#edit: it did indeed show up in the tag

[starmansymphonyarts]

Doing my part to get aromantic trending again on Valentine's this year by holding out one of my many aro headcanons where I just shot my aro beam at them because I like them.

Also! A couple of years ago I wrote a thing about this specific headcanon - you can read it here (on AO3) or here (on my Neocities)! I consider this piece as a sort of follow up to that :3

[hypnoneghoul]

Have I used this joke already? Yes. Will I use it again? Absolutely.

KKEENNDDRICK!!! DROP ANOTHER DISTRACK (GHOUL ORGY) AND MY LIFE, IS YOURSSS /ref /pos

Oh please great father I BEG OF THEE

Not Alive For Anyone

WC: 3,1k

Relationship: Dewdrop/Mountain/Swiss/Phantom

Tags: Foursome - M/M/M/M, Transmasc Dew, Free Use (kinda), Cunnilingus, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Objectification, Anal Sex, Vaginal Sex, Pressure Kink (is that a thing?), Edging, Degradation, Creampie, Aftercare

Notes: Combining with a commission from @jazz-bazz :3 Beta read and edited by the lovely @mac-and-thefox <3

Read under the cut or on AO3.

The rehearsal today was particularly hot.

The air conditioning went out and Copia ordered some people around so it would get fixed and they did, but it died again just as the band started playing the first song, to their collective annoyance. Papa was obviously frustrated, too, but decided to use this as an opportunity for them all to build up some heat resistance—as if they hadn't already played countless shows in horrid heat fully costumed.

This led to everyone being as snappy as they were horny, due to them sweating bullets and scenting the windowless room with it.

Dewdrop, though, had no issues whatsoever.

He does sweat, yes, but his fire nature makes the heat itself not much of a bother and still, the rehearsal was nothing compared to some shows they had played. So while everyone just wanted to get it over with and go shower and fuck, Dewdrop was having actual fun, as usual during a practice.

He doesn’t really understand why he got jumped by three of his packmates the moment he put his guitar away. He’s hardly ever going to say no to a casual orgy, though, so he didn’t protest being picked up and thrown over Mountain’s shoulder. There were fingers in his cunt and asshole before they even reached Swiss’ room. There he got thrown onto the bed and stripped with no regards to what he wanted or didn’t want.

He thinks he should be grateful that they decided to finger him open—just enough so he doesn't bleed when they spear him on two fat cocks. He’s on his hands and knees with his throat filled by Mountain’s cock as the earth ghoul licks into his cunt to loosen him up while Swiss is behind him, stretching his ass with near clinical precision; poking and prodding as if he’s nothing more than a doll to be inspected prior to using.

Oh, how Dewdrop loves being used.

“So cute,” Swiss hums, adding another finger to the two already nestled inside the fire ghoul’s warm hole. Obscene noise reaches his ears as the multi ghoul thrusts the digits in; Dewdrop has been leaking everywhere since Mountain has picked him up.

He has nearly forgotten about the fourth ghoul that’s in the room with them. Phantom is kneeling by Dewdrop’s head with a tight fist around his cock, slowly stroking himself to the sight of the fire ghoul choking on Mountain’s cock.

The earth ghoul wants to cum first before they really start so that he might have a chance of lasting for long enough. He never can on his first. Shooting down Dewdrop’s throat is a great way to start, indeed, and the fire ghoul’s enthusiasm when it comes to sucking dick is unmatched; Swiss knows he doesn��t have that much time to work him open because of that.

Sure enough, the multi ghoul pushes four fingers into him just when Mountain lets out a nearly guttural groan as Dewdrop makes him cum. Phantom keeps watching; he even dares to reach out, wipe a drop of cum that leaks out of the fire ghoul’s mouth with a finger and bring it down onto his own tongue.

Mountain stays on his back and once he gets the go-ahead, Swiss wastes no more time before grabbing the fire ghoul and sitting him on the other’s cock, hard again. Dewdrop doesn’t even have the time to register the fullness as he is being pushed down—back to Mountain’s chest—and then Swiss is moving Phantom to his liking, too. Suddenly he is sliding the young ghoul’s dick into Dewdrop’s cunt and bending the young quint over him so Swiss can prepare him for his own cock.

Phantom moans and drools onto the fire ghoul’s chest as it is his turn to get stretched out and treated like an object. His hips keep giving light twitches seeking friction instead of just sitting idly in the glorious place that is Dewdrop’s pussy, but Swiss allows no such thing. He holds him still with his free hand and threatens with his claws every time the quintessence ghoul tries to hump into Dewdrop.

“You’re gonna move how I want you to and that’s it, Phantom.” Swiss’ tone alone makes Phantom shudder and whine; it’s cold, the warmth and affection that’s usually dripping from every word Swiss utters is absolutely gone. The quintessence ghoul thinks he shouldn’t be as turned on by it as he is, but alas.

“Swiss–”

“No, shut up,” he snarls and Phantom moans in reply. Swiss chuckles cruelly at how much of a mess he is as he finishes stretching his ass. He smacks his cheek just hard enough to leave a mark before wiping his hand and shoving his cock into him in one swift thrust with no more preamble. Phantom whimpers at the sudden fullness and his own dick kicks where it’s still nestled in Dewdrop.

The fire ghoul himself is way past incoherent at this point, stuffed full and squeezed, and nobody has really moved properly yet. He doesn’t even pay much mind to how he thought it would be Swiss and Mountain fucking him; not that he doesn’t enjoy having sweet little Phantom in his pussy.

He really fucking does.

So if someone were to ask him how exactly he ended up in his current predicament, he would not really know how to answer. Don’t get him wrong, he is enjoying himself immensely, but at this point the others have him so brainless he genuinely can’t remember what led him to…all of this.

“How does his cock feel, huh?” Swiss asks, probably referring to Phantom. He can’t be sure considering Mountain is also buried inside him to the hilt, of course. Either way, they both feel divine. “Hm, kitten?”

“‘S good,” Dewdrop slurs, high on sensation already, and the multi ghoul grins as he thrusts roughly into Phantom where he’s glued to his back. That makes his own dick slam deep into Dewdrop’s cunt, filling him to the brim with the help of the big earth ghoul cock in his ass. “So good, fuck.”

Their position is rather complicated, but they are making it work.

Swiss grunts into Phantom’s ear with every thrust, sheathing himself inside him over and over again and making him do the same to the fire ghoul. The room is filled with filthy sounds of slick flesh against slick flesh and various noises of pleasure falling one by one from four mouths.

Dewdrop is the most lost one, of course.

He’s not really registering what’s happening anymore, he just knows he’s warm, full, and nicely squeezed; the waves of pleasure that are washing over him every second have him out somewhere by the orbit. His eyes are glassy with it and unshed—for now—tears and his pupils are blown so wide the embers of his irises are nearly gone.

Swiss regrets he’s too far to really look into these pretty eyes and see how empty Dewdrop’s brain is.

Mountain isn’t doing much at the bottom of their sweaty fuck-pile; he is holding both of Dewdrop’s wrists in the circle of one of his hands and toying with the fire ghoul’s clit with the other—not with the intention to help properly stimulate him, no. Mountain is doing it for himself, all but fidgeting with the little thing as Dewdrop’s wet hole squeezes his cock over and over again. The earth ghoul is simply content with being cockwarmed and occasionally clenched around if he flicks the fire ghoul’s cock in the right way or if Swiss makes Phantom hit that good spot inside him.

He nuzzles his nose against his shoulder and neck, licking over the scars that are left of Dewdrop’s gills and enjoying the smell he loves so much—of a bonfire that has just been put out with fresh water—being so strong right there. He thinks about what he would do if the gills were still there, how he’d lick inside and suck on the pretty fins surrounding them. Alas, he only worries the delicate skin of the crook of Dewdrop’s neck between his fangs and resists the urge to pierce it just yet; there will be time for that later. 

“Mounty–” Dewdrop moans; being beyond any words but their names. The earth ghoul in question presses a fang to a bumpy scar and chuffs in acknowledgement of whatever it might be that Dewdrop was trying to say. Not that it matters much, anyway.

Phantom is nothing more than a two-in-one dildo and a fleshlight as Swiss controls his every movement with a big, warm hand sprawled out over his chest—the other one dimpling the skin on his hip in a possessive grip. It’s Dewdrop that is completely immobilized and reduced to a whiny mess, even though the quintessence ghoul has no control over himself either. He loves it; he’s not even addressed as much as Dewdrop. Swiss is nothing but vicious and the only comfort Mountain has to offer—at least for the time being—is the fire ghoul’s to take.

They should have invited Rain, Swiss thinks. As far as he’s aware the water ghoul got snatched by the ghoulettes after the rehearsal, but Swiss can’t help but wonder how much more wrecked Dewdrop would get if Rain were with them. The power he has over the fire ghoul is something as impressive as it is scary.

They will definitely invite Rain next time.

Phantom’s moans are the loudest and the highest and Swiss absolutely cherishes them. He prides himself in being able to pull all those lovely sounds out of the young ghoul and he knows them so well by now he could categorize them precisely. That’s why he knows exactly when to shove his cock into him harder, when to do it faster, and when to pull out completely just to hear Phantom cry out for it, hating the sudden feeling of cold and empty.

But then Swiss slides back in and all is right in the world again.

Yes, all four of them are enjoying themselves immensely.

Dewdrop tries to arch his back against the onslaught of sensation but Phantom’s hands that are planted firmly on his chest and his—or rather Swiss’—rhythmic thrusts effectively keep him from it. The fire ghoul is literally stuck and he drops his mouth open in a wanton moan at the realization of just how helpless he is right now.

Phantom lets out a similar noise when Dewdrop squeezes around him and Swiss chuckles cruelly behind him. “Two little whores made for being used, how pathetic. Isn’t it, my love?”

Dewdrop’s entire body vibrates with the rumble that comes from Mountain’s chest. “I think it’s rather adorable. It’s like they were made just for us to use.”

He squeezes around the fire ghoul’s slim wrists for good measure; as if to show off just how perfect of a fit they are. Swiss chuckles and nods in agreement.

Dewdrop whines loudly and wiggles his fingers in an attempt to…they’re not sure, really, but the next sound that comes out of him is too close to a sob for Mountain’s liking. “P–please…”

The earth ghoul hums and both lets go of his wrists and pauses toying with his clit. He drags his big hands over Dewdrop’s small body, tweaking his nipples on his way, before he wraps them tightly around him. He squeezes the remaining breath out of him and drills his cock into his hole as the fire ghoul clenches around it at receiving even more of that grounding pressure he craves so much. He flops his half-limp hands back down and grips Phantom’s wrist with one and Mountain’s forearm with the other in a silent plea of keep me close.

Even though they were all happy to reduce him to nothing but a few holes for them to fuck for the time being, he is still their beloved Dewdrop.

“It’s alright, fire lily,” Mountain rumbles into his ear, “I’ve got you, make us feel good some more and it’ll be your turn, I promise.”

Seeing Mountain take on the task of assuring the fire ghoul’s comfort, Swiss smirks; intending to take his cruelty up a notch before they finish.

“Useless without us, both of you,” he spits out with another forceful thrust into Phantom. “Fucking each other and being fucked by us is the only thing you’re good for.”

The quintessence ghoul moans all whorish at his words; a slut for cruel degradation that he is. He pants hard with his head hung and his eyes glued to where Dewdrop’s cunt is being stretched open on his cock, leaking more and more slick with every thrust. It’s an addicting sight and feeling, truly, and Phantom feels a dangerous swoop low in his stomach.

“Swiss–Swiss, I’m…I’m close, ‘m gonna–” he whines as his body moves of its own accord to search for something that will bring him to his orgasm. Swiss, though, doesn’t let it get too far.

“No, you’re not,” he snarls, “not until I tell you.”

Phantom whimpers but there’s nothing he can do about it, really, and everyone involved knows he loves it.

“How’s it going down there, my love?” the multi ghoul asks Mountain. “As hot as up here?”

“Hotter,” he admits, making Swiss chuckle. “I’m close, too, darling.”

“Alright then.”

Swiss groans as he picks up his pace and slams into Phantom with enough force to make the entire bed rattle against the wall.

“You can cum,” he whispers into the quintessence ghoul’s ear and cums deep inside him, grunting. The feeling of the multi ghoul’s cock slotted right against his prostate and the warmth filling him makes Phantom grind into Dewdrop for the last time before he tips over the edge, too.

Dewdrop cries out as he takes his second load of the night. Mountain presses down on his stomach and lets out a growl as he feels Phantom’s softening cock and his own through Dewdrop’s flat tummy. The earth ghoul bucks up into him and finally allows himself to sink his teeth into his shoulder and then he’s gone, too, spilling into Dewdrop’s ass.

Phantom goes completely boneless once he goes down from his high, flopping down onto a very fucked out but still very desperate Dewdrop. He would cry and beg for them to make him cum if only he weren’t squeezed so hard there’s no breath left in his lungs. Swiss somehow holds himself up behind Phantom, pulling out as he breathes heavily and folding in on himself where he kneels.

He knows he’s the one who will regain his composure the fastest and that means he has to switch his semi-cruelty off and give Dewdrop his release; preferably before the poor ghoul drops and descends into real panic.

It’s easy for him to roll Phantom off of him, the bed is big enough so that he can pick Dewdrop up and lay him down next to the quintessence ghoul with Mountain still taking up the middle. The fire ghoul cries out in desperation as he gets manhandled and spread out on his back for Swiss to do whatever he wants to him. 

“S–Swiss, pl…please, I–I can’t, I need–please,” Dewdrop babbles, flopping his arms around as if he’s trying to claw his way to getting his release.

But he is completely at Swiss’ mercy; he couldn’t fight him even if he wanted to.

Maybe he does, a little bit—too brainless to realize how much gentler Swiss is now and that whatever he’s going to do is finally going to be for Dewdrop, not someone else.

The multi ghoul lays on his front in between his legs and cannot waste any more time—not only because of his affection for Dewdrop, but also the delicious display of the fire ghoul’s holes all puffy and leaking his packmates’ cum right in front of his face.

Dewdrop must be cleaned up, of course, so why wouldn’t Swiss do it with his tongue?

He descends and plunges the appendage deep into the fire ghoul’s cunt and he absolutely wails; loud enough to wake the dead, probably. Without ghouls bigger than him on and under him, Dewdrop writhes in oversensitivity. Swiss only holds his hips, keeping at least that part of him still enough so that he can enjoy his dessert.

Neither of them notices Mountain gathering Phantom up and off of the bed and taking him to the bathroom to clean him up. They’ll be done before they come back, surely, just in time for a post-coital cuddle pile.

It’s obscene how the multi ghoul eats Dewdrop out, alternating between sucking on his cock, licking Phantom’s cum out of his cunt and doing the same to Mountain’s in his ass. It’s all sloppy and Swiss is all but drowning, but he doesn't ever want to stop.

He will, though; causing the fire ghoul actual anguish is not the plan. Swiss lets go of his hips with one hand and brings it down between his legs. He pushes two of his fingers into Dewdrop’s asshole, his thumb into his pussy, and closes his mouth around his clit.

He sucks and the fire ghoul is gone.

His holes squeeze around Swiss’ fingers and his thighs around his head as slick gushes out of him and absolutely drenches the other’s face and neck. He pulls away immediately, knowing that after being edged for so long, Dewdrop would fall into overstimulation that much faster and that much more intense than usual.

Swiss rests his cheek on the inside of the fire ghoul’s thigh and breathes in the smell of sex hanging in the air; so beautifully concentrated just between Dewdrop’s legs. He’s gasping for breath, laying sprawled out like a wet noodle with no strength to move even an inch. Swiss rubs his warm hands over his skin, wherever he can reach, to ground him and help him come back down smoothly.

Swiss’ eyes close at some point, but he can’t bring himself to care; he’s comfortable snuggled between Dewdrop’s legs. The next thing he knows a blanket is being thrown over him—still there—and there’s another warm body cuddling up to him and the fire ghoul. Phantom shoves his face into Dewdrop’s tummy and wraps his tail around Swiss’ waist. Mountain joins them a moment later, laying down in the other direction and manhandling Dewdrop so that his head is pillowed on his stomach. 

Their position is rather complicated, but they’re making it work.

[utilitycaster]

The thing I've realized, in the broader Actual Play space, is that a lot of creators are trying to turn Actual Play shows into TV shows.

You mentioned Kollok in your tags, and the creator of that has mentioned creating Kollok in a way to try to appeal to the Netflix audience.

And I'm all for experimentation, but tbh if I wanted to watch a TV show, I would go watch a TV show. That's not what I'm looking for in an Actual Play and over editing and gimmicks actively turn me off from it.

Folks creating Actual Play seem to put a lot of weight on it, but I don't know if it's that important from an audience perspective.

Hey anon,

Huge same - I've been thinking about this for a while, especially in regards to choices I didn't like (notably on D20, though the Candela split screen in chapter 3, while relatively minor, felt like part of the same trend and I'm really interested in seeing whether they keep it). I actually did mean to write more about this not in the tags of a reblog, so thanks for this ask because it gives me that motivation to do it!

Earlier this year I was at an event and someone who to be totally honest I found kind of annoying was talking about Dimension 20, and I decided to keep quiet and listen to what other people had to say, and another person (whom I respect and specifically know to be like, left-leaning and inclusive and not gatekeeper dudebro type, which is relevant to the next statement) who is solidly in Gen X and has been playing D&D since at least 2e mentioned that he doesn't like Actual Play at all because he is from the era where D&D was frequently played in third person and is somewhat of a purist in that sense. Ie, this guy would say "Gawain pulls out his sword and smites the dragon, with a 24 to hit", rather than "I'm going to pull out my sword and smite the dragon." He described his idea of D&D as being very much collaborative storytelling in the sense of a bunch of third person narrators who happen to be the storytellers for one specific character, not a first-person acted scene.

I happen to like both forms of narration and am not a purist either way, and indeed use both third person and first person myself as a player (as do many actual players; you see this on CR and D20 all the time). But I think this does show just how broad this spectrum is. You have people all the way on the "I am narrating an improvised story, I am the storyteller puppeting my character and I am not trying to be immersed" side and then you have shows that are trying to push this into full immersion...but so long as you have dice rolls, you'll never achieve it.

I prefer something in between: I do love watching people act, but I really like the gears and wires! I love mechanics! I think people who say "I love actual play D&D but I don't really care for combat, only RP" don't actually like actual play D&D! This is a specific format and I do not want people to hide the fact that they are using the rules of a game and are at a table, because they are and we know it.

This came up when I and others talked about the Legend of Vox Machina adaptation: they're probably going to have to find a way to convey the same tragedy and gravity of Scanlan's ninth level counterspell that doesn't require viewers to know the mechanics, because if you watch that scene as actual play the meaning of Sam saying "Nine" is immediately apparent. It hits hard with that one single word, but that won't be the case in an animated adaptation where no one is rolling a D20. Mechanics are in intrinsic part of actual play. You can enjoy actual play without that knowledge, but a solid grounding in those mechanics will only enhance that enjoyment (well, unless you're one of those rules-lawyery weirdos who gets bitter about any GM rule of cool/homebrew that they couldn't predict from the rulebooks but those people will never be happy).

The more general context of "being in a game", not just mechanics, is also in my opinion valuable. Brennan, on a Worlds Beyond Number fireside chat, referred to certain NPCs like Caramelinda as "furious that they are in a D&D game" and it's a funny and true statement. I feel like trying to push actual play into the realm of scripted shows is that: it feels like you're trying to hide the origins, and I think the quality of the show will ultimately suffer when you do that. It feels almost ashamed of what it is, and I don't think you can make something that transforms a medium/genre/thing in between the two without having a profound love and respect for the original, even if you also find it flawed. (This is also, tbh, how I feel about a lot of attempts to divorce D&D from the fact that it is ultimately a game influenced heavily by sword-and-sorcery fantasy, or about attempts to turn high or heroic fantasy into something that neatly affirms all of one's 2024 real world political beliefs, but that's another post).

I also think that the out-of-character element of actual play is a big draw. I have been open about having complicated feelings about the parasocial and projection aspects; but those feelings are "hey, this is still a show that is a source of livelihood, you are not hanging out in someone's living room and getting weird about the fact that the CR cast no longer responds to every tweet is dumb" and "you have not been betrayed by the creators because you didn't get the plot you wanted," and "the fact that two actors sit next to each other is not, in fact, a solid basis for shipping." I am equally opposed to the idea of "the actors do not exist, only the characters do," put forward in that attempt to make actual play Netflix-ready. It's fun to watch the CR cast rib Travis for turning bright red for, as people said, pretend kissing his real wife. It's fun to watch the Intrepid Heroes heckle Brennan when he plays a villain. It's fun to hear Aabria and Erika scream at WBN plot developments and for the McElroys or the NADDPod crew to wheeze with laughter and all of these shows but CR are to a degree edited, and all leave that element in, which I think says something really important about what actual play is understood to be!

It does not escape me that the seasons/shows using heavier camera edits have often, in my opinion, sacrificed story quality for a visual style I don't even care for. I do watch prestige television, and one of the more striking cinematographic choices I've seen lately are the extremely long single take shots used on both Succession's final season (Connor's Wedding, 4x03) and The Bear's first season (Review, 1x07). Prestige TV is not doing the glitchy Neverafter stuff. Hell, I liked Sagas of Sundry: Dread and never finished Madness before it went offline and haven't made an effort to seek it out specifically because the black box theater feel of Dread felt fun and new but not too removed from actual play vibes, whereas the higher production values of Madness, ironically, made it feel too artificial and stilted to keep my interest.

Actual play is its own beast, and in trying to appeal to a new audience you're probably going to lose a lot of the one you have. A big part of why I haven't been motivated to check out Kollok is that everything I hear about it, even positive reviews, makes it sound like it's missing the things I like from actual play and doesn't achieve the level of scripted shows. Honestly I think the REAL answer here is that if you want to find a space between a Netflix drama and an Actual Play show, ditch the rules and make stuff like Midst, which is as discussed inspired by ttrpg/actual play spaces, but is broadly plotted out in advance. I think that approach can combine the best of both worlds, whereas I feel as though attempting to be a Netflix show will usually spend so much time trying to hide the fact that there's a table there that it will detract from the actual story.

[bleeding-star-heart]

These tags on a reblog of my Anders analysis are another problem I have with DA:2's writing

#god i have so many feelings about this#cuz i romanced anders my first playthrough#and i hated that our relationship did a 180 as soon as I was like#“im not gonna let you gaslight me into doing war crimes”#was it OOC?#i don't know#I can't say#I haven't studied anders as a character or taken the time to contemplate him enough to speak on it#but i just know it was such a turn off that i started a new game entirely EDIT: I have removed the word "gaslighting" from this meta owing to the fact that technically, Anders isn't gaslighting, because gaslighting is something different. Gaslighting being trying to make someone doubt their perception of reality, among other things. What Anders ACTUALLY does falls under emotional manipulation. I would say to the OP that yes, indeed, this is VERY "out of character", so to speak. Most definitely for JUSTICE, the spirit inhabiting Anders's body. But also for Anders as well. Think about it: emotionally manipulating one's romantic partner is an inherently unjust thing to do. It is not something two people who respect and love each other do. Yet the spirit of Justice is completely silent when it happens. A being that supposedly embodies nothing but Justice simply...allows his host to guilt his lover into doing something they disagree with. He does not protest or try to stop Anders from engaging in a truly toxic form of emotional manipulation. If written properly, Justice should immediately have called Anders out on this. Which should prompt either an apology from Anders or a long, seemingly one-man argument between the two. But that doesn't happen. In fact, Justice only shows up if you, as Anders's rival, manage to turn him AGAINST blowing up the Chantry. And then, only to railroad Anders back into the role of terrorist. This, combined with Justice's general lack of reaction to any injustice or violation of rights that DOESN'T have to do with mages, causes him to become little more than a cheap plot device. Now as to why I don't believe a properly written Anders would do it, either. Anders at this point in the story is a revolutionary, yes. He is passionate about his cause. But he is also MORE than that. And part of that 'more'-and also WHY he's a revolutionary-is that he was a victim of a controlling, emotionally manipulative institution. One that bombards people like him with all kinds of unhealthy messaging. Messages like: the outside world is guaranteed to hate you, your (unchangeable) nature is inherently wrong and sinful. As well as: you can't trust yourself at all, you are one bad day from being a monster, you need to let us control you for your own good. Anders probably saw more than one person like Keili-that girl in the Mage Origin who actively believes she's evil and prays to 'not be a mage'. He probably encountered a lot of mages with varying degrees of religiously based self-loathing. He probably had some himself. And he lived in the Ferelden Circle. He's also a person who not only left a toxic institution, but actively sees and complains about how toxic the institution is. People who've suffered from toxic environments/relationships and RECOGNIZE how toxic those environments/relationships were, tend to value healthy relationships/environments. They try and work on themselves to remove any lingering psychological effects of that toxicity. It is highly likely that Anders would NOT want to repeat the kind of emotional manipulation he and others were subjected to. While he might not agree with Hawke about methods, Anders would not believe guilt to be a good tactic because guilt is one of the very tactics the Chantry used on him! Guilt about being a target for demonic possession, guilt about what the magisters did, guilt about being a mage in general.

Guilting his partner into agreeing with him, is, essentially, him doing what the Chantry did to him. And if the writers had put any thought into his character, they would have realized that too. And thus, if they were smart, or and simply give the player the option to permanently decline the quest with no negative consequences. The other option is to lean into that, and purposefully make it a character flaw, that he's too blinded by trauma to see that. But the writers did NOT have the time to be able to successfully pull that off. Thus, yeah. They make Anders, who suffered from religious based emotional manipulation...into someone who emotionally manipulates his partners. Which is yet another thing done in the name of a less-than-stellar ending and plot beat. EDIT: I have removed the word "gaslighting" from my part of this meta owing to the fact that technically, Anders isn't gaslighting Hawke, because gaslighting is something different. Gaslighting being trying to make someone doubt their perception of reality, among other things. What Anders ACTUALLY does falls under emotional manipulation. Which I still don't believe a properly written Anders OR Justice would do, for the reasons stated above.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Down in the (link)dumps

On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine. On October 2, I'll be in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab.

Back when I was writing on Boing Boing, I'd slam out 10-15 blog posts every day, short hits that served as signpost and public notebook, but I rarely got into longer analysis of the sort I do daily now on Pluralistic. Both modes are very useful for organizing one's thoughts, and indeed, they complement each other:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/

The problem is that when you write long, synthetic essays, they crowd out the quick hits. Back in May 2022, I started including three short links with each edition of Pluralistic, in a section called "Hey look at this" (thanks to Mitch Wagner for suggesting it!):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/01/reit-modernization-act/#linkdump

But even with that daily linkdump, I still manage to accumulate link-debt, as interesting things pile up, not rising to the level of a long blog-post, but not so disposable as to be easy to flush. When the pile gets big enough, I put out a Saturday Linkdump:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

All of which is to say, it's Saturday, and I've got a linkdump!

First up, a musical interlude. I've been listening to DJ Earworm's amazing mashups since 2005 and while I've got dozens of tracks that shuffle in and out of my daily playlist, the one that makes me wanna get up and dance every time is "No One Takes Your Freedom," a wildly improbable banger composed of equal parts Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, George Michael and Scissor Sisters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaboIeW1A_4

I defy you to play that one without bopping a little. I think it's the French horn from "For No One" that really kills it, the world's least expected intro to a heavy dance beat.

Moving swiftly on: let's talk about fonts. I remember when Wired magazine first showed up at the bookstores I was working at in Toronto, and my bosses – younger men than I am now! – complained that the tiny, decorative fonts, rendered in silver foil on a purple background, was illegible. I laughed at them, batting my young eyes and devouring the promise of a better future with ease, even in dim light.

Now it's thirty years later and I'm half-blind. Both my my decaying, aging eyes are filmed with cataracts that I'm too busy to get removed (though my doc promises permanent 20:20, perfect night-vision, and implanted bifocals when I can spare a month from touring with new books to get 'em fixed).

Which is to say: I spend a lot more time thinking about legibility now than I did in the early 1990s, and I've got a lot more sympathy for those booksellers' complaints about Wired's aggressively low-contrast design today. I'm forever on the hunt for fonts designed for high legibility.

This week, Kottke linked to B612, a free/open font family "designed for aircraft cockpit screens," commissioned by Airbus. It's got all the bells and whistles (e.g. hinting) and comes in variable and monospace faces:

https://b612-font.com/

B612 arrived at a fortuitous moment, coinciding with a major UI overhaul in Thunderbird, the app I spend the second-most time in (I spend more time in Gedit, the bare-bones text-editor that comes with Ubuntu, the flavor of GNU/Linux I use). A previous Thunderbird UI experiment had made all the UI text effectively unreadable for me, causing me to dive deep into the infinitely configurable settings to sub in my own fonts:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/UserChrome.css

The new UI is much better, but it broke all my old tweaks, so I went back into those settings and switched everything to B612, and it's amazeballs. I tried doing the same in Gedit, but B612 mono was too light for my shitty eyes, so I went back to Jetbrains Mono, another free/open font that has 8 weights to choose from:

https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/

Love me a new, legible font! Meanwhile, a note for all you designers: the received wisdom that black on white type is "hard on the eyes" is a harmful myth. Stop with the grey-on-white type, for the love of all that is holy. This isn't 1992, you aren't laying out type for Wired Issue 1.0. Contrast is good, actually.

Continuing on the subject of software updates: Mastodon, the free, open, federated social media platform that anyone can host and that lets you hop between one server and another with just a couple clicks, has released a major update, focusing on usability, especially for people unfamiliar with its conventions:

https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/

Included in this fix: a major overhaul to how you interact with posts on servers other than your home server. This was both confusing and clunky, and the fix makes it much better. They've also changed how sign-up flow works, making things simpler for newbies, and they've cleaned up the UI, tweaking threads, web previews and other parts of the daily experience.

There's also a lot of changes to search, but search still remains less than ideal, with multi-server search limited to hashtags. This is bad, actually. Thankfully, we don't have to wait for Mastodon devs to decide to fix it, because Mastodon is free and open, which means anyone with the skills to code a change, or the money to pay techies to do it, or the moral force to convince them to do it, can effect that change themselves:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/23/semipermeable-membranes/

Case in point: Mastoreader, a great new thread reader for Mastodon:

https://mastoreader.io/

Every time that guy who owns Twitter breaks it even worse, a new cohort of users sign up. Not all of them stay, but the growth is steady and the trendline is solid:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/11/of-course-mastodon-lost-users/

It's the right call: while there are other services that promise that they will be federated someday, promises are easy, and there's world of difference between "federateable" and "federated." As GW Bush told us, "Fool me twice, we don't get fooled again":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/06/fool-me-twice-we-dont-get-fooled-again/

One big difference between the kind of blogging I used to do in my Boing Boing days and the long-form work I do today is the graphics. When you're posting 10-15 times/day, you can't make each graphic a standout (or at least, I can't). But I can (and do) devote substantial time to making a single collage out of public domain and Creative Commons graphics every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/

I am not a visual person – literally, I can barely see! – but my daily art practice has slowly made me a less-terrible illustrator. I got in some good licks this week, like this graphic for the UAW's new "Eight-and-Skate" work-to-rule program:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/21/eight-and-skate/#strike-to-rule

That graphic was fun because all the elements were from the public domain, or fair use. I love it when that happens. I've spent years amassing a bulging folder of public domain clip art ganked from the web and this week, it got a major infusion, thanks to the Bergen Public Library's Flickr album of high-rez scans of antique book endpapers. 86 public domain textures? Yes please! (Also, the fact that Flickr has one-click download of all the hi-rez versions of every image in a photoset is another way that it stands out as a remnant of the old, good web, not so much a superannuated relic as an elegant weapon of a more civilized age):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bergen_public_library/albums/72157633827993925

Speaking of strikes: there are strikes! Everygoddamnedwhere! After 40 years in a Reagan-induced coma, labor is back, baby. The Cornells School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Labor Action Tracker is your go-to, real-time observation post as hot labor summer turns into the permanent revolution. As of this writing, it's listing 968 labor actions in 1491 locations:

https://striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu

There's no war but class war and it was ever thus. Brian Merchant's forthcoming book Blood In the Machine is a history of the Luddites, revisiting that much-maligned labor uprising, which has been rewritten as a fight between technophobes and the inevitable forces of progress:

https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/

The book unearths the true history of the Ludds: they were skilled technologists who were outraged by capital's commitment to immiseration, child slavery, and foisting inferior goods on a helpless public. You can get a long preview of the book in Fast Company:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90949827/what-the-luddites-can-teach-us-about-standing-up-to-big-tech

Merchant also talked with Roman Mars about the book on the 99 Percent Invisible podcast:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/blood-in-the-machine/transcript/

If that's piqued your interest and if you can make it to Los Angeles, come by Chevalier's Books this Wednesday, where Brian and I are having a joint book-launch (I've just published The Internet Con, my Luddite-adjacent "Big Tech Disassembly Manual"):

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/chevaliers-books-8495362156

Where is all this labor unrest coming from? Well as Stein's Law has it, "anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop." 40 years of corporate-friendly political economy has lit the world on fire and immiserated billions, and we've hit bottom and started the long, slow climb to a world that prioritizes human thriving over billionaire power.

One of the most tangible expressions of that vibe shift is the rise and rise of antitrust. The big news right now is the (first) trial of the century, Google's antitrust trial. What's that? You say you haven't heard anything about it? Well, perhaps that has to do with the judge banning recording and livestreaming and not making transcripts available. Don't worry, he's also locking observers out of his courtroom for hours at a time during closed testimony. Oh, and also? The DoJ just agreed that it won't post its exhibits from the trial online anymore. You can follow what dribbles of information as are emerging from our famously open court system at US v Google:

https://usvgoogle.org/trial-update-9-22

If the impoverished trickle of Google antitrust news has you down, don't despair, there's more coming, because the FTC is apparently set to drop its long-awaited suit against Amazon:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftc-poised-sue-amazon-antitrust-163432081.html

Amazon spent years blowing hundreds of millions of dollars of its investors' cash, selling goods below cost and buying up rivals until it became the most important channel for every kind of manufacturer to reach their customers. Now, Amazon is turning the screws. A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance details the 45% Amazon Tax that every merchant pays to reach you:

https://ilsr.org/AmazonMonopolyTollbooth-2023/

That 45% tax is passed on to you – whether or not you shop at Amazon. Amazon's secretive most favored nation terms mean that if a seller raises their price on Amazon, they have to raise it everywhere else, which means you're paying more at WalMart and Target because of Amazon's policies.

Those taxes are bad for us, but they're good for Amazon's investors. This year, the company stands to make $185 billion from junk-fees charged to platform sellers. As David Dayen points out, Amazon charges so much to ship third-party sellers' goods that it fully subsidizes Amazon's own shipping:

https://prospect.org/power/2023-09-21-amazons-185-billion-pay-to-play-system/

That's right: as Stacy Mitchell writes in the report, "Amazon doesn’t have to build warehousing and shipping costs into the price of its own products, because it’s found a way to get smaller online sellers to pay those costs."

Now, one of the amazing things about antitrust coming back from the grave is that just the threat of antitrust enforcement can moderate even the most vicious bully's conduct. Faced with the looming FTC case, Amazon just canceled its plan to charge even more junk fees:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/amazon-drops-planned-merchant-fee-ftc-lawsuit-looms-bloomberg-news-2023-09-20/

But despite this win, Amazon is still speedrunning the enshittification cycle. The latest? Unskippable ads in Prime Video:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-22/amazon-prime-video-content-to-include-ads-staring-early-2024

Remember when Amazon promised you ad-free video if you'd lock yourself into shopping with them by pre-paying for a year's shipping with Prime? The company has fully embraced the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it further."

That FTC case can't come a moment too soon.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/23/salmagundi/#dewey-102

[midgardian-witch]

mirror with steven😭😭

I am so sorry for taking so long to respond to this, anon. I do hope you'll enjoy this even though you sent in this request a while ago. (This drabble did turn out slightly longer than my usual ones. I just got really inspired by that prompt apparently)

Mirror, Mirror

tags: established relationship | self-image issues | innuendo | sub!Steven and Dom!Reader if you squint | gn!reader

ships: Steven Grant/Reader

AO3

Edit: added AO3 link

[MIRROR] Person A puts Person B in-front of a mirror and points out each part they love about Person B. 

I wish you could see yourself the way I do - you've heard that sentence many times, in rom coms, in song lyrics. It's a bit sappy to be fair. It's certainly not a sentence you'd ever thought you would ever use in your life. And yet it does feel rather fitting right now.

Here you are, watching your boyfriend get dressed for your date. You’re almost salivating at how adorable and cute and fucking hot he looks. At the same time you can hear Steven muttering to himself, how he doesn't look good, how he 'looks like a knob', getting more and more frustrated with himself. 

Steven is the type of person that just doesn’t see himself the way others do. And it perplexes you time and time again. How can he not realize how gorgeous he is?

Swiftly you push yourself off of the chair you’re sitting on and make your way over to Steven. You don’t let his muttering perturb you as you lay your hands on his strong shoulders and look over them into the mirror in front of him. He startles for a moment before he realizes it’s you and his lips that a moment before were turned into a displeased frown curl into a soft, besotted smile at the sight of you.

“Heya, love. Just give me a moment, I’ll be ready as soon as I get this done,” he says, lifting the half-done tie up a little for emphasis. You hum thoughtfully, your hands kneading his tense shoulders. He leans into your touch intuitively before he gently swats your hands away. “If you distract me then we won’t be on time. I know I am not much to show off but I want to at least try,” he mutters and then tries to play things off with a laugh. His smile is strained and it almost breaks your heart.

You shake your head, unbelieving. What happened that he would even think that about himself? You wrap your arms around his torso, pulling him back towards you. “You’re wrong. And this won’t do,” you say as your hands take hold of his tie and undo what progress Steven had made thus far. He opens his mouth ready to either complain or ask what you are doing but you don’t let him get far enough to know for sure. “No. It’s my turn to talk now, baby,” you tell him in a stern voice you usually reserve for more intimate scenarios. Steven clears his throat and you can see his cheeks start to flush at your tone of voice. With a pleased smile on your face you continue to unravel the tie and then continue by opening up the first few buttons on the crisp white shirt he had put on for tonight. 

“You know you look amazing, right?”

Steven waves you off. “Of course you say that. You’re biased, love. I will admit I don’t know why you went for this,” he gestures towards his own body before continuing “But I am happy for it. Doesn’t mean you have to lie for my sake.”

You can see Steven struggling not to comment on your actions, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion by what to him must seem like you undoing all the work he has put into, well, looking put together for you.

You enjoy the sight for a moment: your loving boyfriend in your arms, cheeks flushed and shirt undone. With all your willpower you drag your thoughts away from how much prettier he would look if you tussled him up a bit further and instead focus on your initial, if not at all well-thought out plan: Show Steven that he is indeed a very attractive man. 

“So this is how this is going to go. I will talk and I don’t want to hear another bad word about yourself.”

Steven swallows hard and nods hesitantly, his eyes focused on your reflection in the mirror. You grin, your hands gliding teasingly over his (for now) clothed torso before you wrap your arms fully around him and pull him into your embrace once again. 

“Let’s start with your face,” you begin. You’re describing your favorite parts of his pretty face: how his eyes have this beautiful deep brown color that you just want to look into forever, how his nose scrunches up so adorably when he dislikes something, how his full eyebrows remind you of a muppet and you think that’s cute. At that last comment he gives you the aforementioned nose scrunch of displeasure but doesn’t say anything in protest. You continue talking about every small detail that you like about his face: the shape of his strong nose, his very kissable lips, the way he blushes so beautifully, his jawline that is cut like a greek statue and even his ears. With every new part you mention you can see his cheeks flush even brighter.

Your hands travel over his torso up towards his shoulders. You make a show of looking thoughtful for a moment before kissing his cheek. Steven turns his face towards you, his teeth worrying his bottom lip, just begging to be kissed. You smile at him and lean forward, capturing his full lips in a kiss. Meanwhile your hands make quick work of his shirt, opening his buttons with skilled fingers and finally pulling it half way off of his shoulders. As you pull back from the kiss Steven lets out a confused whine. It takes him a moment before he realizes that you have slowly undressed him while you had him distracted with that kiss.

At the confused look on his face you give him a small laugh. “Oh baby, we are not done yet,” you say teasingly, “There is so much more of you that I love besides your face.”

You continue talking about the different parts of Steven’s body that you adore: his strong shoulders, his arms that feel perfect around you when he hugs you, his hands that just fit perfectly in yours, his chest which is the ideal pillow to fall asleep on, his nipples that are so responsive to your touch. Steven gasps, holding back a moan, as you tease his nipples gently for emphasis. You decide to have some mercy on him at least and drop your hands from his chest towards his stomach. “I love that you’re still soft here even with your muscles. Makes cuddling so much better,” you admit before your hands travel down even further.

Steven keens as your fingers glide over the slowly growing bulge in his pants. You lean in closer towards him, your lips all but brushing the shell of his ear. “I love this too, but I think you know that, don’t you, baby?” you whisper as you cup his clothed cock in your hand. “You have such a pretty cock. It’s the perfect size. And you make me feel so good with it too.”

Steven moans, unable to hold back anymore, as his hips start to move without his permission. You see that the flush of his cheeks has long since traveled down further and you are sure that if you were to take off his pants you'd see his cock flushed just the same. He whimpers in protest as you let go of his erection and instead grab his very shapely ass with both hands. “Oh and this too. Your ass is fantastic, baby. Nice and round, soft yet firm. Not to mention all the fun things we can do with it too.”

As you look back into the mirror you can see in his reflection that Steven is ready to just bend over and let you have him. Gone is the look of utter defeat and displeasure with himself. Instead before you stands a gorgeous mess of a man, skin flushed, cock pressing painfully against his pants and eyes so full of adoration, love and lust that it takes your breath away.

“Do you see it? Do you see how beautiful you are?”

Steven squirms against you, mouth opening and closing uselessly before he nods. “Y-Yes, love.”

Slowly your hands find their way to the front of his pants again. “I don’t want to go out for our date anymore. How about we stay in tonight?” you offer with a grin as you pop the bottom of his dress pants. Steven nods frantically. As you take off his pants and underwear with one swift motion you take a moment to admire the beauty that is your boyfriend before you eagerly drag him away from the mirror towards your bedroom.

[frodothefair]

Mr. Nisile and I watching Bridgerton: the season 3, part 2 edition

@konartiste

Episode 5:

Mr. Nisile: Kate looks so much like my former classmate, it's uncanny. Me: Yeah, and Anthony looks like my weird friend from med school. Mr. Nisile: and they both had a propensity to share really awkward things with us. Like, didn't (the weird friend from med school) once text you "just had sex"? Me: I don't know. If he did, I probably repressed that.

Mr. Nisile on Anthony, Benedict and Colin talking: Ok, this whole scene is just collars talking to collars.

Daphne the cat is on Mr. Nisile's knee during the mirror scene: Daphne, we must look away for scenes like this. (And then, Daphne actually does look away :P)

Mr. Nisile: You know, this might have been said before, but Penelope probably actually fit the beauty standards of the time far better than most of the people cast in this show. Me: Yes, indeed. There is fatshaming of Penelope even in the book, but in fact, it's quite anachronistic. It was not until the late 19th century that thinness became chic because... *goes off on a tirade that is far too long to document here*

Mr. Nisile: It would've been funnier if Lord Greer had announced his conditions backwards: if he had led with the 4-5 children and Cressida was like, "ok, ok, this I can do," but then only one ball per month, and Cressida is like "shiiiiiiiit" and then the coup de grace is the grey and brown dresses.

Episode 6:

When John Stirling announces his and Francesca's engagement, a few of the chords in the music that follows sound suspiciously like the Fellowship theme from LOTR. Mr. Nisile upon hearing this: NO, NO, NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! Me: wha, did I just hear what I think I heard?! Mr. Nisile: You can't SHIRE THE TON! YOU CAN'T FELLOWSHIP THE BRIDGERTONS! Me: what are you talking about, that was excellent! Mr. Nisile: THAT JUST RANKLED ME IN THE RELIGION! Me: Ok, that is one for the Mr. Nisile-isms post, once my nails dry. Mr. Nisile: Ok, fine. But I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom -- when you get rankled in the religion, it tends to loosen up the bladder.

Mr. Nisile on Cressida Cowper's red dress: That dress looks like a red spinnaker. Me: what's a spinnaker? Mr. Nisile: (looks is up and shows me -- it is a type of sail) Oh. Yeah. Ok.

Me when Cressida Cowper shows up at a ball after she reveals herself as Lady Whistledown: And all the while, Ms. Malhotra is in the background going :D, and that is my favorite thing in this episode so far.

Episode 7:

All of the below are from Mr. Nisile:

You know, Cressida needs some better editing. I could write better than her. I could be Lady Whistledown, that could be my new drag name.

The schism of the ton!

Well, at least this Lady Whistledown is better composed than a crummy tweet.

That outfit is like a Rorschach test for flamingoes.

You know, with how autistic-coded Stirling is, I'm glad the Bridgerton brothers didn't try harder to convince him to "declare himself" by throwing rocks at a window. He might have gone and actually done it.

You know, carriage drivers probably have the best gossip. I wonder why no one thought that Lady Whistledown was a carriage driver.

Ok, you want to talk about anachronisms? Colin's black light vest. It looks like it came from a laser tag studio. (This is in response to me having eagle eyes for any part of a period piece drama that is anachronistic).

Episode 8:

Mr. Nisile on Colin's home decor: Those houses have co-lors.

Mr. Nisile on Colin and Eliose talking: I would be more comfortable wearing what she's wearing than what he's wearing. I mean, he's got like two cravats and three collars, and a woolen coat. I would be sweating like a pig in July.

Mr. Nisile on the introduction of Michaela Stirling: wait, are they (Eliose and Francesca) just in awe of her overwhelming femininity or something? Me: (sitting on my hands and aggressively not saying anything because I have read the books and he has not, and I know what the deal is with Michaela Stirling)

Eventually, I did tell him about Michaela Stirling, and then he felt vindicated because he thought he saw an intimate moment between Francesca and Penelope in the first part of the season, and thought they were trying to code Francesca as queer all along.

[appelsiinilight]

Finally got around to binging Centaurworld season 2;

so he like literally just started beef with his own damn self for no reason at all, like LITERALLY ASDFGHJKASDFGH, FUNNIEST tragic villain backstory of ALL time

like the whole thing with the elk half was indeed very fucked, but he Literally Just Decided To Do That To Himself For No Reason, like you can’t even do the whole “sure [villain] did bad things, but they were traumatized by [someone more evil]!” thing ‘cause HE DID THATTTTT

and the split itself took place IMMEDIATELY after he first cut off his antlers which the crush he did it for FLIRTED WITH HIM ABOUT LIKING THEMMMMM

and a few scenes later HE HIMSELF goes “hey that was kinda a very drastic and entirely unnecessary measure”

also the fact that he was a dickhead before any sort of sad tragic backstory at all occurred ASDFGHJKASDFGHJK it may be tempting to slip into the line of thought that he split into the good (elk) and the bad (guy) personalities of the og elktaur, since the elk ends up such a poor little mewmew, but i think it is pretty clear textually that they were exactly the same at the start, and whichever one ended up with the human body would’ve doubled down on the oh-god-what-the-fuck personality trait sdfghjkldfghjk

also, in the context of the show, it kinda looks a lot like the general strove to fuck over the elk not so much out of self-loathing or anything even subtextually like that, but because he (all of him - the elktaur, and the people he split into) is just not into treating people well, TO THE DEGREE that even a person who used to be His Actual Self stopped mattering to the him that had the upper hand and to whom that person’s existence was inconvenient

edit: ok i browsed the tag a little and i’m seeing some fantasy racism angst ascribed to the elktaur, and like, yeah, the show did insert a few “elktaur experiences a microaggression” moments, BUT, ASDFGHJKL, this is one of those “fantasy racism catastrophically fails as a racism metaphor” moments because unlike in real life, citizens of the Centaurworld do act fucking insane all the time compared to humans. Like, that’s the premise of the show: Normal Horse Enters Fucking Insane World. You can’t just pull a “but acting like centaurs are different is basically bigotry and it drove the elktaur into the deepest pits of self-loathing :)” 9/10ths into the “look at the fucking insane creatures” show ASDFGHJKASDFGHJK

like i’m with the humans of the Centaurworld flashbacks on this one, if I existed in that universe I wouldn’t touch the in-universe centaurworld with a 10 foot pole because I barely suffered through watching these characters. HORSE barely suffered through interacting with them through season 1!!!

Textually, elktaur just acts weirdly human compared to Literally Every Single Other Centaur ASDFGHJKASDFGHJ

basically it does not appear that Centaurworld (the show) executed any real themes, at least where the elktaur and his iterations are concerned, but that’s not a criticism (unless the writers did actually try to do some themes and fucked up so bad, in which case, LMAO) - the story doesn’t have to have them to be very fun. having a very fucked up guy just start shit for no thematically cohesive reason is still a very fun story to experience asdfghjksdfghj

[thatiranianphantom]

On Ch*ni And How This Version is NOT An Ode To LGBT Representation.

Oh, folks. We've hit that time. We've hit the time where I have to say something aloud, aware as I am that it's RD and criticizing it for being tone deaf and offensive is somewhat pointless.

I have edited the name so that this hopefully doesn't show up in the tag, trying to respect keeping that tag a positive place here. But I gotta say something. And for once, it's not on Madelaine and Vanessa, it's on the writers.

The way that they are portraying Ch*ni is anything but positive LGBT representation.

It's been canonically established that Toni and Cheryl do not know each other in the 50s' verse. Like Toni had never spoken to Cheryl before 701.

And yet somehow, Toni has decided that she knows Cheryl, a stranger's, sexuality. Not only did she decide that, she has decided Cheryl needs to be open about that and come out. Here's a few issues with that, in the form of some lists.

Here are things Cheryl has never done in this verse, up to the end of the current episode:

Confided in Toni that she was struggling with her sexuality

Asked Toni for her advice

Asked Toni what sexuality she'd identify Cheryl with

Requested Toni help her come out

Sought Toni's opinion on her life and her relationships

Told Toni that she was a lesbian.

Here are the things Cheryl did do:

Told Toni more than once that she did not know the inner details of Cheryl's life and explicitly said Toni should stop acting like she knew Cheryl

Made it very clear that she was uncomfortable with Toni's advances.

Show us, the audience, that her family is abusive and unsafe.

And yet, Toni feels it is her personal responsibility to remove Cheryl from the closet, and "play the long game", implying she plans on being with Cheryl once Cheryl has come out. This is....not good. Disclosure of one's sexuality is an incredibly personal process, and one that can only be done by the person themselves. As a bisexual person, I would be incredibly not okay with someone outlining the steps they feel I should take in my own sexuality. That's to say nothing of the fact that it may actually be unsafe for Cheryl to come out.

In the last episode, Toni stated "I was you." She indeed was not, given the fact that she and Cheryl have had maybe three conversations and again, Cheryl has never expressed to Toni that she is requesting her help to come out. The 704 content was, at best, none of Toni's business. Nor was it her place to overtly make Cheryl uncomfortable with her advances. And I am super not okay with the last CH scene given how Toni had been acting thus far, and the show portraying it as empowering or feminist.

The thing is, while I don't think the show has ever been good about LGBT representation, their s2 plot wasn't like this. It never felt like Toni was trying to pressure Cheryl into anything. You could say a lot of things about them as a couple but it didn't feel like Toni decided Cheryl's sexuality and took on the role of the sexuality police.

Anyway. Let me know y'all's opinion. Looking forward to anons calling me a homophobe. Or a racist. Or oftentimes, both!

[bambikisss]

:: ; ' RUN FOR THE CROWN, BABY

-> While being on KINGDOM, you run into and meet Wooyoung, who lays down a challenge: if their group wins, he gets a date with you. If you win, you get his prized motorcycle.

SONG: CROWN - Camilla Cabello

A/N: You will be an idol in this story, heh

SMUT: Choking, unprotected sex, biting

TAG LIST: @woozluv @layzfeelit @choisansnotsolegalwife

@chiefbananaearthquake

You were always known as the competitive member of your group, maybe in all of the Korean pop industry. You participated in a survival show to be added to your current girl group's lineup and your determination to be the best made you an instant fan favorite. You were such a great all-rounder that you were seated in the number one position and became your group's center. You were the total package to everyone in the industry and your fans.

So when you were asked to perform and compete in Kingdom's first mixed-gender season, you instantly accepted it. You were looking forward to performing by yourself, hoping to become number one and beat the boy and girl groups.

It was no rumor that you were the underdog coming into the competition; you were a soloist going up against groups with 8 to 12 members. You basically had to have the stage presence of a whole group with your performances. It was indeed a challenge, and you were up for it. You walked backstage, your manager going through your schedule for the stage rehearsal, ignoring the looks from the groups who watched you walk. You carried yourself with so much confidence that everyone admired or was called ignorant. Again, you didn't really care.

After getting a rundown of how the show worked, you checked out the stage, noticing Wooyoung's large motorcycle parked in the corner. It was a beautiful sleek black, the seat supported with a cushion. He barely let you see it, let alone touch it, but brought it for a performance in Kingdom. You wanted to take advantage of him not being around, glancing around to make sure he wasn't around before getting closer to it. You let your fingers run over the center, admiring it before jumping slightly at the cough of someone behind you. You turned around, raising an eyebrow at a laughing Wooyoung. You had your fair share of interactions with him and all of ATEEZ and had become friends with them. You shoved his shoulder as he doubled over, wiping his eye as he followed the sound of your clicking heels as you left the stage. "Come on, Y/N, it was kind of funny."

"No, Wooyoung, it wasn't" you continued to walk away, Wooyoung rushing to grab the railing of the stairs, jumping over it to land in front of you, halting you from walking away. He airly apologized as he tried to hold in his laugh, running a hand through his hair. You rolled your eyes, accepting his apology before trying to walk past him, the boy following after you quickly. He was like a puppy following you around; whenever he saw you at any event, he was glued to your arm until he was ripped away to go perform or watch you perform. Many idols thought you two were dating, but you both always laughed off the rumor, maybe a bit too hard according to some people. "So, I hear you're coming in as a solo artist, huh? Are you so sure that you can beat everyone?" He wasn't asking as he didn't have faith in you, because he did. He was asking because he knew that this event was filled with casualties, like MNET's dirty editing and how it may look to the public with you coming into the competition alone. He knew that fans seeing you do this competition alone could create some drama and wanted to make sure you were aware of that. "I think I can do well. My members seem to think so, too." You patted his shoulder as you walked into your dressing room, grabbing a water bottle and your mic to prepare for your rehearsal. Wooyoung leaned against the doorframe, watching you as you gathered your items before sighing. "You know we're now competitors, Y/N. I can't be so nice to you now." You noted the playfulness in his voice, leaning close to his face, your nose touching as you mumbled "is that so? such a pity," giggling softly at his breath hitching, patting his shoulder as you made your way to the stage.

Now that you thought about it, you could see why so many idols thought you two were dating; you both flirted with one another so often. It was filled with playful flirting, filled with getting close to one another, and teasing words and touches. You both never intended for it to go farther than that, but you couldn't deny that you loved teasing him and loved it when he teased you right back.

So, it didn't surprise you to see him and the rest of ATEEZ standing by the stage, watching your stage rehearsal, his eyes staying on you throughout the performance. He licked his lips as you moved, staring as you moved with your dancers and drank in your every movement. You were the only person on that stage that mattered to him.

After you performed, you bowed to everyone, ATEEZ cheering for you as you made your way off the stage. You scoffed softly as you watched Wooyoung shamelessly check you out as you walked away, making sure to sway your hips as you knew you had an audience.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, the audience of one you thought you had turned out to be an audience of many throughout your time on the show.

You sighed as you read through another letter from an idol that was on the show, sending you their numbers and private Instagrams. You tossed it to join the many others on the table in front of you, your stylist giggling as the paper fell onto the floor. "You seem to be very popular," she commented, making you roll your eyes. "Are you upset because you think it's stupid or because none are from Wooyoung?" You snapped to turn to face your stylist as if she was crazy, her laughter filling the room as she looked at you. She raised her hand and curling iron in defense as she noticed your surprised reaction, ushering for you to return to the seat so she could finish your hair.

You let her comment rest in your mind as she finished your hair, stopping her before she could start on your makeup. "Did...he mention liking me?" Your stylist smiled, picking up the makeup palette as she nodded, a knowing smirk on her lips. "I may or may have not heard through the grapevine about some things." You nodded, trying to not give away your true feelings as she worked on putting makeup on, then helped you change into your dress. You chose to do an old Hollywood glamor style for the finals, which included a slit in your dress and lots of glittery jewelry. You had totally forgotten all about what your stylist had said about Wooyoung until he slipped into your dressing room after she left, obviously about to make a joke or two before he halted at when he saw you. His eyes scanned your body slowly, his words halting in his throat as he noticed the clothes you were wearing. He thought you looked gorgeous; the black dress hugged your figure well and the slit went high on your thigh that left not that much to his imagination. He admired it once more before he ripped his eyes to meet yours, obviously attracted to how you looked. His feet moved before he could think, his feet crushing the fallen confessions that came from the other idols, his hands caging you against the table as he leaned close, you moving back in surprise. You felt your cheeks become warm at how close he was and how dark his eyes had become, not used to his demeanor changing completely. He looked you up and down once more before slowly pulling away from you, his cologne still in the air close to you as he smirked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"You think looking pretty is going to help you win tonight, Y/N?" You scoffed at his change of demeanor, shoving his shoulder once more. "So you think I'm pretty?"

"Of course, Y/N. You look amazing. But, you're gong up against my group and" he paused to kiss his teeth, a coy smile on his lips as he chuckled. "We have an amazing stage planned out sooo-"

"You want to make a bet then?" You cut him off, crossing your arms as your heels clicked against the floor, Wooyoung's eyes darkening once more at how close you were to him again. "Put your money where your mouth is?"

He paused, licking his lips before nodding, obviously not fully paying any attention to your words. "I want your prized motorcycle when I win" Your words snapped him out of his daze, the boy's eyes snapping up to meet yours. "Not my prized motorcycle. It was bad enough I had to use it on this stage and I'm not risking it-" "Come on, Wooyoung, you were so confident before." The boy paused at your confidence, taking a minute before stepping up to stand chest to chest with you, his hand coming to play with the strings on your dress before pulling you roughly against his chest, staring down at you with hungry eyes.

"I'll put something else where my mouth is," he mumbled, the joke hanging in the air as you both eyed each other's lips, almost wanting to crash into one another. You could feel your lips tingle as you continued to eye his own, watching as he wet them with his tongue before fitting around the words he spoke.

"If you win, you can get my motorcycle, I don't care. But, if I do, I want one date..."

You paused at his words, your eyes moving up to his as he pulled away from your body, leaving you suddenly cold as he left the room, not turning back around to face you. You touched your lips as they still tingled, your mind going back to his words. He wanted to take you out on a date if he won?

You, for a second, thought about losing on purpose but your pride and ego returned when you heard your manager call for you from the hallway. You tried to compose yourself, making your way out to join her in the hallway, smiling as your dancers cheered for you as you all made your way to the stage, passing by the other groups who also cheered. Many of them had given you love letters, but your eyes caught Wooyoung's who also had a finger on his lips as his was also buzzing from how close the two of you were and how close you both were to kissing.

You stood on stage, the camera ready as you got ready, the stage lights hitting your jewelry beautifully as you held your mic in your hand, calming yourself down as your dancers got ready, offering you some words of encouragement, and hyping you up as the recording started.

Wooyoung's eyes were glued to the screen as you sang and performed, his eyes taking in every movement you made, his members teasing him as he watched you. The stage lights hit all the diamonds you wore beautifully and made you look like an old Hollywood singer. You, to him, looked perfect.

He watched as you stepped down to dance with one of your dancers, feeling a pang of jealousy as he picked you up, letting your head fall back as you continued to sing. He wished it was him; he wanted to be the reason your head fell back with the sweet notes you were singing. Maybe he also wanted to have his hands all over your body, jealous that the dancer could touch your thighs as Wooyoung was far too nervous to actually touch the skin he had admired in the dressing room a few moments prior.

When you finished, he clapped, noticing the camera zooming in on his expressions as he admired you, coughing as he realized the footage they may have of him is him just staring at you. He watched as you made your way backstage, getting up as fast as possible to meet you in the hallway.

Your eyes both met as he stopped you in the hallway, his eyes staring at you for what felt like forever. Neither one of you made a move to say anything, only staring. You wanted him to speak first, to compliment you on how you did.

"You did well, Y/N"

You wanted him to pull you into your dressing room and kiss you.

"Can I talk to you?"

You both must've had the same thoughts, Wooyoung pulling you to your dressing room as no one suspected a thing, letting him pull you into the room before pinning you against the wall, your lips crashing into a hard kiss. He immediately gripped your thigh, massaging it as he pulled you up to wrap your legs around his waist, your hands going into his hair. He admired the way your voice sounded as he kissed down your neck, the notes sounding like how you sang on stage. He licked and bit your neck, his hips rolling to meet yours as he let himself become filled with you. He locked the door, ripping off your dress as you both continued to kiss, only breaking away when you both were naked. He looked you up and down like he did when he first saw you in the dress earlier, his hand coming to grab your ass as he pulled you close to him.

"Y/N...you drive me crazy"

His chuckle was breathless as his hands moved up your back, grabbing the back of your throat as he pulled you into another kiss, then moved to the front as he led you to a couch you had in there. He laid you down softly as if he was in no rush. As if you two were the only ones in the world. He kissed your stomach, slowly making his way to your lips as you moaned his name, the boy meeting your lips with a moan of his own. "If you keep saying my name like that, baby, I'm going to fuck you so hard and I wanna take my time with you" he moaned into your neck, slowly pushing into you as your nails scratched down his back, his teeth biting you as you squeezed him. You felt like heaven to him; warm velvet that held him close. "You've ruined this for anyone else" he suddenly said, his eyes meeting yours as he rested on his forearms. "I won't want to have sex with anyone else but you from now on, baby"

"Show me then, Wooyoung. Show me how much you only want me." You let your arms wrap around his neck as his hips began to move, the boy closing his eyes before leaning down to kiss you to muffle his own as his hips sped up. He let the sound of your muffled moans and the couch scraping against the floor urge him along, muffling into your neck how much he loved you and how good you felt. For a hookup, to you, it felt so much more sensual than any other hookup you ever had. You shoved your own head into his neck when he began to play with your clit, urging for you to cum for him so you both could cum together. He whined softly before holding your hand tightly, murmuring how much he loved you as you both tumbled over the edge, kissing as you both came, each other's name muffled into each other's mouths before he kissed all over your face, pulling out slowly.

He sighed, staring down at you as he got a towel to clean you both, then helped you get dressed, before cuddling you close on the couch. He laid his head on your shoulder, no words being spoken as he rubbed your back, you both taking in the feeling that you both shared.

"Hey, Y/N." You hummed at his question, a kiss being placed on your forehead in response. "You can have the motorcycle..."

"No, that wasn't the bet" You pulled back to face him, Wooyoung scoffing before placing you onto the couch, standing up as he stretched.

The playful atmosphere returned.

As you both "argued", he would occasionally kiss you to shut you up when you made a great point before leaving when his members called him, letting him know that they had to go on stage for awards. You waited a few moments, checking yourself in the mirror before going to join them all on the stage, your dancers surrounding you as you sat down. You also made eye contact with Wooyoung as you sat down, smiling at him as he wished you good luck. It was the first time that you hoped you lost.

"Our winner is...Y/N!"

You and your dancers sprung up as confetti fell, the other groups cheering as you were handed the award. To you, it felt like a dream. You watched as the confetti covered everyone, thanking everyone as they hugged you before rushing to hug Wooyoung, who smiled softly. Before he could speak, you cut him off, saying "I want that date instead of the motorcycle"

He paused, chuckling before nodding, kissing your cheek discreetly before picking you up, laughing as everyone cheered for you.

You held the crown before placing it onto his head, smiling as he placed you down, kissing you softly. "You look hot with this crown on, baby." You chuckled at his comment, kissing him once more as people cheered.

[read-and-write-]

Get to know me, double edition

Two tag games running around at the same time so I'm copying some people and doing both at the same time, and for the people who tagged me in one, this is your tag for the other.

Thanks to @myheartalivewrites @happiness-of-the-pursuit @littlemisskittentoes @heybuddy-drabbles @suseagull04 @14carrotghoul for tagging me in this! I finally did it!

There's two versions of this so this is a double tag game, reduce, reuse, recycle and all that, answers under the cut

First Set

Last song: María La Curandera - Natalia Lafourcade

Last film: I can't remember which basically tells you everything you need to know about how many movies I actually watch

Currently reading: Gideon the Ninth bt Tamsyn Muir, and I'm rereading Loveless by Alice Oseman because I want to anotate the physical book that i got half a year ago

Currently watching: Interview with the Vampire, I'm in episode 6 and seriously considering just putting all my tbr aside to read the novel

Currently consuming: Chocolate Ice Cream and a cheese sandwich (✨girl dinner✨)

Currently craving: This specific fries with pulled pork and cream cheese and BBQ sauce from this specific place that are bomb every single time.

Next Set

1. Were you named after anyone?

My great-grandfather, Manuel

2. When was the last time you cried?

On friday my cat needed to get surgery done, needless to say I cried more than once during that day.

3. Do you have kids?

i am just a baby (no)

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I did Artistic Roller Skating for a long time, branched out to Figure Skating for like two months but tropical country couldn't keep up and went back to my roots until around two years ago when I started having Adult Schedules for Work. I have also done Gymnastics.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes, and also suffer the "everything I say sounds serious" sindrome

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Hair generally, if we are speaking in Spanish, accent.

7. What’s your eye color?

Brown that leans to black.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, I am a coward and proud.

9. Any talents?

I am very good at knowing things, I am a fun fact girlie, if you have a random question ask me because 8 times out of 10 I have the answer, if I don't just give me 2 minutes and I'll have it.

And I also sing.

10. Where were you born?

Medellín ✨en la playa con la oriental✨ if this means something to you seamos amiguitos

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, reading, singing, spending my money in silly little gadgets, walking around a mall just looking (o lolear, my mom would call it)

12. Do you have any pets?

My soulmate, best friend and child, a cat named Iglesia.

13. How tall are you?

1,56m or for my american friends 5'1

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, Spanish, Art and Philosohpy, long ago the four nations lived together in harmony-

I was indeed a humanities nerd.

15. Dream job?

Right now? mantenida, now if I had to chose and ignore if it's possible or not I'd love to work in the production crew of Doctor Who or any other big fiction TV Show, turning your hyperfixations into profit and all that.

OKAY now tagging some people, no pressure y'all, if you have already done it I apologize @raysletters @ssmtskw @rmd-writes @gayrootvegetable @gay-flyboys @firenati0n @anincompletelist

[slimy-vore-bog]

WARNING: groomer in the SFW vore community (serious)

Content/Trigger warning: discussions of grooming, mention of incest, and sexual and fatal vore

I am posting to tags to try to keep people safe!

This specifically occured in the Owl House corner of this community, but everyone should be warned

I will put the rest of the post below keep reading, but for now the person I'm accussing is known as "les-the-mess" on here and "LesTheMessy" on DeviantArt (I do not remember the discord name) and she is 23/24 years of age

And lastly that a real minor has been contacted by said person and made very uncomfortable (url will not be stated for their safety)

Remember to check everything I say for yourself, if you don't believe me; I would not accuse this person publicly if I didn't consider them a real threat All except the minor's statement are available online

I am feeling sick to my stomach that this happened and I don't know how to handle this. I'm going to tell this a bit more like a story so I can get it out easier

I was on DA (DeviantArt) when I saw something odd pop up; a vore edit of Catra and Adora with Luz and Amity as prey. I looked at it, because I am always up to find more sfw safe vore creators, but it was neither safe or non-sexual

There were clearly comments engaging with the art in a sexual way and the creator didn't discourage or delete said comments and the description itself mentioned how the vore was going to end with both prey characters dying.

This person had an identical avatar and near identical username to their URL here on tumblr and I was horrified as I knew that this person had interacted with a minor despite having "minors DNI" and that already gave me a slight prickling suspicion something was wrong (later learned she has even DMed them on discord...)

They had both minors and NSFW in her DNI so I didn't have anything to go after, as they didn't have any post with suspicious stuff here or followed any weird blogs and I brushed it off initially

Her posts on DA however... Very fucking damning: almost all their edits are of minors and adults in vore or of the character The Collector (Which is a child who is also a god; he is immortal, but at the point we last see them is mentally an 8-10 year old)

Now I didn't pick the most damning thing to screenshot, as it was too gross (unbirth incest between Luz the main character, her girlfriend and Luz's mother Camila) but here is one example of one of their posts:

Odalia/nickname Mamadalia is an antagonist of the show and an adult woman

Here is a screenshot of her account on tumblr:

Very lousily taken, but I was too distraught to care

I contacted the minor (who I am already friendly with, since I wanted to support the growth of their blog) as soon as I deemed this person to be a threat and the minor has told me that she has indeed acted weird towards them, but it only clicked now after I shared what I did...

The minors own words when I asked for details:

"I can't remeber what we talked about exactly since I deleted my discord in a panic-

But it was first of with the collector, at first it seemed harmless, but I started getting uncomfortable when it entered into the vore Stuff, like, I dont why but it rubbed me the wrong way but I didnt say anything since it sorta felt…uneasy to say the least, and i feel stupid because i never said anything about it

She also talked a lot about digestion aswell, and when I brought up the no minors thing- she said it was because she managed and 18+ discord server and it was okay for us to talk, and I feel this is extremely important to mention- she reposted your art to me without credit, I cant remeber everything but i hope this is enough"

Now the last thing I will say I don't have much of an opinion on, because of how severe the situation is, but I wanted to include the full message (Split up into paragraphs for easier reading)

I might have forgotten some stuff, but this is all I can think of right now

Please just stay safe, stay away and block/report this person!

[neptoons1998]

Summary: Riri doesn’t believe in string of fate after all she doesn’t have one or does she?

A/N: this edited and polished version 🖤🖤 Imma post the next one tomorrow 🤞🏿🤞🏿 @shuriris-stuff thanks for the idea.

Tag list: @pantherheart @somethingcleaverandwhitty @mal-urameshi

The concept of soulmates was stupid in Riri’s opinion. Anyone with eyes would know it’s just corporate interesting people to buy their products to “The One.” She knew her mom believed in soulmates, Riri remembers the two red lines wrapped around her mother’s left pinky.

And look where that got her, Riri thought, both of her mom’s soulmates died. And based on what Riri knows from an earlier age.

She never wanted to experience that type of heartbreak as long as she lived. So, the young scientist threw herself into the only love that would never hurt her.

Fate must have heard her desperate plea from a nine-year-old girl, Riri had never gotten the thin line on her left pinky. Sharon, her mom, was so worried that it would cause the young girl to go into depression. To Riri, she was fine being alone after all what else can she do?

Well, who knew she was right that love would cause her pain, she thought as she felt herself swinging on the hammock counting the glow worms suspended in the air. She knew one day she would be noticed by somebody, but not like this.

Before Riri could think deeply about the mistakes she made up to this point. She heard the soft crunch noise from the rocks, there stood Shuri, who looked deep in thought.

“Well,” Riri stumbled out of the hammock to get closer to Shuri, “How did it go?”

Shuri picked out her nails, “I learned I am not as persuasive as my brother once was.”

It was like a stone stuck into Riri’s stomach, “Oh my god. I’m going to die.”

Shuri quickly shook her head, “No, no. Maybe I should have said that. It was a joke.

“Don’t quit your day job,” Riri mumbled as she sat herself down on the cool stone ground. Shuri could only smile at her, “I won’t. I can’t have my soulmate dying on me before I get to know her.”

“What are you talking about,” Riri said looking at Shuri. Shuri grabbed her hands staring deep into her eyes, “You’re my soulmate. And as my soulmate, I’ll keep you safe.”

Riri laughed like Shuri told the best joke since why did the chicken cross the road. As the college student calmed down she saw that Shuri was staring at her straight face, “Oh you’re serious.”

Shuri smirked, “Indeed.”

“Well that can’t happen,” Riri said standing up from her crossed-leg position. Shuri looked up at her,

“Why not?”

Riri twisted her fingers, “For one you’re royalty and I’m not about to Megan in this relationship.”

Shuri scoffed at her, “Wakanda will accept you. What’s the other reason?”

Riri bit her lip, to be frank, she didn’t have another reason just that. She was banking that the royal family has some type of law, but based on what she researched about the small mighty nation they were more welcoming to gays and they than most “progressive” nations.

“If you give me a minute I can think up some more,” Riri stated. Shuri just smiled at her as she took her hands again forcing the short woman to sit on the ground again.

“Have you slept at all?” Shuri asked, closing the space between the pair. Riri felt sleepless trying to wrap around her, but she had many questions.

“How do you know I am your soulmate?” Riri asked as she felt Shuri lightly pushing her head to lie on her lap. “ I don’t have the red string on my pinky. Mama was so worried something was wrong with me.”

As Riri looked at Shuri’s eyes she noticed the royal’s iris had a light gold hue to it. Now that she is looking at Shuri, how come she didn’t notice her jawline? Riri shook her head to make herself stay focused on the problem at hand.

“I’ll show you, once we get out of here,” Shuri stated.

Shuri watched as her soulmate fell into a deep sleep. Riri Williams. That’s what her soulmate’s name was. Shuri smirked, “You couldn’t show up earlier?”

Riri continued sleeping without a care in the world. Shuri knew one day she would meet her soulmate; she thought her future soulmate wouldn’t be to her level.After alll,l was she genius when she was five, but Riri was not only on her level but at times ahead of her. Shuri loved that.

She took Riri’s left pinky, true to the college student's words it seems like she didn’t have the string wrapped around her finger, Shuri knew once they get back home. Riri would believe her.

Shuri had to talk to Namor once more, she will do anything to protect her soulmate.

[libroseitm]

Can you guys stop doing this under promotions for black shows and movies, especially queer black focused media

First and foremost: thank you for bringing this up. It needs to be talked about.

Second most important: I am in no way qualified to comment on this, like, at all. I was raised in a racist environment and while I have removed myself as far as possible from that, I still have a lot to learn. Can someone else please weigh-in on this??

Third: What I do feel qualified to comment on is HBO's mlk post, only because I was involved in that. A lot of the comments were either or both:

. From international fans that have never heard of mlk day, and know nothing about it. (speaking as a uk person myself, this is not in any way a thing here)

. From fans who were on autopilot and commenting without even thinking/looking at the post.

Should we be excusing that behavior? No. It was thoughtless and dumb and even international fans should have been able to catch the vibe and message of the post. However, no one should be condemned for making a mistake either, if their comment was indeed a mistake. I personally have tried to get as many fans to take down their comments as possible. This was worded badly, please see the comments.

For future posts on streaming service socials: can someone with more gravitas in the campaign bring this to the wider fanbase's attention? I will tag @renewasacrew but I'm a small blog so a bigger voice or more voices may be more helpful? Is this something that should be said on a more official basis, do we need stricter guidelines from campaign runners on which posts to comment on?

I hope that was answered compassionately, anon, that was my intent. And again, thank you for sending this.

EDIT: I just realised that I did leave a comment on a recent most (netflix) post which may have been inappropriate. I have taken it down. I personally need to reflect more on this, even if it isn't addressed by renew as a crew.

[midnight-in-town]

Hello! I'm sorry if this question has already been asked, but I could not find it anywhere. So if RCMT is a true thing, how does it fit with the Undertaker's feelings about Phantomhives? Why would he revive the person who was originally responsible for Vincent's death? There's just no way for Undertaker to not see this memory unless it had previously been extracted out of R!Ciel forcibly. In that case, another shinigami would have to be involved in the attack, which makes the situation even more absurd: Undertaker was said to have been keeping a low profile all these years and nobody had any clue about his whereabouts. Could it be that this missing memory is part of a plan to manipulate undertaker? But that still makes little sense to me

Hey Anon ! I did talk about it here, it could be found amongst the first 10 posts on the rcmt tag. ;) I’ll sum it up for you though!

"There's just no way for Undertaker to not see this memory unless it had previously been extracted out of R!Ciel forcibly."

You're right, if the RCMT is true, then it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense that UT revived the twin. So what is the most logical explanation? That UT is not the one who edited the twin’s record.

First of all, two things seem to be needed to edit someone's record: supernatural eyes (Seb and Grell could see the edited records on the Campania whereas Ciel couldn't) and a death scythe.

Secondly, more recently, the previous investigation with Bard and Lau showed Layla wielding a Shinigami scissor-looking death scythe, hinting that UT is possibly not the only deserter behind the BD project. 

In other words, we know for sure that UT saved real!Ciel's body from burning entirely and that he took care of him for the following years (because he said so in ch140-141), but we don't know for sure that UT is the one who edited his record.

And if he didn't, that means another Shinigami deserter working for the same sponsors could have done it instead. As to why he didn't? Maybe because it was too painful for UT to witness how real!Ciel died (remember that it's possible he's their grandfather).

Below is literally all that UT says on the subject of "bringing the twin back" :

Additionally, UT checked Seb's cinematic record during the Campania arc, because he didn't know what took place during and after Seb's summoning.

To me, that possibly hints as well that he didn't check the twin's record (or couldn't : fire is capable of damaging one’s body and thus one’s cinematic record, Vincent's example, so for all we know real!Ciel's record conveniently is partially damaged?) but that's not solid proof, just a possibility.

"Why would he revive the person who was originally responsible for Vincent's death?"

Now, if we ignore everything I explained above and assume that UT is indeed the one who edited the twin's record, then that simply means UT considers that real!Ciel was manipulated by the people who killed Vincent (Queen Victoria and her merry supernatural assassin John Brown), which is 100% accurate.

Please rememember that all the RCMT says is that 1) real!Ciel was obsessed with his brother and plotted to remove his father as head of the family, but that 2) clearly he didn't expect such a massacre and to be double crossed, which is rather normal since he was 10 years old.

So imagine UT being about to edit his record and turn him into a BD, what would real!Ciel's CR show then?

That real!Ciel once met with Victoria & co

that they plotted together (by mail? in person?)

that he locked Seb the dog in a closet

that he took the ring from Vincent's finger after he die

that he possibly stabbed Tanaka

and that he was abducted, abused and finally sacrificed.

Honestly, from UT's point of view, it'd be logical to be pretty pissed at Victoria and not at real!Ciel, because she manipulated a young child into plotting against his own family, only to double cross him and send him to his death in the worst way possible. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Look Anon, yesterday [x][x] I meant it when I said real!Ciel is a villain and that, had he not died, he would not have grown up to become as selfless and nice as our!Ciel (something UT doesn't get, I'm sure).

However, the fact remains that he was a ten year old manipulated by adults, even if he didn't have the best intentions at heart. So, it's just my opinion, but UT is right to fully blame Victoria, especially considering the horror that the twins went through afterwards.

TL;DR 3 possibilities, that can work with the RCMT:

UT is not the one who edited real!Ciel's record, another deserter working on the BD project did, because it was too painful for him to do

real!Ciel's record was partially damaged by the fire UT rescued his corpse from, thus UT didn't see proof of the RCMT in his record during the edit (absolute plot convenience, we would not like to see)

UT is the one who edited real!Ciel's record despite seeing proof of the RCMT in it, because he believes real!Ciel is just another pawn used by Queen Victoria for her morbid fun (something his horrible death indeed attests to)

I hope it answered your question! Feel free to disagree. :)) Have a nice day!

[androgynealienfemme]

" March 30, 1991

Dear Joan: On with the story... It is the winter of 1987. I have gone to Boston from an Alix Dobkin concert, for which my friend Linda had gotten tickets. Linda is in her early forties and has just "come out" (another story). I am fifty-three and, as you know, an old-school butch. It is raining as we walk from her car to the theater. I have learned to accept that it is ok for her to drive me, okay for me not to open the car and other doors for her, though instinct and have it tell me it is somehow "wrong" not to do so and old habits die hard, so... I move from the inside of the sidewalk to the curbside. She asks, in curiosity, not in protest, "Why did you do that?" "Its in my contract." "Your what?" "My contract. My butch contract. I could lose my butch badge if I didn't protect you from being splashed by passing whatevers." "You are funny!" she said. "You think I'm kidding?" i said. "Hell, yes," she said, and then looked at. me and said "You mean people really did play 'butch-femme'?" "it wasn't a game. It was how it was. it was respect, it was deference, it was important." "My God, you're serious!" Indeed, I was. As I left for home the next day, she said, "I'll be out next weekend, and you can show me that contract and the badge." "Okay," I said, "if I can find them. I'm pretty sure someone walked off with the badge..." I didn't think much about it until she arrived the following Saturday morning. "I have something for you," she said, "but first I have to tell you how I got it. I stopped at a tag sale, and there was a guy there making up badges to order. So I picked up a blank purple one and said, "Please put "Butch" on this' "'for your husband?' he questioned. "'No' ""Butchy?' he said. ""No, just "Butch."' He gave me the funniest look, then got out two stars and added them to the, badge, one over the word and one under, and he smiled. ""The top star isn't straight,' he said, and indeed, it was a little out of line. ""That's right!" I said empathetically. Then I paid him and ran, here it is!" I was touched. I still am. It remains one of my most prized possessions. And now, I'm told I may even wear it, because "butch is back." Hell, honey, butch never left... and butch has always been a little out of line. Hope this story cheers you. I always smile when I think about it. Linda is still of the true and only faith and I am proud to have had a hand in it, so to speak. With much love to you, as always, Judy" -"Another Letter," Judy Lederer, The Persistent Desire (Edited by Joan Nestle, 1992)