#i was processing a lot of things around the time i made this

[taffywabbit]

I've been thinking about this song a lot again since yesterday, and if you'll indulge me in being overly wordy and a bit sentimental, I kinda wanna share some of my thoughts here:

so I alluded to this a bit while rambling on bluesky earlier, but early in the process of composing this song I REALLY wanted it to have lyrics. I tried writing some, and having looked at them again this morning, frankly they're kinda garbage and I stand by my decision to scrap them and let the music just speak for itself. but I only really wanted to write lyrics in the first place because I got ONE specific line (and subsequently a chorus, or at least one version of it) stuck in my head and wanted the rest of the song to kinda revolve around it.

the scrapped verses were sorta loosely about how, when you're younger, you tend to have a very straightforward and simple sense of optimism and justice - kids generally believe that things WILL just work out somehow, and often have surprisingly obvious and on-point responses when they learn about societal issues, but adults will often talk down to them and tell them they just don't understand how the real world works yet. and as you get older, that optimism gets conflated heavily with childlike naivety and kinda gets metaphorically beaten out of a lot of people over time, until they're just kinda consigned to the status quo and thinking of societal problems being too large/permanent for them to fix or influence.

this song was meant to embody a sense of rebellious optimism - a stubborn belief that we have a say in the kind of world we live in, and furthermore that our inner child would never forgive us for shrugging and giving up now that we're finally Adults and Adults are supposed to be the ones with the power to actually Fix Things. it was meant to evoke some nostalgia too, sure - thus the title "Grass Stains", which came from the scrapped first verse about childhood, and also just the general musical style being reminiscent of pop punk music I really liked as a kid and still tend to associate with summertime and old video games from that era. but more than that, I wanted to convey the idea that, sooner or later, we have to stop waiting for the Adults to decide how to fix things and get a hand on the ball ourselves; the idea that growing up should empower us, not make us cynical and detached and too tired to care anymore.

anyways, I will spare you most of the unfinished lyrics because I really do promise they're not interesting or good at all, but here's the chorus part and the specific last line that I was really fixated on back then and (for reasons that are probably not hard to imagine) thinking a lot about again now:

you keep pacing

so sullenly facing

away from the task left to you

why can't you see it?

if you want hope, then be it

those gears aren't just going to move

you gotta change the world, before it changes you

so yeah. shit's rough out there right now. shit's been rough for a while and it's gonna continue being rough for the foreseeable future. like I mentioned in the original caption, i wrote this song when I was feeling pretty awful (both mentally and physically, actually - I'm pretty sure I had covid for the second time when I made this lol) and needed something to perk up my mood, and it... kinda worked honestly? and now when I listen to it again I still kinda get a boost from it, especially if I let myself think back to the original message I was trying to imbue it with. it's hard for me to feel totally hopeless or unmotivated while I'm listening to it, and I hope that energy sorta comes through for other people too (though I would obviously be just as happy that people like the music I made anyways, without deeper context or ideas attached to it).

I guess i just wanna say this: remember that the world's gonna change one way or another, but your contributions to it are never meaningless, and their absence would be felt. and you also have the power to embolden and support those around you to become a stronger force for good together. the only real way to fail in all of this is to give up and lay down and let whatever happens wash over you, to believe them when they treat you like you're too small to be a threat or a challenge. and even if you don't believe your efforts matter to anyone else, let them matter to you. if you want hope, then be it. strive to be a force for good in spite of all opposition, and that goodness will in turn continue to propel you forwards.

ok I think that's about as sappy I can stand to be, I'm going to bed lol

hey i finished a new song!! check it out!!

my prompt for starting this was essentially "i'm in a bad mood and i want to make music that'll fix that". apparently what that translated to was whatever genre "music that would make 9-year-old me think they could do a backflip off the swings at the park" is, but like... it DID cheer me up? so, mission accomplished? i hope you enjoy it too!

♫ made with OpenMPT! ✎ cover art by me!

[kenwio]

Joker's kid! Reader : How Batman took them in and their medbay stay

Author's note: First thing first, thank you! Many of you said good things about my work, and you made me really happy! This is not exactly a continuing, but I promise I'm working on it. It's more detailed writing about how batman took Joker's kid! reader in, and how rest of batfamily reacted

Warnings: Grammar mistakes (English is not my first language), maybe some not detailed triggers

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Cold. Dark. Filthy. That's how the corner where Joker's kid! reader was staying. Crime alley was one of if not the most awful place in the Gotham. It was certainly not a place for a child. No parent in their right mind would want their child to stay in place like this. But what is your father never was in the right place of mind? In fact, what if your father was the most crazy psychopath in the Gotham? Only you would know.

Joker was put in Arkham asylum once again, and once again his kid was taken away and left somewhere in dark corner of crime alley by some of Joker's goons. They knew that Joker will find them once again then he get out, but for now, they had only themselves.

Did you know exactly where you were? Of course no! All you knew that you didn't like the place. It was too dark, it smelled like something rotten.

You were too tired to be afraid of your surroundings and your circle, and you were really hungry. Yet, you knew that food on crime alley was hard to find, maybe you could stumble on it if you weren't to tired to get up and go wandering.

The "show" that your dad just pulled was damaging not only for the Gotham itself and it's citizens, but for you. Your task seemrd simple : just drag wepons, gun magazines, lots of different glass vials. In the process, uou were tossed around by your father and his goons, who didn't show you any mecry.

You felt really uncomfortable. Not only all your bruises and scrapes were hurting, your skin felt sicky, dirty, you could feel stickiness of messed up make up on your face, your hair, which was damaged because they were dyed green, felt greasy, the costume your father made you wear was uncomfortable, it's stitches scratched your sided, collar of shirt and colorful tie were suffocating. Not to mention your broken shoes, which hurted from all the running.

Only light in this godforsaken place was coming form stars up above on the sky, but even they were clouded. You tried to make out them in the clouded sky, when suddenly you saw movement. The figure. Familiar figure. Without any further thought, you got up. You hastily walked, feeling wall in front of you, hoping to find stairs of fire escape and luckily for you, you found them.

Step by step, you hurried, knowing he moved fast, but you knew you must keep up with him. You recognized him easily, you saw him so many times, the one and only Batman, your father's archnemesis. Why you followed him? It's simple really. He may end your sufferings, or at least few of them. What he does to your father? Talks, then beats him, and puts him to Arkham asylum! First will be easy, for second you are used to thanks for your father, and last one... for last one you hope for. Now, you have no idea what it's really is or what's going on here, BUT you saw building, and it's better to be there than outside, it at least can protect you form the rain, and goodness you don't like rain, you always get cold in it and always feel bad after it. Plus, your father never seemed to look thiner while he was there, and may be there is some food? So, it would be better than a crime alley right? That was your logic.

Your small footsteps alerted the bat. He stopped in his tracks waiting for you to come up here. In his point of view, you were harmless. Yes you were Joker's child. He NEVER saw you fight, you were only running around, trembling when near Joker or goons, and hiding when fight was ending. You looked sick, scarely sick: not only clown make up and messy green hair looked so disturbing, but your injuries - they clearly were infected, your body - you looked like skin and bones, you were trembling - and he was sure it wasn't just because it was cold. What scared him the most was not your omnious similarity to Joker - which he new mostly was forced on you, and certainly reminded him of Tim as Joker Junior - but your eyes. They were just empty. He saw broken people, but kid as broken as that, he haven't.

He turned to you, looking at you with the signature spine-chilling gaze, as you were panting from running on rooftop.

-Batman, - you began, while he was silent. You didn't think through what you were going to say, but you continued - take me to the place you take all friends of pa's too, please? - your mom once told you that it was a good word, even magical, and it could help.

To say that Bruce was stunned is to say nothing. Your voice, quiet and weak, a bit slurred, lacking of any emotion but fear was not something he expected you to sound. But have he heard you even talk? No. And if he remembers correctly, he never heard you even laugh, which was strange considering your father. But, ithwrn than that, why in the world the kid would want to go there? Did they want to free their father? Were they just like him, out of their mind?

But his thoughts were interrupted by your sudden fall on the spot. It looked like you just stumbled while still standing. He walked closer, cautious, but he just saw you trying to get up, so he helped, and checked you for wepons in process, and found none. How ever he noticed how pale you were and how you were cold to touch, adding your stumbling and slurred speech he came to a conclusion, which was made him worry - you had hypothermia, and you needed warmth.

- Why do you want to go there - he asked, his voice stern, but lacking anger and distane.

- it's cold and I'm hungry. And that place looks better than streets - you mumbled.

- That's all? - he asked.

- yes - you answered adding the nod that made you dizzy.

Batman warped his cloack around you, it felt better than air, warmer. Safer.

- and what about your father? Do you want to see him - he asked, looking right in your eyes

- no, he will hit me again, and everything alredy hurts enough - your words were stumbling one on the other, but Batman listed them intently. He felt like you were honest, for some reason he felt like you don't want to be in contact with your father at all

- I have a better idea - he said, suddenly lifting you up. You were too light for his liking. He helped you to put more of his cape onto you. While carrying you to, you weren't sure to what. You just didn't moved, you hoped that he wasn't going to threw you down in building or thew you into anything, last time your father did that you didn't liked it

Few minutes after. You saw shiny and pretty car - batmobile. Inside it looked luxurious, you've never seen something so nice before, you never sited on something that soft. Was it a dream? Probably no, how can you dream of something that nice.

When Batman was to buckle the belt for you and reached his hand you flinched. Bruce didn't like that. He saw Joker hit you, but still it was too horrible to witness.You flinched again, when he put a fluffy blanket, which he took form back of car, which was there in case one of his sons needed it, over you. And the look on your face when you felt the blanket just hurted his heart even more. In your defense, you've never felt something as nice on your skin.

You finally felt warm. It's been so long since you lats felt warm and it felt so good. It didn't took much for you to fall asleep. You didn't care about anything but warmth in the moment.

A peaceful look on your face while you were asleep just broke Bruces heart. You were child of Joker, but all he could see - mistreated child. A child to add to his collection, a child for whom he can provide home.

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You woke up in place that you couldn't recognize. You even in darkness of the room, you could see it was clean and neat. It smell unfamiliar too, like some sort of chemicals your father worked with, but much softer. You could feel soothing attached to you, looking up on the side you saw the monitor from which soft light was coming. On the other side you saw IV. You could really feel pain and hunger in the moment, and it was really strange. You didn't feel like your skin was sticky anymore and you certainly was no longer dressed in the suit that your father made you wear.

Not long after you woke up, Batman came in. Your mind was to fuzzy, you were really confused, but you wanted to ask him so much things.

- am I... - you began saying, not knowing what to ask. Are you alive? Are you alright? Are you experimented on? Are you going to experience something that you won't like?

- You are safe. You need to rest so your body could recover.

You didn't felt like getting up anyway, you didn't had strength to do so anyways. You looked around again.

- sorry - you mumbled. You felt like you didn't belong to this safe and neat place, you felt like you were being a bother. Your father never let you to rest even if you felt like you were feeling not so long ago and now, you needed to do everything he asked, and if you wouldn't do it, you would be punished.

- For what? - he asked, his stern tone changed for softer one

- I probably made your car, a blanket and all in here dirty. And well, you made so much for me.

The way you said that, just broke his heart even more. You sounded like you meant those words, like you believe you are dirty in some way, and that you didn't deserve simple care.

- just focus on resting. - he answered rather strained - we will talk about everything once you will recover fully.

- but... - you suddenly felt brave enough to ask him at least something- you are helping me? Why? I mean, you know who is my father.

- you are not him, and your path may be different from him. Now, rest - he said gently putting your hand on your shoulder.

- oh. Okay, thank you. For everything so far- you answered, feeling sleepy and ready to doze of again, as Batman continued to look at you.

As Bruce looked at you, he saw that eerie similarity between you and your father seemed to subside once your skin was clean from that creepy clown makeup and you were in the hospital pj. You were just a kid and kid who needed serious medical attention that he was going to provide. No child should suffer like that. No child should have a dull look in their eyes. No child should feel like they were a bother. No child should be abused by their own parents. While looking through results of all the tests he had to run to find out what was wrong with you, he saw residual traces of various chemicals that Joker used in his venom. Seemed like you were a test subject for him. Many of your scrapes and bruises, and even a few cuts, were caused by your father, which your words just confirmed earlier. Yes, you were a child of Joker, the child of one of the most dangerous people in Gotham, the threat he needs to deal with. But you were also a victim of your own father. He knows that there is a possibility that you can become like your father, but he may find a way to help you avoid this from happening. He needs it for the sake of Gotham so that the city will never see the second Joker.

Alfred was the second person you've seen when you've seen. Old butler looked at you with cation, but you could make out some warmth that was similar to Batman's.

- How are you feeling? - Alfred asked, his British accent is intact

- I'm... I'm okay? - you said. You've never seen him before, but surely he was connected the Batman if he was here. You were uncertain how to feel about old man, he seemed intimidating, not in Batman's kind of way, but still intimidating.

- not feeling pain and not feeling cold i suppose? - he asked, adjusting the IV that was connected to you

- no, I feel good? - you answered, still feeling uncertain. He walked closer to you, and helped to adjust the pillow you were laying on, fluffing it up, and of course he didn't missed the how you flinched when he reached for it. Seeing hint of sadness in the expression of the butler you decided to add - I've never been in bed as comfy

- with time, perhaps, you would get a proper comfortable bed.

Dick wasn't shocked when he heard from Bruce that he took in Joker's kid. He was dumbfounded. Why in the world! Did all the all the hits in the head finally make the old man go insane? He couldn't make out how je felt. Surely he was taking aback, angry, but he knew he couldn't judge on the spot. Peace and stability just returned to the family, and knowing Bruce, Dick knew that old man should have had a really serious reason to do something like that. And, as a peace maker of the family and a good old brother to the rest of Batman sons he is, he decided to investigate that. So he went to the manor, walked into the madbay when you were sleeping. And he understood why. You looked so tired, so pale, so small, so thin. Even your greensh hair didn't look as omnious as Joker's. They just make you look more miserable. He stayed in this medbay room until it was time to patrol. Maybe he didn't know you, but he thought you still deserved a chance to get a better life

Jason was seething with anger. Firstly, Bruce didn't kill Joker when he didn't let Jason kill Joker, then they made amends, and how after all of that Bruce was taking in Joker's bastard? The kid of his killer! What the hell? How could he?! After screaming match with Bruce and talk wholehearted talk with Dick, Jason came to the conclusion that even if Jason himself was not okay with old man's decision, and if he can't prove that he is right now, he will prove it none the less, just latter. He knows powers of redemption, but some people don't deserve it. Some people do not change. And since your father was a monster, you are probably the apple that falls not far from the tree. He sure you belong to Arkham, and he will make sure you will be there if you make any wrong step. He won't let his fate repeat.

Tim hasn't slept around.... well, he hasn't slept a few days, so at first he thought it was a joke. It has to be. But B doesn't joke like that. It felt awful, but he was sure Jason felt worse. After he heard the news, he just spaced out... by the time his coffee went cold, only then he decided to dig up some information about you so that he could rationalize what he felt. Time when he was forced to become Joker Junior was still plauging him in his nightmares. And now he was faced with real Joker Junior - you. One quick look at you through the window of medbay, one blur of your greenish hair was enough for him. He felt anxianity creeping in. Watching videos with you on them was taught for him. You reminded him of him as Joker Junior so much. You reminded him of Joker. But yet, His search showed that you were dragged to every Joker's act of crimes, but in no videos, he saw you fighting. It seemed like a good sign, but his paranoia always said danger is hiding in placed you don't expect to see it.

Not one time, not twice, Damian became a witness to his father's rather idiotic decisions, or so he thinks. And this might be one of the dumbest his father did. Why can't he understand that taking you in meant putting all family in danger. You were a danger. You are Joker's child, who knows what's going on in your mind. He may not have found evidence yet, but he certainly will do it, and he will open his father's eyes. For now, Damian decided to make sure you won't hurt his family. He will make sure you won't influence his father into anything anymore. He glares at you through the windows of medbay, taking in every little move. So what of you look no bigger than him, you still are a threat. You still are the Joker's kid.

While all of this happened, time went by, and soon, you'll be out of the madbay. Are you ready for what sure has in stocks for you?

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Thank you for reading so much! Feel free to share your opinion!

And I'm working on the next part ^-^

[blbyena]

boyfriend!mark x reader

Fluff - 1,401 words

-

Mark takes care of you after you had too many drinks

Mark’s car door clicks open, and you half-stumble out, barely held upright by his steady hands. The cool night air hits your flushed cheeks, and you let out a dramatic whine, leaning your full weight against him.

“Markieee,” you slur, dragging out his name. “I’m tiiiired. I wanna sleep…”

He adjusts his grip on you, one arm wrapped firmly around your waist as he helps you shuffle toward the elevator of his building. “You can’t sleep yet, princess,” he says softly but firmly. “We need to get you cleaned up first.”

You groan, tossing your head back in exaggerated despair. “I don’t wanna shower! And you’re hurting meeee!” you whine, even though his touch is nothing but gentle.

Mark pauses mid-step, looking down at you with raised brows. “I’m literally carrying you like you’re made of glass,” he says, exasperated but amused. “Stop being dramatic, baby.”

"I’m not dramatic!” you protest, throwing your arms around his neck for emphasis, which only makes his job harder as he tries to guide you inside.

Finally, you both reach his apartment, and he kicks the door shut behind him, sighing. “Alright, bathroom. Let’s go.”

“Nooo,” you whimper, but he doesn’t give you the chance to protest further. He lifts you slightly, steering you into the bathroom and sitting you down gently on the closed toilet lid. You blink up at him as he crouches in front of you, brushing a strand of hair from your face.

“You’re a mess, my love,” he murmurs, his voice soft. He stands and starts rummaging through a cabinet, pulling out wipes, a cleanser, and other things you recognize.

That’s when you notice it—a drawer he slides open, revealing a neatly organized collection of skincare, hair ties, and products you use regularly. You squint at it, your drunken mind struggling to process.

“Wait… Mark,” you mumble, your words slurred but curious. “Is that… is that my stuff?”

He glances back at you briefly, his expression slightly sheepish. “Yeah. I mean, not your stuff, but… I bought the same things you use.”

You blink, your heart melting even in your intoxicated state. “You… you bought me a whole drawer?”

He shrugs, looking embarrassed as he kneels in front of you again, gently tilting your chin up to start removing your makeup with a wipe. “Well, you’re here a lot. Thought you’d be more comfortable if you had everything you needed.”

You stare at him, your chest feeling warm despite the chaos in your head. “That’s so cute…” you whisper, tears threatening to spill.

“Don’t cry,” he says quickly, his voice tinged with panic as he cups your face lightly, still holding the wipe. “It’s really not a big deal, baby.”

“It is!” you argue, sniffling. “You’re so thoughtful, Markie. I love you so much.”

His ears turn pink, but he keeps his focus on gently wiping your face. “I love you too. Now stop being a crybaby and let me finish.”

You pout but let him continue, your gaze locked on him the entire time. Even in your drunken haze, you can’t help but feel overwhelmingly lucky. When he’s done cleaning your face, he helps you out of your clothes, guiding you into the shower with the utmost care.

As the warm water washes over you, Mark stays just outside the curtain, handing you shampoo and making sure you don’t fall over.

You step out of the shower, the steam swirling around you as you wrap yourself in a fluffy towel. Mark’s already waiting with one of his shirts in hand—a soft, oversized grey tee that’s obviously his. He holds it out to you, his expression calm but gentle, the corners of his lips curved in the faintest smile.

“Here, baby,” he says softly.

You take the shirt eagerly, tugging it on over your head. It smells just like him—warm, familiar, and comforting—and you feel a giddy warmth spreading through your chest. The hem falls way past your hips but you’re too delighted to care.

“Markie!” you squeal, twirling around and grabbing at the hem of the shirt. “Look at me! It’s so big on me!”

He chuckles, stepping back slightly to avoid your overly enthusiastic movements. “Yeah, it looks good on you, though.”

You grin, the combination of his shirt and his attention making you feel light-headed in the best way. You jump in place, your damp hair bouncing as you do, but your balance is still a bit off from the alcohol, and you almost trip.

“Careful!” Mark steps forward instantly, steadying you with his hands on your shoulders. “You’re gonna hurt yourself, baby.”

You blink up at him, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry,” you mumble, biting your lip. His hands linger on your shoulders for a second before he lets them drop, his eyes scanning your face like he’s trying to make sure you’re really okay.

He’s being so soft right now, his usual teasing replaced with quiet attentiveness. It makes your chest tighten with affection. “Markie,” you say, your voice quieter now, more sincere.

“Yeah?” he replies, his gaze locking on yours.

“Do you… do you think I’m pretty?” you ask, your tone almost shy despite the boldness alcohol usually gives you.

He doesn’t hesitate—not for a second. “Always,” he says, his voice steady and full of certainty.

Your heart skips a beat, and your cheeks flush—though you can’t tell if it’s from his words or the lingering warmth of the shower. “Always?” you repeat, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Always,” he confirms, his lips tugging into a soft smile. His hand comes up to gently tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

You smile softly, your chest feeling so full you could burst. “You’re so sweet to me,” you murmur, leaning forward to rest your forehead lightly against his chest.

“Of course I am,” he says, wrapping his arms around you without hesitation. “You’re my baby.”

Mark gently leads you to his bed, his hand warm and steady against your back as he guides you. The room is dimly lit, the soft glow of the bedside lamp casting a golden hue over the space. As soon as he lays down, you instinctively move closer to him, pressing yourself against his side, your head resting on his chest.

“Markie,” you whisper softly, your voice tinged with lingering affection. Your fingers trace small patterns on the fabric of his hoodie. “You’re such a good boyfriend… You’re so good to me.”

He chuckles quietly, the sound vibrating against your cheek where it rests on him. “I’m just doing my job, baby,” he says lightly, but there’s a tenderness in his tone that makes your heart flutter.

You lift your head slightly to look at him, your eyes sparkling with awe and a deep sense of gratitude. “I mean it, though,” you insist, your voice soft but full of conviction. “I don’t know how I got so lucky, but… I’m so happy to have you, Mark. You make me feel so loved.”

His gaze softens, and his lips curve into a small, genuine smile. “You’re easy to love,” he murmurs, reaching up to brush a strand of hair away from your face. His thumb lingers on your cheek for a moment, his touch gentle and reassuring.

You lean into his hand slightly, your chest swelling with affection. “You’re perfect,” you say quietly, almost to yourself. The way you’re looking at him—like he’s the center of your universe—makes his ears turn the faintest shade of pink.

Mark leans in, pressing a tender kiss to your lips. It’s soft and unhurried, filled with everything words can’t quite express. When he pulls back, his forehead rests lightly against yours. “You make me so happy, too,” he whispers.

A content sigh escapes you as you snuggle closer to him, your arms slipping around his waist. Mark adjusts, wrapping his arms securely around you, holding you as if he never wants to let go. His hoodie smells like him—warm and comforting—and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulls you into a state of complete peace.

“Goodnight, my love,” he murmurs, pressing another kiss to the top of your head.

“Goodnight, Markie and thank you for tonight” you reply, your voice drowsy but filled with warmth. You close your eyes, your body relaxing completely in his embrace. With his arms around you, the world feels quiet and safe, and you drift off to sleep, feeling undeniably cherished.

-

Thanks for the love <3 hope you enjoy this one as much!!

[solarpunkani]

Things To Do To Maintain Hope In These Trying Times

Okay so look. This isn't the desireable outcome for me and my fellow solarpunks, but I personally find that I have two options right now--panic and wait for the worst; or dream of, hope for, and work towards the best that I can manage. And I prefer that second option. Is a single individual going to be able to remold the societal systems we find ourselves in, reshape the fabric of our government and turn everything for the better in the next four years? If someone can, it's not me.

But what I can do is do stuff to make things better, lighter, and more hopeful for myself and my community around me, through actions big and small. So here's what I plan to do, or hope to take on, to keep myself from absolutely doomspiraling. And if this list helps you, inspires you to take up an action I'm doing or to try something completely different, by all means that's amazing! What's more solarpunk than inspiring others to be more solarpunk?

Anyways

1: Trash Cleanups and Other Volunteering

I joined a mutual aid group a few months back and lately we've been doing a lot of trash clean ups, which I find really fun! It also helps feel like I'm making a tangible, helpful difference in my community--the areas look nicer for humans, there's less litter issues for plants and animals--it's just a general improvement! I have recently found nothing gets me fired up quite like a trash cleanup these days. I would also like to join more volunteering/mutual aid groups in the area, I'd just have to find ones that fit my current work schedule (and aren't a huge commute to and fro). Maybe someday this year I'll get the courage (and time) to join the Food Not Bombs in my city for a few events!

Maybe picking up trash at parks and ditches and intersections isn't going to improve the entire nation's situation, I'll never claim that it would. But improving the world around you, even a little bit, can help get the ball rolling for other changes--maybe people will start using a park more once its cleaned up, maybe native plants will reclaim that ditch and create a new habitat, maybe people will see us cleaning and see our flag and check out other stuff our organization does! Bit by bit, we're contributing to a brighter, cleaner future.

Maybe I'll get the courage to clean up some trash on my own, who knows.

2: Make Stuff With My Hands

This covers a lot of things, and not always a physical thing to hold. Maybe it's crocheting little plushies, or hats and cardigans, or anything I feel like to accomplish something. Maybe I'll learn to sew more things, or how to embroider. Maybe I'll draw, or write more short stories, or work on my longer projects.

Sure, some things can be made to give away or donate, or can be made with a specifically solarpunky end goal and message. But honestly, even if I'm not writing solarpunk short stories or drawing solarpunky art, if I'm writing or drawing anything it helps bring me hope--and brightens the day of my friends who enjoy it too!

3: Gardening and Sharing

It's winter as I'm writing this, which means its about time to dive headfirst into garden planning and seed starting! Even the process of watching something grow from a tiny little seed to a fully-grown plant brings me hope, and every different kind of plant gives hope for a different reason! My pollinator garden helps me take action to assist the native pollinator species by giving them a place to feed and grow, and the more kinds of native plants I provide the more habitat I create for them! And the fruits and vegetables I grow bring a sense of accomplishment with each harvest, and satisfaction as I share them with family, friends, and neighbors! I am still chasing the high of sharing bowls and bowls of tomatoes and peppers with my cul-de-sac.

In addition to my own personal garden, my volunteering group is looking into adopting an abandoned community garden and bringing it back to life! If we can (still waiting for approval), it'll bring access to fresh veggies and herbs to the nearby community, and if it goes well we may even try to take up more around town! I'm really, really excited about this project!!

Maybe sharing produce from my garden will inspire my neighbors to create their own (I'm already lowkey claiming credit for inspiring one neighbor to start growing tomatoes last year), and share their extra produce, and inspire more people to garden! Maybe talking about my pollinator garden and sharing seeds with my friends and coworkers will create more interest, and more habitat for for local creatures! Maybe if I yap about milkweed and tree snags hard enough, people will see the expanses of grass on the sides of the road differently, or find a different species to advocate for!

Then of course there's the possibility of guerrilla gardening. While there are a lot of reasons I haven't taken it up super hard yet (not finding good sites, not having a lot of money for throwaway seeds, not wanting to be a black woman in the south doing 'weird stuff' on the side of the road, etc), maybe I will. In any case, I have brought up the idea of scattering wildflower seeds at some of the sites we clean up to my volunteering group--if that idea gets taken up, that could in a sense be guerrilla gardening, right?

4: Clean My Goddamn Room

"Ani what does cleaning your room have to do with hope in these trying times" Clean room, clean mind, more room to start seeds, less environmental stress. Maybe just doing a few chores when I'm feeling anxious can help me take time to think things through instead of downspiraling, or can help me work my way through a plot hole in a story, or think of a new project to take up.

Maybe for you guys its not 'cleaning your room,' maybe its some other task. Sometimes doing a small, mundane task for yourself can give you the vibes and energy to take up another challenge!

5: Encouraging Others

I've said it before and I'll say it again, is there anything more solarpunk than encouraging other people to be more solarpunk?

Even if you aren't waxing poetic about the values and virtue of the solarpunk movement, being a source of hope and light for others can do a surprising amount to get things done! For example, if I personally can't muster the courage to go to an FNB event or a rally, or if something comes up and I suddenly find myself unable to garden this year or keep doing trash cleanups, if I--through talking about my hobbies or sharing resources on how to start or just existing and vibing with my gay little NPC bounce and chatting about sunflowers in a checkout line--inspire five other people to take up an action, that's five more people taking up an action. And that action can lead to them doing more and more, bigger and better things. If I help a friend feel better when they're feeling down, maybe they'll have the energy to help others, who'll then help others, and help make the world just that much brighter! Even if the action is unrelated to what I personally am doing, it'd still be a beautiful and amazing thing! If me sharing my crochet projects inspires someone else to take up leatherworking or sculpting or woodworking, that's still more creative energy in the world! If me talking about native wildflowers burgeons an interest in native trees, or grasses, or hell even something like green building design or community planning somehow, that's someone developing an entirely different skillset than I could ever imagine, which can be used to do amazing things!

I'm not gonna pretend like its going to be all sunshine and rainbows from here on out! We're still talking about the person who literally refused to leave the house yesterday because she was so anxious something might happen, after all. But if I'm given a choice between wallowing in misery and anxiety and despair, or doing anything I can--even the smallest things--to make things a little bit better and brighter for those around me? I know what my choice is.

[scribeofmorpheus]

I hate how LLMs have made it very untrustworthy to regard what one comes across as genuine craft anymore. i know artists are struggling big time with scrapping. I even wrote a paper on how openai was scrapping ao3 based on their early story prompt structures reading like a lot of popular fanfics i'd read before.

i was actually so paranoid that i locked most of my fics on ao3. sometimes i roll back the lock when i work on a fic again, but i usually lock em back up again after a while. scrapping is abhorent and i hate how much ai has shifted digital art paradigms and is now seeping into fandom culture.

I will say that i do find the "nonsense description" portion of this post a bit hard to align with. I'll get into it below the cut. but this is purely discursive, I'm not condemning or abstaining (I'm on op's side here), I'm just pointing out some factoids of my own for perspective!

here it is:

""her nimble fingers worked with quiet precision" (ct. 1), "his grip firm but tender" (ct. 33), "her gown pooling around her like embers" (ct. 1)."

See, I write like this, becuase i was trained in poetry first and then moved on to prose later. i use imagery, i use atmospherics, i use sensation in place of actual telegraphed motion or action that one expects of an action alone--it flows better, sounds sweeter and sometimes, yes, nimble fingers can move with quiet precision (not quiet as in "sound" but as in "understated", as in "draws little attention to the movement"). Firm but tender is another of my favourites--juxtaposition, contrast between the outward seen and felt execution of the action and the internalised, more personal mode of emotion conveyed so as to angle how we broach the situation. "firm but tender" is assuring, it's safe. "firm and rough" is more edged, and since we're left with little assumption of the setting and intent of such action, we cannot tell if the action and the emotions align--if its sexual, is it also consensual? if it's violent, is it because of haste to act, fear, annoyance, etc, etc. now "pooling like embers" is odd. embers spark and bristle and fly and catch things on fire, they disperse and scatter, never hold a body of matter congealed enough to pool. pooling like unfurled flame from dragon's breath? yeah, now that works! especially if it's a magic setting.

all this to say, ai is making it exceeding harder to prove craft is genuine if you work outside structural modes one can fact check. if you try to be more experimental, there's high chance you'll end up like me, and chip away at rigid writing structure in order to form your own voice. repetition and favoured descriptions is also a known trait of writers. one of my fav fanfic writers back in the day used to love "hard" after a pause. like: "he slammed the door, hard." or "his kiss pressed deep into me, hard." and it was noticeable and i loved seeing they had a tell.

though, i do agree that one of the things that need the least repetition in fiction is hair colour. but even published books like to remind readers of physical traits id it's something the author is so beguiled by. poor writing, but writing none the less.

i did suspect something was off with TSATS because of how fast the updates rolled. because damn! 23k word update after a 13k word update with less than 48 hrs between? crazy if true. but alas, i don't think i have it in me to be disappointed if i go seeking and do indeed find a pattern that proves LLM usage.

but to all my fic writers that take like half a day to write 3 pages and the other half procrastinating, if you (like me) got notified of all the updates and wondered if you weren't "productive" enough, you are not making a product, these are labours of love, keep at it, at your own pace, with your own skill, the process is the process!

we need to talk about The Silence and The Song

as per my last post, i have received a lot of encouragement to go public with this, and the more disappointed people i have in my dms, the angrier i get. so i will.

the silence and the song is an ancient arlathan au DA fic on ao3 by luxannaslut, and it is partly, if not entirely, written by an ai. i have no wish to be involved in any kind of fandom drama or witch hunting or bullying, but as a writer myself there are few things that piss me off more than watching people steal the work of others because they can't be fucked to write. it's disrespectful to your fellow writers, it's disrespectful to your readers, and it's disrespectful to the authors of the works the ai is stealing from.

ai is a plague that has no business being in creative spaces and you must do better.

the writing pattern

there was something very odd and monotone about the sentence structure of tsats that i couldn't quite place, so i fed chatgpt a prompt along the lines of "two people in a fantasy novel hate each other, but they secretly desire one another, and they kiss", and the screenshots above are the results. the third one is an excerpt from chapter 40 of tsats. the writing pattern is identical and it doesn't seem like the "writer" has even bothered to pretend they wrote it. if you're going to use ai, at least be sneaky about it. you know, paraphrase a little.

nonsense descriptions

"her nimble fingers worked with quiet precision" (ct. 1), "his grip firm but tender" (ct. 33), "her gown pooling around her like embers" (ct. 1).

fingers don't make sound, so what does quiet precision mean? as opposed to what? her joints cracking with every movement? how is a grip firm but tender? what does that mean? since when do embers pool?

the entire fic is littered with these adjectives that contradict each other or just straight up do not make sense, because all an ai does is generate descriptive language with no understanding of what the words it's spitting out actually mean. i could spend hours picking out examples from the seven billion pages worth of text, but i quite frankly have better things to do and would simply challenge you to try getting through a chapter or two without noticing the pattern.

repetition at structure-level

all the scenes in this fic are described in pretty much the same way. they open with purple prose vomit of the surroundings; solas is standing somewhere looking "unreadable as ever"; ellana's fiery golden molten fire copper ember ginger red hair is flowing this and that way; there's some dialogue with whoever is present and it leaves ellana feeling different variations of "something she couldn't name". this is, once again, a blatantly obvious sign of ai. below is the result of me feeding chatgpt the line "write me a scene from a fantasy novel where a woman with red hair is sitting on the ground in a magical garden at night", and side by side with that is the opening scene of the fic. make your own judgement.

repetition at word-level

this one speaks for itself. we fucking get it. her dress is orange, her hair is red, mythal's presence is heavy in the room, solas looks unreadable, compassion is sitting on her head like a crown, solas' ears are betraying him and ellana's move with every thought she thinks. we get it. the issue here is that an ai remembers the info you feed it, but not necessarily the info it shits out. if it's being told to write scene after scene of an elven woman with a gown that looks like fire doing xyz, it's going to do so with no regard for how many times the reader has already been informed of these details.

lastly: the breakneck speed

359,6k words in four weeks by a person who allegedly is employed and married and hasn't pre-written anything? no. any writer will tell you that this simply isn't possible. it absolutely infuriates me to see how much praise this "writer" gets for posting up to three full chapters in a day without anyone calling bullshit. i am pulling out my hair, you guys.

why i'm not going to live and let live this one

perhaps i would be less angry if the fic was some silly bullshit court intrigue Y/A stuff, but this is a text that handles very heavy and triggering topics such as SA, coercion, domestic abuse, and other things of the same vein. to sit back and put your feet up while having a robot write these extremely sensitive and very real human experiences with words it has stolen from texts written by actual persons is fucking heinous. the "writer" should be deeply ashamed of themselves and i'm sick and tired of watching people eat up their bs.

and on that note: the amount of people in my dm's telling me that they feel stupid and naive for not clocking this has infuriated me more than anything else. you're not foolish for this. being fed ai-generated bullshit is not what is supposed to happen on any creative platform and much less a fandom-centred one, so of course no one approaches a fic through that lens. fandom and fic writing is supposed to be about passion and the only person in this situation who needs to do better and change their behaviour is luxannaslut. polluting our creative spaces, wasting the time of your readers, and minimising the effort of actual writers who are working hard to provide content for us all to share and enjoy is vile and so, so lazy. i beg of you: do better.

[saejinniestar]

Mr. Steal your Heart

Robber!Alpha!Taehyun x Rich!Omega!Y/N.

Tags: Clueless!Y/N, corruption, they end up getting married in some part of the story, she doesn’t know what cvmming is, she gets naked outside, size k!nk, knotting, breeding, praise k!nk, ab riding, reader is lonely, great ending!

Notes: Robber Taehyun breaks into the home of the rich and lonely omega with his four friends. Says he’ll be right back as he finishes up, keeps coming back while the servants are away. I did some research and looked back on some of the fics I read so if anything is wrong tell me.

For Kang Taehyun, life was anything but easy, having to resort to a life of stealing to make ends meet. His Job? Barely paying him anything. Family? None whatsoever. All he has is his four friends, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Kai and Soobin, who help him on his stealing adventures. Is he Robin Hood? No way, he’ll steal from omegas, betas, and alphas, he’s not picky. He goes into the night and steals from people, breaking in, hearing their scared voices and frantic cries, running away and never getting caught. He’s built a life for himself and a name, now he’ll never have any problems if he keeps this up without the fuzz after him. He repeats this process of waking up, going to work, going back home, taking a nap, then robbing. Nothing changes, his next target is you. He waits until all have gone from your home to strike. All the boys break in, one by one, making sure to be as quiet as possible.

They look around, taking things that could be at the back of a person’s memory, things that could get them lots of money, things worth a whole house. He walks up the stairs but then stops, there, at the end of the hallway was a light. He walked slowly, Beomgyu and Kai checking the other rooms. He got to your door, waiting for any sounds. He then took a peek, seeing you get into bed. Suddenly, there was a thud, he saw as you jolted. He ran in, getting onto your bed and holding you down, hugging you tight. He felt you trying to calm down in his hold, moving more slowly. He let out his scent, one he never let anyone smell at all. The scent was strong, a black cherry like scent but deeper, more powerful. He watched as you stopped moving, letting him hug you more. Then, Beomgyu came in, telling Taehyun they got six things and they were ready to go. As he walked out, he turned around to look at you, “I’ll be back darling, wait for me okay?” You nodded, laying back down and watching him turn off your light and close your door. Taehyun, that was his name, Taehyun.

You were different than Taehyun, you were a rich girl who had tons of servants and everything you could ever want handed to you. People thought you were too good for them, too spoiled and probably a brat. This was far from the truth. You were too shy, didn’t go out because of it causing people to think you were a recluse, you weren’t a brat either. You also didn’t have family, they all perished in an accident caused by someone breaking and entering. The only people you had were your servants, working to take care of you and make sure you were safe. They all went back to their homes at night, and that’s how you met Taehyun. You were shocked to see him nonetheless but you made interactions with anyone else, that was your first time. When he told you to wait for him, you did. You waited till he came back again, getting into your house and straight to your room. He hugged you again, letting you breathe in his scent as he praised you for being a good girl for him. He let his friends steal from you, let them take what they wanted, after all, he was a robber, not a nice man. When Soobin went in to tell him that they were ready and that they’d decided to come back again, he joked to Taehyun, “If you date her and marry her, this whole thing would be a lot easier.” Taehyun looked at you, a smile forming on his face, “Gonna let me date you, huh darling, gonna be a good omega for me?” You nodded, feeling him press a kiss to your head. “Be a good girl and wait for me.” And with that, he left.

When you got up in the morning, you got ready and walked down the stairs, suddenly the doorbell rang. The door man answered it, and at your door was Taehyun. The door man was surprised to see someone at the door, he asked Taehyun what he needed. “Believe it or not my good sir, I’m dating the young lady who lives here!” He was even more surprised as Taehyun pulled you into his arms. Your door man then smiled, telling your butler how he was surprised to see you have a boyfriend. Taehyun followed you to your room, locking the door behind you and sitting down on your bed. He then started explaining how things were gonna go in terms of him and his friends coming in. You listened, trying not to miss anything he said. He then left but not before he told you to wait for him. At night, you saw him again, he hugged you, released his scent and pressed kisses to your face. Both you and him were different. While the others he came with were alphas, he was different, a stronger, more powerful alpha, as scientists called it a prime alpha. You on the other hand, were a prime omega, a more submissive version of an omega. According to scientists, only people that were prime alpha or omega could be together and only those types were experimented on, leaving less and less of them in society. You both were made for each other, dangerous yet perfect for each other. Once the boys finished, they left, Taehyun telling you the same thing, wait for him.

A year had passed with Taehyun and his friends coming into to your house and stealing things here and there. His friends were coming to see you, but not to steal, to see you get married to Taehyun. Now that you both were married, they could come whenever they wanted, take what they wanted, after all, you let them do it. Taehyun then came back with his friends one night, coming back to steal once again, Taehyun came up to your room, and then you came out of the bathroom, wearing a nightgown, short and nearly translucent. He pulled you in for a hug, sitting you down on his lap, he kissed you, his lips serenading yours. He felt so accomplished, like he won the lottery. He had the richest girl all to himself, a little omega all for him, and not just any omega, one that hadn’t even gotten her heat yet. His lips left yours, your little pants coming out. He whispered in your ear, “Being such a good little wifey for me, yeah? You’re such a good little omega for me.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek, not stopping his words. “When your heat comes, I’m gonna breed you, give you my pups, gonna keep my cute little wife all to myself, I bet you want that, yeah?” You nodded, letting him suck your tongue as you kissed him, his pants on the floor, your panties half way down your leg and your nightgown pushed up to your chest. He was half way down your collarbone, hands on your chest when Beomgyu opened the door and told Taehyun they were leaving. Your face turned red as you said bye to him, Taehyun only shooing him off and telling him to come next week and that he’d wait for him and the others.

When you woke up the next day, Taehyun was sleeping right by you. his clothes were in your basket for unwashed clothes along with all of your other clothes you wore yesterday. You yawned and stretched, parting your legs, only for you to feel the softness of your husband’s pajama pants on your cunt. You looked down, seeing your nightgown and nothing else. You were embarassed, never realizing you fell asleep like this. You shook it off, pulling down Taehyun’s pants and rubbing yourself on him, trying to feel what you felt yesterday. When Taehyun woke up, he saw you, nightgown ridden up to your stomach, tears staining your cheeks and your cunt on top of him. He moved you off of him and sat up. “If you wanted to do what we did yesterday, you could’ve asked darling.” He pulled off your nightgown, admiring your body in his view. He took off his clothes, watching as you looked at his body. His hands pulled you close to him, sitting you on top of his semi-hard dick. He put his hands on your hips and moved you back and forth, feeling your warmth. You left him mesmerized with your body, how could someone not want a pretty omega like you. He loved the way your body clung to him, never wanting to let go, he also loved the way your cunt drooled for him, telling him just how much you wanted him. When he looked up the tears came back, your body holding onto his even tighter and your hips moving slower. You got up and ran to your bathroom, then after a few minutes, came back confused. He laughed, pulling you closer to him, “Honey, you’re not gonna pee, you’re gonna come, have you never done that before?” You shook your head, watching as his eyes widened. Well, if that was the case, he shouldn’t have expected a freaking nympho like on videos, he instead got an inexperienced, ‘never touched myself before’ omega. At breakfast, he thought and thought, what could he do to make you less afraid of letting go. Your butler then called for Taehyun. He got up and then told you to wait for him.

One day, his friends came again only this time, not to steal, to visit. They came in, saying hi and giving you a hug. They had suggested a picnic outside in the garden, hoping to get a good talk about the next time they’d come and steal. You went and got dressed then came downstairs and outside into the garden. They all gasped when they saw you, a pretty little sundress, with matching sandals and as your skirt flew up as you ran, one of Taehyun’s favorite panties hugging your hips. They all watched as you sat down, sitting close to Taehyun. You said hello and talked with them, eating the small sandwiches the chefs made for you guys. Suddenly, Beomgyu got an idea, he whispered in Soobin’s ear who then whispered it to Yeonjun who whispered it to Kai. Once Kai whispered it to Taehyun, a grin erupted on his face. “Honey, they’d like to see your pretty body, see how lucky I got, is that okay?” You smiled at them nodding, you stood up, removing your sandals first. Then, Taehyun helped you with your dress, folding it and laying it down on the picnic blanket. He removed your undergarments and then sat you down in his lap. The boys looked at you in awe, in surprise and shock. Taehyun parted your legs and spread your lips open. A flurry of compliments started coming from the boys, you smiled and giggled, happy to how pretty they thought you were. Taehyun helped you back into your clothes as the boys watched. Then, they helped pick up the picnic blanket, plates and cups and brought them inside. Then they all said goodbye and to wait for them.

After the boys came that night to steal, you wondered when they’d just come to visit, not steal. They said it would happen more often since they told you they were done stealing. They threw a small party and they laughed and talked to each other, you saw how happy Taehyun was, then he told you, they finally got the house they wanted and everything else they needed. That’s why they stole, so they could get the house they wanted. You were happy for them, dancing along with them. The next day, you and Taehyun went to the garden to have a picnic. You were enjoying your cake when your body started to feel hot. Taehyun came to your side, lifting you up. You had a fever, your body was hot. He brought you to your room and pressed a kiss to your lips as he sat you down. You went back to his lips, kissing, whimpering, pressing further down on him. He pulled you off, laying you down and telling you that you were sick and your heat was coming. But the bad news for Taehyun was that he was going to stay holed up in his room tomorrow, due to his rut. Now, he didn’t know what to do. He told you that he was getting your food, coming back with a dish full of food. He helped you eat it, putting the spoon in your mouth. He took care of you throughout the day and once it was time for you to sleep, he got you ready and laid you in bed and he got ready himself. He laid down next to you and told you to wait for him in the morning.

When he woke up in the morning, a sickly sweet scent flooded his nose. He felt hot, he felt the dizzying feel of someone on top of him. There you were, naked and rubbing yourself on Taehyun’s abs. You were riding his abs quickly and messily. Your eyes were glazed over with a dazed look, your head was very much clouded, only thinking about pleasing your alpha and getting bred. Taehyun on the other hand, only wanted to keep you bred, keep you with him always, have you stuck in that horny haze, have you stuck on his knot forever. You were perfect, kissing, moaning and whimpering, all for Taehyun’s eyes only. He got up and laid you down, trying to stop you from grinding on his dick. His fingers went in easily, the slick you were releasing made it easier for him. He opened you, his fingers spreading you for the main course. There you were, wanting him endlessly as he took out his fingers. He took off his clothes slowly, making you lose your mind as he took each piece of clothing off. There it was, very big and couldn’t possibly fit in your tiny hole. He pressed you against the pillows as he entered you, trying his hardest not to push all the way in. The way you felt wrapped around him, your walls warming him up immediately. Slowly but surely, he bottomed out, finally reaching the end. It all felt so sweet, the way the tip of his dick kissed your cervix, the way you looked so blissful underneath him. He was moving fast inside you, making sure to leave no spot untouched. “You’re being such a good omega for me, keep being good for me, keep laying there and looking pretty.” You were out of it, clinging onto Taehyun when he hit your cervix. He felt as your cunt squeezed him, came all over his dick. “Good girl, did such a good job for me, ngh, never wanna pull out.” As he felt your insides hugging him, he never wanted to pull out, he wanted to stay inside you forever. His inner alpha was yelling at him to mark you up and claim you, keep you in his arms, your scent was already enveloping him anyway. He was close, his teeth were on your neck, barely biting your scent glands. The second he released was the second he bit you, your arms tightening around him and your sounds got louder. His knot was so close to your cervix, keeping you filled with his release. "Honey, how did that feel, huh? Bet your little cunt loved it." He pressed kisses to your face as he reached over and grabbed a towel to clean you up with. He got you dressed and let you take a nap, he'd be back for more, just wait for him.

The next few days were filled with more moments like these, after all he had to help you with your heat and you had to help him with his rut. You did it each and every time, in the shower, where Taehyun could just kiss you and knot you, in the garden, where he could see your body in the sunlight, even in the library, where he'd have stuck on his knot and he'd read you a book. Soon, your heat was over and so was his rut. In the morning, you were filled with disappointment, that meant Taehyun wouldn't touch you anymore. You shook your head and grabbed Taehyun's hand, moving your nightgown and pulling off your panties, you slipped one of his fingers inside. It felt good but not good enough so you slipped two fingers then three. You looked down, his hand was getting wet with your arousal and his fingers were inside of you. You moved yourself against his hand, humping it desperately. You looked at Taehyun then pressed your lips against his, moving lower and lower to his neck. When Taehyun woke up, you were there naked, teary eyed and his hand was dripping with your releases. He wondered just how you got this way and how you managed to not wake him up. He then felt his neck and lips were wet, your lips were wet too. He called out to you, and scared you, you didn't expect to see him wake up. You pulled out his hand from inside you, shame painting your face. He brought his fingers to his lips and licked them, your sweet taste on his tongue. He then got up and got dressed, he went into the bathroom to get ready. He then got out, "Why aren't you getting ready? We promised the boys we'd see their new house remember?" You jumped and got up, nearly tripping over your clothes on the floor. Once you both were ready, you got into the car and your driver drove you to their house. It was big but not as big as yours. Once you knocked on the door, Beomgyu opened it. The boys were excited to have you both over. You guys started off with talking, eating and then dancing. You all had fun at their new house and stayed till night. You both got out the door to head to your car when Taehyun told them to wait till you guys came back.

Taehyun was happy but even happier today when he got you four boxes and put them on your bed. You liked getting presents and seeing that he got you them made you happy. You opened the first one, a pink diamond collar with his name on the diamond tag. The next one had a small, pink and white, silk nightgown, the third one had a rose quartz tiara and a scepter with the same crystals, the fourth gift had white gloves in it. He helped you put the outfit on and then laid back and looked at you. You held your scepter in your hand, a shy look on your face. "You look so pretty, darling. My pretty princess." He pulled you close to him and sat you down in his lap. You whimpered as he sat you down, he lifted your nightgown and saw you wearing nothing underneath. "Pretty princess wanted me to see her princess parts too, huh?" You nodded, holding onto him as his fingers entered you. You looked down at his lap, his dick getting harder by the second. You thought for a minute, how could someone like you get a man like him when no one liked you. Tears started flowing down your cheeks as Taehyun stopped and looked up at you, "Hey, what's wrong, darling? What's got you all teary eyed?" He held you close as you cried on his shoulder. Then Taehyun heard kids from outside your window talking and calling you a recluse and made fun of you for being a brat who was too good for the world. That made you cry even harder and Taehyun got up and got to the window, he opened it pointed his finger at the kids, then held up his old water gun. The kids ran away, screaming bloody murder. He walked back to you, "That ought to teach those kids to mind their own business and not make fun of you." He pressed a kiss to your forehead. He helped you get your clothes back on as he told you he'd get you lunch and to wait for him.

It had been years since Taehyun first met you. Shy, submissive, you. It was then that he realized, you were the one. He never once looked back, he knew that stealing from you was a good idea or else he would've never met you. You were his precious omega and he was your handsome alpha and your lives were perfect. Today, he was with you, holding your hand as you both walked through the garden, smiling and happy. He let go and ran to get a flower he grew for you. Once again, you waited for him because you knew what he'd say, to wait for him.

Taglist: @filmnings, @yeoningz, @beomiracles, @dawngyu, @yunverie, @liverspaghett

[collapsedglasshouses]

TANGLED THREADS [Noah Sebastian x fem!reader, Nick Ruffilo x fem!reader]

COLLEGE!AU

CHAPTER ONE: STRIKING A CHORD SUMMARY: There is something about you, Noah can't really bring himself to process. No matter what he does, everything comes back to you. Unfortunately, he knows that Nick feels the exact same way. PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x fem!Reader; mentions of Nick Ruffilo x fem!Reader WARNINGS: SMUT, MDNI, 18+ [unprotected p in v, degradation, rough sex ig, …], no mentions of reader’s name, angst, noah is toxic and delusional and also a utterly big simp, reader is toxic, toxic dynamics, mentions of noah thinking about nick during intercourse kind of?, swearing, its not completely proofread … WORD COUNT: 3.8K A/N: Hello, hello! A little note at the beginning. I got inspired while watching Challengers for the hundredth time in like… four weeks. This is inspired by a scene in the movie. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I’m planning on writing two more parts. For those, who miss Nicky in this one, chapter 2 will be for you!

Noah Sebastian liked to think of himself as a patient guy. He was nice. People said he was understanding and empathetic. It was something he was known for on campus. It was no secret that a lot of people on campus, especially some guys he had encountered, were total douchebags. But he was not one of them. He was known as “the sweet guy that likes to sing and play the guitar”. At least, according to most people who he had met.

That being said, he really couldn’t wrap his mind around why you were frustrating him so deeply he wanted to collapse to the ground and seize to exist.

It’s been a while since he and his best friend, Nick, had met you for the very first time at this talent show at the bar down the street. The two boys weren’t new to these shows. They were frequent contestants and had already won a fair share of these events. Noah wasn’t in college to seek a particular profession; he was there because his family wanted him to. Meanwhile Nick just enjoyed living in the moment. He didn’t really have a plan for the future, so when his best friend proposed his idea of becoming musicians, he simply agreed. Since then, nothing was more important to the two boys then their music project, with which they desperately wanted to break through.

At least it was until they met you. To say Noah had been through hell and back since the moment you stepped on that stage at that particular night, was a drastic understatement.

He still vividly remembered watching you as you smiled shyly, your guitar hanging from your neck like it was a statement piece. He remembered the almost physical reaction he had to you. The crowd was cheering nearly as loud as they did for him and Nick when they had stepped on stage just an hour prior. There even were people that made signs for you in support.

It was so obvious you were a favourite and when you started your performance, Noah felt like he was going into cardiac arrest. Your voice was angelic and the way your fingers glided over the strings of your guitar made his knees weak. He could tell that Nick was thinking the exact same thing. If the way he swallowed so hard wasn’t hint enough, it definitely was how his breath slightly caught in his throat when you started to engage with the crowd just a little more.

"Goddamn..." Nick had muttered under his breath. Noah could distantly see Nick’s hand clench on top of his thigh when you smiled into the crowd.

Nick and Noah didn’t even realize they were openly gawking at you and if they had noticed they probably would have been embarrassed. Still, it felt like everything they did was justified. You were creating magic on that stage and everyone in that room knew it.

Normally, Noah would have been disappointed over losing a contest, considering him and Nick where trying to get more people into their music they were slowly developing, but when it was announced that you had gotten the award, it felt like all his sorrows simply vanished.

“You know… If you get her on our project… I’ll gladly play the bass.” Nick let out in an almost stuttering breath as both of them stared at the stage where you were thanking everyone.

A couple of weeks, more like months, had past since that night. What Noah really didn’t expect was the fact that he was currently sitting with you at a lunch table, while you were complaining about a literature assignment you still had to finish. In all honesty, Noah wasn’t really listening to you, too busy trying his best not to glare too obviously at the Limp Bizkit hoodie you were wearing. It was extremely obvious who this piece of clothing belonged to, and Noah was internally fuming because of it. It was Nick’s. The hoodie string had a slightly different color than the rest of it. Noah remembered when Nick had changed the string after losing the original one.

You must have kept it the last time you saw Nick. The bold letters on the front seemed to almost mock Noah. He was biting the inside of his cheek while you rambled on and slammed his can of coke down on the table with a little more force than he intended. You hadn’t noticed. Or at least, you ignored it.

Noah didn’t really know what exactly was going on between Nick and you, but he tried his utter best to be okay with it. At least he did in the beginning. After all, Nick had been his best friend since Noah was twelve. Noah should have been stoked about the fact that you were into Nick just as much as he was into you. It was so clearly obvious it was the case when the two of them had walked up to you to congratulate you on winning at that talent show weeks ago.

It wasn’t like Nick was a player or something, but Noah almost crumbled into a million pieces when he realized you were playing into Nick’s desperate attempts to get into your pants. You weren’t averting your eyes shyly or blushing when he blatantly checked you out, you were throwing back smart comebacks to his lines. You were looking up at him through your lashes, blinking at Nick as if you were innocence itself and Noah felt like something inside him had died on the spot.

It would have been absolutely shattering and soul-crushing for Noah if he wasn’t such a good friend. He simply stifled this feeling that could have only been described as jealousy and plastered the best smile on his face as he watched Nick and you shamelessly flirt with each other.

It wasn’t like it was anyone’s fault. Nick and he really hadn’t had the chance to talk about who could try and score with you prior to that evening. If anything, it was fair game, and Noah simply didn’t take the chance out of kindness and loyalty to his best friend.

The night had lasted long enough for you and Noah to connect as well, but differently. You were chatting about college and what courses you were going to attend after the break, realizing you had a lot of things together. You were smiling so sweetly at him over your glass. Still, it had stung seeing you laugh at Nick’s joke with slightly too much enthusiasm while sharing a cigarette with Noah, but there was absolutely nothing he would or could do about it.

You had chosen Nick, and it had nothing to do with Noah. At least, that was what he was trying to convince himself of.

But the longer he spent time with you while Nick wasn’t around, the angrier he got every time Nick would tag along and steal away all your attention. First, he thought it was absolutely stupid and childish of him to feel that way but as time passed, it became this gnawing, not ignorable, almost consuming rage that twisted his guts every single time he saw you with Nick.

“You know, Nick invited me to the movies this weekend. He asked if you and Chrissy would like to join.” You mumbled as you took another bite from your lunch.

Chrissy, right. She was a girl he had met in that particular literature class you were just complaining about. They had hooked up a couple of times, but Noah just couldn’t focus on her. They had decided to be friends, but honestly it was just awkward for Noah to hang out with her now.

Noah involuntarily huffed at your statement as he took a bite as well. “Yeah. Sounds fun.”

That was when you caught onto him.

When he looked at you under his lashes, you were already looking at him. “You know… you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Noah’s eyebrows flinched upwards, like he was caught. “No… No, no. It’s fine… Really. I’ll be there.”

You slowly nodded, still watching him with a hint of skepticism. “Are you sure, you’re alright? You’ve been acting strange.”

“Yeah.” He blurted out too quickly, but you seemed like you didn’t want to push it.

Nothing felt right, and Noah knew it would have been a way smarter decision to just keep his mouth shut, but his words had outrun his thoughts. “I just-…”

You were watching him again, encouraging him to continue with a slight nod. Noah fiddled with his food, searching for the right words.

“I’m just surprised you two are still… you know… together, I guess.” He muttered under his breath. His more rational self would’ve punched him for that, but the anger simmering inside of him took the wheel.

“Excuse me?” You exclaimed, caught completely off guard, your tone sharp with disbelief.

Noah just sighed and set down his fork. “Nick… He’s always had a hard time… committing.”

One of your eyebrows shot up as you studied him. His tone was calm, even sweet, but the accusation behind his words hit like slap. Guilt twisted in Noah’s stomach almost immediately after the words left his mouth, but this time he swore to himself he wouldn’t retreat. He held your gaze. He wasn’t lying - Nick really did have a track record of avoiding any kind of commitment. Yet deep down, Noah knew the truth. He and Nick weren’t close enough at the moment for him to know if Nick was even seeing anyone else.

You didn’t respond right away, your eyes scanning his face like you were trying to decode him. Noah forced himself to maintain eye contact.

“Are you really shit talking your best friend right now?” You said at last, leaning back in your chair. The casualness in your tone unsettled Noah, and it showed in the subtle clench of his jaw.

“I am not.” He insisted, his voice tingled with frustration. “I just know him a lot better than you do and I am trying to spare you the heartache.”

“Sounds a lot like you are shit talking to me.” Your tone hardened, disbelief mingling with irritation. “And who even says you know what the hell is best for me?”

“You know I didn’t mean it that way.” Noah answered you, his tone matching yours. “He just doesn’t have feelings for you!”

You scoffed, your face twisting in anger. “Why the fuck do you even care?”

“I am just saying.” Noah exclaimed, crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively. “He hinted at it.”

That was a lie. A blatant, baseless lie. Nick hadn’t said anything of the sort. In fact, Nick hardly ever talked about you unless you were present. And when Noah thought about it, he wasn’t sure why he’d even lie. Maybe it was the anger clouding his judgement, or maybe it was something he wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself.

“Did it ever occur to you that I do not care?” You snarled at him, leaning forward now, voice rising.

At this point, a few people at nearby tables began to quiet down, their curiosity getting the better of them as they tried to eavesdrop. Noah stayed silent, the weight of your words sinking in—but not quite hitting home.

“I just wanted to tell you that.” He said weakly, fumbling to defend himself. God, you were infuriating. Of course, you would defend Nick.

“Yeah, but I wanna know why you care?” You asked again, your jaw tightened. You already knew why he cared but you wanted him to say it. You leaned closer to him over the table and spoke quietly. “Does it bug you so much that I fuck your best friend?”

Noah clenched his fists, jaw flexing in anger. He’s never seen you this mad before and he especially never expected to be the cause of it.

His eyes narrowed as he held your gaze, leaning closer to you. “You don’t get it, do you?” He muttered through his teeth.

“I think you don’t get it, Noah.” You bite out as Noah was starting to smell the familiar scent of your perfume. In other cases, it would have consumed him, but right now he couldn’t back down. “Who said I want Nick to be in love with me? Who the fuck said I give even the slightest fuck about any of that shit?”

Noah scoffed at your desperate attempt to come off as nonchalant. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Oh, please, sweetheart.” He shifted even closer to you. You could feel his breath on your face. “The way you act like a lost puppy around him tells me you care deeply about that.”

You blinked at him for a second, taken aback by his rude tone. You knew in some way he was right, but the fact that he called you out so blatantly made your blood boil.

Noah on the other hand thrived. The look of rage and intensity in your eyes was what Noah searched for, for months at this point.

“You know what.” You muttered, Noah didn’t miss how your eyes travelled to his lips for a second. “Fuck you. You are literally the worst fucking friend in the world.”

With that you stood up from your chair, gathering your stuff and leaving the cafeteria, leaving Noah with nothing but his thoughts.

Maybe he was a bad friend. Noah could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. A weird mix of emotions running through his veins. There was embarrassment, jealousy, anger, hatred and lust. The way you were looking at him, anger burning in your eyes, shot straight to part of his body he didn’t want to admit it did. His heartbeat echoed in his ears.

Noah was in misery for the rest of the day. He had decided to skip his classes after lunch, simply hiding inside his dorm. He stared at the ceiling as your fight replayed in his head. In some way he felt good about finally letting out his thoughts. But with that came the resentment. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he had lied. He had lied about his best friend, just because he was so desperate to get close to you.

He thought about texting Nick, but eventually gave up after numerous attempts to find the right words about what had happened without telling him he was a fucking liar.

The sun had already set when he made the decision that he had to forget you. He needed to focus on his dream of becoming a serious musician. He couldn’t waste his time on something so simple than this feeling he had about you. It didn’t matter how pretty you were. It didn’t matter how he felt a particular part of his body move when you simply leaned over the table to look at him through your gorgeous lashes. He needed to forget you.

That was what he had decided before his phone reminded him of reality.

Come over.

Noah had never moved that fast in his entire life, rushing out of his room, with only his phone and the keys. He made it to your dorm in such a short time that he nearly sprinted over campus. He needed to catch his breath when he reached the corridor where your room was at. All his resolutions had vanished into thin air when he came to a hold in front of your door.

He hesitated for a second, staring at the door, his mind racing. Should he apologize? What would you want to say? Were you still mad at him? God, he hoped you weren’t mad anymore.

He bit down on his lip as he quietly knocked on your door. Barely a second passed before it opened.

He didn’t have the time to process what was happening, as you gripped the front of his shirt and dragged him inside. Noah’s back hit the now closed door with a thud, his breath caught in his throat in surprise. He tried to save the jacket that hung on the door from falling to the ground, but your grip on his shoulders, didn’t make it possible for him to do so.

When he allowed himself to look at you, he noticed you looked different. Your eyes were puffy and red. Your breath came out in short burst as you stared him down. All the emotions he had just sworn to bury rushed back at him when he stared into your soul.

“What’s going on?” He asked, his voice a mix of confusion and worry. His hands came to a rest on your hips, hesitatingly, not sure if he should touch you.

He noticed you were still wearing Nick’s hoodie.

Noah was close to opening his mouth again, when you suddenly yanked him forward, closing the distance between the two of you as your lips crashed against Noah’s. It was so sudden, Noah stumbled a couple of steps towards you, almost causing you to lose balance.

He felt pathetic for how easily he kissed you back, not even giving a single thought of hesitation to it. His mind shot to Nick, only causing him to draw you closer to him. He surely owned himself the award for being the worst friend in the world, but all his common sense left his mind, when you pushed your tongue into his mouth.

It was rough how your lips clashed together. It almost felt violent. All the aggression and frustration from earlier filling the room between you two. It was not how he had imagined your first kiss to go, but he wouldn’t do shit to end whatever was going on.

He almost whined when your hands slipped under his shirt, your cool fingertips spreading goose bumps all over his body.

“It’s over with Nick.” You breathe hotly, before roughly kissing down his jaw. Noah was in such a haze that he almost didn’t get your words. “You need to fuck me, Noah.”

Holy fucking shit.

Noah felt like he had never been this hard in his entire life. But still, his common sense came back to him in the worst fucking moment.

He softly pushed you away to get a couple of inches between the two of you. His mouth opened, but no words came out, his mind still processing what was happening.

“What?” You harshly barked at him, running a hand through your messy hair.

“I-…” Noah began. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to-…”

“Oh, suddenly you wanna act like you weren’t trying to get in my pants for the last couple of weeks?” You mocked him, your voice riddled with a mix of hurt, frustration and lust.

Something snapped in Noah. It felt like you had slapped him across the face with your words. For a second, he freezed in disbelief, before you were suddenly pushed against the door.

“Are you serious right now?” He spit in your face. “You mock me. Insult me. Tease me endlessly and then proceed to tell me how you fuck my best friend, and you are trying to tell me that I’m the one who wants to be fucked. Are you out of your goddamn pathetic mind?”

“What’s stopping you, Noah?” You snarled at him, but when his eyes darkened, you knew you made a mistake.

The next thing you knew was how your face pressed into your mattress, while Noah grabbed your waist harshly. He leaned over you, his hard member pressing onto your ass. “I’ll make you regret choosing him over me.”

Noah didn’t miss the red mark on your neck. He knew exactly who had left it there, but the thought about Nick just made his dick twitch once more. He quickly leaned down and sucked at the sensitive skin of your neck right next to where Nick had left his mark. After that, he stripped you out of your jeans with a swift motion, before getting rid of his shirt.

You flinched when he touched your clothed pussy, trying to contain yourself. “So… are you all talk or are you gonna fuck me?”

Noah grabbed your hips roughly. “You can bitch like you want. I haven’t even touched you and you’re already so fucking wet for me.”

Still leaned over you, he dragged his tongue along the shell of your ear. You let out a moan, pressing your ass against him. Careful but firm, he stopped your movement before shifting his weight on his knees again. “You’re so pretty.” He whispered so quietly; he wasn’t sure if you caught on to his words.

While keeping one hand on you, the other one fumbled with the waistband of his pants. It took him less than a second until his dick sprung free. You squirmed impatiently, when you felt his precum leak onto your ass.

“You’re one to talk about being needy-…” You wanted to mock him, but he interrupted you within a heartbeat. “Shut up.”

Noah involuntarily groaned loudly, when his hips jerked against your ass. A shiver went through his body, eyes screwing shut as he tried not to cum all over your ass. “Shit, shit, shit…” He breathed out sharply. You simply giggled.

His fingers hooked under the waistband of your panties and forcefully, he yanked them down to your mid-thigh. You breathed hotly in surprise, hands gripping the sheets of your bed tighter.

With a swift motion, he flipped you in your back, before leaning close to your face. He needed to see you.

“Please.” You whined, your hands gripping his tattooed arms desperately, while his gaze ran over Nick's hoodie that you were still wearing.

Noah took his dick into his hand and dragged it through the silky skin of your folds. When he rubbed over your clit, your hips jerked upwards involuntarily. You whined, slightly shaking at the sensation as he dragged his dick to your hole, lining up and slowly sinking inside with a heated groan.

“Shit.” You cried out, immediately wrapping your legs around his hips.

As he bottomed out, he grabbed your face, forcing you to look at him. “I’ve fucking had it with you. Look at you. Pathetically craving for my dick. You fucking slut.” He snarled at you with a thrust of his hips. “The least you can do is take it like a good girl.”

“Fuck you, Noah.” You cursed him out, your voice not more than a breath. You saw how Noah smiled at you, feeling how you clenched around him at his words, before leaning down, pressing his lips to yours as he slowly began to move.

His lips drowned out your sweet noises and he couldn’t help but feel like he belonged right where he was. He sped up, desperately trying to stay quiet. But god, you felt so good.

“Noah.” You moaned, scratching your nails down his back. “Don’t stop… fuck… Please, I-…”

He cut you off with another kiss, whining at the way his name sounded out of your mouth.

“God, I’m gonna cum.” He whined as his hips smashed into you. “I need to feel you cum around me.”

He felt how your legs tightened around him as a small pain shot through your core from the roughness of your actions.

“I’m-…” You stuttered out. “I’m on the pill. Cum inside me.” You pushed your ankles into him, not even giving him the chance to pull out. Not like he wanted to.

“Fuck!” Noah shouted out, his hips starting to stutter as he slowly started to spill inside of you. You felt his hot cum on the walls of your pussy as you breathed out his name. He didn’t stop, fucking you through your orgasm, until he collapsed on top of you, not being able to continue.

It was quiet after that. A silent agreement that he would stay the night, as he slowly pulled out of you, rolling on his back next to you.

As you curled up in his arms, he couldn’t help but feel the pride in his chest. It was everything he ever wanted. You were in his arms, with his cum inside of you, for once not talking about his best friend. While you fell asleep almost immediately, his mind was still racing. He was disturbed in his thought process when he saw his phone lighting up. When he looked at it after some time, he saw messages. Several messages. All from Nick.

He decided to ignore them...

dividers by @saradika-graphics

TAGLIST: @measuredingold @cncohshit @circle-with-me @jilliemiw86 @justeli6 @sitkowski @exitwoundsx

[f4rtnite]

Bkdk online dating AU Preview!

Midoriya went home, took off his shoes, and greeted his mom. He went straight to his room and on the computer. Discord was already open and now Midoriya could finally relax, talk with his online friends, and forget about the struggles of his daily life.

While online he would mainly talk with his friends and moderate chats. He would always share fun facts about All Might and was constantly showing off his collection. A lot of people would turn to him when they needed to find specific merchandise. He was also an expert at spotting differences between bootlegs and official products.

He gets a notification, “@exsplosive_might111 has joined the server”

Midoriya immediately welcomed the new user and sends them the rules and verification process. Afterwards the new user posts an introduction. The introduction had quickly caught Midoriya’s attention since there weren't that many 13 year old boys like him in the server. This made him super excited and he started up a conversation with him as soon as possible.

@allmight_is_the_goat0715

Hey @ explosive_might111 you're the same age as me, that's so cool :D There’s not that many young ones here :(

@explosive_might111

Omg really? That’s so cool! can I send a friend request??? :3

Shortly after, they immediately start talking about everything All Might. Midoriya was impressed by how much this guy knew. They started talking about limited edition All Might merch. They both challenged each other to see who had the most/rarest merchandise. Midoriya had more by a long shot, but they noticed that they both had the same limited edition holographic all might card.

Allmight_is_the_goat0715

Wow where did you get that card??? :0 I've hardly met anyone who has it :DDD

Explosive_might111

Got it from a vending machine. Weren't they exclusive to only a few cities here???? I got mine in Musutafu :333

Allmight_is_the_goat0715

OMG ME TOO!1!1!1!1 we must live around the same area :DDD

They had stayed up talking all night. Despite it being a school night and the fact that Bakugou usually goes to bed early, they never stopped chatting. Midoriya, or his online nickname Mikumo, had told his new friend all about his life. He mentioned how he gets bullied but did not bring up that he is quirkless.

Bakugou, or nickname Aka (means red) had told “Mikumo” bits and pieces about his daily life. He felt bad for his new friend who was unfortunately getting bullied, but he felt guilty because Bakugou knows that he's a bully himself. They shared many things about themselves with each other. It was 3am before they had finally decided to go to bed.

Midoriya logged off of discord. He didn't expect to chat with the new user for so long, but he's glad that he did. Most of his online friends were much older than him so it was nice to be able to talk to someone his age and be able to relate to them.

Midoriya turned off his computer and put his phone to charge. He was really looking forward to the next day. Perhaps classes will be easier to sit through since now he has his new friend that he can talk to throughout the day. Midoriya just hopes that he's as active as him so they can talk all the time. He also got excited knowing that his new friend Aka could potentially live close to him. It's been so long since he last had a friend in person. His mom told him to never ever meet up with people he's met online, but Midoriya wouldn't mind meeting this guy sometime.

Did you enjoy reading this? Read the full completed fic here! https://archiveofourown.org/works/58319551/chapters/148525768

[gayofthefae]

If you truly ignore Byler proof, there's a 50% chance. Because there is a 50% chance that a random guy in Arizona (with the last name Duffer) opened his laptop and typed out "boys kiss" and emailed it to a bunch of actors. For all the talk on how difficult it is to get a single shot, writing that is actually surprisingly simple and fast.

You're convinced that the people in your real life you believe are straight are, and honestly? That's what this is about. You can process that later, but do process it. Mike, however, is completely made up. Fictional. Doesn't exist. He is a puppet controlled by writers with free will. His relationship with a woman has 0 bearing on his queerness, (especially if he's bisexual, jesus christ guys, dating El doesn't disprove bisexuality).

At most baseline of a love triangle I'd say it's a coin flip.

People act like it's harder to write "Mike kisses Will instead" than to write, say "Nancy kisses Steve instead" because of their OWN mental block of him being queer. But there aren't actually any extra steps. All Mike has to do to have feelings for Will is say he does. All Finn has to do is act like it.

It is not as difficult to make a character queer as it is for you to accept them as queer, and that's what people are equating. It does not require any additional effort than any other situation in which one character is wanted by two characters. It is equally easy to put them with either one.

People act like just because Mike doesn't currently have overt feelings for Will that there are lots of steps on the road to that. There aren't.

The most planless, bullshit way of doing it they could do is to say "everything up until now - the I love you, all of it, was 100% true, but in this year and a half time jump, I have developed feelings for Will". A slightly better quality, equally as easy one would be "I believed everything I said and did was true, but I realized during this time jump that this whole time I actually had feelings for Will. I believed my actions but that doesn't make them true." Rewatchable, which we know they want.

Then, of course, the most commonly understood one, "I really believed I/was in love with you seasons 1-4 but learning that Will was the one behind the painting and that he knew me so well and made me feel so loved and felt that way made me realize I love him now." Cyrano, of course. We've seen it before, we know how it ends.

I, of course, prefer the more complicated, and therefore more accurate - and simply more interesting - versions, but this is on the assumption that they did not intend it and changed their minds when they sat down for season 5 or something.

Still easy as hell. So fucking easy. Tell Finn to look goofy at Will, don't even have to right lines about it, then have him talk to El and say any of the above lines. Written as bad as that, it doesn't totally matter. He will then, canonically and from the show's beginning when you rewatch it, be queer. Period, full stop. Tap Finn Wolfhard on the shoulder and whisper "be gay" and your job is done. It is very, very easy, actually.

People think that because represents him, they know everything about him automatically. But there are cases where you aren't him. You're the people around him. And just like them, you think he's straight. There are things I think about him that are projections of me, not analyses of the character. Yours is that he's straight. That came from you, not him.

People only act like it's hard because it's hard for them to wrap their heads around. But these aren't people who are magnetically repelled based on gender attraction. They're barbie dolls you're mashing together. You can pick whichever ones you want.

You may be Mike Wheeler. But the writers are 2x06 Erica Sinclair.

if a character canonically has a crush on another character (assuming it's legal), that means that the ship is a possibility. it's on the table. there's a chance of a relationship there. maybe if one of the characters is 100% canon confirmed not to be attracted to the gender of the other character, you could argue there's no chance, but unless they've outright stated so, it's on the table. it's an option. stop telling us byler isn't fucking possible. call it unlikely if you want - it's still an option now, whether you like it or not. get the fuck off my ass

[obsidianpen]

After reading No Glory and Hauntingly, it's hard to enjoy hetero romance, and it's not just because your way of writing is elite; there could be so many reasons that I went hardcore m/m and f/f shipper. Like, I am dead serious when I say my favorite telenovela pairing is Luisa x Rose from Jane the Virgin. So, I am really, really excited for your original work, and even more stoked that you decided it to be an m/m pair. But yeah, would love to know why you decided that?

you know, it was an interesting thought process that involved a lot of self reflecting. There’s definitely controversy around women writing gay male romance. Most of it is, I think, bullshit, and the arguments such as ‘its fetishizing’ are way off base (no, that would be male directors and producers creating plotless w/w porn, imo). But it was a Big Question: why should I, J…Jamie (lmao I’m almost more OP than myself anymore when I’m online) write a story with a bi male lead, when I’m a female (I love writing bis okay we need more of us!!) ? The reason I like writing Harry/Tom has everything to do with their dynamic and roles in the canon, and nothing to do with the gender. Id ship them regardless. In fact I probably would have realized I shipped them sooner if it was f/m; I was just too young at the time to realize that’s what I was rooting for because I was a bit sheltered in that regard.

anyway - so yeah, why am I still interested in m/m outside of fanfiction? I asked myself, staring at the mirror. So I wrote a little bit out of this original idea, one version as a female lead and once as a male, and you know, it was a pretty interesting exercise. When I was writing a male protagonist, I was… calm? Idk, I didn’t overthink him. I knew who he was and I just wrote what he did and what he thought. But when I was writing a the female version, my anxiety was so much higher! I found myself agonizing over every bit of her personality, worrying if people would find her ‘too this’ or ‘too that’, too predictable, too pretty, not pretty enough, too tough, too weak, etc etc. I felt like no matter who I made her, people would be upset and fucking hate her. And then I realized, oh. This is probably why so many women authors like writing male leads. Because that agonizing feeling, that’s how it is to be a woman, all the time. And it’s so relieving to get to leave that behind when writing a male lead. Maybe this is all deeply problematic on my part, I’m not sure. Internalized misogyny? I don’t think so, just the bleak reality. But yes I likely have issues lmaaao

Another reason was simply that the last original work I wrote has a female lead, so I thought I’d switch it up again. Writing an m/m story is what got me into writing in the first place, so it feels weirdly like have to acknowledge that in new projects I take seriously, too?

and to acknowledge that story I already wrote with the female lead - Starlings - I agonized quite a bit less over her, and in hindsight, I think it’s because she’s a child. She goes through puberty during the story, surrounded by older women, and there are almost no men in the whole thing, so the dynamic is totally different. It’s not big on the romance, either, which also helps. So yeah. No anxiety there. But with a grown ass woman in a story that’s centered quite a bit around a super problematic romance? Anxiety. Anxiety for days. I also feel this anxiety when I write Hermione, btw.

there will definitely be a different kind of worrying writing this new original thing, though - writing a gay magical romance set in southern 1920s America is gonna require a TON of research, and I’m not taking that lightly. But that worrying isn’t nearly as personal, which makes a lot of difference.

I’m interesting in other people’s opinions on this! So please share if you’re willing. 🌸

[thewisedoge]

Jimmy from Mouthwashing and Judge Claude Frollo from Hunchback Of Notre Dame are the same character but in a different font. (A short analysis)

Okay. I only recently played and finished Mouthwashing. (Masterpiece btw)

I could not shake this off after I had a long ass time to process it, but I'm gonna say it.

Jimmy and Judge Claude Frollo are VERY similar... And I don't mean with how they look. (Even though they do have an identical face shape and hairline.)

Let's get the obvious similarity they share out of the way.

They're both manipulative pieces of shit.

They always want to feel bigger, or more important than everyone around them and the people they know. How Anya treats Jimmy post... the incident, is pretty reminiscent of how Quasimodo acts around Frollo. They both don't want to set them off, or to anger them in fear of what they might do.

They also try to play themselves up as a "savior" or a "misunderstood hero" as a way to deflect blame or to excuse their actions. Whether that be with Frollo proclaiming himself using the good old "holier than thou" technique, using his own status as Judge to excuse his horrid actions under the guise of "justice".

(They weren't subtle with Frollo doing this in the movie either. This is a lyric in Hellfire.)

Or with Jimmy trying to be the self appointed "captain" after the crash, trying to assert his authority and make the others feel like they're being unreasonable, while also being outright RESPONSIBLE for the injuries or torment of others, excusing it as him "doing his job" in his head.

One of their biggest similarities however is how their lust and fear of consequences (or taking responsibility lmao) blinded them. Jimmy lusted over Anya, Frollo lusted over Esmeralda. Their depravity led them to their own downfalls.

Frollo was very creepy towards Esmeralda and didn't actually do anything to her on the same level as Jimmy did to Anya. But this also explains another similarity.

How they both saw their female victim as an object.

In the hallucinations, Jimmy encounters that giant slit mouthed monster with bulging eyes that birthed that creepy baby centipede thing. That's how he saw Anya, just a literal sentient BIRTH CANAL with eyes that was going to bring upon consequences to his own actions.

Frollo also saw Esmeralda as nothing more than an object, he quite literally offers that if she gave herself up to him he would spare her from her "rightful punishment" and not burn her at the stake. He didn't LOVE her, he wanted to OWN her.

It's even said outright in the stage adaptation by Quasimodo, when Frollo stands with him as he mourns Esmeralda when she passes from her injuries and says that he "even loved her". When this happens, Quasimodo yells in pure anguish and hated...

"What do you know of love?.. WHO HAVE YOU EVER LOVED?!"

I adore this game and how it was written. I adore The Hunchback Of Notre Dame despite my sheer hatred for corporate Disney's bigoted and overall stupid practices nowadays. I love complex villains!!!!

... Anyway why did I make this post?

Oh yeah.

Someone should draw or make an animatic of Jimmy singing Hellfire it would be perfect.

Please.

(Edit: I added some more images to the post to covey my points a bit more, but I am so happy with the reception and attention this post has been getting. It means a lot that there's a group of people here that will listen to my interpretations or analyses on my favorite pieces of media. It made me so happy to see this post rack up this many likes despite it not being much. Tysm. <3)

(Edit 2: In case anyone who sees or likes this post, I want to let you know that I have written scripts for media analysis videos and I'm in the process of finishing and recording it! Feel free to follow to hear any updates or what media I will cover in my videos. :3)

[bumblebee-online]

i imagine vee x a extractor reader fluff/angst where the reader got hurt by a distractor getting to close cause the twisted to attack them and vee helps them get to the elevator.

⟡ ݁₊ . “Love Buzz” ~ vee x distractor! crush(?)

☎️; not totally sure what I was doing here,,, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless! :3 put crush(?) ‘cause if you rlly wanna think of it as established relationship, you could!!!

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

You were never much of a distractor yourself, not great with chases as your mind tends to just go blank and you’re not so quick on your feet. But it wasn’t something to dwell on, as you found your real talent in the ichor machines. Over time, you became more familiar with them, improving your skills. It’s safe to say you became one of the best… though you wouldn’t brag about it.

You were working on the final machine, still not exactly sure what threats were walking around or who exactly they were. You knew Vee was nearby—she always was. That girl refused to let you out of her sights for more than just a moment. But you always reassured her, telling her it was fine, that you are fine, and you really were.

Then you watched Flutter swing by, leading what looked like Poppy away from another area. The thing is… Flutter didn’t quite notice you, putting you directly in harm’s way. Before you could react, a sharp pain shot through your shoulder, like someone scraping a fork across your back. Poppy’s fingers dug into your skin, snatching you away from the ichor machine, leaving you momentarily stunned.

Before another mysterious figure roughly tugged you away, you caught a horrifying glimpse of Poppy, her face contorted with rage, ichor staining her features. Her jaw unhinged, ready to bite into you. Thankfully that never came to happen, and you found yourself running alongside your savior, still too stunned to fully process what had just happened.

“You better not slow down! We’re getting to that elevator, and I’m not waiting for you to get snagged by some Twisted! Keep up, or I’ll carry you there myself,” Vee spoke sharply, gripping your hand as she guided you along, the timer quickly ticking down and the alarm blaring in your ears. You almost wished she’d just sweep you off your feet and carry you.

With just five seconds to spare, Vee gently pushed you into the elevator, her attention already focused on your shoulder to examine the injury. A worried, panicked expression flickered on her screen, her bow tie slightly tilted. Though clearly stressed, she softly traced the wound with her cold fingers, and a faint static hum filled the air, a tiny sign of relief, kind of like a quiet sigh.

“You’ll be fine. I should’ve been there sooner, I’m sorry.” she muttered, her gaze drifting to the floor. You could only stare at her, your eyes full of love and appreciation. The pain in your back stung, but it hardly mattered, you were just grateful to be alive.

Vee glanced over at you, raising an eyebrow. “What are you lookin’ at? I mean-” she started to ramble, but you quickly cut her off with a hug before she could finish.

“Thank you, thank you so much, Vee! Seriously, I can’t thank you enough,” you repeat, smiling as you hold onto her tightly.

Vee gave a tiny, gentle smile in return, trying to appear unfazed. “You’re welcome. It was nothing,” she replied with her typical confidence, holding you just as close, trying to be subtle about how much she really cares.

With your hands resting lovingly on either sides of her screen, you let out a soft giggle, feeling the light shock of her touch in response to yours. You kindaaa almost forgot she was made of wires and circuits…

“Alright, c’mon. We can’t celebrate yet. There’s still a whole lot more to do,” the game-show host added with a serious tone, though her content expression gave her away. You really knew how to tug at her heartstri— no, wires.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

[siphisket]

Ooooh throwback to this watercolor piece from 4 years ago today — this would be a cool piece to redo as a gold foil print someday. I really liked the design but remember being disappointed with the shine/texture of the gold paint I used, so it would probably work way better with a touch up and some foil!

(Video under the cut to show the barely-there metallic shine via shitty camera quality lol)

Please excuse the perpetual shakiness of my hands lol

[ineed-to-sleep]

Yk I don't think ai art will ever really substitute real art. Like I don't think a future like that is possible, and if I'm wrong, we'd be living in the saddest, most depressing version of reality.

The thing about ai is that it will never be able to tell you a story in the way that an artist who actually drew the image will. Even my old drawings I did at age 13 with the wonky poses and huge anime eyes could tell you more of a story than ai ever could, even if it was just a very human story about a kid who liked soulcalibur iv and wanted to draw her ocs. If I'd only been messing with ai back then instead of picking up a pencil, imagine how sad it would be to look back and realize the art said absolutely nothing about me or my personality or intentions or where I was at in my life and with my skills.

It might look pretty. Maybe. But that's it. The result is shallow. You can't read into it, you can't think about the person behind it, because it says nothing about them. It's honestly the saddest thing. I hate to think about a future where people only want to produce ai art because it just sounds so empty. You can see none of yourself and your tastes and your history in an ai produced image. I think that's what people mean when they say ai art is souless and has no human behind it, because even if a human used the ai tool to generate it, there's none of themselves in it.

Real art feels more like an inescapable mirror. An amalgamation of the things you love poured into every line and brushstroke. A frankenstein of everything in the visual world that has ever inspired or fascinated you, built up over a lifetime of learning and repetition. And the more you learn and the better you get the more it grows and the more of yourself you can see in it, the more it looks back and screams at you the story of who you are. If your art doesn't feel like a living thing your hands have birthed then what's even the point?

[dakotac0le]

been thinking a lot about Dakota and autonomy and heroism lately

[serenastark-official]

Oh, I see Tony’s coming in hot with the criticism, but let’s not paint Ross as this one-dimensional selfish jerk either. Sure, he had his flaws, no question about it. But let’s be real—his actions, especially with Carol and Susan, were born out of a combination of confusion, hurt, and jealousy. He wasn’t just sitting there twirling his mustache trying to mess with everyone’s lives. His emotional baggage from his first marriage wasn’t something you can just push aside. It's understandable that he had a hard time accepting Carol’s relationship with Susan—especially since he didn’t have the tools to process all that emotional complexity at the time. And yeah, his bitterness definitely caused tension, but who wouldn’t feel some level of resentment in that situation? I don’t think that makes him a terrible person. Just a person going through a tough time.

As for the whole "begrudgingly taking responsibility for Ben" thing, that’s a bit unfair. Ross was never going to be the model of the perfect, calm parent. He had his own stuff to deal with, and honestly, Ben wasn’t around as much later on. But when he did take responsibility, it wasn’t like he was actively trying to be a bad parent. Sure, there was room for improvement, but Ross didn’t just check out. He wasn’t the best dad, but he was still trying. Sometimes, being a parent is just about showing up, even if you’re a bit of a mess.

The manipulation argument is a tricky one. Yes, Ross made some bad decisions in his relationship with Rachel, but let’s not ignore that Rachel was no saint either. They both made mistakes, and when you’re in love with someone and terrified of losing them, your emotions tend to cloud your judgment. Did Ross make mistakes? Absolutely. Did he manipulate Rachel sometimes? Sure, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling him malicious. He was insecure, and that insecurity led him to act in ways that he probably shouldn’t have. But his actions were coming from a place of fear and attachment, not manipulation for the sake of control.

And that whole Emily situation? Ross was never going to fully let go of Rachel—not because he didn’t want to be with Emily, but because Rachel had been such a huge part of his life for so long. That’s not just emotional immaturity. It’s a real human struggle. Maybe Ross should’ve done more to manage his emotions, but no one can just turn off years of feelings for someone they’ve been in love with for so long.

Now, as far as alienating his friends goes? Yeah, Ross definitely had his moments where he was a little too quick to make decisions for everyone. But I think that comes from his desire to control situations because he felt out of control in his personal life. He wasn’t trying to make everyone miserable on purpose; he just didn’t always see the bigger picture.

And I’ll be real—his inability to fully own his mistakes? Yeah, that’s a big flaw, but he wasn’t the only one in the group who struggled with that. We all know Rachel had her moments of not taking full accountability too. But that doesn’t mean Ross wasn’t a good guy at his core. He was just deeply flawed, like we all are. He didn’t always handle things right, but he was still there for his friends when it counted.

So, let’s be clear, Ross definitely made a lot of mistakes, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. His relationships were messy, his emotional maturity was a work in progress, but that’s what makes him a more relatable and real character than just the "selfish ex" label people like to slap on him. I’m not saying he was perfect, but he wasn’t this terrible, manipulative villain either. People act like he was this dramatic, whining mess without understanding the reasons behind his actions. At the end of the day, he was just trying to navigate life and love the best he could, and sometimes he got it wrong. But who doesn’t?