never helps, but you’d be lying if you said it didn’t feel good

even if it does make you bleed

aaron sighs sadly as he watches you do this with your back turned to him

“honey...” he murmurs. “what’s wrong? what are you not telling me?”

all it takes are those kind words, his gentle voice, and you cave

aaron rushes next to you when he hears you begin to sniffle

tears are slipping down your cheeks when he reaches your side

you’re rubbing your forehead with the pads of your fingers, trying your hardest not to claw with your nails like you so desperately want to

aaron sees the raised and irritated skin and instantly goes into crisis mode

“what happened? are you having an allergic reaction to something?”

you shake your head, pulling your hand away for a moment, sniffling more when your cardigan scratches your elbows

“i have eczema,” you finally get the words out and take a deep breath, trying to shrug off the cardigan

aaron helps you when he sees what you’re trying to do, and his heart breaks when he sees what you were covering up

“my skin hates me,” you joke, wiping your nose on your hand. “it’s never this bad, but i just can’t touch anything — it all hurts.”

aaron wishes he could touch it and make it go away because it looks painful, and your tears confirm it

he doesn’t even know what eczema really is, but it doesn’t look pleasant

“can i do anything to help?”

you shake your head. “i’ve tried everything all day and nothing helps.”

you take another deep breath, calming yourself down, feeling ridiculous for crying over something like this in front of him

“i didn’t want to cancel on you, but i didn’t want you seeing me like this,” you pause to chuckle, “guess those both backfired.”

“why wouldn’t you want me to see you?” he asks softly

you don’t want to answer him, to say the truth out loud because you know it sounds ridiculous

but you figure you’ve blown past the line of absurdity in the past five minutes, so you say it

“i feel so ugly,” you murmur, groaning in frustration when you see a small patch has popped up on the back of your left hand, between your pinky and ring finger.

“for fuck’s sake,” you hiss, not caring that he’s standing there, or that you shouldn’t claw at it, so you do anyway

“hey, hey, hey,” aaron grabs your hand quickly after watching one second of you digging your nails into the skin. “you’ll make it worse.”

“it’s already worse,” you whine, trying to tug both your hands out of his grasp, but he doesn’t let go

“what have you not tried today?” he asks, holding tighter. “what can i do?”

“sometimes i take a bath,” you reply. “but i don’t know if i have the right stuff for it.”

“well let’s go look.”

he leads you into your bathroom, and he keeps both of your hands clasped in one of his while he looks around with the other

eventually, he finds what you were describing

it’s a bubble bath, essentially, but it’s an anti-inflammatory one you got years ago

it’s been discontinued since, so you’ve been rationing what you have left of it

and when you see how low the bottle is, you immediately start protesting

but aaron is hearing none of it

he runs the bath with one hand, pours the bubble bath in with one hand, and listens to your protests all at the same time

“you need it,” he says. “i’ll look online for some more. i don’t care how much it costs, if it helps you, then i’m getting it for you.”

he refuses to let you argue as he helps you out of your shorts and sports bra

the two of you have had sex before, but you’ve never let him see you naked like...this

it feels different, but not uncomfortable

when you sink into the bath, the temperature is just right

not too hot (because that’ll dry out your skin more) and not too cold (because you’re not trying to take an ice bath after a workout)

he leaves after you get comfortable, and you figure he’s letting you have some time alone

but then he returns with a candle, a lighter, and one of the books from your bed

“what are you doing?” you ask, but you’re smiling like a fool as he lights the candle and sets it on the edge of the bathtub

“helping you have the perfect bath,” he says seriously, but he’s smiling, too. “i know you like to read, but i want you to stay under the water.”

you sink down further with his words, hiding your smile as it grows into a stupid grin

after half an hour of soaking in the bath and listening to him read to you, your skin is feeling better

aaron helps you out and helps you dry off

and, even though you didn’t want him to, he helps you put the prescription cream on the hard-to-reach spots (and everywhere else, because when you tried to help, he swatted your hands away)

“you’re not ugly,” he says, and something about the way he says it, while he’s rubbing prescription cream into your skin has you smiling like an idiot al over again

“thank you.”

“beauty isn’t skin deep,” he continues, rubbing the middle of your back. “but even if it was, you’d still be gorgeous to me.”

#aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotchner hc #aaron hotchner headcanon #hotch #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #hotch x fem!reader #hotch x you #criminal minds hc #criminal minds headcanon #aaron hotchner fluff #fluff #criminal minds fluff #hotch fluff

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yungidreamer · 4 years ago

Text

Fatherhood Seonghwa

There is a small chance I will do this with other members, but let’s see.

Summary: Seonghwa and his wife decide to try for kids, something they both have always wanted. The news they have a baby on the way is almost the happiest moment of his life, along with all the experiences to follow.

Wordcount: 5.8k

Content warnings: like 80% fluff, 20% smut. Very adoring relationship that follows them having a baby and the adventure that is. Pregnant sex, emotional sex, lots of sentimentality.

taglist: @latte-fairytaekwoon @ateez-angel @little-precious-baby @choisans-dimples @twancingyunhoe

Music: To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra and Cinnamon by Jome

They had started trying a few months ago and she had never expected to see the second line on the test so soon. Excitement and nerves flooded her as she looked at the little plastic stick. She had thought they would have a little more time, though she couldn’t think of what they would have needed it for. Seonghwa had been making plans since they first discussed trying. Plans for the babies room, plans for names, plans for clothes and accessories, and had even spent hours online already looking at strollers, cribs, toys, swings, and gliding rockers. Every day he came home with another plan or idea that had popped into his head during the day, a bright sparkle in his eyes as he told her all about it.

Part of her wanted to just snap a picture and send it to him right away, but she didn’t want to miss seeing his reaction. It was sure to be priceless, so instead she went to find a little box she could wrap up and give him as a surprise over dessert tonight. They needed to have something special, but she couldn’t let him know until the time was right.

“You ordered dinner for us tonight?” Hwa noted as he came in after work.

“I wanted to have my favorite meal tonight,” she answered, coming up to give him his hello kiss. “I was just hoping you wouldn’t be late today. The pancakes aren’t as good when you have to heat them up again.”

“You could have told me and I would have been sure to be home on time,” he scolded gently, his hand resting on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she shrugged. “If there was something important… I could have waited.”

“Next time tell me,” he insisted. “Then I can at least let you know if something has come up so you aren’t just waiting on me.”

“But I didn’t have to wait,” she pointed out.

“I just want to know, love,” he pressed a kiss to her temple before brushing past to change before dinner. “Go ahead and sit. I’ll be right there.”

She nodded and walked to the kitchen to check on the two little cakes in the fridge at the same time she got drinks for the both of them to go with dinner. Hopefully he wouldn’t come poking around in there. If he saw them, she thought he might start suspecting something was up.

Setting a plate and a drink for each of them on the coffee table, she wrapped herself in the throw on the couch and turned on a little something for them to watch while they ate. Seonghwa quickly returned, now dressed in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants, and cuddled in beside her, plate on his lap. She couldn’t keep her hand from pressing against her stomach now and again as she ate small bites of the kimchi pancakes tucked in against his side.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked, having noted that she was pecking at her food more than eating it.

“Yes, just taking my time,” she shook her head, making a special effort to take a bigger bite.

“You aren’t dieting are you?” He turned to look at her, setting his plate to the side. “If we’re trying, now isn’t the time to be trying to lose weight, my love. Do you want to take a walk after dinner?”

“No, no, I mean, we can, but I’m not trying to be careful about eating,” with a sigh she set her own half finished plate down and started to get up. “I’m just nervous. Look I got us something special for after dinner and everything.” She pointed out as she headed to the kitchen to get the two little strawberry shortcakes… and the little ‘gift’ she had wrapped for him. Seonghwa stood up, following his wife into the kitchen to see what she was upto.

“Grab a couple of small plates for me?” She asked as she opened the refrigerator door.

“Little forks too?” The question was spoken over the slight clang of dishes hitting each other and then the counter.

“Yes please,” she agreed, carefully removing the box from the shelf. “Can you make a couple of coffees as well?”

“Of course,” he agreed, happily pulling a couple of mugs from the cabinet. Transferring the cakes to the little plates, she took them out to the coffee table, tucking the present in the folds of the blanket as she waited for him to come with the hot, coffee filled mugs.

Seonghwa emerged from the kitchen, a broad grin on his face as his eyes landed on the red and white dessert. He loved how loving and thoughtful she was, always happy to make a special effort...just because, and he loved it.

“Thank you, jagiya,” he kissed her cheek, holding the little plate in his lap. “I love strawberries.”

“I know,” she giggled, loving the tickle of his breath against her ear. “I wanted to talk to you about something, though.”

“Is it about trying?” He questioned, stiffening slightly in his seat, a flutter of nerves filling his stomach. “Are not ready? We can wait if you aren’t--”

“No, wait… are you not ready?” A quick jolt of worry when through her at how quick he was to talk about waiting.

“No, I just thought, maybe you weren’t,” he soothed. “And as much as I want to have a baby with you, I want us both to be really ready for it. It would be okay, if you weren’t yet. I can wait for you.”

“Well,” she cleared her throat, grasping the little box in her hand as she began. “You don’t have to wait.” Handing him the box, she bit her lip as she watched his hand take it, a little questioning look flitting across his face. Flipping it over, he carefully tore open the wrapping paper before lifting the lid off the box. It took him a second to recognise what lay on the puffy cotton lining but when it hit him, an expression of absolute delight came across his face. His jaw dropped and he pulled the test out, looking closely at the little window.

“Two lines mean baby?” He asked, letting the box drop to the floor.

“Yes,” she nodded with a bright smile.

“We did it?” He asked, his eyes flitting between her face and the test. Giving him a confirming nod, she took the test and put it on the table with their deserts. Emotions burst through Seonghwa like a flood. He didn’t think he had ever felt joy like that before in his life. Tears obscured his vision as he leaned forward to bring his lips to hers in a kiss of pure happiness. A thousand thoughts went through his mind in a jumble of questions and plans, hopes and dreams.

“There is so much I have to do,” he gave a watery chuckle, kissing her eyelids as he pulled her into his lap. “We need to paint the baby’s room soon so the paint isn’t too fresh when the baby comes home. And furniture. It will need somewhere to sleep, unless we are co-sleeping? Even if we are, the baby will still need a crib for naps. What about maternity clothes? Should we go shopping--”

“Aein, let’s just be excited for tonight,” she laughed sweetly. “We can plan tomorrow. For today, just kiss me?”

“Forever,” he promised, framing her face as he took her lips in a celebratory kiss.

“Hwa, can you loosen your grip a little,” she asked as she lay on the exam table for their first ultrasound.

“Sorry,” he gave her a chasened smile. “I’m just so excited. I want to meet our little bean. It doesn’t feel real yet even though I know it's in there.”

“I know,” she nodded, looking down toward her belly. “What if the test was wrong? What if it’s not there when they check?”

“It will be,” his voice was full of confidence as he smiled down at her. “And if it isn’t then we get to keep trying. I’ve enjoyed that part too.”

“Hush,” she snapped quickly, a blush rising on her cheeks. “What if the doctor came in?”

“Then they would know how madly in love with my wife I am.” He gave a shy smile and rubbed her hand between both of his, letting out just a little of his nervous energy. She just shook her head and let it fall back onto the paper covered pillow. In only a few more moments the door opened again and a neatly dressed middle-aged woman came in dressed in cheery yellow scrubs.

“Hello everyone,” she smiled down at them both, making her way over to the other side of the exam table. “This is your first visit with us, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Seonghwa said from beside his wife. “Will we be able to see much this time?”

“Well lets see,” the nurse gave him a patient look. “First thing I need is for you to lift your shirt and tuck this in to keep the gel from getting on it. And then we will undo your jeans a little and put this towel over your lap to keep those clean as well.” She nodded, taking her shirt up and tucking the towel in over it as the nurse lowered the waistband of her jeans and tucked a second towel in around her hips. “Very good. Let me grab the gel from the warmer and we can get a little on your tummy so we can see baby more clearly.” She turned and pulled a large bottle from a holder on the wall. Putting a generous blob onto the now bare tummy of the mother to be, the nurse picked up the sensor of the ultrasound and began her examination.

Seonghwa leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen filled with smudges of grays that went from almost black to almost white. He practically held his breath as he waited to see something, though he wasn’t sure what he was really looking for.

“There we are,” the nurse said, looking at the screen.

“There what is?” He asked, seeing only a black blob on the screen.

“Right here,” she pointed at a small spot inside the black blob. “Do you see that little flutter? That is baby’s heartbeat.”

“That’s it?” He stood up to lean closer, as if getting nearer the screen would make it clearer.

“That’s it,” the nurse chuckled. “I know it is hard to see and it doesn’t quite look like a baby just yet, but it is there and the heartbeat looks good.”

“It’s okay? It’s really there?” She asked, eyes glued to the same place as her husband’s.

“Everything looks wonderful,” the nurse confirmed, handing a tissue to Seonghwa to wipe away the silent, happy tears that were rolling down his cheeks.

“Okay, do we want it to be cherry or black?” Seonghwa asked as he looked at the baby furniture set they had chosen on the website.

“I like the cherry better,” she replied, biting her bottom lip. “I know you like neutrals and all, but I want the baby’s space to have some color and warmth.”

“What about the wall color?” He turned to look at her directly, pulling her against him as he looked up into her face. “We don’t know if it's a boy or girl yet. Are we going to wait to know before we pick colors?”

“I was thinking… I don’t want to know,” she told him nervously. “I think I want it to be a surprise.”

“You don’t want to know?” His eyebrows raised in surprise. “What about baby clothes and toys?”

“Well there are plenty of clothes that work for both and I was thinking of a mint color for the walls of the room,” she looked at him, cupping his cheek as she looked into his questioning gaze.

“Okay,” he nodded. “Warm natural shades for our little whoever. What about a theme? Maybe make it like a secret garden? Plants and butterflies and flowers?”

“I like it,” she grinned. “Someplace relaxing and welcoming to take care of baby.”

“Good, cherry it is then,” he leaned his head against her chest, taking a moment to listen to the sweet sound of her heartbeat.

“Can we get some netting to put around the cradle?” She suggested. “We can put some flowers and stuff on it rather than a mobile.”

“I love the idea,” he giggled. “What about daisies and those little black and white butterflies? I could dangle some with fishing line so they look like they are floating?”

“Oh I love it,” she gave a happy sigh. “The room has so much light. Let’s hang crystals in the window, get rainbows sparkling on the walls.”

“Rainbows all over,” he chuckled. “And a little moon nightlight.”

“Thank you for indulging me,” she said gratefully.

“Indulging you? No, jagiya,” he beamed. “I love the idea of our baby growing up in a safe little garden surrounded by rainbows and butterflies.”

“Yeah?” She kissed the tip of his nose.

“A little garden for our little fae,” He nuzzled, lifting his lips to hers. “Our baby is going to be so beautiful, just like their mommy.”

“You mean like daddy,” she corrected with a chortle.

“No love,” he shook his head. “You always take my breath away, my love. If we have a baby that has your face, I would consider them to be so lucky.” Unable to think of something to say to that, she settled for pulling his face to hers, giving him a warm, sweet kiss.

“Did you know little Hyunjin is the size of a mango right now?” Hwa asked, not looking up from the book he was reading from beside her on the couch.

“A mango huh?” She asked, splaying a hand on her sweater covered bump. “Actually that sounds really good right now. I don’t suppose we have any, do we?”

“Mango? No but I can run to the store,” he let the book close and started to stand up.

“No, you don’t need to do that,” she waved at him to come back and sit with her on the couch again. “It’s just a whim. I’m not even that hungry at the moment.”

“But you are hungry,” he said, moving to go into the kitchen. “Fruit? I think we have some, let me see what we have,”

“No—” she started before giving up as he disappeared into the kitchen. “I don’t need to eat anything at this point. I already feel like a whale.”

“What was that, babe?” He asked, carrying a bowl stacked high with fruit.

“Nothing,” she sighed. “I’m just… not that hungry at the moment.”

“But our Hyunnie needs plenty of energy to grow big and strong,” he coaxed gently. “Grapes for my babies?” Seonghwa held a couple up near her mouth and made little om-nom-nom sounds at her.

“I don’t know that I want to eat,” she sighed tiredly. “I feel… gross.” She cringed at her own words.

“Gross?” He sat up ramrod straight and looked down at her slumped figure.

“You don’t have to say I’m pretty or something,” she huffed, slouching down into the couch even more. “I know it’s hormones and stuff but I don’t like feeling like I am huge and bumping out in all the wrong places.”

“Wrong places,” he sputtered, placing the bowl of fruit on the table.

“Forget I said anything,” she sighed, pulling herself into a sitting position. “Just hand me the fruit. I’ll eat.”

“Um-mmm, no love,” he shook his head, hooking a finger under her chin to bring her eyes up to his. “Don’t I tell you every day how pretty you are so sweet and round with our baby?”

“Yes, but you have to say that,” she shook her head and looked away.

“I have to because it’s true,” he assured her, pulling her to sit in his lap. “Every time I look at you my heart swells with gratitude and pride that you are carrying my baby. I look at you and I fall in love over and over. If I woke up tomorrow and didn’t know who I was, my heart would still know you, my love for you is so deep.”

“I know you love me,” she shrugged. “But I don’t think you find me pretty like you used to. I know I don’t.”

“You’re right,” he admitted, picking her up to carry her to their bedroom. “You’re even more beautiful to me now.”

“You don’t have to say that,” she shook her head as she clung tightly to his shoulders. “And you don’t have to carry me. I know I’ve gotten heavy.”

“Shush, you are light as a feather, my love,” he said as he stepped confidently through the hallway and into their room. Laying her on the soft duvet as close to the center of the bed as he could manage, he turned on the string of lights that wrapped around the top frame of the four poster bed, bathing them both in their soft, warm glow. “I’m an idiot to have let you feel like you are anything but a goddess like this.”

“Look at me,” she huffed and hid her face behind her hands. “My hips have gotten huge, I have all these stretch marks, my boobs don’t fit in my bra right, my thighs are bumpy, and look at how my arms even jiggle.”

“Your boobs have grown,” he agreed, giving a thumbs up and giving an approving wink and click of his tongue. “More to fill my hands.” Reaching out, he gently cupped them with his elegant fingers. “And the stretch marks, I’ll never be able to see them without feeling so much gratitude for how you got them. You’re like magic; growing a whole new person inside you.”

“It doesn’t make them any prettier,” she shook her head.

“They are pretty to me,” he soothed. “Let me look at you, my love. It’s been a little while hasn’t it? I’ve been so worried about not making you uncomfortable with my wants, I made you think I didn’t have them. Let me show you how much I still want you.”

“You don’t have to make a big show of it just because I feel ugly,” she gave him a half smile.

“It’s not a show,” he insisted, guiding one of her hands to come and rest on the erection confined in his slacks. “I want my beautiful wife. I want to hold her and feel her around me again. It’s been too long.”

“Not just to make me feel better?” She made him promise. “You really want me?”

“So fucking much,” Seonghwa stretched out beside her, turning her hopefilled face to him. Closing his eyes he pressed his lips to hers and took a moment to feel the brush of their softness against his own, feeling a sweet pang course though him. The soft whimpering sound she made when his hand slid down from her face to graze along the side of her neck undid him and he found himself groping clumsily to remove their clothes like he was a bumbling teenager all over again.

As quickly as he could manage, and with far less grace than he had hoped, Seonghwa pulled off both of their clothes, leaving them as physically naked as their emotions were. He had been holding back, trying to give her space and provide her with every comfort and meet her every need. The first few months nothing had changed almost to where he wasn’t sure the baby was still there until he touched her tummy or he saw the weary nausea the little creature caused her. But when that first pooch started to show he started being cautious. First, just being sure not to let his weight rest on her too heavily, then having her straddle him when they made love. Slowly he noticed how she moved differently and became shyer with letting him see her like that. He hadn’t pressed her, or asked her why, not wanting her to feel pressured by his wants when she had already given him so much.

He coaxed her to lay out on the duvet, open to his gaze, and sat up beside her on the bed. His eyes traveled the length of her from head to toes and back without hesitation, taking her in. She was so beautiful. It was obvious to him now, and he should have asked, that it hadn’t been discomfort or a lack of desire that had brought that reluctance from her. It had been shame in her beautiful body. She hadn’t wanted to be on display when they made love.

“I’m sorry I let you think even for a moment that you were anything less than beautiful,” he apologized gently.

“You didn’t,” she tried, but Hwa gently touched her lips.

“When you pulled away I didn’t ask,” he shook his head. “I forgot to tell you how beautiful you are. Something I should do every day. I won’t slip again.” He swore, lifting one of her arms so he could kiss the inside of her wrist. “Every day I’ll pick something about you and sing it’s praise until you understand the way I love and adore every inch of you.”

“You don’t have to,” she looked up at him, reaching to pull him close. “Just make love to me.”

“Hush,” he teased. “Let me do this right.” Reaching out, he spread a hand out over her stomach, gently rubbing the soft roundness there. “I think I want to start with this. This beautiful curve that says how much you love me. So much that you let me fill you with new life and are loving and nurturing it in a way I can’t for almost a year. It’s… such a gift. And when I look at you all round and full, all I can think is that I would do it a hundred times just to see how breathtaking you look filled with my baby.”

“You don’t find it… weird?” She asked, watching his hand move over her belly.

“Weird?” His brow furrowed.

“I mean aside from being fat,” she pulled herself up on her elbows and looked at her stomach like it was something foreign to her. “There’s someone in there. And I think they can already feel and hear what’s going on.”

“It is a little funny,” He admitted, curling up beside her so he could press his forehead to the bump. “Hello little Hyunjinnie. You should know how much I love your mommy. You are here because we wanted to have something so special together. I’m going to make love to her and you’re just going to have to close your ears for a little bit. Because she was my wife before she was your mom, so I have prior claim, okay?”

“Hwa,” she laughed.

“My child and I are coming to an understanding, okay?” He laughed, a joyful sound though his expression looked slightly pained as it was wont to do sometimes.

“I love you,” she laughed, a happy tear sparkling down her cheek.

“Now,” he said, moving to lay down on the bed and guiding her to roll onto her side so he could spoon her from behind. “Let me make love to the most beautiful woman on earth.” He slid one thigh between hers and pulled her flush against his body. Pressing a kiss to her shoulder, he let his hand wander, cupping her breast and stroking down the curve of the side of her belly until his fingers reached the apex of her thighs. He could feel her becoming damp and slid a teasing fingertip over the soft slit of her lips.

“Oh Hwa,” she breathed, arching against him.

“Tell me you want me,” he whispered into the shell of her ear.

“I need you like I need air right now,” she murmured, using her hand to guide his fingers to brush her pulsing clit.

“I left my girl alone for too long,” he cooed. “I let her go feeling unloved when I really wanted nothing more than to live buried inside her. To make our two bodies one.”

She moaned as he made circles around her sensitive nub.

“Please,” she begged breathlessly. “I want you inside me. I feel so empty without you.”

“Empty,” he teased, speeding up the movements of his fingers. “When I’ve left you so full?”

“It’s not the same,” she whined.

“I know,” he soothed, kissing her shoulder. “Come for me like this and I’ll fill you up with all of me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on the feel of his fingers and the warmth of his breath against the back of her neck. Her body fluttered and Hwa whispered praise for her beauty and her heart. She came apart in his arms, becoming a squirming mess as he held her against him. The sounds of her pleasure drove him wild. He had missed this, had missed the warmth of her body, the smell of her hair, and the sound of her going wild at his touch.

“I love you,” he whispered as she came down, holding her and nipping at her sweat salted skin.

“Hwa, you promised,” she whined, grinding back into his lap.

“I will,” he promised, pulling back enough to reach into the bedside drawer. Pulling out their old familiar bottle of lube, he got himself ready to enter her waiting body. “Are you ready for me?”

“I have been… so long,” she sighed, lifting one leg up to allow him access to her body.

“Angel,” he murmured, pulling her close and lining up his body with hers. “You are so beautiful. You are my everything. Thank you for giving me the gift of your love and this.” His palm caressed her bump as he pushed inside her. “Everything you bring to my life is a gift.”

“Oh Hwa,” she groaned, twining her fingers with his as he held her flush against him. He whispered words of love as he slid himself in and out of her body enjoying the sensation of her surrounding him, something he had been too long without. She was his haven and his comfort and the closeness made his heart swell in his chest. He could feel the prickle tears tickling the back of his eyes as emotion rolled through him like stormy waves.

His orgasm hit him with the intensity he hadn’t felt since their wedding night, that first time when he was with her when she was really his. It wasn’t their first time, but it was the first time they belonged to each other. It had meant everything to him and for a moment he had worried she would judge him for letting the rush of sentimentality overwhelm him as he collapsed onto her. Instead she had offered him love and comfort, entwining her limbs with his until he couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began. He had laughed and cried and held her until the light of dawn had shown through the window of their hotel room. Only then had they let exhaustion pull them under. He would never forget the shine of her skin in the milky light of dawn. That perfect moment had not been matched until this one as they lay together, spooning and sticky in the candle like glow of the string of lights.

“My everything,” he panted, pressing a kiss to the back of her head and balling their fists together as he kept himself buried inside her as he slowly went soft.

“Love you,” she slurred sleepily, letting her eyes close.

“Do you need help changing babe?” Seonghwa asked from the opposite side of the dressing screen.

“No, I don’t think so,” she sighed, fidgeting with the gauzy sleeve of the maternity dress. She stepped out from behind it, feeling a little self conscious with her belly out on full view.

“You look beautiful,” he beamed at her, leaning down to give the baby a kiss before leaning in to press a second to her lips. “Ready for some pictures?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, waddling forward. “I’m just not sure about the bare belly thing.”

“You look incredible,” he assured her. “But we can make some adjustments if you want to cover up a little more.”

“No, its okay,” she put a hand on her lower back as a little dull pain flared there. “But I’m warning you. We are having some little alien moments with Hyunjin on the move.”

“Hmmm?” He asked, his eyes locking on her belly as he walked beside her.

“Here,” she turned so he could see the other side and paused, giving the lower part a little pat. After a second the tiny outline of a hand pressed back.

“Well, hello there baby,” he cooed excitedly, brushing a hand over the little bump.

“I think we are doing some somersaults getting ready to come out,” her voice was a little breathless and strained. Seonghwa straightened up and moved to support her as they walked over to the place that was all set up for their pictures.

The photographer took a few candid pictures as the couple moved around to get comfortable. They were one of the most precious couples he had had the honor of photographing. Seonghwa was clearly smitten for his wife and their unborn child and his wife glowed when she looked at him. They were that sort of forever couple, he had decided moments after meeting them. Death was going to be the only thing that pulled them apart, and with any luck, that would be decades and decades in the future.

“Oh god,” she whimpered, holding onto the bar as she knelt on the bed in the delivery room, another contraction squeezing her.

“You’re so brave, baby,” he praised. “You’re doing so well. Just a little longer now.”

“Hwa it hurts,” she wept, her face contorting as the pain peaked again.

“I know,” he gave her his best watery, brave smile. “But you’re doing such a great job. I promise I will change every diaper the first month if you just keep pushing.”

“I’m trying,” she ground out between hiccoughs of pain.

“You are and you’re doing so well,” he cupped her cheeks as the nurse reached between her legs to catch the baby as it emerged. She let out a sharp cry just before the shoulders finally came out, allowing the baby to soon come out with just a couple more pushes.

Hwa looked down at his sleeping wife, holding little Hyunjin in his arms.

“She worked 36 hours to bring you into this world, you know,” he murmured to the baby as it slept against his bare chest. “We should both try to be very, very nice to her, okay?”

Hyunjin fussed slightly and Seonghwa bounced them gently to lull them back to sleep. Another hour of sleep for her he hoped. The baby would need to nurse but she needed a rest. She looked so small in the bed, slightly pale and exhausted. Understandable, he thought to himself, after pushing out a person today.

“I’m coming,” she murmured quietly, padding down the hall to the baby’s room. Seonghwa was still asleep in their bed, but if he heard the baby fussing, he would be up in a flash, either offering to bring the baby to her for a feeding or trying to heat up a bottle she had pumped over the last couple of days.

She suspected Hyunjin wasn’t really hungry, just thirsty and a little cranky. A few minutes of nursing and rocking would probably be enough. Picking them up, she took a seat in the quiet gliding rocker and opened the front of her night gown. Pulling out her breast, she rubbed the nipple on Hyunjin’s tiny pink lips, coaxing them to latch on. The baby eagerly opened and locked onto her nipple with happy little coos as the cuddled into the warmth and comfort of her body.

“That’s my baby,” she cooed, closing her eyes as she held the happily suckling baby in her arms that rested safely on the nursing pillow in her lap. The sucks of Hyunjins mouth became less frequent and their breaths grew longer until they happily fell asleep still half nursing from mom as she succumbed to sleep herself.

That was how Seonghwa found them when he woke up to an empty bed a little while after. Carefully taking the baby from his wife’s limp arms, he tucked them into their crib before he knelt down to close her nightgown for her. He knew he probably couldn’t get her back to bed without waking her up, but he was going to try anyway. Gently taking away the nursing pillow, he set it in its place beside the crib before carefully working his arm under her armpits and knees, lifting her into his arms so he could carry her down the hall. She stirred in her sleep, cuddling into him and saying his name softly. He shushed her as he tucked her in under the covers, pulling them high up until they were tucked in up to her chin.

Placing a quick kiss on her forehead he quietly made his way out of the room again to sit for a little bit with the other most precious person in his life. Hyunjin was still happily sleeping so Hwa took a seat in the rocker, determined to spend just a little time keeping watch over them as they slept. But as a new, sleep deprived parent himself as well, he soon found himself nodding off as the rocker moved smoothly under him.

“Hyunjin, are you ready to go to school?” Hwa asked, kneeling down to straighten their jacket and fix the couple of buttons they had put in the wrong holes.

“Yes, daddy,” They grinned happily, picking up their big yellow backpack.

“Good,” he grinned, kissing their forehead and looking at them with all the pride and love that was bursting in his heart. He always saw his wife looking at him from behind those little sparkling eyes. “I’m glad you’re letting me walk you on your first day. I know mommy would have been happy to do it too, but I really wanted to take you.”

“I know daddy,” they nodded, taking his hand as they made their way out the front door. “It’s all you have been talking about this week.”

“You are doing this so I stop, aren’t you?” He laughed, his eyes pinching in that same almost pained look as he looked down at them with pure affection.

“No daddy,” Hyunjin shook their head and looked up at him earnestly. “I wanted to walk with you too. Then you can be the last person to give me a hug before my big day when I become a big kid.”

“Oh of course,” He nodded seriously, walking at the pace set by the little person who would always be his baby, no matter how old they got. “My baby is growing up so fast.”

Masterlist

If you got this far, feel free to send me an ask if you have a preference for the next member. If not, if I decide to continue, I might do it in age order.

#ateez fluff #ateez scenarios #ateez seonghwa #park seonghwa #fatherhood #ateez smut #kpop smut #kpop fluff #Seonghwa

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kpop-stan23-writes · 3 years ago

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old money seonghwa

another case of me reading this post by @warmau and being inspired! btw, if you enjoy brilliantly clever bullet aus you should definitely give skye a follow.

read san's part here and mingi’s part here

group: ateez member: seonghwa genre: fluff? rich boy au word count: 1.5k warnings: a few curse words. the note is a little suggestive pairing: seonghwa x gn!reader

note: the seonghwa i portray here definitely isn't the type of seonghwa who would hover over you while dressed in a three piece suit and you're wearing nothing but one of his vintage watches but i figure hey, maybe he can grow into that seonghwa

heir to a trust fund that has been getting richer by the decade

only knows other trust fund babies

appears cold and standoffish to the general public but that's really only because he doesn't know how to interact with people not in the top 1%

(secretly very awkward)

only wears high end luxury brands and old, vintage watches that have been in his family for generations

gets driven around in a limo with windows tinted black

perfect gentleman

has never once in his life forgotten his manners because they were practically beaten into him since he could walk

everybody in the upper class loves him because they think he's perfect: perfect manners, perfect looks, perfect bank account

and that's okay

it's the only life he's known, after all

until he meets you

it's your friend's birthday, and their rich other half has given you some money to pick out something

you're frugal, having grown up modestly, and knowing your friend's taste, found something they'll adore for a fraction of the money their s/o gave you

you're standing in front of a jewelry store when your friend surprises you and all but drags you into the store

you roll your eyes but follow, listening to them say that you should go ahead and spend the spare change *wink wink*

seonghwa is already inside, searching for a suitable gift for his mother's own birthday

he looks up when he hears a salesperson greet the newcomers

and immediately tells the saleswoman helping him to bag everything you look at

her eyes widen at the request but nods and hurries away to inform the others

you're none the wiser, eyeing the lovely jewelry and ignoring your friend as they try to convince you that their s/o wouldn't mind if you spent the money on yourself, since you've already gotten the birthday gift *wink wink*

your friend does find a little something as a birthday gift to themselves and you follow them to the cashier

three large bags are placed on the counter and you and your friend share a look

"i only purchased this," your friend says

"oh no these are yours," the cashier says, looking directly at you

"but i didn't--i can't--"

"oh they're on seonghwa's tab. he's just over there"

your head whips around just in time to see the retreating back of a tall figure

you look back at the three large bags filled to the brim each with neatly wrapped boxes

"how much..."

your friend nearly chokes when the cashier hands over the bill

you don't dare look yourself, just stare at the empty entry where this seonghwa disppeared

your friend fills you in about the park seonghwa as you walk to your car, arms heavy with the unexpected gifts

with every fact your friend tells you, you feel yourself grow more and more confused

this man has everything he could ever want, and you assume that includes his fill of attractive suitors of the same class

so who are you? just a random stranger who happened to stop by a high-end jewelry store way out of your price range

when your friend's s/o hears about what happened, they're just as shocked as you

because park seonghwa spending oodles on a perfect stranger? what has the world come to

you try going back to the jewelry store to return the jewels, but they tell you they can't process a refund without the original card

so you convince your friend's s/o to give you the address to seonghwa's penthouse apartment, because now you get a chance to demand an explanation as well

stepping out of the cab with your arms full of bags with the expensive name splashed across in big bold letters makes you feel sorely out of place

because wow what a building

the lobby, while small, has tall ceilings, and the marble floors make every step you take echo

the woman behind the counter is in a simple black dress that still looks like it costs more than several months of your salary put together and you fidget nervously in your ripped jeans and scuffed shoes

the woman looks down her nose at you even though you're standing over her and for a moment you're at a loss as to what to say

the longer you stand there, though, the more foolish you feel, and you hate feeling foolish, so quickly you're just mad you're in this situation to begin with

you drop the heavy bags on the smooth wood counter and say "let seonghwa know i'm here to return the jewelry"

"and what's your name?"

"he'll know who it is"

she looks like she's ready to argue, but you just turn your back to her, leaning against the counter and tapping your foot obnoxiously loudly in a way that makes it obvious you won't leave until she's given seonghwa your message

she huffs but picks up the phone

she relays your message in a tone that clearly says she doesn't believe a word you say and you have to fight a smirk when you notice her eyes widen in surprise at seonghwa's response

she clears her throat and passes you a key board and tells you to use it to get to the penthouse floor

you take the card and gather your bags and march toward the elevators

frustration is still coursing through your veins when the elevator doors open directly into seonghwa's living room, so you don't notice that wow the pictures you've found online of park seonghwa don't do him justice

instead you march fearlessly up to him, drop the bags on the large leather sofa, and cross your arms over your chest

"what exactly are these for?"

you are prepared for all sorts of reactions, ranging from disbelief to anger

what you weren't expecting was the ever-cool, every-confident park seonghwa to burn holes in his slippers, rub the back of his neck uncertainly, and say questioningly, "they're for you?"

you're so shocked at his response that you're rendered dumb

this is not the park seonghwa you were expecting

he's looking at you now, his dark eyes wide (you know the look he gets, the galaxy-filled boba-eyed look) and look as innocent as a calf

any anger you had at being put in this ridiculous situation leaves you immediately and now you're feeling as awkward and uncertain as he appears to be

you clear your throat and gesture to the bags and explain that no one could possibly wear that many jewels in one lifetime

he seems confused and you suddenly wonder if he's ever seen the women in his life wear a piece of jewelry more than once

"look it's a really sweet and kind gesture," you say quickly, "but it's simply too much. can you please return these?"

seonghwa just nods and you're left standing in front of each other awkwardly

you finally bow and scurry away, but are then left hanging out to dry because where the hell is that elevator and why didn't it just stay on the top floor when you got out??

your friend and their s/o pesters you about how it went but you just wave them off because you're guessing you've seen a side of park seonghwa no one has ever seen before and it feels strangely intimate and you feel strangely protective

you keep an eye out for him in the news, now, though, and can't get over how put-together and suave he looks on camera

it makes you almost wish you could get to know the seonghwa you saw

but you're from completely different worlds, shop at completely different stores, and after all he only spotted you out of chance

what you aren't expecting is to see him at your friend's birthday party just two weeks later

because their s/o is hosting the event, it's black tie required, and with your friend's help you clean up well

you're also there before the other guests, helping the s/o as a second host

so as you're making the rounds of the guests, you stop in your tracks when you spot park seonghwa

damn he looks really good in a suit

and for a moment you see the cool, distant park seonghwa in the flesh

but as soon as your eyes meet, his gaze warms and is that a hint of a blush on his cheeks?

you straighten your shoulders because dammit you will be a good second host and greet all the guests like you're supposed to

you finally make your way to seonghwa and thank him for attending your friend's birthday party

"i never caught your name," he says before you can run away

you stop in your tracks and just stare at him now because he really bought those things without even knowing your name? seeing him at your friend's party you thought maybe he recognized you through their s/o but he really couldn’t have picked you out of a lineup?

he shifts under your unblinking gaze and you quickly clear your throat and introduce yourself properly

he smiles a little and you swear you hear him say "pretty. it suits you" under his breath

but you heard wrong, right?

you finally manage to flee when you hear your name called and you quickly bow before scurrying away

seonghwa is left in a daze the rest of the evening, your pretty name going around and around in his head

the end?

#ateez #seonghwa #ateez scenarios #seonghwa scenarios #ateez fluff #seonghwa fluff #maybe? idk what fluff is #rich boy au #rich boy!seonghwa #the money series

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lucienne-thee-librarian · 2 years ago

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If I may...I think the problem is also amplified on various ends by two separate phenomena: 1) on the end of "people saying really gross shit to celebrities online by @ing them or even just obviously sexual shit like talking about mommy milkers in the mentions of some random person's tiktok or selfies that you find hot unprompted", it's also fueled imo, by the good old problem of people kind of thinking "if I say it on the internet it's not real". There is some truth imo, to the idea that people saying nasty or overly familiar things sometimes (not always there are plenty who KNOW its bad and are doing it on purpose AND it's still not an excuse ofc) just. Aren't really considering that this is a real person who will see their comments context free and thus it's easier to not just sexually but emotionally objectify someone in that like, these people kind of lose sight of the fact that if they went up to a stranger on the street irl and said this exact shit they'd get a "WTF creep" type of reaction AND they know that deep down which is why they act so different offline than online.

2. On the other front, I also think that purity culture is one of those terms certain people online need taken away like "gaslighting" because they throw it around without actually knowing fully what it really is or what it means??? I'm super glad you brought that up actually because god, I see it all the time. Like...the "you, a fellow adult, need my consent before you can wear Revealing Clothes around me or else you're a pervert and that's violating" thing or the "you need to Confess Your Sins before masturbating over someone or else it hurts them...somehow...even though ironically you're going to actually creep them out way more by y'know, telling them this shit they did not need to know instead of just rubbing one out already in your own damn room and leaving that between your ears like horny people with perfectly normal desires have been doing for as long as there have been humans and it has to date harmed nobody" - that IS very much purity culture.

But like you said, the way it gets thrown around...purity culture is a specific phenomenon usually rooted in certain religious ideas about sex and virginity and how the Wrong sexual activities can taint your moral worth and how what matters most in relationships isn't love or consent but Purity, doing things The Right Way. It's also tied up with modesty culture which I don't think would be too dramatic to say is its own form of rape culture - smarter people than me have written about it in much more depth.

But the point is, I lived a form of purity culture because of the flavor of Christianity that was my family's faith and that was my entire life for about the first 18 at least, years. I didn't even have it close to as bad as many did but it still did profound damage. And I can safely tell you purity culture is NOT "anyone anywhere not being totally down with whatever overly personal shit you want to say TO THEM DIRECTLY 24/7 just because they decided to be publically visible online or have a job that makes them famous". And as a survivor of ACTUAL purity culture, it is really starting to fucking grind my gears to see people online throwing the term around for things it does not apply to.

No but there’s something genuinely troubling about the way internet culture around sex (and the general allergy to nuance that so many social media users seem to have) has eroded the distinction between actual sexual harassment and objectification and just plain old sexual desire and attraction and any kind of sexual expression, or between purity culture and any kind of sexual boundaries, in a way that cuts both ways and doesn’t actually benefit anyone.

So you end up with people sincerely asking “isn’t this just purity culture talking?” when they’re being asked not to call strangers “daddy” or say things like “step on me” to their face. You end up with people advocating for actual sex pest behaviour in the name of avoiding nonexistent sex pest behaviour (asking people for their “consent” before you think about them while you’re wanking.) Either anything to do with sex is considered inherently good and sexualising other people to their faces is nbd, or anything to do with sex is inherently bad and nobody should so much as bring up the topic in a conversation with other adults, regardless of the tone and setting. There’s no distinction drawn between things that are actively said or done to someone or directed at them and things that a given person could just potentially come across or look for of their own accord.

And yeah, sometimes there is nuance and complication around these things and you have to use your brain in a debate around them. You can’t just say “if it could make someone uncomfortable, don’t do it” (plenty of people are “uncomfortable” seeing gay people kiss or hold hands in public, after all), or “you need everyone’s consent before doing anything that could potentially be construed as sexual” (same problem as before, and whilst this is absolutely true if it concerns things that are being done to them or actively involving them, phrasing it like that quickly devolves into the idea that you can “consent” to what another person is wearing.) So discussions of this kind end up getting sidetracked by the kind of people who think that “I don’t consent to not having everything my way” is a reasonable stance to take.

It’s just very frustrating that there are people on both sides of the debate who can’t see any meaningful difference between saying “I’d like Dennis Morennis to rail me” on their private tumblr account, or having some choice pleasant Dennis Morennis-related thoughts while getting off in their bedroom, and actively going up to Dennis himself and asking to be railed. And it’s tricky with the internet because these days you can never tell when people are trolling or not, but I think there genuinely are people who think like this. And that’s worrying.

#Like JESUS. CHRIST. YES. THIS #flawlessly put bestie without my ramblings #it's really something to see both purity culture of the sort I'd expect to have seen back in my fundie childhood #AND ppl just having no fucking filter or concern for ppls boundaries if they're celebrities or even just random ppl on tiktok you think #are hot becoming phenomena on the same internet at the same time. And it's different phenomena different people #but I think you're right the problem in both cases is actually the same: the inability our outright refusal to distinguish any #meaningful differences between thoight and private/personal conversation and action #or between what might be appropriate between friends/ppl who know each other and have gauged a situation correctly as okay to risk saying #stuff vs just. Doing the internet equivalent of going up to a stranger unprompted on the street and going 'hey daddy' or 'nice t!ts mommy #what that thing do' and what boundaries matter when...#like the death of nuance seriously will be the death of us all the more internet Discourse AND real life bullshit I see the more I think it

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oppabimbab · 4 years ago

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risky and freaky | kim namjoon

genre: smut

starring: namjoon x reader

synopsis: he has been busy with online meetings but you’re horny. what a risky combination

words: 2,730 words ( a very quick one )

tags: slight dom reader, handjob, bl*w!job, fingering, slight dom namjoon, cl*t tease, degrad!ng, unprotected s*x, hot!namjoon, submissive reader

side notes: namjoon is really hot for some unique reason so i made this after have been stucked with jk and taehyung fics for so long. actually, im a bad writer idont even know what im doing but tq so much for reading this :D

STAY SAFE EVERYONE. WEAR YOUR MASKS AND NEVER GO OUT IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO.

A faint chatter sound can be heard from Namjoon’s studio as he is casually playing a sneak peek of his new composed song to his team through the Zoom meeting.

This has become his daily routine ever since the quarantine started in your area because of the damn virus. Honestly, you don’t really care about quarantine since you’re doing it with your boyfriend. That means you have so many hours to spend with him, doing things both of you love and plus, you could rest as much as you want.

Few days of quarantine seems nice and all but things turn into something different than you thought. Namjoon becomes extremely busy with his online meetings. From days to nights, he will do some sort of camping in his studio—completely forgot that he has life other than those damn composing shit. Especially his sex life.

You’re not happy, obviously. Rather than being sad or angry, you feel more needy and desperate every time he didn’t give you the attention you needed. Plus, Namjoon in that casual t-shirt and sweatpants? Of course, you’re horny. He is so hot.

You lean against the door—looking at him who probably can’t see you over there. But, surprisingly, he sees you.

He looks away from the screen and glances at you for few seconds while raising his brows before he mouthed, “What’s up, baby?”.

You don’t say anything as you help yourself from pouting at him. It’s really frustrating. Not gonna lie. He is there in one of the God-knows-how-many meetings he has done with the other members. The meeting seems chaotic and loud with laughter from the boys.

After few seconds, you come closer to him and lean against the desk—being cautious for not getting in the camera so the boys won’t see you in Namjoon’s shirt with only panties and no bra.

“Guys, I need some break. Go on without me,” he says as he turns off the mic and camera before he brings his eyes to you.

“What’s wrong, baby? Do you need something?” He places his big hands on your hip, giving it a small pat while he stares into your eyes with curiosity.

“I miss you,” you say. What a clingy bitch.

He raises his brows in amusement before chuckling.

“I’ll be done in 1 hour. I promise you okay?”

You frown.

“You said that 2 hours ago?”

“Did I?”

You nod with frowned face. So he wants you to wait for another hour before you could suck his cock? Hilarious.

“I really promise you. I’ll give you whatever you want once I’m done with these. Alright?” he rubs your thigh casually while smiling but little did he know, it’s arousing you in the wildest way ever. You get butterflies everywhere and the knot in your stomach is getting crazy.

Before you could say anything, Namjoon averts his attention back on the screen before turning on the camera and mic. He signals you to wait or probably leaves the room. The meeting goes back to the most chaotic ever—leaving you here with crazy arousal. What a torture.

He might want you to wait for another hour but it doesn’t seem that way to you. Not at all when you slowly get off from the desk and get on your knees. Quietly, you slip in between his legs under the desk. You immediately witness such horror look on Namjoon’s face as he looks down at you but nothing comes out from his mouth.

He can’t say anything, can he?

“I’ll be quiet,” you whisper at him and he seems speechless. Without letting him to protest, you trail your hand closer to his clothed shaft under that thick sweatpants. Namjoon almost jerks when you finally palm them inside your small hand. A familiar liquid feels coming out from your cunt at the touch.

“So big, your cock,” your eyes stare at the bulge—completely mesmerised at the size even this is not your first time touching or even seeing it. Namjoon’s eyes are glued on the screen even you clearly can see how intimidated he has become—all because of your touch. Of course. He likes this.

“You like this?” you whisper in a very needy voice while looking at him.

You keep grabbing, rubbing and touching the shaft but there is barely any whimper or such moan from him, making you want more. You need more.

His eyes become bigger when you reach for the strap of his pant and immediately pull them down. He catches your hand and mouthed, “What are you doing?!”. Completely ignoring him, you pull the sweatpants down until his bulge under the boxer finally come to your sight. Without no doubt, you grab them quickly and it’s making Namjoon to let out a small whimper, a very faint one.

“Huh? What’s wrong with you dude?” you heard Yoongi’s voice from the screen. Namjoon immediately turns pale. Holy shit, this is fun.

“Nothing. It’s cold here,” he makes up some weird excuse while rubbing the back of his head. You know he wants to look down at you but it will just make the other boys become suspicious so he just let you do whatever you want to do. That’s the best part.

Enough with the clothed service, you pull his boxer in such speed—making his huge cock sprung to your sight in a very delicious way. You could feel how wet your panty is.

They’re huge, long and hard—your mouth probably is going to sore so fucking bad after this. You stare at it for few seconds before you look up at him, waiting for his reactions.

You meet his eyes. They’re darkened. His pupil seems dilated. Gosh, he is fucking hot.

“Do you want me to suck it?” you whisper while giving a soft peck on the bruised tip. There is a pre-cum on it and you lick it clean—causing his hips to move slightly. Namjoon don’t give any reactions but he immediately runs his fist in your hairs before pulling your face closer to his shaft.

It’s crazy that he could keep such a straight face while his dick is this hard. You smile before opening your mouth to take his length into your mouth—completely burying his hardened shaft inside your mouth until the tip reaches your throat.

As you’re adjusting to his size, slowly, your head starts to move up and down—sucking every parts of his cock. You never take him fully before because of his size but this time, you try to taste every parts of the length and you’re not disappointed of it even you feel like choking yourself. He jerks his hip towards you, reaching your throat before you could hear another faint whimper coming from him..

Honestly, it’s not only him. You feel good too. Licking, rubbing and kissing the veins along the cocks—you try to help yourself from moaning no matter how good this feels like. You trail a finger to your wet clit and touch it —spreading the cunty liquid all over them. The damn meeting really makes you and him become this oddly quiet for something erotic. You definitely aren’t this quiet when giving or receiving sex.

Slowly, you pull down your panty and flinch a little at the cold on your bare pussy.

Wanting to see his reactions, you look up while clenching your mouth around the hardened shaft and pumping them in your hand up and down. The veins in his neck and arms are popping to the point you don’t really care about anything else right now. He needs to wreck the fuck outta you now. The saliva keeps drenching along your neck—making the wet sound echoes through the room.

“Baby.....,” you moan as the knot in your stomach is driving you crazy.

“Hsss. Babe, I—ugh fuck,” he curses, out of breath. It’s pretty loud for someone who is in a meeting but you don’t really care about it.

“Baby.....I want you inside me,” you mewls—rubbing his cock in between your hands while looking at him straight into the eyes. You never been this needy before, what exactly quarantine has done to you?

Without answering you, he suddenly stands up on his feet as he fists your hair harder before thrusting his hip even deeper into your mouth—fucking your mouth like an aggressive beast. A soft moan escapes your mouth as you try to catch up with his pace.

“Yes, yes. Take my big cock with that pretty mouth of yours,” He grunts in every thrust without taking the eye contacts off you Tears prick in the corner of your eyes but it feels too good for you to stop.

After few more thrust, you could feel his cock grow bigger and harder as it twitches inside your mouth. You know He is getting closer when he breathes faster and a small breathy grunts come out from his mouth.

“Do you want to taste my cum, baby? Are you going to swallow it all, huh?” his deep voice is echoing throughout the room—making it’s hard to not moan at the pleasure.

You nod softly. He smiles before he takes his shaft out of your mouth with a loud pop—rubbing the length for few seconds as his seed is plastering on all over your face and mouth as you already stick your tongue out like a puppy. Namjoon is twitching when he cums—probably feel really good the oral you just gave. You lick every drops of the white semen coming from the tip—cleaning them by sucking the cock for one last time.

“Fuck, you’re freaky, do you know that?” he says in breathy voice—running a hand through his hair while his dick still few inches away from your face. Still hard as fuck

“Are your members okay with us moaning just now?” you ask, innocently while still licking his cum on your lips. You know he’s got them camera and mic turned off.

His jaw is clenched, showing off the veins along his neck. He is mad, huh.

“Get up,” he commands seriously and in a blink of eyes, you did what he told you to do so. The crazy thing is you never want to look away from his sexy eyes.

“Turn around and spread your legs wide,”

Hiding a smile, you turn around so you’re facing the screen and it’s immediately making you blush when you see his friends on the Zoom meeting. They surely can’t see what both of you are doing now but this honestly feels like they are looking at you right on the eyes while you do the nasty deed.

Before you could say anything, a scream escapes your mouth just right after he thrusts his length deep from behind inside you—stretching your walls with the throbbing cock with no mercy. Namjoon don’t even let you to adjust with his size as he starts to move back and forth—forcing his hip onto you. Your eyes are rolled back at the sensation. He is fucking huge inside you and the way his cock fits in your cunt—Holy shit, this is heaven.

“Mmmm—nghhhh,” you moan through gritted teeth as he found your sensitive spot and abuse it over and over again. Nails are clawed into the desk, your body arched in such desire. This feels so good, just like you wanted.

“Moan as much as you want. I know my big cock is stretching your pussy so well,” he whispers in your ears before you could feel his pace quickened. Both of you are grinding on each other, making you tremble inside his embrace. You throw your head back and scream his name.

“Namjoon....Nghh, like that, mmm,” you beg, holding on to his firm arms for support as he bangs himself inside you. Your body bounce every time he pumps himself inside you.

“You’re a fucking nasty slut. Sucking my cock during my meeting like that,”

“Yes!! Oh fuck,” you scream with eyes closed. Breath hitched, legs trembled, mouth opened.

“You want them to know you’re getting fucked tonight? Huh? You want them to see how good I fuck you?” he bites your neck, not even slowing down his pace. Namjoon reaches the mouse to turn on the camera but you stop him immediately.

“No, don’t do that,” you say in between moan and whimper. He chuckles.

“You don’t like it? What do you want then?” he pulls your hair slightly while the other hand is on your hips to synchronise your pace with him.

“You,”

“This?” he grunts as he thrusts even deeper—giving your ass a few slaps as he grope your tits in his other big warm hand, pinching the nipple to bring another scream from your mouth. Namjoon stares at his length getting burried in your pussy while biting down his lower lip. He probably feels as good as you do.

“Look at how dirty you are. Begging for my cock like a nasty kitten,” he bites his lower lip—hiding a satisfied smile.

The slapping sound and your lewd scream are filling the room along with the chatting sound from the boys in the meeting. It’s a weird combination but none of you cares about it.

“Your dick feels amazing in my pussy. I—fuck, Namjoon. Yes, yes, yes!!! like that,” you scream when the tip reaches your walls. Holy shit.

Sweat pricks on your body. Your vision goes blurry. Namjoon brings you closer to him as he finds you stumbling on your feet.

Sticky liquid keeps dripping down your thigh before your legs start to feel wobbly as you are reaching for the climax. The knot in your stomach is twirling like crazy, wanting to release the cum from the cunt. You clench around him—he groans out loud before putting one of his finger into your mouth. Like a good girl, you suck on them long fingers.

Both of you moan. Like crazy.

“Gonna cum. I’m gonna cum, Namjoon. Shit, I’m cumming now,” you scream with tears prickling on your eyes—grinding on him even more to increase the pleasure so that you can cum in peace. He is pumping into your sweet spots more and more, not giving a fuck at your begging.

“Cum on my dick, slut. Coat me with your cum like you always do,” his voice is calm yet aggressive to the point you feel nothing but him.

And you did as he told you. Body keeps flinching everytime the sticky juice coming from your pussy—coating every part of his long dick. He groans at the warm feeling before he starts to fill your pussy with his semen—the same one that fills your mouth.

“Fuckkkkk, this is good,” he grunts.

Both you and him moan out loud—taking each other’s seed before he pulls out of you. Silence fills the room as you both catching some air from the intense fuck you had as you lean against his chest.

“Baby...” you call him, almost losing your voice.

“Hm?” he hums against your neck.

“They’re waiting for you,” you chuckle while looking at the screen. He shakes his head.

“I’m not done with you yet,” Namjoon mumbles as he shuts down his laptop without saying anything to the boys before he swings you across one of his shoulder—causing you to scream in surprise. Your pussy is still throbbing.

“I’m gonna fuck you all night baby. So hard that you don’t even know how to walk tomorrow,”

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transgenderer · 3 years ago

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til we have faces keeps itching at me. its an adaptation of the myth of cupid and psyche, told from the point of view of one of her sisters, (rightfully imo!) lamenting how the god have mistreated her. cs lewis had been thinking about the story for like 30 years, and apparently before he was passionately christian he wanted to leave it at that, a tale of complaint against the gods, but afterwards he changed it, and instead at the end the sister realizes she was wrong, and actually the gods did nothing wrong.

so like, idk, relatively simple on the surface, but the vision of the gods that lewis had a change of heart about is so viscerally pagan, like, it's these gods of blood and stone and ritual, and yet the story spends so much time berating its greek philosopher side character for considering these pagan gods to be bullshit, or at least merely symbolic, but like...cs lewis presumably also thinks the greek gods were bullshit! hes a christian! and like, the way they work, they way they interact with the story, feels so potently unabrahamic.

i really dont know what to make of it, how to understand it. my reflexive reaction is a hostile reinterpretation, that understands the sister's change of heart as a sort of madness induced by the gods because they could not accept her criticism, sort of like the end of 1984. i sort of like this reading, its bleak and complex and lets you make your own ideas (as opposed to the incredibly didactic actual ending), but it feels like it has to leave a lot of whats actually there on the table

i try to find other analyses online but the book is primarily interesting to christians, so they go right along with the sort of "god is perfect and i am a mere worm before him" messaging, which just rubs me so wrong, so idk how much i can get out of their stuff

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theimprobabledreamersworld · 3 years ago

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Don’t Let Them Hurt You- Ao3

It took a lot longer that planned, but this Pintroverts one shot is complete! :D

The plot around this one is based on Nico getting an anon hate message on song lyrics he posted online, and Thomas then comforts him and helps him see past it... It was something I had sitting in my WIP folder for a while but initially I was struggling with writing it. So I delved into the realm of personal experience for the hurt and the comfort parts ☺️

I hope you enjoy reading it! <3

General writing taglist: @psychedelicships @jwillowwolf @lost-in-thought-20 @writerwithtoomanyships @red-imeanblue (If you’d like to be added/removed let me know!)

Read on Ao3!

Don’t Let Them Hurt You.

Pintroverts. Hurt/Comfort/Fluff

Warnings: Upset moments, anon hate message, self-deprication.

Nico scribbled furiously, his pen refusing to leave the crumpled piece of paper he found in his bag. The song lyrics raced into his mind while he was out with Thomas an hour ago. He smiled as he thought about his new boyfriend. It was like a breath of fresh air, a clarity in his clouded over world, the writer��s block he had been struggling with for months went away almost instantly after they met in that food court as few months ago. Before, he would stare at his laptop willing words to appear, but his mind wasn’t in it and his fingers wouldn’t type. As the days ticked on and not even a single word appeared on the screen, the lack of motivation set in, and he almost gave up on his newest project… but Thomas crashed his way into Nico’s life and stopped that from happening. In fact, he had already set up several more documents with song ideas in them ready to write as soon as he could, and he couldn’t wait to share them with the people who followed his blog.

Nico’s little following were always so kind and supportive, they were the main reason he kept going with writing songs. People have asked if they can perform his lyrics and he was always blown away by the sheer talent of some of his followers. How he got so lucky, he would never know, but Nico valued every single of them. He finally reached the end of the page, and as the pen fell to the paper with a satisfied clatter, he took a deep breath and pushed the chair away from the desk. He sighed and stretched his arms above his head.

He was never one to speak very positively about himself, but he had a feeling that this was his best song yet. All he needed to do was look it over, type it up and publish it. He hoped that his followers would feel the same. He felt like he should wait for Thomas to come back from getting take-out so he could be the first one to see it, he was the inspiration for it after all. However, the excitement got the better of him, and he remembered that Thomas has notifications on for his blog, so he would be one of the first people to see it. His mind was made up and Nico raced off to get the lyrics typed up.

The word document was opened with lightning speed. The blank space was suddenly being filled with words and emotions at a rapid pace, it was becoming a tapestry right before his eyes and he began to realise just how much he had missed writing. Sooner rather than later, he was finished. He started at his finished work and then opened his blog. Should he really post this? It was his most emotive song yet, and it definitely makes it clear that there is someone in his life now. He couldn’t be happier. How someone as amazing as Thomas wants to be a part of his life, he’ll never work out, but he wasn’t complaining. He took a deep breath before opening his blog and creating a post. He fingers shook a little as he typed out his usual message that he puts at the end of all of his posts.

‘Hey everyone! Just wanted to thank you all once again for your support and patience while I took a while to come up with some new song lyrics! I owe this one to someone incredibly special who crashed into my life recently, and I hope it comes across in this song <3 I genuinely don’t feel like I deserve the support you give me but know that I value you all with my heart and soul. Nico <3’

The overwhelming sense of pride as he hit ‘post’ made his heart beat agonizingly fast, but he couldn’t keep the blog open otherwise he would start to worry about what people think. So he texted Thomas instead checking in to find out what time he’d be coming over. The reply came through almost instantly, 20 minutes, only 20 minutes he had to wait. As Thomas signed off with the signature purple heart, he smiled and held his phone close to his chest. Nico felt his pulse continue to race, he had never felt this for anyone else before and it was unusual, but in the best way possible.

His laptop began to ping with notifications and even though he tried to ignore them, he caved and opened his blog up. To say that Nico was blown away by the response would have been the biggest understatement of the century. He smiled widely as more comments and reactions poured in, at least other people liked the song lyrics as much as he did. He felt on top of the world, until one more comment popped up and it felt like the world was crashing down around him in a matter of seconds.

‘It's true that creators aren't entitled to support, but you. You don't deserve anywhere near as much support as you're getting. There are so many creators out there that are much better than you and they don't get recognition. What you post is nothing special, so how about you stop and let people get support who actually deserve it, you're not worth the time of day.’

Nico stared at the comment until he could almost burn a hole through his laptop screen. He’d never had a hate comment before, and he didn’t know how to take it. He was being so dramatic, it was one hate comment, but that was enough to knock him for six. His heart hurt; his mind was fighting the thoughts racing around. He backed away from his laptop until he hit the wall and he slowly slumped down it, holding his crumpled paper copy of the lyrics tightly in his hand. Is this what people really thought of him?

Well, they were right. He always said that he never deserved the support he was given. Why should he have anyone reading his work when there are other creators that are exponentially better than him? He was a nobody who wrote songs, what was that really? It’s not as if he was a singer, or an artist… someone of worth. He shouldn’t stand in the way of others, what was so special about him? That commenter was just bold enough to say what everyone was clearly thinking behind their screens. Of course it wasn’t real. People can say what they want when no one will ever work out who they are. He laughed bitterly as the tears fell down his face. How could he have been so stupid? No one likes what he does, of course they wouldn’t. He slumped his head on his legs and held his breath until he couldn’t contain his sadness anymore.

The doorbell rang, and he sighed. Of course, Thomas was going to see him like this… that’s going to scare him off. He got up, hesitantly walking to front door and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. God, he was a mess. His eyes were red raw from crying, and his hair was a mess where he clawed at it. He let one person get to him, one anonymous person hiding behind a screen, and he hated himself for it. As the front door opened, Thomas was putting something in his pocket while holding a bag of Chinese food.

“Hey! I saw your song! Nico, it’s incredible- hell, you’re incredible!” Thomas beamed but when he looked up, his smile dropped, and worry clouded over his eyes in an instant. Nico must have looked a mess, he was expecting Thomas to drop the food and run, he wouldn’t blame him.

“Nico? What’s wrong? Hey, hey, hey. Come on, let’s get inside.” As soon as Thomas asked what was wrong, he broke again. The tears began to cascade, and Nico hid his face behind his hands, he felt a hand wrap around his waist and gently bring him back into the apartment. As he was guided to the sofa, he heard Thomas scurrying around the kitchen putting the bag down then coming in to sit next to Nico. He rubbed his hand gently up and down Nico’s back, whispering that everything was okay. The tears began to subside, and he leaned into Thomas’ touch who happily reciprocated. He felt a kiss on his forehead, and he wiped his face of the residual tears off his face.

“So… can you tell me what has got the literal embodiment of sunshine this upset?” Nico smiled slightly and Thomas played with his hair, feeling himself instantly relax at the touch.

“I don’t know if I can… but… just look at my laptop. It should be there.” Thomas looked a little worried before heading over to the desk and reading the words on the screen. Nico saw Thomas’ hands clench until his knuckles turned white and saw how his breathing became slightly labored. The only comforting thing he could think of was, at least he didn’t imagine the whole thing. Thomas marched back over to the sofa and took Nico’s head in his hands before kissing him gently and he pressed their foreheads together.

“Now, you, Nico Flores need to listen to me. You are amazing, you are fantastic and so damn talented that it makes my head spin. The fact that one person is saying something horrendous while hiding behind a screen, it doesn’t take anything away from you. I mean, look at all of these amazing people supporting you and sending you love for your latest song!” Thomas went to the laptop and brought it over to Nico, the comments underneath the hate were flooded with positivity and love, he beamed when he scrolled though, seeing people defend him made his heart feel full.

“Everyone else feels the same way I do about you. You have a phenomenal way with words, they way you write is captivating and you’ve inspired me more than you know. You’ve inspired countless others too. Your posts are special, you’re unique in your own way… let some jealous nobody stay just that… a nobody. Don’t let them hurt you, hun. You deserve all the love in the world, and I will give you all I can! If anything, I don’t deserve someone as incredible as you. You give so much kindness, so much happiness to others… you’ve gotta save some of that for yourself too.” Nico smiled and looked down at the floor, everything Thomas said was true. He could feel all of his sadness and pain melt away so he wrapped his arms around Thomas, hoping he could say thank you without words, otherwise he’d start crying for a different reason this time.

“Right, okay. Let’s reheat the food and we’re just going to watch trashy tv until I have to go home. Sound good?” He nodded eagerly as Thomas stood up holding his hand out for Nico to take, and they talked in the kitchen until the microwave made its call. As they sat together arm in arm until late into the evening laughing at a comedy show re-run, Nico thanked his lucky stars that Thomas crashed into his life. When Thomas had let him know that he was home safe, Nico fell asleep smiling and forgetting the events of the day.

His alarm blared out across his bedroom and Nico rubbed his bleary eyes, attempting to find his glasses to turn off his phone. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realised it wasn’t an alarm, it was a series of text notifications. He stared as he noticed the time, it was rare that he slept in till 1pm but last night was the exception. Nico unlocked his phone and read the stream of texts from his favourite person.

‘Hey! Good morning, Sunshine! I hope you’re feeling better today <3’

‘You are amazing and fantastic; I can’t imagine my world without you in it <3’

‘Anywaaay, I’m rambling now haha. You have that effect on me ;) <3’

‘So, I know you're probably still resting, you had a rough day yesterday! But, when you wake up… go look at my YouTube channel okay? I’ve got a surprise for you <3’

Nico smiled as he read through the texts, and then he immediately went onto YouTube where a new video from Thomas immediately sat at the top of the page. He clicked on it and turned the volume all the way up, he heard music begin and Thomas was standing in the middle of his apartment singing. Nico stared in awe at how amazing his voice was, he’s heard him multiple times, but he was always blown away every time. It wasn’t until he started singing a particular part that Nico gasped and put a hand over his mouth.

‘If my arms were on a clock, I'd stop the time to be with you. Eternity I'd stop, just to be with you.’

These were his song lyrics from yesterday. He couldn’t believe how perfectly Thomas had captured the song, the emotions he was trying to express. It was a complicated symphony but sung with a perfect simplicity that made the words more powerful. He felt tears welling up in his eyes once again, he couldn’t believe that Thomas would do this for him and as the screen faded to black, he went to text Thomas but then he saw him pop back up on the screen.

“Hey guys! So, it’s been a little while since I’ve posted any music covers on here. I really, really hope you love this song as much as I do! The lyrics were written by my wonderful boyfriend, Nico. As soon as I read the lyrics, I knew I had to arrange and perform this song with the help of some brilliant friends who came together very last minute to help me out. I just… wanted to show the guy that I adore that he is amazing, and the words that he writes have the power the make the world a brighter place. So, Nico. This is all for you. Thank you to all my friends who came together to help, their links are in the description below. Thank you to Nico for inspiring me, his song blog is linked below. Thank you to all of you for watching, and until next time… Take it easy, guys, gals and non-binary pals. Peace out!”

Nico smiled proudly as he watched Thomas smile his trademark goofy smile as the video faded to black for the final time. He went back to the beginning and played the video again as he grabbed he phone and text Thomas.

‘Thank you for everything you did for me yesterday. The song and the video are incredible, you should share some of that talent Mr. Sanders ;) Seriously Thomas, I’m the luckiest man in the world to be with you <3’

He sent the text, and then the doorbell rang unexpectedly. Nico looked at the front door suspiciously, he wasn’t expecting anyone. He crept over and peered through the looking glass then opened it as fast as possible. Thomas was holding a large bouquet of flowers and a speaker. He smiled and kissed Thomas on the cheek before taking the flowers out of Thomas’ hands and smelling the delicate scent. Brightly coloured Roses, Chrysanthemums, Delphiniums, and Irises. They were simply perfect, just like the man in front of him.

“I needed to see you, and I thought I could give you a live performance of the song?” Thomas smiled holding the speaker up in air, Nico invited him in and quickly put the flowers into a vase he kept for ornamental purposes. They were truly beautiful, and he was impressed that Thomas remembered what his favourite flowers were after talking about it on the first date. When he turned around, music was almost swirling around them, and Thomas was standing in the middle of the room. He reached out for Nico’s hand, as their hands touched, Thomas pulled him in close and they slow danced while Thomas sang. As the song drew to a close, they came to a stop and this time, Nico pulled Thomas in for a kiss. When they parted, they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other.

“You’re my entire world now, Mr. Sanders.”

“And you are mine, Mr. Flores.”

#sanders sides #ts fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #ts c!thomas #ts nico #cute #fluff #angst #hurt and comfort #pintroverts #developing relationship #cheesy moments #upset moments #so much fluff

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