#gender swap verse

[fandomnerd9602]

Petra Parker and Y/N Stark discuss their wedding plans…

Y/N: Dad just bought a nice cabin space by the lake in upper New York.

Petra: that would be beautiful for the venue! So now for my dress.

She shows a sketch…

Petra: I’m designing it using the spider web formula. Imagine how beautiful it’s gonna look.

Y/N: I see it. It’ll look amazing.

Petra: (blushes) and as the night ends, it’ll be so easy for you to rip-

Aunt May gives a look of warning…

Petra: so…so easy for you to enjoy it. Yeah that’s that I was going to say.

[klaudia96art]

My Spiderpersona challenge new universe ✨🕷️🕸️💕 original challenge @smidgeart redraw my version

[cadetheespeon]

i regret to inform you all i am not immune to fem!miguel

[ajol0tita]

Miguel O'Hara Fem Version ✨

Si hay algo que amo más que un vato fuertote es una morra fuertota, use de referencia el cuerpo de Rhea Ripley porque la amo demasiado / If I love something more that a broad man is a broad women 🩷 I used as reference the body of my gf (in my imagination) Rhea Ripley

[space-blue]

A complete guide to Blue Daddy's Girl (my) Arcane fics

Multi-chapter

Fathers and Daughters (My big hit)

Alternate AU set after S01E03, where Silco adopts both Vi and Powder. Large ensemble cast, multiple POVs, but mostly Vi.

100k words. Completed. Fanart chapters and art comms.

While the World Turns Around

Silco/Vander post betrayal reconciliation AU. Set before the show. POV Vander.

5.2k words. Completed. Entire chapter of gifted fanart at the end.

Our Love, That Flows Into the Sea is the same fic but from the POV of Silco. Unfinished WIP I don't plan on continuing.

The Shimmer Baron’s Family

Silco/Vander Regency AU. Estranged family, set during a ball at the Medarda estate.

10k words. Unfinished. No plans to finish it, stop asking lol or else make a serious request via my ko-fi.

A Stray

4.7k. Set in the "good verse". Silco and Vander adopt Viktor. One shot converted to WIP, has fanart.

Whatever I do, this is where we end

A dark Silco time loop, but told from the POV of Vander, who gets reset every time unknowingly. Strong themes of violence, suicide, despair and smut. Read the tags.

7.7k words. Completed. No fanart.

Cursed, by a brush of your hand

Silco/Vander soulmate AU where the soulmark is framed as a potential life ending curse. Aroace Silco, BFF with Renata Glasc. Basically an aroace perspective on soulmates.

7k words. Completed. No fanart.

What I wouldn’t do for you

Silco & Vander role swap. Silco adopts the kids and runs the Last Drop.

5.2k words. Completed. Open ending. No fanart.

The Darkin Child

Viktor, Singed and Silco are vampire-adjacent monsters, Vander is a werewolf. Married zaundads with Viktor returning to Zaun in hiding.

4.3k words. Unfinished, no plans to finish it.

The Centaur Breaker

Silly centaur AU with Silco as a rancher in a fantasy world (not a US Far West setting), rescuing captured centaurs. Vander, Sevika, Jinx & Vi as centaurs.

2.8k words. Unfinished. Only a single chapter and no plans to continue.

☆ Arcane Art Dump 

The home of all my Arcane fanarts worth saving.

One Shots

Those are sorted by kudos, from the most popular down to least.

Pretty Blue Puffs of Arcane Smoke

829 words. Silco and Powder discuss getting tattoos. Set in the Fathers and Daughters AU.

Worries, and ways to dispel them & Explosions, and their fallout

5k words total. Silco x Reader two parter, written in the week before season 1's finale. 2nd person gender neutral reader without body description.

Lost Child

3.7k words. Pirate Silco is back in Zaun and trying to avoid Vander. He runs into a lost child called "Cait" at Bridgewaltz market.

The Monster Within & The Monster Without

1.3k words for Monster Within. Post-betrayal Silco recovers and cuts his hair. Based on a fanart by @/Wish. 1.6k words for Monster Without. Set at the same time, but Vander POV as he deals with emotional turmoil after attacking Silco (probably my favourite one shot to this day).

Adoption

1.8k words. Vander and Silco are still brothers. They discuss adopting the girls in this no-betrayal AU.

Beer And Bribery

2k words. Vi & Sevika. Set in the Fathers and Daughters AU. Vi asks Sevika for help picking a present for Silco. Written for the Arcane parenting week event.

Let Me Try

4.3k words. Newest on the list! Arcane season 2 finale fix it. Timebomb... Ekko walks away from the final battle in a daze after learning that Jinx is dead. She isn't, no matter what Vi may believe.

Not Dead Yet & A Friend In Need

3k words total. Jinx finds a dead body in Zaun, but Viktor isn’t quite dead yet. Jinx & Viktor, written prior to season 2 for Sicktember.

Without Questions

627 words. Written for a fanart that is currently down, but hopefully I'll fix it soon. Young Zaundads fluff. Vander doesn’t understand what Silco sees in him, but he’s not willing to question it.

Gun Nerds Of All Nations

3k words. Set in a similar AU to F&D but not actually. Powder & young Caitlyn bond at a fair's shooting competition. Written for the Arcane Parenting Week.

Memories of Sweetness

2k words. Set in the Fathers and Daughters AU. Silco discovers that a staple food of his youth, long thought to have disappeared from Zaun, is back on the streets. He has to share this with Powder and Vi, both born too late to have ever tried it.

No Favourite

1.2k words. Vander claims he doesn't have a favourite among his kids, but they don't see it that way. Written for the Arcane Parenting Week.

Hard Truths

3k words. Ren (Marcus' daughter) tries to find to meaning to her father’s death and ends up meeting Jinx in Zaun.

Blame

830 words. Jinx POV heavy angst. Jinx talks to Silco after his death, until Sevika comes to find her. Written for the Arcane Parenting Week.

A Lesson In Silence

3k words. Set in the Fathers and Daughters AU. Mek (now known as Gustove) takes Powder on a spying mission. Written for the Arcane Parenting Week.

Last Chance

1.3k words. Past Silco/Vander. Missing scene in the cannery, a private conversation between them. Generally bitter sweet and canon compliant.

Son of Zaun

2k words. One day, Silco's mother took him up-top, to see the sky, the sun, and the people who live above them all.

Sepia Smile

732 words. The photograph is faded, its sepia tones keeping the colour of the man's eyes a secret. Vi stares at it for a long time, perplexed. She doesn't understand what Vander saw in him. Written for the Arcane Parenting Week.

A Terrible Gamble

2.3k words. Jinx (and Silco whispering in her mind) set off to rescue Vander from Singed’s lab after the events of season 2.

On Your Head

2.5k words. Alternate retelling of Mel and the young princess' of her memories. In the Princess' POV.

Drunken Dreams

Comic fanart. Jinx brings a drunk Vi home.

Just a cough & Dramatics

685 words for Just a cough. The moment Silco wakes up with a sore throat, he knows he's in trouble with Vander. Written for Sictember. 1k words for Dramatics. Vander sickfic to match.

A Fresh Start

1.9k words. Second person POV where you are brought to a recovering Silco in secret, and give him a haircut and much needed comfort. Gen fic.

Eat You Alive

604 words. Dark!Vi kills Caitlyn as soon as they enter the Lanes.

Maintenance

1.6k words. Explicit. A smutty Mek/Marcus with power dynamics in Silco’s office.

A Haunting

754 words. Heavy angst Vander & Silco meet shortly after the betrayal.

A Touch of Memory

2.2k words. A self-indulgent Star Wars crossover set in the Old Republic with Sith Silco, Jinx and Sevika and Mandalorian Vander. Has links to fanart.

In the Jaws of the Fox

247 words. Mel/Jayce. Mel contemplates the man sprawled in her bed, sleeping insouciantly.

Who Saves The Boy Saviour?

1.3k words. Dark fic!! Jinx captures Ekko post season 1 finale and straps him to the chair Silco used on Vander. Timebomb.

Ragdoll

766 words. A look into young Silco and Vander's budding relationship. It's complicated. With art, made for the Zaundads Zine.

A New Tattoo

968 words. Set in the Fathers and Daughters AU. The story behind Mek’s tattoos.

Five Times Vi Got In Trouble

4.8k words. Vander & Grayson friendship fic done for a charity prize.

Bullseye

500 words. Mel Medarda/Grayson. Mel takes the sheriff with her to visit a progress day and asks her to show off in a shooting range.

My Ko-fi is open for tips, but I'm also open to discuss writing commissions. My DMs are open | Find me on Bsky

[uhuramonth]

OFFICIAL UHURAMONTH 2025 PROMPTS ARE HERE!

Check below the read more for the text versions of the prompts

For the prompts please keep in mind you can do fanfics, fanart, links to promo your own stuff or your fave fics/art recs that match that days prompts.

Please tag us at UHURAMONTH2025 or UHURAMONTH for reblogging purposes.

1. Captain Uhura

2. "Absolutely not my job but I'll do it anyway!"

3. Translation OR Tribbles!

4. Diplomacy OR mirror!verse (TOS)

5. Patience OR Fairytale AU

6. Culture OR coffee shop au

7. Crew OR Found family

8. Fave Uhura ot3 or polycule

9. Top 3 fave ships and why

10. Fave Uhura femslash OR fluffiness

11. Fave Uhura look in TOS

OR Angst

12. Fave Uhura look in SNW

OR Supernatural AU

13. Holiday cheer

14. Secret admirer

15. Top 5 Uhura Fic recs

16. Crossover day (Star Trek x ur other fave media)

17. Magical realism (or straight up Magic AU)

18. Culture clash (Earth Cultures vs Alien cultures)

19. Happy Birthday Uhura!

20. Technobabble (OR carnal pleasures)

21. Gays in Space!!! (OR Uhura as your flavor of LGBTQ+)

22. Time travel shenanigans (OR Uhura as a child)

23. Sports AU OR What sports does Uhura love?

24. Detective AU OR Space Noir

25. Modern AU

26. Free day!!!

27. Top 5 fave Uhura fanarts!  

28. Gender swap Uhura

29. Uhura as a Mom

30. Uhura & Friends (friends & besties)

31. Comment on 5 Uhura fics for a shiny badge!

[thesunlistens]

I really love @gigizetz’s Warrior Penelope AU (for those who don’t know, it’s Epic/The Odyssey but Odysseus and Penelope swap places and some of the other characters swap too) and I have some questions that would have been too long for an ask:

• Is it based more on Epic or the original Odyssey? (If it’s more the original then you can disregard some of my Epic-specific questions.)

• I’ve seen you post a drawing where Ares is Penelope’s mentor (side note: I love that you accurately represent Ares supporting women! It really annoys me when people assume that male+violent=misogynist when actually supporting women is his main trait after violence!) Is Athena still Odysseus’s mentor in this AU? Because I’ve been giggling to myself imagining this happily married couple whose divine mentors are huge rivals and don’t like each other! Like, they would both invite their mentors over whenever they had a party or something and the two gods would spend the whole time glaring at each other while their mentees are in love and oblivious to the tension. It’s making me laugh!

• If this is the case, who does Ares have to convince instead of… well, himself, in God Games? You could just switch them, but if Athena is still Odysseus’s mentor, she wouldn’t really need convincing because she wants him to be happy, and besides, I can’t see her being paired up with Aphrodite. So who takes his place (is it someone else with a connection to Aphrodite, or is it reworked so she and the new god have separate verses?), and what’s their argument?

• I saw that you posted a really cool Iris design with Penelope - am I right in assuming she’s this AU’s version of Hermes since they’re both messenger gods?

• Are Odysseus’s suitors the same people as Penelope’s suitors, or do they swap places with the people who tried to seduce him in the original (Circe and Calypso)? And if it’s the second, how does the slaughter of the suitors work considering that, as Calypso says, goddesses can’t die?

• Are the crew the same people, or does Penelope have her own friends? And if they’re different people, who are they?

• Are there any other characters who swap places? Considering that the roles that are swapped mostly seem to be gender swapped, I can see Cassandra taking the place of Tiresias if her curse ended when she died, but that’s just an idea.

• Have you thought about reworked lyrics, e.g. a few times in Epic, “my wife” is used as the rhyme, what would the rhyme be for “my husband”? Or when the name of a character who’s swapped with another is the rhyme, e.g. what would replace “arena”? (I’m imagining something like “fight if you dare, he’s” something, but again, just an idea.)

• If you haven’t thought about reworked lyrics yet, can I work with you on it? I like writing, especially lyrics!

• Are there any major changes to the plot aside from the role swaps?

[dr-futbol-blog]

Our hero, Major John Sheppard is stationed at McMurdo base in Antarctica at the start of the series. We learn that he likes it there. Sheppard himself tells Teyla in Sateda (S03E04): "Well, that [having no social skills] is why I enjoyed flying choppers in the most remote part of my world before all this craziness."

This is what John Sheppard tells us but we learn that what he tells us is not always the truth and certainly not the whole truth.

The alien AI that created a hallucination from Sheppard's own subconscious in Remnants (S05E15) poses him the question: "You're either someone with a death wish or someone running away from something. So tell me: what are you running away from?" Running away to the most remote part of his world, running away to another galaxy.

In fact, he has both been banished to and self-isolated in the most remote part of his world ("You torture yourself every day, John.") due to his "black mark" acquired in Afghanistan. We are never explicitly told what this black mark was, only that it bothered Gen. O'Neill and was something that Dr. Weir could live with. We are left wondering.

While we are shown something of what happened in Afghanistan during the episode Phantoms (S03E09), through the hallucinations from Sheppard's past of him failing to save Capt. Charlie Holland, it isn't until toward the end of the series that we find out what happened through the mirror of a parallel reality in Vegas (S05E19), where alt!Rodney tells us "You were a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan but were dishonourably discharged for disobeying orders and trying to rescue a field medic trapped behind enemy lines. You were shot down – obviously survived, but unfortunately the crash killed four American soldiers along with eight civilians. You avoided jail time; the record was sealed for various political reasons."

The field medic in the Vegas-verse, one where "infinite variations of our own known reality where alternate versions of you and I play out events", is female; this revealed in a mumbled 'ur' (I didn't even catch it on first viewing even though I knew about the gender swap in advance; it might just as well have been "knew 'em") in alt!Rodney's line: "That field medic – the one you defied orders to go back and try and rescue. You knew her personally. You were... involved."

This was one of the differences between the two realities, perhaps even the most defining one of them, the point of divergence.

Vegas Sheppard dies to the tune of Johnny Cash's Solitary Man because that's what he was, a recluse (and note that the importance of Johnny Cash was underlined in the episode by Sheppard taking nothing but his poster, the same Johnny Cash poster that our Sheppard had in his quarters for all of the five years, with him once he walked away from his job; it carries weight):

I know it's been done havin' one girl who loved me Right or wrong, weak or strong Don't know that I will, but until I can find me The girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me I'll be what I am

But our Sheppard is not a Solitary Man (he has self-confessedly found something of a family in Pegasus). He's the Man in Black (in fact, he is dressed in black throughout the series even in situations where other fatigues would have made more sense; it is only in the very last episode that we see him in lighter colours):

I'd love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything's okay But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back 'Til things are brighter, I'm the man in black

We know the background. When the series begun, DADT was still in full effect, the franchise had a long-standing co-operation with the USAF, Prop 8 was still several years into the future. The non-normative sexual orientation of an All-American Action Hero was never going to be main-text. Even heterosexual romance between characters was mostly eschewed by the franchise. But damn if the subtext doesn't lay it out thick for us.

There are so many obvious parallels and comparisons in the show that I need to write them down somewhere, and while this is a day late and a dollar short, this fandom could do with some meta. So this marks the beginning of my journey through Stargate Atlantis with an eye on its bisexual protagonist.

[ramquest]

Hello Magnus Protocol fan base I come bearing a question.

In this universe different from that of the Archivist universe I ask you one question.

Why is it that all counterparts to the characters we know from the archivist verse are the same as in that universe minus The Horrors (TM) EXCEPT for Gwen Bouchard. She is a gender swapped counterpart to Elias and yet she is to my memory the only character like this in Protocol.

Now it is possible this may have some wider significance or it's just a coincidence but you want to know my answer?

The truth is Elias is a Trans Man during The Magnus Archives who transitioned from Gwen

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[richiesnotaloserguyscmon]

My favourite parts of…

WORKIN BOYS GIRLS A NEW MUSICAL

As I watch it a second time…

Football-But-For-Girls

Hidgens’ six boyfriends

Jeff looking like Colonel Sanders if he was a stressed movie critic

A shameless gender swap

“Alright boys-“ “Girls.” “Right right right, ALRIGHT BOYS!”

Hailey just being Angela in the Hatchetfield Universe

Cameos of my faves: Ted, Richie, Grace and Linda

Ruth being adorable but also a perverted creep

“Do you… want to direct… my show?…”

Ruth finally getting her acting debut… and fucking it up entirely

The fact that there was a whole song about balls

The entire rehearsal montage

“I think all the actresses are dead.” “Good.”

Richie and Grace going to watch the show for their friend… but no sign of Pete? :( not even Nick’s Abstinence Camp Pete??? :((

Hidgens’ trauma dumping and then saying it’s lesser than his failed show

“Those tight little college boys with their long legs and those hourglass figures.” *Enter Ted absolutely dying of laughter.*

LINDA LINDA LINDA and her little look to Gerald made me cry

Ted seeing a show he thinks are about hookers is so Ted even after all the character development he’s had in every show

Richie definitely went for a more natural look

Curt’s Cop and Miss Mulberry at the theatre together

MARIA’S VOCALS

“Fuck me with a goal post.” I will be saying that every day now

BRYCE MY WIFE

Jon as Greg

To be honest any of Jon’s characters just send me into a spiral

Fucking transcendent

How can you play a corpse and still look good

DYLAN AS LEIGHTON?! WHAT?!

Grace reciting a verse from the bible before shooting the shit out of Henry

“I’ve decided to make some last minute… cuts.” 🤝 “I shot a Charlotte-ton!”

I love Hidge’s shitty puns

I love the idea that the whole audience thought it was an ironic statement on gender norms and then everyone is murdered

“ITS DISTRACTING!”

The wow after Grace shot him

I didn’t know whether to cry or be happy when Hidgens died… “A standing ovation” LIKE YOU CANT DO THAT TO ME?!

Linda clapping as everyone screams

The whole film was magnificent really

I think I did list the whole film 😭

[quillandqueer]

Happy Pride Month! | Favourite Queer Books

The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin: A novel in verse set during the Weimar Republic, this is a story set during a time that could have changed the course of Queer history, had it not been lost.

Stars, Hide Your Fires: This is a sapphic heist mystery set in space, very fun and very campy.

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything: A non binary teen bird watcher with anxiety attempts to solve a murder mystery while falling in love with a girl in their birding group, while trying not to get murdered.

Burn: a speculative fiction story, set in an alternate America in the 50s, except there's dragons, a prophecy, and two FBI agents.

Loveless: The first book about aromantic, asexual identity I ever read, showing the confusion of finding yourself in the chaos of college perfectly.

The Black Flamingo: A novel in verse about a mixed-race gay teen, finding joy as a Drag artist.

This Poison Heart: A sapphic romance with plant magic, this has such a strong family bond that I loved.

Teach The Torches To Burn: A Romeo retelling where Romeo instead falls in love with Valentine. This is not a gender swapped Juliet - she makes an appearance in this story too, and there's a bit of a Found Family Vibe.

Milo and Marcos at the End of the World: the closer Milo and Marcos get, the more disasters seem to befall them. Is there a larger, unseen force at play, trying to keep them apart? And if so, is their love worth risking the end of the world?

[fandomnerd9602]

Petra Parker walks past Y/N Stark and Harley Keener at the compound…

Y/N: Parker I hate to see you go but I love watching you leave

Petra turns around…

Petra: so tell me Stark, did you shove a missile down your pants or are you just happy to see me? Either ways, I’ll take care of it later (winks)

Y/N:

Harley: your humor rubbed off on her

Y/N: I wish she would rub off on me

Harley: what?

Y/N: what?

[spnficrecfest]

detailed schedule and themes

here you’ll find more info about the prompts. these are open to interpretation — if you’re not sure if something fits the theme, add it anyway!

most days have two options to choose from. you are not restricted to only one prompt on those days. feel free to rec something for both, or combine them!

i added suggestions for some prompts in case you're having trouble thinking of anything in particular, but of course you can always put everything in one post/list (for example, all your beloved AU fics instead of focusing on one specific kind)

august 1 — specific era or season

suggestions: pre-series, soulless!sam, heaven fic, dean's time in hell, late seasons, dean’s time in purgatory, demon blood era, god!castiel

august 4 — kinks or whump

kink suggestions: car or public sex, bondage, lactation, scent kink, the gentle holding of hands, a/b/o, biting, phone sex, pregnancy, size kink, first time, wing fic, cross-dressing, marking, dub-con, voyeurism, wounds

august 7 — short fics or long fics

short fics: anything with less than 3k words long fics: anything with more than 50k words (don’t get too hung up on the suggested word count; if a fic you really love and want to include has 3.5k words or only 49k, just throw it in there as well.)

august 10 — AUs and crossovers

suggestions: space/future, demon!dean, merpeople, non-hunting au, always-a-different-gender, cowboys, unrelated au, end!verse, serial killers, canon divergence, age swaps

august 13 — poly ships or rarepairs

for the purposes of this fest, i define “rarepairs” as anything besides sam/dean and dean/cas. suggestions: sam/dean/cas, jess/sam, anna/ruby, dean/john, claire/jack, sam/lucifer, dean/benny/cas, crowley/bobby, jody/donna, azazel/john, dean/omc, meg/castiel

august 16 — case fics

august 19 — tropes or outsider pov

tropes suggestions: fluff, bed-sharing, curtain fic, fake dating, mistaken for dating, (love) curse, fuck or die, enemies to lovers, amnesia, first time in a long time, death fic, holidays, time loops, dark fic, accidental baby acquisition, huddling for warmth, sick fic, hurt/comfort

august 22 — G/T-rated and gen fics

gen suggestions: character studies, religion, trauma, found family, humor/crack, platonic relationships

august 25 — vintage fics or recent fics

vintage fics: anything published before season 6 (mid-2010) recent fics: anything published since 2022 (feel free to define both of these terms differently, this is only a suggestion.)

august 28 — episode codas or formats

specific episode suggestions: mystery spot, about a boy, free to be you and me, it's a terrible life, lebanon, the end, red meat, what is and what should never be, despair, sex and violence, hello cruel world

format suggestions: chat fic, 5+1 things, epistolaries, poetry, screenplays, anything unique and special you’ve come across

august 31 — all time favorites or free space

the grand finale: the crème de la crème. the stuff you want everyone and their mother to read. or: all the fics that didn’t fit into any of the other sections!

[mariacallous]

Is a five-year age gap in a relationship a little untoward? What about a three-year gap?

On social media, Gen Zers ― at least those who are chronically online ― are constantly debating the ethics of age gaps. Even if some relationships are perfectly legal, that doesn’t necessarily make them ethical, many say.

It’s little wonder then that age-disparate relationships are cause for so much conversation: Having grown up alongside the #MeToo movement, Generation Z is well versed in unbalanced power dynamics and the language of consent. And lately, there’s been plenty of celebrity pairings to interrogate.

There’s the obviously icky examples, like the recent, short-lived romance between Aoki Lee Simmons — Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons’ 21-year-old daughter — and restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65. Earlier this month, viral photos showed the pair flouncing around on vacation in St. Barts.

Yes, they’re both consenting adults, but it was still unseemly, critics said. If anything, the argument that they’re both of age is “something groomers cling to,” as one young woman on Threads put it.

“Adulthood was meant to signify voting/draft age,” she wrote. “But everyone knows your prefrontal cortex is not fully formed at this age.” (This difference between so-called brain age and chronological age ― you might be 21 but your brain is undeveloped! ― often gets brought up in these kinds of conversations.)

There are gender-swapped examples too, like actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, a now-married couple who met while working on a 2009 John Lennon biopic called “Nowhere Boy.” At the time, he was in his late teens and she was a mother of two in her early 40s.

“I didn’t relate to anyone my age,” the actor told The Telegraph in 2019, reflecting on when they first met. “I just feel that we’re on the same wavelength.”

Some fans aren’t convinced. “We def aren’t talking about male grooming victims enough and this is literally proof,” one person wrote in a highly shared TikTok video about their coupling.

Then there’s the less expected critiques: Is four years too much of an age gap? “At 25, I wouldn’t even date a 21 year old,” reads one tweet with around 80,000 likes.

What about 10 years? Fans of Billie Eilish were up in arms in 2022 when the then-20-year-old singer revealed that she was dating fellow musician Jesse Rutherford, who was in his early 30s. One viral tweet about the 10-year age gap reads: “jesse rutherford was alive during george h w bush’s presidency . billie eilish cannot legally drink.”

Long-established relationships aren’t safe, either. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s 11-year gap has been scrutinized. And recently, Beyhive members have begun debating whether Beyoncé was “groomed” because she was 19 when she started dating Jay-Z, who was in his early 30s.

Noncelebrity couples are getting called out, too. “I was 19. My now husband was 27. My now 13yo child calls him my ‘predator,’” one woman wrote on Threads alongside laughing emoji, probably only half-joking.

Why Gen Z Seems To Have Such An Aversion To Age Gaps

Is Gen Z just more prudish on this subject than prior generations?

Not necessarily, said Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and the host of the “Sex and Psychology Podcast.” He’s been studying age-gap relationships for roughly 20 years and said the stigma around age-disparate relationships is long-standing.

In 2008 ― when terms like “cradle robber” and “cougar” were bandied around a lot more than they are now ― Lehmiller co-authored a study that found age-discrepant couples reported experiencing significantly more social disapproval than people in gay or interracial couples.

So the discomfort around these types of relationships isn’t anything new. What is new, according to Lehmiller, is how comfortable Gen Z feels about publicly and vocally disapproving of these relationships ― even on people’s personal Instagram pages. (Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson recently spoke out against the “bizarre” online judgment they’ve received. Eilish and Rutherford brushed off the criticism from overly concerned fans by dressing up as a baby and an old man one Halloween.)

“To some in Gen Z, age-gap relationships read as being inherently exploitative because they perceive age discrepancies as necessarily creating a power imbalance that favors the older partner,” Lehmiller told HuffPost.

What’s also changed is which parties tend to receive the brunt of the judgment. In the past, people were often scornful of both the younger and older partners in these relationships. Historically, the younger partners, especially when they were women, endured labels like “gold digger” ― with the implication that they were the ones doing the exploiting. That terminology doesn’t always fly with Gen Z.

“That perception seems to have largely disappeared when you look at what Gen Z is saying,” Lehmiller noted. “They seem to cast the younger partners as victims who are being preyed upon or ‘groomed.’”

Gigi Engle, a certified sex and relationship psychotherapist and resident intimacy expert for dating app 3Fun, worries that the term “grooming” is being overapplied and losing its meaning.

“The narrative is really toxic here and in many other cases,” she told HuffPost. “Trans people are groomers, gay people are groomers, older people dating younger people are groomers ― and this just isn’t accurate. It’s a really fear-mongering time we live in.”

Gen Z may be hyperfocused on this because of their age: If you’re a 35-year-old woman, you’re probably less hung up on the idea of a 50-year-old guy expressing interest in you.

“I think younger people may be more susceptible to manipulation and are therefore more afraid of it,” Engle said. “The reality is, age-gap relationships have been happening since humans have existed, and it is absolutely not some one-size-fits-all. In the vast majority of relationships like this, nothing untoward is happening.”

Here’s What Gen Z Has To Say About Age Gaps

Talking to actual Gen Zers, you’ll find that their opinions on age gaps run the gamut. As with most things, their takes on the subject are much more nuanced than those found on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, would have you believe.

That said, many are genuinely bothered by age gaps. While the #MeToo movement gave them the language to talk about power imbalances, some 20-somethings say their opinions are more colored by their own personal experiences.

Layla — a 23-year-old who asked to use her first name only for privacy reasons, like others in this story — thinks it’s better to date within your own age group, ideally within a two- or three-year range.

“When I was around 21 and 22, I tried talking to guys who were 30 and over but soon realized it wasn’t right,” she told HuffPot. “They had so much more life experiences than me, and it was awkward being from different generations.”

Layla said she’d tried to joke and laugh about certain things ― a meme or a TikTok video ― and got a lot of blank stares. She wasn’t a fan of their humor, either: A date recounting the umpteenth “Seinfeld” episode or that one “Step Brothers” scene gets a little old after a while.

“Trying to relate to one another just didn’t work out, and it felt awkward and wrong,” she said.

“I believe a relationship between an 18- and 25-year-old is problematic,” Layla said, noting that this applies regardless of gender.

“I actually wish women got called out for their predatory behavior, too,” she said. “It almost seems like no one wants to hold women accountable.”

Mona, a 21-year-old college student in Georgia, even finds her own parents’ 11-year age gap a little “predatory”: Her dad was in his late 30s and a divorced father of one when he met her mom, who was in her late 20s and didn’t have children.

Mona would date someone three years older. She wouldn’t consider going younger, though. “I do think that an 18- and 25-year-old together is unacceptable,” she said.

She is particularly weirded out when she hears people talk about how their partner basically raised them or taught them “how to be a woman,” as Beyoncé said to Jay-Z in a 2006 birthday toast that went viral recently.

Mona is also wary of anyone who almost exclusively dates young people ― the Leonardo DiCaprios of the world. Every time the 49-year-old actor gets a new girlfriend, a graph highlighting the fact that each of his ex-girlfriends has been 25 or under starts circulating again.

“Any respectable adult would have the common sense that pursuing a teenager is extremely weird, and I also believe it says a lot about the headspace of the older person,” the 21-year-old said.

Mona also thinks the COVID-19 pandemic might’ve been a factor in Gen Zers’ apprehension over age gaps. They might technically be 21, but given that weird few-year pause, they don’t feel it.

“You hear about how we’re mentally the same age that we were when the pandemic first started,” she said. “That might play a role in why some people are not settling on older people pursuing them ― you feel you’re still too young.”

Not everyone agrees. Rei, a 22-year-old who is queer, said they don’t find age-disparate relationships inherently problematic. They said there’s a lot more than age that gives people power over each other, and if you consider five years an “age-gap relationship” then Rei is currently in one.

“Though my partner is older than me, I have a college degree and she doesn’t,” they said. “So arguably I have a better financial and career outlook that would make me the ‘abusive one,’ if you’re using that language.”

Age gaps may be more common in the queer community, Rei said. “I don’t know a gay guy who hasn’t been with someone much older than him,” they said. “It’s just normal to us.”

Problematic dynamics can exist no matter the age. “People now don’t know what grooming is and just use the term as synonymous with age gaps,” Rei said.

To some extent, Rei sees the hubbub over age gaps as an overcorrection of the mores ushered in by the #MeToo movement.

“People overadjust and assume that any relationship out of the norm is abusive,” they said. “In my experience, people who feel age gaps are problematic are also the same people who argue the internet is harmful and should be censored because they had a bad experience as a kid. Your experience isn’t universal.”

For Amelia, 24, actual age matters less than the stage of life you’re in. She figures if you’re a relatively accomplished 28-year-old dating an accomplished 40-year-old, what’s the big deal? The word “grooming” really only applies when an adult is introduced to a future partner when they’re underage, Amelia said.

She cited the relationship between Dane Cook and his wife as an “egregious” example of a questionable age gap. (The now-52-year-old comedian met Kelsi Taylor at a game night he hosted when she was in her late teens.)

“Do I think it’s possible for people like that to have a healthy and happy relationship? Sure,” Amelia said. “But the older I get, my desire to talk to high schoolers grows slimmer and slimmer. I really can’t put myself in the shoes of someone who would want to befriend a high schooler.”

That said, Amelia thinks that some Gen Zers take their judgment too far. To her, the concern over age gaps seems like a weirdly “paternalistic” brand of feminism, where women feel the need to protect women from men.

“It’s similar to how Swifties treat Taylor Swift,” she said, referring to the now-34-year-old pop star.

“You have young women ‘looking out for’ a billionaire woman in her 30s. I’m a fan of Taylor Swift, but I don’t think she needs protecting from Travis Kelce because Travis Kelce got in the face of his NFL coach during the Super Bowl.”

The anti-age-gap sentiment held by many plays into the “puriteen” narrative that’s been inescapable lately. Online, there’s a lot of hand-wringing over Gen Zers’ seeming aversion to sex: Studies show that they’re having less of it than earlier generations and that they don’t want sex scenes in their movies.

Though Amelia overall disagrees with age-gap critics ― she feels like their arguments rob women of their agency, she said ― she gets where those in her peer group are coming from.

“The majority of us had unsupervised internet access from a young age. We were in chatrooms, on Tumblr, and other various corners of the internet that we probably should not have been on at that age,” she said. “It was easy for grown men on the internet to reach us if they wanted to.”

If you’ve been oversexualized at a young age ― or seen others in your age bracket be oversexualized ― that experience is understandably going to shape how you perceive these kinds of things, Amelia said.

But the reality is, there are likely just as many happy May-December unions as there are disappointing ones. “Believe it or not, we often see more ― not less ― equity in these relationships,” Lehmiller noted.

All of the Gen Zers we spoke to said that ultimately, two consenting adults can do whatever they want in their private lives, even if others find it off-putting.

“Men can like women that are younger and not be a creep,” Amelia said. “He also can be a creep, but some random person with a Twitter cartoon avatar shouldn’t necessarily be the judge of that!”

[beautyconsumer]

so i realized writing a fic in which unpacked trauma is dealt with and is planned to have characterizations closer to canon is gonna be heavy as duck,

so now i gotta write some humor/fluff to balance it, it still gonna have drama because that's how I am so-

Please help me decide what to write alongside the body swap fic

More info on each promt in the cut

The Robins and Bees Talk. Batfam alpha/beta/omega dynamics fluff but with a tint of gender analysis in the form of abo verse, protective batfamily (especially Dick) and jaygrant being horney af

Of Paws and Claws. Fluff, so much fluff and Good Dad Bruce Wayne, pack dynamics and Wilson's drama

Heartbeat Song. Fluff and awkward teeneagers being in love, familiy drama. Self discovery, featuring team cheerleader captain Dick Grayson, theater kid-book nerd Jason. internalized homophobia on Grant's part and so much teeneage awkwardness oh my God. Grant bullies everyone but Jason type of dynamic

Egoist. Jason and Dick teaming up with a recently reconciled Grant and Slade but when they meet Dick and Slade feel tension between Jason and Grant.

At this point Jason and Grant are bitter exes who broke up because Grant fucked up but both still love each other so very much. Slade and Dick are hilariously unaware of this and just think they can't stand each other. In this one Slade actually tries.

Iridiscent tears Mermaid au where Bruce adopts his mer kids. Being a hybrid himself from Martha's side.

Has a heartbreak over Jason leaving (cause Bruce Wayne has abandonment issues). Jason’s species' instincts makes him want to leave for years to mature (a la Jason’s death) Arthur in the one who tells him this.

I'm planning on including Atlantis lore in this one along Gotham type of vibes for the mer lore of the robins. Jason comes back home with a partner, and yes you guessed it, it's Grant. I'd play with a lot of merfolk culture and biology (no mpreg tho lol) but I do plan on giving Jason and Grant kids in this one

Like a bat out of hell 5 times in where Bruce meets his son's boyfriend, he hates him until he doesn't. Comedy, drama and obvs JayGrant

Same Kind of Eyes. In which Grant thinks he's cheating on his very hot and very rich boyfriend Jayce Wayne with the hot, tall, dark and handsome Red Hood. Jason thinks Grant is role playing.

[welcomingdisaster]

Firstborn women is fascinating. How exactly does it change the dynamics or the canon events? And more importantly, lesbian Russingon?

lesbian russingon yess!! here is. a tiny little fraction of the dynamics in that verse, namely the finwe-feanor-fingolfin-turgon-fingon mess

okay so. for the sake of this au, we are swapping every single firstborn son to a firstborn daughter. for those who wed (which is just fëanor), their spouses also swap to fit most easily into the au

also for the take of this post i'm not swapping anyone's name around. but i DO know they are gendered and would swap them if i actually wrote this

so, finwe's beloved baby from his first marriage is a daughter. his first child from his second marriage a son. this creates a very natural dynamic of intense jealousy between them, where feanor expects that fingolfin is going to get everything as the first-born son and she will get nothing

she is also the clear favorite, an extremely controversial figure in court, and a genius. usual feanor stuff, but take it up to eleven with the tendency to break social norms + inheritance angst

eventually finwe announces that he is changing the law to make a one-time exception to allow his eldest daughter to be crown prince rather than his son. no this will not apply to any other woman in valinor. this is the special princess law for his specialest princess

you can imagine fingolfin's feelings re: this. he says nothing but deep down is extremely frustrated at the blatant favoritism, and feels his father would never do something like that for him

[time passes i am skipping over a lot of stuff to get to the point]

cut to: fingolfin's own family. in this case, eldest daughter fingon, middle child and only boy turgon, little aredhel.

fingon is very much fingolfin's favorite kid, as i believe is true for usual canonverse also

but he's raged!! a million times over!! about how unfair it is to show special favor to the eldest. he will not be his father in this. he will stick to his own ideas of fairness & the law. he is very much raising turgon to be the heir (even as he secretly wants to give fingon everything) and he's weirdly resentful of turgon re: this.

fingon is also kinda resentful of turgon re: this. if they had all been daughters, there would be no problem and she'd just be the heir presumptive, but he has to go and be a boy. fucking ugh

you can imagine why turgon fucks off to gondolin