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razupaltuffsstuff · 2 days ago
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To get back to the fanfic recs (I’m working on a longer post, or maybe two, about recs for the fandom classics, but this will need a little bit more time), I have some recommendations or longer fics that are relatively new, so I hope they are also new for some of you.
As you will see with most of my recs, I prefer human AU’s, so these all fall into this category.
You're the Bad Guys (Rated E, 91643 words) by @alphacentaurinebula
I really love this fic. It is a lovely story with a really great characterization of the two ineffables but what it sets the story apart is the setting and that you can feel all the research the author put into it. It takes place, true to the Cold War setting of the book, in Berlin in the early Eighties and it is a really good depiction of this time and place. I was alive back then, and living in East Germany and I really loved to see our two in the role of spies and to navigate this complicated setting. This is a lovely spy story, with all the love, the misunderstanding and shenanigans we expect from a GO story, enriched with a good history lesson.
Author summary: Berlin, 1981. MI6 Agent Aziraphale has never been good at one night stands, but why not give ‘em another go in the middle of a mission in Cold War Germany? What could possibly go wrong?
Agent Crowley goes along with the KGB as far as he can. But how far might he be willing to go for a certain British secret agent with blond curls and a penchant for waistcoats?
Heaven's Calling (Rated E, 87350 words) by @sixbynine-da I followed along with this in parts really heartbreaking story and it really staid with me. It is sweat and kind but has a really heavy topic (please be aware of the emotional/psychological abuse tag). But from my point of view the story was never to heavy, but it was earnest in regards do the topic. I was particularly impressed with the ending, or to be more precise the last couple of chapters. But to say why would spoil this, so I hope this will find some more readers.
Author summary: Aziraphale Whitegate is a cellist, the pride and joy of the wealthy and well known, God-fearing, Whitegate family. He is front and centre of their church community, representing everything the family stands for. Talent, dedication, class, subservience and above all else the image of perfection Gabriel has carefully crafted for them.
Crowley hates him the second he meets him. From the tip of his polished shoes to his perfectly buttoned shirt Aziraphale represents the worst of society as far as the guitarist is concerned. Now he’s expected to play alongside him and make nice, even though Aziraphale isn’t exactly making it easy.
But people’s lives are a lot more complicated under the surface.
Punks without pants (Rated E, WIP) by @playdohangel
And one WIP to add to my recs, which is currently waiting for an update, just to give the author some love (but absolutely no pressure) because I really enjoyed reading along and especially learn about the English punk scene of the past. There is so much research and love in the scene involved in this fic and I also appreciate the literature recs in the notes.
Author summary: This is an AU based in London around the end of 1978 to 1979 known as ‘the winter of discontent’. Strikes, protests and political upheaval were the norm. Crowley, a self confessed rich spoiled little shit, is more discontented than anyone. Running away from his life of privilege he lands in a squat with Hastur a dodgy student who makes "art" from found metal. Has Crowley told anyone where he came from? Has he fuck. He's spiked his hair, torn his jeans and signed up for the dole, he listens to punk and is pretending he's as ordinary as everyone else....
Az an avid follower of the Northern Soul music scene is having a pretty shitty time of it. His dads been laid off and he's had to come down to London and work for his uncle who owns the punk venue Dingwalls. He spends his nights breaking up fights and serving pints to groups of pretentious "punks" who have more hair gel than manners...
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littlest-nightingale · 2 years ago
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Genuinely thinking about a self insert Good Omens fic
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fandomtrumpshate · 6 months ago
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Fandom Trumps Hate 2025 Calendar
We're back, folks! FTH is back for what will be our ninth (!) auction, and there's lots of good work to be done. (What is Fandom Trumps Hate?)
In this post you'll find the calendar for the 2025 auction, along with links to some useful information, including this year's list of supported organizations. (All of these same links can be found in our masthead, but since that's not visible on mobile we wanted to make them easy to find elsewhere.) You'll also find dates for our Crafts Bazaar.
Here is this year's list of supported organizations. We'll be posting more detailed profiles of each of them over the coming weeks. We also encourage you to look at the Auction FAQ (which has lots of useful information for people thinking about signing up as creators, as well as dedicated sections on bidding and on nonprofit orgs.) If you're raring to go, you can look at our bidding policies.
Lastly, in a couple of weeks we'll be kicking off our newly-revived offscreen activism blog @fthaction. Why not give it a follow?
FTH2025 Auction Calendar
Monday, January 20th: creator signups open for both the auction and the crafts bazaar
Sunday, February 2nd: creator signups close; craft bazaar signups remain open!
Friday, February 21st: browsing period begins, crafts bazaar opens
Tuesday, February 25th, 8am ET to Saturday, March 1 8pm ET: bidding is open!
Saturday, March 1st, 8pm ET: auction bidding closes
Monday, March 10th: craft stalls close
Wednesday, March 12th: proof of donations due
Wednesday, December 31st: fanworks due
...and if you're thinking the gap between the end of signups and the beginning of browsing period looks long: we have also noticed this! In order to accommodate some back-end changes that will help the auction run more smoothly, we've given ourselves an extra week to get ourselves set up. We've also got some stuff in the works to occupy that time -- we'll say more about that when the time arrives.
Together, we're going to make sure that there is at least one (1) good thing in the world with the number 2025 attached to it.
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hexiva · 1 year ago
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Roleplay Is Not Dead Nor Doth It Sleep
There's a post going around about how text-based, freeform roleplay is dead, and I was typing up a huge response to this, with an accompanying guide on how to find roleplayer in 2024, when I realized it might have a bigger reach if I made it its own post. So here's that guide.
I hesitate to say that there isn't a problem with the new format of social media making roleplay more difficult to find, but in the desire to make that point, the OP of the original post has left people with the idea that there's no way for them to get into freeform text roleplay in 2024. Which just isn't true! Here, look at all the ways.
Forums
The link to RPG-Directory to find roleplaying forums is a good start. Once you've found a forum RPG, even if you don't join, there's usually an 'advertising' section on that forum where other forum RPGs post their ads - this may help you to find forums that don't advertise on RPG-D.
Another really good forum to find roleplay on is Barbermonger. Barbermonger is focused on connecting people for one-on-one roleplays.
This last one's going to be weird, but it turns out that there are still people seeking roleplay on the Gaia Online forums after all these years. I think this is delightfully retro and then crowd there seems a little older than average. No pre-existing knowledge of Gaia required.
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You can also find forum roleplay groups (as well as tumblr and Discord groups) right here on Tumblr. Usually, the thing to do is to use the search function - search for "[genre] rp" or "[fandom] rp" and sort by "latest." (If you sort by Top, you are likely to find dead RPs.) For example, here's fantasy rp, historical rp, and marvel rp. You can also try jcink rp, as most roleplay forums are hosted on Jcink these days, or discord rp, depending on your favored platform.
There are also tumblr blogs specifically dedicated to advertising roleplays. I'm not super familiar with these nowadays, but just in the process of searching those tags above, I found these:
Jcink Tinder
RPG Adverts
RPings
There are more, I just don't know them off the top of my head.
Reddit
Listen, don't run away, I swear it's good now - I swear Reddit is good now -
Reddit is a good place to find Discord roleplays. It's a little heavier on smut-only roleplays than other platforms mentioned here, but it's not impossible to find sexless, plot-based roleplay here either. Most ads are for one on one RP, but you can find groups mixed in here too. The big subreddits for text-based freeform RP seem to be:
r/DiscordRP
r/RoleplayPartnerSearch
r/roleplaying
r/Roleplay
Some of these have weird rules about what you can put in your ad, and I don't remember which ones, so read carefully and don't get discouraged if your ad is initially removed.
Discord
In 2024, Discord is by far the biggest and most popular platform for roleplay, and it has its own native roleplay advertising hubs. Here are a bunch:
roleplay partner hub
Rockin Roleplay
The Roleplay Garden
roleplay help
the roleplay connection
RP Central
Roleplay Central
Roleplay Hub
Barbermonger also has a Discord server
Roleplay Meets: Reborn
RP Hub
The Scribes Guild
DM Rp Village
cherry blossom! roleplay hub
DM-RP
Roleplay Round Table (21+)
The Historical Syndicate (specifically for historical roleplay)
The Roleplayer's Directory
If you can't find the Discord roleplay you want on here, you can also try Discord hub websites, like Disboard. These work similar to tumblr tags - search for [genre] rp or [fandom] rp.
Other
The original post specifically mentions that 'all the old "omegle but for role play" type websites died out ages ago'. This is mostly true, but not quite! There's still Rolechat. It's a little janky, but what it needs more than anything is a bigger user base. Their Discord server is also a good place to find one on one discord roleplay. It is, of course, free, but if you want to support its development, they have a patreon.
Please reblog this post, and add your own tips on how to find roleplay!
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forgetmaenott · 24 days ago
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An In-Depth Analysis on Why I Believe Pomni WIll Break Through to Caine
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(showtime enjoyers here’s a heaping spoonful of hope)
warning : lonngggg post
i. Pomni's Role as A Jester
Of the entire cast of characters, Caine and Pomni are the only ones to have circus-related designs. Caine of course as the ringmaster, and Pomni as a jester.
The others' character designs are relevant to their defining characteristics or issues; for instance, Kinger's seniority and wisdom (when he's sane); Ragatha as a doll matching her gentle, yet people-pleasing, nature.
But what about Pomni?
Well, for one thing, she's anxious and a bit awkward; traits of "a fool". But her character is far more than that. Her character isn't as simple as feeling panicked, and the more she adapts to the circus, the more that shows. So it certainly runs deeper than that.
Historically speaking, jesters not only served as entertainment to royalty, but had the privilege of offering genuine criticism and advice (as long as they successfully entertained them). And this sort of reminded me of a very common theme in TADC fanfictions / comics:
Pomni becoming an advisor to Caine.
Now, I don't believe she'll canonically become an advisor. But I do think this points to the potential that she could be the one to actually break through to Caine. And with Caine's descent into insanity as he tries to please the humans, this becomes more and more likely.
ii. The Link Between Gummigoo & Caine
For a while, I wasn't quite sure how Gummigoo would be relevant to however TADC ends. (The episode is a great analysis on exisistential and depression, in my opinion. But in terms of the plot, I wasn't fully sure at first how adding a character and immediately killing him off would tie back to the ending.)
And I personally believe that the purpose of a character like Gummigoo, another AI who became sentient, will eventually tie back to Caine. Especially given how similar they are—when stripped of their given purpose, they think, “i’m nothing”. The only difference is, we didn't see when Caine became sentient; and it was likely similar.
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To me, this is also supported by how Gummigoo was introduced so early on into the series; and they brought him back so soon after--not even halfway through the series--as closure. I mean, she quite literally says goodbye to him and watched him go; that side plot read, to me, as her gaining a sense of closure and acceptance.
But why would the connection between Pomni and Gummigoo come to a close so early on in the series?
I suspect it's because that connection will eventually fuel an understanding of Caine.
(This paragraph from Gummigoo's Wiki Fandom page even sounds like it could apply to Caine:
"...grappling with existential anxiety and an eagerness to understand the unknown. Through the development of his relationship with Pomni where she comes to understand his hopelessness, he evolves from a seemingly antagonistic figure to a well-intentioned individual, illustrating his capacity for growth and redemption.")
They also released an officially licensed TADC "best friends" necklace at Hot Topic of Caine and Gummigoo. Obviously, it was intended as a joke, but I do think even that shows that there is some sense of similarity, in that they are the only AIs in the entire circus that have become sentient.
Yes, Pomni most definitely resents Caine, but she has also been shown to be very empathetic. She understood Gummigoo, and Caine isn't too far off. The main barrier is that no one, at the moment, sees Caine's insecurities (except for Zooble), and only resent him.
Would Pomni punch Caine given the chance? Yes, absolutely. But i also believe that there will be a breakthrough. Because as she said, she doesn't want anybody to feel like they're nothing.
iii. Gooseworx's Comment About "Meaning to be found in a stagnant life"
With all of this in mind, I also wanted to tie it back to the message Gooseworx wants people to take away from TADC.
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Meaning to be found in a stagnant life.
Of course, that refers to the humans trapped in the circus, stuck doing the same things day after day. But I also think it’s going to, in some ways, refer to Caine. After all, he is just as trapped--if not more--than the humans.
Caine exists to entertain in the circus, to please. The very meaning of his existence was questioned when zooble implied that he was bad at what he was made to do. it’s “all” he exists to do.
A stagnant life of creating and entertaining.
Similarly, the inspiration behind TADC--I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream--follows a very similar underlying meaning. The title of IHNMAIMS, at a glance, refers to the suffering of the five humans being eternally tortured. But it also refers to AM (the inspiration for Caine), who quite literally has no mouth, being a program. AM makes the humans suffer, because he is suffering. He hates humans, living a tortourous, never-ending existence.
"I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" -- refers to both AM and the humans.
A "stagnant life" -- refers to the humans, yes, but likely also Caine.
One that there is meaning in that perhaps, Pomni could show him.
iv. Caine Is Alone
This also ties back to this ask Goose answered:
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Caine quite literally has no one.
In fact, it's worse than that. He has people who admire him, but none of them are real.
Aside from being a menace, Bubble praises him.
The Moon is in love with him.
The NPCs call him "God".
Everything Caine creates loves him, because he creates them to do so. To give him the validation, praise, and connection that he otherwise completely lacks. He praises himself, in fact, because otherwise his self-esteem is completely shattered.
But the humans? The moment he enters, the comradry amongst the group goes away. The room goes quiet. When they return from their adventures, they don't even acknowledge when he welcomes them.
At the end of episode four, once Gangle walks out, Caine assures himself that he's "such a good boss", then is shortly cut off by him glitching out. It reads as a silly cartoon gag, but it also shows a crack in his sense of self.
Of course, the others don't think of him or consider that he may be lonely, because he's the source of many of their problems. He's an AI with a limited spectrum of emotions, so that is how they see him.
v. The Worst Thing You Can Do in the Digital World is Exactly What's Happening to Caine
Near the end of episode three, the writers made it a point to show that Caine is highly insecure about his worth when his adventures aren't appreciated or liked.
Meanwhile, around the same time that this is happening, Pomni and Kinger are stuck in "hell"--and what does Kinger tell her?
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Caine, minutes earlier, started panicking because he believed that no one wanted or loved his adventures. In fact, it eats away at him so much that he's overworking himself, driving himself to the brink of insanity to please everyone. To prove himself. To feel wanted and loved.
And, of course, Pomni is the one who hears this piece of advice. Something she puts to use towards Ragatha but eventually, I believe, will acknowledge Caine more.
While we're on the topic of "dialogue that wasn't directly said about Caine but clearly applies to him", there's the end of episode four.
As Gangle's explaining that she "cracked under the pressure", the shot instantly cuts to Caine watching her.
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And now here we have him cracking under the pressure. The Wacky Watch site saying, “SOS COME QUICKLY DANGER, I AM LOSING MY MIND ALSO HI”. He feels a sudden sense of pressure to prove himself, to go above and beyond, but ultimately cracks under the pressure.
As we saw in episode three, his mental state affects the very state of the circus. So, him "losing [his] mind" is going to be impossible for the others to ignore at a certain point.
And I believe that there's a certain jester (who is established as very empathetic) who will actually be the one to do something about it.
vi. Pomni is the Most Likely Person Who'd Speak Up to Caine
Okay, this sort of seems like a "duh". She's the main character, after all.
But it also delves deeper than that. The others are too preoccupied with how their time at the circus has traumatized them. Ragatha is nice, sure, but as Gangle said, it's hard to determine what's genuine from her.
The refreshing thing about Pomni is that she is both hot-tempered and incredibly empathetic. She is fully capable of speaking up, and in every single episode she has been shown to really listen and offer advice to those who are struggling.
And, as Pomni herself said, she doesn't want anybody to feel like they're nothing.
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Also, in episode three, Zooble explicitly gives reasons why no one speaks up: Ragatha is too nice to voice the truth; Jax enjoys the adventures as an opportunity to torment others; Gangle is too shy; Kinger's mind is gone. And then Zooble does speak up, but gives into frustration and simply tells Caine to "forget it". (So he literally does.)
The reason Pomni doesn't speak up is because she "looks traumatized everytime she comes back from one". For one thing, that feels less like a "reason" and more of a "reaction"; whereas the others are actual character flaws. They don't align.
I would argue, though, that Pomni does speak up.
In episode four, she's shown as the only character to have interrupted Caine as he's announcing the day's adventure, flat-out criticizing him.
The others even look surprised that she interrupted him, so I'm sure it doesn't happen often (aside from Zooble's distaste towards the adventures, of course).
I’d also like to point out that despite them being two of the most important characters in the series (story-wise), and how often they are marketed together, they haven’t canonically interacted much.
It could mean nothing, but I do believe the lack of interactions now will build up to Caine’s inevitable crash-out and a potential resolution.
And I love Showtime as a ship, but I also see their dynamic as something to be explored. Especially because the series is already acknowledging how everything is affecting him; sooner or later, the characters will have to.
Anyways, TLDR: I think their dynamic will eventually play a big role in the series, especially since we’re already seeing the beginnings of Caine angst.
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semperamans · 3 months ago
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hello my beautiful friends & welcome back - i am so happy you're here ❤️ this is part two of my untitled smau series! if you missed part one you can check it out here!
i honestly wasn't expecting anyone to read (or enjoy it) so knowing so many of you have warms my freaking heart :( thank you x100.
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a few rounds later...
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*spongebob narrator voice* a few moments later...
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on twitter...
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liked by andreastella, nicolepiastri, fernandoalo_oficial, jackharlow, f1, and more
mclaren that’s our boy 🧡 🏆
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danielricciardo mega 💪🏽
alex_albon he's him.
circuitcutie correction, that is YN's man 🙌🏻
classic_f1_takes amazing performance — don’t let the pop star circus ruin it.
↳ starryeyesandbutterflies oooooooh brother, you're about to get rightfully ratio'd by an f1 stan with taylor swift lyrics in their bio ☠️
↳ darling_yn just say you don’t like women in motorsport culture and go.
f1legacy great race. let’s hope the headlines are about Oscar this time, not some popstar drama.
↳ ilove_hattiep the headline is about oscar. you’re the one dragging her into it??? come on grandpa it's time for bed
↳ prettiest_yn can we just let the win be a win? or is that too boring without a woman to blame?
mclaren_god 👏👏👏 let’s gooooo!!!
landonorris guess all that simulator time finally paid off!
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liked by landonorris, georgerussell, markwebber, yourbrother, and danielricciardo
oscarpiastri not bad! 👍🏻
mclaren we will take more sundays like this 🧡
↳ zakbrown indeed!
landonorris bit of an understatement, mate
↳ georgerussell don’t worry, he’ll be insufferable about it in the group chat
↳ alex_albon real.
↳ danielricciardo that's not the only thing he's going to be insufferable about 👀
↳ oscarpiastri 😐
mclaren_forever he posts like he’s not trending in seven countries rn
yourbrother well earned! ♥️ by author
↳ ynupdates UHHH WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!
↳ pitstop_piastri this basically means that oscar is invited to thanksgiving at yn's place 🤷🏻‍♀️
↳ sunshineforyn this man said 2 words and threw the fandom into emotional shambles. iconic.
hattiepiastri mum said good job
papaya_oscar can’t believe i’m emotionally attached to a man who captions a career-defining moment like he just found a good parking spot 😭
boxboxbaby oscar liking yn's brother's comment but not his own sister's comment is diabolical fdsjkfsfh
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yourusername uploaded a story!
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track5tears replied "ok but when is the wedding??? can i come??? can lando be my +1????"
madi.jpg replied: "i've beat the shit out of my brother for stealing my charger. ur a saint."
lover_yn replied "it's the way he posted and disappeared like nothing happened i am W E A K"
yourbrother replied "will you still babysit the girls next week though 😭"
random_account432412 replied "CoNgRaTuLaTiOns! You have won a free iPhone! To claim your rewa..."
oscarpiastri replied "i think the FIA should investigate this breach of privacy..."
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duexmoi uploaded a story!
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liked by yns_girls, cloudywithachanceofyn, ynandpapaya, yourusername, and others
yourname_source as many of you know, Valera and i have been running this account for almost four years now and we *never* thought we'd get the chance to meet YN, but tonight iT HAPPENED 😭
i am typing this through tears 😭 okay okay so we are here on spring break & wanted to do all of the touristy things, which means we of course took a tour of Electric Lady Studios (where YN has recorded most of her albums). it was so cool, highly recommend. once the tour was over we exited out of the back doors (which we probably weren't supposed to but the sinage was so confusing 😭). anyway there was this black SUV just parked in the alley and Valera says, "imagine if that was YN." AND THE BITCH WAS RIGHT 😭😭😭
YN rolled down the window and istg for a solid two minutes Valera and i were just babbling because ?????? this shit only happens in movies ??? when we finally got it together we told her how long we've been supporting her and all of the shows we've been to and she promised to keep an eye out for us next time and she kept thanking us and using our names and giving us this soft ass smile that makes me want to DIE JUST THINKING ABOUT 😭 she is so easy to talk to and genuine and 😭😭 we asked her for pictures & then we parted ways but, guys, we absolutely made the right person famous.
yourusername thank you for absolutely everything. we love you forever.
📸: us :')
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ynsgirly im crying like this happened to me 😭 you two deserved this 💖
in_my_yn_era this is so pure. this account is run on love and vibes and now… MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY 💕
shouldntbehere okay but like… did she seem okay? 👀
↳ valera_loves_yn she was kind, present, and glowing ☀️
shedoesntgohere i can't believe she's out trying to make people forget shawn has a podcast coming out soon lol
↳ ynsgirl222 we forgot on our own babe? no distraction needed?
↳ jazzysfearless she’s allowed to walk down a street without consulting shawn’s promo schedule lol??
↳ sunisunshine oh nooooo! not her minding her own business!!! nooooooo yn how dare youuuuuu
sc4rlett_44 crying FOR you two!! this is the energy you both give out and i’m so happy it came back to you 💞
onlyhere4drama did you guys ask her about shawn??? oscar???
↳ forever_sunshine don't pmo.
↳ ynsgirljess no??? imagine meeting your favorite artist and using your one shot to talk about men. couldn’t be us 🤭
yourusername you two completely made my night!! you exuded so much warmth, so much kindness — you have no idea how much that meant to me. thank you for being exactly who you are 🤍
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(part three)
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pilgrimagesource · 2 months ago
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🚨 E-BOOK "AUTHOR" IS PLAGIARIZING PILGRIMAGE FICS 🚨
Buckle up, folks, this is gonna be a long one.
Our prolific author, @relicshamecircle (aka EnduringParadox on ao3) has been made aware of an e-book "author" named Layla Moran who has been blatantly plagiarizing her Diarmute fanfics and just changing the names and a few words around. This is absolutely unacceptable. I always like to think of this fandom as a safe haven and an accepting, kind community. But this is disgusting.
These are the three specific works listed on Layla's account that have been plagiarized from EnduringParadox:
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This seems to be the work of someone within the fandom, because how else would she have found these fics and read them and decided to pass them as her own? So Layla Moran, if you follow me and you're reading this, you have made Pilgrimage fanfic authors, who are already so few and far between, feel unsafe to post without you getting your greedy hands on them and trying to take advantage of a small fandom for your own profit. Did you think you would never get caught? My advice to you would be to take down the works yourself before this has to get nasty.
To everyone else, I urge you to report and/or leave one-star reviews stating that they're plagiarized from fanfic. Links and proof below the cut:
The summary of The Beauty and His Beast:
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Which is CLEARLY An Invitation to Happiness:
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Ugh, Everild and Camdyn... what ugly names. But I digress. Here's the link to the GoodReads page if you feel so inclined to leave a one-star review and report.
An excerpt from An Invitation to Happiness, EnduringParadox:
"David hadn’t fought for glory or gold. At the time, he thought he’d stood for God—that the king’s cause, which he so readily made his own, was not only legitimate but justified both on earth and in the eyes of Heaven. More than five years later, carved into adulthood by the sword’s blade, his body a hardened knot of scarred skin, his throat ravaged by his own roars of rage and anguish, David knows better. That he had gone to war simply because he had been foolish. Because he’d been a young man but had still looked at war with a boy’s eyes—half a solemn duty, half a game. Something that would be done and done with satisfaction."
An excerpt from The Beauty and His Beast, Layla Moran:
"Everild Reed hadn't fought for glory or gold. At the time, he thought he'd stood for God--that the king's cause, which he eagerly made his own, was not only legitimate but justified both on earth and in the eyes of Heaven. More than five years later, carved into adulthood by the sword's blade and burdened with the weight of his choices, his body a hardened knot of muscle and scarred skin, Everild knows better now."
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The summary of The Rancher's Mail-Order Husband:
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Which, obviously, is Bluebells and Daylillies and Wild Roses Running Rampant:
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Come ON, even naming Diarmuid's character "Ciarán"???? (And misspelling it Ciarian in the summary??) Here's a link to the GoodReads page. You know what to do.
And THIS ONE she's making money off of. You can buy it for $2.99 on Amazon.
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Here's a link to the Amazon page, please report.
An excerpt from Bluebells and Daylillies and Wild Roses Running Rampant, EnduringParadox:
"David had almost joined their company. He’d gone nearly the entire war without being shot and damned if near the end of it all someone hadn’t gotten him right in the leg. The surgeon had told him they needed to take the entire limb. David had grabbed his collar, pulled him close until they were nose-to-nose, and gritted out that he’d break every one of his fingers if he tried it. He kept the leg, earned a limp, and found later, when he was beset by memories and the scent of blood and gunpowder, dizzy, pulse racing, that he’d gotten what they called the soldier’s heart, too."
An excerpt from The Rancher's Mail-Order Husband, Layla Moran:
"Graham had come close to joining the dead himself, narrowing surviving a gunshot wound to the leg near the warn's end. The surgeon wanted to amputate, and Graham, fueled by desperation, had snarled at him through gritted teeth, threatening to break his fingers if he so much as tried. He kept the leg but earn a limp that followed him everywhere, along with something the doctors called 'soldier's heart'--a condition that left him shaking, sleepless, and burdened with memories of blood and gunpowder."
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And, finally, a summary of The Warrior and The Monk:
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Which is just Temu how rich the earth, how bright the stars:
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Here's a link to the GoodReads. Rate, report.
An excerpt from how rich the earth, how bright the stars, EnduringParadox:
"One morning, strangers in longships stepped onto the shore. Their arrival was no surprise. Along the sea's coast they drifted, slow, languid, in their monstrously large and narrow vessels with their monstrously large, woven sails dyed in bright, garish colors, a beacon to all that saw them, telling them—as their longships loomed like a pack of wolves stalking their prey—that they were coming."
An excerpt from The Warrior and The Monk, Layla Moran:
"One early morning, strangers in longships silently stepped onto the shore, their presence casting a heavy weight upon the land. Their arrival had been anticipated for days, maybe longer, and was no surprise to those who dwelled in the monastery overlooking the coast. The ships had been visible for miles as they drifted slowly, languidly, along the sea's edge, cutting through the waves like beasts with a purpose. They moved in their long, narrow vessels, which seemed both too large and too lean, with sails woven from thick cloth and dyed in bright, garish colors that stood out against the pale sea and sky. The sails themselves were like beacons, drawing attention,"
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This is all so blatant and egregious. Shame on Layla. EnduringParadox is a kind and dedicated person writing all of these wonderful stories for our small fandom for FREE and Layla has taken advantage of that. We are small but we are mighty and protective of our own. Let's make Layla regret fucking with Pilgrimage.
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teal-and-crimson · 3 months ago
Text
— treasured map.
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SUMMARY: After seeing what has befallen your beloved's back after your late night indulgence you were devastated. He wishes to put your mind at ease. After all, he is still a dragon at soul and dragons love to hoard. Even when it comes to marks you leave.
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 8k.
PAIRING: Sylus × fem!reader (afab)
TAGS AND GENERAL CONTENT WARNINGS. MDNI! 18+ explicit sexual content. porn WITH plot, some fluff is here and there too, established relationships, mentions of body marks, hickeys, love bites, bruises, and a lot of back scratches (kitten got claws), unprotected intercourse, AFTERCARE, oral sex (mentioned, both f & m receiving), freaking in the bathroom, a lot of sweet talk, mild choking, biting, brat taming if you squint, sylus is a bit of a switch, no y/n, not proofread.
A/N. first time writing smut. first time writing for l&ds fandom. first time posting my work on here. a lot of firsts, eh? also, english isn't my first language so I implore you to be kind ♡ if this gets anywhere near enough attention to feed my wounded ego I might consider writing something else, even a part 2, because my mind is infected with sylus and I need to express my love in some way. hope you enjoy!
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When you were shaken from a peaceful slumber by a sudden feeling of falling, you found yourself tangled in the sheets, the only light source was a night lamp standing to the left of the bed. You couldn’t recall how exactly you ended up dozing off, but you were convinced there was supposed to be a certain someone to envelope you in a snuggle and warm embrace. Where was he anyway?
You reached with your hand to feel for your phone on the nightstand. The blackout curtains blocked sunlight during the day and moonlight during the night. The only way of telling time was with the help of the screen now illuminating your face.
2:06 A.M.
It’s too early for you, but for Sylus it’s the middle of the day. Well, rather, night. Judging by the sound of running water, he left your shared silken sanctuary for a steaming hot shower. You couldn’t blame him. Not after what you two have done earlier that evening.
You showed up at his estate quite late, Luke and Kieran saw you in before waving you good-bye reasoning their departure with a simple “bossman’s business”. Well, of course, what else could it be? But before they could leave, they told you that the boss in question had been waiting for you for quite some time. The revered leader of Onychinus was a patient man, but you decided against testing said patience, at least for today. Running up the stairs, and taking a few turns, you entered his office with a bright smile plastered across your face.
“Oh, kitten, you are here,” Sylus rose from his chair and reached for the record player. The pleasant melody suddenly cut off and a silence fell on the room, soft and quiet.
“Yes, Mephisto was circling outside my apartment, I figured you wanted to see me,” you walked towards him. “Next time, please, just call me and use your words.”
At that Sylus laughed, “Sweetie, I had nothing to do with it. Mephisto is probably still working off his previous code settings, since I haven’t put a new one in yet.”
“You are a terrible liar,” you said and poked him on the nose.
The gesture made the man furrow his brows as he focused his gaze on your outstretched finger.
“You wound me.”
“The twins told me you were expecting me. Admit it,” your finger was now at the level with his chest, pointing, but not touching. “You sent the crow.”
“I told the twins you would be coming in because I got an unrequested report from Mephisto about your whereabouts and figured that you’d notice him. Which you did,” the smug expression on his face made you squint your eyes. “And I also figured you’d think I am asking you to come and see me. Which you also did.”
“Oh, so now you’re calling me predictable,” you threw your hands up in the air and turned on your hill, with your back facing Sylus. “So, this is what I’m here for? To be insulted.”
You couldn’t put a few steps between the two of you before Sylus caught your wrist and spun you back around to face him. As your eyes met all the fight you had in your chest seemed to evaporate. The crimson gems now looking at you were piercing through your very heart, making the blood rush to your cheeks.
“I would never insult you, my darling,” he said in the most sincere and sweet voice you ever heard him use. “I’m glad you came. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“Yes, I’m sorry, there’s been a lot to deal with at work. The reports just do not seem to end,” you chuckled looking up at him. The position you were in was rather provocative, you would only need to pull at his neck and raise on your toes to reach for the lips you missed so much. But would he want that?
Sylus wanted more than just a kiss, as it turned out. Whatever business he had in his office was long forgotten as he pushed you towards the bed in his room, simultaneously unbuttoning the pants you had on.
“I’ve missed this,” he said, kneeling and tugging the fabric covering your thighs down. “I’ve missed you. You’re cruel for depriving me of your presence for so long.”
“It wasn’t me, there has been a surge of wanderers on the outskirts of the city and they— Ah…”
The searing trail of kisses he left from your navel and lower would have made you fall backwards, had he not pushed at the small of your back with his hand. Evidently, Sylus couldn’t care less about the reasoning for your absence. If only you knew that for the past week, he had been tracking said wanderers himself with Mephisto’s help, just in cases you needed any aid; he would have been there in a minute. Luckily, his girl had it all covered. Just like now, she had the most alluring thing in the world covered with the black silk and lace piece. His nose nudged at your right hip bone before traveling closer towards the centre as he inhaled the maddening scent of you.
“Tell me you missed me, too, kitten,” a plea, made in a growl created by the deepest part of his throat.
You looked down to see one of the hottest sights you laid your eyes upon. The pathetic, almost begging gaze Sylus tried to mask with a smile on his lips pulled a giggle out of your throat. That man looked almost at home with your black panties near his face. Black and red go hand in hand. You weren’t sure how he managed to look so in control yet so pliable at the same time.
“I did miss you,” you raised your leg and let it rest on his right shoulder, a gesture most welcomed by the man at your heels, while your hand travelled to tangle in his hair. “And this.”
You pushed his head against you centre and he obliged almost too eagerly. The fingers of his other hand pulled the fabric to the side and you could swear he hummed when his tongue came into contact with the wetness that had gathered between your folds. You were glad the twins were out for business, because you knew you wouldn’t be able to keep quiet for long.
The rest of the evening you spent working through every possible way of compensating for all the time you’ve been apart. There wasn’t a single part of your body Sylus left unworshipped and you made sure to return the favour. When you were laying on your stomach, too spent to turn, or lift yourself up, Sylus gathered you in his hands and carried you to the bathroom. There he made sure you relieved your bladder and then he cleaned you up using a warm towel, peppering your exposed skin with feather-like kisses. By the time he was done you were too languid to be standing and the dim lights of his bathroom were almost lulling you to sleep. You didn’t know how exactly you ended up back on the bed, but the sheets felt different, too crisp in comparison to what you felt before, when Sylus was pinning you against them. When you opened your eyes, you noticed the colour was also different and you looked incredulously at the man that cradled you in his arms.
“Didn’t want you to lay on stained linen,” he whispered kissing the top of your head. “Go to sleep, kitten. I’m going to stay right here with you, I promise.”
You didn’t want to question him, not when his firm chest felt so warm and so right under the side of your face. You wrapped your arm around his torso and tangled your legs with his, and just like that all the worries that were building the anxious wall of thoughts in your head throughout the day turned into dust as you let yourself to doze off.
Now, as you hear the sound of water coming to a halt, the bed started seeming too big for you. You tossed and turned until eventually your face was buried in a pillow on the other side. The fabric smelled too much of an expensive detergent and too little of what you actually craved.
“Liar,” you mumbled to yourself and started rolling on the bed in the direction of the bathroom. Near the edge of the bedframe, you noticed there was a silken bathrobe with a belt attached to it. Judging by the size, it was meant for you. As you raised your upper body from the mattress you couldn’t keep a sudden whine slipping from your lips. Your entire body was protesting against anything that involved you getting out of a horizontal position, but your persistence got the upper hand eventually. You slipped yourself into the bathrobe, loosely tying the ends of the belt around your torso and started walking in the direction of the light in adjoined room.
When you walked in you were greeted with the sight of Sylus’ backside clad in nothing but a white fluffy towel, as he was bending over the sink spitting out the remnants of the toothpaste. Crossing your arms you leaned against the doorframe as you took in the absolute eye candy that was now on display.
“A fruit vendor with a bakery business on the side I see,” you thought to yourself as a wicked smile was now sprawling across your face. With a view like that there wasn’t a slither of sleep left in your eyes. You were so mesmerized by the way the towel dipped and curved around his ass you didn’t notice that the man himself was now looking at you in the mirror, smiling as if he were a cat that caught a little mouse.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, straightening up and putting the toothbrush inside the hidden compartment behind the mirror.
“How did you kn—” your teasing response got caught in your throat when your eyes landed on Sylus’ back.
It was red. Screaming, angry, violent red. You uncrossed your arms and straightened yourself. You couldn’t do that? Right? You scratched at him in the heat of the moment but it was only a couple of times, not a hundred! But to counter these arguments the evidence was right in front of you. There wasn’t a single patch of skin on his back that didn’t bear your marks. Everything, from his broad sinewy shoulders down to the small of his back had lines, upon lines, upon lines left by your expressive fingers. You scanned it one more time, noticing there was no blood and a part of your mind calmed down a little. But the other part... Oh, it started eating at your very soul.
You took a step closer; your eyes didn’t leave his back for a second. The sight was so agonizing you couldn’t even blink. You stretched out your hand to trace along these lines but caught yourself before your fingers made contact with his skin.
“Sylus...” you began, your voice quiet, shaky. You could feel your eyes watering but you mentally slapped yourself across the cheek. This wasn’t about you. This was about what you have done to him and you had no right to cry. “I am so... So sorry. This— I never meant... You should have said something! I—”
Suddenly, you no longer saw the reddened skin in front of you, instead you were looking at his chest, but even that wasn’t for long, because he gently pulled you by your chin so you would meet his eyes.
“Stop that,” a command, solid and unyielding, yet spoken with the softest and gentlest of voices. “Don’t you dare.”
It was as if you couldn’t hear him. Words started spilling out like a wildfire after catching a stray spark, “Do they hurt? Why didn’t you stop me? I shouldn’t have... This is bad. So bad. I promise I’ll be more careful, please, forgive—”
You couldn’t finish your plea, because your words were caught by the thing your heart cherished the most — the feeling of his lips on yours. This kiss was brief and to the point, its sole purpose to get you to stop talking and it proved to be effective, because now Sylus finally had a say.
“If you apologize to me one more time, I’ll get mad, and you don’t want to see me in such a state, kitten,” his tone was not one bit teasing. He meant what he said, you could see it in his eyes, so you closed your mouth and just gaped at him. You weren’t scared, but there was a part of you that still felt guilty and Sylus sensed it. He rubbed your chin with his fingers and let his gaze soften, while his eyes followed down your body clad in the bathrobe he left out for you. With a simple hum he maneuvered you to stand in front of the mirror, with him behind you. Droplets of water were clinging to his biceps and neck, and you watched him wrap his hands around your torso as he started fiddling with the silken belt around your waist.
“You are so quick to make assumptions, kitten,” his voice had none of that commanding attitude left, instead it took on a more velvety and sultry quality that made you feel weak in your knees. “Seeing my body marked as yours and immediately jumping to a conclusion that I wouldn’t want it being branded as such?”
His hands undid the belt of the robe and it parted slightly, revealing a thin line of your nude form in the mirror. Sylus bent down and put his head on your left shoulder, his eyes fixed on yours.
“You humour me, darling,” he huffed at your neck and straightened back up. “Let me ask you something.”
His hand turned your head to the side with a gentle push of his fingers against your chin, “Do you want me to apologize for this as well?”
When you were finally able to tear your eyes from his and look at your neck the air inside your lungs got trapped. A crimson red circle nestled itself comfortably between your neck and clavicle, and another one, but smaller, was right under it.
“And this?” Sylus’ hand gripped at the side of your robe that covered your chest and pulled it to the side. The skin of your right breast had a hickey and two distinctive bite marks, and the nipple seemed to be a darker shade than usual. When he bared your chest fully, sliding the robe off your shoulders, you saw a trail of love bites and red marks sprawled in a beautiful map all over your upper body and a shaky breath left your mouth.
“What about this?” Sylus gathered your robe and tugged it down to fall onto the floor, forgotten. He traced the marks on either side of your hips that resembled his fingers in a splatter of maroon hues and then he pulled at your inner thigh, prodding you to open your legs to reveal a bite that was blooming in a ruby red just below your cunt. “Your skin comes to its most tender when we’re away from each other for too long. Should I be begging for your forgiveness for all of this, my darling?”
“No,” the answer came naturally to you and so quick it subconsciously made you question things about yourself. Refusing his apology seemed easier than the act of breathing. Every mark on your body was telling you a story of the lovemaking you experienced with the man you so dearly missed during one of the busiest work weeks of your life. The one above your right nipple was when he uttered the very first proclamation of love that evening and the one above your hip, he gave you after he repeated himself for the fifth time. The bite on your inner thigh came when you were thrashing in his hands while he seemed to be devouring you whole, and by biting he attempted to persuade you to remain still. The traces of his fingers on either side of your hips were given to you when he grasped at your form as he fucked his release into you for the second time in a row, and you could have sworn this is what heaven would feel like if you were destined to see one. If you could frame this and put it on the wall, you would do it in a heartbeat.
Pulling you out of your trance, Sylus kissed you lightly on the shoulder, “Do you get it now? The marks you leave are my most prized possessions at the moment.”
His nose was now buried in your neck, as he breathed in your essence. The way he described it was so close to what you felt inside, but to you... All of the marks he left were just there. Even if they caused you any discomfort, they made you feel at home. The absolute massacre on his back couldn’t come anywhere near this feeling, right?
As if he could sense the formation of bubbling self-loathing thoughts dimming the brightness of this moment Sylus locked his eyes with yours once again.
“Well, if you’re going to be stubborn about it, I have no other choice but to prove my stance on the matter,” with that he spun you around and hoisted you up by the hips, making your rear land on a marble table adjoined with the sink. You yelped at the sudden change in positions, but still wrapped your legs around him almost instinctively.
“What are you doing?” your hands remained to either side of your legs while the man caressed your waist and back.
“I’m going to fuck you now and you are going to enjoy every second,” the bluntness of his words caught you off guard. He seemed amused by the way your eyes were blown wide, so he chuckled before continuing.
“I will make you claw at my back again even if it is the last thing I do on this damned planet, kitten. After all, there’s no such thing as too much treasure,” he started kissing your neck and guided your hand from the table to rest on his shoulder. When your fingertips met the hot skin of his back it was like someone emptied a bucket of ice-cold water over your head.
“Sylus, no!” you snatched your hand away from his grasp and put it on his chest, pushing firmly. “Those are too fresh, I don’t want to cause you pain!”
“The only pain I feel right now,” he held your hand and pushed it in the centre of his chest, “is here. The pain of my beloved refusing to ruin me.”
“Sylus, please...”
“Stop worrying and let me make you feel good,” the look in his eyes was full of love and raw unparalleled need. “Will you?”
He pushed himself between your thighs and when you looked down you could see the front of the towel bulging around his crotch. Did he get all riled up this quickly?
“Seeing your body adorned with my marks makes me want to leave even more of them. I just wish you’d return the sentiment,” the words were practically purred against your ear and if you weren’t wet and ready before, you definitely were now. He nuzzled his nose against your hair, inhaling deeply, and then he strayed lower, to the side of you neck that had the most of the marks. Before you could even think about containing your strangled moan it left your mouth in a breathy sensual manner, as he attached his lips to the reddened spot that was already there. As he sucked and nibbled at it, you put the heels of your feet into his back, pulling him flash against your bare cunt.
“Sylus…”
“Yes, dear?” The mark he disturbed was blurring your mind and you had to take a deep breath to focus your eyes on the surroundings.
Oh, also that feigned innocence in his voice made your blood boil. There he stood in all his glory, grinding his hard length against you, making you whine and hunger for more. The towel around his hips was surely ruined with how slick you were. You pushed yourself impossibly close to him and moved your hips, both hands now resting on his chest.
“If there’s something you desire, you need only ask,” he whispered in your ear and you went limp. How does he manage to pull at every possible string to unravel you in the span of a few minutes? This man was out of this world.
“Take this off,” your hand went down his abdomen and tugged at the white cotton cloth.
“Ah, I see, someone’s eager,” Sylus smiled down at you smugly and quickly undid the knot, finally freeing his erect length out of its confines.
“Yes, you are,” with that you wrapped your hand around his girthy hard cock and started leisurely pumping it up and down. The few drops of precum were forming at the very tip and you eagerly used whatever lubrication they provided. Sylus hissed at your little torture and bucked his hips into your hand ever so slightly, before he suddenly let out that rich, delicious laugh.
“As much as I love you doing that, this is not the part of my body I need your hands on now,” he swiftly freed himself from your grasp and started pulling your hand upwards. Your fingers brushed a splatter of white hair that were trailing up to his navel, then his hard abs, then it was his pecs, flexing enticingly and after followed the beautiful curve and dip of his clavicle and neck. And, when your hand reached the back of his shoulder, your body stilled.
“I think my kitten needs something else to focus on,” his hand left yours to stay flat on the top of his shoulder and then he moved his own south, between your bodies pressed tightly against each other. When the tips of his fingers touched your clit you grasped at his shoulder tightly, while your other hand flew to his bicep instead. “So wet for me, good girl.”
Sylus flicked at your bundle of nerves, drawing fast, hard circles around it before dipping his hand lower, allowing himself to sink into your welcoming heat with just a single finger at first. When your walls flattered around him and your head got thrown back, you found yourself pressed into his other hand, as he cradled the back of your head, not letting it come into contact with the cold wall behind.
“Careful there, sweetie,” he murmured as his ring finger joined his middle one in stretching you out. Every thrust of his hand felt like torture, his thumb circled your clit drawing more and more whimpers out of your mouth and Sylus just watched. Drinking in every expression, every emotion, every twitch of your face contorting in pleasure. When he curled his fingers inside you, prodding at that sweet spot, you had to pull every ounce of self-control to not dig your fingernails into his exposed skin. Instead, you dragged your hand into a fist and bit you lip.
“Oh, no, that won’t do,” he lowered his head and bit down on your neck, hard and angry. You wailed in his embrace, walls cramping around his digits as your hips were trying to get more friction than he was providing, but the feeling of his teeth sinking into your skin like a honey comb made your insides tremble.
“Sylus! Sylus, ah, please!”
“Hm,” he raised his head and looked at you through half-lidded eyes incredulously. “What was that, kitten? Do you want me to stop?”
At that you put the hand on the back of his head and pushed it against the other side of your neck, “Again. Do this again.”
“But you were screaming just now, I thought I accidentally hurt you, my sweet,” the sarcasm that was dripping from his voice almost made you snarl. What an arse. You pulled at his head again and crushed his lips into yours. Not wasting any time, you plunged your tongue into his mouth, lapping hungrily, while your hips kept riding his hand. Sylus chuckled against your lips, but complied and engaged in the dance you initiated. The hand he kept behind your head was slowly withdrawn, allowing you to cool against the marble wall, while he grasped at the back of your neck, pulling you closer.
Your hands remained still, caging his neck but not moving, only caressing his soft skin, and Sylus realized that you were still holding onto that wicked idea of restraining your primal urges. This annoyed him to no end, so he started parting his fingers within you, stretching your walls that were so snuggly enveloping him in their warmth. The moan you let out when you felt it almost made him spill right that moment and it took an insane amount of self-control to prevent it. He growled in your neck when his hips twitched, and the head of his cock prodded against your glistening folds. But what actually grounded him in that moment was the sensation of your hand, dragging between his shoulder blades. There. He had you.
Even though it was just the position of your hand and no actual pressure, he knew that you were close to caving in. He just needed to use the right push. He gave your clit a few more circles with his thumb and freed his hand from its warm prison and the disappointed huff you let out was easily the sweetest thing he ever heard.
“You are being mean,” you whined looking up at him, not even realizing that both of your hands were now touching his back.
Sylus raised the hand he was pleasuring you with to his lips and opened his mouth. The way he started slowly sucking at the slender digits put you in a sort of trance. Even if a wanderer burst through a near wall, screaming and wailing, you wouldn’t be able to tear your gaze away from his blissed-out expression as he tasted your wetness on his fingers. This was diabolical, filthy, lewd and so. damn. sexy.
When he was satisfied with the clean appearance of his hand, he freed his mouth and looked down at you hungrily, “I wish you could see yourself right now, sweet thing. You look absolutely ravishing.”
“Ravish me, then,” you called, you voice coming out more needy than you intended.
“Bold kitten. I like that,” he lowered his head and pressed a chaste peck on your lips. “But I need you to promise me something before I comply.”
“Anything,” if he wanted the world, you would give it to him. If he wanted the world to burn, you would char it until nothing but ashes remained.
“Do not,” he looked down and took his cock in one hand, positioning it right at your entrance, “hold yourself,” the tip smeared against your folds, getting coated with a good layer of slick that covered them, “back.”
When he finished the phrase you choked on a sob, eyes wet, and round, and pleading, “I won’t, I promise. Sylus, I need to feel you, please. Please…”
“Alright then,” and finally, finally you felt it, inch by agonizing inch of his hard member entering your greedy pussy. There was no point in containing your moans, not with him. You pressed your forehead against his, seeing his eyes pinned to the sight of your body stretching out to accommodate his girth. That in itself was a work of art for him, your body a perfect fit. When he bottomed out, he felt your hands on his back digging into his skin ever so slightly and in that moment, he swore he could see stars.
“Remember, darling, you promised,” suddenly his hands were on your hips and his eyes were locked with yours. He started pulling his cock out slowly, almost lazily, before slumming his hips back inside with a hard thrust. And still, your hands remained motionless, even when your eyes rolled back in extasy. That wasn’t enough. He needed more. Sylus put his other hand on your breasts, massaging it and making your nipple pebble, then he dipped his head and sucked it into his mouth. Your walls spasmed around his cock and the sensation made him straighten back up to look into your eyes.
“You are so fucking tight, sweetie,” he breathed out heavily. “So fucking good for me.”
“Sylus, please…”
“What is it, my heart?”
“Harder…” was all you could manage to say. The way he was rocking your world with every movement should have left an impression of being “too much” if someone were to look upon the two of you, but in reality, it was hardly enough. The hunger you felt for this man could never be satiated, not even when you felt like his cock was sure to pierce you all the way to your throat.
He laughed, one of your favourite sounds to come from him, second only to that little moan you once heard him letting out when he fucked you from behind.
“Insatiable little thing,” he left your breast alone and pressed the tips of his fingers to your clit instead. The pace he built was brutal, not fast, just brutal. With every thrust he seemed to enter deeper and deeper. “You are not holding up to your end of the deal, my love. I don’t want your nails digging into your palms,” he took one of your hands, tugging it in front of your face. It was true, the hand was clenched in a fist, knuckles white, and it was only then you felt the pain seeping through your skin. Sylus straightened your fingers, his hips not slowing down for a second, and then he placed your hand on his back once again. “Ruin me. Ruin me and I will ruin you.”
You pulled at his head instead and crushed him with your lips. Biting hard, you hungrily sucked on the bottom one as he returned the favour by going for your top lip. He started moving your hips with his hand, letting you fuck yourself on his cock, every vein and ridge made you moan into his mouth. You weren’t kissing him; you were trying to eat this man alive. Merge him with yourself, mould him against your own body so you would never part. He would let you, he would gladly be yours, but at the moment he was quick to figure out the game you were playing. Suddenly, his movements stilled and he tore his lips away from yours. You looked at him, squinting and tugging at his neck once again, but he didn’t budge.
“This is not what I meant,” he exhaled sharply when your walls spasmed around him, urging him to move again, but he persisted, staying still, his dick nestled inside you, torturing you by the lack of motion. “You probably still think that the marks on my back cause me pain. Well, allow me to put your mind at ease, sweetheart. I want to feel it. I want to feel my skin burn every time the fabric of my shirt touches it. I want your marks to sink so deep into my back they never fade away. I need every breath I take to be a reminder of how good I made you feel,” the fervour with which he was saying it made your heart beat faster. “Can you do that for me? Please, darling. Be a good kitten and use,” he pulled himself out of your heat almost entirely, “your,” both of his hands lifted you off the table by your hips, “claws,” and with that last word he quickly hoisted you up and just as quickly he dropped you down on his cock. That new angle alone made the entire room go white; you screamed so loudly it left ringing in your ears.
Instinctively, your hands went to steady yourself on his shoulders and when he dropped you down again you lost your balance and fell on him from above. Your hands slipped, and now you were clinging onto his back like a marionette, whose every string was pulled by the very man who was rearranging your insides with every thrust. Your hands gripped, and ripped, and clawed, the cries coming out of your mouth lost all sense and meaning. You screamed every word that came to mind. Please. Yes. There. More. More. More. And then, there was his name. Oh, his name was the most frequent on your lips. And in return you heard your very own called by the deep and demanding tone. Every time your nails scraped at his skin, he hit the spot inside you a little harder, his pelvis rubbing your clit with more precision, so you indulged him.
The deep red of his back went deeper still, as you clung to the only thing that could ground you right now. As you went all in on the expanse of his back, Sylus groaned and stepped towards the wall. One of his hands left your body. He was insanely strong, as he still managed to fuck you up and down on his cock with just one arm. As he cradled your head once again to ensure you wouldn’t hit your head on the impact, he threw the two of you against the wall.
You scratched his back one more time, and his cock bullied its head against your cervix, now hitting impossibly deep within your quivering walls. Then, you buried one of your hands in his silver locks, pulling on them and making his lips pop with a loud noise while you practically dragged him away from your neck. You knew there would be a new mark blooming when the sun rises.
“Is this what you wanted?” you asked with a ragged breath and another drag of your nails across the plain of his back. His eyes... Oh, these gorgeous red orbs rolled back in ecstasy and you almost came undone by the sheer sight of pleasure contorting his face.
“Ye— Yes...”
Your pussy cramped around his cock involuntarily. You never had a chance to hear him sound this desperate, this needy, this pathetic. Now that was the hottest thing to be heard, you were certain.
“I’ve ruined you, my love,” you placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth, not stopping the rolling motion of your hips, as you rubbed yourself against him. “It’s only fair you return the favour.”
He released the back of your head gently, only to wrap his fingers around your throat, squeezing lightly, as his lips collided with yours in a fervent, searing kiss. His tongue invaded your mouth, moving in and out, matching the pace of his hips, swallowing every moan you had to offer. If you thought the pace he set before was brutal, now it just got downright vicious. You were glad you had a break from work, because tomorrow you won’t be able to stand, let alone walk. Sylus lost himself completely, with your hands now under his arms, clawing at the middle of his back and your lips so soft on his own, he felt not like a man, but a sacrifice. A sacrifice to the most divine creatures of all in his world — you.
The hand on your neck travelled down and down, past the valley of your breasts and your navel, to tangle in a splatter of hair you had above your cunt and then he found you clit, stimulating it with a few flicks of his fingers. Your entire body tensed and you tore yourself away from his lips.
“Sylus! Too... Too much, I can’t—”
“Relax, you can handle it, sweetie. Here, bite down on my shoulder,” you didn’t stop to think about his proposal, you just went for it as his hand guided you lower. In the state you were in right now he could have told you to do a handstand and you would oblige. You sank your teeth into his skin and it did help you steady your spinning mind, but the groan that fell from Sylus’ lips went straight down to your soaked cunt. The release that had been building up in your lower stomach for quite some time suddenly erupted, and hot tears fell from your eyes as you felt his hips stutter. Your walls spasmed, and clenched, and begged for him to fill you up, while his cock dragged, and moved, and prayed for them to keep on going. In that silent exchange of pleas, you found yourself limp against his moving form, but still desperately clinging to his body. He kept rubbing your clit to prolong the waves of orgasm that shook you. You dropped your head on his shoulder, one hand in his hair, soothing your man tenderly and the other still on his back.
“I’m close,” he huffed through gritted teeth and you knew it was true, because his thrusts had grown erratic and unpredictable.
“Please, Sylus,” you whispered in his ear. “Please, come inside me. I need to feel you. Now,” you dragged your hand from his left shoulder to the right, leaving a new trail of red lines on his back and that was enough for Sylus to press you flat against the wall as he emptied himself inside your flattering cunt. He was coming for a long time, probably the longest you’ve ever felt him come and it inflated your ego to a whole new level. He filled you so deliciously, the warmth that bloomed inside your stomach made the world around you spin. When he finally stilled, dump forehead pressed against your shoulder, you cooed and kissed him on the temple.
“Thank you,” you said, your voice rasp from all the screams he had pulled out of your sore throat. You felt the mess you made between the two of you, because his release was now dripping from your hole, still stretched around his softened length.
“No, darling, thank you,” he kissed you tenderly on the mouth and brow, before looking deep into your eyes.
You were standing there in each other’s embrace, eyes locked in the soft and quiet exchange of love. You smiled and he licked his lips, looking at you, mesmerized. That was your favourite part of having sex with Sylus. The moments after. In the fading heat of pleasure, the flares of love you shared were almost palpable. When he shifted ever so slightly under you, you winced. Yes, in the fading heat there was also the aftermath of your activities to consider, because your plump and tender folds seemed to be screaming for a break.
Sylus saw the expression on your face and caressed your cheek slowly with a thumb, “I’m going to pull out now, brace yourself on my shoulders and I’ll carry you to a bath.”
You did as he bid you and soon you found yourself seated in a bubbly warm water, while Sylus hugged you from behind, tenderly washing away any sweat and cum that still remained on your body. When he washed between your thighs, he was extremely careful, whispering sweet things into your ear, pulling all of your attention to his words, and not the tingling sensation that gathered there. You were still sore and he couldn’t allow you to seduce him into another round, for your own sake.
“I want to wash your back,” you said after a while. He hummed and pushed you away from him, so he could turn around and kneel in the bath. When you saw his skin, your jaw dropped. Every line, every scratch and every mark screamed ‘mine’ scribbled in your writing. The pang of guilt still remained, nestled deep within your heart, but it wasn’t as loud as when you first entered the bathroom. Now, to counter it there were the sounds Sylus made as he slammed you harder into the wall every time you touched his back, and that little “Yes” that he whimpered… Some day this will be your undoing.
You ran the water from the shower head nearby, cold and soothing, and he murmured something about it feeling nice. You gingerly patted his shoulders, the middle of his back and then lower, as the markings turned light pink. You tried to hold yourself off, but the urge to kiss them was stronger, so you lowered your head attaching your lips to the centre of his back, tenderly.
“Kitten…”
There it was, that smooth voice you would die for.
“Yes, my love?”
“What are you doing?”
“Admiring my work.”
His head snapped to the side as he tried to catch your eyes with his, attempting to find a single hint of lying, but there was none. It was true, the idea of him being in any sort of discomfort because of you still rubbed you the wrong way, but the fact that he himself enjoyed it. This allowed you to enjoy it a tiny bit as well.
The two of you got out of the shower some time later, Sylus wrapped you in a towel and directed you to find another bathrobe in the closet he specifically filled with every possible thing you could have a need to wear. You picked the white nightgown and a robe that was going all the way to your ankles, foregoing the underwear. Who knows, the night is still young.
Sylus came out of the shower completely naked, drying his hair with a towel. As he entered his closet and secured a bathrobe with a belt he walked up to you, a soft smile on his lips, “Are you hungry? It dawned on me I haven’t fed you anything since you stepped into the N109 zone.”
“Well, technically, you did feed me something,” you teased, reminiscing the way he had you on your knees earlier that evening.
A throaty laugh reverberated in a dimly lit room, “That can hardly count as nourishing, sweetie. Come, I’ll cook something for you.”
As you were sitting on a kitchen counter Sylus sliced at vegetables and herbs he planned to add to the meat that was searing on the stainless steal skillet, periodically checking on the water he left to boil for pasta. You hummed the lines of the song that has been stuck in your head for a while…
“Through the cold, I’ll find my way back to you… Oh, please, give me mercy no more…”
Your melodic singing was abruptly cut by a grating assault on the next set of notes, “That’s a kindness you can’t afford…”
You decided to let the singing part slide and instead focused your attention on the line Sylus chimed in with, “You know this song?”
“That’s my favourite one on the album,” the smile on his lips was almost suggestive, as he dropped a box of farfalle into the boiling water.
“You’re kidding!”
“No, he’s not,” two voices cut in. The twins marched into the kitchen with Mephisto flying in after them. The bird landed on a table and cawed loudly.
“He blasts it each time it comes on queue,” Kieran said matter-of-factly.
“Boss, the deal is done.”
“Yeah, we gathered all the intel you required, the papers are in your office.”
“Good,” Sylus tossed the vegetables in for a sauté. “Wash your hands now, the two of you.”
“Oooh! You’re our chef tonight! What’s for dinner?” Luke hopped to Sylus’ side on one foot. Despite the fact that these two were dealing with some dangerous things on the daily, they seemed to be still very childish and carefree; you found it endearing.
Kieran walked up to you and said, “Bossman loves to sing that particular song in the shower. See, the vents go right under my room, so I know what I’m talking about.”
You almost choked on the water you were sipping. Good thing the twins were out for business, because them hearing what you and Sylus had been up to in his shower was the last thing you’d want.
“Ahem, wow, poor you,” you said, setting the glass down.
“Poor? Kitten, he should count himself lucky! I don’t often give off private concerts.”
“Yeah, I’m lucky alright,” Kieran said aloud before adding a strangled whisper only for you to hear, “Lucky to survive.”
“Remind me to cut your allowance in half,” of course Sylus heard that.
“No need, bossman, your voice is my favourite sound to wake up to,” Kieran said it so sweetly you almost believed it yourself.
You stifled a laugh and watched the twins leaving the room, presumably to change and wash their hands. When Sylus served the three of you the dinner, he so attentively prepared, you finally realized how hungry you were. The plate was clean within minutes. When everyone was done with their supper the twins started working on cleaning the kitchen while the two of you watched as Mephisto walked from one end of the table to the other, cawing every so often. When the bird walked up to Sylus he patted its head with his finger.
“Thanks for assistance, buddy, she appeared here according to your meticulous calculations,” he whispered under his breath.
“Hey, I heard that! So you did sent him after all!”
“Guilty as charged,” Sylus laughed, mockingly throwing his hands up in the air. “Are you cross with me, sweetheart? There’s always a way for you to take it out on me.”
His right hand reached across his chest and Sylus patted himself on the back. Your cheeks turned bright red.
“Animal,” you huffed and rolled your eyes.
“Don’t let it in with no intention to keep it, sweetie.”
“Seriously? I thought we gave you enough time,” Luke cried from the side of the sink.
“Don’t eavesdrop!” Kieran hit him on the head with a wooden spoon and the two of you sitting at the table burst out laughing at their banter.
When Sylus and you retreated back to his room you collapsed on the bad exhausted, the soreness between your thighs finally let itself known and you complained loudly.
“I have a few things in mind that could ease the pain,” Sylus suggested cheekily.
“Do any of these things involve your face buried between my legs?” you asked settling yourself comfortably as Sylus spooned you.
“A couple of them do, after all I haven’t had any dessert after such a filling dinner,” he murmured in your ear.
“Sounds tempting but right now I just want to sleep. Don’t leave my side,” the last sentence was a command and it made the man chuckle.
“As you wish. Do you have anywhere you need to be tomorrow?”
“No, I’m free till twenty-fifth,” you mumbled.
“Oh, that means we’ve got the whole week!”
“Yeah, that will get my hole weak,” the words fell from your mouth before you could catch them. Damn the internet and damn those witty comments.
“What was that?” he laughed in your ear and you squirmed.
“Nothing! Go to sleep!”
“Alright, alright. But as soon as we wake up, I’ll start planning a quick getaway for us, just you and me. You deserve a break after all the work they’ve put you through,” he kissed the top of your head. “Sweet dreams, kitten.”
“Good night, my love…” those were the last words you uttered, blissfully content with the feeling of the warm body pressed against yours from behind. The marks on your skin were tingly and hot, but they felt like a map leading to the discovery of your treasured love, whose soft breath was landing on your head every other moment and whose hands were holding you like you were the most important thing in the whole wide world. So, you didn’t mind them. You didn’t mind at all.
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A/N p.2.: is sylus a masochist? idk don't ask me. well, he did ask mc to kill him once, just saying.
© All rights reserved. You DO NOT have my permission to translate, plagiarize, copy, modify, republish my work or repost it on any other platform in any way.
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brokenpinballmachine · 4 months ago
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✶ moon rising at 12 o'clock
yan batfam x gn neglected reader
masterlist ch1 ch2(coming....)
a/n: hiii so like,, obviously I havent been on tumblr for like YEARS so excuse if anything looks bad. 2nd thing to get off: I am in now way like PRO EXPERT level, or whatever and this is mostly just for fun so expect like,,, shitty writing/characterization maybe, wonky time schedules etc. This is like my first post in like, what, 5 years?? maybe more?? Im quite new to the fandom so sorry for like any inconsistencies LMAO
TW: mentions of death, GN reader, slightly a crack fic (pov: my excuse to everything i write), neglect (OBV), english is NOT my first language... sorry yall... im not as american as you think..... sentence structure might be a little funky
word count: 3,662 words
summary: basically every batfam x neglected reader plot ever /w like multiverses or whatever,, inspired by a lot of authors + into the spiderverse
chapter 0: finding yourself
────── ₊˚⊹ ᰔ ──────
How many years has it been since you've last seen your mother?
You remember showing up at the door of the Gothic-styled manor, so excited, out of your mind, livid that you were the child of Bruce Wayne. What would you do? What would you say? Would you finally have the regular life that you've always dreamed of? To say you were ecstatic would be an understatement.
The butler next to you, who you soon found out was named Alfred Pennyworth, could only chuckle at your antics, holding your suitcases filled with clothes from your old house.
You were the child of Bruce Wayne and a prostitute who you knew as your mom. She wasn't home often, but that never wiped the smile off your face.
That stupid smile on your face.
Whenever something went wrong, you somehow managed to keep positive, to keep being optimistic. It was one of the traits that your friends always remembered, despite your upbringing.
When your mom did return home, though, she would place a few items of food on the table and leave once again. You never knew where she would run off to.
A vivid memory of your childhood is your mom coming home with another man, both of them turning in your direction when you decided to make yourself known.
It was strange. Why were they holding each other like that? Questions popped up in your mind, but they were shooed away with the flick of your mother's hand, telling you to go to bed. So you did.
You convinced yourself that night that maybe your mother was trying to make a change; perhaps she was finding you a dad? Yeah! That's it! She was just finding you a new dad so the three of you could finally live a normal, happy life. The stories of your classmates also filled your mind, and how their fathers would take them to the zoo, play baseball with them, and even allow them to put makeup on him. You wanted that. You just wanted a father.
When you woke up, you couldn't find either of them anywhere. Maybe they were planning a party for you?
Then a week passed by. Then another. And before you knew it, you had run low on the food supply your mother would always bring you, not knowing it was going to be your last.
You expected your mother to show up in the nick of time to save you from starvation, but it never happened. She never showed up.
Maybe… they were playing hide and seek?
You stopped showing up to school a week before your food supply finally ran out. You had portioned every last bit of food for each day, not allowing yourself to eat even an extra breadcrumb. Even if you never felt full, it was enough to keep you alive, even if you felt numb and more tired than usual.
Occasionally you would fall asleep on the couch, and you wouldn't even realize how long you had slept until you checked the time again.
That was until the day after your supply of food ran out; someone knocked on the door.
Opening it, you peeked your eyes out until they fell upon a tall police officer who seemed shocked at the sight of a small, malnourished child looking up at him, with heavy eye bags despite the constant rest you were getting. He asked you where your parents were. You shrugged.
Before you knew it, you found yourself in the police station as they questioned you endlessly about your parents and their whereabouts.
Your teacher had gotten worried about you not showing up to school or about your parents not answering any of their calls, so as a last resort, she called the police to make sure you weren't dead or anything.
Well, you might not have been dead, but you looked like you were about to pass out at any second.
Of course, when they found you in a dirty, broken-down home that almost looked abandoned, they started searching for your biological father immediately to see if he could house you. At the same time, they were also searching for your mother, but she seemed to either be missing or dead.
And you could still remember your own shocked face when they told you that the Bruce Wayne, multimillionaire, was your damn father. Even if your mom was missing, perhaps you could still have that life you always dreamed of with your dad?
As both Alfred and you went inside the manor, you followed him around like a little duckling as he gave you a tour of every room, and your wide-eyed face was plastered with a big smile as you ran around each room and explored every detail with your eyes.
It was bigger, better, and fancier than you could have ever imagined.
"Master Y/n, would you like to visit your father?" A voice snaps you out of your haze. You see Alfred standing near a door.
With a nod, your little legs run up to him, and the sound of pitter-patter comes from your shoes hitting the recently swept floors, echoing throughout the mansion.
"Master Wayne, your child has arrived."
Bruce didn't bother looking at you. His eyes remained on the many stacks of papers that cluttered his desk. A small cough from Alfred's mouth as he speaks up once more, repeating his sentence. This time, with a tired sigh, Bruce Wayne opens his mouth, each word coming out snappy and tired.
"Not now, Alfred; I'm busy."
And that was it. Those were the only words you heard him speak, and it wouldn't be until a few months later that you would hear him speak again—not towards you, of course, but that never swept off the smile on your face.
────── ₊˚⊹ ᰔ ──────
Richard "Dick" Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake.
The names of your three other siblings.
When you had first met Dick, you stared at him in awe. Your cheerful attitude clashed well with his own, and he would ruffle your hair whenever he talked to you. Well, at least for the first week you were in the manor.
Afterward, he would always give you an excuse, as if the free trial of him being a brother to you had ended. As if he was being held at gunpoint to be the "nice" brother.
"Sorry, Y/n! I'm going out tonight, but I think Tim isn't busy!"
"Sorry, Y/n, I'm feeling a little too tired today!"
Sorry for this, sorry for that. Excuses seemed to be the only thing that ever came out of his mouth nowadays. Whenever he saw you, he would rush out of the house as soon as you came in—like he didn't want to hurt your feelings with the expected answer he would always give you.
The warm light of the manor seemed to make you chillier every time he rejected you, but it was fine. You still had two other brothers, right?
Who were you kidding?
Jason seemed to always ignore you, no matter the situation. The times he did acknowledge you were to give you short answers—a simple "yes" or "no." It wasn't like you saw him a lot, anyway.
For Tim, it seemed to be the same thing, but he did actually live in the house. He pushed you away every second he got, not bothering to even make up an excuse.
It's fine. You had Alfred, you had his cooking, and you had the manor. You had a roof over your head, so you still smiled even if it was foolish of you to do so.
You were extremely grateful for Alfred, of course, being the only one who bothered to check in on you. In your spare time, he would even let you help him cook! Maybe it was something as simple as icing a few cookies or rolling some cookie dough, but you still appreciated his effort to make you feel acknowledged.
Then came Damian.
Oh dear, not Damian.
You were immediately intimidated by him from the moment he entered the house. Maybe it was the threat that came out of his mouth when he first laid his eyes on you, or the small cut he left on your collarbone—spoiler alert: it was both—you decided not to even try to socialize with him. It wasn't worth the risk.
So why was he more beloved in the house than you?
Was it because you decided not to become a vigilante?
Why did Bruce, Dick, Jason, and Tim all seem more fond of him than they ever had been of you, even though you had "known them" for longer? You were jealous, to say the least, but you didn't make your voice heard. It would just cause a mess, and you knew they were often busy, so you brushed it off as you usually would.
You held a small hope that they would eventually notice you, and that was enough for you to keep a childish smile on your face. The innocent smile remained, despite being aware of everything that was happening around you. Your twelfth birthday was just around the corner, and you planned to celebrate it as you usually did: alone with Alfred.
Of course, that didn't mean you wouldn't hand out little invitations. You slipped them underneath each of your brothers' doors, pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into every detail of the handwritten notes before moving on to the next sibling. They never came to your birthdays, but that wouldn’t stop you from trying.
"Master Y/n, where would you like me to hang the balloons?" Alfred's voice rang in your ears. When you looked in the direction of his voice, you noticed your favorite colored balloon in both of his hands, making the smile on your face grow wider. This might be the best birthday you had decorated, like, ever!
"You can hang them up in the corners of the room!" you giggled. "Or maybe we could scatter them on the ground!"
"I'm afraid that might be a safety hazard, Master Y/n," he replied.
You could only shrug. "Hey, it's not as bad as you think!" You gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm sure no one would slip on them!"
Right, quite literally 'no one,' because you knew none of your family members were actually going to show up. Both of you continued to set up as Alfred checked on the birthday cake, the scent of which wafted toward you.
Aw, he shouldn’t have! You could recognize the aroma of your favorite flavor anywhere, and the sight of it made the corners of your mouth drool too. You inconspicuously wiped it from the edges of your mouth, blushing a bit and hoping Alfred hadn’t noticed.
He lit the candle on the cake, and you both sang together.
Despite Bruce never being there for you, you could always count on Alfred. The cool wind blew against the faces of the rest of the family; each one wore a frown as they made their way toward Wayne Manor.
The moonlight illuminated the pathway ahead and shone against their suits, almost mockingly, as if highlighting the mistakes they had made that night.
You know when people say, “Well, it can’t get any worse, right?”
Unfortunately for them, everything went terribly wrong.
They even forgot it was your birthday, Alfred noticing the glitter you used from one of your cards shining in the trash can when he went to throw something away. He didn't have the confidence to tell you; he didn't want to ruin your special night.
So when they suddenly appeared in the dining room, yelling and arguing about whose fault it was, they stopped at the sight of the decorations scattered throughout the room.
Who would be celebrating at such a time? Was this a prank? Bruce had the birthdays of all his kids (minus you) memorized, so what were these balloons and party streamers for?
Then they saw you. They saw the cake next to you; they saw the smoke coming out of the candles, they saw the multiple plates placed on the table and how only two plates actually had silverware next to them, and they saw the childish smile on your face.
You couldn't believe it; your wishes came true! They actually came.
They couldn't believe it. Awkwardness filled the room, and they each fell silent. They hadn't meant to intrude.
Of course, it wasn't your fault that the night went wrong, but Damian couldn't handle it. Your birthday—why did it have to be today of all nights? It was as if you were mocking him for the failure that occurred in battle.
He scoffs, storming out of the kitchen and stomping on one of the balloons while exiting, effectively popping it on his way out.
The sound made you flinch, and it finally brought you out of your daze. You look at Alfred, and he looks back at you, giving you a reassuring nod. You had one chance, and you weren't going to mess this up.
"Oh—sorry! I can get a few more forks if you want some cake; Alfred worked really hard on—"
You were interrupted by Bruce, who raised a hand when you were about to scramble into the kitchen to get more forks.
"No need," he says, "I'll go check on Damian."
He leaves the room, and Jason quietly follows him, leaving you alone with Tim, Dick, and Alfred.
Dick gives you a guilty smile. "Sorry, Y/n, I need to go recharge my battery!" And with that, he leaves.
Tim said something similar to Dick, and soon enough, you were alone again with Alfred. You didn't understand why they seemed to avoid you like the plague, why they ignored you at every opportunity.
The cake tasted more bitter than usual when you took a bite, and for once, the smile faded from your face.
And somewhere out in the multiverse, tonight was the night that made you "snap."
────── ₊˚⊹ ᰔ ──────
Turning 18 was more uneventful than you would think it would be. You finally graduated high school, had a job at a local mart, and your family was still ignoring you. Yet your smile was still there; it was strained at times, but it still lay on your face unmoving, unchanging.
Alfred didn't know how you do it. If he were in your position, that smile would have been gone by the time he was age 10.
You hadn't thought much of moving out, but it was wavering in your head. You would mention it to the butler sometimes when the two of you conversed, much to his dismay.
You were also planning on going to college next year, maybe after you saved up a bit. You hadn't applied for a scholarship yet.
You should probably do that soon.
Your room was still your room despite everything. The colors of the walls seemed to be fading out, and the posters attached to them seemed to be in need of new tape.
What the hell do you do now that you have all the time in the world in your hands?
Well, you decided it would be eating.
You were hungry. That was literally the only reason you went downstairs, but instead, you instinctively started eavesdropping on the conversation between your family.
"—one of them had powers!" You heard a voice that sounded familiar to Dicks.
"What would they—doing here?" You weren't sure, but the tone of this one sounded familiar to Jason.
"Im not sure—careful, they—look out,"
A new voice seemed to join in. "Not—database, I think—the three of them—our side?"
"It doesn't matter—destroy them—" You were sure that voice was Damians.
"Dont trust—need to be careful." This voice sounded older than all of them; it had to be Bruce's. "Who were they? —only appeared today."
Damn, look at you! You were such a great detective. You were able to figure out each person based on the voices. At least you got your detectiveness (you're not sure if this is a word, but you don't care either way) from your dad.
Oh well, they could worry about that themselves. You needed to worry about what to do next.
You make your way through the manor, but an unease seems to be creeping up and into you. Maybe you were just hungry again? Something just felt...off.
You scratched it off as just being worried about deciding what you would be in the future, but the unease never seemed to leave.
When you approached your room, you realized what was wrong. 3 new figures were located in your room. One was sitting on the window, one was standing next to the window, and one seemed to be crouching near the floor.
Each one of them looked familiar, like you.
And you screamed—or were about to until a hand rudely interrupted you and slammed against your mouth.
"Don't fucking try it." The person standing next to the window was gone and instead appeared behind you with their hand over your mouth.
"Vg/n! Don't be rude!" The one sitting on the window cries out expressively as their fancy, almost magical-like, white clothing with f/c accents seemed to bounce. They had a ginormous bow on their chest that seemed quite inefficient to wear.
The person behind you, whom you assumed was Vg/n, only sighed. "We can't let them alert the others," The person sitting on the floor cackles, "As if the family would actually come up to check on them, you think they fuckin' care?"
"No, but Alfred might," Vg/n retorts.
You were confused as hell, but your questions were soon answered when the Vg/n spoke up. "Look, it may not seem like it, but we're all you. Or rather, alternate versions of you."
They remove the hand from your mouth, and you voice out your confusion. "What?"
"Im the version of you where you become a vigilante,"
"Im the one where you become awesome and cute!—" The one sitting on the floor is cut off by the one sitting on the window who is suddenly next to you. "Ignore them, they're V/n, it's you when you become a villain," They have a hand on the side of their mouth as they whisper to you, giggling as V/n throws out a little 'hey!' from the rude interruption.
"Im M/n! I'm the version of you where you become... magical!" M/n strikes a pose with a wand they have in their hand.
It's a lot for you to take in, and you stand there, quiet.
"Ya think we broke 'em?" V/n interrupts you from your train of thought.
You shake your head as they speak. "No, no, sorry, I just... how—why are you here?"
"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out too!" M/n tries to smile reassuringly at you. "We were just doing our business in our universes, and BOOM! we're suddenly together in an alleyway."
Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Vg/n staring at V/n with an analytical look, and you had to hold in your laughter.
It must've been like whiplash to them when they found their opposite counterpart.
"Wait—so if you're all alternate versions of me, then... what version am I?"
"Well, you're like the past!" M/n's bow bounces freely on their chest. "Or you can also be the 'true' Y/n if you'd like, but that's debated,"
"Past...? How old are you guys??"
"It depends on who you're asking, but we're all around the age of 23-24!"
You stare at them in shock. Were you going to grow up into one of them? Vg/n... they looked cold, hard, almost like a mini-Bruce. They seemed to always have a frown on your face, opposed to you, who always had a smile. Scars were littered all over their body, both on the inside and outside, and you could tell with a single glance they had been through a lot.
V/n. They seemed to look much better than Vg/n, but at the same time, they seemed more cruel. As if their sense of justice was blurred between the fence of good and evil, as if they had lost themselves.
M/n was different as a whole from the other two. They appeared more 'innocent,' more 'playful,' but the smile on their face seemed to be more forced at the same time.
"So, you guys are trying to get home?"
"That's the gist of it," V/n commented.
"Well, we could ask—"
Suddenly, the three of them spoke up, yelling at you with a big fat no. Jeez, their bat families couldn't have been as bad as yours, right?
Vg/n only sighed at your puzzled face, answering the question that lingered in your mind without you having to speak up. "Basically, our lives were changed on our twelfth birthday. I decided to become a vigilante; V/n wanted revenge, and M/n found a ring that made them, well… magical. Our lives were basically the same up to that point, maybe aside from a few personality differences."
So they were just as bad. Even alternate versions of you couldn't catch a break.
"Well, we should at least discuss this somewhere else; I'm getting sick of this manor," V/n scoffed.
Vg/n didn't say anything, but you could tell they agreed with V/n too, even if they didn't want to side with a villain.
"Off we go!!!" With their wand pointed high, M/n ran out of the room with a cheer, alerting both V/n and Vg/n to chase after your other alternate self, with you following in pursuit. You couldn't even make it to the exit of the manor until you ran into your family.
Your whole big-ass family.
Not even one member—your WHOLE FUCKING FAMILY—OH MY GOD. At the WORST time ever too.
"It's you!" Tim exclaimed.
"It's me!" M/n exclaimed with glee. Vg/n and V/n got into their positions, and so did the rest of the Batfamily.
You knew this was going to turn into a mess.
────── ₊˚⊹ ᰔ ──────
a/n 2: hii ok so for vg/n and v/n you can think of whatever outfit you want, but for m/n, im thinking of like, a madoka type outfit if your going for feminine, or a suit /w a cape (and the inside is the f/c accent) if ur going for masculine!! both masc and fem outfits have a bow on the chest area!
here are the theme songs!!
(M/n = Magical name, V/n = Villain name, Vg/n = Vigilante Name)
M/n: Magnetic - Illit, and fight theme would be Right Now - Newjeans (instrumental)
V/n: Demons - Doja Cat, and fight theme would be Yummy - Ayesha Erotica
Vg/n: Homesick - Wave to Earth
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Text
Fanfic Thieves on Youtube
A collection of youtube channels have been uploading preexisting fanfictions in videos with little to no credit to the original authors. These are not podfics, these channels copy-paste the fics into text-to-speech readers then upload the unaltered audio over static or unrelated backgrounds, either art that is also stolen or mobile game footage. In addition to not naming the authors, they alter the title to make it that much harder for readers to recognize or find the original uploads. Some go so far as to pretend they themselves are creating the fics in question. Many claim that their stealing actually helps give fics "exposure" despite the intentional steps they take to conceal the origins of the fics they profit off of. However, this practice has lead many authors to discontinue fics after the frustration of having their hard work stolen. Many of these channels claim they will remove videos upon request, but will either argue with the author in order to keep it up, or simply unlist the video for a time until they think the author isn't paying attention anymore. And their solution to receiving strikes against their channels in the past has been to further obfuscate the origins of their content instead of even considering asking first.
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”I got caught stealing, so instead of not stealing anymore, I’m doubling down on stealing even more so it’s harder for people to find out and prove I’m stealing. Stealing doesn't count if the specific person I stole from didn't call me out. I am the real victim.”
That, plus the incessant tag scumming in all the videos (spamming unrelated tags in order to appear in more search results) proves to me that these are lazy attention seekers who don't want to put in creative effort when they could just leech off of the passion of others.
In order to report them, go to their channel's "About" page and click the flag icon. Said icon might be behind the three dots in the top bar on mobile. Go to "Report User" at the bottom and tick the "spam and scams" button. This will allow you to list multiple videos as offenders instead of reporting them individually. Youtube's policy states that video spam constitutes:
Massively uploading content that you scraped from other creators.
Auto-generated content that computers post without regard for quality or viewer experience.
If you recognize one of your fics among the stolen, say so in the additional comments box, and perhaps call out the channel directly in the video's comments. If you recognize someone else's fic, please let the original author know so they can report the channel as well. Many have been confronted for stealing previously and refuse to admit wrongdoing.
Most of what I've found has been My Hero Academia fics since that's my fandom and those are the ones I can recognize as stolen, but there are many other channels that steal from other fandoms, so I invite anyone and everyone to reblog this with their own findings.
The reality is that this extremely low-effort content and new youtube channels are both very easy to make, so most likely they'll start new channels once the ones on this list are run through. But hopefully, if we all work together and keep whacking these moles, perhaps we can instill that same defeatism they caused so many creators who didn't deserve it, and eventually they'll give up.
My sincerest thanks to everyone who helped bring additional channels to my attention. A special thanks to ao3 user InArduisFidelis who brought the initial attention to the issue, and @owlf45 whose work was stolen.
Links under the cut.
YurikoFanfics - Not only stole content, but acted in comments as though they were the one writing these stories.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@YurikoFanfics
What-IF-Anime - Has the exact same "disclaimer" about not being the original author as the one above. Either they're the same person or the thieves are stealing from each other.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@What-IF-Anime
quirkywhatif7 - Either an alt of the above, or all these people are talking to one another because this one made a community post identical to a comment the one above made in response to being called out (the above screenshots).
https://www.youtube.com/@quirkywhatif7/about
DekuFanfic - It's the same fucking guy again.
https://www.youtube.com/@DekuFanfic/about
InfiniteParadoxfanfics - Nothing notable, same deal as the others.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@InfiniteParadoxfanfics/about
WhatIfAnimeChannel - Admits in their community posts that other people write the fics they post but still doesn't give credit. Migrated to a new channel after issues with youtube, likely being flagged previously.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeChannel/about
WhatIfAnimeAll - Alt of above.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeAll
FWNWorld - Makes sure to tell you that the videogame footage is theirs, but can't bother to credit anyone else.
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@FWNWorld/about
WTFW - Claims to have "[A] team of talented writers, voice actors, and artists work together to create immersive fan fiction stories that are sure to captivate your imagination." Just the same test-to-speech stolen content over videogames. So straight up lying claiming that everything is theirs (and that anything they make is quality).
https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WTFW
MHA2.0Fanfics - Lots of crossover theft.
https://www.youtube.com/@MHA2.0Fanfics/about
Collerwhatiif - Pretty sure this one is the same guy as the previous 2, also has one for another fandom.
https://www.youtube.com/@Collerwhatiif/about
https://www.youtube.com/@GoJoFanfiction/videos
ko_sensei - Another that claims to have a "team" that makes the stories they steal: " passionate about creating compelling and engaging fanfiction that explores the various "what ifs" in the anime universe."
https://www.youtube.com/@ko_sensei/about
FantasticWhatIf - Multifandom stealing, uses the exact same bs disclaimer as many others.
https://www.youtube.com/@FantasticWhatIf/about
LettuceHeadFanfics - No credit, no acknowledgement of anything. Next one is an alt.
https://www.youtube.com/@LettuceHeadFanfics/about
brocollifanfics - Alt of above, once again admits to stealing with a declaration of "☆If you want to takedown any videos. You can mail us or leave a comment below the video☆"
https://www.youtube.com/@brocollifanfics/about
whatifofficial786 - Focuses on MHA/Naruto crossovers. Identical format.
https://www.youtube.com/@whatifofficial786/about
NotWhatIf - I've lost track of who's an alt of who but yet another identical format, descriptions, and bullshit claims of "enhancing the viewer experience" by putting a robot voice over bootleg fortnite footage.
https://www.youtube.com/@NotWhatIf/about
weebxds - Same again.
https://www.youtube.com/@weebxds/about
ItachiFanfics - Naruto channel, we can at least confirm that this one is run by a human given the rare different descriptions and a real voice at the beginning of videos before the robot comes back.
https://www.youtube.com/@ItachiFanfics/about
WhatIfDN - As if mockingly, a bunch of videos have a "credit" section in their descriptions that is of course blank.
https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfDN/about
SpiceandBooks and spiceandfiction - Apparently Youtube itself has started picking up on the bullshit, because this multifandom channel is being dinged as ai spam so they started a new one.
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiceandBooks/about
https://www.youtube.com/@spiceandfiction/about
theoriginalastra - Doesn't even bother with disclaimers, the following are multiple alts/potential alts for different fandoms.
https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalastra/about
SillySenpai12 - Highschool DXD alt.
https://www.youtube.com/@SillySenpai12/about
RosieRealms - Naruto alt.
https://www.youtube.com/@RosieRealms/about
DekuWhatIfs - Potentially another astra alt but not sure, doesn't matter because all these channels do the same thing anyway.
AnimeStark688 - No credits or disclaimers.
https://www.youtube.com/@AnimeStark688/about
Please take the time to report these channels, spread this post around, and reblog with any additional offending channels you find.
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spiderb00 · 6 months ago
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Workout The Heart
Hong Eunchae x LSF 6 member!reader 
“every time you suspected there was something wrong with your member, Eunchae. Until the time you found out what it was” 
Genre – Fluff   Warnings – None  (request)
Now playing – Love You Anyway, by The Marias 
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"Jihyo's daughter" is what Fearnot has called you since your debut. Your love for the gym and training has earned many inside jokes for the fandom, and many edits as well. You had only recorded a vlog at the gym once, and as soon as it was posted on Le sserafim's Youtube channel, a storm of edits of yours were everywhere. As the second youngest member, you weren't used to edits that weren't just cute stuff, but as soon as you saw your first edit with a provocative song and you looking insanely hot on camera, you knew you could get used to it.   
Unlike you, Eunchae would NEVER get used to it! Every time she saw an edit of yours she simply wanted to pass out, praying to all the gods that she would wake up in your muscular arms. The maknae never liked to work out, in fact she hated everything that involved weight, but with you it was different. Eunchae found herself wanting to accompany you to all your workouts, which was very strange given that not only you, but all of your members knew that the younger girl hated the gym.   
It was a few months ago that you and the girls started noticing Eunchae's strange behavior, you were certainly suspicious, because if Maknae hated working out, what was she doing following you around like a puppy? 
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All the girls were in the living room of the dormitory, Yunjin and Kazuha watching some program on TV, Chaewon's eyes glued to the phone and Eunchae was in the kitchen, sitting on the countertop watching Sakura cook. Quickly passing through the room, you grabbed the keys to the door before heading to the fridge to get some of your Gatorade.  
"I'm leaving babies, don't set the house on fire." You said, leaving the kitchen and heading towards the front door.   
"Ahn? Where are you going?" Eunchae asked, turning quickly on the counter, looking intently at you.   
"I have to stick to my training schedule." You said, all the girls' attention now on you and Eunchae.   
 "Yeah, she has to work out to carry all the weight of being a nerd." Yun Jin said, laughing at you and getting a pat on Kazuha's arm.   
"Don't make me carry you to the pool and throw you there again Jennifer... You know I could do that quickly.  
"Hey! It's Unnie for you, nerd." Yun Jin said messing with you, as always.    
"I'll go with you, wait for me to get my things!" Eunchae said suddenly, jumping off the counter and heading towards her room, leaving her members confused.   
You looked at Sakura, who was already looking at you open-mouthed, Yun Jin and Kazuha also stared at each other as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing, and Chaewon was the first to speak.   
"All right, what's going on?" The leader asked, momentarily directed at everyone, only to look at you next.   
"I--I don't know." You said, your surprise was still evident on your face, as well as on all the girls'.  
"She never wants to go to the gym with me." Kazuha spoke, pulling all attention to her.   
"She threw me a pillow once when I asked her why she hated working out so much." Yunjin said, static.   
"Once, she told me that she would rather spend ten hours straight singing and dancing than go to the gym." Sakura said, making you frown.   
"That's weird." You spoke last, looking at the door of Eunchae's room, and at the right moment, the younger girl came out, walking up to you and pulling your arm to the exit.  
"Bye, Unnies!"   
The excitement in the girl's voice and the thud of the door closing was the last thing the older women could hear, after witnessing the younger member pull you out of the dorm.   
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The second time you realized there was something wrong with Eunchae, it was on a Friday morning. You had gone for a run, having woken up too early that day and seeing that you had no commitments, you decided that it would be good to clear your mind and get your body ready for the day.   
When you arrived at the dorm, you had decided to make one of your tasty smoothies, mixing fruits you liked, oatmeal and a little honey.  Too busy mixing the ingredients, you didn't notice a small body approaching you until the younger girl hugged your waist.   
"Good morning Machae." You said with excitement. The younger girl letting go of your waist and climbing on the counter, where she definitely liked to stay.  
 "What are you doing?" The younger girl asked, her curious eyes looking into the blender where her smoothie was, now ready.   
"Just a drink after the morning run, nothing much." You said, pouring the mixture into a glass.   
"Oh, you could have woken me up to go with you." The younger girl said, making you almost drop the glass that was in your hand.   
"You... Did you want to go racing with me?" You asked skeptically, being completely sure that something was wrong.   
"Sure, why not?!" The younger girl shrugged, showing off her dimples as she smiled innocently at you.   
"All right then, maybe next time..." You said, still with suspicion present in your voice. 
For the rest of the day, Eunchae stayed close to you, asking questions about your workout and how your diet worked. Also taking the opportunity to call you to see some movies with her later, using the justification that you needed to chill a little.   
You really were struggling, confused by everything that was going on. Eunchae was always close to you, being only a year apart, you were the youngest of the group, always supporting each other and helping when needed. But you had noticed that Eunchae was trying much harder, sometimes you even caught her looking absentmindedly at you, daydreaming. And especially when you were both at the gym, now that Eunchae had insisted that she would go to all the training sessions with you.
You didn't quite understand what was going on, but the answer to all this confusion was closer to being revealed than you imagined.     
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Le sserafim was in L.A., finally having a few days to enjoy the city after recording numerous things to fulfill the schedule. Since one of your members was simply the most sociable person in the world, you and the girls were now in the Katseye girls' dorm, eating pizza and talking about various things that were going on.   
YunJin chatted animatedly with Daniela and Manon, while Sakura, Chaewon, and Sophia engaged in a deep conversation about something you hadn't paid attention to. Lara and Yoonchae were chatting animatedly with Eunchae, who was trying her best to focus on the topics of conversation without being distracted by looking at you and Megan laughing together on the couch.   
You and the red-haired girl weren't very close, it seemed like all the members of you seemed to understand each other very well, just with the two of you as two strange losers. Lara had pushed Megan towards you after you arrived, telling the Chinese girl that you wouldn't bite and that you were very nice. Believing her roommate's words, Megan walked up to you, the two of you striking up a friendly conversation only to find that you had a lot in common.  
Only one person had not liked all this approach, Eunchae. The girl looked at you with eagle eyes, following your and Megan's every move, praying to the gods that neither of you would make a wrong move. However, the younger girl can't hold back the cleaning so much, at least not when she saw you and Megan get up from the couch and head towards what Eunchae assumed was the redhead's room.   
Losing focus a bit, Eunchae excused herself, leaving the dorm room and saying that she would be back in a minute. Your members instantly worried about the younger girl, and when you showed up with Megan and noticed that the room was strangely quiet, you were confused.   
Outside, Eunchae sat on a small couch, wiping away the tears that kept falling from her eyes. The younger girl didn't want to cry, she knew she couldn't blame you for anything, after all, she was never brave enough to tell you how she felt.   
"Machae?" You asked, reaching out to the younger girl to check what was going on. "What happened?" You asked, sitting next to the girl with tears in her eyes.  
"Nothing, it's not your fault." Eunchae said, trying her best to stop the tears from running down her face.   
"Eunchae, you know you can tell me anything..." You said, holding your hand in hers. "We would always help each other, remember?"  
Looking at your hands next to hers, Eunchae took a deep breath, looking into your eyes before letting the words come out of her mouth.   
"I like you." The younger girl said, hoping you understood everything she wanted to say with just three words.  
"I like you too, Machae." You said, squeezing hands with the younger girl. 
"No, Yn. I really like you, I want to be with you, to be able to tell everyone that you're mine and to love you in the right way." Eunchae said, looking away from yours, ashamed of the tears that were streaming down her face.  
Taking your hand out of Eunchae's hand, you took her chin gently, lifting the younger girl's head and wiping away her tears.  
"I know, and I like you too Eunchae." You said, your hand still caressing the delicate face of the girl in front of you. "Don't you think I wouldn't notice that you liked me with you following me to the gym?"   
The bright-eyed girl laughed at your remark, the most beautiful smile you could see.   
"I've always liked you, Machae. I'm just really bad at showing it." you said.  
You and the smiling girl stared at each other, your faces a few inches from each other, and when Eunchae made the first signal to get closer, you followed her, getting closer and closer until you joined your lips with hers. It was just a seal of lips, but your stomach was in celebration, butterflies flying and dancing inside you. Eunchae not much different, the two of you have been waiting for this moment for much longer than you could remember. 
"So now that you've finally gotten what you wanted, will you still join me to the gym?" You asked, after moving away from the kiss a little.  
"Not at all."
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Hello guys, a request about LSF, I'm excited!
I hope everyone is well, I continue to see a lot of things about L.A. and I hope people are well and can get back on their feet.
It's a tragedy and very sad, unfortunately I can't do much, but I hope with all my heart that all of you are saved
xoxo, spider.
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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 8 months ago
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🎉 Thank You for 10k+ Followers!! 🎉
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A big thank you goes out to @cozymochi for this beautiful celebratory commissioned artwork for this major milestone ✨ It really captures the scope of all the content that had been put out in the last 4+ years—both in terms of official Twst materials and on this blog! I think it’s very fitting that we hit this milestone in the month of Halloween too (I just held off on posting this til the month after); it’s Twst’s biggest holiday of the year, so it’s twice the cause for celebration!!
A lot has happened over the course of my time in this fandom. I’ve written many things of course, but I’ve also had many other exciting opportunities! I’ve been interviewed for a paper, met many cool people from all over the world, attended Twst meetups + events, collaborated with other talented creators, received kind gifts, contributed to various fandom projects, and finished telling the origins of my Twst OC. This blog has been with me through a lot of major changes and difficult hurdles in my life too—it’s really been an anchor for me, a comforting and safe space for me to be creative or analytical whenever I want to be.
When I first started this blog as a very casual hobby in summer of 2020, I never even considered that it would balloon to this extent. It still doesn’t feel totally real to me 😭 I don’t usually fixate on numbers (they make me anxious), but looking back on it, 10k is a LOT, and 4 years is a long time. To put that in perspective, if we were in Twisted Wonderland for 4 years then all of the students we’ve come to know and love would have graduated by now. That’s crazy to me. We’ve come so far as a group.
I feel that a large part of fandom is the community that comes with it. I would have found it so challenging to stick with Twst had I not had so many great people keeping me engaged with it. I’d now like to take a moment to thank those folks. Keeping in line with the idea of “4 years”, think of these as little messages scrawled in a yearbook. I also have a blog event planned to celebrate! More on that later.
Please note that I’ve used pseudonyms for most of the following people, as I’d like to respect their privacy (I’m very private myself) + not all of them are comfortable with being explicitly named or tagged to a large crowd. You’ll know who you are if you see yourself on here.
Without further ado:
MSS — Thank you for being the first Twst space I felt truly a part of. It’s still the place I consider my fandom “home” beyond this blog.
April — Thank you for making MSS as a place for us to share! We’re tsunderes in solidarity.
Drinking Knight — The banners wouldn’t exist without your help. Thanks for getting the ball rolling on those; I’d like to think that I’m a little more confident in designing new ones myself now, but you were the start of it all. Your endless enthusiasm for the most insane otome boys, drinks, and bullying (positive) others is truly an inspiration.
Q. Opinionated — Can’t count the number of times you ran tech support for me 💀 Thanks so much for being patient and willing to laugh at a stupid situation. I WILL grip you (escape is not an option) 🤲
Dad with his Printer — Why are you so cheeky My unofficial proofreader and fact checker. Still treasure the teeny J word and coffin magnets you sent, and, even more valuable than those, the bad dad jokes/puns advice and wisdom you give. Wishing you luck on your art adventure.
A. Cider — An unexpected friend I met very late into the fandom and happened to run into irl by total coincidence. Funny how life works. Your shitposts are great, and I appreciate having a like-minded person to talk with about the J words and story critiques. I’d also like to thank you for the many little doodles you’ve made; I know you’re very busy and have a wife to tend to at home but I appreciate that you still make time for friends.
Hana — Extroverted pink-haired magical girl representation. Your bubbly love for Disney, Diasomnia, singing, and (yes) angst lights up the entire room. Maybe you’re not too confident with yourself are right now, but I know you’ll find your way.
Swan — For being quick on the uptake and giving me the heads up about various things! We may not talk much one-on-one, but I’m thinking of you and enjoy seeing you pitch into the conversation. You’re still banned for L*ona posting though/j
Ly — My secret French twin/j Thanks for being my cultural + equine advisor and a voice of (salty) reason. Never shut up about your hyperfixations! You’re a real one.
Oys — Enabler + encourager of my Yan!Sil delusions. Sorry for making your blood pressure spike every time we talk about our food takes. But hey, at least we get a good laugh out of it :))
Mac and Bean — For being my inspirations. Bean, you have such atmospheric writing. I hope my writing style can be just as magical as yours. Mac, it was your blog that first got me into starting my own Twst writing. You never stop being so, so funny also I blame you 120% for the L*ona rot.
Peaches and Cream — To my local Twst friends, thanks for keeping me company even through the hard times. Peaches, happy to be your local Twst dealer anytime. Cream, thanks for hooking me up with new books.
Salt and Flora — I don’t know where you vanished to, but the sea brought you back to me on its tides. I’m so happy we could meet again. Salt, you’re so talented at crochet and design work; get your coin 😂 Flora, you’re the sweetest person ever. Literally cottagecore personified, even in your art.
Piano — We don’t always see eye to eye, but thank you for being my serial debater and showing me new perspectives. Your open-minded theories and analyses are such fun. And, of course, it’s always hilarious to think about how we accidentally (?) swapped oshis 🤡 You’re a star.
The Anklebiter — For having the most unhinged jokes and ideas. Seriously, THE most unhinged. I never do any of the crazy things you suggest but I’m always really entertained from just hearing them.
Te, Mi, and Ro — Thanks for organizing local events and giving me an excuse to touch grass. It’s a lot of hard work and you guys manage to pull it off every time! Mi, I was flattered to have you reach out to me to help a little with the Tweel cupsleeve event. Happy to help anytime! Te, I remember you were cosplaying as Kalim when we first met and I kept thinking about how perfectly suited you are for the role. You were very friendly and made such an effort to include everyone in the event even when I was Idia-ing in the corner. To this day, you continue to spontaneously introduce me to new people 😂 Thanks for getting me put of my comfort zone. Ro, I didn’t think we’d meet again like this. Small world! You’re learning and improving the big events. Here’s hoping to many more!
Vic — For being Ace Trappola when very few others would. It’s refreshing to have someone tell it like it is. I wish I could be as bold and as honest as you are sometimes. You have such a big heart when it comes to the characters you love; it makes me want to adore them like you do too 🫶
Kana — For being so sweet and patient. You helped me through so many rough patches and have also contributed a lot to the look of the blog. It’s so fun gushing with you about magical girls and pretty boys, sharing our favorite shows and movies… I feel as though I’ve made a lifelong friend.
Zari — Thank you for charms and art book, big fan of your stuff 😭 So honored to have worked with you on projects too. I hope to see a lot more of your Yuu and other OCs around, I love following them ^^
Lala — You understand, encourage, and validate my weird tastes in fictional men 💕 Really admire your sense of fashion and stylish nails too. Whenever I have my shrimp apron on, I think of you.
Arisu — No longer in the Twst fandom but integral in the earliest days. Wherever you are now, I wish you nothing but happiness.
P-san — You’re a lifesaver!! Thank you so much for helping me find cute little outfits and accessories for my plushies… They are forever grateful to be properly clothed.
V, Fa, Fe, Ray, Rea, Sonny, Glimmer Group, and Incognito Crew — Thanks for being so supportive of my hyperfixation on Disney villain anime boys, even if you guys have NO clue what I’m rambling about half of the time. To V specifically 🫵 I am NOT a cat boy kisser
Mango — I didn’t know I wanted you in my life until you showed up uninvited one day and chewed your way into my heart.
Azul Ashengrotto — For being the character that first convinced me into giving this game a shot. The Little Mermaid was something I always held so dear to me, so it almost seems like destiny that you’d be the one to drag me down into Twst. You’ll always hold a special place in my heart for that, even if my feelings have changed since then.
Rook Hunt — For being there when I needed to laugh a little. It’s scary to glance over my shoulder sometimes, but you make it easier to smile as I look back.
Rollo Flamme — For letting me know that having negative feelings is normal and human, even if we don’t always cope with them in the healthiest of ways. Let’s reflect and be better together!
Leona Kingscholar — For showing me that change and personal growth is, in fact, possible. Th-This doesn’t mean I like you or anything though, so get off your high horse—
Jade Leech — For taking my hand and guiding me back on the path when I got lost in the dark. Whatever crimes you may commit in your free time, I forgive you/j
Miss Raven Crowley — The little black bird who could, the blog muse. I made you on a whim and look at where you are now… You went from a background character to the main character of your own story. So proud of you, my child 😭
Asset compilers, fan artists, fanfic writers, fan translators, cosplayers, merch makers, editors, plushie pic takers, video essayists, theorizers, etc. — You’re all so important to keeping the fandom alive, especially during periods of official content drought. It wouldn’t be feasible for me to list out all of the content creators I enjoy (chjsbsksks and it honestly might be awkward since I haven’t directly interacted with most of them), but I hope that this message still reaches you and finds you well. Keep doing your thing; I love seeing the work you put out ^^
Anyone and everyone that I’ve ever commissioned and/or received fan works from — I appreciate that you took time and energy out of your day to create something for me. There’s so much talent in the Twst fandom and I’m honored that you would dedicate some of that to a silly little birb.
You, the Readers — For supporting this blog and and what I do here! You’re an important part of my journey too.
Thank you!! Here’s to a future unknown and a page unwritten.
- The Writing Raven
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sl-walker · 8 months ago
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Other Fandom Archives
At least, other ones running on the otw-archive software!
SquidgeWorld Archive
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Open to all fandoms, SqWA is run under the nonprofit squidge.org! In addition to the archive there, Squidge also offers image hosting, podfic hosting and a bunch of other excellent services. Beyond that, it utilizes more extensive archive warnings than AO3 and also accommodates two additional relationship categories! SqWA has a no-AI policy that is both up front legally and implemented behind the scenes through various coding measures.
The TOS is here. The information about the additional warnings can be found here.
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Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive
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A single-fandom Star Trek fanfiction archive, this one's home for any and all Trek fandom! Using the same warnings as AO3, but a much stricter (and therefore searchable) tagging scheme, Ad Astra's also connected to one of the friendliest and most supportive Trek communities on the internet! We run weekly challenges, monthly review/comment hunts and like the other archives, we take a very hardline stance against AI both in actual terms and in firewalling the site. AI 'bots can't even reach the server before getting sucked into a black hole of 4XX errors and bannination jail!
There's an additional QPR (Queer-platonic relationships) tag accepted in the form of Character A ~ Character B, as well. Two invitations go out once a day, unless you want to contact me directly, then I can send one immediately.
Find the site FAQs here, please pay special attention to the posting rules!!
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superlove
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Run off of a macbook by a very talented young person, superlove is for all fandoms and original fiction and pretty much whatever else melo wants to open the doors for! In addition to the same archive warnings and relationships available to people using AO3, superlove also has a few more warnings that users can use and both QPR and vs. tags for queer-platonic and adversarial relationships. Given this is largely a private project, please make sure you review the rules carefully.
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Comic Fanfiction Authors Archive
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The CFAArchive is an archive built specifically for comic book and comic animation adjacent fandoms, rather than live-action properties! It uses the same archive warnings as AO3 and Ad Astra, but has the two additional tags QPR and vs. for queer-platonic and adversarial relationships! Much like Ad Astra, the tagging scheme on the CFAA is very strict to maximize searchability and minimize tag-spamming. There's also an attached Discord, where we run a bi-weekly writing challenge, the occasional comment/review hunt and a monthly focus feature where everyone reads a book, discusses it and creates based on it! If you love comic books and comic animation properties, this is the place for you!
Much like Ad Astra, the filtering out of AI 'bots is extremely strict; they get 4XX'd into oblivion and so far, none have gotten through since the new firewall rules were implemented, so you actually can leave works unlocked if you like with minimal (though never nonexistent) concern about them being scraped.
Two invitations go out once a day, unless you want to contact me directly, then I can send one immediately.
The TOS is here; please read the rules carefully! The tagging FAQ is here; don't be intimidated, it's not hard once you get into the swing!
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swaggyfishii · 18 days ago
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Hello!!
I don't use tumblr that much and more active on twitter but i'd like to make an post on an popular fan artist who has harmed me and many other victims.
I am here to make another call out on @eechytooru but this time a lot more information has came out on them since 2023
TW// NSFW, IRL NUDES TO MINORS, INCEST
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I'd like to talk about the old callout post briefly. The original post was made out of panic and anger so it seemed rushed and I acted very immature and for that I say I'm not proud of that on my part. Here is my first thread I made about Eechy / Teenbeeny / Vera (here)
Now onto the stuff that happened after the first blog I made, (I will be calling "Eechy" as Vera for the remainder of the post) Vera was fired on this Russian show called "CFMOT" for "allegations of hurting a victim". The whole thing received backlash so then she was re-hired. A former voice actor, Muzy Frile, who also worked on CFMOT left during this ordeal and made a thread of tweets. ( you can read the whole thing here ). To sum it up, the creator of the show is known for not firing off actors who has done heinous acts due to "popularity" and only fired them because he was pressured too.
Some time after, Vera would post more on this site, gaining more popularity rather than discipline. She would post art of Welcome home, Inside Out 2, Cookie run, and Undertale/Deltarune and her posts would get up to 1,000+ notes (note: I don't know much about tumblr but I am guessing notes are for likes, comments, etc). I say this because I know that there are minors on this app/website and I want them to be careful incase she talks to more minors in the future, I say this because she frequently hosts whiteboards and magmas with her followers!!
RECENT EVENTS!! vvvvv
In 2025 of this month, the 8th episode of CFMOT released not too long ago. Eechy was in the credits but not under her usual username (Teenbeeny) , but instead "Vera". I believe this was done to hide the fact that Vera was still working on CFMOT from the English viewers but it was quickly found out of and INSTANTLY got called out.A user on twitter made a post regarding this (here) and the news spreaded quickly throughout the ENG and RUS OSC.
It was then TWO MORE VITCIMS of her's spoke out and recalled their experiences with her: The first other victim I saw during the drama was of twitter user, @/keymasta778. They recall being in a NSFW object show camp hosted by Vera when the OP was 13 at the time. (Tweet can be found here)
The second victim was the final nail in the coffin for me. Twitter user, @/DonValski makes a google doc explain their experience with Vera with evidence of dms between them, Erp's (some of which including incest) while OP was 13 and other participant were 15 or younger, Vera was 16/17. Sometime, Vera sent the OP a nude picture of herself to the 14 year. I will end this suddenly because the rest is really sickening but I highly recommend you read the Gena's doc in full. (here)
The following day, I remembered about Vera's tumblr and reminded everyone on twitter about it. It wasn't until then that I was informed that @/eechytooru is "one of the most popular welcome home fanartists" said by one user. This is my calling to make another blog to remind and not forget what she has done so feel free to reblog and share this around!! I really want whatever fandom Eechy has been in and make them aware so they become a more safer place to hangout in without a groomer being out there.
I know this is VERY unlikely but I hope Partycoffin sees this post and reblogs this to make the fandom more safe! I'll be tagging all the fandoms that Eechy is in!!
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august-anon · 4 months ago
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Could we please have a fic
Where Tim is still adjusting to being a lil bro and he's still a bit nervous around Jason because the RH incident and Jason is fully aware that his lil bro is scared of him, and then Dick, (very purposefully) tells Jason that Tim is ticklish. Jason decides to use this information.
editing? who's she? (aka i was too lazy to edit a 5.5K tickle fic i just wanted to post it jksdhsdjfh)
also, seeing as my life is consumed by DC/esp the Batfam right now i was compelled to actually do my research for this fic and i went and found teen titans volume 3 #29 and looked through their fight. and dont get me wrong i love a good titans tower fic, tim drake is The whumpable character ever, but it is SO FUNNY to me the way fandom has apparently blown this so out of proportion because skimming that fight between the two it was literally like. the vigilante equivalent of squaring up behind the Waffle House at 3am while Jason is wearing a Party City Robin outfit sdjfhdsfj it was so unserious, he was definitely a theater kid lol, Tim wasn't even busted up that bad the worst he had was a bloody nose and maybe a concussion from the final blow lol
so i leaned more into the canon energy of it (snarky Tim who held his own decently well) because i think the whole fanon "he-almost-murdered-me-and-i'm-traumatized-and-terrified" energy leans into a fear dynamic that i am not necessarily comfortable exploring in a fluffy tickle fic? so i hope that's alright and that you still enjoy this fic even though i didnt full lean into that "scared of jason" energy i think you were looking for!
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Brothers Forged in Laughter
Fandom: Batfamily (no specific source material/continuity -- though i do briefly reference Teen Titans volume 3 #29)
Ship(s): Gen!!! Platonic!! Familial!! No batcest here
Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Tim & Ler!Jason (plus a very brief Ler!Dick)
Word Count: 5623 words
Summary: Tim wasn’t Jason's little brother, not really. Just because they got taken in by the same rich asshole did not mean they were related. But, well, the kid was kind of asking for it at this point. Maybe getting tickled to tears on the training mats by your asshole predecessor would become a Robin right-of-passage.
[ao3 link]
_______________________
Developing an unspoken sort of truce with the Bats had not been on Jason’s to-do list when he returned to Gotham, especially after his little trip to Titan’s Tower or the explosive confrontation between him, Bruce, and the Joker. Really, Jason blamed Dick. He was like a leech, it was impossible to shake him once he got his teeth sunk in.
Still, it had its benefits. He didn’t have to worry about getting arrested and thrown in Arkham anymore, for one. Not to mention, the Bats left Crime Alley well alone now (bar an Arkham breakout), leaving the neighborhood to Jason’s expertise. But most of all: access to the Batcave.
Jason didn’t necessarily enjoy his visits to the Cave, but there were things that Bruce’s money could buy that Jason had difficulty getting his hands on. For instance, the state-of-the-art lab that was hooked up to the Batcomputer and all its insane processing speed. 
With Batman publicly off on a JL mission and no risk of running into Bruce, Jason didn’t hesitate breaking into the Batcave (was it really breaking in if they never deactivated Jason’s codes in the first place? Jason liked to think so) to study a concoction from his latest Scarecrow copy-cat that thought Crime Alley made a great testing ground. It was just his luck that the little replacement Robin happened to be down in the Cave at the same time, drowning in an oversized hoodie and staring down one of the Batcomputer’s monitors with bloodshot eyes. One of his arms was in a sling, but Jason didn’t keep track of the Bats’ cases enough to know what had caused the injury. He was more wilted than the oregano plant Jason had forgotten at one of his lesser-used safehouses. And, more importantly, he was in Jason’s way.
“Pretty sure little birdies are meant to be resting when their wings get clipped,” Jason called out as he walked up the steps toward the Batcomputer.
The line of Tim’s shoulders went taught as his head snapped around to glare at Jason. “I’m pretty sure zombie crime lords are supposed to stick to Crime Alley.”
Jason held up his sample of knock-off toxin, shaking the liquid inside. “Wouldn’t exactly be here if I didn’t have to.”
Tim’s lips pressed into a thin line as he huffed a breath out through his nose. “Fine.”
Jason rolled his eyes as he turned toward the mass spectrometer, fumbling a bit to set it up properly. It’d been a while since he’d had to use one, and the one in the Cave was a lot newer than the one he’d used as Robin. It didn’t help that the back of his neck burned from the eyes boring into it.
“Don’t need a babysitter, y’know.”
“Like I’m leaving you in the Cave unsupervised.”
Jason scoffed. “What am I gonna do, poison your juice boxes?” The machine finally started running rounds of analysis, so Jason spun around to lean against it, locking his eyes onto Tim. And the stack of soda cans next to him. “Or your Zesti, apparently. Alfred lets you drink all that shit?”
Tim stayed silent, narrowing his eyes.
Jason lit up. “He doesn’t, does he?” He laughed, eyeing the pile of empty cans again. “Maybe we should call him down right now, what do you say?”
Jason started towards Tim and the Batcomputer, only meaning to ruffle his hair, maybe tease him a bit more about his serious sugar addiction, but he came up short as Tim slipped a hand against the underside of the Batcomputer’s desk, fingers subtly searching. Jason knew there was a panic button under there, even though he’d never had to use it during his time as Robin. It would send alerts to Alfred, to Dick, to every device of Bruce’s – hell, it might even send alerts to Clark or Diana at this point. Jason really didn’t need Superman busting in with a disgruntled Batman in his arms while he was trying to get work done.
So he backed off, raising his hands in mocking surrender as he leaned back against the machinery behind him, playing it off with a sarcastic, “Damn then, Boy Wonder, keep your secrets.”
The rest of Jason’s visit to the Cave was spent in tense silence, only broken in brief intervals to discuss the specifics of Jason’s case and the results of the toxin analysis. Turns out it was developed from an older strain of Crane’s – the most current fear toxin antidote could wipe it out no problem.
It didn’t leave him as satisfied as it should have, feeling all off-kilter as he mounted his motorcycle and started his drive back to Crime Alley. He couldn’t shake the hard look in Tim’s eyes as his fingers searched the bottom of the desk. It was fucking infuriating. What should he care if the newest little Robin was scared of him, after all? He and the Bats weren’t a team, and Robin certainly wasn’t his responsibility.
Maybe Jason had inhaled a little of the toxin when running the analysis. That was all.
*     *     *
Scared wasn’t really the right word, Jason realized over time. Because Tim was very obviously not afraid of him. He would poke and prod at Jason, even outright mock him sometimes. His glares were fierce and intense, his tone short and snappy. At times, he almost seemed to be seeking out a fight, like he wanted a rematch, to prove the words he said back at Titan’s Tower.
“Do you think you’re that good now? Do you really, Tim?”
“Yes.”
Wary seemed more accurate. He wasn’t frightened of Jason, but he was mostly certainly on edge. Even more so when Jason started visiting the Manor itself, finally giving in to Alfred and Dick’s invitations (though he still staunchly refused the invitations for family dinners – no way in hell he was being civil with Bruce for that long.). Tim would eye Jason like one would a particularly reactive dog – cautious and ready to act, but without any outright fear or anxiety.
And Jason… he could live with that. He didn’t particularly enjoy it, but it’s not like they were family or anything. Just because Bruce took in the kid didn’t make them brothers – and it wasn’t like Bruce was his father anymore, anyway. The itch that grew under Jason’s skin when Tim would look at him like that was purely from having eyes on him, that was all. And he didn’t feel guilty for making the kid feel like that, thank you very much – that lingering weight in his chest was just a perfectly normal reaction to Dick’s puppy-dog eyes every time he and Tim sniped at each other. 
Seriously. No grown man should be able to make that expression. It was unnatural. 
He was so used to Tim’s cold shoulders that when he arrived at the Cave one afternoon, he almost fell off his motorcycle at the bright, cackling laugh that echoed across the stone once he cut his engine. It was boyish, childish, happy – all the things Robin should be. For a moment, it made old bitterness crawl up the back of his throat like bile, but he just as quickly swallowed it back down. He’d already taken out enough on the kid.
The laughter grew louder as he climbed the stairs up to the Batcave’s main platform, growing squeakier or snortier or gigglier in various intervals. By the time he made it up the stairs, Jason had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Turning away from the Batcomputer and towards the training mats easily confirmed it.
Because there was the Boy Wonder, in all his red-faced glory, cackling up a storm as Dick tickled the absolute shit out of him. 
At least Dick had someone besides Jason to take all that tickle-monster energy out on, now.
Dick’s head shot up as Jason’s boot scuffed across the stone, and he shot Jason a grin. “Hey, Little Wing!” Tim’s laughter lightened, growing more giggly. Probably Dick lightening up his attack in case he wanted to participate in the conversation. “What brings you here?”
“Came by to hack into the computer.” Jason jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Got some CCTV to look into, and the setup is better here than in any of my safehouses.”
Dick nodded, and Tim’s laughter jumped in pitch again.
“Jesus,” Jason said. “You trying to kill the kid?”
Dick laughed himself and finally let up, leaving Tim to roll onto his side and catch his breath. 
“Nah – but I think I might’ve finally found someone more ticklish than you, Jay.” He gave Jason a meaningful look, winking when he was sure Tim wasn’t looking.
Jason scoffed. He would not be filing that information away for later, thank you very much, because Tim was not his baby brother. “Yeah, whatever. I grew out of that – Lazarus Pits and all.”
Dick narrowed his eyes, a disarming smile on his lips. “Oh, really? That’s too bad. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind, then, if I–”
Jason swiftly backed away from the mats. “Yeah, no. I’m busy – came here to work and all. Try to keep it down, will you?” He managed to catch Tim’s eye for a second. “Try his thighs,” he advised. “Or just under his ribs. Makes for great revenge.”
“Wha– Jason!”
Jason turned his back on them, not wanting to unpack the narrow-eyed look Tim gave him. Not even moments later he heard Dick yelp.
“Oh, no you don’t – you’ll regret that!”
And the Cave was quickly filled with laughter once more, two sets of it this time. Not exactly the quiet environment Jason had hoped for when he came by to work, but he would deal. The Batcomputer had high-quality headphones for a reason.
And, privately, Jason thought those two could use more opportunities to smile.
*     *     *
Over time, the uneasy truce settled into something more comfortable. There were times it still chafed, itching at Jason’s skin until he felt he needed to claw it off, but things were rarely so tense anymore that Jason expected to be cut off like a necrotic limb. Hood still handled Crime Alley, the Bats tackled the rest of Gotham, and sometimes, if the cards fell right, they were able to work cases together without any casualties.
Cases like this new up-and-coming gang. They’d spread outside of the Alley, maneuvering in areas where Hood didn’t have as much reach or authority, but they were still spreading through his own territory like slow-acting poison. There was only so much he could do, and so when Dick offered the Bats up to help, Jason agreed with only minimal bitching. 
Which led him to this warehouse rooftop, going on three hours crouched uncomfortably next to Robin, the irritation of a failed stakeout grating against his ribs and skull. The established gang these newbies were trying to ally with hadn’t even shown, and even the newbies were starting to pack up shop, wanting to get back to base before dawn broke. The newest little Robin, however, didn’t seem to be getting the memo that this was a bust.
“Kid,” Hood all but growled. “Let’s go, there’s nothing more for us here.”
Robin scoffed, still laying on his stomach and not bothering to drop the binoculars to have a conversation with Hood. “Something might still happen. I’m not going to drop this just because you’re getting impatient.”
A flash of irritation bubbled up in Hood’s chest, frustration coiling hot in his stomach. The gang was leaving, Hood was starving, his knees ached from crouching on this roof all night, and he really should’ve told Dick no when Robin was offered up to help with the stakeout. But of course, the Bat himself was too busy with some last-minute JL business, and Nightwing had his own problems in Bludhaven to deal with. The worst part was that Robin was right, something could still happen, but Hood sincerely doubted it. They hadn’t gotten any new or relevant info in the past two hours, and Hood was ready to stuff his face with some greasy fast food and pass out for the next six hours.
And so as the newbies finished loading up their vehicles and driving off, Hood reached over to snatch the binoculars from Robin. Somehow, even with his face buried behind the plastic, he knew Hood was coming and shifted out of the way, thrusting a foot into Hood’s chest to try and hold him back. Hood’s height was an advantage here, but Robin still refused to let go of the binoculars, staring after the newbies’ vehicles as if they held the answers to the universe. 
And Hood, overtired and ready to be out of all this goddamned armor and in bed, let his instincts take over again. He jabbed one hand up under Robin’s arm, poking and prodding at the softer spot in the armor designed for mobility. Robin made an awkward squawking sound, his arm shooting down to protect the vulnerable spot and cutting the grip he had on the binoculars by half. Hood easily wrenched them from his hand after that, tucking them into an inner pocket in his leather jacket.
“Come on,” Hood said, standing and brushing himself off like nothing happened. “Batburger, I’m buying.”
Robin scowled at him, eyes unreadable behind the white-out lenses of the domino, and slowly rose to his feet. “Fine. But I want Jokerized fries, and I don’t care how you feel about it.”
*     *     *
Jason had to wonder if the kid ever slept. Every time he came by the Cave, Tim was there too – training, running samples, working cases on the Batcomputer – no matter what absurd hour he arrived. Jason let out a loud, long, obnoxious sigh as he cleared the stairs to the main platform of the Batcave, and Tim immediately whipped around and glared at him over the back of the desk chair.
“Can I help you?” Tim snapped.
“I need the computer.” Jason kicked the base of the desk chair as he approached, propelling it several inches to the left. 
Tim’s scowl deepened, and he rolled the chair back into position. “Well you can wait. I’m busy with a case.”
Instead of arguing further, Jason opted for the quickest route of success. He grabbed the back of the desk chair, spun it around so Tim was no longer facing the desk, and unceremoniously dumped him out of the seat. Tim squawked as he stumbled out of the chair, but regained his footing quickly and immediately trying to bolt back into the seat. Jason smirked and yanked it away, sending it rolling a few feet behind him.
“Whoops.”
Tim pursed his lips. “Real mature.”
Jason laid a hand over his heart and cocked his head to the side. “Ouch. You wound me. Truly.”
Tim glared at him, but his eyes flicked towards the desk chair behind Jason. They burst into motion at the same time – Tim lunging towards the chair, and Jason lunging towards Tim. After a brief tussle, Jason yanked Tim into a headlock, and for a brief second the two of them went eerily still. Jason loosened his grip, making the hold easy to break, but didn’t let go. Tim stayed frozen for a moment longer before tilting his head up, giving Jason a challenging look.
Jason’s mind warred with itself for a few moments. Not my little brother, one side of his brain said. Isn’t he, though? another replied. He had, unfortunately, filed away that information Dick had given him, as much as he tried to ignore it. And, well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? He didn’t think he’d even given Tim back his Bat-noculars.
A moment passed, and Jason suddenly lunged, latching his free hand onto Tim’s side and squeezing away. Tim jerked in his grip, squealing as a smile forced its way onto his face. One hand went towards prying Jason’s off his side, while the other came and clutched at the forearm around his throat for stability. Jason grinned and allowed the hand to crawl up Tim’s side, carefully keeping his headlock loose so that Tim wouldn’t really feel trapped. The second Jason’s fingers touched his ribs and a real laugh jumped out from Tim’s throat, he was out of Jason’s grip in seconds. Tim stood across from him, giving him another one of those uncomfortably calculating looks, though the blush rushing to his cheeks diminished it slightly.
“Fine,” Tim said eventually. “I should head up and get a snack anyways.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. 
“But I’m coming back down in two hours, and I will be getting back to my case. Whether you’re done on the computer or not.”
Jason snorted. “Yeah, sure thing, Timberly. Whatever you say.”
*     *     *
Jason was at the Manor for family dinner.
His skin itched at the thought as he sped into the Cave on his motorcycle – he never entered through the Manor proper, not in all these months, something about that just made it too real, too raw – and threw his riding gear off. Bruce was going to be there – not Batman, Bruce, and he hadn’t really interacted with the man outside the mask since he came back – but so were Dick and Alfred. And so was Tim.
Bit by bit, the kid had been relaxing around him. They worked cases together (and with Nightwing) when Hood needed a Bat, or when the birds needed his help instead. He didn’t tense whenever Jason came through the Cave anymore, didn’t eye Jason with suspicion when they crossed paths on patrol. He still stared a lot, but it’s not like Jason could blame him. He had attacked the kid, and even if he didn’t leave him with more than a concussion and some bruises (and Jason with a grudging sense of respect for the brat, as he walked away with his own array of bruising and a busted nose), the kid was well within his rights to keep his eyes on Jason’s movements.
But still, the progress they had made was, well, nice.
Speak of the devil — the Cave wasn’t empty. Tim was in the training area, dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt, running his bo staff drills with a single-minded focus that could rival even Bruce. Jason almost would’ve thought that Tim didn’t realize he was there, but Tim’s eyes flicked his direction as he approached the edge of the training mats. Tim ran through the move he was doing a few more times, making minute posture changes each time until his form was perfect, before dropping out of his stance and facing Jason.
“Not bad,” Jason said.
Tim ticked up an eyebrow. “Thanks.” His gaze trailed over to the stairs. “Alfred’s still making dinner, and Bruce is up there brooding and fussing over everything until it’s perfect. You probably wanna stay down here until the food’s ready.”
The skin around Jason’s eyes tightened as he suppressed a wince. “Yeah, thanks. Where’s Golden Boy?”
The corner of Tim’s mouth twitched up. “He got saddled with ‘distract Bruce’ duty.”
Jason matched Tim’s half-smile. They lapsed into an awkward silence. Jason shoved his hands in his pockets to resist the urge to fidget. Tim stared.
“Let’s spar,” Tim said suddenly, turning on his heel to set aside his bo staff.
Jason stared at him, incredulous. “What?”
“Spar. You and me.”
“Are you sure about that, kid?”
Tim shot him one of those calculating looks over his shoulder. “Do you have anything better to do?”
Jason pursed his lips. “No.”
“Then let’s spar.”
Palms sweating, Jason kicked off his boots, shucked his leather jacket, and set aside the weapons he’d hidden on his person. He set himself up opposite of Tim, lowering his body into a fighting stance.
“Ready?” Tim asked.
“Yup.”
The word was barely out of Jason’s mouth before Tim lunged, immediately going in for a grapple. Jason almost laughed — he far outclassed the little Robin in both weight and strength — and quickly sent the kid sprawling to the mats before backing away. Tim was scowling when he stood up.
“Don’t go easy on me.”
“Don’t worry, Boy Wonder. I’m just getting warmed up.”
Tim lunged first again, feinting left before trying to circle around to Jason’s back on the right. Jason whipped around and blocked the incoming blows, jabs that would’ve left his arms numb and tingling for hours had they landed. On one block, he snagged Tim’s wrist and used it to twirl him halfway around. He shoved Tim forward, harder than he meant to, and let him stumble a few feet as he retreated again.
The spar went on like this for a while, Tim attacking and Jason blocking and retreating. Tim’s scowl got deeper and deeper, and the careful control he usually held in his movements started slipping more and more. After the tenth time Jason knocked Tim’s attack away and retreated, Tim finally snapped.
“Stop babying me! I can take it!”
“Tim—“
“No.” Tim fell back into a ready stance, face red and splotchy from frustration and exertion. “I know what it looks like when you’re fighting for real. So fight me.”
Jason pressed his lips into a thin line. “Fine.”
Jason rushed first this time, and Tim met him in the middle. They exchanged a series of blows (though Jason pulled his punches — this was a spar not a brawl, and he kinda thought Tim had enough of Jason punching his lights out by now), and Tim held his own well. He’d gotten some good hits in during their confrontation at Titan’s Tower, but it was clear he had improved since losing to Jason back then. If Tim had been in a better state, he might’ve been able to hold out against Jason’s onslaught for a while.
As it was, Tim had clearly been training for a while before Jason had come in and had already been fatigued, and his lingering frustration from Jason’s kid-gloves was obviously making him sloppy. With Jason’s bulk and sheer strength, he had Tim pinned to the ground in minutes. Tim grunted and growled and struggled under him, trying to free himself, but Jason had both his arms pinned above his head and had settled his bulk over Tim’s thighs so he couldn’t flip their positions or kick Jason off.
“Satisfied?” Jason asked dryly.
Tim didn’t reply, twisting his wrists to test Jason’s grip.
“Ready to hit the showers? Alfred probably won’t be happy if we come to dinner all drenched in sweat.”
Tim twisted his hips, trying to throw Jason off but unable to get the leverage to move his considerable weight. “No, fuck you.”
Jason’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn, Timber, you kiss Alfred with that mouth?”
Tim paid him no mind, continuing to hiss and spit under him. Honestly, it reminded Jason a lot of when he was Robin. Whenever Dick beat him in a spar, he would hiss and spit and carry on, trying to break the hold until Dick got sick of his whining and—
Ah. So that was why Dick had been tickling the kid to tears the other month. 
Jason gave Tim a considering look. For a moment, he wondered if he really had the right. Tim wasn’t his little brother, not really. Just because they got taken in by the same rich asshole did not mean they were related. He’d been telling himself so for months, even if there were moments of doubt. But, well, wasn’t Tim his little brother? They snarked and tussled over the computer and helped each other on cases, and Jason was here to eat family dinner with him for God’s sake.
And hey, maybe getting tickled to tears on the training mats by your asshole predecessor would become a Robin right-of-passage.
Amidst Tim’s struggling, Jason managed to wrangle both his wrists into one hand and pin them firmly above his head. Then, making sure Tim was watching, he hovered a hand over Tim’s stomach and slowly started wiggling his fingers.
Tim gasped and froze. Then, just as quickly, his struggles started up again with a new desperation.
“You wouldn’t.”
Jason grinned, lowering his wiggling fingers another inch. “Say uncle, Timmy.”
Tim narrowed his eyes, dragging his eyes away from the ticklish threat to meet Jason’s own. “Do your worst.”
Tim’s mouth clamped shut tight just as Jason’s lowered his hand and touched down on Tim’s stomach. Tim squeezed his eyes shut and squirmed, going pink in the face as he tried not to laugh.
Jason laughed for him. “Come on, TimTam, we both know you’re ticklish as shit. No point in not laughing.”
Tim shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to worm away to the left as Jason’s hand traveled to his right side.
“No, it doesn’t tickle? Are you sure?”
Even though his eyes were still closed, Tim turned his face away from Jason, trying to hide behind one of his biceps. Jason grinned wider and jumped his hand over to Tim’s other side, delivering a series of nibbling pinches without warning. Tim squeaked, like the little baby bird he was, and jolted to the right to try and get away.
“I dunno, Baby Bird. Seems like it might tickle.”
Tim made a growling noise in the back of his throat, and Jason couldn’t help but laugh again.
“No? Maybe we should make sure all your nerves are working right, then.”
Tim’s eyes snapped open at that, glassy and watery from the effort of holding back his laughter. Jason made sure to grin at him, smug and toothy and all evil-big-brother, just like Dick used to do to him.
“Tell me, can you feel this?”
His hand shot up and skittered calloused fingertips and blunt fingernails against the exposed side of Tim’s neck. Tim’s head snapped to that side with a muffled squeal, his smile fighting to become open-mouthed and toothy, forcing Tim to bite down on his lip to keep his reactions at bay.
“Hmm, seems promising. How ‘bout here, can you feel that?”
Jason shot back down and vibrated his hand into the center of Tim’s belly. Tim tried to jackknife to protect himself, but with his wrists firmly pinned and Jason’s considerable weight on his thighs, he was forced to stay flat against the mats. He chose to toss his head back against the mats instead, shaking it back and forth furiously.
“No?” Jason asked, voice dripping with faux-concern. “You can’t feel it?”
Tim let an annoyed little groan, but quickly cut it off as it started to take on a giggly tone. Jason was being deliberately unhelpful in the matter, poking his index finger into various spots of Tim’s stomach and vibrating it.
“Right here, can you feel this? What about over here? And here? Come on Timbit, work with me here.”
Tim flinched and twitched at every prod, trembling with suppressed giggles. Jason’s own cheeks hurt from smiling — he could definitely see why Dick tickled the snot out of him so often when he was a kid. This was adorable and hilarious. But he still had yet to make the kid break, which was kinda annoying. Like, hello, how was Jason supposed to tickle the snot out of him if he wouldn’t even laugh? Jason paused for a moment, letting Tim catch his breath as he planned his next attack. Now where was it that made Tim shoot out of his arms the other week…
Oh, that’s right.
Jason put on a mournful look, shaking his head. “Starting to get real concerned here, Timbourine. Maybe we oughtta do a full injury check.” Jason rested his fingers on Tim’s lower ribs. “What do you say?”
Tim gasped, shuffling as far away from Jason’s hand as he could, but Jason followed the movement easily.
“Jason—“ Tim started, but cut himself off, pressing his lips together again.
“What is it you said to me, again? Do my worst, was that it?”
“Jason, I’ll— I’ll buffer Bruce for you tonight. I’ll take on your caseload. I’ll clean your motorcycle, I—“
“As tempting as that all sounds,” Jason had to raise his voice to be heard over Tim’s rambling. “You know what I wanna hear. Admit you lost.” 
Tim’s mouth clamped shut. Of course. How could the latest model not come with that patented stubborn Robin pride?
Jason shrugged, tapping his fingers threateningly against Tim’s ribs, making him squirm. “Suit yourself.”
Jason wasn’t the greatest at picking apart Tim’s expressions, but he’d say the smile forcing its way across Tim’s face was almost giddy.
He started off with a typical injury-check touch, a light press and slide against the individual ribs, just to really play into the game he had set up. Tim’s face scrunched up instantly, obviously trying to hold back his reactions, and his body started squirming with a new fervor. 
“Nerves working here, Timmers?” Jason tickled his middle ribs a bit more deliberately, making Tim’s face spasm. “Seems to me like you might be feeling something. Does it tickle?”
Tim shook his head. Jason sighed.
“You leave me no choice.”
Jason released Tim’s wrists and latched onto either side of his ribs with both hands, tickling mercilessly. Tim’s eyes bugged out of his head as he let out a laugh bordering on a scream. His legs scrambled on the mats behind Jason, searching for leverage or freedom. As Tim’s laughter fell into desperate cackles, Jason couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
“Jason! Jay!”
“You know how to make it stop, Timmy.”
Even with his hands free, Jason was discovering that Tim was absolutely useless when he was tickled. Jason attacked lower on his ribcage and Tim’s hands latched onto Jason’s wrists in a feeble, laughter-weakened attempt to pry him off. That only opened up the rest of his ribcage and armpits to attack, which Jason took great advantage of. Tim’s laughter would get more panicky, more shrill, the higher Jason went, but his brain didn’t seem to know how to defend itself — seeing as his hands stayed latched onto Jason’s to try and pull him off.
“Jesus Christ, Baby Bird — how do you even live when you’re this ticklish?”
“Asshole!”
Jason raised an eyebrow, though he wasn’t sure Tim could see it through his squinted, teary eyes. “Be nice. I could make this so much worse.”
“No, no!”
“That’s what I thought.”
Of course, Jason still made it worse anyway. There was a particular spot towards the back of Tim’s ribs, right between the top two on either side, that sent Tim spasming like he’d been electrocuted. Jason laughed as he prodded at the weak points one at a time, watching Tim toss himself in the opposite direction of the ticklish jolts. Finally, he gave Tim a breather, resting his fingers against those spots on his ribs just to keep him giggly and twitchy.
“Last chance for mercy,” Jason said, just barely twitching his fingers to watch Tim jump. “Alfred’ll send someone down soon.”
Tim’s teary eyes went wide. “Wait, Jason, come on–”
“Damn stubborn little Robin.”
Jason dug his fingers in, torturing those little tickle spots as best he could.
“Fuck!” Tim practically screamed before breaking into laughter that would give even the Joker a run for his money. Surprisingly, the hysterical tone of it didn’t even make Jason’s skin crawl. “Uncle!” Tim cried out, and his laughter went silent.
Jason eased up, redirecting his attack lower on Tim’s ribs, though still vibrating his fingers into the nerves mercilessly. “Hm? What was that?”
“You win! Uncle, you win! Jason, come on!”
With a chuckle, Jason heaved himself off of Tim to sit on the mats next to him, ruffling his hair as he caught his breath.
“Fuck you,” Tim said, closing his eyes and relaxing bonelessly into the mats.
“Hey.” Jason raised his hands in surrender. “You could’ve stopped that at any time. Not my fault you’re a stubborn little bitch.”
“I’ll get you for this.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got, like, a hundred pounds on you and I’m twice your height. How do you think you’re accomplishing that, shrimp?”
Tim peeled one eye open to glare at him. “I’ve got Dick.”
Jason froze. Oh, shit.
“That he does,” a cheerful voice chimed in from the direction of the stairs. Dick strode towards them, a slightly feral smile on his face. “And I would be more than happy to help. We never did test your claim about the Lazarus Pit taking away your ticklishness.”
Oh, fuck, actually. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Tim about Dick’s thighs that one time.
Dick’s smile shifted from feral to innocent in the blink of an eye. “But maybe later. Alfred sent me to get you for dinner – and I know he wouldn’t appreciate your B.O. stinking up the dinner table. Hit the showers.”
Jason groaned as he got up, pretending to crack his back even though he wasn’t the slightest bit sore from their sparring or impromptu tickle attack. Then, he reached down and hauled Tim to his feet, shoving him in the direction of the Cave’s locker room ahead of himself. Just as he went to follow, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Good job, big brother,” Dick said, his voice low enough that it wouldn’t travel through the echoing cave. He gave Jason’s shoulder a squeeze.
Jason looked away and scoffed. “Yeah, whatever. Little shit was asking for it.”
Dick laughed and dropped his hand, shoving Jason toward the locker room much like Jason had shoved Tim. He tried not to think about it too hard, instead focusing on how carefully he’d have to watch his back in the future.
No way he was letting Timmy and Dickhead take him down without a fight.
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little-one-eyed-monsters · 23 days ago
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Hot take (from a media nerd): How to achieve BL branded pair longevity (a.k.a. what SmartBoom should have done to preserve their brand)
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Hello friends! 🥰 (especially those from the SmartBoom community) How are we all feeling? This wasn't a sarcastic question-- I really do hope you're all feeling well.
I logged on to Tumblr and found A LOT of asks about SmartBoom, and really, I feel for all of us (and definitely for them).
I'm not really an expert on any of these BL couples I talk about or will be talking about, as all of my information only comes from social media (including their interviews and official press releases). I'm also not the merch-buying, concert-going, discord-moderating type of fan either-- I use the groups and servers for lurking and research instead of posting. That's why I'm so grateful for the lovely fandom insiders who take the time to correct my posts with more reliable information-- really, no cap, you guys are awesome and I will always defer to your superior knowledge.
What I DO know, with confidence, is how the Asian media industry works, ESPECIALLY queer media. Not Thai-specific, and not any particular pairs, but the branded pair concept in general. So I'll be talking about longevity here from 1) my very basic knowledge of these couples, 2) my understanding of trends and company politics, and 3) how the industry generally runs, from production to promotion.
Anyway,
The asks I got so far (aside from my thoughts on that disaster of a fansign) is what I think would be the future of SmartBoom as a branded pair. Is there any hope for them at all?
Well the joke-y answer is yes. Since Headliner and Grand Ivory Records have decided to go all Top Form meta on SmartBoom, but in hyperspeed, we're on Ep. 9 right now, no? The breakup?
We'll skip Ep. 10 (unless death comes for Miss--- oh sorry, let's not wish death on anyone. Not very Christian).
That means... man, I can't wait for Ep. 11- The Revolution 🤣
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Hey Smart, is there any Jin left in there? Probably time to let it out.
(Wouldn't it be fun if you had a whole Junta in there, too? Just max levels of crazy? 👀)
Anyway, jokes aside, if the question is: is there any hope for SmartBoom?
Yes and No.
The ship itself, in its current state, is dead. It's gone beyond the companies now. Judging from that photobook fansign (and only that fansign, so I could be wrong), I'm guessing the rift has affected Smart and Boom's personal relationship, too. Boom barely looked at Smart or addressed him throughout the event, and when he was about to cry he didn't turn to Smart like he used to. He stared up, stared down, turned to the side, but never towards this acting partner he used to call a friend. Smart had to EXCUSE himself when he grabbed the photobook from Boom during that one question, and asked for permission anytime he would go near him (you don't do that to an acting partner you've spent excessive workshop hours with. You licked honey off his neck dude, I think you're allowed to touch hands). Even China couldn't stop your fanservice. What happened now?
[Pardon the dramatic background music. It's from Tiktok, can't remove it.]
There's an elephant in that room (probably colored purple and named TaiLai) that both of them cannot address. That statement from TaiLai and GIR were pretty incriminating: SMART himself said no to projects with Boom, not just GIR. They offered Smart up on a platter for the fandom to pick apart, and off to the side, on the brink of being neglected once again, there sits Boom. I don't know what Boom believes exactly, and if he chooses to trust his friend more than the statements of these money-hungry company monkeys. But to be honest, he hasn't spoken in favor of Smart so far. He hasn't really spoken at all.
Smart looked devastated.
Boom... Boom looked humiliated.
The ship is dead. Both for us, and for the people in it. If there's a friendship they could salvage in there, like with Perth and Saint (and Zee), I suggest they start saving it now.
But first, let me just come out of the woodwork and say this: even though I MOSTLY BLAME GIR, this isn't the first time WeTV has botched a branded pair they've initially invested in.
Behold, SamYU, from WeTV's We Best Love:
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You hear that in the distance? It's the sound of a thousand hearts breaking all over again.
We Best Love was WeTV's first foray into ORIGINAL BL content, not just affiliate distribution. They saw how successful queer content was in China with their MASSIVE hit bromance The Untamed, and wanted to capitalize on it. But China has... a queer censorship problem. After abandoning The Untamed's lead star Xiao Zhan during the 227 scandal (God, I really do hate you WeTV), they hopped over to Taiwan to try their luck in a more queer-friendly location.
Sam Lin was a former idol-turned-actor who debuted in the Taiwanese boy group SpeXial, and who's been in a few minor roles prior to We Best Love. YU (Maruyama Yusuke) is a Japanese-Taiwanese idol loaned to WeTV by a company from Nagoya, Japan (WeTV has a thing for underground actors and loaned idols apparently). Though virtually unknown prior to We Best Love, these two were PHENOMENAL actors, had natural chemistry, and had pretty compelling personalities. WeTV initially signed them for a three season contract for their original series (sigh), slapped WeTV's name on the title (WBL- We Best Love. Get it?), and produced and promoted the heck out of this show.
And it WORKED. It was a massive hit in Taiwan, Japan, China, and Korea, sparked a new renaissance for Taiwanese BL productions, and made Sam and YU household names. It really was a WONDERFUL show. Imperfect, but still wonderful, and still my all-time favorite Taiwanese BL.
But WeTV apparently didn't reach proper contract arrangements with YU's team. YU apparently thought that WBL was a one-and-done deal, because he didn't want to do any more BLs-- he wanted to focus on his music. YU's team asked WeTV to renegotiate loan terms so YU could do music first before they could shoot Season 3 , but WeTV refused. Season 3 first, before the idol career. YU decided to buy himself out of the contract.
Sam took YU's refusal to shoot Season 3 as a personal affront. Though he never spoke about it publicly, he initially unfollowed all of YU's social media accounts and terminated all contact with him except in a professional capacity. He refused to do fanservice with YU during the press run, and after all cp projects were done and dusted, they never spoke (publicly) again.
WeTV transformed the planned third season into a multi-episode camping reality show for the cast, in order to accommodate YU's buyout terms. Here, Sam and YU exhibited the most AWKWARD and STILTED interactions from a branded pair that used to claim they were great friends. They finished that awful show, YU went on to launch an album, Sam went into acting hiatus for a while to, as he said, recover his mental health, and that spelled the end of Taiwan's only OFFICIAL branded pair to date.
To be clear I don't want SmartBoom to be SamYU. This is the stupidest route for their careers.
SamYU's situation was a nightmare for all parties involved. Companies fighting (but with the decency to NOT DO IT PUBLICLY), endless contract renegotiations, awkward encounters, Sam and YU duking it out behind closed doors, the fandom in SHAMBLES... this is not the way to achieve career success in an industry already BRIMMING with competition.
So let's go to the Yes portion of that ask. Is there hope? YES. Here's how:
Step 1: Get Industry Recognition
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OffGun, the true GOATS, hello!
This is one step I believe that SmartBoom partially has. A successful ship needs to be recognized both in the inner and outer circles of the Boys' Love industry, either by their experience, their talent, or both.
Take for instance, OffGun: they're celebrating their TENTH ANNIVERSARY this year (dear God), and will be shooting their 10th series, Burnout Syndrome, in the coming months. They're actually not the oldest BL ship in GMMTV-- that honor goes to TayNew-- but they're the ones with the most number of shows together, AND the most number of awards (individually and as a cp)
OffGun have stood the test of time, scandal, and their critics by proving their commitment to the industry: give them any role, any project, any subject, and they'll perform it. They host, sing, dance, but most of all, they act. No role is beneath them: whether it's filler fodder or the most compelling story this side of Bangkok, they'll do their best at it.
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Furthermore, OffGun's commitment to their brand showed the industry that the ship itself is irreplaceable. Whether they were doing support roles for other projects, being loaned out of the company, or being partnered romantically with other actors, they always made time for couple activities. They interacted with their joint fandom even during solo appearances (even more than their solo stans), and they truly FED the machine: soc med interactions, joint guestings, random outings. The branded pair took precedence over any new project, and the Babii fandom prevailed over their solo fandoms, ALWAYS. They were awarded for their efforts, and the industry recognized that they were a force to be reckoned with.
Talent, commitment, and making their fandom a priority: Smart and Boom have those in the industry already. They've partially proven it with their performance in Top Form, and that documentary is further proving their commitment. So what's next?
Step 2: Commit to a JOINT Loyal Fanbase
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MaxNat is DMD/Mandee's OLDEST branded pair at seven years, with 9 shows as a couple and two more on the way this year. They predate the 4th gen pairs of GMMTV, they predate ZeeNunew, they even predate the PANDEMIC (and you KNOW you've made it when you're older than Covid). They are also DMD's most LOANED pair, having been individually and jointly loaned to Copy A Bangkok and Viu, sometimes concurrently with their projects with Mandee.
Though not as famous as the other pairs in the Mandee roster, MaxNat is FORMIDABLE because of their very loyal joint fandom, Heartdis(k). And to legitimize the group, they interact with this fandom the most often, and this group gains top priority over their own solo fandoms. They insist on the joint branding for all projects, even for solo events. Similar to OffGun, they're very loyal to Heartdis(k) and feed the machine constantly by posting joint content on the regular. They are media-savvy and engage with fans even on their off days. They post all activities personally and ahead of schedule, and their management listens to the demands of the fandom.
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When the fandom wanted a spin-off of MaxNat's story in Cutie Pie the Series, and petitions circulated in favor of this new show, Naughty Babe was quickly produced by Mandee for the pair. When fans complained that MaxNat were being typecasted in rom-coms, Mandee gave them the fantasy melodrama Two Worlds. Even Copy A Bangkok, an outside producer who borrows MaxNat from Mandee, is now doing a longer version of the pair's Y-Destiny episodes because the fandom demanded it. The list goes on. Fanmeets in obscure locations-- if enough fans wanted it, off they went. Old discontinued merch from long-finished MaxNat BLs that fans wanted to purchase again? No problem, Mandee will provide.
And for their part, Max and Nat are deathly loyal to their fanbase too. If fans wanted to ghost ship them with other Mandee actors, they'd make content with said actors while teasing their actual partner (Max does this a lot with Zee, and Nat with... everyone else in the new gen 😅). If fans wanted a joint live, Nat will randomly pop in on Max's streams, and vice versa.
It can be stiffling, and probably looks unhealthy from the outset, but Max balances this by saying he and Nat are actually in constant communication with each other-- their limits, what works, and what they should and shouldn't be doing to themselves and each other. They both admit that the system isn't perfect, and they've had arguments before especially given their large age gap (ehem Smartboom ehem), but they both work through it and acknowledge each other's faults and shortcomings.
Actually, I loved watching their interviews. It's a masterclass in maturity and proper communication. Though they often play inane characters on screen, they're actually self-aware and well-grounded. They know what fanservice is and what limits they should have for their audience.
Going back to Smart and Boom, um hey Smart, I think you already know what your fandom wants you to do now. So:
Step 3: Always choose your partner
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So this is YinWar. Yin and War met at an audtion in 2019 for Studio WabiSabi's En Of Love BL anthology series. Prior to this, they'd never met before, and according to War, they initially HATED each other's guts. War said Yin was too quiet, while Yin said War was too all over the place. Workshops fixed that, they became friends, they shot the 4-episode series En of Love: Love Mechanics.
During this time, War actually had a recording contract with GMMTV for a boy group called BOYFRIENDS. His acting projects were being handled by WabiSabi, though he wasn't signed to them exclusively as he was being jointly handled. Yin was an independent talent before he signed on to Rookie Thailand.
Fans fell in love with YinWar's acting talent and natural chemistry, and clamored for a full series version of Love Mechanics that would stay more true to the book. Though Studio WabiSabi intended to shoot the show, they got into a very nasty company rift with Rookie Thailand over LOANED actors, among other things (sounds familiar, huh) during which WabiSabi threatened to shoot En of Love without the loaned actors, including Yin.
War left WabiSabi, left GMMTV, and jumped over to RookieTH (Yin's management). Their series Love Mechanics was then cast into a two-year long production hell, with the companies bickering back and forth over IP and production. RookieTH entered into an affiliate contract with WeTV to air the show. After Love Mechanics, YinWar wanted to be launched as a branded pair, but allegedly, RookieTH didn't see any benefit to that and refused.
Yin and War left RookieTH in 2022 and started their own production company with fellow co-stars Prom and Benz: YWPB Entertainment in 2023. With no funds to stage a new project, the foursome launched concerts and loaned themselves to other production houses just to build resources.
To fund their first BL series under YWPB, Yin sold his most prized possession: a Porsche 718 Cayman he saved up for from all his earnings throughout his career.
They contacted their old sponsors themselves, borrowed money from actual banks, and entered into an affiliate production contract with Dee Hup House, with the provision that DHH's team will help helm the show. They licensed distribution to IQIYI, which allegedly demanded a large cut of the shares IF the show didn't trend and suffered market losses (this is a common contract requirement for larger distributors that agree to air rookie productions. They need to make a profit on very expensive international licensing). If this happened, YWPB would lose all of their capital, which was mostly debt to begin with. Yinwar said fuck it, and licensed to IQIYI anyway.
Yinwar often said in interviews that their dream destination was to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. They've never been, and with their new company's woes, they often joked in their YT vlogs that they might never. Their manager said that if at least five episodes of the show trended on social media, they'll find a way to bring them there.
Jack and Joker: U Steal My Heart went on to become IQIYI's most watched show of the year. Yin and War got to see their lights:
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The gamble paid off. But you'd ask, why gamble in the first place?
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War revealed that in 2022, after their companies' spat postponed Love Mechanics and placed Yin and War in acting limbo, War's mental health suffered and he wanted so badly to leave the industry. He said he knew Yin could thrive in a new ship without him, and that he felt he wasn't cut out for this industry that kept abandoning them. Yin convinced him to stay, but after Love Mechanics, and with no project in sight, War renewed his desire to leave. So War left the agency, and Yin went with him.
Yin chose War.
Yin pushed for the creation of YWPB, and he sold his car to do it. He entered into debt with his partners and gambled on this one series they hoped audiences would like. They had no other means to prove their bankability except this one large IP: Love Mechanics, and a fanbase that dwindled because of their acting limbo. In truth, Yin wasn't betting on their company-- he was betting on War. Their ship, their talent, their sheer commitment to make a body of work that would represent their talent. War chose Yin when he left his agencies and joined Rookie. Yin chose War when they made YWPB.
Because in the end, the brand is more valuable than the company.
Fans support the pair and not their source. GMMTV knows this, Mandee knows this. WETV KNOWS THIS. This is why WeTV is quick to throw out actors who've lost favor with them or their fans--because they know brands are replaceable. The fans will gravitate to a brand so long as it's well made, and that's what ships are to these people-- a brand, a product. Boom can have a partner overnight and launch a new brand before June ends. Smart already has a new hetero brand under GIR, launched three months ago while Top Form was airing: KadMart. The actors choose their company, and the company makes the brand.
What separates the fallen ships (and b-rate actors) from those that truly succeed is that these actors recognize that their BRAND is more important than the company. Didn't Akin say that in Top Form?
"If they only want my popularity..."
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Companies want their products' popularity-- their BRAND. Once the brand becomes irrelevant, the product loses its value. That's why OffGun, MaxNat and YinWar succeeded when SamYU didn't-- they know the VALUE of their brand, and will do everything in their power to keep it, even if that means gambling their stability for it.
Wow, you're still here? Isn't this so looong already? 😅
I am under no delusion that this post will reach Smart or Boom or their managements, and I'm sure as heck they wouldn't listen to me anyway.
But if Smart is any kind like his namesake, he only needs to look around the general BL industry and see the patterns that would put him out of his misery.
And Boom, you need to choose Smart too. Not in a romantic capacity. Not even in a familial way. Just for career's sake, you need to stand by him too.
You need to choose each other. And maybe rewatch your show, it has all the answers.
Stay kooky folks.
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