#i do think they are in modern times though

[maniculum]

Hear me out: this is a mostly plausible alternate history alphabet.

The places where this one is wrong are all the most RECENT changes to the English alphabet.* So clearly we’re looking at an alternate history with a point of divergence sometime around the late medieval / early modern period. It's got to be a post-printing-press era because the handful of letters that occurred in English but not Latin during the medieval period are all absent, and the development of the printing press was the final push that made English drop them.**

First, ⟨j⟩ wasn’t invented in this timeline. Note that ⟨j⟩ is a very recent letter; there’s no attestation of it being used to represent a distinct sound before the 16th century, and that idea didn’t make it into English until the 17th century. Before then, ⟨i⟩ was doing extra duty. ⟨j⟩ actually developed from a variant of ⟨i⟩ — if you’re familiar with the “long s”, it’s like if someone decided that we should split it off as its own letter, so e.g. ⟨s⟩ made the /s/ sound and ⟨ſ⟩ made the /ʃ/ sound.*** There was a conventional usage where sometimes you'd put a little hook on the ⟨i⟩ depending on its position in the word, just like the long s was position-dependent, and we turned the hooked ⟨i⟩ into ⟨j⟩.

Second, ⟨w⟩ developed differently. Now, ⟨w⟩ as its own letter is also recent, BUT there was already a substantial history of people using a literal double-u -- ⟨uu⟩ -- to represent that sound. However, the differentiation between ⟨u⟩ and ⟨v⟩ is also quite recent, following similar logic to the ⟨i⟩ and ⟨j⟩ thing from above, and developing around the same timeframe, which is why even though we call ⟨w⟩ a "double-u" in English, it looks more like a double-v (and in fact some languages call it that). At the time we named it, those were functionally the same thing; whether the name solidified as "double-u" or "double-v" was pretty much arbitrary. Anyway, you could interpret this alternate alphabet as having split ⟨w⟩ in two at the same time they split ⟨u⟩ and ⟨v⟩: perhaps the ⟨w⟩ with the blob in the middle could represent a "crossed" ⟨w⟩.**** If you want a speculative usage of the second ⟨w⟩ (which we could name "double-v"), I propose that one could represent /w/ and the other could represent /ʍ/.***** Of course, if I were designing an alphabet that split ⟨w⟩, I'd literally do a double-u and a double-v, so that the two characters were ⟨ɯ⟩ and ⟨w⟩.

The semicolon is a tough one, and the reason I described this as MOSTLY plausible. The only possible explanation I can advance is that its inclusion is inspired by the history of the ampersand, ⟨&⟩. For a time, ⟨&⟩ was included as a letter of the English alphabet, usually listed at the end. One could imagine the designer of this alternate alphabet as deciding that they also wanted to change things up by including a punctuation mark, and picking ⟨;⟩. But of course this is misguided, because in fact ⟨&⟩ isn't a punctuation mark; it's a ligature of ⟨et⟩, and I believe technically it qualifies as a logogram.

* I specify "English" because I am not up on the history of orthographical innovation in other languages that use the Latin alphabet. I’m sure there have been more recent changes in other languages’ implementation of the Latin alphabet, but these are the most recent changes that apply to English.

** When Europeans first started making movable type, it was designed to print Latin, so letters not in Latin weren’t available, meaning printed texts couldn’t have ⟨ð⟩, ⟨þ⟩, ⟨ƿ⟩, or ⟨ȝ⟩. Some Norse languages held onto ⟨ð⟩ and/or ⟨þ⟩ anyway and eventually people did make type for them, but English ditched them pretty quickly. To my knowledge no current writing system uses ⟨ƿ⟩ or ⟨ȝ⟩; ⟨ƿ⟩ didn't seem to fully catch on even in the medieval period, and I don't think ⟨ȝ⟩ was ever in use outside of the British Isles. English orthography was kind of already phasing out its extra letters even before printing arrived, so they never had a chance.

*** For people who don’t know IPA, /ʃ/ is the sound English currently represents with ⟨sh⟩. English apparently decided that “add an ⟨h⟩” was the basic solution to differentiating any two consonant sounds, as likewise it replaced ⟨ð⟩/⟨þ⟩ with ⟨th⟩ and ⟨ȝ⟩ with ⟨gh⟩.

**** Annoyingly, there's no Unicode symbol for "crossed W", but it's the style that they use in the Wikipedia logo if you want an example. The two ⟨V⟩s overlap in a kind of x shape instead of meeting at a point in the middle.

***** The phoneme /ʍ/ does occur in English, but it's a little hard for me to describe because it's fallen out of a lot of dialects, including my own. If you pronounce ⟨w⟩ and ⟨wh⟩ differently, your ⟨wh⟩ is probably /ʍ/.

One of the greatest Tweets and it hasn't even existed for 24 hours

[earthnashes]

SOOOOOOOO. Arcane season 2, huh? Now that a couple of days have passed for me to marinate I think I'm ready to share my thoughts on the season. This WILL contain spoilers though so if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching for yourself first!

So! Overall, as a standalone season I feel like there are things Arcane excelled at and things that have lost its way a bit. For starters and easily the best part of the show: it's visuals. I've heard some complaints about how much the show cost but like. Brother. When I think of super expensive shows, THIS is what I think it should look like. At no point did I question the budget because it's made abundantly clear every penny is used to best use it could possibly get. And it resulted in what I've been calling a modern greek statue: a marvel, an incredible tapestry of just about every art medium you can think of woven into something so beyond anything I've seen in animation I have a hard time finding the appropriate words to express exactly how much I'm taken by it. This is a clear example of what art IS man and jesus christ. It's mindblowing. I can't praise the show enough for that, like it's literally the best looking thing I've ever seen in media.

Same with the sound design and music, particularly in the battle scenes. Something about the energy behind the sounds, like the clacking of Vi's gloves as shes revving up for a punch, or the reverb of metal clashing, the sound of how blows connect. Even the little things, like the distinct difference between footsteps, or the glitch-like sound that spiders in the backround before shimmer or the arcane is utilized? Like CHEF'S KISS BRO. God almighty it tickles a part in my head.

Just the visuals and sound design is fuckin tasty bro. A solid 1000000000/10

So now Characters. Season 2 managed to take the existing characters and really built off of what was already there. In my opinion the characters, particularly the main players, received additional depth and evolution in a way that made sense in the long run, and the conclusions they reached in their arcs felt like a correct conclusion. However, it's how they got there and how fast they get there being one of my complaints.

For starters: the love triangle between Jinx, Vi, and Caitlyn. I didn't appreciate how, for the most part, it felt like it took a backseat in this season when it was one of the driving forces of season 1. It's not JUST them though: the relationships of every character kinda fell away to the wayside for the sake of getting through as much of the plot as possible, but we're on these three right now so:

-I feel like a PROPER recouncil between Vi and Jinx was sorely needed. There were hints to it, particularly in Act 2, but we were kinda left guessing and having to fill the majority of the gaps ourselves. One of Vi's driving factors as a character is her relationship with Jinx/Powder; her unable to accept that she's changed in her absence. Act 2 opened the door in allowing Vi to learn about Jinx as she is and come to terms that, even if she's changed, she's still her sister and there's a chance to bridge that gap. Vice versa to Jinx, particularly because of Isha's presence; I have to assume by becoming an older sister herself, she begins to get an understanding of Vi she previously lacked and that really could've been a stronger catalyst in her recounciling with her. Had the sisters actually got more on-screen time together and really let the hope between them breath, I feel like the ending would've had a much stronger impact.

-Cait/Vi, as much as I enjoy the pairing, felt a little too disjointed. Act 1 was the strongest showcase of their relationship; a sudden escalation driven by mutual grief and attraction and genuine care only to be torn apart immediately after because of Cait's blind rage. Cinema. Beautiful. But immediately after, we don't really see either character work off that much in my opinion. Vi does have a spiral that was very well shown, though I do wish we saw more of Pit Vi and her descent.

As far as Cait goes I would've preferred seeing her spiraling in her own way; with how the third episode of Act 1 ended, I felt like the show was gearing up to showcase how much she allows her hunt for vengeance cloud her mind and take over her life, to do things her mother would have not approved of. Like bro she was so SURE she wouldn't miss (immediately after missing every shot she took up to that point) that she was willing to potentially kill a child for it. Ain't no way she wasn't constantly frothing at the mouth for some time, wallowing in Vi's apparent "betrayal" and in the grief of her mother's death. I DO like how she is seen questioning her actions but it just feels like a tiny snapshot. Had they continued with showing her questioning what, exactly, the hell she's doing (while continuing to go on with her reign), then seeing not just Vi but also how her actions has widened the rift between Piltover and Zaun, her finally being able to break herself off would've felt more weighty.

"What are you shooting for, young Kiramman?" Grayson once asked. I can't help but feel like that line could have had some very strong carry-through into this season; not only giving a proper callback to Grayson as Cait's mentor(?) but also cement Cait's inner turmoil between blinded by revenge, but growing to dislike what she's turned into to get it.

And the sex scene. Particularly WHERE the sex scene occurred, immediately after Jinx heavily implied offing herself to "break the cycle". Vi isn't stupid. I felt like it was extremely clear what Jinx was alluding to, and it seemed like Vi understood that with how she asked "What are you gonna do?" She sounded terrified and desperate. She has SEEN Jinx be suicidal in this season first hand, was all but directly asked by Jinx to put her out of her misery herself. You're telling me she immediately bones the shit outta Cait right after Jinx scampers off and seems to forget it?? I dunno man. :/ I wouldn't remove the fuckfest, but in my opinion there were better places to put it.

And overall in terms of the characters as a whole, there was just too many gaps and too little time. Vander felt like he was underutilized, particularly his clear fight in trying to get a hold of his humanity; could've really used him to push the running theme of people can change, but they're still the same person at their very core.

Heimerdinger got shafted I feel like. He had such a strong impact in S1, only for his death to be... well. Forgotten.

Mel's storyline was way too fucking short. Love the powers she got but they ultimately felt unearned; I feel like we could've spent way more time on her learning to control it to some extent. Her whole shtick in being cunning and one step ahead of everyone (much like her mother) could've played a stronger part here too, particularly because I don't remember the Black Rose being explained much, so it would've been nice to see Mel put her strengths into play to find out for herself and give her a more active role in her ability to fight back.

Ambessa was anticlimactic and I didn't appreciate how she ultimately perished. I wanted her to die, don't get me wrong, but the war in general felt waaaaay too short and her death too easy. I appreciate they didn't go full evil with her, and made her an embodiment of Singe's quote of "doing horrendous things in the name of love", but it kinda felt like her initial plot of using hextech to fight the Black Rose (I could be wrong here but that is what it felt like she ultimately wanted) kinda got... forgotten?

Victor's progression is the only one that felt mostly natural in it's pacing. But again, with how unstoppable his robot pawns were, I felt like they really robbed the final battle of any significant weight to it; Zaun and Piltover, fighting as one against a common enemy. One of the biggest payoffs in the show... felt underwheming and, again, unearned.

And the new characters didn't really get much chance to do much of anything. Loris felt like an important parallel to Vander given how many times he was shown to look and sorta act like him. I felt like he had a bigger role to fill but just ended up bodied. Maddie, at least, had somethin interesting goin on but I feel like she could've been made more impactful in her betrayal.

Overall, a mid 5/10. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely needed more time to really flesh everything out.

And finally, the plot. I personally really enjoyed the overall plot and it's opposing themes to season 1. Whereas s1 felt like "love is undoing" and veered into tragedy, s2 felt like "love is healing" and veered into hope; the sisters learning to accept one another, Vi and Cait mending the rift between each other, Victor and Jayce finding their way back to one another. Isha giving Jinx purpose and a new perspective on life, Vander returning and, even if briefly, managing to regain his humanity for his daughters, the list goes on. It's such a beautiful contrast to season 1, but that is part of why I strongly feel like Arcane NEEDED one more season.

Season 2 was too focused on getting as much story out as possible that it didn't allow the characters themselves to push it forward, and it was weakened for it. Had there been three seasons, Act 1 and Act 2 could have been the entirety of season 2, and Act 3 could have been the whole of a season 3, where we get to see the total climax of everything that occurred. Given the rumors of there being a strong interest for an animated movie (and I have a theory that it might be to continue the story of Arcane in some way), that might help with some of the contingencies if it's true, but that's only if the movie actually comes to fruition.

As it currently stands, my biggest critique of Season 2 was switching focus on making the plot drive the story, when instead it really should've continued the trend from Season 1 in letting the characters drives the story forward.

_______

My meds is beginning to kick in and I'm getting drowsy from it so I'll leave it here for now! TLDR: Arcane Season 2 was mostly good. I have my fair bit of complaints and thoughts on how I'd personally structure everything, but a a whole, pretty good! It's one of those shows where I would personally recommend everyone watch from start to finish to at least experience it in its entirety yourself.

Season 2 Rating: 7.5/10

[rusted-fairy-wings]

literally nobody asked for this butttttt….

Here are my HCs for what everyone would be studying if I were to do a Ninjago College AU because if I have to suffer so do they!

Zane: culinary arts. I think if he didn’t have to worry about saving the world all the time, he’d love to just cook for people as a job.

Nya: engineering. Specifically mechanical engineering. She’s already got a clear inclination for it, and we love to see a woman in STEM.

Jay: engineering again, but this time electrical. I feel like that one’s for obvious reasons. Just combines his inventing/STEM interests with his powers.

Cole: double major in psychology and art. I’m a big fan of artist Cole, and it’s something I think he’d really focus on if he had the time. Psychology because he’s grounded enough to consider the idea that art may not lead him to a lucrative career even if he wants it to. He wants to help others. Specifically I could see him studying child psychology.

Kai: hear me out—political science but with the intention of going to law school. He has a very strong sense of justice and would want to make things he sees wrong with the world right. He wants to be the type of lawyer that sticks up for the little guy.

Lloyd: sorry but we’re skipping Lloyd because in a modern/college AU there’s no tomorrow’s tea and he’s still in high school. He has no clue yet what he wants. He’s considering studying astronomy though. But he’s kinda like “this is a future me problem” and a bit scared to think about his future.

Pixal: computer science girly!! She loves coding and finds it relaxing, so she thinks “why not do this?”. She accidentally stays up til 3 am sometimes because she’s genuinely having so much fun on her studies.

Skylor: like Zane, culinary arts. She wants to own her own restaurant one day. Zane is the first of our 6 ninja she meets and befriends in this AU because of this.

[sturionic]

🔥🔥HILDEGARD VON BINGEN MENTIONED🔥🔥

No this is genuinely true though. And then you have people who actually lived their lives in a way one could retroactively label as 'modern' or 'progressive,' but they wouldn't have been outspoken about it or framed it in those terms themselves. They may even be on the record reinforcing the ideals of their time.

Clara Schumann comes to mind. Prolific composer, arguably the best concert pianist of her time, extremely influential voice in shaping the philosophical discussions underpinning Romantic music, well-respected music teacher whose influence on technique persists to this day. She's frequently programmed in the sorts of 'girl power' concerts that music orgs put on to fill their representation quotas for grant writing (sorry for the cynicism, the shit I've heard on artistic planning committees...)

Clara herself, though, didn't have a whole lot to say about gender roles or her own experience with them. I've written several very detailed papers about Clara and it's just...not a focus for her. In fact she's on record saying - AND I QUOTE - 'a woman must not desire to compose.' She then follows this up with, 'there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?' Certainly not a Powerful Feminist Statement. Meanwhile around the same time, her husband Robert was the one lamenting her lost potential: 'She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out,' he wrote. Clara tended not to even acknowledge her own compositions, instead publishing them under her husband's name or hiding them in his collections, and most of them were discovered after her death.

Interestingly enough, if you're looking for a composer who was passionately dedicated to the cause of women in music and outspoken about it, you're actually looking for Vivaldi.

Genuinely 90% of historical fiction would be so much better if more writers could get more comfortable with the fact that to create a good story set in a different time period you do actually have to give the characters beliefs & values which reflect that time period

[venomous-qwille]

A very good one to start with, very curious about your thoughts:

🌒 - Do you prefer Sun & Moon to be separate animatronics or share the same body?

And

💬 - How would you describe this AU to a friend who wasn’t in the DCA fandom?

I'm also curious if you've ever been seen at work, working on your AU, has anyone questioned you and how did you explain (if at all)

Very in awe of GITM. You're an amazing artist.

Oooh so, I like both. In GITM I have some bots who are dual ai and others who aren't- I think that both options have their own unique narrative interest. My main preferred take is that 'canon' they are dual AI. There is lots of lore in GITM though about why they stopped making suns and moons in the same body! Gosh how would I describe gitm to a non DCA person ahaha... I've had to do this a bunch of times actually. How it usually goes is: Oh my story is a retro-future ghost story that fucks around with philosophy, death and robots and what it means for a machine to die, or like, how to find meaning in your life when you are living past your sell-by date. It follows a mechanic who is plagued by visions of the past while they fix a bunch of old entertainment robots. Sort of modern horror fantasy. Yeah. Yeah well people like it cause they want to kiss the robots. Yeah. Yeah no, I know its weird, yeah. No. It's probably not your sort of thing.

LMAO Ahh, the perils of professional concept work. I don't do any personal art on my work equipment because I dont ever want the company I work for to lay claim to any of the content I make </3 Same goes with google docs I'm afraid, no writing GITM on my lunch break :(

[northopalshore]

Are you familiar with Ascendant Persona Charts?

♀ Ascendant persona charts are very interesting. It's like an extended version of your personality, in the eyes of the people around you. But also, you can sort of see the signs features manifest onto your appearance. I think it's really fun to look at lmao.

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

Though I've noticed that in some charts, they tend to manifest later in life. Like after said person gains some sort of consciousness or after a particular phase. In all reality however, it's exactly what you'd expect it to be. The extended version of your single, the one that comes before the album lmao.

╔════════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ════════╗

In my asc pc, I'm a Taurus rising (°8 Scorpio). Destinn (°28 cancer) & Briede (°29 leo) are also here. It probably means I'll be perceived as a wifey somewhere down the line. Though I sure as hell ain't just my FS's wife. You'll see what I mean lmao. I'm a diva in my own right.

╚════════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ════════╝

I love going into persona charts since there's always this added layer of depth into your identity. You're a multilayered cake! I'm not calling you an onion even if it's tempting. I ain't Shrek. 🎂

Should I do an analysis on my ascendant persona chart as a guide? If you look at my asc pc, then the existence of my blog & my interest aren't a surprise lmao especially with that 11th house stellium & venus, groom in the 10th house. I'll add other examples as well.

Michael Jackson:

Is an Aquarius rising (°3 Gemini) in his asc persona chart. He has both Chiron (°23 aquarius ) & Briede (°28 cancer) in Aquarius here, as well as Sun (°10 Capricorn ), Boda (°2 Taurus) & Europa (°0) in Pisces.

He's literally a star lmao. A woman's man, if you will. Women tend to trust him instinctively, he himself has always been more of a lover. The spirit of a lover that is.

Although, this would also explain his erratic behaviour at times. Having to battle his emotions at the same time trying to gain control of any public situation he was ever in. It's not media training, it's media manipulation. He grew up in front of the camera so his public persona is his second skin.

In his natal chart, his ascendant is Pisces (°10 Capricorn) with Moon (°14 Taurus) , Mireille & Lilith (°21 Sagittarius).

He's been bullied and shamed for his appearance, people always had something to say when it comes to how he should and shouldn't act or look like. He's also been openly insecure about how he looks because of his sickness & vitiligo.

However, no one can deny that his looks will forever be framed as an iconic part of pop culture history. Hell, in all of modern history. The King of Pop is never seen without an outfit that would outshine all who stand next to him.

It also mirrors his facial structures. I've heard that a badly aspected Mercury or 7th house ruler could be related to vitiligo in vedic astrology, but I'm not exactly sure. I'm not well versed in medical astrology either, but I wonder if aquarius might have some sort of effect as well since he has a LOT of aquarius here.

He's one fine mf tho. Even after all this time, he's still adored by many fans, old & new.

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

Hope this was interesting! Did I somehow make it about MJ again? Yes. Yes I did.

[makeyoumine69]

Vibe With Me (Modern AU)

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Patrick Bateman x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: Modern AU, Patrick watches you masturbating with a vibrator during a video call.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: NSFW, sex toys, overstimulation, masturbation, squirting, Patrick is kinda demanding, dirty talk, praise kink, pet names, mild power play.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒: 1.3k

ᴀ/ɴ: Recently I was thinking about modern AU and this idea came to me so randomly, sorry!😢

LINKS: [MASTERLIST]💕

When Bateman told you that he was going on a long business trip, you were worried because you were already too attached to him, but you didn't know how to tell him that you would miss him, considering that your lover despised any displays of affection—including any drama about you being sad when he was gone. But before you could even come up with a plan for how to broach this sensitive subject, Patrick gave you a large box that he asked you to open once he left on a business trip. And even though you probably knew the contents of this gift, you decided to wait and do what the man told you to do, so you waited as long as it took. You were so determined to be a good girl and play by the rules that you even forgot about this box because your life was so busy as usual.

The day you and Bateman had your first video call after he left, the first thing he did was ask if you had opened his present yet, and as soon as he said it, you almost choked on the air, both embarrassed and disappointed in yourself. How could you forget? It took you a few moments to find the box that was obediently waiting for you in your bedroom and you opened it only to find a small plush bear, some chocolates and sweets, your favorite perfume and... at first you thought it was a dildo, but then you read the description on the small pink box that told you it was a clitoris vibro-stimulator, which according to Patrick's handwriting was the best model so far. Rolling your eyes, you picked up the sex toy without unpacking it. Surprisingly for you, Patrick didn't insist on opening it as soon as possible, the man explained that you needed some time to find out how to use his 'little sweet gift' so that you could both have some fun.

God, that was embarrassing. 

But that was just the beginning.

That day, you were lying on the couch in your living room, the only light coming from the screen of your monitor, which was placed on the coffee table right in front of your splayed figure. The towel you had placed underneath you was already soaked with your juices as you lost count of your orgasms, and Patrick was like a sentinel watching you from the other side of your laptop, his hazel eyes catching every little jolt you made, every little shudder and gasp.

"C'mon, honey," the man murmured, his soft, velvety voice coming through the speakers and making you melt like butter. "You can give me another one."

"No," you replied, on the verge of tears from the overstimulation. "I can't...this is already too much, it hurts!"

Panting, you removed the sex toy from your swollen clit, your legs still shaking from the last climax, your pussy so wet and bruised that you were afraid to even touch it.

"Sweetheart," Bateman called to you, knowing that this nickname would break down any difference you were trying to make. "I know you can. You're such a good girl for me, you always are."

Shit, shit, shit!

"Fuck...fuck you, Patrick!" You blurted out. "I don't want to gush all over my laptop!"

"God, if that's a problem, you can have as many laptops as you want. That's my word."

Bateman's tone became more and more demanding, for a moment you even wanted to end the call and close the laptop, but his voice, his sweet praises—he was a perfect manipulator, he knew every little weak spot he could press.

Biting your lower lip, you turned on the vibrator and slowly slid it back between your legs, the second it touched your hypersensitive flesh, you almost screamed and took it away, causing Patrick to tsk so loudly as if he was right next to you.

"Don't remove it!" He almost barked in a commanding voice.

"I CAN'T!" Your voice was about to break. "It's too fucking much! My skin is burning!"

And while it was true that it hurt pretty badly, you could feel another orgasm building up inside of you, your inner walls spasming around nothing as you tried to get the sex toy back onto your engorged bud. 

"Listen to my voice," Patrick almost purred, probably changing tactics and trying to be less intrusive. "Don't push the toy too close to your clit," his lecturing was the last thing you expected to hear from him and somehow it made you feel so high, so fucking overwhelmed. "Let it vibrate within you...remember how I do it with my tongue?"

Damn it!

Closing your eyes, you lay down more comfortably and spread your legs wider, giving him the full display of your soaking cunt, the soft material of the sex toy sliding along your skin, and when you dared to press the tip of it to your little tip, Bateman suddenly interfered, causing you to almost bite your cheek to the point of bleeding.

"Turn on maximum speed," the bastard added, his smug face getting even more cocky as he watched you fall apart right before his eyes. "DO IT!"

"Fuck...f-fuck," you cursed under your breath, but you followed his order, unable to think straight, your fingers not listening and barely finding the button on the vibrator, but once they did, you moaned so loudly you were afraid someone would call the police. "I...I'm gonna cum...again.......aaa-hhh-fuck!"

To be honest, you didn't expect this little toy to be so powerful, its vibration piercing through you, sending a million tingles to your most sensitive spot, pushing you over the edge. With your eyes closed, your legs buckled, your toes curled with pleasure, you did your best not to take the vibrator away, feeling your pussy clenching until you squirted, and you did it so hard that the towel dampened even more, but you didn't really care.

"Good girl," Bateman muttered in a gruff voice. "Such an obedient girl...I'm so proud of you," he watched you come undone without blinking. "I'm so fucking proud of you!"

Breathing heavily, you finally turned off the toy and let it fall to the floor, your legs still trembling, the wetness pooling down your inner thighs—now you were nothing but a wet, trembling mess - you couldn't even open your eyes, knowing that this asshole was probably shining like a fucking Rolex he was wearing.

After a brief respite, as you slowly began to come down from your high, you turned your unfocused gaze to your laptop and heard Patrick's soft chuckle, the sound almost mocking.

"Jeez, I'd drink you dry," he rasped into the microphone of his headphones. "I'd suck on that pretty little pussy until I couldn't fucking breathe-"

"Stop," you squealed suddenly, barely able to contain yourself from the phantom pain in your core of how much you needed him to stuff you with his beefy dick. "Stop saying things like that..."

"Oh, babe," Patrick crooned, smiling at you from the screen of your laptop. "You know I would, and it drives you crazy, doesn't it?"

You didn't answer this question, but looked at him more seriously. "And what about you? Aren't you going to put on a show for me?"

The man smiled before he lowered the camera so that you could see his white boxers, which were bulging because of how hard he was. Without saying anything, Patrick traced the outline of his cock through the smooth material before giving himself a little squeeze that made you almost drool.

"Who knows?" Bateman chuckled suddenly, fixing the camera in its previous position. "Maybe... if I was in the right mood..." his lips curled into a sly, almost devilish smile. "I'd show you that I miss you no less, darling. Believe me."

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my writing community to know when I update!💞

Lemme know if you want part two with Patrick jerking off during a video call, lmao.

[paullovescomics]

The majority of the US is definitely not walkable. Cities in the northeast are probably most likely to have more walkable sections, because they were fairly developed before cars took over, but the rest of the country is purposefully built around the car. A lot of smaller towns that used to have walkable downtowns tore down most of it to make room for more "modern" uses back in the 1970s.

I grew up in a small city that had a population somewhere around 40,000 when I was in high school. It was one of the top 5, maybe top 3 biggest cities in the state. Most neighborhoods had no sidewalks. The street in front of our house doubled as a section of a major state highway, so there were lots of speeding cars on it. Even with that, as a kid I used to walk a few blocks down to the convenience store to buy comics, but there was no grocery store within walking distance. This was in the 1980s, before all the fear of predators, and my dad also worked in the neighborhood, so my parents weren't too freaked out about me doing this. I severely doubt that any parents living there now are letting their kids walk a mile to the Snak Pak.

Now I live in a city of about 300,000 people. Probably in the top six cities in the state for population. We have buses that run seven days a week, but because the city is so spread out and simply not planned for mass transit or walking, all of the bus routes have to start and end at a central hub. If you live in the Northeast of the city and want to take a bus to the Northwest, you get on the nearest bus (that can involve quite a walk), ride it to the depot downtown, then get on the bus that goes closest to your destination. A trip that is 15 minutes by car is 45 minutes to an hour by bus (and that's just the time on the bus, not walking to and from stops). Earlier this year, my car was in the shop for a while, and the nearest bus stop was two miles away, even though I am in a fairly densely populated area. I'm just a bit on the edge of the city, and there are wealthy neighborhoods around here that have no use for the bus, so the limited transit resources are more needed elsewhere. In many parts of the city, there are no sidewalks, or sidewalks only on one side of the street. The downtown is walkable, but that's only a few blocks, and it's restaurants and coffee shops, not daily needs kind of stuff. And my city is considered progressive!

A few years ago, I lived in a smaller city that borders this one. There was a Dollar Store that was within walking distance, but there were no sidewalks. There were, however, drainage ditches on both sides of the road, and people drove like maniacs, so you did not walk unless you had absolutely no other choice. This is not a uncommon situation.

And all the malls, then the big box stores, killed all the smaller shops that used to be a bit closer long ago. Even the convenience stores are less common, because they've been combined into bigger gas stations with fewer convenience items and more gas pumps, designed for people driving to work, not for people who live in the neighborhood.

A lot of homeowners do not want their neighborhoods to be walkable. Heaven forbid an "undesirable" person might walk down Willowbrook Lane and possibly threaten the resale value of somebody's house. Or a family walking down the street with arms full of groceries might suggest that they can't afford a car, and what would people think?! Public transit is for those overcrowded cities with their teeming poor and rampant crime, not for nice neighborhoods like ours with big lawns that prove we are living right.

Okay, that last paragraph got preachy, but hopefully the point still came across. Americans are rarely able to choose walking as a viable option.

“America IS walkable, you’re all just lazy” my childhood home was an hour from the nearest hospital (by car)

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Chordata - Myxini

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

The Myxini, commonly called “hagfish”, “slime eels”, or even “snot snakes”, is the most simple class of vertebrates. They have one order, the Myxiniformes, and 3 families.

Hagfish have a cartilaginous skull but no vertebral column, though they do have rudimentary vertebrae. They also have tooth-like structures composed of keratin. Species range from 4 cm (1.6 in) to 127 cm (4 ft 2 in) long. They have elongated, worm-like bodies, and paddle-like tails. The skin is naked and loose, attached only along the center ridge of the back and at the slime glands. They have simple eyespots which only detect light, six or eight barbels around the mouth, and a single nostril. Their jaws move horizontally rather than vertically like other vertebrates, projecting two pairs of horny, comb-shaped tooth plates that grasp food and pull it into the mouth. They are marine predators and/or scavengers.

Hagfish are most well-known for their defense mechanism: releasing copious amounts of slime from specialized mucous glands in their skin. The slime reacts to seawater, expanding to 10,000 times its original size in 0.4 seconds. This slime is flexible, more durable and retentive than the slime excreted by any other animals. If a predator is not deterred by the sudden mouthful of slime, hagfish can also tie themselves into a knot to scrape more slime off of their bodies, wiggling free from their captor while its gills are clogged. Hagfish will also use this traveling knot behavior to clean themselves of any excess mucous.

Very little is known about hagfish reproduction. They are split into males and females, with females usually outnumbering males. Depending on species, females lay from 1 to 30 tough, yolky eggs. The eggs stick together with velcro-like tufts at either end. They do not have a larval stage and hatch as miniature adults.

The oldest-known stem group hagfish are known from the Late Carboniferous, with modern forms first being recorded from the mid-Cretaceous.

Propaganda under the cut:

Hagfish thread keratin, the protein that make up their slime filaments, is under investigation as an alternative to spider silk for use in applications such as body armor.

Hagfish slime threads can also be used as ultra-strong fiber for clothing.

Hagfish skin, used in a variety of clothing accessories, is usually referred to as "eel skin". It produces a particularly durable leather used for wallets and belts.

Remember this?

In 2017, a truck carrying 7,500 pounds of live hagfish got into a road accident on U.S. Highway 101. The aggravated hagfish then released enough slime to cover the road and nearby cars. Horror movie situation tbh.

But why were several tons of hagfish being shipped in a truck? Well, they were on their way to Korea for seafood purposes. Yeah. They are eaten in Korea and Japan.

Hagfish have a sluggish metabolism and can survive months between feedings; this is likely due to the scarcity of food on the seafloor. When food is present, such as a dead whale, they can go into a feeding frenzy.

Here I am listing all these ways that humans use them, but hagfish are also an important part of the deep sea ecosystem. Plus… I think they’re cute and I too wish I could produce a bunch of slime when I don’t want people to touch me. I mean, Howl in “Howl’s Moving Castle” does it and people love him, so…

[glassladyoftheopera]

In Stars and Time But It's a Musical (Part 1)

Okay hi I need to tell you all about this concept.

First off all I just need to say credit to @openphrase123 for the amazing 'ISAT but as a ballet' posts (here and also here and there definitely more but those are some of the big ones) which definitely inspired some choices here and in general inspired me to do this.

So basically I'm a big old musical theater person (and specifically musician / singer) so I've been fleshing out concepts for a what a musical re-telling of In Stars and Time might look like. I'm honestly not going to get into like... the logistics of how you could actually do it, because even with condensing a lot of things Musicals aren't typically long enough to tell this kind of story, so we're just... ignoring that when I don't have ideas to get around it.

We will start with all of the main characters, their voice types, and their characteristic musical styles!

Mirabelle Mira is our soprano, but mostly her singing and music is very much in the style of Disney Renaissance musicals. Think Belle, Ariel, Hercules, etc. I think it fits her up beat but still sometimes anxious personality. Near the end of each King Fight she gets a cool high notes as she finally has some true confidence in herself!

Bonnie Bonnie would be played by a younger performer with an unchanged voice. This wouldn't really be a dance heavy show, but when there is dancing they would take the lead b/c that's cute. In terms of their singing though it's mostly inspired by classic kid characters from Broadway, namely Annie, The Artful Dodger, and Matilda (especially for their more emotionally intense moments). Their music isn't as difficult, and in group numbers they typically sing the melody with at least one other person.

Odile Odile is the alto of the quintet. It helps her sound more mature than Mirabelle and fits her vibe of not taking on the flashy role. Her music leans a bit more classical, almost Gilbert and Sullivan-esque in her more playful moments. Overall though it tends to be a bit more melodically challenging, but not super fast or syncopated. There would be melodic and instrumental flourishes in her music unique to her that are basically 'Ka Buan' musical elements.

Isabeau Leading man baritone! His style also fairly standard musical theater, but leans a touch more modern in it's styling to accommodate his more emotionally open vibe. He'll have the pop-inspired rhythms and chord progressions, but in group numbers he's the rock solid bass part holding everything together.

Siffrin Siffrin... does not sing almost ever for the first chunk of the show outside of group numbers. He's a tenor, and helps fill out the harmonies, but the impression the audience should get at the start is that they aren't really a soloist. As the loops go on, they gain a bit more confidence, taking bits and pieces of all of the other character's musical / singing styles as they go on. They don't get a full length solo to themselves until Mal du Pays. But the character that most influences their style is...

Loop Loop is full on Broadway Jazz, baby! Syncopated rhythms, brassy sound, fast patter lyrics, the whole shebang. Don't look behind the curtain at what all that glitter might be hiding, stardust~

The King Super bass, in the tradition of opera villains usually being basses. At first the only super stand out thing about his singing is that his range is so distinct, but in later encounters he gets both more delicate moments and moments where the true power of his voice to intimidate comes through.

(Also yes all of the Forgotten Island peeps will have a few musical elements in common to set them apart don't you even worry we'll get to it :3)

Euphrasie The Head Housemaiden has a short little mini song she does for the first bit of her speech. It's simple and catchy. Every time it transitions into her final speech as the musical motifs are distorted.

Dormont The people of Dormont sing mostly in a grand opening number ala the opening numbers for Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, etc. Little bits and pieces of the song come back in various combos and Sif loops and jumps around asking people new things. They would also double as disembodied voices for certain musical numbers that could use extra voices for full out harmony, dramatic effect, etc.

More will be coming soon, so I hope you enjoyed my ramblings.

[soongyeopsal]

Do No Harm (Teaser)

Summary:

Ares proves to everyone that he can change by living his modern life as Dr. Kwon. But does that matter if you stay the same? This do-over’s prognosis isn’t exactly promising.

✎ Pairing: pediatrician/ares hoshi x trauma surgeon afab reader

✎ Rating / Genre / AU: 18+ / romance, angst, smut, modern fantasy, strangers to coworkers to lovers / greek god au, reincarnation au, MDNI

✎ Warnings: none in teaser, final draft: death, kids, needles, TBA

✎ Word Count: teaser: 214, final draft: TBA

✎ A/N: I have emerged from my cave at last to take part in the The 13 Gods of Olympus collab hosted by @beomcoups and @wooahaeproductions! (* ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉｼ (* ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉｼ (* ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉｼ

See you this weekend~ Thank you loml @shuadotcom for proofreading!

Ares has been thinking about revealing himself to humans again just so he can give them directions. Athena’s temple is several miles in the opposite direction. That’s who these idiots should be praying to if they want to save their village in the face of invaders. Valor and wisdom aren’t mentioned anywhere in Ares’ job description, but in recent years his dwindling worshipers seem to have forgotten that.

“More juice,” he groans to himself, watching you enter his neglected temple with a basket of pomegranate juice and flowers in hand. Your offerings are boring (see: Athena’s favorite) and he definitely isn’t going to aid you, but at least you’re something to look at. The god wastes no time abusing his selective invisibility to inspect you closer when you kneel to pray to him.

Obviously you’re not a soldier, but wow…you look so pathetic. He can’t help that it’s the first thing he notices – it’s in his nature. The longer he regards you (you’re a long-winded worshiper) the more he sees, though. You’re not cute or pretty or beautiful. You’re stunning in a way that even Aphrodite would have to acknowledge. Marvelous in a way that could start wars, if Ares had a say in it.

Ares wouldn’t aid you, but he would have you.

[cath-lic]

in case this breaks containment, let's establish a few things--i am queer & catholic and don't plan on changing. i'm not a historian, nor a theologian, but simply someone who's tired of simplifying history. if i've said anything incorrect, please correct me!

and also--our modern understanding of sexuality is not at all similar to the attitudes of the ancient world.

in ancient times, male-male relationships or attraction weren't thought of as an identity, they were thought of as simply an action. and in patriarchal societies, being the passive recipient of such an action was feminizing & demeaning. men who expressed attraction towards men (and likely, women who expressed attraction towards women) were still expected to partner with the opposite sex and continue the family lineage.

finally, i understand that christians have done an immense amount of harm to queer people & women, and am not trying to belittle that. but as i mentioned, we're discussing pre-christian societies. here is my argument that homophobia, and other types of sex negativity, has existed since before christianity.

disclaimer before i discuss judaism: i'm aware (and thankful!) that nowadays, jews in america are much less outspoken against queer people than christians in america. i am discussing only the ancient hebrew bible here, knowing full well that different sects of judaism have vastly differing opinions on the ancient laws. i have only respect for my jewish siblings, and i hope that's clear.

the obvious example is that the christian old testament is adapted from the tanakh, the hebrew bible. the famous leviticus verse condemns male-male sex (not necessarily attraction or relationships).

there are plenty of other rules prohibiting sex: between a jew and a gentile, during a menstrual period, extramarital, etc. therefore, i think it's fair to say that homophobia and taboos surrounding sex existed before christianity in the jewish culture.

the common argument for the whole "gay utopia" thing comes from ancient greece and rome. though the two societies were very different, and both found gay sex "acceptable," i find it important to emphasize that in both, our modern idea of gay relationships did not exist. the two partners in relationships were not thought of as equals--penetrative sex was a way to enforce the power of the citizen.

ancient greece also encouraged the model of a young boy/adult man sexual mentor relationship. while in no way do i consider gay men inherently predatory (and i'm sure there were indeed adult/adult male relationships at the time) this specific relationship dynamic can be considered as such through a modern lens. young boys were often prized as objects of attraction because they were more androgynous.

in this way, i don't consider ancient greece or rome to be a "sex-positive" environment. there were absolutely still taboos regarding sex: it could not "feminize" a greek/roman citizen in any way, and women were still subject to a double standard concerning premarital and extramarital sex. romans also had a negative attitude towards nudity, and crucially did not acknowledge female-female sex or female-female desire. besides the poetry of sappho, ancient greece did not generally acknowledge this, either.

i am not denying that queer relationships existed--we have always existed!--just that a modern queer relationship would have been likely been stigmatized, unacknowledged, and mocked.

people have got to stop acting like the eras before christianity were some sort of sex positive gay utopia. they were not! there is no easy villain! people have always been weird about sex

[ripdragonbeans]

Love In The Darkest Of Places // Modern!Aemond x Reader

Chapter 4: Freedom

Summary: You and Aemond are in college now, which presents itself with its own new challenges. One you didn't expect, however, was cutting off your family.

TW: unhealthy family dynamic

Masterlist

Chapter 3 // Chapter 5

The thought of jeopardizing your relationship with Aemond was too scary to even consider. As much as you wanted to say yes, to be his, you knew there was no way to guarantee you would stay together. At least with this friendship there was no way of messing it up. Or at least you hoped. Your heart and soul yearned for him but your brain was terrified. The risk that came with being in a serious relationship was too great, according to your brain. Your heart and soul said to hell with it, to jump into the deep end, but in the end you were too afraid.

For the rest of high school that’s how you two were: best friends. Never once did either of you waver. Not once did either of you date. There was an unspoken arrangement that you would wait for each other. Of course, since Aemond made his move after that regrettable double date, it would be up to you.

“Do you wish we could be together?” you asked him one night. You were spending the night in his dorm room. It wasn’t the first time you’ve asked the question.

“You know my answer,” Aemond replied, never looking away from the television screen.

It was movie night and as per usual, you stayed in his dorm. High school seemed so far away yet it was almost as though it was yesterday. The double date with Cregan had always stayed in your mind. That Monday afterwards did, too. 

“I feel like I'm playing you,” you admitted to Aemond. 

“If you actually were, I don't think you'd be worried about it.” He looked at you and smiled. “I'll wait however long and if we only stay friends then that's okay too. You're my best person in the world. Together forever, remember?”

“Yeah, together forever.”

Silence.

“What if…” you started, “what if there's someone else out there for you?”

“The only person I want is you. If someone else finds me then maybe you ran out of time.”

“What if… what if I find someone else?” 

“Then I'll let you go. I'll do whatever to make you happy.” Aemond reached for your hand and squeezed it. He looked out the dorm window. “It's getting late. Do you want me to walk you back to your house or?” He left the question hanging.

“I think I'll go back to my house alone” you replied. It hurt your heart to leave him but you did so anyway.

Aemond’s face fell when you gave his answer. He simply nodded and got up to let you out of his dorm. 

“You know I -” you began to say.

“Don't worry about it,” Aemond said with a tight smile. “I understand.” 

And with that he closed the door.

You couldn't help but press your forehead against the door. You knew you should head back to your own dorm but you couldn't bring yourself to do so. Your feet refused to move and the thought of leaving Aemond alone in his room hurt your heart. 

So you let yourself stay there. 

You could hear Aemond through the door a tiny bit. You wondered if he felt as conflicted as you. A small mirthless laugh left you. Of course he felt conflicted. You were the one making him wait. Taking a deep breath, you pulled yourself up and headed out of the dorm and to your family’s house.

Unlike Aemond’s loving family, yours refused to pay for a dormitory. You had to walk or grab a ride home at the end of every day. Normally you would ask Aemond or Helaena for a ride but you wanted to be alone right now. Asking Aemond after this movie night was out of the question as well. So instead, you basked in the brisk cold night as you made your way back to the house.

When you arrived at the house you didn't bother announcing your presence. It wouldn't have been met with anything kind anyway, if it even received a reply. While the interior was warm and welcoming to everyone else, it was cold and lonely for you. Stepping inside the building, you toes off your shoes and shrugged off your coat before retreating into your bedroom. It was your safe haven in this place. 

Plopping down on the bed, you let out a groan. The day had been going perfectly well until you told Aemond it felt as though you were playing him. You were just too scared for yourself and for him. You didn't want either of you to get hurt in any way. Gods forbid the pain is caused by you or him. You hugged a pillow, wishing it was Aemond. Soon enough, sleep found you.

You walked down a cold, empty hallway. Your footsteps echoed against the walls. You didn't know where you were going; you were just walking. One thing you did notice, however, was the deep pit in your stomach. Something was going to happen but you didn't know what. And it would be something big. 

Soon, the walls became grand. Wallpaper were plastered on and large portraits of your family lined them. Your parents looked regal, of course. If it were another time you thought they would even be royalty. Then came the portraits of your brothers, Jace and Luke. 

Ever since Luke took Aemond's eye, you’ve cut him off. You avoided him, refused to talk to him, and have even left buildings if you found out he was there. There was no love in your heart for Luke, even if you were siblings. You could never forgive him for what he did. Yet here, in his portraits, he looked like a carefree child. So innocent. So wrong.

Jace’s portraits seemed accurate, in your opinion. He was still as charming as ever but you could see underneath him, how he loathed you, how we always craved the attention from mother and father. You smiled cruelly at that thought. He would never have their full attention. It was always on themselves but you let Jace believe that maybe one day their focus would be on him. To an extent you pitied Jace but not enough to make room in your heart to love him. He did nothing while Aemond was hurt and he constantly ridiculed you. No, there was no love.

Soon, there were pictures of Mrs. Alicent, Mr. Criston, Aegon, Helaena, and Jason. Unlike the photos of your family, these were candid, happy photos. They were real and genuine. No fake smiles or practiced poses; just silly faces and love. As you approached each of their photos, you couldn't help but feel joy. You were so happy for them and you wished desperately to be part of that. 

But something was off.

In the bundle of photos with Aemond was another person. Their face was covered or they were always facing away from the camera. Aemond was either grinning ear to ear or looked at that person with…love. The person in question had long, dark, flowing hair. You didn't recognize this person but it did something to your stomach. A pit dropped and it made you want to throw up. 

You kept walking down the hallway.

Suddenly, you heard laughter. Laughter and voices. You pinned down Aemond's but didn't recognize the female one. You didn't like this one bit. Could there be someone else for Aemond?

No. No, that can't be.

You raced down the hallway to find Aemond and this mysterious woman locked in an embrace.

“Aemond?” You asked quietly.

Aemond turned around. “You're too late,” he said. His voice echoed. “I waited for you but you took too long. I found someone else.”

“No!” You cried. You had woken up in a cold sweat. Looking around, you tried to ground yourself. There is no hallway, no portraits or pictures, no Aemond with some other woman.

You sighed as you heard someone come up to your door. You had an inkling it was one of your brothers.

“Hey, can we talk?” Jace knocked on your door.

You opened it only to reveal your older brother. “What do you want?”

He looked down at his feet. “I wanted to apologize. I've never been the best big brother and that's on me.”

“Okay…” you were confused as to why he was doing this.

“I was talking with my girlfriend, Sara, and she said that we needed to talk so here I am.”

You crossed your arms and leaned on the doorframe. “Talk about what?”

Jace shrugged. “Everything, I guess.”

“...Okay. Give me a minute to get dressed and we can go to the Dorne Café.” You closed the door behind you and got ready.

Within ten minutes you and Jace were out of the door and in his car. The ride to the café was silent. It wasn't tense or anything, just quiet. When you arrived at the café there were a decent amount of people there but not too many. After both of you placed your orders you went to claim a table outside.

Sitting across from each other, you waited for your brother to say something first. You simply looked at each other. In contrast to you, he was waiting for you to speak first. Once again in your life, you were at a stand still with your brother.

Not being able to stand the silence, you broke it. “Okay, I'll bite. You, Luke, mother, and father never wanted to do anything with me. I was always on the side and when I wasn't I was teased and ridiculed.”

“That’s a pretty heavy way to start this,” commented Jace.

“Well, you wouldn't talk first, so I did.”

“I teased you because I was mad. I was upset that you were closer with Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond and not with us. You're my sister. You should've been with me and not them.”

“You weren’t the most welcoming type when it came to me, Jace.”

“That's because I didn't know!”

“That’s a shitty excuse. We could have been closer. We could have had a better relationship.”

“I know and I want to fix it!”

You sighed and put your head on your hands. “Jace, it might be best for us to just go our separate ways. Damage was done and it was constant. I just can't forget all that.”

“Yes, you can. We can start over, pretend that nothing ever happened.”

“But it did happen. My childhood was filled with your constant teasing and mother and father’s neglect. It's forever burned in my mind.”

Jace threw his hands up in the air. “Then what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, Jace.” You could feel a lump growing in your throat. You didn't know what to expect on your way to the café but it wasn't this.

He nodded his head. “Okay, then.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I wasn't a better brother. You deserved to be treated better.”

“I know.”

Silence enveloped the air. No one talked. Only distant conversations and cars speeding by were heard by the two of you.

“I think it’s best if I just go to Helaena’s,” you whispered.

“What about us?”

“What about us? We're ruined Jace. We were never truly brother and sister.” You paused. “I was planning on moving in with Helaena, anyway, she needs a roomie for her apartment. I'll pack up my things over the next few days and I'll be out of everyone's hair.”

“If that's what you want.”

“I'm sorry, Jace. I truly am.”

Both of you were slow to pick up your trash. It was as though you were savoring these last few moments. When Jace dropped you off at Helaena’s apartment he walked you to the door.

“Maybe one day we’ll get better,” he said.

“Maybe.” You were hesitant but you gave him a hug. “Goodbye, Jace.”

Once he left and his car had gone out of view, you knocked on the door.

“Coming!” Came Helaena’s dreamy voice. She opened the door and wrapped you in a big hug. After letting you go she said, “I read your text, I'm so excited for you to move in! It'll be just us. No boys to stink up the place.”

“Believe me, I'm so excited.” You tried to smile but it faltered.

Helaena furrowed her brows. “What's wrong?” She pulled you into the apartment.

Once you were seated on the couch you told her everything that had transpired between you and Jace. 

“It was a goodbye and it was upsetting but it was also freeing in a way.”

Helaena nodded her head. “I understand.”

“I’m not looking forward to moving all my stuff out. I just don’t really want to go back there.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, I promise,” Helaena said. “And we can ask Aemond and Aegon to join us, too. They would keep your family away from us.”

You laughed mirthlessly. “You know, my mother still thinks Luke was in the right. She thinks that Aemond deserved to lose his eye. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m related to her.”

“That’s sick,” Helaena agreed.

“Gods, what even is my family?”

“A mess. They’re a giant mess. But,” she paused. “You have us. You have me, my mother and father, and Aemond and Aegon. We will always be with you.”

“I used to be so scared that you guys would push me away; especially after Aemond lost his eye.”

“Why would you think that?”

You shrugged. “I felt responsible and guilty. I blamed myself and believed that you guys would later blame me, too.”

“Don't be ridiculous. That will never happen. I promise.” Helaena pulled you into a hug.

Gratefully, you returned it. “I talked to Aemond this morning.”

“And?”

“I'm just so torn, Hel. I want to be with him but I don't want to risk our friendship.”

“You know I think you should take the leap but I can't make that decision for you. You have to do it yourself.”

Your thoughts moved to your dream. “What if there's someone else for him? Someone better than me?”

“I honestly can't see Aemond with anyone else but you. You two have been through it all. And,” she paused and obviously glanced at your collar bone. “You're still wearing the necklace after all these years.”

You brought your hand up to rub the gem between your fingers. It was an action that you developed whenever you got stressed. 

“Look, you even mess with the necklace whenever something is wrong because it calms you. Aemond calms you.”

“It’s all so much.”

“You know what I think, but I want you to do it on your own terms. If you need more time, then take it.”

You took Helaena’s hands in your own. “Thank you.”

She squeezed your hands before letting them go to clap them together. “Now, shall we start moving in now or tomorrow?”

You huffed out a laugh. “I think tomorrow will be fine. We can give the boys a heads up tonight and just chill.”

“I love that idea.” She looped her arm through yours and led you to your soon to be room.

Moving in with Helaena was a breeze, thankfully. You didn’t have much to take out from your parents’ house. Jace actually stepped in to help a little bit but said nothing when doing so. When you left with your things, all he did was give you a small nod. 

You had officially cut ties with your family.

You were free.

The air felt fresher. The grass was greener. Your mother, father, and brothers no longer loomed over you. Taking a deep breath, you smiled as you looked around your room. No one would steal anything from you. You had a whole apartment you shared with one of your closest friends. Everything was right. Everything except the hole in your heart.

Pacing the room, you went through the war in your head, trying to choose if you should talk to Aemond or not. The worst he could say was no but that would be too much. Even though the chances of him saying no is almost nonexistent. Still, the risk was there and that terrified you. Putting your gears aside, you dialed Aemond’s number and called him. 

The phone barely rang before Aemond answered.

“Are you okay?” he immediately asked.

“Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I just wanted to talk to you,” you admitted. 

“What's up?” He asked again. When you didn't respond he said, “I know something is wrong. You don't call me unless something is really messing with you.”

Sighing, you nodded your head until you realized he couldn't see you. “Can I come over?”

“Yeah, always.”

You could hear his smile. Aemond always loved it whenever you came to his dorm.

“I'll see you in a bit, Aems.”

“In a bit,” he repeated.

When you asked Helaena to drive you to Aemond's dorm she gave you a knowing smile.

“Are you finally going to tell him?” She asked you.

“I…I don't know but it's in the realm of possibilities,” you said. It was true. You played with the idea of telling him today but you were still scared.

The car ride to Aemond’s dorm was uneventful. Helaena gave you words of encouragement and tried her best to keep you calm. 

“You're going to be okay. Both of you. I've never seen two people who meshed as well as the both of you. Whatever bond you have with him is unbreakable,” Helaena told you.

You wrung your hands together. “Yeah.”

When Helaena pulled up to Aemond’s dorm building he was already out in front waiting for you. His tall frame making him stand out in the emptiness of the walkway. With his hair down and flowing slightly with the breeze he looked ethereal. You could never get over how beautiful he was. 

When Aemond saw you, a smile brightened up his face. You smiled back. It was going to be a good day, you thought to yourself. Stepping out of Helaena’s car, you gave her a quick thank you and tried to control yourself as you walked to Aemond. As soon as you were by his side he pulled you into a hug.

“You've had me worried these last few days,” he admitted.

“And why's that?” You asked him.

“You've pulled away a bit.” He was quiet.

Your eyebrows pinched together. “What do you mean?”

“Once you moved in with Helaena you didn't call or text me much and didn't offer to visit until now.”

“Oh.” You couldn't tell him everything. Not yet. “There's been a lot going on.”

“You don't have to take that on alone,” Aemond reminded you. “I'm here for you. Together forever, yeah?”

You smiled. “Together forever.”

That night you spent the entirety of it with Aemond. You put on a movie, popped popcorn, and simply enjoyed each other's company. It was as though there was no lingering feelings between you two. It was just you guys. Anyone from the outside would have assumed you were together, and gods, did you wish it was true. Aemond, for sure, wished it was. 

You and Aemond say against the wall on his bed. His arm was casually around you while you snuggled in close. At some point in the night he pulled his hair up in a messy bun. When you tried to braid his hair he swatted your hands away with a goofy grin on his face. 

“Just once!” You pleaded.

“You've already done it once!” Aemond laughed.

“When?” You put your hands on your hips.

Aemond sighed then explained, “Back when we were fourteen. You convinced me to let you braid my hair. It was in knots afterwards.”

Crossing your arms over your chest you muttered, “It wasn't too bad.”

“We needed Helaena’s help.”

Nudging Aemond with your shoulder you told him, “Fine. I won't braid your hair tonight. But let's do something!”

“What if I braided your hair?” 

You raised an eyebrow. “You know how to braid hair?”

“There's a first time for everything,” he shrugged. “It's your turn to have knots,” he bumped you back with his shoulder.

You huffed, “Fine,” and plopped yourself in front of him.

When Aemond ran his hands through your hair, you couldn't help but lean back into him. He gently massaged your scalp before carefully dividing your hair into three sections. 

“Are you sure you know how to do this?” You teased.

Aemond tugged on your hair, sending shivers down your spine. “We're about to find out,” he whispered in your ear.

You couldn't help but flush at his words. Aemond braiding your hair shouldn't be as intimate as this and yet it was. Your relationship has changed since you've both moved on to college. Now, you simply danced around each other.

As Aemond braided your hair, he would tug on it every now and then, causing a bolt of pleasure to shoot through your stomach. 

“Am I hurting you?” Aemond asked when he tugged it for the fourth time.

“No,” you let out breathlessly.

When Aemond finished braiding your hair, you turned around only to find each other nose to nose.

“Aemond?” Whispered.

His violet eye bore into yours before quickly dipping down to your lips and back. “Yes?”

You looked at him and slowly leaned forward. Meeting you in the middle, Aemond captured your lips in his. It was soft. It was tentative. For a second you froze, not knowing what to do, but then Aemond reached up to cup your face and you kissed him back. You moved so you were on your knees in front of him, just now slightly taller than him sitting down. His hands went to your waist and he held on like he never wanted to let go. 

Sitting back on your haunches, you placed your hands on his shoulders. Aemond tensed up slightly but relaxed quickly. The kiss wasn't heated or rushed. It was very slow and calm. You were both waiting and now you finally had each other.

[lillified]

im a HUGE huge fan of your work and insane story building, it always blows my mind

sadly i do not have the same advanced brain and never know where to start with story questions but was wondering what you were doing with the original Primes?

that’s a great question!

so there’s a lot of prime lore (and some that is intentionally a secret for now) but i can give you the basic gist:

The 13 original Primes are, as far as history is concerned, the first and most perfect Cybertronian organisms. Modern Cybertronians are not descended from these Primes, but rather parallel related (think of their ancestors as cousins instead of children). In Cybertronian religion and society they serve as the third arm of the Godhand, a spiritual concept that explains divinity as a concept that exists outside of time, asserting itself in the past, present, and future. The Primes are the present.

The original Primes are as follows:

(Note that all primes who died before the Quintesson reign are presented without a gender, as they never described themselves with Quintesson binary language)

VECTOR

The chronological first Prime, though as an entity Vector may exist at all times simultaneously. The least is known about them, as, according to Lore, their physical form atrophied early in history, and their individual parts scattered in space. Several of their parts are held by different entities, with the most notable being the Warp Cores, volatile Spark-like artifacts that facilitate the transfer of matter across time and space.

PRIMA

One-half of the first Twin Spark. Prima was held in high esteem by other Primes for their relative seniority and ambition, as well as their vision for Cybertron’s future. Their side was the victor in the first Great War, and their personal ideas about creation, divinity, society, and hierarchy are baked into the modern Cybertronian system. Despite their importance, they died with little fanfare before the Quintesson takeover. Their spark also served as the base material for the first Matrix of Leadership, and fragments of it exist in every subsequent Matrix.

MEGATRONUS

The second half of the original Twin Spark. Where Prima was bold, charismatic and belligerent, Megatronus was quiet, contemplative and philosophical. Not much is known about their life other than that they were part of one of the first combined pairs, they opposed Prima in the first Great War, and their Spark had the unique “null” property. The “null” spark, also known as the Null Core, seemingly cannot be absorbed or duplicated: any internal contact with the Null Core, even a small fragment of it, will cause the host body to rapidly die. Megatronus utilized this ability with their Null Blaster arm, which fired pieces of their spark to certainly kill any Cybertronian life form it targeted. The current whereabouts of the Null Core and the Null Blaster are unknown, although the energy properties it possessed were studied and replicated in some of the first Cybertronian weapons.

QUINTUS

Quintus was revered for his brilliant scientific mind and incredible ambition. His study into the creation of life and its properties formed the basis for almost all of Cybertron’s early life sciences. Though his ultimate goal to create a living Spark from nothing was never achieved, his advanced study into the functional properties of Cybertronian life was the basis for everything from the first Matrix of Leadership to the eventual wide-scale mechanization of all life on Cybertron. He disappeared from Cybertron during the first war and is now presumed dead, though not without lasting legacy. His perfect scientific creations, the Quintessons, eventually returned to Cybertron and assumed a long tenure as the planet’s overlords, permanently altering both Cybertronian society and the Cybertronians themselves. Now, Quintus’ greatest creation exists only as a system of industry and the caste system which fuels it.

ALCHEMIST

Not much is known about this Prime, even though their Energon research and development formed the basis for all food production on Cybertron, singlehandedly enabling population growth. They died before the Great War in a way historians can only agree was particularly gruesome and facilitated through their own hubris.

AMALGAMOUS

Another Prime with little historical record, other than possessing the first amorphous spark. The amorphous spark provided Amalgamous and their immediate relatives, now the modern day Shapeshifters, an advanced level of control over their physical appearance. This allowed the Shifters to adjust physical forms, easily integrate foreign body parts, and even change their physical appearances completely. Amalgamous also disappeared quite some time before the first Great War, though it is widely speculated that their body and spark were used by Quintus to develop the first “T-cogs,” artificial organs which eventually enabled transformation.

SOLUS

Solus was a brilliant engineer whose life was cut tragically short, and whose death is cited as one of the major inciting incidents for the Great War. They were responsible for most of Cybertron’s early industry and machining, and they notably developed many of the first mechanical prosthetic parts. They were also the other half of one of the first combined pairs, and one of the first Flightformes alongside the infamous Liege Maxima. They died to Megatronus’ Null Blaster, rendering their spark unrecoverable.

NEXUS

Nexus was actually seven organisms living as one, and the only recorded perfect fusion, a ‘Bot whose sparks were so in sync that they were perfectly stable and essentially existed as one spark. They facilitated the combination of Solus and Megatronus, and believed that all combination was sacred and natural. During the first Great War they aligned with Megatronus, and are most notable for being slain by Prima’s painstakingly engineered ultimate combiner team, Computron, though not before fatally wounding it. Both the Nexus Core and the Computron Core are rumored to still exist somewhere, and are said to have an aura that inspires an almost irresistible compulsion to merge with it.

MICRONUS

The first Minicon, a type of Cybertronian with a physically strong stature and an incredibly powerful Spark that can sustain immense amounts of physical strain for long periods of time. Micronus allied with Megatronus during the first Great War, making Minicons one of the many types of Cybertronians that Prima harbored a paranoid disdain for later in his life. Otherwise, their personal life is not very well understood.

LIEGE MAXIMA

Perhaps the most contentious of the Primes, second only to Megatronus themselves. Liege was one of the first Flightformes, and was known to be an artistic savant with talents ranging from painting to poetry. Unfortunately, she is much better known for her incredible manipulation and romantic history. At once the lover of Prima and later Megatronus, Liege Maxima is claimed to have persuaded the two into conflict with eachother, though her personal motives aren’t clear in recorded history. After Megatronus’ defeat, she was able to bargain for her life with Prima, and remained subordinate until eventually aiding the Quintessons in ousting the reigning Primacy. She was eventually killed by Zeta.

ONYX PRIME

Besides Amalgamous, Onyx Prime was the only other original Prime capable of physical transformation into what is colloquially known as a “beastforme.” As implied, a beastforme is a Cybertronian with enhanced physical abilities like superior strength, speed, or even flight, making them a sort of pseudo-Flightforme. Onyx fought on Megatronus’ side during the Great War, leading her people, the Beastformes, to be nearly eradicated, and for Prima to develop an extreme paranoia of them. Now, in the current day, Beastformes are near nonexistent, as their genetic material has been merged and diluted with the modern Cybertronian diaspora. Insecticons are the closest modern analogue, but those are not totally Cybertronian, and are actually a sort of Beastforme/Mechanimal cross (Mechanimals being Cybertronian-like organisms that lack some major trait).

ALPHA TRION

One of two original Primes to survive beyond the reign of the Quintessons, Alpha Trion is best known for being a historian. He is responsible for writing “Lore,” the fundamental historical text that informs everything from Cybertron’s government to its religion. Notably, he fought on Prima’s side during the first Great War. He worked with Zeta to overthrow the Quintessons and restructure Cybertronian society, and now he serves as the archhand to Zeta on the Council of Primes (a council which, perhaps counterintuitively, only consists of two Primes). His list of recorded accolades is long, but he is perhaps most known in war era Cybertron for mentoring Orion Pax.

ZETA PRIME

The youngest of the original Primes, Zeta is most known for taking after Prima as Cybertron’s principle Prime. He took Cybertron back from the Quintessons and restructured its society from the ground up, implementing the caste system into law in accordance with Cybertron’s major religious ideals. Though he and his council of Primes is responsible for anointing new leaders with the Prime title using the Matrices of Leadership (special artifacts constructed with a mix of Prima’s spark fragments and genetic material from other ruling Primes), those Primes are known to come to him for guidance. His Spark is the one to serve as the basis for the Matrix which anointed Optimus Prime, also known as the last Matrix.

[really-good-devil]

x men and marvel characters (wolverine, daredevil, gambit, nightcrawler, etc) with transmasc boyfriend.... please i beg of you

anon i see you i see you i'm thanking you for this. i just ran with this i hope its to your liking

MARVEL IMAGINES WITH TRANSMASC BOYFRIEND

content: religion mention (majority positively), medical/social transition implied, dysphoria, transphobia

Wolverine:

For someone almost 200 years old, he has a bit to learn upon meeting you

Obviously Morph is a help with this + definitely had to give him a PowerPoint presentation

His view of masculinity somewhat is skewed but he is very insistent on treating you like a man because you identify as a man and if that means anything to you then it means something to him

Flannels! He absolutely gives you his baggy coats when you make a comment on needing more masculine clothes (not to mention the smell that his clothes leave on you is a big plus, so sue him, okay?)

Workout regiment is always taken care of and you never skip chest and arm day

He calls you "darlin'" once and then immediately goes "aw shit" because it might be too "lady-like" (his words) but he gets over it very quickly

Mutant hate? He understands all too well. Transphobia? Whole new ballgame, but it makes him just as mad. As in, he has no problem almost kabobbing someone who makes a comment about you going into a bathroom when he takes you out to one of his preferred bars

He soon realizes after that that maybe you need better hangouts and though he doesn't think the beer is as good at the other places, it's worth it to him

To him, assholes like that are no less ignorant than those who attack mutants because its all the same so he gets feisty on the defense

Once when the body dysphoria is real bad, like the kind when mirrors are the worst thing in the world and everything feels gross and tight, he listens and holds you very tightly and though he can't understand half of it, he does understand self-hatred and it hurts him something fierce

So he'll go out of his way at that point to make it known that you are one of strongest guys he knows because you're going through change and sticking to yourself and he loves it about you

He offhandedly once mentions using his claws for top surgery in an attempt to be funny and neither of you know how to react in that moment but it actually is kind of funny much later

Nightcrawler:

Much more up to speed than some others

He's not unused to the ideas of the intricacies and ideas of gender from his time in the circus and seeing the different lifestyles at play there

There's some trepidation on some people's parts about how Kurt will react considering his religion and the history, but it very hardly factors in

Very flirtatious after he gets the okay to move forward even if it's new to him

Does everything he would try to do with his previous lovers; he loves flowers that remind him of you

Constantly trying to involve you in things that he enjoys that he would hope you enjoy

Movie nights are a favorite of his and even if they end up being more modern, he's always willing to give it a chance

Kurt of all people knows what it is like to be judged and ridiculed for how you look or how people perceive someone

Body positivity is a huge part for him; complimenting your frame, your body hair, your hands

After all, his own body is not what many would consider normal, but it is still his and he accepts it, so he'll literally be damned if he can't help with that

His whole thing is finding someone new that's nice to say every day (which isn't very hard for him, tbh)

When he hears you accept any of it he gets so excited that his tail wags and he peppers you with kisses that sometimes have little nips from his fangs but they're all gentle

Loves to take you up to the top of the X-Mansion to have semi-romantic getaways and look out at the night sky and think of things far beyond where you both are right now, though he know he is happiest right at your side

Gambit:

Meets you when you first arrive to the mansion and is instantly drawn to you

Ever the gentleman while he's trying to get to know you, almost like chivalry is his default no matter the gender

After you first confess your feelings his favorite card becomes his King of Hearts

You tell him it's cheesy but he is happy that you approve

He leaves it with you the first time he goes on a mission and though he didn't doubt that you would lose it, he is so happy when he sees you kept it you can literally feel his kinetic energy reserves when he kisses you deep

His favorite is on those rare occasions where you get to dress up, whether it's for a party or infiltrating something

He loves trying to find coordinating or inverse outfits accessories if that's the case (nothing huge, but small ways to show that you two are together)

Pet names constantly

He works with his hands often so he uses them constantly to explore your body and he has magic fingers in many ways

You're so perfect to him in every way imaginable

Matt Murdock:

You meet Matt in Josie's a while after moving to the area in a new area to "start fresh"

It's not that he hustles you but you don't expect to lose at pool to him

He's very charming and easy to learn from and it takes a while but eventually you do get together

Walks around the neighborhood as an excuse to get to know things end up being tiny dates

Foggy and Karen exchanging tiny looks over Matt's boyfriend but very happy for him

You're unaware of his double life but do end up having to fuss over his scrapes

Eventually you have to explain to him and it's awkward but he just seems to take you in without seeing you and he smiles a bit and its okay from then on

You think he's just super understanding and forgiving but no he's actually known for a while

He's been very perceptive of changes in you as you transition further; he knows when you just had a T shot from how you body is working just a bit harder because of it, when your voice gets a bit deeper between the times he sees you

He also had to do a background check because you can't be too careful at this point

But though it's insanely new to him since he hasn't been with a man, he does love you with no shame

He knows what you look like vaguely but always asks anyway because he wants you to explain what you see of yourself

Always very seriously and not seriously ready to remind you that he is part of fine law firm should you need to win a case against someone at the slightest complaint

You always feel safe and seen, in a way, with him, and it never really changes

‐----------------------

I hope you enjoyed this! If you did, feel free to request more like this or a fic! Requests are open and I have masterpost here and a list of characters and ships I'd write for here. Thanks for reading!

(Also lmk if any of these are interesting enough you'd want to see more of, bc the Matt and Kurt ones I would definitely be open to making a fic so stay tuned if it happens.)

[lustlovehart]

Hii! I'm new here, and I love your twisted wonderland monster AU. I've been addicted to it ever since I found it. Anyways, I don't know if it's been said anywhere, but does the AU take place in modern times or middle age-ish?

Middle-Ageish!

Fun fact, The AU was gonna be set in modern times! The magical scroll scene with Crowley in the prologue chapter was meant to be on the phone instead before I decided I wanted to have the AU be more fantastical. The Au was a bit more slice-of-life based, whereas Monster!Hunter reader has to deal with all the monsters they tried killing breaking into their home. For the most part, most of the cast stayed the same, but some did change! Like Idiawent from Steampunk Robot -> boogeyman -> reaper. Rollo was never disguised as a human, Chenya was gonna be the hunter paired with you! And Lilia was gonna be a spider instead of Skully!

I actually still have the draft for the first Monster!Twst saved! So here’s the phone scene I’m talking about

If I’m being honest… I wrote so much for the original Monster!Twst posts, it’s a shame I decided to never fully finish them! But to be fair, I think I prefer the way the Au is now. But, if anyone is interested I don’t mind posting some of the stuff I did have written originally! It’d be a little saddening if it just rotted in my drafts, so if you’re curious I can share some of the parts from it! (Though not every character was decided in the og au, so if there’s nothing I’m so sorry!!)

Though, if i’m being honest I do not enjoy my writing style in it 😭. Truthfully, the Au was more fun based than plot based before I actually locked in.

I talked too much (」°ロ°)」. Ahh but hiii!! Welcome to the blog!! I promise i’m nice. I’m happy I was able to get you hooked on it! I love writing when I have to time and it’s so heartwarming to know people like it ^^