#i have banned myself from working any more on it because otherwise i would have been there forever changing stuff

[princekirijo]

AAAAWAWAWAWAWA NEW ICON SPOTTED 👀👀👀👀

Eheh YES I said I was gonna draw myself a Halloween icon and I did 😌 pretty happy with myself I find lately I've been struggling to actually finish a sketch I start so to get this done + a bit of rendering is nice!

I wanted to draw Riku in a Halloween costume and thought what would be dress as for Halloween and then thought that's a dumb question there is only one answer 💀

[pianocat939]

here me out, yan rise boys w/ cat mutant reader hcs? feel free to ignore

Reminds me of how I was called cat instead of my name that one time lmao- these aren't very long since idk I couldn't really think of any major differences (this goes with most animal mutant/yokai requests ngl)

Excuse me for any misconceptions with cats, I haven't been around one in a decade so- also- I did write this one as more romantic leaning

Tw: Donnie putting MC on a diet that's only beneficial for cats, Leo playing "shining knight in armour" bs, delusional, just fluff really

Yan Turtles with Cat Mutant MC Hcs

✦Ronald Reagan's Crusty Elbow✦

Finds you really fluffy and snuggly. If you aren't a touchy person please beware of him because he will want to cuddle. He loves to give scritches behind your ears just to see if you'll purr or make any other pleased noises. If you do, he is gonna be all soft to the point I doubt he'll want to let you go for a moment.

Want your fur to be brushed? Bro is all about it. He might even put on a little Soul music while he brushes you. He tries to make it as calming as possible.

If you idk lick his cheek or somewhere on his face (cuz you're a cat-) I think he would find your weird sandpaper tongue so interesting. Might giggle a bit from the feeling.

✦Lathering Nose✦

He is definitely an asshole. He'll do everything and anything to make you jump or get startled. But as soon as you are, he hugs you and gives a few pecks wherever on your face saying you're safe in his arms. Basically, he's doing the "I'm the cause of it and then acting like I'm saving you from it."

Something tells me he would love stuffing you into like a sack with your head poking out and cuddling with you while you're trapped in the sack. He is all about those nuzzles- he loves nuzzles.

He would 100% buy you weird hats for you to try on- because people do that with their cats. It could be an apple, a turtle, to Donald Trump's hair. He just loves funky hats to give you.

✦Dough Slapping Giraffe✦

He is going to ban you from eating any foods harmful to cats because he's a paranoid fucker. Don't think he won't know, because he'll have cameras, trackers, hell he might even straight up destroy that food forever.

We know he isn't too big on physical affection, but I think he'd like you chilling on his lap while he works. I like to think his lab is a bit chilly considering all the metal and other things, so he likes that you're warm.

I'm sorry but he loves being a menace and playing with you with a laser. Definitely not his lab, but maybe the living room or just a more open space will he whip it out and laugh every time you instinctually want to chase it.

He records any cat-like noise you make it. You cannot convince me otherwise. He'll likes to listen to it if he ever has issues with sleeping or idk whatever negative situation.

✦Morphine Sucker✦

Cuddles, snuggles, pets, scritches; he will be all over you if you're any type of fuzzy animal. If he ever feels bad or just feels lonely he shoves his face into your fur, most often your neck. He has a bad habit of playing with your tail. Not in a malicious way, but he wants to pet it or watch it move around.

If he ever cooks for you, he likes to shape any solids or sauce in the shape of a cat head. He also tends to put in ingredients that are more well-fit for a cat.

He loves the sound of your purrs, he'll just cling to you and listen to it every time it happens. Also, every time you purr, he thinks he's doing a good job at whatever and that his divinity is blessing him. So you're quite literally deluding him more.

——————————————————

I'm intimidated to write anything that's romantic omg- like I think I've scared myself into putting the least amount of romantic things when I say it's romantic leaning help-

- Celina

[princelylove]

My Prince,

This is a bit personal, so feel free not to respond if you desire to do so. A fear I have is driving. I think I’m a bad driver. I get over it enough to drive, since I have to, but I’ve come home panicking over almost getting into a car accident. It feels terrible. My fear is that I’m going to accidentally kill/hurt someone and then I don’t know how I’d live with it. I’m mostly scared about myself driving, I feel less worried if I think the driver isn’t reckless.

I wonder if and how yanderes would use the fear to make me dependent on them.

They could screw up my car, sabotage it so it breaks down, or mess with my tires? They get to be a ‘knight in shining armor’ when they coincidentally show up to help if I’m stranded. Struggling to get money needed for repairs is also a good opportunity for them.

Show me videos or news reports of terrible car crashes or pileups to remind me of the danger, or tell me about people they knew that were injured or died in a car accident?

I don’t know how anyone could do this, but somehow orchestrate car crashes to happen around me so I see them up close?

Maybe they could make comments about my driving, insult my driving, make a joke out of it to hurt my confidence while driving and make me feel guilty? But I’d hope they would be at least somewhat gentle about it…

And then as I get more scared of being ‘behind the wheel’, they could slowly offer to take me places themselves, until it’s to the point I’m dependent on them for getting around. If I refuse to drive, they have significant control of my schedule and how I do things. It also makes it much harder to escape a kidnapping if I’m too scared to take transportation.

Who would most likely do these kind of things?

i apologize for this being so long, and it’s appreciated if Your Highness read through all this blabbering. Thank you very much.

You would like a yandere that scares you, anon? One that manipulates you? It's too easy sometimes.

I like it when my peons prattle, it's often cute.

Typical manipulators are going to abuse any sort of fear- Noriaki, Diavolo, Melone... the list goes on. Cars are tricky because they don't really come around until part two, and leave in part six. Part seven has very, very new ones- they count, I guess. There's a window where cars are just in development and not that reliable, but I don't see many yanderes in part three and behind as all that manipulative.

Sure, Caesar is, but he's too proud to take the easy way out. Lisa Lisa doesn't see the point in cars when you're meant to be living on her private island. Joseph respects the technique and isn't above sabotaging yours, but... that's pretty lame. He's more creative than that.

There's also the fact that some manipulative yanderes are out of touch or otherwise don't care for cars. Kars doesn't know what that thing is and he doesn't care to learn. DIO is newly acquainted, but isn't going to drive himself, as he's above it. Giorno is banned from being behind the wheel ever since the White Album incident. Leone is normally too tipsy to reasonably put himself behind the wheel, Bruno tends to walk everywhere...

Some yanderes could sabotage your car with their stand if they wanted to, but putting on the news works too. Court TV is on because knowing about the news is important, no you can't have the remote. Ohh, that man drove into a parade, that's crazy. They're saying he was drinking. Isn't that little treat you get during the day alcoholic? Ohh, no? I thought there was a lawsuit going on with the company that makes it, said they were putting it in and mislabeling it. Crazy, huh.

Mariah fucks with your car before she asks you to drive her anywhere. Kochi could easily attach "Heavy!" under your car in traffic, as he did in canon. Akira could- well, to be honest with you, I'm not sure how cars work, but I'm sure Red Hot Chili Peppers could mess with it somehow. Machines are always going to be just that- machines. They break, they stop working. Fickle things.

As for who I think definitely would.... Melone likes to do tricks on his bike to scare you, Hol Horse would do just about anything to get one up on you, and Funny Valentine is absolutely not above orchestrating a crash in front of you. Newly invented, so unreliable.

But some yanderes are very understanding about it, can you take the train or just walk? Maybe bike? They'll come with you so you don't get lonely! Josuke normally takes a train to get to his university, he can teach you how to use the little card and how to get a good seat or stand in a good place.

Or, you could get lucky and get Jolyne, who wasn't gonna let you drive anyway and takes safety super, super seriously. Or Rohan, who could easily rewrite any of your fears! (But won't.)

[ashs-nerd-den]

Appreciation post for the wonderful woman that is my year head and English teacher (and history teacher last year)

She posts what gets done each week on the class teams so that we can still keep up and know what to do if we miss school

She posts all of her PowerPoints there and all of the digital resources that she uses in class there

She has a tray on top of one of the presses with spare copies of any handouts from the week so that you can still get the physical handouts if you were absent

When she found out that I hadn't gotten my accommodations last year and how important they for pain reduction, she skipped over the policy so that I could be allowed to leave class if I'm in too much pain to take a break so that I can keep going. If she hadn't done this, it would've taken months until I was allowed to do this

She's given me permission to just study in the resource room when I have upstairs classes when the stairs would be too painful/dangerous (the elevator doesn't work, which she was VERY pissed off about) and she tried to shuffle things around so that I could be in downstairs only classes

Has said on numerous occasions that she does not care in the slightest if I miss a couple of classes to save myself pain, because my health is more important than whether I'm in the classroom and she knows that I'll catch up anyways

Had expressly told me that I am BANNED from feeling guilty or embarrassed about using my accommodations because if it saves me even the smallest bit of pain then it is a great thing and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot

During assemblies, she lets us all sit down so that we don't have to stand there for 10/20 minutes with bags our backs (I was barely conscious for assemblies with my last year head because he made us stand for them and I was barely conscious in the class after them too because of this) and she double checked with me to see if sitting was easier or if I was easier for me to stand because she saw how hard it was for me to stand up

Last year, when I forgot to do my history homework, when she took up my journal, instead of writing a punishment note, when she saw the note that my mam had written explaining the the most basic stuff of what we knew about my health issues at the time, to excuse me from PE, she decided not too get me in trouble, and kept me back after class to check on me and basically said "you've enough to be dealing with, with your health, a couple of history questions aren't that important in comparison"

Whenever I stay back to help clean up her classroom (I had her last class x2 a week last year and once a week this year) we always have the chats and we just talk about whatever and shes honestly just such a LOVELY person

When I gave her chocolates and a handmade candle last year as a "thank you for teaching me" she gave me the biggest hug (after asking permission first) was so greatful and was nearly in tears

She is an amazing person and I know that she will never see this, but I just thought that I should write this to acknowledge how incredible she is, and kind of to brag about how I get to have such an incredible teacher and year head

[golbrocklovely]

Well I completely disagree with you. While sharing every single full video would be wrong, sharing smth small is literally not a big deal and it’s nobody’s waste of money. If anything it can even invite someone to that website, if they find the clip interesting.

With that being said. Snc whole brand is surrounded by them making money out of everything. Merch, videos, main channel, react channel, website etc etc. it really won’t hurt their wallets or anyone else’s if someone shares a 15 seconds clip from their website. People are anyway still signing for it, moreover the clip can as i said bring some new people (usually people do not like pay money for something blindly, so in a way those people helps them advertise it… and let’s face it… that members is not cheap), nobody will loose their money that they invested in that website, just bc some user4729$3 decided to share a few seconds clip from xplore. And just to be clear, i don’t really give a damn how snc make their money and how much they have it or wants to have, but because we live in tough times where not all of us have the same opportunities, then being mad as a person that was lucky enough to be born within a family that gave you a roof, food, phone, television and money for your own better future (like better education or even some connections for better job) at people who decided to share A FEW SECONDS CLIP is just stupid. Whether you are a member or not, being mad at such a short clip is stupid, especially that those clips aren’t something idk private or something completely different that snc do. There are really bigger problems on this world than a 15 seconds clip from xplore.com roaming around Twitter

look, i feel like i explained myself enough in my previous response to you. personally, i don't get why you are upset at ppl being upset when others share stuff from a site that clearly you aren't on or apart of since you continue to get the site's name wrong.

and if there are more important things to talk about going on in the world, why are you talking about this? just asking.

when you sign up for the site, you literally agree to NOT SHARING anything from it. otherwise you could get banned. it's really that simple. but hey, you do you. play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

not only that, but as someone that does pay for the site, i don't want to see shit from the site leaked onto twitter or tiktok or insta or any other platform. the entire point of the content is that it is exclusive. meaning that NOT EVERYONE IS MEANT TO SEE THE CONTENT. ppl are going to be excluded, that is the entire point of the platform. and as i stated before, i am by no means rich or well off. i literally live below the poverty line, almost lost my house multiple times, and will most likely have to start working a second job bc i do not make enough to get by whatsoever. that being said, if i couldn't afford it, i wouldn't expect someone to share the info with me just bc i'm a fan of snc. you're not owed exclusive content just bc you're poor and a fan of snc. sorry, that's just the way it is. it isn't life or death information. it's just random fucking videos.

and bffr, if you are someone that is struggling that much; can't afford a house, food, a job, a higher education, and have a shitty fucking family…. i highly doubt you give a single flying fuck about snc or xplrclub. you have bigger fish to fry.

also snc have almost 13 mil subs and advertise xplrclub regularly on their videos. they don't need free promo lmao

[mallowstep]

Not sure if I’m sending this in the right place but, as someone who identifies as “centrist” in this whole anti pro thing (I don’t like either side, harassment and overzealous hatred over fictional characters bordering on obsession is unhealthy and definitely really harmful to minors in those spaces but a majority of proship shit I’ve come in contact with during my attempts to kinda figure myself out were also very black and white when it came to arguments over fictional depictions of certain topics, consumption of media and honestly at times reminded me of the fandom culture I was groomed in) I agree with you the most and genuinely enjoy a lot of what you write, and it’s refreshing to see someone else who has similar opinions and ways of handling these topics in their works with a nuance that people lack when looking at any of this stuff which infuriates me. I’d send this off anon but I do kind of fear backlash from outing my stance on this stuff — this whole controversy is dumb, I do wish people who could handle your approach on dark subjects gave your writing more of a chance, your mosspelt story was a very well put together piece on grooming and it’s effects while not being too graphic and focusing on an emotional journey and i really loved it, I wish people in general could use more nuance when looking at fiction and interactions with said fiction because these black and white arguments get us nowhere

[this ask was initially sent jan 31]

thank you so much for this ask.

(cw: i do not discuss any details of what certain fics contain, but i do discuss that i have written fics dealing with various kinds of abuse with some being graphic.)

the mosspelt piece is one of my proudest works, and i think it definitely...goes down the easiest? (in contrast with, say, no one held me to the flame, a concept i didn't expect any amount of support for or engagement with.)

i would like to take this moment to remind everyone that you don't have to engage with everything i write, just in case anyone needs to hear that today. if something is upsetting to you, don't read it. love to everyone.

anyway. as someone whose stance is tax paying adult/whatever is funniest/whatever people have decided today, i don't really like to acknowledge shipcourse. i've got friends who bear both labels, and they both agree with me. so. i think that pretty accurately describes how nonsensical this whole thing is, that two people on supposedly opposite sides can have the same opinions.

i was talking with one of my friends who has the same stance as me (altho, if forced to label ourselves, we would pick differently), and we were talking about how it ultimately comes down to how do we actually stop harm.

banning topics from ao3 doesn't stop harm. things will happen no matter what. you don't have to like it, but that's the reality. (for a tangible example of this happening, look into how FOSTA/SESTA made it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.)

as some of y'all know, i was most engaged in this discourse when i was at a deep low point. (or high point, as it were, seeing as i was trending towards mania.) it's been a while since i've spoken on it because i needed a good long time out.

ultimately, characters on a screen or in a book do not matter and cannot be harmed. real people can. what matters to me is therefore the normalization of abuse.

a talking point that continues to bother me is the idea that just acknowledging something exists and happens is normalizing abuse. i think anyone who's read some of my fics can agree with that. i think if you read no one held me to the flame and manage to get off to it, or otherwise think it's normalizing abuse, then i'm a much worse writer than i thought. (i name nohmttf specifically because it goes as far as deliberately depicting the acts.)

i don't know where i'm going with this, just...it's all pretty senseless. if the super dark stuff like nohmttf isn't your cup of tea, i don't want you to read it. i want you to enjoy your time reading my fics.

[corpseaten]

i agree, i have never understood the appeal of family reunions.... especially since so many of my family live near each other! can you not just visit each other normally? plus there are not many people in my family that i like and although our parents can talk for hours, me and my cousins always just end up sitting around awkwardly. i know, the year has gone by so fast!

i see, good luck with finishing those up. hopefully they will not be too bad. having a day of rest is always good! i am quite the opposite, in terms of media.... i tend to like things most people consider "bad" but if it appeals to me, it appeals to me. some things do not need a wide audience.. 

i can understand that.. i actually have some horrible social skills, but it is something i am generally capable of. do i enjoy it? no. do i mess up a lot and generally tend to make people uncomfortable? yes. though i do not really mind that second part. i am glad i do school online now, far less having to talk to people! i agree with you, breathing weirdly does not sound very good. i will not deny that i am a nerd! i most definitely am. i think being knowledgable about even 2d idols is admirable, as there is a lot to learn!! sometimes we get questions about video games, and i am always hoping we get a question about enstars. one day, maybe. and true! otherwise, we would take over the world.. or something of that kind. 

that is fair! and you are too kind.... my bio is actually a quote from one of my favorite games, alter ego.. it is a self-discovery clicker game that builds off of freud's theory of the id ego and super ego. it is very interesting and has been with me for a long time. plus es, the main character/guide, is very me at times. the quote itself is a monologue es has at the player during my first and favorite route.. i really connected with it. i hope you can get some sleep soon.!

That makes it even less pointless . . why have such a big gathering if you are in such close proxemity of each other ? is that not a waste of everybodies time? I have never met any cousin of mine, so I’m sure I would also be awkward with them, unless I know someone well, I do not approach for a conversation, nor do I really engage !

aaah thank you ! I wish I could have more days of rest, ideally, seven. This life is too difficult for me. That is true ! I struffle getting into nee things as if I don’t like it from the start, I cannot keep my attention on it, which is not very fun, most of my interests are not niche in the slightest because of it. I think it’s nice that you can like things and not care for what others think.

As do I , nobody taught me how to socialise so I just refuse to do it in most situations, making people uncomfortable is good as it means they’re less likely to bother you in future, i’ve done that with a few people before, mainly as they were not very nice . . but, it works. I may not be as good at reading people as I thought, I did not take you for a nerd at all ! I am the opposite, I do not store any logical information in my head, only my emotions, no room for anything else, sorry ! You may be right, the amount of things I know about some idol groups is genuinely worrying, someone needs to cut my brain open and study it. You might, it is pretty popular when it comes to idols, so, you never know. I wonder what I would do if i took over the world…probably ban work and school so I can bedrot all day . . you can take care of everything else in terms of world donination I am happy with my One demand.

aaaaah I have embarassed myself again. head in hands. I have heard of that game before actually, an old friend of mine once played it during our breaks in school, I never did myself though . . I also know the theory! I rarely understand things this is Crazy for me. It is a beautiful sounding monologue, I can see why it resonates with you . . it has a very you vibe. I did get some sleep . . just not much. I presume you are asleep as well right now, so, sleep well.

[anarkittyuwuuniverse]

"The overwhelming theme in Nietzsche’s books is that the aspirant free spirit must do this work alone. This is one obvious sense in which Nietzsche is an individualist. To focus on developing my own project I have to get away from the ‘noise and dust’ (D177) of society. For this reason I enter into solitude – so as not to drink out of everyone’s cisterns. Amid the many I live like the many and don’t think as I; after some time I always feel then as if they wanted to ban me from myself and rob my soul – and I turn angry toward everyone and fear everyone. Then I need the desert to turn good again. (D491) The common values and desires that I am exposed to in society are particularly sick and harmful values, values of ressentiment. Those I encounter in society are ‘revenge addicts’, ‘invalids of all stripes, the sickly and oppressed’, and ‘the whole air is constantly buzzing from the arrows and darts launched by their malice so that the sun and sky of life are darkened by it – not just for them but even more so for us, the remaining ones’ (D323). ‘Therefore solitude’ because otherwise ‘don’t we end up denying from time to time sun and sky simply because we haven’t seen them for so long?’ These ideas continue to develop in later texts where Nietzsche links solitude, cleanliness, and what he calls the noble ‘pathos of distance’. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche explores Zarathustra’s movements of retreat – going out to the desert, or ‘going up’ to the mountains – to work on himself in solitude, as well as his attempts to ‘descend’ again to society. Zarathustra also describes his ascent as ‘draw[ing] circles around me and sacred boundaries’ (Z ‘On Old and New Tablets’ 19). In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche will call Zarathustra ‘a dithyramb on solitude or, if I have been understood, on cleanliness […]’ (EH: Wise:8). And yet there is a continual tension. Nietzsche praises and desires solitude, but he also hungers for friends and companions he can share projects with. Running through his books are beautiful flashes on the idea of friendship. The friend is a ‘festival of the earth and an anticipation of the overman’ (Z 1 Neighbour 4). Friendship is not dependency and possessiveness but a ‘shared higher thirst for an ideal’ (GS14). Friendship means sharing joy, not pitifully sharing pain – in German ‘Mitfreude’, or ‘joying-with’, as opposed to ‘Mitleid’, pity or ‘suffering-with’ (HH499, AOM62, GS338). A friend is also an antagonist – even, ‘the best enemy’ (Z 1. Friend 4) – who helps by challenging and spurring us on In his life, Nietzsche actually attempted to set up a kind of community of self-transforming free spirits: what he called in 1876 a ‘cloister for free spirits’ (Kloster für freiere Geister), or ‘“school of educators” (where they educate themselves)’. Benedetta Zavatta, who has studied the letters where Nietzsche wrote inviting friends to join the project, describes it as ‘a micro-community of friends’ who would live and study together. Nietzsche wrote in one letter: ‘If you knew what this meant to me! In fact, I am always hunting for men like any pirate, but not to sell them as slaves, rather to ransom myself with them in liberty!’4 According to Keith Ansell-Pearson (2015), throughout the ‘free spirit’ period Nietzsche nurtured the idea of founding ‘a philosophical school modelled on Epicurus’s garden’, writing about this project to his friend Peter Gast as late as 1883. In following this model, Nietzsche both envisages a community that can work together on projects of self-transformation, and at the same time takes up the Epicurean injunctions to ‘live unnoticed’ and ‘do not get involved in politics’. In short, the Epicurean garden is a shared seclusion.5 Like Zarathustra, the retreating individual draws ‘circles’ and ‘boundaries’ around herself, segregating herself from the wider social world in order to focus on self-work. She may do this alone or with close comrades who share similar projects. But, in either case, it is still a retreat." -Nietzsche and anarchy by Shahin

[progressivejudaism]

I want to share with you an exchange that I had with a Messianic “Rabbi.”  If you are not Jewish, I especially suggest skimming this.

Hi friends,

Rabbi Josh here (he/him) with an installment of “let’s learn why Messianic ‘Judaism’ is problematic and dangerous.” 

Last week, I contacted an organization that calls themselves the “Jewish Voice Ministries” - an Evangelical Christian, far-right group cosplaying as Jews with the goal of using humanitarian work to convert as many Jews as possible to their ministry.   You can learn more about their “white saviorist” message that they use as a cover for their three major goals - which conflict with each other; the first two being the goal to convert Jews, while the third being to support Jews and the State of Israel.  (Hot take- one cannot simultaneously want to eradicate Jews and Judaism; while also supporting Jews and the State of Israel.)

I’ve included both screen shots of the respones and my own commentary below.

I would love to hear your compassionate thoughts on this organization and this figure in reblogs and comments.  All antisemitic, racist, and otherwise inappropriate responses will result in a ban from the PJBlog.

I sent the following message to the organization, hoping for answers to why they do what they do:

Hi there, I’m a little confused regarding your messaging here. Why are you identifying as Jews but yet preaching about Christian theology? As I’m sure that you’re aware, this is a classic antisemitic trope that is not okay. I’m a rabbi with now ten years of academic schooling. I would absolutely love to come to your Church and teach about how to be a better friend to the Jewish People. Please let me know how I can support you on your journey to eliminating antisemitic and bigotry aimed at Jews. L’shalom, Rabbi Josh

A “Messianic Rabbi” responded to this message.  Instead of directly replying to this figure only to get into an ethical stalemate, I would like to use this as a learning opportunity for all of us.  (See this to better understand why the title in quotes)

Below I have provided their responses to my inquiry, to which I will include my own commentary so we can unpack and learn how problematic “Jewish Voice Ministries” and “Messianic Judaism” is and how these kinds of Evangelical Groups effect our safety as Jews:

Shalom Rabbi Josh,

Thank you so much for writing and reaching out to us; it’s a blessing to hear from you. [Jews rarely use “it’s a blessing” in our correspondence.  Unless using Hebrew, culturally I’ve never seen it, especially from Jewish clergy. Similarly, very few Jews in my experience begin emails with “shalom.”  It feels like they’re trying to prove something.]

I appreciate your question and comments and will be happy to reply to them.

We identify as Jews because many on our staff, including myself and Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, are Jews. [This is inappropriate.  Just because a few staff members are Jewish, does not mean that you are a Jewish organization. ESPECIALLY if said staff members have chosen to live life as a Christian -- and thus become a Jewish Apostate.  As an example, should the US Senate identify as Jews because Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, and Jackie Rosen are three of eight Jewish members? No, the answer is no.]

The theology we preach, is Biblical Jewish theology, which was later adopted (and in many cases, unfortunately twisted), by Christianity. [“Biblical Jewish theology” can no longer be practiced. Biblical Jewish life centered around the Temple.  And we have no Temple.  The line of ordained Koheinim (ritual priests) has ended.  And even if we as Jews all collectively agreed and decided to actually build a Third Temple in Jerusalem, we can’t due to political, social, and ethical tensions with Palestinians, Jordanians, and our Muslim siblings - we cannot *just* build the Temple again. Read more here.]

Interestingly, to this day, many in Christianity do not realize that the foundation of their beliefs, is from Judaism. [This is an interesting way to say that "Messianic Judaism” was formed by Evangelical Christians in the 1970s, and use that theology with some Jewish language to pretend to be Jews!  More here.]  And while there has been much in Christian theological teaching that fits the pattern of antisemitic tropes, such is a reflection on the errors of such churches, and not on the very sound Jewish theology we teach and espouse. [This also is frankly not true. Their entire goal is to convert Jews and eradicate Judaism.  There is a long history of Christians attempting to do this-- with the most famous being during the Inquisition where Jews were forced to “convert or die.”  This is the definition of antisemitic theology.  And they are not the only group preaching this harmful theology.  Read more here.]

We appreciate that you would love to come to our church, and we would be honored to host you, were it not for the fact that we do not have a church. [Well if this isn’t a Church, whatever they preach about is certainly not recognized as Judaism by any major Jewish organization. See here for rabbinic responses to the movement. ] Indeed, Rabbi Jonathan and myself do what we've been doing since childhood, and attend Shul on Shabbat. [It was an interesting and non-inclusive choice to use Ashkenormative language here. And that said, while it is true that they might have attended a synagogue as a child, what they are doing now is certainly not Judaism.  For more information about differences between Jews and Christians, see this article on Bible interpretation.]

And while some of our employees are Gentile and do attend churches, such churches are those which understand and uphold the importance of blessing Israel, which includes standing with Israel against anti-Semitism [This is code for “Anti-Israel” sentiment, which is often code for equalizing any critique against far-right leaders in the Knesset to antisemitism.  One could always critique Israel without being antisemitic.  And conflating all critique of Israel as antisemitism is extremely dangerous.  Also, the term “anti-semitism” is not correct with the dash.  Read more here.] and helping raise awareness that (when it comes to ongoing conflicts with Hamas), Israel is not committing genocide, is not an apartheid nation, is not occupying supposed "Palestinian" territory, and any Christian who is truly following what their religion teaches, would and should be appalled by the efforts of the BDS Movement, and folks like Bernie Sanders, who - up until recently - was intent on stopping a $735 million arms sale to Israel, so that the nation could purchase more iron domes from us, to continue to protect the innocent citizens who simply, as you know, just want to live in peace. [I am fascinated by this chunk.  Firstly, I want to identify the clear and obvious antisemitism here in naming Bernie Sanders as an enemy of the State of Israel while using a financial figure to prove how “bad” he is for the State of Israel.  Secondly, it’s fascinating that this “rabbi” chose to lay out all that he preaches about Israel in such a broad way - most likely to make me “feel better” about his stances.  He knows how scared so many Jews are about their movement, and made MASSIVE assumptions about my politics, using poorly written talking points that really do not mean much, and frankly some that are wrong.  As an example, the US does not sell “iron domes” to Israel (not in the plural, or in the present tense).  The US helped to create the Iron Dome System (singular, past tense) which protects innocent civilians in Israel from rocket fire often from Hamas.  The system is singular, and the US helps to maintain said system.  I point out this small thing here because, it is a very clear example of how ignorant this individual is of the real challenges that Israelis and Palestinians, and Jews and Palestinians in the diaspora, face.]

I can tell you though, I do know of a number of churches that would benefit from what you desire to teach. Especially those which erroneously blame our people as the sole purveyors of Deicide. [This is a fascinating way to attempt to emotionally spin this conversation.  (Deicide is the false claim that the Jews killed Jesus, as poorly understood from the Book of Matthew).  Instead of recognizing his own harm in being a part of a system that for now nearly 1700 years has attempted to convert Jews in order to eradicate Judaism, he is focused on something that most Christians *already* agree on.  As an example, this was formally adapted in the Catholic Church in the mid-60s.] 

They would learn much from you, dear friend. [This is a rhetorical tactic designed to make us equal- so that they can continue to preach harmful things about Jews, Palestinians, and the State of Israel.]  And if you need me to suggest some to you, just email me back; I'd be happy to do so.      

Thank you again for writing; I wish you well in your continued spiritual journey as a fellow Rabbi. [See comment above.]

B”H  [Another interesting move.  In my experience, mainly Orthodox and few Conservative rabbis will use this “Baruch Hashem” (Blessed is God) in a meaningful way in correspondence.]

Jack

I really want this to be a learning experience for us all- including me.  I am really curious what you learned from this exchange.  How might you have spoken to this figure?  What did you learn about the movement from this small interaction?  (Also check out their website on incognito mode to learn more)

So what did I learn from this experience?  This organization cares about pushing a particular right-wing and particularly dangerous narrative about Israel rather than actually helping Jews, or frankly helping people on their missions.

From this experience, what do I feel is the most dangerous part of this organization?  In claiming to be the “Jewish Voice,” they are silencing *actual* Jewish voices in the process.  If you cared about Jews, you would learn the history of antisemitism (i.e. do your homework), not pretend to be Jews, not seek to perpetuate antisemitism by converting Jews, and you would always raise up Jewish voices (especially Jews of Color, Jews with disabilities, LGBTQ+ Jews, non-neurotypical Jewry, and Jews-by-Choice).

I hope that you enjoyed learning alongside me with this experience.  I would love to hear your compassionate thoughts below.

[everythingwritingg]

Writing Romantic Tragedies

@everything.writing on IG

I actually have a pretty light weekend because the quarter has wrapped up. Not the best of quarters, grade-wise, but I still have one more quarter to get them up. Anyway, I’m going to answer a post request from one of you guys. Disclaimer: I’ve never written romantic tragedies, only happy romance so this is mostly research.

Have your end in mind. There are a lot of ways to end a tragic romance. This could be death of one or both of the characters, such as Romeo and Juliet. This could also mean both characters live, but neither of them get a happy ending, whether from situational factors like a parent banning them from seeing each other or due to them breaking up. Either way, the plot will be based on what the ending will be, so try to decide that before starting.

Start like how you would normally start a romance. How did the two characters meet? What attracted them to each other? Introduce the characters and begin to develop their backstories. Add other characters and relationships to the story, with subplots.

But there’s something that forbids them from being together. Most romances have an element of forbiddeness, even the ones that end well. Otherwise, there would be no story to read about. Is one of them a friend’s ex? Are they coworkers who are not allowed to date? Do two same-sex characters live in a homophobic society?

Sprinkle hints that the relationship isn’t going to work out. I get it, foreshadowing is a hard skill especially if you’re a pantser or even if you’re a plotter. Generally, you should save it for later drafts, when you know how the story is going to go. Leave little details, such as the comments that other characters make to them. Or maybe another couple who is in a similar circumstance doesn’t end up together.

Write a gradual progression from denial to surrender. Your characters will deny their love for each other, until they finally give in. Both character’s lust for each other should grow more intense as they interact with each other. And then there’s that catalyst, whether it’s the romantic environment or an internal realization that it’s now or never.

Like any relationship, there should be highs and lows. Your couple will both have moments when they rant about something they both hate. However, sometimes they’ll fight, whether it’s about the factors that keep the romance “forbidden” or something else entirely. It’s unrealistic for couples to get along all the time as everyone has different opinions.

There should be moments of euphoria and reality checks. If your characters are in a “forbidden romance”, they’ll often be reminded why they can’t be together, often after periods of bliss. For example, a character has a strict parent. They invite their partner over for a “friend sleepover” and they enjoy a few kisses. Their parent barges in and they barely manage to break apart in time. This brings the couple back to reality of why they can’t be together.

There will be a final darkness/tragedy moment. Take the example above. Instead of them managing to break apart, maybe this time their parent catches them and bans their partner from the house. This is usually the final climax of the story, so treat it as such, with high action and more intense description.

What happens after? If the MC is the one dying, then there’s no need to continue because, well, you know. But if their partner was the one who died or they were forcefully separated, then there should be a period of reflection. If the partner died, how does the MC cope? If both are still alive, what does the MC do after? Does the MC try to get in contact with their partner? Or do they know it’s for the best and remain separate? What lessons do they learn from the relationship?

I hope I successfully walked you through a romantic tragedy. Writing about and researching this topic made me want to write a romantic tragedy myself. I already have a few ideas…but anyway, have a great weekend and keep the requests coming!

[rye-kin]

Ok so. Musical is a bit of a mess to put it lightly. I am aware of that in the same way that I am aware that Russel Crowe as Javert is a bit of a mess. However I am a known enjoyer of things that are a bit of a mess.

Anyways. Part of where like recordings of the soundtrack fall flat is that the Broadway version that is our most accessible recording and most often preformed version makes Jekyll just. The wettest rat of a man, as in even when he's being a bitch, he's being played up as like. A dishrag. It's worst in Confrontation (the Complete Works version with Anthony Warlow is the one that trended on TikTok for a reason and that is because Jekyll doesn't sound like a sad cat reaction image) but even when he's going "Fuck these guys I'll just do it myself," he sounds like he'd be stopped by a stiff breeze. My humble opinion is that. This man is not in fact *that* level of pathetic. Like he's pathetic, just not. That pathetic. He's a man who lives on the bleeding edge of science and you don't do that if you are that level of made of tissue paper. The Complete Works is tonally a bit more unhinged but totals out to like two hours WITHOUT any of the spoken segments and a couple of the songs that are like! Good from the broadway version just don't hit quite right there! Honestly you could make a playlist slamming together songs from both versions and come away with something much more. Maybe not accurate per say, but probably more entertaining.

That is all that will be remotely coherent. This is the point where I explain a musical that I am sorry in advance if you've seen because Long Tangent. Closing out my proper J&H Musical Thoughts here, you are welcome to just Ignore the rest of this thing.

I am in fact "guy who watches musicals once, goes 'huh, neat,' and then starts grabbing songs for their home-grown blorbos" so I happen to have a collection of musical soundtracks (except Hamilton. I've self imposed a Hamilton ban because that's all there would be otherwise) to pull from just on hand ready to go. And I came to. Well, easily one of the conclusions ever because I was weighing between songs from J&H and Finding Neverland for a playlist. That is that, for Some reason, the latter half of Finding Neverland is like. The tonal opposite of J&H but starts coming close to the duality of man themes in similar ways.

This is mostly weird because Finding Neverland is a musical that is, in theory, based off of REAL MAN playwright James Barrie. The Peter Pan guy. The show is like a Marginally more fantastical Hamilton type of approach where you can tell that this is Not How These Things Happened In Real Life but in a way where it's like "Let's use our imagination together to get through the worst of life, as a Group!!" until RIGHT before you go to intermission where you get "Circus of your Mind" and "Live by the Hook". Circus of your Mind is like okay sure just the rising action higher tensions version of things happening in this dude's imagination, things are bad now, sure. Why not. "Live by the Hook" is directly after that and is where fictional character Captain Hook appears to introduce himself to James Barrie as "the part of you you don't like to talk about at tea parties" and tell him he needs to write a properly scary villain. Hook cameos in the background of like Multiple scenes in the rest of the play as a shadow (limited by Hook sharing an actor with another character for "Oh look the more intense part of him he doesn't like is the same as the guy putting financial pressure on him ohhh we're Cool and Smart" reasons) to be like? Motivating I guess? This is mostly weird as all hell because, again, this is ostensibly about a real guy?? Baffling choice here, up there with the romance plot existing at all (dude was ???? dude was something but not. The cheater who ditched his wife for a dying woman THAT's pretty sure).

The rest of the plays aren't all that similar but if you want same energy opposite directions for like. "Façade Reprise 1," and "Confrontation" then "All of London is Here," for the former and "Live by the Hook," and "Stronger" for the latter are sure out there I guess? If you need songs for a playlist where those are just too negative ig.

If you haven't listened to Finding Neverland it's pretty good if you approach it as not biographical, although I saw it live off Broadway first and I cannot, for the life of me, find the song that took the place of All of London in that version which has been driving me BATTY for like four years now.

That's the rant, I am sorry for inflicting this on you lol, ur design for Hyde is the fun sorta menacing which? Vibes!

Wow… Gawdamn

Though I really see we’re your coming from, this is so real and stands on its own…

[sazandorable]

About moderating and banning content on AO3!

Okay so! I haven’t had the spoons to do this for a while but I cracked and ranted about it on twitter which is... not... conducive to long rants, so!

This is a h u g e discussion part of the l o n g history that led to the creation of AO3, which older, more informed, and more articulate people have talked about at length and can be found around if you look (I reblog some of it in my AO3 and fandom history tags for the curious). So I won’t go into that here, nor into the practical reasons why it’s not even possible to put that system in place anyway.

Arbitrarily, or the purpose of this post, because it’s the biggest topic I’ve seen brought up lately, I’ll be talking about fic depicting underage characters in se*ual situations, but honestly I could hold the exact same conversation on literally any controversial content.

This is about why you, specifically, if you are a content creator and especially if you are marginalised and especially if you are queer and especially especially if you are sensitive to fiction depicting certain things... do not, actually, want a banning system on AO3.

What? Of course we do. There’s a lot of p*do shit on AO3 and p*do shit is gross. No one should condone that, wtf? It would be easy to do — just periodically delete the entire Underage tag!

What will happen if that is done is that people will re-upload and continue to write it, they’ll just stop tagging and you will run into it with zero warning nor ability to filter it out. Again, this is not a theoretical — we know this is what happens. When I was a teen, adult content (all adult content) was not allowed on FF.NET; it was everywhere regardless, and without tags. The exact same thing happened on tumblr when adult content was banned as well. It’s not a matter of “staff not handling it well” — it just doesn’t work.

To keep safe the people who need to be able to exclude that tag, that tag needs to exist and be used.

Well, shucks. A reporting system then?

A reporting system would operate in one of two ways:

-an algorithm, which would delete a lot of stuff we wouldn’t want it to delete.

-humans, which is... the bigger problem.

An algorithm sounds great. We do want it to delete everything.

Okay. What about the daddy k*nk fics between consenting adult characters? What about the fics featuring characters that are children in the canon but are adults in the fic? What about the fics about teenagers exploring their se*uality together, written by adults about the experiences they remember having or wish they could have had? What about the thousands of SasuNaru and Drarry and other shounen and YA fics that will get written, by teens or by people who remember being teens? What about the se*ually explicit fic written by teens who are se*ually active in real life? What about the fics about CSA as trauma, about healing from it? What about the fics written by survivors of CSA to cope about their trauma? What about the fics that clearly show that it’s evil and traumatic? What about the super dark, harrowing, but beautiful and artistic that I’m glad I read even though it fucked me up for days? What about the ones that were really shitty but also horribly hot?

Well, some of these are still not okay, but maybe some might be. It depends on how it’s written. We’ll have humans moderating content and deciding, then.

Okay.

The thing is, I don’t know which of the things I just listed were okay for you to be depicted in fiction and which were too much. Odds are I don’t agree with you. Odds are if I asked 10 people randomly picked off the street, not everyone would agree.

Odds are, even if AO3 arbitrarily decided on which of those are allowed and which are not, you would not agree with their choice, and you would still be unhappy with the decision. (Or you would be happy, but your friends wouldn’t.)

Odds are, different AO3 content moderators might not agree on whether a given fic qualifies or not — is it artistic enough? Does it show enough that these actions are evil and wrong? Can the author prove they’re a teenager? Can the author prove they are a CSA victim? Can the author prove that this is to help them cope with their trauma? The author seem to be functioning alright, they mustn’t really be traumatised!

You know what I mean! There’s absolute, objectively gross shit out there that is not artistic and should not be published.

I agree that there’s vile stuff out there that makes me sick and that I think is very clearly just ped*philic trash. But there is no way to, 1) stop those from getting published anyway, 2) take those down and preserve the safety of everything else.

If we start forbidding some things, there’s two ways to go about it.

One single, clear, arbitrary rule — for instance, absolutely no adult content featuring characters under 18 (leaving aside the fact that this would not even work for the reason cited above). So we lose all the stuff from teenagers, all the coming of age stories about adolescence, all the stuff from CSA survivors; people who need to write it can’t publish it anymore, and people who need to read it can’t anymore either (and as a cool bonus, they’re told it’s wrong and made to feel bad about it). Depending on whether the rules applies to characters that are under 18 in the canon, we lose entire fandoms.

Or, subjective moderation by humans, according to what they estimate to be gross.

Let’s assume all moderators can agree on what’s gross or not.

If there is a system in place to ban some underage works because “gross shit”, then that means other gross stuff can be taken down on account of being gross and harmful.

Yeah! Gross stuff should be taken down! Come on, surely everyone agrees on what’s gross and harmful.

Ah.

But the problem is.

Here is a list of things I have seen — with my eyes seen — called harmful to be depicted in fiction:

Murder

Non-con

Inc*st

Cannibalism

Torture

Self-harm

Mental illness

Drugs

Racism

K*nk

Non-negotiated k*nk, but healthy k*nk is ok

Spanking k*nk

BDSM where the woman is a bottom, but woman top is ok

Healthy depictions of BDSM

Unhealthy depictions of BDSM

Queer people doing bad things

Abusive relationships

Rival/Enemies to lovers

Redemption stories

A happy relationship between a 17 yo and an 18 yo

A happy relationship between a 20 yo and a 60 yo

A happy relationship between a boss and their employee, or a college teacher and a student

A happy relationship between a 14 yo boy and an older teenage boy, because that’s reminiscent of older men preying on younger gay boys IRL

Se*ual content featuring a character whose age is unclear in canon and some people headcanon them as being underage, some as being a young adult

Loving, consensual fluff between characters that are evil villains, because it romanticises them and their actions

Dark content shipping female characters

Fluffy content shipping female characters, because it’s misogynistic to act like lesbians are only soft all the time

Consensual s*x featuring a canonically asexual character, because it implies that all aces can and should still have se*

Fics about the same canonically asexual character hating s*x, because that erases the experience of s*x-positive aces

Shipping a character who is perceived by some fans as queer-coded with a character of a different s*x

The tendency to ship a black character with white characters

Fluffy drunk s*x, because that’s not actually consensual

Sleep s*x, because that’s not actually consensual

Trans characters not experiencing dysphoria, because that idealises the trans experience

Consensual s*x between adults that are not married

LGBT+ content, because kids shouldn’t see that.

I guarantee you: you, I, and 10 random people plucked from the street will not agree on what, in that list, is and isn’t okay to publish and consume fiction of.

So why should your taste be the one followed? Why should it be the taste of mods you don’t know? Why should anyone get to dictate? What if the mods think your OTP is gross and your NOTP is fine?

This is the slippery slope argument.

Yes, it is the slippery slope argument. Because we know it happens. Because we’ve been there, because I’ve seen it happen myself twice already and I’m not even thirty. Because we know people do complain loudly about all of these things.

And because the second there is a banning system in place, assholes will use the system to abuse it and get stuff they just don’t like taken down using the “it is gross” argument, and one day you’ll wake up and the beautiful fic that helped you come to terms with your abuse/trauma/identity/orientation/k*nk for feet will be taken down and wonderful vulnerable creative people will have been harassed out of fandom because they argued with 1 person who didn’t like their foot k*nk fic that happened to also feature, for instance, a CSA trauma backstory.

Again: not exaggerating. Not theoretical. It happens, we know it happens, AO3 was created literally because it happens.

I still fucking hate that stuff.

That is completely fine and normal. No one likes everything. Me too! Most of the dark stuff is niche and the creators know only few people will like it the same way they do.

(For the record, I get grossed out and triggered by fics about an asexual character who does not like s*x having s*x with their partner to make them happy. Deep in my gut everything screams that that’s fucked up, terrifying and harmful, how can people write that. But I recognise that there are people who love and need that, and I leave those people and their content alone.

OTOH, I read a lot of otherwise dark shit and I enjoy it in the same way I enjoyed, say, Hannibal, in the same way some people enjoy true crime documentaries, horror movies or r*pe fantasy k*nk. It helps me explore stuff that I like to see in fiction, in a safe, controlled way. I’m also asexual, 90% s*x-repulsed IRL, and, obviously, I would never abuse a child. For that matter, I wouldn’t kill and eat people, either, nor would I do 90% of the tamer k*nky stuff I read.

Of course, Hannibal was fucked up and lots of people probably think Hannibal was gross and should not have been aired — but as exemplified by the fact that it was created, aired and watched, lots of people thought it was fine, interesting and even fun to watch.)

You can and should curate your experience and protect yourself. The AO3 website now allows you to exclude certain tags, and people have developed tools to help with that such as plugins that save your filters or hide fics that contain certain words.

But no, it isn’t going to, and it shouldn’t, get banned.

[rabdoidal]

Hi this is the initial anon that started D&D court!

In a recent session, our party went to visit my character’s grandmother-figure. While there DM introduced a harvest festival that had a nonlethal combat competition and introduced a rival for my character that my dm made up (I put nothing about a rival in my backstory). According to the narrative our dm created, my character had kicked this rival’s ass every year from the moment they entered town to the moment they left.

Initially these characters started out as a birthday one shot and my character was an oathbreaker Paladin, but our DM and another player complained about edgy characters. Wanting to be a good friend and not enjoying being a Paladin much, I reworked my character to be the ultimate team player. So I took four levels of fighter and one of sorcerer. My fighter subclass was banneret which allows me to use my second wind to heal myself and members of my party at the same time. Fighting style I took distracting strike so I could give my party members advantage on hitting the monster. I have been playing this build since July.

We get to the combat and our dm announces that this year the townsfolk are changing it so that it’s in teams and then announces that no magic is allowed in the competition. That removed all of my extra abilities from my one level of sorcerer making my character essentially a level four fighter. But in order to engage with the narrative DM set up about my rival I 1v1 them while my team takes care of the rival’s team. Only 1v1ing meant my distracting strike and my rallying cry were pointless, and I only had one attack because I was level four. So action surge allowed me one more chance to hit in the entire combat. I’d gotten reduced to a slightly heartier level 2.

Meanwhile my rival not only had two attacks but a bonus action grapple that he could do all on one turn. Meaning he had three chances to hit me for my one. He also had a partial stunning strike. When my character eventually got grappled I had to use my entire action to try to break the grapple but didn’t have any bonus actions I could use to give myself help because they were either magic or healing as I had already used action surge. When my team came over to help and hit the guy a few times, my DM did NOT give me any bonuses to trying to break the grapple. Eventually they got the guy off me and I happened to be the next in initiative so I was the finishing hit.

If it had just been a case of bad dice rolls, I’d be bitter about the dice gods not the DM. But I felt like I was being punished for trying to engage in the narrative they set up. According to him I had kicked this guy’s ass multiple times which means we should have been equal if my rival had been working out with the intention of kicking my ass some day. But by removing my access to sorcerer stuff (unless I was willing to get disqualified) made me weaker, and then two of my special abilities as a fighter were rendered useless by the narrative leaning to 1v1. If our DM had set up a friendly team competition, then I would have played it differently and used my team work skills. But I wanted to engage with the rival narrative my DM set up because it would have been bad player behavior otherwise, and my character got nerfed because of it.

Is this unfair DM-ing, or am I just being whiney?

Same initial anon again. I forgot to mention that our DM had allowed us to buy magic gloves that gave us the spell bark skin so our ac was +2. By not allowing magic my ac was dropped to 14.

Okay, a lot to unpack!

In my opinion, the setup was so unfair in the first place that I'm genuinely surprised about the magic ban playing into it as well - if your rival already has 2 attacks (presumably level 5 or above in a martial class) they absolutely shouldn't also be getting a grappling attack - if your DM really wanted to grapple you so bad, then the rival should have the grappler feat, or just be using one or both attacks to grapple. Additionally, I think a more thematic choice for the rival would be for them to have a level in Warlock or another magic class, mirroring the magic your character has taken, but through a more revenge driven lens - then that rival may disqualify himself by using magic to try beat you, leaving you open to use magic again or for you to win fairly without it.

Also, just right out the gate, I don't think its okay that your DM just told you you have a rival. If I were going back to a PCs hometown, I'd ask something like "who were your friends, who did you dislike, is there anyone you remember the most here" if I really wanted to set up a conflict.

Finally, on a personal decision level... I think rivals should be at least a little pathetic and a little weaker than you? Like, they care so much about defeating you but its not integral to your life at all. Being a level 5+ martial glass/grappler while you're losing abilities, class features and magic isn't a good contest, its a beatdown. Rivals play by cartoon logic, not by the bylaws of the DM's handbook - all NPCs have less abilities and features than normal PCs, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to make some townie fighter better than an adventurer.

I'm definitely in favour of the player, and I gotta sentence the DM to perform magic tricks on stage in front of their hometown.

[tempural]

Artcade 2022 Post-Mortem

“Artcade” has been an event for the last two years’ summer: 2022, and 2021.  I meant for Artcade to serve as a creative trading and gifting event formed around our original characters, and for Artcade to serve as an alternative to events that do not allow NSFW, or non-illustration work.  

Sculpture, music playlists, writing, and any other form of creativity is allowed in my event.  Most NSFW content is allowed with descriptive warnings and a spoilered image, save for content banned from Discord because the event is hosted on Discord.

This year, the event took place from July 1st to August 1st.

25 different people created art for reach other.

All together, we made 218 pieces of art!  That’s an average of 8 pieces per person!  I myself made 16 pieces for the 16 other people who chose to create something for me.

More under the cut.

Setting up the event:

We use the discord server in which I host art events and zines for Artcade.  A couple different channels were dedicated to the event:

An information channel in which rules were posted, and a link to a google docs with more in depth descriptions.

A directory in which individuals would post their name, a link to character references (whether on refsheet or their own site), their likes, and their Do Not Wants (very important!).

An art channel in which individuals would post their art.  New to this year, a thread would be made on that piece so that each piece could get in depth comments and discussion without being interrupted by any new pieces.

A “sidequest” channel for individuals to post their pieces for the zine cover (more on that later)

A points-and-prizes channel to contain the usage of the discord bot which allocated points and prizes (more on that later!)

A event discussion channel, in which people could ask questions or just talk to each other about what’s going right or going wrong.

The event was open to anyone who signed up for my June newsletter, or if they were too late they could ask for an invite from a friend.  I made a few social media posts about the event and newsletter, but otherwise did not have open calls.  I reasoned that a small “screening” process would limit the amount of people (as I cannot moderate too many people in my server), and ensure that anyone who wanted to participate in the event had the patience to wait a couple weeks and read through the information in the newsletter first.

In the future, I would probably make the “screening” process a bit more selective than an open newsletter.  It seemed that some people joined without knowing who I was, or what my art was about.  This is not ideal, as my art can be considered disturbing and should not be seen by most normal people.

Because I purposely choose not to use the “proship” or “antiship” fandom buzzwords, it seems that some people who rally against whatever “gross” NSFW stuff got lost and found their way in the event.  This perhaps could be prevented if I used the fandom buzzwords, but I find it disgusting to have to use fandom terms in order to clearly get my point across about how I literally do not care if people draw porn of BBW caillou’s ass or naruto eating shit.

Another option for next year would be to use a form to collect contact information of people wanting to participate, and to privately DM them the invite link.  Individually sending links would require 20x more effort.  It would also necessitate some snooping and people willingly giving me their social media links so I can straight up tell them “dude your DNI says dni if you draw necrophilia and i draw necrophilia dude lol”.  If someone does not have an online presence, that would also make the snooping a moot point as I would hate to require a website or socmed in order to join the event.

In any case, most of the set-up was done in cleaning up the rules and guidelines from last year.  I tried to accentuate that people should practice self care about what art they choose to engage with, by adding a line about “Skip over the Romanian incest cannibal named Blammibal Erecter, and choose another character to draw. “  But y’know, it’s a long document and not everyone reads everything.

---

Points and Prizes:

Last year’s theme was a chuck-e-cheeze parody.  This year’s theme was an arcade!  Both themes were to set up the “point” system, in which points were awarded for pieces made.  

Certain milestones like “coding your own website” also rewarded points for behaviors I wanted to encourage.  Coding one’s own static website (i recommended neocities) was something I wanted everyone to get started on, as refsheet and toyhouse are not necessarily going to be up forever or allow all content.  We’ve seen that with tumblr purging NSFW posts, or various other character sheet websites going down.  I wanted everyone to be vigilant, and have fun having complete control over how their characters were presented!

The prizes were most jokes, like photos of my dogs for 60 points or changing my discord name for 200.  There were some physical prizes like zines (from my store, or the artcade zine we’d form with the art we create).  I did not want the focus of the event to be on prizes, but have them be fun rewards to redeem.

By far, the most valued prize was the “Movie Night” despite it being a paltry 20 points.  As such, it was accessible to most people who made just a couple things, and participants talked about what movies they were thinking of choosing for their One True Choice making the value very great in Community Value.  Movie nights were a thing in the server far before Artcade, but it was just fun to have that one big movie that you wanted to show everyone and force me and Shane to watch!  Are our opinions and live reactions to movies valued?!

Movies watched included: Amores Perros, Michael Collins, Rituals.  We have a few more lined up in the back when people choose a date.

Things to think about:

The point system is imperfect, but always will be because the act of making art cannot be assigned a numeric value, especially based on volume of art made.  I simply want them to be some representation of the progress one has made in the event, so one can look back and see how much they’ve made for others.

I would like to mitigate any and all focus on the points and prizes as the main point of the event.  The point of the event is to learn about each other’s characters, learn about each other, and hopefully have fun while building a supportive community.  No one should be fixating on getting 250 points so they can redeem a movie.

I will mitigate more of the physical prizes, as they take a lot of effort to make, and a lot of money to mail out.  The artcade zine has not been finished yet, but it may be the only thing I am willing to send out in the future.

The point system may be simplified further to only award points for each new person a piece has been made for, and return fires.  It has been made evident to me that I underestimate most writers.  I consider 2000 words (the max word count that counts for points) a very high amount to write in a week, but it seems that other writers can consistently write that much in just a day or two!

If the point system is simplified and deflated, we can deflate the points for the prizes to be less like 240 points.  It’ll be easier to think of them as individual pieces made.

---

Moderation:

By far the most difficult thing for anything with more than like 5 people.  No one is guaranteed to get along with each other, and no one is guaranteed to have read any rules.

The event was 99% smooth sailing in my opinion.

The thing we had to address the most was the use of “deviantart fetish” as a term in DNWs (Do Not Wants), along with “gross stuff” and similarly vague descriptors.  While it seemed a certain subsect of the population knew exactly what a deviantart fetish was, many others were confused as to what that entailed.  After many discussions with the server, I concluded that the term should not be used because it does not inform the reader and is used judgmentally (no one ever says they WANT a deviantart fetish in their art, and it’s designated as the “other” weird fetishes).�� The event was supposed to be inclusive, and the server is described as kink-friendly.  As such, participants should not be using judgemental language.  You never know if I’m the one with the “deviantart fetish” :)

The Do Not Want section is supposed to be for the artists’ own safety.  It is not a place to put one’s personal judgements on display.  While one can be free to dislike pee and poo fart fetishes, there is never any need to elaborate on why it’s gross or even say that it’s gross.  Just say it and be done.  I would encourage artists to elaborate more on what they do like, rather than write huge lists of things they hate.

Some things to think about:

Simplify the rules on Discord to just the basics, and have an outside site like dreamwidth to elaborate on the rules.  The google docs is not quite accessible on mobile, and laggy.

Zpires had a great page on “ID”, which was basically a great “likes/prompts” list with elaboration on why that pings the brain.  I would encourage people to focus on writing that rather than the DNW.

If someone has a great amount of fetishes they do not want, to the point that they need to use a vague term like “deviantart kink” or “gross stuff” to try and cover all bases, I would encourage them to simply say that they do not want NSFW or sexual art, unless the kink is specifically listed in their “wants” list, or the art has been discussed beforehand with both participants.  

I need to make it absolutely clear that there should be no shaming of ships, fandom, interests, kinks, or anything else.  It’s much more productive to focus on things you do like, rather than make everyone around you silent and uncomfortable because you are making fun of things they may enjoy.

I should make the join link for next artcade accesible only if the reader presses a specific checkbox or hidden button LOL.  Like “press here if you love necrophilia and spiderman 2002″.  Just to hammer in the atmosphere of the server.

I should not be afraid to just kick people if they seem like they are misunderstanding everything and do not fit in the climate I am trying to cultivate.  No one is meant to get along with everyone, and they are free to participate in any other art event that does not involve making me uncomfortable.

---

That’s about all I can think of for Artcade!  I feel like it was an astounding success, twice as much work but twice as much art from twice as many people!  It really warms me heart hearing people say that they enjoyed the event, and had their creativity stoked in a art community that uplifts personal expression and original ideas.  Now to get to work on the zine... that’ll make everyone jealous cuz no one will get one except particpants!!!! >:)

[ineffable-grimm-pitch]

Return to Sender

Fandom: Carry On, Simon Snow

Relationship: snowbaz

Rating: Teen and up (for some Big Kid language)

Tags: getting together, first kiss, fluff

Word Count: 4705

Summary: Simon receives a special delivery at his care home, and he doesn't know who it's from. Who would send him a random box in the middle of June, anyway? happy birthday, rosebud boy :)

~~~~~~~~~~

SIMON

Summer, for me, is like a two-month-long loading screen in an extremely high stakes video game that I never agreed to play. Nothing interesting ever happens, I’m away from what’s really important, and I have no choice but to wait until it’s over so I can go back to what I’m actually supposed to be doing in the first place. The waiting bit is brutal, and I can pretend as hard as I want that things are lowercase-“n”-normal, and that everything is fine, but it’s not. The things I tuck into the back of my mind for the summer make everything else seem so dull in comparison, and as hard as I try not to think about Watford, it always comes creeping into the front of my mind. Penny. Agatha. Sour cherry scones. Baz.

I hate summer.

I shove the thoughts of Watford away and look up to see that one of the younger boys has put on Doctor Who. It’s Tennant, which should be a good enough distraction from all of my self-imposed banned thoughts.

I guess I could have it worse. At least I get some food and a bed to sleep in, most nights. I suppose I could’ve been sent out to the streets and been told to fend for myself. This couch might be older than me, but at least it’s something.

Somewhere in my mind, I register the sound of the door opening behind me, but I don’t pay it any mind, until I hear my name.

“Simon?” It’s Ms. Evans, an older lady at this care home that has taken extra notice of me. It’s nice to know someone is looking out for me, in whatever way she can.

She’s looking kindly at me when I meet her at the door. “Yes, ma’am?”

She holds a plain white box out to me. “This was delivered for you.”

For me? I haven’t ordered anything, I don’t have the means to order anything. “Oh, okay. Thanks,” I respond, grabbing the box. I run my hand along the smooth side of it. “Do you know who it’s from?”

Ms. Evans smiles softly at me and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Simon. I don’t.”

I nod in response, and she turns and leaves the room.

Odd , I think. I consider opening the box right then, but it could be from the Humdrum, or it could otherwise be something dangerous, and it’s probably more responsible to open the package somewhere where there’s less people around. It’s not even wrapped, or taped shut, or anything.

I make it all the way to the bedroom before I realize how suspicious this is. An unmarked package showing up for me at a place where only the Mage knows where I am? And surely this isn’t from the Mage. He would have warned me, or even shown up in person to give it to me. I don’t know who the hell sent this, or what the hell it is, but it occurs to me that it’s probably nothing good.

Whatever. If there is some kind of magical threat in the box, it’s going to get out sooner or later. Better to let it out while I’m prepared. (At least there’s no one else in the bedroom right now.)

I summon the Sword of Mages and set the box down on my bed, standing before it as I slowly, carefully lift the attached lid and reveal–

…scones.

A dozen fresh scones–sour cherry, by the looks of  it–innocently sitting inside a pastry box that I have drawn my sword on. I’m glad no one walks in, because this scene must look crazy.

Look. It’s not unreasonable to think there might have been something dangerous in the box. It’s not my fault I was too prepared.

~~~~~~~~~~

keep reading on ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39811959

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Merlin has been gone for two years, Arthur has a meeting with the Lord Emrys to help with the changing laws:

And he has never bitterly regretted sending Merlin away more

Part 2(final part)

Angst,

SO

I'm gonna say... about 6 months before Uther dies, Merlin's magic is revealed to Arthur.

He really does NOT react well.

Arthur doesn't let Merlin get a word of explanation in, before he hits him on the head so hard he's unconscious before he even hits the floor.

When Merlin wakes up, what he can only assume is MUCH later, he's wearing cold iron shackles, he's been blindfolded, and gagged.

He just listens at first, still dazed and certainly concussed.

After about twenty minutes he's more aware, and realises... he's outside, in a forest, and he's on his own.

~

It’s been two years since Arthur abandoned Merlin in the woods beyond Camelot’s border.

He’s been King now for about a year and a half.

He went back three days later and tracked Merlin for a few hours, before coming to the conclusion that he'd gotten away safely, and heading back to Camelot.

He always tried to justify it to himself as protecting Merlin from Uther, ignoring the fact that Merlin had managed just fine on his own for years.

But really that was just an excuse. All he saw in the moment was a liar and a traitor. Really he should've had Merlin executed so... he's still a good person. He did the right thing.

He hadn't told anyone else the truth (perhaps because he knows they would hate him for it). Instead he told them that he and Merlin had argued, and before Arthur could get to the bottom of why his manservant was so irate, he stormed off in the middle of the night, and told him he wasn't coming back.

He stuck to that story the whole two years, though he's fairly certain they at least suspect he's lying. Gaius definitely does.

I imagine Gaius, only a few days after Merlin's disappearance, taking Arthur aside one night, and demanding to know if Merlin was dead. If Arthur had killed him:

"No! No of course not. He... we had a fight. It's like I said. He left in the night and told me not to follow him, that he wasn't coming back. I plan to respect his wishes."

Gaius releases the bruising grip he'd had on Arthur’s arm and takes a step back, his expression unreadable as he stares at the Prince.

"I...why would think I killed him?"

"Despite the fact that he most certainly could've defended himself against you, I always found it troubling how willing he was to let you execute him, should that be what you wanted."

Arthur has no reply to that, what would he even say? Would Merlin really have willingly walked to a pyre? If Arthur had only asked?

Gaius goes to walk away at that, but just before he shuts the door behind him, he pauses, and without looking back, says:

"If I find out you have killed my son, Sire, for who he is, there will... there is a large group of people who would see that justice is served. Myself included."

Everyone notices the change in the relationship between Gaius and Arthur since Merlin had left.

Arthur, with the knowledge that Gaius knows. Knows the truth and had guessed what he'd done. He couldn't face that.

They barely spoke to each other, Arthur avoided the physician wherever possible and words of encouragement and kindness were no longer aimed his way from the gentle old man.

His relationships with the others deteriorated as well.

They either thought he was telling the truth, and resented him for both being cruel to Merlin, and letting him go so easily.

(After years of Arthur treating Merlin terribly, no one is really surprised that Merlin had decided he'd had enough and left.)

OR they thought he was lying, hiding something, and resented him for not telling them the truth, and potentially doing something unforgivable to Merlin.

All but Gwaine are still polite to him, showing him the due respect of a Prince, and then a King, but not of a friend.

After a series of hijinks, Arthur comes to the terrifying realisation that magic isn't all bad.

Really I think, he's known all along. But admitting that magic wasn't pure evil made what he did to Merlin even more unforgivable.

He begins making moves to legalise it. It's slow and difficult, and he meets resistance at every turn.

BUT he also has the surprising support of Gaius, and his knights, and Gwen, and Morgana.

Still, none of them treat him like a friend, not the way they used to, but they're helping him along the way. He hadn't realised how many people close to him opposed the ban, until he started dismantling it.

Hope rises in him, over the months, as he realises that once he's legalised magic, he can find Merlin, and bring him back. The first place he'll check is Ealdor.

He's... scared of that. Scared that he won't be able to find him, but more scared that he will. That Merlin will hate him. That Merlin won't care that he's repealing the ban and won't want to come back.

Arthur doesn't think he could bare that.

Mostly because he knows that it would be entirely his own fault.

After the ban is finally lifted, there are huge celebrations. If the King is seen to be searching the crowds, as if for a familiar face, no one mentions it.

A few days later, a group of Druids come for an audience with the King, and are met by Arthur in the courtyard.

After quick introductions, and pleasantries, the leader begins to speak:

"Once and Future King, I first want to extend my gratitude for this warm welcome, and promise that you have the Druid's full support in lifting the ban. We hope for a peaceful future, full of cooperation and compassion."

Arthur nods and smiles slightly at that, but before he can reply in anyway, the Druid speaks again:

"Our leader, the leader of all Druids and all magic of the world, would like to convene with you, and discuss the specifics of any future agreements between our two worlds."

Arthur is surprised at that, but hides it well. Leader of... all magic? Sounds... powerful:

"Of course, I readily accept. They may bring themselves forth, I will make time for a meeting whenever they so choose."

"Your majesty, My Lord Emrys already awaits you in the throne room-"

(The Druid smiles at Arthur's barely concealed shock at his words, both at the idea that someone had snuck into his castle undetected, and at the mention of Emrys. One of the the few conversations he'd had with Gaius had been an in-depth explanation of who Emrys was, and his and Arthur's destiny (the physician had failed, of course, to mention Emrys' true identity.)) 

The Druid continues gently:

"-He's not one for public appearances."

"I.... of course. Will you and your group be attending? Or would you like to be shown to your rooms immediately?"

"This is a matter to be discussed privately, between the two of you, My Lord. Myself and my group have a camp just beyond the city walls that we will return to. Thank you for the offer of hospitality, we appreciate the kindness greatly."

With that, the Druid gives another short bow before turning and leaving through the castle gates, his group following closely behind him.

Arthur takes a deep breath, briefly glancing at Sir Leon, who stands at his side, and instructing him to inform the council that any remaining meetings for the day had been cancelled.

Leon gives a stiff nod and stalks off. He had been the best at hiding his disdain for his former best friend, but it still shone through occasionally, and Arthur's heart clenches as he thinks that he really can blame no one but himself for the deterioration of everything in his personal life.

With another deep breath, he re-enters the castle, and heads towards the throne room, trying to psyche himself up for meeting the supposed Leader of All Magic, who had managed to sneak his way into the heart of the castle, without anyone noticing or raising the alarm.

He pauses briefly outside the doors, and instructs the guards to not let Anyone in, without the King's express permission.

They nod, and with that, Arthur opens the doors and enters, shutting them quietly, before turning around to be faced with a near empty throne room.

He furrows his brow as his eyes settle on a single man, his back to Arthur where he stands gazing out a window, onto the courtyard below.

Arthur can't see his face, he can't see much of him to be honest, he's shrouded in a floor length blue cloak, hood up and covering his head.

The King stares only for a moment before raising himself to his full height, clearing his throat, and speaking:

"Lord Emrys? It's my honour to welcome you to Camelot. Thank you for coming."

The man turns his head slightly at that, though not enough for Arthur to see any more of his face.

"Your honour?-"

He huffs a small laugh at that, though it sounds dry and sarcastic, as opposed to genuinely humoured.

"- we shall see about that."

His voice comes out strangely, obviously magically altered, and Arthur has to stop himself from gulping at the many voices echoing around the otherwise empty room.

They sound sort of... familiar? But he pushes that feeling down and takes yet another deep breath:

"Of course. I've been told a great deal about you. That you have always been an ally to Camelot, and have protected both me personally, and the Kingdom, from the shadows, never asking for credit or requesting recognition. I thank you for that, my gratitude knows no bounds. You had no reason to protect a kingdom that previously would have seen you burn, though I swear to you, that is not how things work now."

Emrys let's out a chuckle at that, this one somehow even less humoured than the last

He gives a small nod, before saying, almost to himself, though Arthur hears anyway:

"Yes, we shall see."

His voice is no longer disguised, and Arthur once again pushes down the feeling of recognition blooming in his chest. He's sure he knows that voice.

("It sounds like.... no. It isn't. Stop hearing things that aren't there. You're just setting yourself up for heartbreak." runs through his head.)

Arthur is unsure how to continue the conversation from there, but before he has to force some sort of response out, Emrys finally turns, and lowers his hood.

Arthur takes a step back and gasps, his eyes wide.

Merlin's hard eyes stare back at him, his expression completely blank. He looks very different, but is still recognisable as Arthur's former manservant.

"...Merlin?" Escapes Arthur's mouth, so quietly he can barely hear it himself

At this, Emrys let's out a deep sigh, sounding almost resigned, as he cocks an eyebrow and replies:

"No one's called me that in two and a half years. You know, I used to hate the idea of people calling me Emrys instead of Merlin. Now, I find that I feel the exact opposite.-"

He tilts his head slightly, looking briefly puzzled as he maintains eye contact and mumbles:

“-Or perhaps it’s just you.”

At this Arthur gulps, and really looks at Merlin... or Emrys.

He's bulked out a little, no longer skinny and sickly looking, he fills his clothes (good quality, blues and silvers and blacks, intricate patterns and fitting well) in a way he never had before. His hair has grown out long and curls around his ears. His beard has grown in a little.

(Think, the living and the dead) :

His hands, which now have druid markings tattooed all over (they're also just about visible above his collar, though they don't go very far up his neck) , are clasped tightly in front of him, his fingers adorned with a couple of rings.

Nothing he wears looks especially expensive, Merlin had never been one to dress up, but they are good quality, and screamed "Druid" and "powerful".

"You're Emrys? Why did you never say??"

Merli-... Emrys tenses his jaw at that, his face showing slight anger as opposed to the boredom it displayed before, but before he can answer, the gang bursts in all at once.

Arthur can hear the guards yelling over the top of the door banging against the wall, and the footsteps of eight people rushing into the room.

"I tried to stop them sire but they wouldn't- Merlin??" From Leon has Arthur letting out a frustrated growl.

The King sweeps his eyes over the rest of the group as they all stare in surprise at Merlin.

Gaius is the only one who doesn't look surprised, he is instead smiling, and steps forward to offer Merlin a hug, which he accepts with no resistance as a small smile graces his face.

Merlin speaks quietly, but everyone can hear him:

"It's good to see you Gaius. I've missed you. When this is all sorted I've got so many things to tell you, to show you."

Gaius pulls back and grins even wider,

"All in time, dear boy. You're looking very well. I'm glad you've finally revealed yourself as the Lord Emrys."

Merlin blushes slightly at that and looks down:

"I haven't gone by the name Merlin in almost three years Gaius, Camelot has been the only place to not know me."

Merlin steps back, and glances quickly at the others, before settling his gaze on Arthur, who is looking a little like an animal caught in a trap. Merlin's eyes harden once again, and he schools his face back into disinterest and boredom:

"As I was about to say before, My King, I didn't get a chance to explain myself to you before I awoke, shackled and blinded and cold, with a rather nasty head wound, in the middle of a forest. And quite frankly, after that, I wasn't prepared to stumble my way back to Camelot and try for a second time. Though perhaps I should be grateful you simply knocked me out and dumped me, as opposed to burning me?"

Arthur looks to be in physical pain, but doesn't look away from Merlin, not even as the others gasp and mutter and stare and glare at him.

"Shackled? You.... I knew you were lying you monster. How could you?!" From Morgana is the first thing loud enough to be heard.

It's Gwaine who speaks next, but Arthur still doesn't look away from Merlin:

"You bastard. What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He goes to draw his sword and step towards the King, but Elyan holds him back:

"No, Gwaine. It isn't our place. This is Merlin's fight, and he knows we all stand with him."

At that, Merlin finally looks away, an ever so slight smile escapes as Elyan nods to him, and becomes the first of the group to move to stand behind Merlin, facing the king. The others follow shortly after.

They stand in a group just behind him, the fury rolling off them in waves.

Morgana steps forward and takes one of Merlin's hands in her own. Staring Arthur down, she speaks, her eyes flash gold as a sharp wind whips through the throne room. No windows or doors have been left open:

"Would you have done the same to me, brother-mine? Would you have beaten me and shackled me and left me in a forest to rot?"

Arthur steps back in complete shock, the group behind her and Merlin are also shocked, but take it in their stride.

Merlin squeezes her hand in a silent "I'm sorry, I'm with you, I'll teach you, you're safe."

Arthur doesn't really have the words at this point. He's speechless and in shock and almost crying.

He had always known that his first meeting with Merlin would be difficult, but he wasn't expecting everyone who had ever been important to him to be there as well, stood opposite him, hating him.

The wind dies down as Gwen places a hand on the other woman's shoulder from behind. Merlin looks towards Morgana first, and offers a comforting smile to her teary face, before looking behind him to the others.

"As much as I appreciate the support, and as much as I love, and have missed you all, I think me and the King need to have a private meeting on the matter. Personal problems aside, I need to see to the continued safety of my people."

It’s quiet, reserved Percival, who speaks up:

"Like hell are we leaving you with him now we know what he did." The others nod at this, but Merlin replies gently:

"I'll be fine, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. Go, I'll find you later."

At this, he turns once more to Morgana:

"There is a group of Druids camped just beyond the city walls, go to them, take Gaius. They will help you until this is all resolved, and then I can teach you myself." he says with a smile, and at her nod, he glances at Gaius, who steps forward and leads Morgana out the room, closely followed by a hesitating gaggle of knights.

Gwen is the only one who remains, as she takes Merlin’s hand briefly in Morgana’s place, and snarls at Arthur:

"Monster."

-before following the others out of the room, and shutting the door behind her, leaving the throne room once again empty of people, bar the Forever King and the Immortal One.

Merlin speaks first, looking back to Arthur, unwavering and determined:

"How do I know this is all real? The change in laws?"

"I... what? What do you mean real? Of course it's real. Merlin please, can we just-"

Merlin turns away as he interrupts him, and walks back towards the window, to look upon the courtyard, where countless innocents had been slaughtered:

"Pretending to change the laws so you can lure my people to your city, before starting another purge, sounds like exactly something Uther's son would do. I will not put my people in danger by encouraging them to come here, before I can be sure they are truly safe from the Pendragon line."

Arthur's heart breaks even more. He really had damaged the relationship between himself and Merlin more than he ever could've imagined. Merlin had seemed to make it his life goal to assure Arthur that he wasn't his father, that he could follow his own path and create his own legacy. Before Arthur had ruined everything.

"I would never. The law is changed. Sorcer- your people, are safe. Merlin will you please-"

Merlin turns and interrupts again, looking Arthur directly in the eyes, obviously not prepared to let the conversation turn personal.

"Promises made to beings of magic are... powerful. There is magic in words, swear to me that my people are safe from persecution, and I will believe it."

"I...yes. I swear it. People with magic will no longer be unfairly persecuted in this kingdom as long as I am king, I swear it, in the name of Camelot."

Merlin’s eyes flash gold, and Arthur feels as though the words he's just spoken have been branded onto his soul. In a way, they have.

Merlin looks once more out of the window, and replies quietly, but darkly:

"I will hold you to that, Arthur Pendragon."

~

THE END!

This two-parter has been finished!!

As per usual, I only write drafts, so if someone wants to write this up all proper, then go for it, credit and tag me✌