#imagine thinking all cats are exactly the same and they dont have individual personalities and quirks

[crouton-moons]

bestie have you... ever interacted with a cat before...?

Your daily dose of cat memes

[paintbrushnebula]

how doubt feel about cass x older varian?

I mean, I don't think it's weird/creepy as long as the people who ship it don't intend for Cass to be attracted to Varian until after he's a full fledged adult.

But regardless of age, I personally don't ship Cassarian for a few reasons.

It's funny, earlier today I was literally just telling my sister how I genuinely can't imagine Varian being attracted to Cassandra as he is in Season 3. Or...anyone for that matter? Because he's just so...to himself? Like he has this "eww. people" energy, like he loves his friends and family, and then he's so attached to his passions that he feels more comfortable being to himself without being banded to someone.

Same goes for Cass, like, she's got her own calling that she's attached to, and she wouldn't want to be roped down to the responsibilities of a relationship. And honestly the thing that I dont understand the most about Cassarian is that I genuinely dont get what Cass is getting out of it emotionally, if that makes sense? Like, what is it exactly about Varian that she's attracted to? I mean maybe the idea is that Varian's into the tough-yet-cuddly-on-the-inside, sword-swinging, "wet cat"-looking, swashbuckler type, then yeah totally like same. Does Cass like sweet n sassy bois who're chronically indoors and listen to The Magnus Archives all day? I mean sure ok you do you Cassie

Apart from all that, I mean I just think their dynamic would be way more interesting as a platonic, cave-dwelling duo. Cass and Varian are two individuals with callings--exotic, adventurous, sometimes dangerous callings--that they're practically married to, and they have many things in common and many things opposite. It's fun and wholesome that way

[a-dragons-journal]

i dont "kin for fun" but through tiktok i found out about the whole kin for fun vs actual otherkin... situation ig? im having a really hard time taking it seriously... maybe im just burnt out and bitter from dealing with the worlds current events, and maybe its because on tiktok the only people i saw mad about it were white people, but you're the most reasonable person ive seen talking about it (a lot of other posts have this odd tone that 12 year olds on tiktok saying kin is the worlds greatest opression and it weirds me out) so ig my question is just... why exactly does this matter? why does it matter enough to post about and care about and not just ignore? /gen

Hey! I don’t blame you for being a bit weirded out by it, we’re a weird subculture and we’re well aware of it! xD I appreciate you taking the time to actually look into it past your first knee-jerk reaction, especially considering burnout and the state of things.

I’m not totally sure if you’re asking why otherkinity matters or why the “kin for fun” being wrong matters, so I’ll answer both - they’re pretty well tied together anyway.

The short version:

Otherkinity is an identity. It’s who we are, we can’t choose to pick it up or put it down, and it comes with struggles - though no, ‘kin are not systematically oppressed (though we are pretty badly bullied and, at this point, pushed out of our own words and spaces).

What people calling roleplay/relating to/projecting onto characters “kinning for fun” does is steal our words, make them meaningless, and in doing so, make it difficult or impossible for us to find each other. If someone says “I kin [x],” I no longer know whether they mean “I am [x] on an intrinsic level” or “haha I relate to this character a lot”. I no longer know whether they actually share my experiences or if they’re going to turn on me and call me “crazy” as soon as they realize I’m not exaggerating or joking or roleplaying. It’s done massive harm to the community as a whole because it’s become difficult to tell whether someone is actually ‘kin or if they’ve misunderstood the whole thing - and because antikin rhetoric, which I’m seeing more and more in KFF spaces, hurts far more when it’s coming from inside what you thought was a community space than when it’s coming from self-labeled “antikin.”

There are other words for roleplaying and relating to and projecting onto characters. Hell, there are words for strongly identifying with-but-not-as characters/things, though usually KFF people don’t even seem serious enough for those to fit in my experience. I’m really not sure why these people are so determined to steal and misuse our words, words that were specifically created to mean something else, when they already have their own and are just refusing to use them. (Or, hell, if you don’t feel like those fit, make your own. We did. It’s your turn to put in the work. (General you, not you-the-anon, of course.))

An analogy, if that still doesn’t quite land for you:

Consider, for a moment, the transgender community. I am aware this is a dangerous thing to say, but bear with me. Obvious CW for hypothetical transphobia up ahead is obvious.

Consider if you were part of the trans community (I don’t know if you are or not), having finally found a word to explain why you feel the way you do about yourself, why your experiences don’t seem to match up with those of everyone else around you. Having found a community, a home, full of other people like you, people you never would have met if not for words like “transgender” and “gender dysphoria/euphoria” that were created specifically to describe your experiences.

Now consider if people suddenly stumbled across your community for the first time who were not trans themselves. They see community jokes and lighthearted posts out of context, because Tumblr and Twitter aren’t exactly conducive to making sure people find the Transgender 101 information posts first. They don’t bother to do further research, assuming they understand: ah, these people like to crossdress! They like to pretend they’re a different gender! This seems like a fun hobby, I want in!

They begin to post things like this. They post photos of them crossdressing and caption them “hi, I’m [name], and I trans men!” and things of the like. Suddenly the concept of “transing for fun” seems to be everywhere - and it’s not at all what being trans actually is, but these people either don’t know or don’t care. When actual trans people try to politely correct them, they’re accused of “gatekeeping” - and to be clear, this is not “nonbinary people aren’t real,” it’s “transgender means you identify as a gender other than the one you were assigned at birth, and you’re self-identifying as the gender you were assigned at birth 100% and telling us this is just a fun hobby for you, therefore you’re not trans, you’re crossdressing or doing drag or being GNC. That’s fine, but it’s not being trans - you have other words to describe that, use those.”

(Yes, I am aware these things have a history with the trans community - please just ignore that for the sake of the analogy and bear with me on the slightly simplified version of this. “Kinning for fun” does not have that same history with the otherkin community.)

...And then the response to those attempted corrections, in some corners, turns into “wait, you ACTUALLY think you’re another gender? idk that sounds pretty unhealthy, maybe you should see a psychologist or something :\” and “you’re taking this too seriously.”

I imagine, in this hypothetical scenario, you’d also be pretty fuckin peeved.

(Obviously, in this hypothetical scenario, systematic transphobia would be an issue as well, which isn’t the case for otherkin - again, you’re gonna have to bear with me on the simplification for sake of analogy there.)

(EDIT: this is not an anti-MOGAI/exclusionist argument, this is “you’re literally telling me you don’t fit the definition,” explanation on that here)

The long version, which is probably still worth reading if you have the time and energy:

Otherkinity is... pretty core to who I am, who we as a group of individuals are. We live with being otherkin on a daily basis. Many of us spent a long time feeling different and disconnected and not understanding why until we found the otherkin community. Even people like me, who don’t share that experience and still had social connection - I’ve still had to live with weird differences that I had to learn to mask when necessary; instincts that don’t line up with human society well, feeling body parts that weren’t there and that no one else ever seemed to have, things that other kids grew out of because it was just make-believe for them and I... didn’t, because it was never make-believe for me to begin with. Oh, sure, I played make-believe too - I played warrior cats and house and all those things with the other kids, but there were things that weren’t play-pretend for me too. I didn’t have an explanation for it for a long time - it was just how I was, I was weird, and fortunately for me personally I was okay with that (many of those with species dysphoria or more trouble connecting with humans have more problems from that than I did).

And then I found the word “otherkin.” And suddenly everything fell into place, and I had an explanation for the things I’d been experiencing, and there were other people like me. Something I’d assumed didn’t exist. I found others who shared my unique experiences, who were talking about how to cope with the instinct to growl or snap jaws at people instead of expressing annoyance in a human way instead of just saying “that’s weird, don’t do that”, who were talking about dealing with phantom wings and tails, who understood me. I wasn’t weird, I wasn’t broken, I was exactly what one would expect from a dragon living in human skin. I found an explanation for myself. I found a home.

That is why otherkinity matters - it is who we are, it’s not something we can walk away from (certainly not most of us, anyway), and it’s something many of us need the support of the community to help deal with on a daily basis. Being a nonhuman in human society isn’t always easy, but it’s not something we can just magically stop being - it’s core to who we are, we (generally) didn’t choose to be this way, and we (generally) can’t choose to stop. Which is fine - the vast majority of us can cope with it just fine, with a little advice and help and space to be our authentic selves in. We found each other, we built this community from the ground up to make a space and words to make finding each other easier - or possible at all.

Thus we come to the second half of our story.

It was only a couple of years ago that the “kin for fun” trend started getting big. It had existed before that, of course, but it only started going mainstream two, maybe three years ago, from what I can tell. Suddenly people were treating “kin” like it meant relating to, projecting onto, roleplaying as, or just really really liking a character or thing - not being that thing, which is what it actually means. Not long after that, it became hard to tell whether someone saying “I kin this” meant they were that thing, that they were actually part of our community - or that they really really liked that thing and either didn’t know or couldn’t be bothered to learn that that wasn’t the case for us.

Not long after that, it became relatively commonplace to hear phrases like “otherkin are ruining kinning!!” and “you’re taking this too seriously” and “idk, if it’s that serious for you that sounds unhealthy. maybe you should get some help :\” (all directly quoted, or as exactly quoted as I can remember, from things KFF people have said to me or people I know).

It is a special kind of hell, I think, to be told “you’re taking this too seriously, that’s unhealthy” by people who are taking words created to describe your experiences, not theirs, and misusing them to mean something that you do for fun on a weekend instead of something that’s intrinsic to your being.

Perhaps more importantly, like I’ve said, it’s making it almost impossible to know whether someone who says “I kin [x]” is actually ‘kin or if they’re misusing our words to mean something else entirely. The entire point of words is to communicate ideas, and once you start misusing words to mean something totally different than what they actually mean, that communication falls apart and suddenly we might as well not have those words at all. Especially when the community is small enough and obscure enough that we’re starting to be outnumbered by the misinformation. We’re being run out of our own words, words we created to describe our experiences specifically - because we’re a small community that the wider internet can easily drown out by sheer numbers of people who either don’t know any better or don’t care to learn.

That’s the harm it does - the harm it is doing, right now. That’s why it’s important enough to post about. That’s why it matters - because we’re fighting desperately to hang onto our own words so that others like us can actually find us. Because we’re seeing young nonhumans go “this isn’t a kin, I actually am this” and screaming “No, I’m so sorry that this is what the misinformation has done to you, that’s exactly what otherkin means, you have a place here, please don’t let these non-’kin misusing our words drive you away from the very community you’re looking for and that you belong in.” Because we can’t even communicate effectively about our own experiences anymore except in semi-closed spaces like Discord servers and forums (and the number of Discord servers overrun with KFF people is absurd).

......This got very long. Hopefully it at least explained why it matters so much to me and others a bit better ^^; Thanks for hearing me out, and thank you again for looking into this beyond your initial knee-jerk reaction - I really do appreciate it.

(For further reading, if that text wall didn’t blow you out of the water completely, I recommend my “kin for fun” tag, which has more posts like this in both short and long form.)

[oc-and-art-review-reblog]

name: wildheart specise: fire element draco-morphiad (explained below) pronouns: she/her

specise info: draco-morphiads are, basically, a specise of sexless magic cat furries. each one of them controls one of twelve elements (although two of them are special); fire (fire elements are also able to control one type of igneous rock, differing depending on the individual), water, earth, air, plant, plague, void (this void being concentrated everythingness and named for its pitch black color, there may only be one void element at a time and only two have ever been recorded), quantum strings (this has been proven to be possible, but never recorded), gemstone, metal, sound and light. draco-morphiads have a unique internal anatomy, their body cavity is filled entirely with liquid magic. this magic contains their consiousness and, when needed, forms organs to keep the draco-morphiad alive. draco-morphiads also have whats known as elemental bits, an extra part of their body made from their element or regular body part modified by it. draco eye color is also generally dictated by their element. just a draco-morphiad generation (they live tens of thousands of years) ago, they had an expansive interdimensional (this takes place in a multiverse) empire. but for reasons now lost to time, it fell. the specise took heavy casualties, although it was nowhere close to extinction. theyre rarer now, and... scattered, to say the least. their natural ability to create interdimensional portals doesnt help that. given that draco-morphiads are sexless, their native language's pronouns were dependant on element, but wildheart was raised by a sexed specise tens of thousands of years after the near extinction of the language (plus draco-morphiads were invented to explain her so i think she should get to keep her pronouns).

apperance: wildheart has brown fur, which turns abruptly black (like, theres a straight, non-gradiant divide between the back and brown) at the waist, so approximately half of her is black and half is brown . she has blood red eyes. fire element eyes are usually orange, but this is explained. she has a pair of half-crescent obsidian wings coming out of her shoulderblades, each one flanked by three floating obsidian triangles. embedded in her chest is a peice of obsidian shaped like a broken heart, and her claws are obsidian as well. she has a couple notches in each ear and a scar over her eye.

story: wildheart is born on a remote planet in a remote universe. save for her and her littermate, their parents and their older sibling squirreltail. soon after the two's birth, their parents die of reasons. unprepared to take care of them, squirreltail opens two portals to random inhabited parts of the multiverse and sends them through, hoping each will be picked up by someone responsible and more able than him.wildheart ends up being adopted by a family of goatlike skeleton monsters, where she stays for the first 13 years of her life (draco-mophiads age like humans up until about their 20th birthday). during this time she becomes incredibly close with her adopted brother, [edit with name later, i forgot it]. shortly after her 13th birthday, wildheart discovered her ability to make portals. with their parents permission, she and her brother went out to explore the multiverse a little.on their little jaunt, the two encountered a creature totally alien to them, and wildheart dared her brother to go poke it with a stick. unfortunately, the creature turned out to be a bear-esque superpreadator and ripped wildheart's brother to shreds while she watched.wildheart opened a portal to nowhere in particular, landing her at a market in the interdimensional void (my imagining of the multiverse is, like space, mostly empty. universes take the shape of enormous white orbs with the texture of frosted lightbulbs. their glow is soft, yet can be seen from light centuries away). scared to go back home, she wandered.and wildheart never stopped wandering. she quickly exanded her scope to universe hopping, trying her best to repress the memories and emotions from her brother's death.during the next eleven years, wildheart developed a routine. explore and universe hop, break gear, plunder something ancient for rare stuff, sell it at the interdimensional market, get new gear, repeat. in ancient tombs and temples, wildheart saw one thing over and over again. carvings of things that looked like her, had the same powers as her. naturally, she assumed she was the last.on the eve of her 24th birthday, wildheart was traveling through the market, looking for something special to get herself. wherever she went, the vendors all talked about one thing. the nearby combat arena had a new champion, a catlike (cats are p much a multiversal constant) calling herself reaper. knowing wildheart, many suggested she challenge her.wildheart was confident in her abilities, both physical and magical, so she decided that a championship would be the perfect gift to herself.

she actually proved a pretty even match for reaper, but in the end the champion won. though wildheart's energy seemed boundless, reapers patience and tactical skill were ultimately able to exhaust her.

after the fight, the two met by chance somewhere in/around the market. they got to talking, reaper asking what wildheart does for a living. finding the prospect of universe-hopping more interesting than beating the shit out of people, reaper asked to join wildheart.

reaper was a tall (for a draco) draco-morphiad with black fur, white patterns outlining the shape of her skeleton (or what it would be if draco-morphiads had those). she wore a grey hoodie. her wings, skeletal things composed entirely of ice, marked her as a water element, though her eyes seemed to contradict that (although wildheart didnt really know that). instead of the slightly desaturated off-teal you would expect from a water element, reapers eyes were pich black with pupils colored a deep, beautiful blue.

anyway, after a few weeks of traveling the multiverse together, the two encountered something strange. a universe with no glow, just a dull grey orb.

portaling inside (and quickly leaving), the two found that the universe was empty. it had experienced a heat death, something totally unnatural in this setting.

wildheart and reaper agreed that they had to find and kill whoever did this.

idk how, exactly, they found him, but that person turned out to be a being calling himself entropy, the incarnation of the void, the nothingness that came before the multiverse. while he was monolouging about a pair of beings called 'chaos' and 'order',  wildheart and reaper tried to jump entropy. entropy did not like this. he used some sort of attack that sent the pair into a strange voidspace.

sat in this voidspace was a pair of beings. a scribbled dragon, with eyes of wildheart's blood red, and a hyperrealistic marble statue of a woman with a buzzcut in a dress, with gemstone eyes of reapers deep, beautiful blue. the two were enormous, the tip of the dragons talon bigger than wildheart's entire body. they were playing chess on a table of equal proportions.

"you're back early." remarked the dragon "did something happen?"

after a bit of confusion, it became understood that wildheart and reaper had no idea who these people were or where they were.

the two giants explained that they were chaos (the scribbled dragon) and order, demiurges of the multiverse.

many googols (a number with a hundred zeroes) of googols of eons ago, there was nothing. out of that nothing arose chaos, pure unbridled creation. but without filter, chaos could not create or take any definite form. and so, it (chaos is they/it) sat as a sort of existance soup for not even they know how long. until, at some point, order arose from the void. order was filter, what chaos needed to truly create. she (order is she/it) could not create by itself either, each dependant on the other to do something they instinctually longed for. order's form was also much different from her current day form, either a ball of quantum strings or a colorless cube of indeterminate material (i havent decided). so, the two came together and created. one of the first things the two created was a pair of souls, one blood red and the other a deep, beautiful blue. each one carved their true name into the corresponding soul in the first language, marking them as the incarnations of chaos and order.t hey were to be sent out into the multiverse together every once in a while, when the multiverse needed saving or just spicing up. of course the current incarnations were wildheart, incarnation of chaos and reaper, incarnation of order. they had been sent out this time for the purpose of killing entropy, whose trail of destruction included countless universes. but for reasons i dont know yet but were probably a mistake on chaos and orders part, they couldnt do it by themselves. they needed two more of their kind (chaos was vague about what 'their kind' was because i want it to be revealed in the narrative later). idk if its the two specific dracos they meet later or just any.

theyre currently in the place behind existance, chaos and order's personal voidspace.

chaos also reveals when talking to order that wildheart and reaper are siblings, before promptly sending them back out into the multiverse. entropy has long moved on, assuming he killed the two siblings.

the story isnt too well planned from here but

after some freaking out/contemplating/whatever over the fact that theyre siblings, wildheart and reaper continue on.

eventually, they encounter Six Of Spades, child of the last draco-morphiad monarch. saen (six of spades uses saen/trah pronouns, the traditional draco neutral/no-element pronouns) is a no-element, a semi-rare mutant with, you guessed it, no element. six of spades percives this as a fault of some sort, and overcompensates for it by playing up the ‘last heir to the draco-morphiad throne’ thing. Technically, saens cousin would have inherited the throne, but saen has no cousins saens aware of. six of spades would actually make a good monarch, if not for saens general neurosis and feeling of being (mostly) superior to those around trah.

six of spades watched saens parent die in front of saen to poachers, who wanted monarch eris (six of spades's parent)'s teeth. the teeth are the only part of a draco-morphiads pure magic core that doesnt simply dissipate after death. theyre an extremely potent source of magic, thus why draco-morphiads were killed for them shortly after the fall of the empire.

apperance wise, six of spades is an average sized (about 4 feet tall) grey draco-morphiad. saen has medium-grey fur down to saens waist, where its abruptly replaced by light grey scales. saen has ear fins like a dragon, and spikes going down saens back that may or may not start with the scales. six of spades has a lizard like tail and long, angular talons. save for color scheme (monarch eris was green), the spitting image of saens parent. six of spades also wears a worn gold crown and carries a worn gold staff with a magic gemstone orb, both posessions of monarch eris

wldheart and reaper convince six of spades to come with them.

eventually, they encounter a young (about 13 year old)

[iknowicanbutwhy]

To anyone who thinks texting is a billion times worse than talking on the phone and that texting is a miscommunication disaster ready to happen: I get you. You're probably 100% exactly like my friend who I hate texting despite how i rather appreciate talking with them on call or in-person.

Hear me out, though. Please.

You know what's weird? I love talking with my other friend on text more than i talk with them in real life. No, it's not because they're untalkative irl. No, it's not because they have a different personality in text. No, it's not because they have any trouble whatsoever communicating in-person (more than the usual trouble everyone sometimes deals with).

It's because I'm the one with the auditory communication issues. I stammer and stutter, I can't forward my opinion in that microscopic pause between people talking, i can't think quickly when i or someone else is speaking, i can't think quickly, and i can't double check my grammar when ive already said something - among other problems.

And that friend i like to text? Just so happens to be skilled at texting.

Yes, texting well is a skill. Something that you can learn and cultivate and look up on Google. So if you hate texting and find it irredeemable, you probably don't have the skill for it. But you can still learn just by using your normal speaking skills while remembering and sticking with only a few bitty - yet crucial - rules of texting.

You may not want to learn to text. You may want to speak and text only when necessary. You may defend your point by stating that texting lacks key human communication, such as body language, tone of voice, rhythm of voice, and other context that adds to the meaning of words in a way texting could never have. Aaaand you'd be right, actually. Italics and bold and emojis/emoticons and writing style can only do so much while the imagination fills in the gaps - and unlike with books, if the imagination sees/hears something terrible in a text, it's offensive instead of interesting.

So, what about the people who don't have the skill to make coherent, intelligent sentences with their mouth in the first place? The context doesn't help too much, then. Of course, why should you have to learn how to text when clearly these people who are afflicted by their inability to speak should be learning how to talk, because it's more effective and healthier for them that way?

You're right, they should be learning. And they are! There's no avoiding speaking in real life unless you're mute, selectively mute (let's be understanding), deaf (sometimes they learn to speak and that's awesome), or something else I can't think of. Those with speech impediments - when they don't know sign or there's no one who knows sign nearby - are generally forced to try to speak, and are constantly training to communicate well. People with social anxiety don't want to be afraid of talking, and especially if you befriend someone with social anxiety in real life and talk with them in-person, they'll try their best to open up in-person too. And me? Who can't think fast enough to speak for some reason? I'm trying to change that, too. I hate being unable to speak as well as I text, because speaking is more efficient.

But it would still be really, really nice to have a deliciously complex conversation sometimes, and for those of us with trouble speaking, we developed the skill of texting to better fulfill that human need to communicate and share. We're trying to speak. But.. it would be really nice of you to text.

To text more than just "okay"

To elaborate on "I can't"

To exclaim more than only "ah"

To give something that isn't difficult to find a specific response to.

And it can be easy to; we text-savvy people swear our hearts on it!! Google provides lots of good links when you search "how to text well," but I'll sum up a few common tips to texting with meaning.

Text proportionally. This is probably the only rule you need to remember, because all-in-all, the best way to text someone (if they're not sending one or two words a text) is to follow in their example. If they ask your opinion? Tell them yours and ask theirs. If they send texts of two or three sentences each? It's polite to try responding with the same magnitude (keyword: try. You can't always do it). They send you a paragraph? You don't have to send one back (even though that'd be real cool) but if they seem to be expecting a thorough response, don't be afraid to tell them you can't think of much. Just make sure you follow tip #2. Just imagine what it's like talking to a cat that only meows vaguely at you in response. Maybe you think the cat is smart enough to somewhat understand, and you're getting the chance to let your thoughts out at it, but getting basically nothing back is kind of boring.

Dont send curt, few-worded answers. This includes saying just "k" or "ah" or part of a sentence that you're never gonna finish. It sends the message that you're not interested in thinking about whatever the person texting you just said. Sometimes you can send a tiny response as a joke, but do it over and over again, and the other person will think you're never interested in talking. If you're not interested in talking (not just in text, i mean audibly too), it'd be less rude to simply say your not up for talking, with a short, polite apology.

Respond as soon as possible to a genuine question. If you need to think, say so. If you can't respond just yet, say so. This is a personal thing for me. I'm in the middle of a conversation that has been active for a while, i ask an important (sometimes timed) question, and nobody responds for an hour. I lose confidence and take the silence as "no, don't be ridiculous," and take back what i said. Then, very suddenly, i get a response finally informing me that someone needed to ask their mom and the conversation took a while, or they were researching the question, or chores suddenly came up, or etc etc. People get busy all the time, and especially on text, it's easy to suddenly drop out because something irl shows up. But it's hard to tell the difference between being ignored, missed, or being considered. Your excuses are valid, but even a vague "brb" and then later a quick explanation would be more informative than straight silence.

If you need to leave in the middle of a conversation that's been very active, say so. Building off of the last one, it's just polite to be informative. Now, you don't have to say you're doing this at some specific location for a particular amount of hours and you'll be hanging out with whats-their-name and then you'll go into the bathroom and pick your nose in the mirror - no, you don't have to be specific. Just make it clear that you'll be gone for a bit and you'll get back to the conversation another vague time. It's polite, that's all, and alleviates the worries of all us anxious individuals who think "oh no did i say something wrong its been like 20 minutes and they left suddenly-"

Try to leave an avenue of conversation open for the other person to pick up on. This one is easy because generally, all you need to do is think of an open-ended question that isnt yes-or-no. Say something, then ask a question that relates to what you said that the other person can add to. Like.. the other person said they like a certain band, and you like that band, too. You could tell them your favorite song from them and gush about why, then ask what their favorite song is and why? Then it's up to them to give a good response.

If a conversation turns exhausting because you feel like you're pulling all the weight, then drop it and politely say goodbye. There's all these tips about good texting but sometimes, when you can't bring the other person out of their shell or they are genuinely uninterested, it's because they are the ones not doing their part in the conversation. You've tried your best, and if they wont thank you, then I will. And someone in your future who knows how to text and is interested in what you have to say will thank you in their heart. Just, not the person who you're walking away from right now.

Observe the texting "body language" of others. This sounds weird, but examples of this would be using bold to outline the absolute importance of things, italics to slightly emphasize something, s p a c i n g to signify your mind being blown, emojis to express light emotion (unless someone uses way too many, which, that's just a bad habit and sometimes an art form), "ha" for sarcastic laughter, fjsjskajfjie for real laughter, ALL CAPS for high energy, etc. Im sure you can Google it, too, otherwise you can just learn from experience. It's all generally very universal unless you meet a Homestuck, and pretty soon, picking out and giving out emotions in everyday text will be a little easier.

That's all I got right now. Thank you for reading this far and indulging me with this topic. It's okay if you want to keep your avenues of conversation far away from texting, because it's all your own choice, but just know that if you ever do find someone interesting who speaks better in text, it's not impossible for you to communicate with them as well in that format. Just takes practice :) (<- that's a genuine, gentle smile, otherwise I would use c: or :3. Someone else may use it differently, however. Think of it like my personal accent.)

[sharknadoslutt]

Longing - Darth Maul Fic

Prompt: Female reader is Darth Maul’s servant on Dathomir. No longer able to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh he asks his servant to remind him of what he’s missing.

Warning: Inappropriate power dynamics and explicit sexual content

In your short time as a servant for Crimson Dawn you’d come to learn two things abut the mysterious horned man you called Lord Maul. 

Firstly, is that he’d most certainly experienced a tragic past. Of course he’d never been particularly personable with you directly but he had mentioned something in passing about the murder of his brother. The way he spoke of it, with such rage in his voice, always stuck with you. The fact that he even had a brother to begin with humanized the notorious crime lord. It showed that he too had a family at one point or another. It was somehow a comforting fact.

The other thing you’d noticed was that Lord Maul was missing the lower half of his body. This actually only helped fuel your theory that he’d experienced a less than ideal past. How the injury happened exactly? Well, he’d never said. He’d never actually outwardly voiced his disability before, not to you anyways. 

In the presence of others Maul was very careful to hide his missing limbs. You imagined he preferred to keep it a secret, that he was hiding his weakness from others. He only sported long dark robes that covered his whole body and also made sure to keep his metal appendages well oiled and clean at all times. This was to avoid any incidents of them squeaking in public. 

It was your job to assist him with this task, as well as other things. You were probably one of the only individuals allowed within such close proximity of the dangerous man. Day after day you were at his side and saw to his every wish. 

Though he was more or less a man of solitude Lord Maul had seemed to have a soft spot for you, that is he never yelled at you. Perhaps he had even grown a form of affection for you, his sweet simple servant. It wasn’t the worst thing, after all. Better to be in the service of somehow who liked you rather than one who didn't.

“Y/N.”

This caught you off guard. Lord Maul didn't normally address you in such a familiar way. Your name out of his lips had a nice ring to it, he had such a smooth way of speaking.

“Y/N..” He repeated himself, his tone soft.

“Yes, Lord Maul?” You questioned. You sat before him, on your knees, with his metal legs in your grasp. You held the polish in hand as you earned your keep.

There was a long silence that followed when you looked up into his deep florescent eyes. You had never seen anyone with eyes like Maul’s before, not in any species. They were beautiful, so intense that they managed to pierce your very soul each time.

“How long have you been in my service now?”

“The better part of two months, sir.”

He seemed to consider this for a moment, placing his hands comfortably on the arms of his stone thrown, his stoic expression never faltering.

“And you enjoy it here on Dathomir?”

“It’s a good job, Lord Maul.” You nodded, smiling gently at him. Though his facial expression did not change his eyes seemed to swirl around in thought. “I enjoy being at your side. You’re very good to me.”

And he was. Though you’d seen him many a time loose his temper at others he’d always been kind to you, albeit distant. You’d heard stories of other servants, who also doubled as body guards, not getting along so well with him. So when he needed a new servant they close someone who wasn't a fighter, someone that Maul wouldn't think of as a threat. Someone with a gentle appearance that could simply blend in to the background of a room.

“Yes.” He trailed off and looked at the ground, deep in thought.

You simply nodded and continued with your job, polishing the metal and lubing the gears appropriately. Once you finished up, you pulled his pant leg back down and put his boot back on. He watched you with great intensity, as he always did. In the beginning it was a little scary but overtime you’d grown used to his stares. Looked forward too them even. What went on in that head of his?

“Finished, Lord Maul.” You sighed contently, avoiding eye contact as you made your way to your feet. “Shall you be needing anything el-” You had managed to misstep and loose your balance. A whimper of surprise escaped your lips as you fell backwards. 

What happened next was so fast it must have been Force at work. Lord Maul jumped out of his seat with cat-like reflexes. Before you even touched the floor the man with the golden eyes caught you mid-fall, his arms wrapped around you in a very protective fashion. Your own hands naturally fell to his chest, small and fragile compared to his large strong torso. 

He held you. Maul quite literally swept you off of your feet.

Your heartbeat was going faster than any hyperdrive as you stared up into your masters eyes. You were frozen, stuck in place. The weirdest part about all of this was how right it felt. Being there in his arms was mesmerizing, comfortable... So new, but somehow so familiar. And if you hadn’t known better you would have said he may have felt the same way.

“T... Thank you.” You muttered, suddenly coming down from the wave of shock.

He studied you for another moment before putting you down, allowing you to stand on your own.

“I’d expect anyone in my employment to be more careful.” 

“Thank you.. I’ll try to be more careful. Do you need anything else, Lord Maul?”

“No.” His voice was soft, considerate even, but his eyes avoided your own. You weren't sure if he was coincidentally being distant or if he was legitimately embarrassed.

“You may return to your quarters. I will see you tomorrow.”

~

The next few hours composed of you sorting through a whole mess of feelings. Though you’d noticed the beauty in Maul before, never had you considered him in such a personal light. However after that accidental embrace it seemed there was no going back to the naive darkness.

“I will see you tomorrow.” 

You replayed the words over and over again in your head throughout the evening, playing it as if it were a mesmerizing song. You remembered his calm calculated voice, spoken through his decorated red and black lips. Even while you were in the shower you did this. Especially while you were in the shower... Naked and wet.. alone.

“I will see you tomorrow.”

Despite his words, the next time you encountered Maul was that very same night. After you had changed into your night gown and were preparing for bed. That’s when you heard him enter the room. He was surprisingly soft on his feet, considering his metal legs and all.

Maul had entered your private chamber without so much as a knock, which struck you as odd. But you didn't feel the need the question it. You always felt safe by his side.

“I came to make sure you were alright from earlier. You almost, erm..” He grumbled in annoyance, but it seemed to be more about what was going through his head than anything that you had done. “You almost injured yourself.”

“I’m doing just fine, Lord Maul. It’s very kind of you to check up on me.”  

“Kind.” He repeated. “That’s a word no one’s ever described me as. Not ever...”

Was that a smile? The faintest of smiles but still a smile nonetheless.

There was a long silence to follow but it was nice. There was always silence between the two of your during the day. While he did work on his data-pad or conducted business for Crimson Dawn.  

“It’s been so very long for me..” He looked at you with longing in his eyes. “I dont even remember what it feels like too...”

“Too what?” You asked softly, knowing quite well what he had meant but decided to play innocent. He choose not to answer this.

“Remove your gown.” He commanded with the calmest of tones. Despite his perverse demands you found his voice soothing.  

Maul’s eyes glowed like a roaring fire, burning with something you couldn't quite identify. They enveloped you in their beautiful golden flame as you obeyed his orders. By the time you had removed your dress and threw it to the floor every bit of your body felt red hot. 

You stared at Maul with big doe eyes as he scanned over your bare skin. He was standing tall and broad with his black cape covering his frame.. This was his kingdom, his planet, and you were his servant.

You shivered from what you at first thought to be the cold air but quickly came to realize it was Maul. The way he looked at you, with something more than desire, something more than lust. Something entirely different.

“Tell me..” His lips trembled. “Do you indulge in pleasures of the flesh?”

“Wha-” 

“No questions.” He interrupted before stepping forward, putting a gloved finger against your lips to silence you. “Yes or no, do you understand?”  He pulled his hand away from your face and gestured for you to sit down on the bed. You did so.

“Yes.”

Maul smirked. 

“Good. Now tell me... do you indulge in pleasures of the flesh?”

“Yes.”

You took in a shaky breath as he sat down beside you. The outside of your thigh could feel the part of his torso that connected to the metal contraption he called a body.

“How often?”

Your immediate reaction was to gawk at the question and demand the purpose of all of this, but there was a part of you that wanted to tell him. So you answered honestly and he seemed pleased with the answer, the faintest of chuckles rumbled through his throat.

“What about you?” You asked in a moment of courage. “Do you have a...” You eyed what would have been his crotch.

He narrowed his eyes at you before placing a gloved hand on your knee.

“No.” His answer surprised you. Not the answer itself, you knew that. But the very fact that he answered you at all was honestly surprising. 

“I’m.. sorry.” You mumbled, not really sure of what else to say.

“We’ll speak of it no more.” He looked at your legs and took in a breath before speaking again. “I want you touch yourself.” 

You turned to give him a questing look at were met with knitted brows, you knew better than to oppose your masters will. But just because you didn't quite understand why didn't mean you weren't completely willing.

“Yes, Lord Maul.”

Without wasting anytime you brought your dominant hand to your stomach, letting it slowly slide down your skin until it reached the warmth between your legs. Your face felt hot but not out of embarrassment, but for another reason.

“Lay back... Enjoy yourself.” His voice was soft and almost sweet. He placed a hand on your shoulder and pushed you down so you laid on your back. “Dont hold back on my account.” 

So, you didn’t. Your fingers knew exactly what to do, wiggling through the warm folds your your flesh and rubbed your swollen nub in a familiar pattern. Your body relaxed slightly as the warm buzzing sensation started to bubble up in a pre-orgasmic bliss. 

You inhaled sharply, preparing for the wave that was sure to hit, and he took note of this. A deep growl erupted from his lips.

“Look at me.” Maul commanded, rising from the bed to stand before you. You opened your eyes to stare at his dark looming figure positioned just centimeters away from your slightly spread legs. “Look upon me while you experience this pleasure.” 

His crisp voice lifted you up during your sensational rush. You gasped out, locking eyes with his, reeling from an addictive high. Your back arched in pleasure as you moaned out desperately.

You watched as the man licked his lips, obviously satisfied with the view. As you came down from the orgasm you panted heavily, falling from the highest bliss you’d felt in a while. Never once did your gaze fall from Maul’s.  

“Tell me..” Maul removed his right glove, revealing his bare tattooed hand. “.. Do you prefer to take care of yourself, or do prefer to be taken care of by another?” He threw the glove down on the bed before removing his left one. 

“They’re... They are both good.” 

He sneered slightly, not pleased with your answer, but that wicked smirk remained unphased. 

“I suppose.” He dropped his remaining glove on the floor. You gasped in surprise when he placed his hands on either of your knees.  They were big and warm, rough and calloused from the years of fighting. “But the feeling of having another touch you..-”

“-It’s nice sometimes...” You whimpered, biting your lip in anticipation. 

“It’s much more than nice, my dear.” His hands rolled up your bare skin, coming closer and closer to your reeling cunt.  Maul leaned in closer, looming over you with a sinister greed in his eyes. Your breathing hitched as his hands reached the tender skin near your inner thighs. “It’s addictive.”

Keeping one hand possessively warped to your thigh Maul chuckled darkly while he brought the other to roam your bare stomach. 

“There’s truly nothing better than skin to skin contact..” He groaned, inhaling as his fingers wandered your exposed torso. You felt lightheaded, overcome with anticipation as he explored every curve. “Wouldn't you agree?” He inquired as his hand discovered your perky breast. 

“Y-Yes!” You gasped as he groped you, massaging your breast in his greedy hand. 

“I thought you might.” 

Maul switched his hands, now massaging your other breast while he returned the other to your intimate region. Instead of returning to caress your thigh you found yourself moaning out as his fingers brushed against your soaked sex.

“You’re sopping wet, my dear...” With his index and pointer finger Maul delved around your folds, spreading your juices around generously. “Absolutely drenched.”

A moan escaped your lips as Maul began to circle your clit. He did so in a skilled rythm similar to the one you had earlier. It seemed he was paying closer attention than you’d thought. 

“Tell me how it feels.”

“G-Good!” You moaned softly, easing into the new sensation. 

Each brush of his finger made your entire body shake with impatience, feeling the faint hue of the orgasm to come but it wasn't quite there yet. 

“Do you like to be filled up?”

“W-What?” You whispered between moans, looking up at his determined golden orbs. 

“Like this.” Without another word Maul removed his other hand from your breast, and brought it down to join the other. He stuffed two fingers into your soaked opening, all the while continuing to rub your sensitive clit with the other hand. 

You cried out this time, not expecting such harsh friction. But it was so good and Maul knew it too. He leered over you smugly and began to pump his thick fingers in and out of your pussy, knowing all too well the pleasure he was bringing you. 

“Answer me, girl.” He barked, growing impatient. “Do you enjoy being filled like this?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Yes, who?!” He snapped, demanding you say his name. He bared his teeth and stared down at you like a predatory animal ready for the kill.

“Yes, L-Lord Maul!”

In that instant it hit you like a ton of bricks. From the top of your head to the tip of your toes a pleasure you’d never imagined possible roared over your body. It was intense, causing you to twitch and cry out in ecstasy. Maul’s hands never faltered once, continuing his work inside you, wiggling his thick fingers around your throbbing cunt with due diligence. 

When your body started to relax you were literally gasping for air, trying to calm yourself from the unfamiliar euphoric sensation. Not able to get enough air you reached up and place a hand on Maul’s cheek, maintaining a small smile to let him know you meant well. He froze, shocked by your actions. 

“I-I cant...” You panted, licking your lips as you wiggled beneath him. “Maul, I cant breath!” You told him, letting him know that you’d had enough for one day.

With a hand on his cheek you stared up at the panting Zabrak. After the initial surprise, he closed his eyes and for a moment leaned into the palm of your hand, enjoying the affectionate gesture for what it was. 

“Skin to skin...” He whispered, his eyes still closed. “There’s nothing better than skin to skin contact..” 

“It’s important.” You agreed quietly, still dazed form the encounter. “We need physical interactions with others.”

Maul’s eyes fluttered open and for a long moment he remained silent. 

“Indeed.”

Without wasting another moment the horned man stood up and picked up his gloves, putting them on each hand slowly. 

“I will see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Lord Maul.”

Taglist (I tagged some of yall because I know yall like Maul so, um.. Hope that’s okay): @syndulla @rowansparrow @letitrainathousandflames @dark-whimsy @ilovemaul @deepseacritter @phoenixsolo @floral-and-fine @13skullyhorror13 @lothwolf-run @rabid-wizard