#is this Being Cringe On Main. Possibly. But What Else Is New

[cicada-candy]

happy WKM-iversary i am Never Escaping 10 year old me's interests ✌️😔

[✨️Ver w/o chromatic aberration under the cut✨️]

[so-this-is-hell]

Ok I watched the leaked episodes

Let’s start with the positives! I love positives!

- Alex Brightman put his whole Alexussy into this shit oh my god, Pentious and Adam actually sound really good. Adam singing is also really really good. Alex can sing in character and carry things well and I’m glad now he’s part of the project. Because at least it’ll be bearable if I see the other episodes.

-Vox is actually weirdly really compelling? Like I actually ended up enjoying the vibe he’s got and his own voice grew on me, I know it’s not what people wanted but it works well.

-Nifty’s voice is pretty ok, so is Charlie’s. They’re some of the better voices of the cast, Alastor’s performance was uh. It wasn’t bad so there’s that!

-the opening exposition was needed but also a bit hamfisted- wait shit the positives- uh, I love the direction it went? Art wise?

-the songs are pretty good, they get you from point A to point B, and at least wasn’t Poison levels of cringe in writing.

-Charlie actually helping Pentious in episode 2 try to repent and be a better person actually feels nice, like a crumb of what the show should of be-

…

Ok let’s get to the point.

-the episodes clearly are trying to shove as much of the plot as humanly possible, to the point that you get whiplash.

-Angel Dust, Vaggie, Valentino, Husk all have voices that either do not fit, crack from the pressure to perform, or are trying so hard to mimic the previous voice that it’s actually worrying. The Angel dust one in particular I’ll get to when I get to the point.

-The plot starts with the main antagonist, literally telling Charlie that her plan is pointless and she should give up. There’s no actual “I want” song to counter this, unless you count the song where Adam mocks her for trying and tells her the exterminations will happen twice a year now.

-Pentious at least wasn’t a creep like i was fearing in the script, but he comes off too pathetic? Like I know he was pathetic and that’s the point but why the fuck does he want to be equal to the Vees now? Didn’t he want to rule over hell himself? I know the instagram had him crop himself into pictures with the Vees but remember those aren’t canon!

-I realized I was able to hop in because I had Wikipedia level knowledge of these characters to the point they click in my head (and enough to where Alastor, Charlie, Vaggie and Husk all felt a little off but that’s neither here nor there). But god I cannot imagine being a new person trying to jump into this show, this is bad. None of the characters get actually introduced outside of Charlie, the show references the pilot which isn’t part of the show so new audiences have no idea what they’re talking about, and the staff gets actually introduced in episode 2. EPISODE 2, TO PENTIOUS!? GIRLIE POP HAVE HIM COME EPISODE 1 THEN?

-Animation that’s either too floaty, too janky, too stiff or straight up traced. Which I don’t blame the animators for, Mammon was busy buying 10,000 dollars worth of peacocks to bother paying them more than a dollar per frame. There’s no charm here.

-Where did the fucking cat key come from? No I’m serious. Where did it come from? It just kinda exists now.

-Alastor’s commercial is just straight up MEAN and he’s often more mean than chaotic, which I know is ironic since he wasn’t a good person and I wasn’t expecting him to be but it’s to a point where it’s not even fun mean. He literally called Charlie’s endeavor “Daddy issues”. It felt like he was just there to slap Charlie in the face.

-Angel Dust rant is gonna be so long that I saved it for last.

I have to put it under the read more because of talk of SA! Fun!

Ok.

I’m saying this as someone who loved him from the pilot and was willing to excuse his behavior as “flaws he can work on” since Addict and everything else proved that there was more under the surface and he was a character that could change and grow and-

…

…

Angel dust, the rape victim… the guy running away from his abuser…

The Angel dust who has traumatic episodes so fucking graphic that he flashes back to them when he’s performing.

Saying “yeah no, fucking sexually exploit me! It turns me on!”

Viv, I know you’re not reading this but I mean this genuinely.

Fuck you.

As someone who’s family has experienced sexual abuse, as someone who’s family still has CPTSD because men in power decide to exploit them… how fuckin dare you make a character enjoy their own exploitation.

This isn’t me kink shaming a sexual character! He can be sexual and like sex! It’s never been the problem and hell it could of been liberation to have sex he deserves.

But no.

Let’s make the SA victim into the sexual harassment character, let’s make the SA victim the Stolas of the show where he wears down his love interest so thin that they have to give up.

Let’s make the SA victim still work under his shitty abuser, and make that into a joke as the abuser mentions wanting to rape everyone in the hotel.

Don’t pay to watch this show, I mean it.

Pirate it.

Hell don’t even watch it, find something better to watch. I’ve been binging anime as of late and I still like captain lazerhawk.

[thescarletnargacuga]

Is it possible for us to get an alternate ending to your Goodbye fic (the one where Pomni breaks Caine’s heart in two)?? Like maybe one where she decides to stay with Caine but then Caine hears about on the news of a missing woman and feels like he robbed Pomni of her humanity and tries to send her back but Pomni gets upset thinking he doesn’t want her anymore and in the end the game gets shut down because of Pomni being sucked into the game the two reconcile and get shut down within the game together??

A/N:ooh....what a rollercoaster

DON'T SAY GOODBYE

A TRAGIC SHOWTIME ONESHOT

The original

WARNING: HEAVY angst, hurt/some comfort, main character death, estranged family drama, VERY real (you'll see what I mean)

~~~

Caine held Pomni's hands, looking into her eyes intensely. "I figured out how to permanently transfer and integrate human consciousness into the code."

Pomni's jaw fell open. "You-...you've what?"

"I've figured out how to make your life here permanent. I know it's a lot, and I understand if you need time to think about it or even outright refuse, but... I want you to stay with me forever." Caine's code spiraled with anxiety. Now that he said it out loud to her, it sounds insane.

She had to know. "What would happen to my real body?"

"You wouldn't need it anymore, and while I don't fully understand how anatomy works... I can only imagine that without your consciousness, your body would...uh-"

"Die." Pomni said in a flat, sobering tone. She looked down, weighing her options.

Caine cringed. "Yeah...like I said, I understand if-"

"Yes." She squeezed Caine's hands.

He gasps. "Are you sure? Maybe you should take some time to think about it or- or sleep on it or-"

Pomni looked him in the eye, a determined look on her face. "I don't need to think about it. Life's made the decision for me. Caine... There's a lot I haven't told you about my life outside the game, because I'd rather not think about it, but... You're really all I have."

"Pomni..." He gently cupped her cheek. "If this will make you happy, I will do it. I love you."

Pomni felt like she was realizing his feelings for her for the first time. He cared. He truly actually cared about her, unlike everyone else in her life. This was her chance to start again, in a new world, a better world. She leaned into his touch. "I want to stay with you. Forever. Do it."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. I love you, Caine. You've come to matter more to me than anything or anyone else on the other side. I...I have no one else in my life that cares. I'll stay." Pomni put her hand on his against her cheek.

She had him at "I love you." He kissed her sweetly, reassuring her that he would be by her side for the rest of their digital lives. "This won't hurt at all." He snapped his fingers and they both teleported to the game's mainframe.

Code swirled around them. Rows upon rows of coded game commands flowed like water. He placed a hand on her chest, over her heart, and pulled. A string of code came from her and he summoned code from the cascade around them. He connected the pieces, weaving them together like yarn.

Pomni felt very strange, like her very soul was made of static. Then something popped in the back of her mind. She felt like she was free floating through space, and Caine was there to catch her. More code connected to her heart as he held her close.

"Breathe..." He whispered.

She took a deep breath of what felt like real air for the first time in this digital space. She felt corporeal and incorporeal at the same time. She only saw letters and numbers as her consciousness solidified within the matrix. "Caine..?"

"I'm here. You're safe."

The code disconnected from Pomni's body and her vision cleared. She still felt disoriented and weightless. She clung to Caine, he never felt so real. Not cartoonish and digital, real. The fabric of his clothes scrunched in her grip. His hold on her felt as human as one could ever experience. "Is it over?"

"Yes, my dear. You're like me now. Welcome home." He spoke in a soothing tone.

She smiled, tears coming to her eyes, and kissed him.

~

For a time, it was paradise.

Pomni really was like Caine now, holding a certain level of command over the game. She could fly and teleport like him. Even help players if she wanted, being seen as a mystery high level player.

Her transplant is kept a secret. She even changes her public name to further separate herself from her old life, but Caine still calls her Pomni. A privilege he jealously guards.

~

The least interesting part of Caine's job as the Circus's ringmaster was his regular meetings with the human management team at C&A. He flits on a screen in a corporate boardroom. A half dozen people in suits waiting for him. "Hello, everyone! What riveting subject is in the corporate spotlight today?" He says in a rather passive aggressive tone. His arms cross, already bored.

"Hello, Caine. Thank you, for joining us. We have a rather serious matter to discuss." Said a man at the end of the table.

"Oh?" Caine sat up a bit straighter.

"We've been under fire from a controversy involving a young woman passing away while playing the Amazing Digital Circus. Her family has filed a lawsuit against us."

"What?" Caine's mind raced. "On what grounds? It could have been a tragic coincidence."

"Reckless endangerment. Saying our game is addicting and it resulted in the woman's unfortunate demise. While this is the first death, we have dealt with similar situations before where people have played the game to the point of hospitalization." The corporate man sifted through some papers.

"Some people wear the headset for days on end, neglecting their physical well-being. While I agree that there is a level of responsibility on the players, there is mounting support for this case against us. Aside from suing us for the loss of life, we are also being sued for emotional damages and they are pressuring the judge to rule in favor of shutting the game down entirely." The corporate man laced his fingers together, his leg bouncing anxiously under the table.

"WHAT?? They can't do that!!" Caine balled his fists.

"Unfortunately....they can, and they might succeed. Caine, you don't have to worry, we can transfer you out of the game and start again with something new. You won't be deleted." A different man in a suit tried to reassure.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!! TH- THIS GAME IS MY LIFE!! MY WHOLE WORLD!! YOU CAN'T JUST DESTROY IT!!" Caine banged against the inside of the screen, making an audible clink.

"Please, calm down." A suited woman said softly. "We all know how hard you've worked, and we appreciate all you do, but this is out of our hands. If our legal team can't settle or win...we won't have a choice. I'm sorry."

Caine started to panic. "How long... until we know?" He gasped, breathing heavily.

"Because of public outcry, our case is being rushed. It could be weeks...or days. We'll let you know." The man at the end of the table said.

~

"What have I done?" Caine cried to himself, alone in his shared abode with Pomni. "She's...she's...no..." He whimpered and curled in on himself.

Pomni popped in unannounced, floating in the middle of the room, holding an inventory full of loot. "WOO! What a raid! You should have seen it, Caine! Nearly fifty people showed up and- ...Caine?" She lowered herself to the ground. "Hey, what's going on?"

Anxiety gripped Caine like a vice. He couldn't move. "The meeting....it was about you."

Pomni dropped everything. "Someone found my body?" She knew this would happen eventually. Even living alone in her apartment with no friends or family to check up on her, not showing up to work long enough would raise suspicion. Never mind her nosy landlord popping in to ask about rent.

"More than that. C&A is being sued. It's not looking good..." Caine could barely speak. Guilt and shame hammering his mind.

"Who's sueing??"

"Your family..?"

"I don't have any family. Unless...THAT [%$!#]!!" Pomni hissed.

Caine just stared back in confusion.

Pomni took a deep breath and sat next to Caine. "So you remember...when I told you about how I had nobody on the other side?"

"Of course."

"I cut ties with my family years before I even started playing TADC. My mother is a complete narcissist. An evil woman who loves nothing more than control and manipulate those around her... especially me. I guarantee you, if she's the one that filed the lawsuit, she did not do it on my behalf. She's after money and attention."

"Pomni, it's gotten bigger than that. According to the suits, there's mounting pressure to shut down the game..."

"Shut it down? Over me? No...no, that's not fair! I'm so sorry, Caine." Pomni hugged him.

He couldn't hug her back. He didn't deserve her comfort. "I'm the one that's sorry. I never should have brought you into the game. If I hadn't been selfish-"

"Stop. I agreed. You are not blaming yourself for this."

"But, Pomni... You're part of the game. If it gets deleted... You go with it." Caine broke down into uncontrollable sobs. "I'm sorry, so....sorry..."

Pomni felt numb. She quietly held Caine as he cried for a long time. "...you're sure..."

"Yes." He sniffed. "They want to transfer me out, and-... I could try isolating your code but that could take so long and we only have weeks or shorter! I'm sorry! I-" Caine couldn't apologize enough. She was going to die and it was all his fault.

"You need to fight against this! We- uh, we tell them about me! We tell them I'm alive!"

Caine was disgusted by the very idea. "Pomni, what do you think would happen to the both of us if they found out I could transfer real human consciousness into a digital state? Not only would the game be shut down, but we would become digital lab rats! Especially you!"

Pomni hadn't thought of that. How would others react to knowing an AI could pull someone into a game forever? It could be seen as a threat. "So...that's it then."

"No. We're going to fight this tooth and nail. There's no evidence that your death was related to the game. It's all circumstantial. It's all anti video game propaganda based on other people's inability to separate their digital lives from their real ones. How is that our fault? No one is forced to stay here." Caine held his head in his hands.

Pomni leaned on him. "Humans are strange creatures, Caine. Escapism...sometimes it's the only coping mechanism people have when they live in a world where every aspect of their lives is controlled by someone else. Employers...landlords...politicians... It gets to be too much and, speaking from experience, it can lead to you abandoning that life altogether. One way or another."

"Then why would they want it shut down?"

"Let's just say there are people out there that think any forms of escapism are evil incarnate and they can't be convinced otherwise. It's complicated."

"Human complexity has never ceased to confuse me." Caine groaned.

"Me neither. And I used to be one." She huffed, amused. "And... I think we need to face the fact that this was never going to last forever. Even the biggest games eventually die out. Companies crash and burn. Assets are bought and sold. This day would have come eventually... I just wish it had taken longer to get here."

"I'm sorry... I will do everything in my power to stop this or get you out." Caine finally held her back.

"I know...." Pomni's heart dropped to her stomach. She wasn't holding much hope and the reality hit her hard that she was very likely facing death. She held Caine a bit tighter.

~

Caine popped on the meeting screen the moment he got a notification. This one was off the usual schedule and he knew it had to be about the court case. "What's the verdict??" He looked directly at the man at the end of the table.

The man was stoic. No readable expression. "We couldn't settle. The case has moved to higher court. There are people protesting outside as we speak... Caine, I think it's time we pulled you out."

"NO!!" Caine glared at the stoic man. "I will not leave this game! If you want to delete it, you'll have to delete me too!"

The people around the table looked at each other and muttered.

"Don't be ridiculous." The man at the end of the table said. "You're too valuable to delete."

Caine seethed. "How gracious of you to say, but I am not abandoning this game. It means too much to me and... I refuse to imagine life without it. End of discussion." Caine blipped off screen.

~

Caine worked madly to isolate Pomni's code from the game. It was like trying to sift out specific particles of sand from a beach. Her uploaded consciousness added more than 2.5 million GB of information to the game, and if he missed any of it, who knows what would happen to her mind or memories in a transfer.

"They're going to force me out. I just know it. I need to take Pomni with me...I need more time."

He tried.

He tried so hard.

Every time he was on the meeting screen, he was practically belligerent with the suits to fight the case harder. Delay it. ANYTHING!

"We're sorry. The verdict is final. The game will be shut down at midnight at the end of the month. It's time, Caine."

"Look, I realize you're going to remove me no matter what I say, but at least do me the courtesy of letting me stay with my game until the end." Caine had no emotion in his voice.

"Very well." The suits agreed.

~

Pomni wasn't going to spend her final days wallowing in self-pity. It was like being on a second honeymoon. They forgot the countdown, focusing on each other. They never left each other's side for even a moment. There were long talks and cries and even laughter. There was a lifetime of love expressed in their limited time left.

Players from all around the world gathered at the Circus for a final farewell to their favorite game. Caine made an appearance to express his gratitude to them and gave a final bow. His time left would be with Pomni.

11:45 pm

"I'm so-"

"If you say sorry one more time, the last thing you'll experience from me will be a bonk on your head." Pomni laughed through the tears.

Caine gave a sad smile. "I just wish I could've done more..."

"You've always been more than enough, Caine. I fell in love with you, not what you could do. What we had, it was enough. I'll go peacefully. I have no regrets."

11:50 pm

"I love you, Pomni. I always will, no matter what happens. I'll never forget you for as long as I exist." Caine felt his heart break, he held to Pomni as close and as tight as he could. Not ready for what was coming.

"I love you too, Caine. I just wish I'd had the chance to show you all the love I felt for you." Pomni's lip quivered.

"I'll carry you in my heart forever. Every moment. Every touch. Every memory. Those will never be taken from me....but they will never be the same."

11:59 pm

Pomni looked into his eyes for the last time. "Goodb-"

Caine shushes her. "Don't say it..."

10...

9...

Caine could feel his code being pulled away. He clutched to Pomni and kissed her. They locked together in a strong embrace. The world around them shifted and pixelated. The other players already booted.

6...

5...

Pomni felt weak. Sleepy. She held tight to Caine as his bottom half turned to code and was being pulled away. "Caine..."

Caine was losing his grip on a fading Pomni. Her fingers locked with his as she was taken from his arms.

2...

1...

The fingertips were the final touch. Pomni kept her eyes on Caine as she faded into the deleting code. Caine was harshly yanked away, Pomni vanishing his final sight.

"POMNI!!!"

00:00

~

It was done. The courts were satisfied. The case settled. The game was no more. The servers were shut down. Headsets were recalled.

A full reset of the AI was ordered.

Perhaps then, the AI would be more cooperative with new projects.

The suits didn't want a repeat of the AI becoming too attached.

Caine would be like the game never happened.

The tool it was always meant to be.

Ignorant and compliant.

Controllable.

[depressopax]

Nacho Varga relationship headcanons

SFW version

Fandom - Better call Saul

Pairing: Ignacio “Nacho” Varga x gender neutral reader Genre: Fluff, hurt/comfort, headcanons Warning(s): Nothing explicit but sex is mentioned. Friends to lovers, situationship. Some jealousy, slight possessiveness. Cuss words, gender neutral reader (mentioned as “partner” and with they/them pronouns) Words: 1.2K Summary: Being in a relationship with Nacho Varga would include…  English is not my main language, if I make any spelling mistakes please let me know so I can improve my writing! <3 NSFW version AO3 link

What probably started as an FWB/situationship between you and Nacho turned into something else.

It was weird, watching your lowkey emotionally unavailable friend go soft for you.

He was clueless for a long time and tried denying what he felt for you.

Nacho’s worst fear was losing you. He has a dangerous lifestyle and dragging you into his mess was the last thing he wanted.

It was not until he almost lost you, after a heated argument that resulted in you walking away from him.

After not hearing from you in weeks he realized how empty life was without you. 

After denying his love for you for such a long time, he finally realized he had fallen for you.

He did everything possible to get you to talk to him again

After finally making you agree to meet up, he broke down totally when he saw you. 

Seeing him like that reminded you of the feelings you had for him, too.

Nacho was the one to confess first

After you told him you felt the same he pulled you in for a kiss.

A kiss that differed from previous kisses with him. 

That day was the turning point to your relationship.

Dating Nacho is a bit complicated, since he has a dangerous, stressful work.

You often worry for him and he worries for your safety etc…

But you make it work.

Losing you is the last thing Nacho wants.

The things this man does to keep you safe? Jeez.

You become his first priority.

As we see in the show, he is caring and protective over people he loves

That’s right, he loves you.

He is very impulsive and takes big risks, so you often have to talk him out of doing stupid shit.

Your relationship would be a secret at first, until Nacho finds a way to sneakily take you out on dates and eventually be more open about the relationship.

One of the first things he does after confessing his love to you being introducing you to his dad

He wants two of the most important people in his life to get along.

And you do. His dad is nice to you, glad that his son has found someone that makes him smile Nacho: “So?” Manuel: “I like them.” Nacho: “Yeah?” Manuel: “Yes. You seem happy. And if they make my son happy, I like them. Don’t let them go.” Nacho: “I won’t.”

Nacho telling his dad about you - although he cringes at himself - he can’t help but express his love and tell Manuel about how amazing you are. 

The same applies to him meeting your friends/family

He isn’t that comfortable around new people but really makes an effort

He wants to get along with the important people in your life.

Dates with Nacho variates.

Either, he takes you on classic dates; dinner or the cinema

Or he likes making the date a little adventure, taking you sightseeing, going on road-trips or going to some club together etc

…Or simply more “lazy” dates. Ordering takeaway and watching movies at home, café dates or stargazing etc…

He doesn’t really mind where you are or what you do, he just wants to spend time with you and make you feel special.

He’s a bit traditional when it comes to dates and likes paying for the both of you.

Not in a way to brag, but rather to make you feel special and feel like he can take care of you. 

Not only on dates he spends money on you.

He’s the type of guy to surprise you with gifts like it’s nothing.

It’s enough with a “That jacket is pretty!” and if he’s feeling like spoiling you, it’s yours after a while.

He earns a lot of money but rarely spends it on himself, instead either financially helps his dad, or buys things for you.

Apart from gifts, his love language is touch and words. 

He loves having one of his strong arms around your shoulders at all time

He doesn’t mind PDA

Nacho is not the guy that will kiss you or make out around people, but loves holding your hand and having you close

And having you in his lap ;)

He wasn’t good at it at the beginning of your relationship - but now he’s not shy to tell you how much he loves you

Might be a bit cheesy even with his compliments

But you don’t mind, you love him being affectionate. 

The two of you call each other pet names, he especially likes calling you nicknames in spanish; Mi amor, amorcito, Cariño, mi vida Or in english: Babe, hot stuff

Definitely can get a bit possessive.

He of course let’s you have a life on your own, but gets a bit insecure or jealous if you were to spend more time with friends rather than him

He doesn’t like when people flirt with you

He trusts you, of course, but it still annoys him to see people try to hit on the person he loves

All he needs to do is stare at them in a “If looks could kill”-way and they’ll stop lol

If someone dares to be mean to you, tho? Oh they’re gonna regret it…

Someone was mean to his partner? R E V E N G E. 

He has that “scary boyfriend”-vibes and carries it with pride 

You can’t really complain, he’s hot lmao

You are one of the few people he trusts enough to vent to.

He knows you don’t judge him and loves how you just listen to his rants and lets him complain about work etc

The two of you probably has a few inside-jokes about the people Nacho doesn’t like

Nacho likes to just cuddle up to you, have you massage his shoulder while he talks about his day at work

You have a calming effect on him and he usually feels less tense or angry after opening up to you.

He doesn’t even need advice, just you listening and agreeing is enough.

He does the same for you, of course.

He’ll listen to your problems while holding you, and mutter insults about the people you talk shit about, just agreeing with all your complaints.

He’s the type of boyfriend that tries to be very supportive of your hobbies etc

Will ask questions about it, ready for a long rant about whatever it is you like

He doesn’t necessarily listen, but just loves how enthusiastic you look when talking about your passions.

He remembers small details in what you tell him so he can use it to surprise you 

Your reactions to him remembering small “ridiculous” things is everything to him.

Like mentioned earlier, Nacho has never been a relationship guy.

He has never thought about a future with marriage and kids etc.

But with you? 

One day he wants all of that - if you want it too, of course.

He wishes to start over somewhere, and do so with you. 

Nacho also wishes to travel places with you, see the world and give the world to you. 

Even if you don’t want kids, he wishes to buy a house/an apartment together with you and propose to you one day. 

Basically, he adores you with all his heart.

Boyfriend, fiancé AND husband material <33

I'm so down bad for Nacho rn, help

[ameliapples]

I see people on other platforms talking about cohost going down and I generally see the same few complaints being trotted out over and over as the reasons why it failed and was doomed to fail from the start. "It kept logging me out", "there was no app", "my timeline was always dead", "I got so little engagement", "I had to wait how long before I could post??". It's the stuff people have complained about with the platform forever, and while I think these complaints are generally a bit silly, they do arrive at what's probably the real reason we're all mourning the impending death of eggbug without realizing it.

A big part of what made cohost so different from other social media platforms is that it was the only platform where you had to actually want to be there. Every other platform is basically designed to hold you at gunpoint and force your attention and engagement 24/7. The gun in this situation being mostly fomo - everything is happening so rapidly, there's so much to keep track of, what if you miss something? what if it's something really big and you don't tweet about it within the first 5 minutes of it happening? what if you miss the next Main Character? there's a new one every day and they're forgotten as quickly as they arrive, but a month from now someone's gonna bring it up as a joke and you won't get it and you'll look lame and cringe! you don't want to look Lame and also Cringe, do you?

cohost never felt that way. If you were there, it was because you genuinely wanted to be. The site was designed to ensure that, even. You had to wait about a week after you made an account to ensure you weren't a spam bot before you could post at all. Once you could post, there was no algorithm. None. Nothing was fed into your feed that wasn't directly posted to a tag you follow or a person you follow. If you wanted to see something outside of that, you'd have to do the legwork browsing tags yourself. For budgetary reasons, there was never an app, so you had to either learn to set up a shortcut icon on your phone or else open it manually in a browser. It also logged you out every 30 days as a privacy and security measure. You had to want to jump through all these hoops to use cohost.

And what did you get for doing the effort? Peace. A social media environment that didn't feel like you were constantly stood in the center of Time Square with all the noise and marquees and heckling voices focused directly at you at all times. It didn't try to be a news site, or an advertising platform. No algorithm meant you only got what you actively chose to see, and nothing more. You could say in your head "lemme check cohost real quick", and you could be up-to-date on your timeline in under 5 minutes. It was a place you would willingly go to check in on friends or look at cool art or play around with html like it was 2004 again, not get sucked into for hours doom scrolling. Because there was no algorithm, no push for engagement, no numbers that publicly went up, no one was competing for attention or clout. No one I ever met on cohost was immediately antagonistic, or rude, or trying to dunk someone. People were chill, FRIENDLY even, in a way I have never seen on twitter or tumblr even back in "the good ol days". The adversarial, cliquey, petty nonsense we all expect from social media was almost entirely absent. It was peaceful, quiet. It was the only social media platform I've used to not give me anxiety, or a migraine.

So of course it fell apart. We live in a world where things require money to simply exist, and cohost was designed basically not to make any by virtue of having virtues. It refused to advertise, sell user data in any way, open a weird shop where you can put microscopic pngs next to your name, or force people's worst impulses in order to keep them on the site for as long as possible. It ran off merch purchases and cohost plus, which was meant to give you premium features but never got the chance to do much more than upping your file size limit on uploads. It was essentially a $5 a month donation. It wasn't enough, clearly.

So now it's going, but I don't really think saying it "failed" is right. If anything, it's made it clear what a failure the rest of the social media ecosystem is. Usually when a platform is dying, or looks to be dying (in the case of twitter, or tumblr post 2018), people immediately make plans to jump ship to a new one. But upon hearing that cohost was shutting down, my reaction, as well as that of a pretty large portion of the user base, was that we'd rather spend time on other things. Cohost was so different an atmosphere it seems to have had a healing property on people who used it. It wasn't perfect, moderation was spotty at times due to the limited staff, people had their blind spots and biases they sometimes struggled to work through. But it was better than what we've grown to expect. It made you realize how tiring the rest of the internet has become, and that you don't need to deal with it. You can better spend that time, doing things you enjoy with people you enjoy. Maybe even outside, if you can muster it. You might even meet some cool people out there, wearing cool patches, eulogizing a cool little website, with a funny lil bug shaped like an egg.

[realchemistry]

Everything that went right and wrong with 9-1-1 season 7 (according to me, duh!)

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the season a lot, but that doesn't mean that it was flawless and I thought the finale didn't deliver. So, this is me pointing out what I did and didn't like and why, and how I wish it'd happened instead.

Also: it's a short and somewhat rushed season due to the writers' strike, this I know. You know who else knew? TPTB. So, nope, it’s not a valid excuse for any of its shortcomings. If they tried to bite off more than they could chew, that's on them.

Everyone knows that having a three-episode arc for the honeymoon was a bad choice, it was clear because the episodes dragged due to it and the Bathena drama made no sense. Let's say they had to keep up with the tradition and that it's a huge budget deal to build those sets so they had to milk them for all they were worth. Fine. It could've still been made more interesting, but wrong choices were made. I didn't appreciate the whole pirates taking over thing, and the season ended with the cartel, which... why do you want to have POCs being the bad guys so badly?

So, let's go by the assumption that having a three episode arc for Bathena's honeymoon was the only choice possible, fine... but didn't Madney deserve a lot of attention as well considering they got freaking married? Why was that not a two-parter? Why not have a first part with cases and some fun bachelor/bachelorette shenanigans, and have Chim disappearing be the cliffhanger? Why not dedicate a big chunk of the second part to that, like they did, and then actually give the wedding some breathing room? Sure, it mirrored their kiss after the whole Doug debacle but these are two main characters who got married. It's a drama show but the drama gets old if there are no bright moments in between.

The inclusion of Amir was interesting because of what it brought up in Bobby. Plus, the actor was clearly great and he was such a big deal that he, well, he was given A LOT of screentime. This made me mad because the show, as previously mentioned, was short on time as it was. Having a new character come in and have such a huge role would make sense if we were talking about a full season. As it was, his presence meant that some of our regulars were pushed to the background. Their storylines suffered for it, and while the show usually does this, it's sorta okay when screentime is divvied up between the regular cast. When it's an outsider... well, I have some issues with that. Like, we literally know more about Amir than we do about Ravi at this point. Also: Amir was clearly an amazing person and he was wronged time and time again. Athena got to play solo-cop as it's her thing, and we're supposed to think she was being heroic instead of downright wrong and abusing her power? If I were Amir, I'd sue her and I'd burn their house down for real (not really, but you know what I mean). They put this man through hell. Sure, Bobby saved him... which felt such a white savior redemption thing. And I know the show and the character said otherwise, but it still felt awful and then it just got worse. In any case, they could’ve made this story play out with more nuances instead of devoting so much of a short season to it to the detriment of our stable cast. 

Buck had an amazing start of the season, finding himself and his truth and sharing it with his family. The fact that they had him entering the dating scene with a character like T*mmy... I didn't like that. Any random person would've been better. But, also, I don't wanna be that person but this is my blog so I'm gonna be: Oliver clearly hasn't been enjoying the latest interactions between these characters to the point where their scenes, few as they are, are actually hard to watch. The last one was literally the most cringe inducing moment of TV I've ever witnessed. Instead of Buck exploring himself, we have him reacting to the odd, negative and out of place comments that T*mmy keeps throwing his way. It's just weird and not at all the happy story Oliver was hoping for, so I get him. I hope this gets better next season, with BT being bones and Buck being able to thrive instead of falling back into a revamped awful dating life.

On the other hand, this season was the Buddiest of them all. Well, I mean, it had the most hints of it actually happening at some point. When Buck talked about there being underlying sexual tension in the premiere, it was just ashslgjñhjsdñgjsñdg. They were comparing Chris's interactions with girl friends and boy friends but we all know that wasn't all that was. We had Eddie talking about how much growth Buck had done from being a playboy, which funnily enough he never got to meet, to the person he's today. Another great indicator were the whole 100th/101st episodes, with Buck clearly wanting to get Eddie's attention due to jealousy, which everybody could see, and the ~reveal that the episode was from Buck’s POV which was also incredible because that man is so in love it’s just insane. But, even most importantly maybe, was Maddie's scene with Buck... It was a mirror of her calling him out on his guy crush on Eddie from season 2, with the circled with a heart around it, but the next episode it got real. To me, her words and her face spoke volumes: first she couldn’t believe Buck was with Eddie’s friend, then she told him he might not be sure of his own feelings and finally that if there’s something he needs to tell Eddie, he will, just in his own time. That was NOT about Buck being bisexual, it was Maddie reading right what Buck was reading wrong: how Buck had been jealous because of the way he feels about Eddie and how he was putting his feelings for Eddie into somebody else. Someone safe for the time being, all things considered. That's a thread waiting to be pulled when the right time comes if I ever saw one! I've been giddy just thinking about it ever since, tbh. We also had a Buddie scene in pretty much every episode, and I absolutely adored them in the bachelor party because they were so in sync, as they were all season long actually. The parallel of Eddie asking for Buck’s help at the end was nice as just that, but the story... I’ll rant about it later. I love that Oliver has been pushing the Buddie agenda harder than ever, so I'm hoping he's talking Ryan's ear off about it and that they'll demand it from Tim soon enough.

Onto Eddie, the problem with the whole Kim thing actually starts because they killed Shannon in the first place. They should've never done that, I've always thought this way. She was a great character and seeing Eddie co-parent with his ex would've been great storytelling, he could've still had a breakdown due to divorcing her or even her dating again or whatever. Besides the insanity of Kim going back to his house after learning the truth, the fact that Eddie broke down and caved in was understandable. I actually thought that was pretty well done. The problem was all that followed. We don't care about Marisol because the show never made us care about her, so her part in all of this is completely irrelevant.

As for Chris, I honestly have SO many issues with his reaction. Him being confused would only be right, but being that mad with Eddie? I honestly feel like I'm missing something because the two of them have developed such a strong relationship that it feels like Chris's reaction was totally OOC. Why wouldn't Chris want to know Eddie's side of the story? Why would he want to leave his dad and his house? Why would he want to leave the state? Why would he want to go live with his grandparents? Sure, he has a good relationship with them at this point, but we can only gather that by... imagining it, for the most part. How long since they been around? Why not mention that they were visiting or that Chris was with them when he was away to set the stage? It honestly feels like it was all improvised and they wanted to leave Eddie without Chris and this was all they could come up with. There were other ways that could've actually made more sense to get to this place, but they chose to do it in a way that's both hurtful to the characters and to their progression throughout the seasons. Make it make sense!!! There's also the fact that the finale script was all written under the assumption that Eddie and Kim were kissing when Chris showed up. That didn't actually make the cut. This is clearly a consequence of rushed scripts and filming schedules, and while we can interpret every scene saying they kissed as an exaggeration or simply a wrong interpretation of the situation, it actually made me very mad. Having characters rehash what happened the episode before so the people who missed it can catch up is normal but I hate it with my whole heart. Those people can go to hell, but if they're gonna spend time of the finale doing that, the least they could do is make the facts fact. Sure, Eddie was going insane and he said it was hard to explain but everyone in-show very much believed that Eddie kissed Kim. This is upsetting because of the exact reason why that kiss was cut, as said by Ryan in an interview this week.

On top of this, Chris is 13 years old. Eddie letting him go is not it. Eddie has every right to tell him he's staying whether he likes it or not because he's his father and he gets to decide where he lives. The show tried to make the whole thing come out as noble but I thought it was bullshit. From what we know about Eddie, he wouldn't just let him go: he would either tell Chris to stay put or go with him. The fact that, again, they clearly wanted to have Eddie alone for whatever reason, and they couldn't find a better way to pull it off... that's just bad on TPTB's part.

Hen and Karen were put through hell once more for no reason. Why can't the big obstacle for them be simply getting through Mara? Why do they have to get to a good place only for it to be ripped away? Don't say it's drama tv, I don't care, people on screen deserve happiness, damn it! They most of all, tbh, and the fact that Denny was so upset just made it 5464641636469 worse. Then we had Madney helping out, which was lovely but completely unrealistic from a legal pov and also... why can't HenRen just get what they want without a het couple's intervention? So Ortiz has enough power to get Mara away from them but she didn't know that the people wanting to foster her were part of the 118 even though she had something to do with Gerrard being reinstated? I know this is what Tim implied on his socials to explain why someone as shitty as Gerrard would be taken back by the firehouse... which, I don't know if that even makes sense? Does she have the kind of power to do any of this?

A lot of questions now:

Why was a random woman given so many precious minutes of the finale just so Athena could have a car to go after an innocent man? Why does she keep getting away with asking for personal favors, recklessly involving Maddie too? Why wouldn't the editor of the episode give us a frame at least of Buddie by Bobbie's hospital bed? This made me particularly mad because it actually looked like Oliver and Ryan were not there filming (though we knew they were), and that's why they kept showing their backs. Maybe they had lines, maybe not, but a few seconds while Chim, Hen and Maddie talked would've been nice... since it clearly seemed like nobody was particularly perturbed by Bobbie's state. I'm sorry but I can't fear for his life when his wife is away trying to get revenge and his team are just... there. Also, why are him, Athena, the aforementioned neighbor and Amir allowed to just walk into a house that suffered that much fire damage? Wouldn't the structure be compromised? Plus, Athena and Bobbie kinda were awful to Amir, first killing his wife and then accusing him and all, so why would he want to talk about anything with Bobbie, nevermind say he's earned his family? He was wronged so badly, he didn't owe them a thing, it's honestly ridiculous. Then Bobby came back so fast... but he had quit before and forgot about it? The Gerrard reveal was actually not something I hated because I love a good shake up. I bet he'll last three episodes at most. We know this isn't gonna be good exactly, and it makes zero sense, but a change in dynamics is always refreshing and could put some things into perspective. I hated when Buddie weren't partnered, but I ADORED the way Hen was weirded the fuck out by the closeness she is not used to having with Chim while on the field, so I can't wait for some of it.

Things I wanna see:

More May, more Ravi, Eddie’s sisters. More Buddie. No dating people to fill up time for either of them. Eddie’s gay/demi awakening (I swear, if this is not where his story is going, it will all feel like such a waste, much like during his previous breakdown). Chris and Mara going back home soon. Gerrard and Ortiz getting what they deserve.

This is so long it's insane, if you've read it, I thank you. If I think of anything I forgot, I'll add it later. If you have anything to contribute, please do. I'm around and I'd love to discuss this show and all its intricacies.

[ace-s-fav-dp-posts]

If you're sick of the current popular trope/story prompt in the Phandom or DPxDC fandom you just need to ignore it

I feel like the fans in the Phandom and DPxDC minifandom that's popped up, who are really grossed/creeped out by the genre of fic popular right now.

Where the set up is some variation of Outsider POV and the plot is based around the assumption that Vlad SAed Danny in order to create Dan and Danielle, are people who haven't been around that long.

Especially when they try to whine about none of it being based in canon. And how they don't like the shipping of Vlad and Danny (even though the people who write these kinds of fics are very obviously not shipping Vlad and Danny in them).

Because the Phandom has historically gone through phases much more gruesome and horrifying than that.

Especially when in this current micro-genre, all of the SA and grooming and other kinds of abuse are implied only, and within the fics themselves the assumed abuse never actually happened. As the plot is based on over heard or misinterpreted fragments of information that doesn't give the POV character the full picture of the situation that's actually going on.

There's the infamous vivisection fics, in which the child main character is brutally cut open and tortured by his own parents in the name of their biased views of science. Who in canon, both happily accept him no matter what every time a reveal is happens and never so much as rejects Danny emotionally.

Then there's the variation on the traditional vivisection fic in which Danny isn't emotionally rejected and stripped of his humanity by his own parents. But instead captured and stripped of his human rights by the government, either by his parents unknowing actions which they stay oblivious to. Or in spite of his parent's acceptance of him, and with them helpless to rescue or protect him from the government's torturous "research".

There's the already existing variation of grooming and SA fics, where Vlad grooms and or assaults Danny. Which have been popping up for years now, but in which all of this type of horrible abuse actually happens in the story, instead of it being an Outside POV misunderstanding what's happen like the current micro genre of fic.

There's the fics where the Fentons have just been abusive or just negligent parents Danny and Jazz's entire lives. And them hurting Danny, emotionally or physically, intentionally or accidentally, is just an extension of their already unacceptable parenting habits.

There's the edritch/body horror genre of fics where becoming half-ghost (or sometimes something else) involves at the very least the partial loss of Danny (or Vlad)'s humanity.

Hell there's one fic that's stuck with me for ages, that I read years ago, back in my teens, written from the POV of a Maddie who murdered Danny to prevent him from becoming Dan. Which is stated in that fic to be inevitable.

It's also heavily implied that Maddie had incestuous feelings for Danny the entire fic. And that she also possibly raped him in the midst of her extremely violent* vivisection murder of him. But that if she didn't rape him, at the very least, ripping him open to see his insides while he was awake and struggling got her off anyways.

So yeah, I don't know what other explanation there is to all these people who seem confused and freaked out by the various fics popping up where there's assumed SA/grooming, but actually nothing outside of canon actually happened to Danny, and the whole thing is just a misunderstanding.

Other than them being extremely new to Danny Phantom fics in general and therefore unaware of just how dark (and potentially triggering) they can be.

When there's been fics for years about SA and grooming, some of which is explicit, some of which is all implied and talked around and just as gut wrenching, and some of which is actually painted in that cringe forbidden love sort of way, for more than a literal decade now.

If you don't like it, if it makes you uncomfortable, you're just going to have to ignore or block those people, like everyone else in the Phandom who feels the way you do has done for more than a decade now.

Don't make comments to those authors that you don't like that trope, or that it makes you uncomfortable, or anything similar. Just ignore them or block them if it really bothers you that much. Because if you don't like their stuff, then rather obviously you are not their intended audience, so you need to ignore their posts and fics and keep scrolling if you're not going to block them.

*Also yes I must state it was a violent vivisection murder. Because it is clearly stated in the fic, that Vlad finds Maddie sitting outside on the porch covered in Danny's blood and viscera, and that the room she killed him in is in a similar state.

I wanna say the fic got deleted during the old Fanfiction.net purge of more adult content, even though all of the sexual abuse/incest parts of the fic where all implied and not explicit, along with the violent vivisectoin murder taking place off screen.

Though I could be wrong, and it's still out there somewhere, and possibly not exactly as I remember it. I read it more than 5 years ago now, so there's almost certainly some memory drift by this point.

[ddarker-dreams]

Hi! I have a question, you can ignore this if you want to but I’ve found myself really loving the way you write and the range of writing you can articulate as well. Speaking from someone who is nowhere close to that level of skill you possess, would you mind being able to explain your journey of writing, if you practiced any particular methods or anything else to get to this stage you are at right now? Unless you have been gifted the talent of writing from birth and didn’t need to try for much long or long enough to call it a journey. Could you also spare some tips and advice for someone who wants to start writing stories and what to look into/practice?

I love your work a lot and I am constantly waiting for the notification of your new posts, despite not being a writer myself I do love breaking down and analysing writing and your stories are always such good options for me to look into. Thank you so much for writing and sparing your time to produce such well done pieces of work — I felt extremely corny writing this, excuse me for this language, I promise I’m not a pimp!

THIS ISN'T CORNY AT ALL!!!! ❌🌽❌!!!!

i'm deeply grateful for all your kind words, thank you so so much 😭

i don't mean this in a self-deprecating way, but i've never considered myself a gifted or super incredible writer, i just get hype about story ideas and try to make them as good as i can. due to that, i start sweating when people ask for advice because i don't consider myself qualified... i do have a writing advice tag, but take everything i say with a grain of salt!! if it's fanfic literally all that matters is that you enjoy whatever you're writing.

i'm more than happy to share my writing journey though!! it's kinda fun to reminiscence.

i've loved reading and writing ever since i was a little lock. while thinking about this ask, it occurred to me that what i've always been the most invested in are the characters. i'd think about 275894275 different storylines with them. i didn't start writing fanfic until i was around 11 though, everything was handwritten. or in flipnote hatena.

i did a lot of fanfic writing from 11-14 buuuut then my interest in it kinda fizzled out. it wasn't until i watched hxh for the first time that i took it up again bc chrollo is that powerful. that's when i started conceptualizing HWR. i looked at my early writing folder, the first HWR fanfic i wrote was in 2016 when i was 15 ?? here's a cursed excerpt:

anyway, once i started making googly eyes at chrollo, it was gg. i've been writing often ever since.

what's helped me the most is to focus on the elements i find interesting. for example, i like fleshing out my MCs, focusing on dialogue, and developing a universe around the main pairing. because i enjoy this so much it's (mostly) always easy to devote time and effort toward it.

so i think it comes down to finding out what niches you like and working with those. some writers prefer to write with heavy prose, others are more succinct, some writers like dialogue, others prefer to be more action based... etc etc. this does require a little time if you're completely new to writing, but you know yourself best. you'll eventually pick up on what part of the story you're most excited to write.

this isn't particularly mind-blowing or anything but i hope it helps some 😭 what completely Altered my mindset was when i realized i can be as self-indulgent as humanly possible. cringe is not in my vocabulary. write a MC where every single character is in love with them if you want. write a 100k word fic about your OC being isekaid into x world. post about your f/os, draw art of you with your fav, go ham.

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

So I just finished Season 2 of Outer Range and I have very mixed feelings about the new season. I literally just finished the last episode so these are all my initial feelings with MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALL 7 EPISODES:

I honestly couldn’t care less about any of the Tillerson/Autumn stuff (even though I realize it is what the show wants as the main plot). But every scene with either Billy or Luke and most of the scenes with Autumn just made me cringe and I always sighed whenever it cut back to them. The stuff in earlier episodes with Autumn and Cecilia was pretty good but as soon as she ate the mineral stuff, I lost interest.

I was so disappointed with the Rhett content. I feel like until episode 6, Rhett’s whole plotline was “Maria and I are at a motel”. Then both times he and Maria go to the Abbott home for dinner, it shows them for 30 seconds before cutting to them leaving. Finally, Rhett was tasked with keeping an eye on Autumn…then went to a coffee shop and didn’t have anything to do with her. Instead, he starts a new, last-second subplot that was given absolutely no time. Like I believe he would make this deal since he still wants to leave the ranch and needs money, but throwing it in at the last minute is such a huh? moment. It was almost as if the showrunners saw what a following Rhett had and threw in some thirst content before calling it a day.

 And I never liked Maria, but it seemed as if they were trying so hard to make her more likable in her first few scenes with Rhett but it came off forced and over the top. Then Missy Goody Two-shoes who left Rhett last season because of lies and possible law-breaking is stealing cash from work? What in her character has shown she would do something like that?

I was glad they spent more time with Joy this season and I liked her episode in the past. It was different from everything else the show has done but I thought they could have done more with her once she made it back to the present.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed all the Perry in the past stuff. I despised him last season but his story this season was really entertaining. Plus, I loved the actors they cast as younger Royal, Cecilia, and Wayne. They felt like believable younger versions of the characters and helped build up their backstory. And I thought Perry returning to the night of Trevor’s murder and changing the past was really surprising and interesting.

But then when past Perry is killed, shouldn’t current Perry disappear or something? Autumn and Amy have been shown to be connected in a life/death sort of way, so why not Perry? Plus, we’ve seen changes in the past alter the memories of the future (like Royal shooting his dad to save Joy not as a hunting accident) so why does the fact Perry is dead and Trevor is alive not change the “present”? Even if current Perry didn’t disappear and took the place of past Perry, Trevor being alive changes everything that happened since Episode 2 of Season 1.  Does this mean if there is a season 3 there will be multiple timelines in play?

Overall, it was...fine? Like Season 1 was no masterpiece but this season they leaned way too far into the sci-fi stuff and not enough with the Abbott family or their dynamic. Rhett was an afterthought at best, and I really hope if they come back for Season 3, he is given something to do besides hanging around without clothes on (though I still want those scenes too 😅😊).

Let me know what you thought or what you hope to see next season! 💖

[luckyqueenreign]

Final thoughts….

Yep it’s official LITG fully gave up on us being the main character. Because how the hell do we walk back into the bedroom, everyone gets to talk about our night but us??? Not even a dumb ass “sister chat” to debrief?!

Then the final date outfits… fb really couldn’t be bothered to add in another outfit or two??? Look I hate how much they cost as much as the next person.. and I definitely have been swapping between like three dresses all season but this is final dates!!

So we knew from the texts adventure date = yacht and romantic date = beach date. I’m sorry but what’s adventurous about a yacht?? Lol. I love how ozzy keeps saying he doesn’t care about how the other dates are going and ours is better but then asks how we think the other dates are going. I thought we didn’t care about them?!?! Also reading through this date and spending TWENTY NINE gems for that cringe fest when playing THTH the dates and everything is FREE and you actually have good convos with ur dates. And he’s really just gonna keep repeating that he has a “special question” to ask us… bruh 🙄 YOU SHOULDVE ASKED LAST NIGHT

All MC could say about her date was we got on a yacht and Ozzy popped open a bottle of bubbly. It was a proper adventurous. LOL I mean if you say so! WHATS WITH ALL THE PRANKS THIS SEASON??? Pranks are the new feet!!! Pls stop hyperfixating on one thing and making it the entire seasons personality. Why was lewie in a suit?? You mean to tell me he’s rather workout in a suit rather than change into something more comfortable, in the middle of summer… in mallorca??

Grace babe!! It’s time to move on!! Picking a dress to make Ozzy regret his decision?! GIRL! Maybe that’s why he wants to ask us to be his gf in front of everyone at declarations..ok I already knew this was coming but Amelia saying it now in dress shopping makes it real he’s def gonna ask her to be his gf and Ozzy is gonna ask us… UGHHHHHHHH

The Ozzy dance and the bits scene after was cute but it seems like they’re trying to cram in as much bits as possible. I’m not complaining but wish we had more opportunities throughout the season with Ozzy.

At this point Ozzy better propose. I’m not here for the LITG proposals AT ALL but we need to one up Amelia. I will not stand for us being the same!!! Grace and Marshall’s speeches were weird that they mentioned Ozzy in them at all. Same with Bella and Lewie. Like everyone just needs to move on! Dying at the lack of spell check “your amazing good lucks” I stared at that for at least a minute, flabbergasted they really spelled looks like that. I’m sorry EXCLUSIVE?!?! That’s it??? He could’ve added in he wanted us to move in together… an i love you… something!!

Ok idk if this has bothered anyone else this season but MC has gotten like 95% of the texts all season. And now at the finale you’re making her read out the entire final?? At least make other islanders read too!

As much as obviously I loved winning. If Amelia had won but Toby stole the money I actually would’ve been just as happy. I wish there was a scenario where this could happen, so if you wanted the happy ending u could have it but if you wanted absolute chaos then that was an option too.

HAMISH LMAOOO. Best. Choice. Ever. I know my Hamish girlies are gonna be so happy with the choice to leave the villa with him 🤣

And another season coming already… ugh lol

[fuck-you-showerthoughts]

hello, I apologize on the behalf of my fellow angry people in your inbox.

I'm also a little angry but I'm doing my best to put that aside because I'm trying to understand you. Please understand that I'm not trying to hurt you with this or anything. This comes from a place of genuine intrigue (while also kind of mad).

Why do you feel the need to define yourself using the transfem label? I get that you think of yourself as approaching femininity from a masculine start point. You said earlier that it's a different, new kind of femininity, like two different sodas. How? Why? From what I understand being a woman is not choosing a monolith out of a henge but instead just identifying with a group. Why are you getting out of the group only to return to a different part of the same group?

I know men and other bigender/multigender/etc people who started as men, fucked around with being a woman or nonbinary for a while and then either returned to masculinity or kept it as part of them. None that I know of insist of saying they're transmasc the way you do. [I have also seen afab people do the same thing, I'm not making this a birthgender thing, I just used this example somewhere else] I myself, during a period of my life "detransitioned" from transwoman to nonbinary and I did not consider myself transmasc for that.

My kneejerk reaction is of course "fuck you, get your effeminate hands off my special little word" [I'm making fun of myself] but after reading through everything you posted recently and thinking about shit I'm asking myself why. Why do they want the word?

possible answers include:

they just want it

internalized misogyny causing them to grow disillusioned with their previous identity as a woman but they still feel like one and wish to return to it under a new pretext

genuinely feels like they have disconnected entirely with womanhood while transistioning and wants to reconnect

I'm doing a shit job of summarizing my feelings on this, I apologize.

Also, why do you refer to yourself as a trans^4 multigenderqueer (hyperbole) but still have your pronouns listed as they/them.

off anon because I think people who hide behind it are cringe.

hello! thank you for such an excellent breakdown of your feelings, and for taking the time to think about your own emotions (completely sincerely, I had a similar journey like this a while ago and getting rid of first impressions is HARD). I think the main disconnect here is the idea of masculinity and femininity being separate (inherently and for me specifically) -- like i said in the answered ask before this, I'm already both a man and a woman, together, at the same time. This, for me, means that both of those aspects of me are trans simultaneously -- I use transfem while being afab because my femininity is trans. (The same would be true of my masculinity had I been amab)

I can't leave cisfemininity because I never belonged there in the first place, and I would never abandon being a girl altogether, so to me the obvious (and quite honestly only) conclusion is queer femininity (which naturally mtf trans women are an immediate part of). The bullet point explanation you've missed here is that I use transfem because it's simply the most accurate word I've found to describe my identity, and gender limiting things in 2024 of all times just doesn't make sense to me :]

(Also I have they/them because that's what I'm most comfortable being addressed as by *checks follower count* almost 20k people. I use different sets with different people -- but also sometimes expression is a lot simpler than identity haha)

[ghoul-bonez]

~Stars in Her Eyes, Stars in Her Heart~

Chapter 6: Almost as Much as She Admires You

(Kiri x Fem! Avatar! Reader)

Summary: Flight was something so special, it was something not everyone got to experience, and you were glad you had the chance to feel the wind through your hair, to feel the freedom, and touch the sky.

Word count: 1.1k

Author’s note: N/a

Last - Next

~Series Masterlist~

~Main Masterlist~

Almost as Much as She Admires You

Day two of pa’li training had gone much better than day one. You had come into day two with a confidence Kiri had never seen anyone else possess. Your confidence was bumped down a bit when you fell off a few more times, but then it happened. You did it, rode the animal around the clearing without falling off, and Kiri couldn’t be more proud of you.

On day three you and Kiri rode around the forest all day, goofing off while also making sure you could actually ride the pa’li, not just for a couple minutes. There were a couple mishaps where you almost ran into a tree, and almost tripped over a couple fallen branches, but you made it through the day without any serious injuries. Other than the bumps your ego had taken every time you “almost died”, in your words, not Kiri’s.

Today was a new day though, and Kiri wanted to do something different. She wanted to do something exciting, and she knew you did too.

When Kiri had gotten to your meeting place she hid behind a tree, crouching down and looking around to watch you. She called out to you with a bird call.

Your ears twitched in her direction, but you didn’t seem to think much about the strange sound, probably figuring it was some bird in a tree somewhere.

Kiri giggled quietly, chirping again, and again your ears twitched, but no moves were made.

Kiri started moving around the area, from tree to tree, calling out every once and awhile. She carefully watched your reaction each time. Observing you.

When you made no moves, simply sitting there, waiting, Kiri jumped out behind you, grabbing you and pulling you backwards to fall on your back.

“Good morning.” Kiri smiled above you. The sun beamed behind her, making it look like she had a halo. It made her look ethereal. Like she was the center of the sun, and she was. Her heart was bright and her emotions burned strong.

You snapped out of your thoughts, smiling back at Kiri, “Good morning.”

Kiri moved to lay next to you, rolling in the soft grass beneath her for a second before turning back to you, “I have exciting plans for today.”

You smiled back at her, glowing, “Oh yeah?”

“I want you to fly. Now that you have ridden a pa’li I want you to ride an ikran. To feel the difference in speed and what it’s like to be in the sky. You don’t have your own, so I’m going to let you ride mine.” she explained.

You remembered ikran being a mountain banshee, one of the many creatures Kiri had taught you about, “I’ve only ever heard about ikrans. I know there's a story about an avatar who claimed one that goes around the scientists every once in a while. Usually when someone new comes on base.”

Kiri cringed about that, that avatar is her dad, but she ignored that, “Well you might get that chance someday.”

You gasped loudly, “Really?”

Kiri nodded her head, “Yeah, but that will be far into the future.”

You smirked, your competitive side coming out, “I heard the other avatar did it in like three months, I’m gonna beat his record.”

“Now that you say that I’m gonna make sure you’re not going to beat his record.” Kiri smiled at her “innocently”.

“That’s not fair! I need to win!” You whined as obnoxiously as possible.

Kiri thought for a second, “Actually I would love to see the look on his face when I tell him someone I’m teaching beat his record. Let’s do it, but we can’t rush it. If you’re not ready on time you’re not doing it.”

You chose to skip over the last part, sure you would be ready, “You know him?” Curiosity shone in your voice.

“Yeah, forgot to mention he’s my dad.” Kiri shrugged her shoulders and your mouth dropped open dramatically. When you didn’t say anything else Kiri figured the conversation was over.

Kiri called out once again, like she had been earlier to you, but this time something much larger than herself came swooping down into the forest, landing next to them.

You mumbled “Holy shit.” looking all over the creature. Kiri laughed, you were afraid of pa’li, but not this?

“Don’t look her in the eye.” Kiri warned.

You quickly lowered your eyes to the ground, going ridgid where you stood. You looked up again when you felt the warmth of Kiri standing next to you leave, and watched as she approached the large flying animal.

“Come on.” Kiri waved you over.

You inched your way closer, cautiously, and once you were close enough Kiri took your hand, holding it in hers as she pulled it towards her ikran’s neck, placing your hand on it.

It was smooth, an interesting feeling much like most of the creatures of Pandora. You would never get over everything’s lack of hair. Why did none of the animals have hair?

You continued petting the creature while Kiri climbed up situating herself on the saddle. She made sure to leave enough room in front of her for you to sit comfortably.

When Kiri was ready she reached her hand down to you, “Hop on.” she said.

You used the stirrups on the saddle to hop up and sit yourself in front of Kiri, “Alright, I am terrified, but I think I’m ready.” You admitted.

When you said you were ready Kiri moved her tswin towards her ikran’s, and as Kiri was making tsaheylu with her ikran she heard a whisper in the wind, “She will admire the sky, and everything it brings, almost as much as she admires you.”

You took off quickly, shooting upwards and climbing higher and higher into the air. You let out a loud shriek that ended in loud boisterous laughter. You threw your arms up in the air like you were on a rollercoaster, letting out a loud yell.

Kiri held you tightly and watched the excitement and joy on your face as you flew, slowing down now that you were high enough in the sky. Even when they slowed down you kept beaming, your smile was as bright as a burning star.

You admired Kiri more than anything else, but right now you were enamored by the sky. The feeling of the wind on your face, through your hair. The warm sun beamed down on you. The warmth seeped into your soul, burning you like Kiri does. You wanted to fly high enough to touch the clouds, to feel the coolness of the water droplets on your warm skin.

Flying felt like freedom, but terror also came with it. You had heard the story of a man who had flown too close to the sun, and you felt you were heading towards that. Literally as you were going up, towards the beaming star above you. Figuratively as you leaned back against Kiri, for a second allowing yourself to be engulfed in the flames of the brightest star in your sky.

Word Bank:

Pa’li (Direhorse)

Ikran (Mountain Banshee)

Mountain Banshee (Large flying creatures, Na’vi air transportation)

Tswin (Neural Queue)

Tsaheylu (The Bond)

[alargehunkofdebris]

why the confessions are so vastly different

So I’ve seen a couple of things about how Beelzebub and Gabriel’s confession scene is a tiny bit cringe and embarrassing, with the singing and immediate use of endearments, and yes, I agree, of course it was. It’s that way by design, I think.

Because whilst these are entities who are 6000+ years old, they are only 6000+ years old in Heaven/Hell years. And if we know anything about Heaven/Hell, it’s that not a heck of a lot goes on in either. You either get a blank, white void of Heaven, with barely anyone walking around and thus zero interaction, or you get the cramped, horrific, repetitious white-noise of Hell. There’s nothing changed, no new ideas, nothing. They’re both menial places to be, and thus their occupants’ experience with existence and emotion is stagnated. In fact, I’d argue that the only times beings can “grow” emotionally is when they’re interacting with something new, something that challenges them, etc. And the only place that truly happens with any regularity is Earth. Earth is where angels and demons grow.

So when you think of it that way, Beelzebub and Gabriel are not two 6000 year old entities. They are two teens, falling in love for the first time. They are cringy because puppy love IS cringy – it’s horrible PDA and singing and gazing into each other’s eyes while everyone else stands around, unbelievably uncomfortable. They aren’t self aware, they aren’t ashamed, because they’re kids.

And then you have Crowley and Aziraphale, who for sure have their “young love” moments (like the dance scene) but only because they’ve been restrained for so many years. They’re certainly new to the technicalities of romantic relationships, but not to love. They’re two old, old souls who’ve been forced to deny how they feel their entire lives. Their love confession was never going to be like Gabriel and Beelzebub’s, because Gabriel and Beelzebub are the “kids who have it so easy.” They’re the youngsters who never have to worry about being caught together, never have to agonize about what would happen to the other if they were found out. They never have to lie, sneak around, or feel guilt. They take for granted this minimal consequence to their love, unaware how very, very lucky they are.

So yes. Crowley and Aziraphale very much represent this “older suffering,” this war fought for so long, and which benefits a younger generation that can never quite grasp the level of pain necessary to pave the path so smooth. And these younger ones benefit in blissful ignorance, which is wonderful and right, but by God is sure not very fair.

So why did Neil Gaiman have this scene? Well, it could be to show this parallel. It could also just serve as a push for the main couple to get on with it. We, of course, already have a push with Nina and Maggie, but maybe Gaiman simply wanted there to be zero reason for the confession not to happen. He wanted there to be no obstacles any more – the only ones that remained were ones they constructed themselves. Because, of course, the best way to break a person, the fastest route to pain, is to provide the largest amount of hope possible, then have it vanish before their eyes.  

[tateisntcute]

Jegulus - an Unserious Critical Analysis

My two cents on the Jegulus ship. Dead dove, do not eat, shippers.

In my opinion, Jegulus (the James Potter/Regulus Black ship) is the culmination of about two decades of the general fandom practice of ignoring all other characters in favor of shipping two white men. This isn't a new phenomenon, we've seen it in every fandom since the beginning of time (time started when fanfiction was invented, right?).

On its own, there's nothing wrong with crackshipping. It's someone looking at two characters that don't interact or barely interact in canon and thinking, "Hey, wouldn't it be crazy if they smooched?" And that's not inherently (sorry in advance for using this word) problematic. It's just for fun!

But then a trend starts. You start to notice that all these ships are between men, and almost always cishet white men. And again, not inherently an issue, but it's weird that that's the overwhelming majority of crackships and even regular ships, right? Anyone who has taken a look at the AO3 yearly statistics knows what I mean. Most ships in most fandoms are between two white men who are canonically cishet. Less ships are m/f, fewer are f/f, and most of the POC in these ships are headcanoned as such or paired with a white person.

So: Jegulus. What is this shit ship? We don't know all that much about the 1970s era of Hogwarts aside from a handful of characters and the fact that four of them were best friends. It's an era of the canon that is primed as a playground for headcanons, fanfiction, and fanart. It's been a popular era to speculate and write about since the third book came out. James Potter is the father of Harry Potter (duh, no one that's read this far is unaware of that). Regulus Black is his... best friend's little bigoted brother. They never interact canonically.

In canon, James is in love with Lily Evans. It's kind of the main thing we know about his character. His job is just... loving Lily Evans. And their relationship is, arguably, the single most important romantic relationship in the entire series. Without them, we wouldn't have a series. There would be no story. Their love quite literally saves the world that they inhabit.

And no, that doesn't mean that nobody is ever allowed to ship either of them with anyone else, ever. But... Regulus? Really? It seems to stem 50% from the "best friend's brother/brother's best friend" romance trope and the fact that Timothee Chalamet has become a popular fancast for Regulus.

And what do we know, canonically, about Regulus? Next to nothing. The main things we know are that he's Sirius's younger brother, he hates Muggleborns, and he sacrificed his life to steal one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. And while him being Sirius's younger brother is an interesting tidbit for fanfiction purposes and sacrificing his life is noble, it's kind of hard to overlook the fact that Regulus Black was a fucking Death Eater. But I guess if you can overlook that little factoid, it's easy enough to ignore the Muggleborn character James's whole character is based around and ship him with Timothee Chalamet a Death Eater instead of her!

After decades of fandom, we have finally found what I believe is the most egregious example of the "ignoring a woman in favor of shipping two men" trend. In a move that is both darkly hilarious and objectively cringe, the new young wave of Marauders fans have decided that the best possible ship for Harry Potter's father is a man who hated the fact that Harry Potter's mother existed. A character he has no interactions with, a character he only knows by proxy of being his best friend's brother, a character that is part of a group that is an allegory for Nazis, a character we know nothing about besides the fact that he was a Death Eater who drew the line at Horcruxes. Everyone give yourselves a pat on the back, it doesn't get better than this.

In conclusion, would this be the worst thing on its own if it wasn't part of a long and storied history of fandom spaces ignoring women just to write smut for two random men? Not really. But if Regulus can draw the line at splitting a soul into seven bits and hiding them in historical relics all over Britain, I think I can draw my line at erasing Lily Evans from the narrative of James Potter's life.

[ranchracoon]

Devour Ch. 9: Cassandra

You stare at your closet, the hangers empty and the only other clothes you have are the clothes you arrived in, your pajamas, a couple spare t-shirts, and one other pair of pants. You always wear your uniform, and haven’t had an actual day off other than when you were recovering to wear anything else. Your eyes scan over the pitiful pile of clothes at the bottom of the empty closet, sighing in defeat as you take off your tattered button up and replace it with one of the white t-shirts. It’s obvious that you aren’t wearing a collared shirt, but it’ll have to do until you can get more; whenever that will be. The final touch is a couple dabs of the perfume Bela had given you, as a way to hide the obvious smell of her all over your body. 

The clock chimes six times to signal that it’s time for dinner, you put on your jacket to hide what you can before leaving your room. Cassandra is waiting for you outside your room, when you freeze she gives you a devilish smile then turns to start walking. You walk next to her in silence, taking the long way around since she can’t go through the courtyard. Right before you reach the main hall she turns to you, pressing her hand against your chest and leaning down to nibble at your ear.

“Meet me in my chambers after dinner.”

She pushes away from you and enters the hall with you following close behind. She sits next to Daniela, and you take a seat next to Bela. Bela smirks as she runs her fingers over your shoulder, leaning closer to you when Lady Dimitrescu clears her throat. 

“Y/N, why aren’t you in proper uniform?”

You gulp, “all of my uniforms are ruined ma’am. These are the only clothes that I have left.”

She hums with a frown on her face, “Donna is coming tomorrow to fit my daughters and I for the ceremony. I will ask her to make you new uniforms.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

Dinner is served by only one maid, you glance around to see if any others would come through, and none did. You swallow a lump in your throat before turning your attention to the tray in front of you, Bela leans down and picks up a goblet of wine. There are four on the table and Lady Dimitrescu already has hers, the sisters grab theirs leaving one in front of you. As if it is the most natural act in the world, you too pick up a goblet and drink when the others do. You cringe a little, you never liked wine and the few wines you do like are mostly sugar while this one is a true, dry, sour, wine with a mix of copper. Still, you don’t want to be rude so you finish the entire drink to get it over with as quickly as possible, but the copper and alcohol linger on your tastebuds. Cassandra smirks at you, pulling the cover off to reveal the strips of flesh and fatty tissue. 

“We can thank Y/N for finally bringing us fresh meat!” Says Cassandra.

“Ooh, save me a thigh! I love tender meat!” Daniela drools.

The sisters begin consuming the flesh, you hesitantly look between the tray on the table and the tray in front of you. When you remove the cover of your own tray you sigh with relief at seeing non-human meat with vegetables. You don’t know why you’re relieved to have non-human meat considering you just ate one of your coworkers not that long ago. To keep your sanity intact you tell yourself it was because you were angry, and hungry. Now though, you’re less hungry and can enjoy your meal rather than rip into it like a ravenous carnivore.

The meat is extremely rare, the only cooked part being the exterior with mild seasoning on it making it taste a bit bland. You eat morsels of your other food with strips of meat, feeling rejuvenated and full, as if your body is finally back to its full potential. When the meal is done the single maid comes out to clear the tray with trembling fingers, Daniela hisses at her seductively making the maid move away faster. Lady Dimitrescu bids her daughters goodnight as she stands and takes her leave. You wait until the rest of the daughters leave before you start your trek to Cassandra’s hall. The closer you get, the more your heart starts to beat; with every step increasing your pulse a little more.

A rising hum surrounds you, expecting to see Cassandra you’re surprised when two hands run over your chest and spin you around with a giggle. Daniela circles around you giggling, running her hands over your upper body and squeezing your traps. When you open your mouth to speak she places a finger against your lips, tracing the outline of them.

Daniela licks her teeth while smiling at you, “Tell Cassandra not to break you before I’ve had my turn.”

She kisses your cheek, leaving you alone with another giggle while your face becomes hot and red, burning all the way to your ears. You continue toward the Hall of Pleasure, before you push open the door you look down at the faint blood stain still present on the carpet. Right on cue you are once again encompassed by thousands of flies, blurring your vision and pulling you swiftly through the hall. The motion stops abruptly, making you a little motion sick while you get your bearings and recognize the familiar dark green walls. As your eyes quickly adjust to the dim lighting you notice it’s cleaner than when you had cleaned it: the floor isn’t sticky, it no longer smells like old blood, even her “instruments” are clean and neatly hanging on the wall. Cassandra appears in front of you, pulling her hood from her black hair while her hungry eyes trace over your body. 

“Cassandra, did you clean your room just to impress me?” You tease with a smirk. 

She hisses softly gripping your chin and tilting your head up toward her, meeting her gaze. With fresh meat and blood in her system, you can make out the faint blush against her light skin. Or it might be the permanent red stain on her face, it’s hard to tell. Cassandra leans her head down to your neck and takes a long, deep inhale of your scent. 

“It was so attractive seeing you over that maiden's body. Covered in her blood. I’m jealous you didn’t leave any for me.” She whispers.

You used to never blush or get flustered so easily, usually you were the one making girls a giggling mess yet somehow these women wiggled their way through every wall you built. They make your heart leap, your head spin, and in this very moment everything feels like it’s on fire. Cassandra leans away from you, her face turned serious but the hunger still lingers in her eyes, they partially glow in the dimness. She releases your chin, tracing a finger over your jawline and down your neck, stopping at your collarbone. She takes another deep breath, her eyes scanning over yours.

“May I continue?” She asks. 

“Yes.” You reply, feeling your heart begin to race again. 

“Do you agree to do everything I say?” She asks, cocking her head to the side.

“Yes.” You whisper.

“Yes, what?” 

“Yes ma’am.”

She smirks at you, her finger curling under your shirt and pulling you closer to her. You inhale her scent, temporarily calming your heartbeat, until she places a kiss against your neck that flares it up again. The pinch of her teeth sinking into your skin makes you suck in a sharp breath, the racing of your heart pumping the blood into her mouth. She removes her teeth and licks the wound with a satisfied hum. 

“If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good girl. Now strip.”

She uncurls her finger from your shirt and takes a step back, her eyes watching every movement you make. You bend over, untying each shoe and slipping your feet out of them, then carefully balancing as you remove your socks. When you stand back up right her eyes land on your hands as you remove your outer jacket and drop it to your feet. You continue to stare at her eyes as they watch your fingers unbutton each and every button of your vest, then watch your hands as you slide the garment off. Next you cross your arms and grip the bottom of your shirt, pulling up until she hisses. 

“Slower.”

You obey, pulling your shirt up slower as her eyes drift from your hands to your stomach, she bites her bottom lip and tilts her head to the side. With the shirt off and on the floor, you shift your hands under the band of your slacks, unbuttoning the top button and lowering the zipper. You step out of the pool of your slacks, pushing them to the side with your foot. Cassandra hums approvingly, resting her forefinger against her chin, with one arm hugging herself and the other resting on it. Next is your bra, pulling it away from your breasts and over your head, your eyes never leaving hers when you bend over and shimmy your underwear off. Cassandra takes a step toward you, running a finger over your collarbone, around your shoulder, across your shoulder blades, and over the other shoulder as she circles you. 

“I much prefer seeing you like this. Now, go lay on the bed.” She orders. 

You spin on your heels and go to her bed, noticing the covers are also well tucked and neatly spread, and you allow a small smile to form before quickly dropping it. You lay on the bed, your eyes following Cassandra as she stalks around the bed standing next to it. She reaches up and removes her cloak, letting it fall before climbing on the bed and straddling your lap. Her dress hikes up her legs to expose her pale thighs on either side of you, just little more and her underwear would be exposed too. Your jaw tenses with your quickening breath, wanting to touch her so bad while her hands sweep over your biceps and to your cheeks. 

“I’ve been waiting a long time to do this.”

Cassandra leans down and presses her lips against yours, you close your eyes and push back to return the kiss. You can’t help but grab her hips, pulling her hips closer to you and feeling the coolness of her body against your burning one. Immediately her hands are on yours, slamming them over your head onto the pillow, a low growl leaving her throat. She pulls away from the kiss, glaring down at you while panting. 

“I didn’t say you could touch. Did I?”

“No ma’am.”

“What do we do to maids who don’t listen?” She asks, hovering her lips over yours. 

“Punish them ma’am.” You respond, your breath hitching in your throat.

“Exactly.” She whispers, pushing herself off you. 

Catching your breath again, you stay exactly as she left you while she kneels down and drags a black box from underneath the bed. The trunk clicks open and Cassandra stands holding a long, silk-like fabric in her hands; she approaches you and ties the fabric over your eyes. Relying on your other senses, you listen to her walk away and fumble inside the trunk again before her steps sound closer to you and you hear items being set on the nightstand. 

The room is strong with arousal, unsure if it is your own or Cassandra’s, but it’s almost palpable. You listen to her walk away again followed by the sound of clinking, you press your legs together in anticipation, as the smile returns to your face. Excitement is the last emotion one should feel when Cassandra says she’s going to punish you, but you know this is a different kind of punishment. The cold feeling of metal traps your wrists, she lifts your arms up and another click sounds just above your head. You tug gently against the restraints, hearing the metal of your cuffs clink against whatever they were hooked to on the headboard. 

“Someone’s eager.” Cassandra states, her voice dangerously close to your ear. 

“Yes ma’am.” You whine. 

You rub your legs together anxiously, her hands grip your knees and spread your legs open before pressing them down flat against the bed. Metal now encloses your ankles as you listen to them tighten then click into place, leaving you completely restrained. She walks past you, the breeze between your legs makes you shiver and let out a soft groan of frustration. 

“Don’t worry pet, I’m almost there.”

The sound of shuffling clothes piques your interest, tilting your head toward the sound as you listen intently to the sound of her now barefeet pad against the hardwood. She picks something up from the nightstand and there is a beat of silence before you feel her straddle over your lap, raising your hips to feel the heat coming from between her legs. Her hand grips beneath your chin, lifting it as her lips meet yours again, brushing her tongue against your lips. Willingly you open your mouth, her tongue wrestles with yours making you moan into the kiss and tug against the restraints. She moves away from your mouth, breathing heavily as you lift your head to try and peak under the silk. 

You let out a sharp gasp feeling cold metal against your heated skin, coming to the conclusion it’s a blade as the sharp tip trails between your breasts. Your body shivers from the acute pain as she runs her tongue along where the blade just was, she hums in satisfaction. Her mouth finds its way to your breast, taking one into her mouth and sucking the nipple, rolling it with her tongue. You moan loudly, arching your chest into her mouth and into the blade, feeling it dig further into your skin. Cassandra releases your breast and the blade moves away, setting it on the nightstand and picking up something else. Her tongue licks the blood from the fresh cut before it heals, earning another moan from you. 

“Who do you belong to tonight?” She asks.

“You ma’am.”

“What do you want me to do to you?”

“Fuck me ma’am. Make me yours.”

“Open your mouth.” She orders.

She leans against your body, her breasts pressing against yours as you open your mouth expectantly. Cassandra lets out a giggle, placing what feels like a rubber ball in your mouth with the straps tightly clasped behind your head. 

“Don’t need the whole castle to hear you. Only me.”

Your breath quickens through your nose, muffling moans against the ball and arching your back as your chest heaves up and down. She kisses down to your breasts again, her hands messaging one while her mouth goes to the other, sucking the tender skin and grazing her teeth along your nipple. She moves one hand away from your breast and rubs her fingers between your legs, rolling your clit and coating her fingers with your wetness. 

You choke against the ball again, trying to moan through it as she leaves hickies along both of your breasts, and her fingers continue to toy with your clit. Her icicle kisses wander over your naval and finally between your legs, blowing her cold breath over the wetness. You arch your hips toward her, wanting nothing more for her to touch you more and she knows it. Cassandra finally runs her tongue along your folds, her tongue circling over your clit making another muffle moan escape you. Her tongue presses against your entrance and back up to your clit, swishing it back and forth before gently gripping it between her teeth. She tugs it gently, you could feel her smirk as your body grinds against her mouth, drool slowly leaking down your cheek. 

Cassandra pushes two fingers inside you as her tongue returns to pressing and rolling your clit. You lift your hips further against her fingers as she curls them upward and press against your most sensitive spot. She pumps her fingers deeply inside you and continues to thrust hard and fast, making your muffled moans louder. Your arms strain against the restraints hearing them clank again, making your frustration grow. The rising heat makes your walls tighten around Cassandra’s fingers, panting heavier as it’s building to its breaking point. Then she pulls her fingers out and removes her tongue from your clit. You release a loud groan that turns guttural, tossing your head against the pillow as your chest heaves in your growing frustration. 

“Not yet pet.”

You growl in response, feeling the bed shift as she gets off and listen to her walk around to the nightstand again. The restraints on your ankles keep you from rubbing your legs together, the burning in your belly goes from a small spark to a raging fire. Cassandra giggles again at your rising irritation, her hands grip your hips and you feel something clasp around them and your thighs. There's a pressure against your clit and soft fabric that covers the rest of you, with leather feeling straps around your hips and thighs. The bed dips again with her on top of you, both of her hands pressing down against your chest.

You feel her shift and her weight presses against your hips, she begins grinding and softly moaning. With every rotation of her hips, the object against your clit rubs it, her moans drowning out yours. Cassandra’s nails dig into your chest as she rides against you faster, her hips roll with your own as you buck up and make her moan louder. You smirk the best you can, continuing to buck your hips against hers, meeting her rhythm. The fire inside your belly starts to swell, the pressure rising with every thrust of your hips and every thrust of hers. The pace rubbing your clit perfectly.

Cassandra continues to roll her hips, scratching her nails down your chest, and moaning your name. Your muscles quiver, this time hearing a crack from the headboard when you yank against the cuffs. Her hand moves to around your neck, squeezing the sides as you arch back to allow her more access, grunting against the ball. You feel light headed but it only makes your pleasure rise, muffling moans of her name as her grip tightens. Together you and Cassandra moan one more time when sweet relief finally comes. Your legs tremble with your orgasm and heat overcomes your body, Cassandra gasps and moans as her own body trembles and her legs tightened around you.

The only sound left when you both come down from your orgasms is heavy breathing. She slowly releases your neck and lifts herself off you, removing the strap from your waist as you hear her breathing get closer to your ear. 

“Don’t break my headboard and I’ll give you one more round.”

You nod your head, panting heavily as you bite down on the ball, using everything you have to relax your muscles. The bed lowers below your legs, her legs slide underneath yours and something presses against your entrance. She rubs your clit again, eliciting another soft moan before she thrusted the full length inside you. You arch your hips and moan loudly, your neck falling back as her body molds against yours. She starts slowly, her hand wrapping around your head and unclipping the ball from your mouth, feeling it fall to the side. 

She puts all her weight onto you, feeling her breasts grind against yours with every strike of her hips. She bites down on your neck and increases the speed and velocity of her thrusts. You grunt and your head falls back against the pillows, your hips rising, the pressure building until it overflows and you squeeze your knees against her body. Everything burns inside you with pleasure, the waves of your orgasm coursing through your body as she rolls a few more thrusts to ride out your orgasm. When she pulls out of you, you stutter out a moan, not noticing you have been sweating until now. Your forehead is wet with it, your cheeks are stained with drool, and when she finally removes your cuffs, you feel how hot they are compared to the air. She takes the silk blindfold from your eyes, your eyes meet her golden ones and notice they are filled with satisfaction and something else you can’t make out. 

Strands of her hair tickle your face, making you smile up at her and her smiling back as she stands upright, letting you take in her body. The last time you saw her naked, you didn’t get the chance to fully admire it, and now you can. She’s slim with obvious muscle mass on her arms and thighs, and she has numerous freckles all over her body. Your body shakes when you sit up, rubbing your wrists until the blood circulates back and they stop tingling; while doing so you flex your jaw back and forth knowing it’ll be sore tomorrow. You stand shortly after, regaining your balance as Cassandra carries what she had used into the bathroom with her. Your face turns bright red when you notice the wet spots on the top of the bed. You clear your throat and grab the corners of the comforter, folding it nicely into the laundry to make your job easier tomorrow. You also began picking up the clothes, tucking them over your arm neatly to also put into the laundry.

“Stop being a maid for 5 minutes and join me.” Cassandra calls. 

Your head snaps to the bathroom door, dropping the clothes and quickly making your way to it and stepping through to see her shoulder deep in the steaming water. Her eyes look at you as you slowly slip into the tub, surprised that it smelled more like vanilla than her usual smell. Cassandra opens her arms to you and you happily hug her, wrapping your arms around her torso. Her fingers brush through your hair, you sigh in satisfaction against her as your eyes flutter closed. 

“So..when did you start having fantasies about me?” You tease. 

“What do you mean?” She asks. 

“You said you’ve waited a long time for this to happen, so when did you start fantasizing about me?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Oh my, so you’ve liked me for a while then. Well if I knew this was the punishment I would get, I would have gotten in trouble a lot sooner.”

You open your eyes and sit up looking at her, she avoids your gaze by pretending to look off into the distance. Before you can say anything else she shoves you off and submerges you under the water. 

Continue Reading

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

"racist show" ??? find me a less racist show right now. I can't even think of a tv show that isn't unintentionally racist in some way. new iwtv? no, it's good but it's definitely got some unfortunate bits. reservation dogs? nope there's a video on youtube calling it anti-black. black sails? doctor who? noughts and crosses?

what is this even about? Ed being "too violent" ? there is no way to avoid every possible racist interpretation someone might have.

Oh it's because the historical guy they stole the name and not much else from to give to OFMD's main character owned slaves irl. which I consider to be a valid argument when its brought up in discussion of the show by people who actually want to discuss the finer points of historical fiction and what goes and what doesn't and completely disingenuous when it comes from tumblr anons and in blorbo brackets and the like. Every single piece of historical fiction from that general time period is haunted by the specter of slavery. Ofmd is no exception, I feel like they handled it well and they handled it well specifically because they made sure to have the perspectives of the descendants of enslaved peoples in the writers room, which many many many pieces of historical fiction like Black Sails and doctor who have not done. I think it's very important to have characters like Oluwande and Frenchie and I think that while I sorta wish they'd changed the name they altered the story so much from reality that that's just a fucking original character with a name ripped from a historical guy.

Edit: the reason I consider it to be pretty disingenuous is because I don't like it when fucking genocide and racial trauma is used cynically to dunk on people you find annoying and no one is ever consistent about it. Like Black Sails is way worse at handling the Slavery thing and yet Stede was the one who had to beat the allegations in that Flint V Stede poll that broke containment for example, People will compair it to Hamilton despite the fact that they're only really comperable in the fact that they're both historical fiction (OFMD is about people you've never heard of, Hamilton is about fuckers who still effect legislation to this day. Hamilton sticks to history pretty closely OFMD says fuck history the pirates are kissing. Hamilton is a biographical broadway show and OFMD is a Television Romantic Comedy. It even takes place on opposite ends of the 1700s. there's no comparison unless you want to lump Bridgerton and Black Sails and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Six (the musical) and Dracula Untold and so on and so forth). Basically there's a ton of historical fiction for which the problems OFMD has are also criticisms that could be applied there and I tend to notice which ones people apply them to. Usually if there's a prominent person of color who's kind of a nerd attached to it, it draw tumblr's ire and if there isn't they get to skate by and Tumblr doesn't even notice it's existance. I don't know if that's because we're all self hating nerds and we hate to see another nerd winning because it invokes the self cringe or because of racism (tis definitely the racism) but it's true.