#like the show engages with this peripherally i feel

[shivroythinker]

rewatching mass in time of war and the whole shiv-kendall interaction where they're arguing over whether she knew about cruises and she's like i never got in the pool with any of those creeps and he's like yeah because dad let a gang of creeps run cruises and she's like no kendall because i was fifteen is just so. like interesting to me. it feels like one of very few direct, in-your-face reminders that shiv was both the only girl with three brothers but it wasn't just her brothers, she was a girl SURROUNDED by mainly men for most of her girlhood. and i think for all of kendall's posturing in that scene and his maybe-partly-authentic interest in dismantling the sexist abuse in waystar he has probably not considered that his only sister had an entirely different set of experiences considering he thinks a fifteen year old girl not getting in the pool with a bunch of grown men must mean she knew that those men were involved in large-scale sex crimes,,, and like whether she or any of them knew or not as children is a different conversation but i just think that scene is interesting from the perspective of like. we hear so little about their childhoods and it feels like a glimpse into the isolation of a girlhood without a present mother or sisters or anyone to guide you or contextualize your experiences. materially you have everything you could ever want but still you are profoundly alone

[avpdpossum]

can we talk more about avpd being a (proposed) schizospec disorder? because i almost never see that theory talked about but i wish it was. like…

avpd makes me censor my thoughts because i think someone might hear what i’m thinking and see what a horrible person i am on the inside or judge me for thinking embarrassing things.

avpd makes me so afraid of someone walking in on me doing something i Shouldn’t Be Doing that my brain twists background noise into the sounds of whispers and footsteps behind me.

avpd makes me so worried about people staring at me that in my peripheral vision, anyone near me looks like they’re already staring at me, and it’s only when i look at them directly that i realize they’ve been looking in a totally different direction the whole time.

avpd makes me so convinced of how much everyone must secretly hate me that i often start thinking everyone secretly wants to hurt me too, to the point where i’ve had panic attacks from a person walking too close behind me because i feel like they’re getting ready to attack me (when i haven’t had any kind of trauma that would create that fear), and the paranoia just serves to reinforce my need to avoid people.

avpd makes me lose my ability to speak or reduces it to nothing more than one word answers only when spoken to, turning the thoughts i wanted to express into a jumble that’s impossible to turn into words or just throwing them away completely and making my mind go blank, so i end up just staring at people silently or even acting like i don’t see them standing there at all (not on purpose but because my brain won’t let me engage with them).

avpd makes me look damn near emotionless around everyone but my safe person (and sometimes even around my safe person) because showing my emotions would be far too vulnerable for its liking, so it completely takes away my ability to express them.

and i could keep going! there are so many things i experience because of avpd that i’ve seen really closely reflected in the experiences of schizospec people. i don’t know how common these kinds of things are in avpd overall, but they’re a really prominent part of my experience with it, so when i found out that some research suggested it could be considered a schizospec disorder itself, that made so much sense to me! and i’d be so curious to see how many other avoidants have dealt with this stuff but haven’t talked about it because it’s never mentioned as being part of avpd.

[junowritings]

Hi! Can I rqs for a platonic Malleus x Fem!reader imagine please? During their NRC days,reader jokingly asked Malleus to be her maid of honour if she ever got married. Then,years later, on her wedding day, Malleus shows up,fully intending to keep his promise.

Thx!

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Listen this started off jokey but ended up kinda wholesome like he would be so touched??? and take it so seriously???

Also I'm thinking about the whole Fae living longer than humans but this didn't fit into the drabble so can I just say you can absolutely bet that decades/centuries after your wedding he is telling EVERYONE he meets about his fav child of man and that whole thing bc he'd think the world would be poorer off if he didn't tell everybody about his friend and the happiness they wanted him to play such an important part in.

BUT YEAH I hope you enjoy how this turned out!

=====

“If I ever get married, you’ll be my maid of honor, won’t you, Mal?”

Such a simple request, spoken so boldly from one he considered his true confidant. How could he have ever refused?

To you it was made in jest, on a quiet walk out on your dorm’s grounds as you had done for so many months now. It was easy to fill the silence with idle chatter on the nights where you found Daisomnia’s dorm leader meandering through Ramshackle’s old bones; a comforting routine that had fallen into place merely by being in the right place, at the right time. Often you would coax the odd memory from the fae of his life before Night Raven College; but Malleus was far more interested to learn of your affairs. Of friends, of family, of the many wonderful experiences crammed into such a short existence as your mortal life. 

You had become such an invaluable part of his life, it would be only natural to bask in your every word and commit it to memory, would it not? If only to ensure that not a single memory of his dear friend became lost to the flow of time that followed after you. 

So when you had turned to him, expression alight with a grin that made your eyes sparkle and the corners of your mouth crinkle with well-meant mischief, your question gave Malleus pause. 

To anyone else, your joke would have earned a playful nudge or a flat out refusal. But to Malleus, the man who you so earnestly called your friend even after everything that had transpired since your arrival? 

That small request is bound to his heart, with every intention to see it through simply because you asked. 

The days from that single night trickle into months, and then years. Faces change and friends part ways between that time, though the close bond is never lost.. A blink of an eye for your fae friend, but almost a lifetime for yourself. The moment is lost within the recesses of your fond memories, as you find a life of your own and find a love who makes your heart race and brightens the very world in their wake. Lost, but always lingering somewhere in the peripheral of your mind each time you’d looked down at your hand, now decorated with an engagement ring - a promise for the life to come.

Even as you stand now before your mirror, donned in fine fabrics of beautiful colors that makes your smile shine and your heart feel full you reminisce. It brings a chuckle to your lips, shaking your head at how easily you had joked back then about getting married, only to find yourself now doing what seemed like a distant ‘what if’ scenario just years ago. Your eyes close for a moment, your wedding attire bunched in your hands as the memory flickers briefly through your mind.

And then your eyes open, and suddenly that very memory is standing in the reflection of your mirror.

But it’s not just a reflection. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you know that it’s real as you spin around to face your old friend, face breaking out into that same telltale grin Malleus had seen such a short time ago.

“Malleus!”

The years have changed Malleus so very little, but you see it in his face. His smile is softer at the edges as he regards you with a warmness once shielded behind the result of decades of isolation. It’s a welcome sight, and you’re only pulled away when you spot the envelope in his free hand, your own writing scrawled on the cover. You recognize it immediately, and your heart swells with relief.

He’d received your invitation. He’d actually made it.

There is no hesitation as you throw your arms around the fae’s shoulders, no doubt making a mess of the pristine finery he’s wearing but too elated to care. You can’t resist a joke about how Sebek would have your hide for almost bringing the ruler of Briar Valley crashing down into the bridal suite mirror. The comment is met with a hearty chuckle from Malleus who returns your embrace eagerly, though unlike you he is careful to avoid creasing your clothes; he wouldn’t want it to impede on one of the happiest days of your life, after all.

There are so many things to catch up on. So much time to fill in on every little detail that couldn’t be expressed through letters and calls. But that will have to wait, especially as a knock at the door just moments later brings you back to the present, the wedding planner peeking their head in to ask if you and your maid of honor are ready for the ceremony. Now that gets your attention, and Malleus fails to hide the amusement that glints in his eyes watching your eyes widen, eyebrows raised in surprise as your gaze darts from the planner to your friend. 

He can see the gears turning in your head, piecing together that carefully hidden fragment that Malleus had kept close to his thoughts all of these years. And then he sees that smile again, now wobbly at the corners as your misty eyes blink back the emotions you feel welling up in your chest, and he feels pride in knowing just what his presence here on your wedding day now means to you.

Standing tall, Malleus moves to stand by your side and offers his arm. Today he is not the king of Briar valley. Today, he is your friend, confidant, and the best maid of honor you could have asked for on one of the happiest days of your life.

“Come now, I Believe I made a promise to you, child of man.” he speaks warmly as you hook your arm over his. “I hope you didn’t think I’d forget so soon.”

[anothermansjeans]

I NEEDDDD more of YouTuber y/n X Spencer 😭 pllzzzzz maybe the first time he actually is on a video? Not just by accident but doing something like a challenge or something 😭?

HEHEHEHE I AM FERAL FOR THEM YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! i also love this concept... everyone pls feel free to send me more 🫶

cw: major fluff, competitive reader, competitive spencer, reader (sometimes) wears makeup

wc: 1.4k

++

You were extremely giddy. Ever since Spencer’s face was accidentally shown in one of your unedited videos, he’s been slowly coming around to the idea of being more involved with your channel. Of course, he had to be careful at times because of his job, so it started out small. You saw a trend on TikTok and practically begged Spencer to participate.

It was simple really. You would take a video of your makeup routine and then have Spencer do the voiceover without telling him the exact name of the method or technique you were doing. He was adorable with it, truly, and because of this, the internet went absolutely berserk. Comments ranged from awe to thirsting over his voice, and you didn't blame them. It was this uproar of engagement that sparked the idea of actually having him in a real video for your channel.

Spencer was apprehensive at first– he was still a bit camera shy, but after your reassurance that the people will love him, he agreed, wanting to help and support you in any way possible. When he asked about the video you had in mind and the words “trivia game” were thrown around, his eyes lit up and even offered for Penelope to go over to your apartment to be the one reading the questions so that it could be a fun game between the two of you.

When the camera was set up, ring lights on, and Penelope curled up on the big comfy chair behind the scenes, it was show time.

“Hello, lovelies!” Your intro went as usual, and as you spoke, you could see Spencer in your peripheral, staring at you with a gentle smile on his face. After about a minute of talking, you took a breath and turned your head to his. “You're probably wondering who this hunk of brains is next to me… this is Spencer, my boyfriend!”

Spencer finally took a glance at the camera and gave a thin smile with a shy wave. “Hi.”

A giggle erupted from you and Penelope, which resulted in your eyebrows jumping up. “And behind the camera is the magical woman I am stealing to be my best friend–” your words were slightly interrupted by a soft “hey” coming from Spencer, “Penelope!” You gave another smile to the camera before going on to explain what you were doing in the video. “Today we are putting our brains to battle in some fun trivia! Penelope will be reading us pop culture trivia and whoever answers first correctly gets a point. The prize is… bragging rights?” Your eyebrows pulled together. You forgot to think of that part, but a smile erupted once Penelope spoke from behind the camera.

“Oh! What if Spencer has to be in three in your TikTok videos if you win, and if he wins, he gets to tweet from your twitter!”

“Penny, you're a genius!”

Penelope was bashful as Spencer held a confused expression. “Tweet?”

“Oh boy wonder,” Penelope started, “I’ll show you the ins and outs if you get that far.”

Once again, Spencer let out a soft “hey” in response.

Noticing his semi-hurt expression, a pout formed on your lips and you gently placed your hand on his thigh, immediately feeling him relax under your touch and shift his body more towards yours. “It’s okay, baby. I believe in you.”

It was like he couldn't help himself. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on your forehead, causing stars to appear in your eyes and a small “eek!” to come from Penelope's mouth. The sound startled Spencer, making a blush appear on the apples of his cheeks. He cleared his throat and muttered, “shall we start?”

Shaking yourself from the starry place he sends you, you turned back to the camera. “Right! Well, Pen, we’re ready whenever you are.”

“Okay, first question. ‘Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?’ is a classic movie line from what 1985 John Hughes film?”

A millisecond barely went by before words were spewing out of Spencer’s mouth, “The Breakfast Club!”

You knew he was right, so you weren't too disappointed when Penelope called out as correct. “Okay, next one,” she said, marking a tally under Spencer’s name on a small whiteboard on her lap. “What five members make up the band *NSYNC?”

You were practically shouting out the answer before she finished the question, “Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick!”

“Correct!”

“Yes!” You jumped up from the couch, only aware of your overexcitement after looking down at Spencer and seeing the complete awe plastered on his face. “Sorry…” You sat back down with a shy smile on your face, but Spencer just shook his head, folding his lips in.

“Don't be,” he started, “you're cute when you're excited.”

“Yeah, excited to destroy you,” you said sassily.

A scoff soon followed from Spencer, “oh, it’s on.”

“Shall I continue?” Penelope spoke up, trying not to interrupt their moment. She only asked the next question when both parties on the couch gave a nod. “Which member of One Direction was the first to go solo?”

And the game continued. Honestly, you thought you had this win in the bag, but as it progressed, you became increasingly worried. Who knew your genius boyfriend was pretty well-versed in pop culture trivia? It was the end of the game when the two of you inevitably tied, and Penelope was basically on the edge of her seat as she prepared to give you the last question.

“Okay, tie breaker. This is for the win.”

As much as you love each other, you were both in it to win it. You two were also too focused to realize the mirroring positions you had. Both hunched over with your hands clasped as your arms resting on your knees, bottom lip tucked between your teeth, and eyebrows scrunched together (once the video is uploaded the comments have a field day with this… you guess that's what happens when you live with someone for a while).

“The E.L. James novel Fifty Shades of Grey is based on fanfiction from what young-adult book series?”

You knew the answer… deep, very deep in your mind, you knew, but before you could even reach those depths, Spencer was standing up with wide eyes. “Oh! I know this one. It’s Twilight!” When Penelope told him he was right, he let out a loud “ha” as he looked at you and pulled your sitting body into a hug. It was an awkward hug, but a hug nonetheless.

As he was squeezing your shoulders, you moved your head up so that your chin was resting on his stomach. Your eyebrows knit together wondering how the hell he knew that, and once he came down from his high he loosened his grip and sat back down, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “We uh, had a case that involved the topic of vampires to come up… I was intrigued and learned a lot about the series.”

You just smiled and pecked his nose with your lips. “Your brain is insane and I love it.”

He ducked his blushed face down and Penelope cleared her throat, prompting the two of you to remember your surroundings and the camera placed in front of you. “So the winner is Spencer!”

Letting out a sigh, you gave a nod and opened up Twitter before starting a new post and handing your phone to Spencer. “It’s all yours, lover boy. Write what you want– there is a word limit, though.”

He held your phone for a moment, staring at the screen as he pursed his lips. It was only a few seconds later until he started typing away. After about a minute, he pressed the button to send the tweet, and you immediately heard an “awe” come from Penelope as she looked at her phone. Looking down at the app, you took a peek at what he wrote, and your heart was ready to burst.

@ y/ny/l/n: According to a 2013 survey, nine in ten Americans cited that love is the most important reason to get married, compared to 28% of people who said they wed for financial stability… I think I’m with those 9 people. I thought that was a fun fact :)

You knew the replies were already going crazy, but you refused to look at them. You were in for a ride with Spencer Reid.

[nomazee]

Greetings! Would it be okay if I request bodyguard!Dan Heng x celebrity!Reader with a 19:58 timestamp? I hope it's okay, thanks in advance.

i think my dan heng favoritism is showing because this is the longest drabble i've written for this event so far,,, i love dan hen hsr,,, THANK U FOR UR REQUEST :**

my 1k event!

—°+..｡ﾟ｡ﾟ+.*.｡.—

The airport is much too bright for Dan Heng’s taste. The reflectiveness of the linoleum floor tiles and the beaming LED lights make him squint as he guides you towards the baggage terminal. 

“That was fun!” your enthusiasm is almost painful compared to how exhausted Dan Heng feels. There’s no hint of a drag in your steps or a lull in your words as you head towards the carousels, on the lookout for a sky blue and neon green striped suitcase—courtesy of you, of course. You asked Dan Heng for his opinion when you were first buying it, claiming that it would be easy to recognize among the sea of plain, typical suitcases. Truthfully, it was an eyesore, but you looked so happy about it, so he just nodded along. 

“Fun? You’re not tired?” he asks. Your atrocity of a suitcase is, in fact, easily spotted, and Dan Heng goes to pick it up for you. Luckily, his is on the same carousel, and he takes up both in his hands before turning back to you. “It was a long flight. You’ll be jet-lagged for a bit.”

“Oh, I’m definitely tired,” you admit, engaging in a wordless struggle with Dan Heng as he fights against your attempt to take your own suitcase from him. He has yet to engage in an actual fight as a bodyguard (or do much at all, really), so he might as well help out by being your glorified bag-carrier. It makes him feel less guilty about the paycheck he gets every two weeks. “But being in first-class was so exciting! You didn't think so?” 

Exciting is certainly a way to describe it. For most of the ten-hour flight, Dan Heng was trying to not puke in a paper bag in front of you in fear that he’d embarrass himself, and then get fired. He hadn’t been on a flight in years, and sitting through one that’s that long was not the best way to ease back into it. It would be embarrassing to admit out loud, but you have a way of reading through him, so he divulges as much of the truth as he can stomach.

“There was… it was shakier than I thought. But it wasn’t loud, which was good.” 

“I meant, like, the food and stuff! And the hot towels that they gave us.” 

Of course you’d be excited over something like a hot towel. He tries not to look down at the (objectively) ugly suitcase that he’s successfully torn from your hands, but it’s all very you and he can’t help but be reminded of every single one of your habits. 

“Are you hungry?” he asks, instead of talking more about the plane, because he’ll seriously be sick if he keeps replaying the turbulence in his head. “The portions were small on the plane. We can check into the hotel first and then find somewhere to eat.” 

A sigh escapes you, lighthearted as you swat Dan Heng’s arm with your hand. You both walk through the confusing maze of the airport and eventually find the exit, stepping into fresh air for the first time in a while. “I’ll get you dramamine on the flight back, Dan Heng. Maybe then you’ll be clear-headed enough to understand how nice the hot towels were.” 

You’ve clocked him, saw right through him and pried your incessant way in and offered him a motion sickness pill while you were at it. He tries to ignore the flush of his cheeks as he watches you smile from his peripheral, but it’s hard to ignore when it’s all that he can feel right now. 

“The— food,” he stutters, because he’s a fool and would like to lay down already. “What would you like to get? It’s a little late, but you should get some dinner.” 

“Whatever you want, Dan Heng,” and he looks to his side to see you smiling at him, so warm and familiar and he’s really, really trying not to puke on the sidewalk right now for a variety of reasons. He ignores you again, because that’s his best way to cope, and hails a taxi before cramming in both your suitcases in a flustered haste. 

In the backseat of the car, you lean against Dan Heng’s side and open up Google Maps, scrolling through all the restaurants near your hotel. The line of your arm presses into Dan Heng’s, and his attention is flitting between that feeling and the bright icons on your screen, different foreign names and descriptions of food popping up. 

“I don’t feel like sitting down for a full dinner,” you admit, mercilessly skipping any restaurant that has things like tablecloths and candles and small plates. “Something to take back to the hotel would be nice. Oh—” you bring your phone closer to his face as if he can’t already see it crystal clear, “—the menu for this looks good! They have some of your favorites.” 

Dan Heng skims through it and finds that they do, in fact, have a suspicious amount of his favorites. There’s a prideful look on your face, hiding the fact that you likely spent an hour researching local restaurants to find something Dan Heng likes. It embarrasses him and makes him have hopes, like a fool. You treat him less like a bodyguard, more like a close assistant—a position that you’ve never actually had filled, which makes his suspicions (and hopes) grow day by day. Really, it’s more like a close friend, a partner, and he likes that thought more than he’s comfortable admitting. 

He mumbles something like okay, looks good, and the grin on your face only grows brighter and cheesier. He’s forced to look away from you and stare out the car window instead, watching the passing city lights against the dark background of the autumn night, in a country that he covertly learned the language of, so that he could guide you around a little better—in a country that you spent an hour looking up restaurants in, so that Dan Heng would have something to eat.

—°+..｡*ﾟ｡*ﾟ+.*.｡.—

gen taglist: @tragedy-of-commons @lasiancunin

fill out my event taglist (pinned) or general taglist (navi) to be tagged in upcoming works!

[theswissgirl]

from here on until forever - Demetri Volturi

Demetri Volturi was the first ever guy I had a serious fictional crush on on, like it was bad there were so many scenarios I created in my head but there was one that repeated in my head like a never ending movie

And I'm going to write it now

a timeline through the movies like key moments from each film (that obviously features him and my own plot) and the relationship is slowly going to build from there.

And I plan on posting it in parts so New Moon is part 1.

Character:

Name: Evangeline Swan (picture her as you want)

Sister: Bella Swan

status: human (will be changed)

Vampiric ability : seismic sense (later on)

Mate: Demetri Volturi

word count: 3.7k

and obviously all credit to the author of The Twilight Saga and everyone involved in the process of the movies.

___________________________________________________________

New Moon : The Start of Forever

You were sat in the yellow sports car which Alice Cullen had hijacked and was operating with dangerous speed towards the city of Volterra, Italy, where you knew nothing good was going to expect you when you arrived.

Lush green fields of grass and trees could be seen in your peripheral vision, there was something so scarily calming about it. But of course, Bella was too busy bouncing nervously in the passenger seat to admire the scenery, holding onto the dashboard harshly "I'm guessing you didn't rent his car?" she asked Alice.

You snickered quietly.

of course she didn't

"I figured you wouldn't be opposed to grand theft auto" Alice replied swiftly, briefly glancing over at Bella, who was beginning to look a little nauseous from the curves and pot holes in the road, "Not today" Bella rushed out.

Suddenly, you noticed Alice's eyes begin to glaze over and your curiosity was engaged, she was having a premonition.

Bella caught wind immediately.

"What? What do you see?" Bella asked her vampiric friend, a small hint of anxiety in her voice as she slowly feared for the worst and she had a bad feeling her vampire boyfriend had set some sort of plan in motion.

"Alice, are you okay?" you asked her, speaking up for the first time in a while.

Alice brushed you off, "They refused him" Alice said, narrowing her eyes in concern.

"Sooo" Bella pushed.

"He's going to make a scene, show himself to the humans" Alice said, glancing at both you and Bella

"that can't end well" you mumbled, meeting Alice's eyes in the mirror and having your thought confirmed as Alice nodded her head in agreement whilst keeping a steady eye on the prevailing road conditions ahead, steering the wheel smoothly and precisely.

"No.. when?!" Bella's voice was sharp with angst.

"He's going to wait until noon, when the sun is at it's highest" Alice let out a small gasp as her vision came to an end, making you think that she saw something upsetting.

You may not have liked Edward for all the shit he put Bella through, but you weren't the kind of person who would wish suffering on anyone.

"God Alice, you gotta hurry"

"There's Volterra"

___________________________________________________________

Bella rushed off to save her boyfriend through the sea of red coats, as per the tradition of St. Marcus day, celebrating the expulsion of vampires. You however, stayed with Alice and looked for a spot to leave the stolen vehicle.

Alice turned to look at you seriously as she covered every inch of her exposed skin, which was mostly her face, "Evangeline I want you to listen carefully to me, when we get to the castle do not do anything to attract attention" she said, looking you straight in the eyes.

you nodded wordlessly, worry growing within you as you sat still in the backseat of the car and feeling it come to a halt just behind the massive castle where the Volturi resided.

You weren't going to question her, you were about to step into the layer of vampires and you wanted to do everything in your powers to come out alive.

"Come on, let's go" she said and climbed out of the car, prompting you do the same and following behind her as she navigated through the areas covered with shade.

Time felt like it passes too fast as you were suddenly in front of a door with a very old and wooden looking latch "remember what I said" Alice said suddenly before breaking the latch and opening the door, stepping inside and you following right on her tail.

"Come guys, its a festival, you wouldn't want to cause a scene" Alice said smugly, whilst you awkwardly tried to close the door behind you but giving up after 2 seconds when the stupid thing did not want to listen.

Suddenly, your movement froze and you felt like the small hair on your skin was beginning to dance on the back of your neck, making an intense shiver run down your spine before spreading all over your body like a tsunami devouring anything in its way.

You looked up to find the source of this sensation, skipping over the beautiful old and italien structure when your eyes finally settled on a blonde man, dressed from head to toe in black. What actually caught your attention was his blood red eyes and how hauntingly captivating they were, even more as they met yours.

"Enough" a set of footsteps could be heard clacking on the ground and you watched as a young girl approach, pulling her hood from her head.

"Jane" Edward said quietly, acknowledging her presence.

As Edward's voice registered in your brain, you snapped your eyes away from the beautiful blonde individual and averted them to the ground, a small blush growing on your face in the process.

"Aro sent me to see what was taking so long" the girl, Jane, said and looked over Bella and you with bright and bloody eyes, not as beautiful or inviting as the other ones, before she turned around and began walking back to where she came from.

"Just do what she says" Alice whispered to you as you began to walk alongside her, your breath hitching in your throat as you walked past the blond vampire again, even more so when he started walking next to you.

Your heart was having a personal fiesta in your chest, the pace it was pumping at made you think you were about to fall to the floor from cardiac arrest, and it was all because of him.

Butterflies grew rampantly fast in your stomach, your fingers trembled as almost irresistible itch to just "accidentally" touch them to his was difficult to shove aside and your entire body felt like it was coming alive

And no words had even been exchanged yet.

After an elevator ride with a charged atmosphere, you found yourself walking down stone made stairs, the staircase being dimly lit by the light just outside the door.

You tuned out the small conversation Edward and Bella shared, choosing to primarily focus on not tripping and making a horrible first impression on the beautiful you may or may not already have a crush on.

You felt your neves growing as the more you felt like you approaching the belly of the beast that were the 3 king of the Volturi, especially since Alice told you the stories of what happens those who are exposed to the world of vampires of if you betray it.

The receptionist greeting you as you walked out had you snapped out of your thoughts and your eyes, on their own accord, flittered back to the breathtaking individual who walked beside you.

But the off-putting thought? she was human.

"is she human?" bella asked not-so-quietly, looking at Edward in his fancy red robe which you thought looked ridiculous on him.

"Yes"

"Does she know?"

"yes"

"Then why would-" Bella cut herself as realization dawned on her, "she wants to be".

"And so she will be" a shiver went down your spine as you heard him speak for the very first time, and it made your heart palpate faster. His voice was the right amount of deep and adorned with an english accent, making him all the more enticing.

You felt like there was an invisible cord pulling you with a prepostourley strong force towards him, and the more you tried to heed Alice's warnings about the Volturi, you find yourself beginning to lean more and more in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, a hand snaked its way across your back and settled itself on your waist, tracing small and delicate circles on whatever exposed skin was accessible to him. Almost as if to assure that you won't be hurt as long as he was there.

And the surprising part? you felt safe with him.

"Or dessert" Jane said and you found yourself being glad that you were protected.

Jane pushed open two gigantic wooden double doors and walked into a massive throne and of course, on two majestic chairs sat the 3 volturi kings.

Aro, Caius and Marcus.

Aro seemed to be excited.

Caius was glaring at visitors with annoyance and anger.

Marcus looked... well, rather somber.

Alice had tried to grab your arm and make you go in the same direction as her, the beautiful was quicker and pulled you closer with whilst moving to somewhere in the back of the room and away from the action.

Bella sent you a questioning glance, wondering what you were doing but you had no answer for her so you just shrugged your shoulders and smiled reassuringly at her.

"What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all" Aro said, his tone chipper as he clapped his hands together, a little too chipper for greeting someone who knew about the existence of vampires...

"Isn't that wonderful? I love a happy ending" you watched Aro approach Bella and Edward, biting your lip in anxiety as your sister was dangerously close to having her life ended.

You weren't aware of it, but your hand subconsciously grabbed ahold of his sleeve and squeezed the material tightly in your grasp.

Aro grabbed ahold of Edwards hand, "they are so rare" he said before his eyes widened and glazed over and it reminded you of when Alice experiences one of her visions .

"La tua cantante, both of the swan sisters" he said, eyes flickering over to you in an instant with newfound curiosity bright in his eye before he decided to make his way over to you.

"My dear Demetri, it seems as though you found your mate" He said, stopping in front of you and looking you dead in the eye, making you shift a little closer to you to seek safety.

"So thats his name, Demetri. Suits him beautifully" you thought yourself.

"Yes my lord" Demetri said, his grip on your waist tightening ever so slightly but enough to make you crave more and be closer to him, even if you didn't understand why you wanted to close to someone who eats your kind for breakfast.

Aro's eyes go to you and you freeze, you couldn't decipher that look in his eyes, curiosity but combined with something else and you weren't sure if you wanted to know... or witness.

"Their blood appeals to you both" he started and you noticed a change in his facial expression "it makes me thirsty" you froze and moved closer to Demetri almost automatically.

"Aro can read every thought you've ever had, with one touch" Edward interjects, his voice making you startle in surprise and your gaze went to him, seeing that he's had his eye on you and Demetri, as well as Alice and you sent her a small smile to let her know you were okay.

Aro turned to look at him "you are quite a soul reader yourself, Edward. No, you can't read Bella's thoughts" he glanced at Bella another time "fascinating"

"I would love to see if you are an exception to my gift as well, would do me the hohor?" Aro extends his hand to Bella and you watch her take a tentative step forward, placing her hand in his.

You watch with nervousness and anxiety as Aro lowers his head and closes his hand, most likely trying to rifle through her memories one by one but he won't be successful, you knew that.

"Interesting" he pauses.

"I see nothing".

Maybe that was a good thing.

Aro takes a few steps backwards, interlacing his hands in thought "let us see if she is immune to all our powers" he says and an unsettling grin grew on his face as he looks at jane "shall we, jane?" and you could swear your heart leaps into your throat and panic consumes you.

"No please don't" you breathed and surged out of demetris hold and towards your sister but strong arms wrapped around your frame in an instant and coiled tightly, immobilizing any movement and leaving you thrashing to get away.

"No" Edward growled and lunged at jane, only to freeze on the stop and his body begins to contort painfully, as if his body was being squeezed into a little ball and he falls to his knees.

"Stop" Bella demanded with a fearful tone "no please stop" she pleaded and tried to run to edwards side but was stopped by Jane's brother, Alec.

"Stop, just stop hurting him please, please" her voice grew louder every second that edward appeared to be in more pain, his face completely strained as he fought against the onslaught waves of pain Jane sent in his direction with one steely eyed glare.

"Jane" Aro said that Jane obeyed instantly, stopping her ministrations against edward.

"Go ahead, my dear" aro said eerily softly and suddenly, Jane looked at Bella with excitement.

"This may hurt just a little" she said calmly and you began thrashing in demetris hold again when you realised what was going to happen

"please let me go" you pleaded quietly as you watched Bella prepare herself, a look of determination in her eyes and much like a python, the more you moved in his arms, the tighter he held you to him "please calm down mia cara, she won't come to harm" he whispered softly in your ear, his voice warm and somehow comforting and it sent shivers down your spine.

Aro lets out a laugh and claps his hands "Remarkable" he breathed "she confounds us all".

"So, what do we do with you now?" then, he looked at you.

"With both of you?".

you huddled closer to demetri at the threatening glint in Aros eyes, almost doing it instinctively.

"You already know what you are going to do Aro" the oldest and kind of depressed-looking spoke up first with a monotonous tone in his voice, as if this whole ordeal bored him.

The blonde king spoke next "They know too much, they're a liability" he said before glancing at you "the younger swan will be spared as she is Demetri's mate, but she has to be turned" he demanded and your stomach tightened with dread.

did you want to be changed? were you really willing to throw a whole chapter of your life away to be with someone you met an hour ago?

Aro sighed wistfully "thats true" he agreed before casting a glance to a burly vampire, giving him a look "Felix" was all he said and Bella was released from Alecs grip

only to be flipped so she was standing protected behind Edward and he lunges at Felix, tackling him to the floor with ferocity and then you felt a rush of wind, suddenly feeling cold.

You looked to the side and saw that Demetri had a hand wrapped around Alices throat in a vice-like grip, not letting her escape and you frowned, she must've tried to intervene.

But with Demetri guarding Alice, you felt exposed and unsafe in a room full of vampires which would easily kill you if given the command, damn you really got comfy in his arms.

Every time edward was slammed into the marble floors, small and tiny cracks grew along his skin, like a porcelain vase that was beginning to shatter and you winced as the cracks and tears grew louder.

And then Felix had him in a headlock, ready to tear off his head and bella let out a cry of desperation "Please, no, no, please, plese!" she cried and aro gave the command to stop felix, hearing the plea in her voice "kill me, kill me, not him" she rushed out and inhaled shakily.

your head turned faster than a cobra striking its pray, you couldn't believer her words, how easily she was willing to give up her life for the man she loved but what about you? were you at the center of her priorities too?

"Bella no, don't say that" you breathed and fought the rising tears as you went to stand by her side but you only got a glare from your sister, so this is what it came to be.

Suddenly becoming a vampire didn't seem like the worst idea.

Aro stalked towards bella with slow and deliberate steps, a confused yet a look of awe in his eyes "how extraordinary, you would give up your life for someone like us, a vampire, a soulless monster"

shivers went down your spine and a burning sensation tingled by the back of your head, you turned your head to look and saw demetri had his eyes trained on you whilst still having focus on keeping Alice captive with is hand wrapped firmly and tightly around her throat.

Guilt consumed you when your first thought was not centred around Alice and her safety but rather the man who had the potential to cause her harm if she so much as she attempted to squirm and break free, the thought of that was enough to get you to turn your head and focus on Bella and Edward again.

But all you then saw was a blur wizzing forward and slamming into another member of the Volturi and you quickly realised edward pounced on him, most likely to protect bella.

(skipping ahead)

Edward was spared from being destroyed and stood with Bella once again and Demetri stood by you again, an arm wrapped securely around your waist.

"let us be done with this, heidi will arrive any moment"

the old and frail-looking king spoke up as he stood up slowly "thank you for your visit" he said slowly with a deep rasp in his voice and then then the blonde king spoke up.

"I would advise that you follow through with your promise soon, we do not offer second chances" he said with a sneer on his face, emphasizing the word "chances" to make it sound more menacing you were sure.

Demetri let go of you momentarily to open the giant double doors and led you and the others out of the throne room "goodbye my young friends" Aro said from behind but you did not once stop to think to turn around, you just kept walking and followed demetri.

"Nice fishing, heidi" you heard demetri say and you looked up, a beautiful vampiric woman in a red dress walked past your group with a sea of tourists following right behind her, mumbling curiously and admiring the architecture of the palace and it appeared as though they were completely oblivious that they were being lead to their deaths.

maybe it was better that way, a quick and swift death.

"yes they do look rather juicy" Heidi replied and sent a smirk in his direction and an emotion that mimicked jealousy (or actual jealousy) rose within you, did she have thing for him? but you shook those thoughts away.

and then the screaming and shouting came.

you froze and wanted to turn around to observe what was happening but demetri snaked an arm around your waist and pulled you close to him "don't look its not for the faint of heart, mia cara" his soft voice met your ear and heat rushed down your spine at the close proximity, the effect he had on you making you slowly forget.

A few minutes later and you were outside, the warm sun beaming down on you and you welcomed it without hesitation, breathing in the fresh air and relaxed.

"It's time we go home" Alice stood next to you, a hand on your shoulder as she gave you a soft smile.

you bit your lip in thought, eyes flickering over to demetri.

for whatever reason, the thought of leaving him was like going through a heartbreak and it was like your whole body was protesting and fighting hard against it, leaving him felt like a gloomy cloud was descending upon you and your world would shrouded in darkness.

"2 seconds alice" you told her quietly and stepped over to demetri, your heart hammering violently in your chest.

"what happens now?" was the first thing you asked him as you looked up at his beautiful face, his beautiful red eyes looking down at you with a certain softness and fondness you didnt think you'd ever on a vampires face.

"We will be together again, and I understand that you must return home" He spoke with understanding as he delicately placed his hand on your cheek, stroking the skin softly like you were the most precious thing he had in his possession.

Which is kind of true given your human nature and his vampire.

a sad and small smile rose on your lips as you subconsciously leaned into his touch, his hand burrowing itself gently in your hair "I look forward to it" you whispered before stepping back, his hand falling from your head and you immediately missed his touch.

"we'll see each other sooner than you think, mia cara"

"this is only the start".

and with that, you turned and left with the others and you were damn sure that you wouldn't ever forget him.

_____________________________________________________________

still new at this, hope its nothing too bad

[youaintnothinbuta]

“What're ya doing out by yourself at this time, anyway?” — elvis x reader

Summary: you have to walk home from work late at night and get a bad vibe from a guy who won’t seem to stop following you, you look for anyone who can act like they know you and Elvis himself just so happens to be that person. He walks you home and makes sure you’re safe

Pairing: Elvis Presley x fem!reader

Word count: 809

Warnings: fluff, drabble, probably typos sorry <3

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The chilly Memphis night enveloped you as you exited the bar, clutching your coat tightly against the cool wind. The deserted streets echoed with the distant hum of nightlife, and your footsteps seemed to amplify in the silence. Reluctantly, you stayed back to help the bartender close up shop, leaving you to navigate the midnight streets alone.

As you walked through the town, a sense of unease settled in. You couldn’t help but have a nagging feeling that someone was trailing behind you. You cautiously crossed the street, hoping the distant footsteps would fade away. But, to your dismay, they persisted. You were smart enough to know not to show any signs of panic, not to look around, not to let him know you felt vulnerable, you just needed to find people, or a person, anyone that wasn’t the creep behind you.

Without turning your head, your peripheral vision looked to your right, you could barely make out the neon sign of a bar. You set that as your new destination, figuring it was probably better you didn’t lead this man straight to your home. As you approached this bar, you became rushed, trying to get to this place as quick as possible, just to be with other people. There were no other women standing outside, just a few small crowds of men, though you could hear some women singing upstairs.

Summoning a cheerful, girly tone, you interrupted their discussion, “I'm so sorry to bother you, but could you gentlemen please make it look like you know me? I feel like I'm being followed.”

The man in the grey jacket, a pink shirt peeking from underneath, immediately responded, his hand curling over your shoulder in a reassuring manner. "By who, honey?" he asked, his eyes holding a gentle smile as he skillfully played along. It was then that you noticed his striking features – it was Elvis Presley.

Stammering, you explained the situation, “Th- there was a guy, behind me, I don’t know if he’s still— I’m sorry,” your eyes glancing toward the suspicious figure trailing you. His eyes scanned the street and the footpath behind you. Sure enough, there was a man lent up against the wall of a store, looking suspicious, about a hundred metres down the street. “I see. What're ya doing out by yourself at this time, anyway?”

With a shake of your head, you replied, “Only just finished work. I can't drive home; my car's with the mechanic.”

Elvis raised an eyebrow, “They didn't offer you one to loan?”

You shook your head once again. “Alright, little one, let's get you home. Come,” Elvis insisted.

Protesting, you said, “Oh, no, thank you, I can walk. I just need him off—“

"Naw, honey, not gonna let you walk home alone. You come with me now," Elvis interrupted, his voice firm yet comforting. And so, in the dim glow of Memphis' neon lights, you found yourself in rather unexpected company.

Elvis, with an air of chivalry, nodding to B.B. King that he’d be back, guided you away from the bar and into the quiet streets. As you walked together, the night seemed less intimidating.

“I appreciate this, Elvis,” you confessed, the gratitude evident in your voice.

“No problem at all, darlin'. Now you seem to know my name, it’s only fair I know yours,” he replied, a warm smile playing on his lips.

“Y/N.” You spoke, he repeated it back to you with a smile. As you strolled through the dimly lit streets, Elvis engaged you in easy conversation, sharing anecdotes, as you showed him the way to your home.

Reaching your doorstep, Elvis offered a genuine smile, “Here we are, darlin'. Now, you take care, alright?”

Gratitude welled within you as you fumbled for your keys, “Thank you so much, Elvis. You really went out of your way.”

Elvis chuckled, “Honey, it’s really no big deal. Now, before I leave, how about I get your number? Just so I can check up on you tomorrow, make sure that fella's not causin' you any trouble.”

Blushing, you exchanged numbers. The exchange lingered, creating a moment that felt suspended in time.

“Alright, darlin', you get inside and get some rest. I'll give ya a bell tomorrow,” Elvis said, his parting words filled with genuineness.

As you stepped into the warmth of your home, the door closing behind you, a mix of emotions swept over you—gratitude, awe, and a hint of disbelief.

You debated waking your sister up, who was also your housemate, to tell her, but figured this one might be best kept to yourself. Instead, you locked up, got ready for bed and tucked yourself in tightly, replaying the events in your mind, the echoes of Elvis' voice and the shared laughter lingering in your thoughts.

[girldragongizzard]

Chapter 3: Adversary

“Hey, Chapman! The yooj?” Jill projects her question around me like a professional thespian, grabbing the attention of the startled customer.

Chapman jerks, looks up at her, and opens their mouth to talk, but takes a quick breath first. Then they look a little relieved but still rattled, and say, “Yyyyyeah. That’d be great!”

Their voice sounds like dark maple syrup, and I’m noticing the complexity of their hairdo this time.

It is a side cut, with the right side of their head shaved clean and showing off a tattoo of three fuchsias hanging down from the top of their scalp where their new hairline is. And the rest of their hair is short in the back and thick and long in the front and styled in a wavy pompadour, with a pointy and groomed sideburn that comes down half an inch below their left earlobe. And the hair is an immaculate dark hot pink.

Everything about them, their name, their voice, their haircut, all keep telling me to keep sticking to they/them for them, for now, until I actually learn their pronoun. Which I’m told is what I should do for everyone, and I try. But there’s something about their whole thing, what they’ve got going on, that transfixes me just a little bit more each time I look at them, and the sense that they’re probably an enby feels like part of it.

But now they look perplexed and still hesitant, like they’re trying to figure out whether they should try to solve a puzzle that’s been presented to them.

“Hey, Meghan, your drink’s ready,” Jill mutters at me.

Oh!

I’m in the way.

I make what I think of as a startled but cheerful sound and reach for my tablet to put it in my purse. But we all notice that the noise that comes from deep in my throat sounds almost exactly like the door chime. And everyone looks delighted and surprised by that, including me I assume.

Then I duck and fluidly bound toward my table, low, quiet, and way more graceful than I even want to be, my tail wiggling in behind me in the process. It’s embarrassing how it feels like my body is suddenly showing off for some reason.

Then I try to hide behind my table and bury my face in my drink.

But I can still clearly see Chapman in my peripheral vision and this display of mine does not seem to have unflustered them.

I may be new to physically being a dragon, and I may have a lot of trouble recognizing things like, say, flirting. But I’m not new to this. 

Whatever Chapman actually thinks of me, I feel like I’m in high school again. And I don’t even know what I think of Chapman, but my limbic system seems to have its ideas. I almost did a mating dance on the way to my table, and I really don’t know what to do about it, so now I’m remaining as still as possible now.

I have no clue what Chapman’s age is, as I watch them finally step forward to engage in their transaction. I’ve always been bad at judging ages. Humans all age at wildly different rates anyway. But also, we’re not even the same species.

Why am I reacting to them like this?

I find myself wondering if maybe they’re another dragon, just still disguised as a human, like I’d been just a week ago.

What if I’m only the first, and there’s more to come? Would I be able to sense the others, kind of in the way that Jill and Cerce already sensed these things about me?

Then I have a super wild thought, and lose myself in it as a way of distracting myself. What if there are no actual humans. What if we’re all mythical creatures waiting to shed our disguises, and that’s why we can sometimes recognize each other?

It seems as likely an explanation for what’s going on with me as anything else I can imagine. And I think I’d really like it to be true.

I decide I’m not going to pursue my feelings. They don’t make any sense. Not sexually, anyway. I wouldn’t mind being Chapman’s friend if they decide they can be friends with me. But I won’t try. They’re clearly unsettled by me, and I don’t want to impose myself on them in any way.

So the real challenge is just being normal when we’re sharing the same space, so I don’t make them more uncomfortable.

I figure that the best way to do this right now is to look around at the other customers.

There’s quite a mix of people today, and all of them are ignoring what’s going on in the front of the shop. They’re ignoring me. As usual.

And it strikes me, as I’m glancing around, now aware of my actual gender and how people seem to see me, that of all the variety of people who look like they might be women here, I share nothing in common with them.

So many of them wear some degree of makeup, and must have some sort of skin care routine. They wear jewelry of various sorts, and know how to put their hair up or get it styled the way they like. Their gestures and ways of speaking aren’t all the same, but seem like a myriad of ways of expressing femininity that I do wish I could mimic.

But, I don’t have hair. Or bare skin to apply anything to. I haven’t bothered with anything like clothes for four days now. And I don’t think I have vocal chords. I have something else that feels like it’s between my lungs. There’s no way I’m going to be using my tongue to craft soft vowels and breathy fricatives. No one alive right now is going to know how to give me vocal lessons.

And it doesn’t matter, because I’m a dragon and I really don’t have to adhere to common human beauty standards to be seen as what I am. But I do feel left out all the same.

And even if I still had a human body and was transitioning like normal, I don’t think I could stand putting stuff on my face to smooth out my complexion and adorn it. But I feel like I should.

I guess I’ve been raised by humans, and spent the first 50 years of my life soaking in human socialization. I shouldn’t be surprised I have this trouble.

Let’s say I decided to wear jewelry as a dragon. That’s something I could probably do. I could wrap necklaces or bracelets around my horns or something like that. I can’t decide if I’d be doing that for myself or to signal to everyone else that I’m female.

And at 50 years old, you’d think I’d be above this sort of quandary, because I’m well past the typical dating age. I’m settled. I’m disabled, too. I have my routines. I know who and what I am, and that’s all that matters. And what I present to the world is what the world gets. Like, other 50 year old women brag about how free they feel, no longer trying to be attractive to mates or meet societal standards.

Obviously, I’m not like other girls my age.

I turn back to my mocha to discover that Chapman is sitting at my table opposite me, composing themself with drink in both hands.

I recall seeing the movement in my peripheral vision earlier, but hadn’t made sense of it because I had successfully lost myself in thought.

I tilt my head to the side, eyes wide.

“Hi,” they say.

—

So I didn’t get a chance to compose my questions, and now Rhoda wants to hear all about Chapman while she tidies up my apartment.

As I knuckle out my explanation for Chapman’s interest in me, Rhoda is holding up things that are scattered around my livingroom and giving me a questioning look. I glance up and either smile or turn my head away, and she decides based on that whether to save it or throw it away.

So many things are just destroyed, and I have to let them go. But with anything that’s still intact, whether it’s useful to me or not, I just can’t get rid of it. I’ve got to have my things.

At certain point, she says, “Meg. Darling. We can’t store all of this in here. There isn’t room for your wings and tail, otherwise. Can you even afford a storage garage?”

In answer, I knuckle out the last few characters and then hit the talk button. “Autistic special interest,” I say.

She quirks her head and asks, “Chapman?”

I smile.

“Oh, that’s sweet. Maybe sie can help you figure out dragon things you might not otherwise know yet,” she says. We’d covered Chapman’s pronouns just a little bit earlier. Rhoda looks around at everything and sighs. Then she suggests, “What if we make your bedroom your hoard room, and turn the livingroom into your new sleeping den? I think the layout works better for that. I mean. Yes, your torso and legs aren’t all that much bigger than a human’s, but with those huge wings and that tail of yours, you know, well…” She gestures and nods at everything, “You do know.”

I acknowledge the truth of that with a gentle, tentative bob of my head.

“We’re going to need some help removing some of this wrecked furniture, too. But I’ve got a line on that. Don’t worry about it.” She tosses some obviously trashed things into the garbage and says, “OK. So. Chapman. Have you got another date with hir lined up?”

“Not date,” I respond. “Yes.”

“Sure,” she says, obviously not agreeing with my assessment. “What’cha gonna do?”

“Talk.”

“Where?”

“Park.”

“Oh, that sounds nice! Lots of room to move around. You can go for a little walk while you chat. I love it,” she says.

“Not date,” I repeat.

“I know,” she says. “My boy always liked going for walks with his friends. They'd all talk and talk and talk, and pace around the whole time even if they were just in the living room. But going places to connect and blab about anything and everything gave them all a sense of purpose, I'm sure. And stimuli and new things to talk about.” She organizes a few things, then continues, “He was autistic, too, you know. And pacing and walking was one of his stims. I wouldn't be surprised if Chapman's the same way.”

“OK, yes,” I reply. Then determined to delve into subjects of my own curiosity, I change the subject by asking the one question I do have cued up, “Why aren’t you freaking out about me being a dragon?”

Rhoda assesses me with tight lips, then replies, “It’s like you shed your old skin that night, you know. Maybe ate it in your sleep. Everyone could see this coming. It's just your new phase of growth.”

“Not you? You not do this?” I ask.

She blinks and wrinkles up her face and says, “Heavens, no! How even would I?” Then she holds up a finger. “Mind you, if I could, I would have. Ages ago! I saw how you were suffering. You were miserable under that old hide of yours. I imagine everyone saw it.”

So, I'm not getting answers from her. At least, not the ones I wanted to hear.

“Tell me,” she says. “What else are you experiencing along with this? Can you see things you couldn't see before? Are your senses sharper?”

“Yes. Thermals,” I reply.

Her eyebrows go up, “Can you fly?”

“Yes!”

“Fantastic!” she exclaims. “That must be amazing! I bet Chapman will love it!”

I’d roll my eyes, but I can’t. I do the big exaggerated head circle again.

“Oh come now,” Rhoda says. “I’m not teasing you about dating. I just genuinely think Chapman would appreciate a demonstration and you should give it to hir.”

She’s right, of course. And I agree to do so.

“In fact, I’d like to see you fly, myself,” she adds.

I look out one of my windows. I’ve got a third story apartment, two stories from the top. And there’s a small parking lot directly across the street. If I were to climb out the window and glide across that lot, I could catch the big thermal there and get some lift before wheeling out over into one of the streets. Some wing work, and I could probably get above the low buildings of that block. Without more experience, it feels really iffy, but I might be able to do it.

But I figure that a creature as big as I am is in real danger of seriously hurting itself in a crash. Too much inertia for bone density. Hell, starlings kill themselves on windows every day.

Intellectually, I know it’s a bad idea to test myself that way, but I find I’m not actually afraid.

I turn my head to look at Rhoda and open my mouth to talk, momentarily forgetting that I can’t really do that anymore, when I catch something big moving swiftly just outside my window.

My memory of it now is just a snapshot flash of an image, another dragon, wings, head, and tail pulled back, and all four feet extended outward to brace for impact with the wall between windows.

The very next moment of memory is bricks, plaster, insulation, wood, wires, and dragon billowing into my partially tidied living room and destroying it.

And I’m somehow turned 180 degrees, facing the monster who is picking themself up from the middle of the rubble of my apartment as Rhoda, who was safe in a corner near the outer wall, away from the impact and out of line of flying debris, shouts.

My tail is curled up awkwardly in the corner of the room near the door to the kitchen, and I’m already crouched and ready to leap upon the intruder, wondering how I got here, wings held tightly to my back.

And I’m also thinking that this maybe answers my questions about the durability of my body.

We are not exactly the same kind of beast, though.

Anyone looking at either of us would call us both dragons. And we have the same number of limbs. But that’s where our similarities end.

I’ve got iridescent blue and indigo scales with a pattern of diamonds down my back. I’ve got fiery orange and gold markings as well, and tan belly scales. I have a pair of horns that sweep back from my skull, and ear canals that are almost hidden behind protective scales. And I’m lithe and pointy, and look something like a cross between a gecko and a caiman, but with wings.

Then there’s this fuzzy brown asshole that looks like if you crossed a bat with a hippo and gave the result a feathered dinosaur tail. And I know that I cannot let that gaping maw anywhere near anything I care about.

I hear a rumbling that is as deep and soul shaking as you’d expect from an earthquake, and realize that it’s me. I’m making that noise with something in my ribcage.

Rhoda is pushing herself further and further back into her corner of the room, even though she’s already pressed up against the walls.

The moment my sudden adversary is free of rubble, they jump forward and let out a croak of a yawp.

In response, I jerk my head up and let out the strangest squawk that starts from the infrasonic rumble that’s been building in the depths of my body and rises to a cracking cry that sounds like an angry parrot. And then as I close my mouth afterward, a clacking noise like a raven’s comes out and I find myself jerking my head with each knock.

It’s not exactly involuntary, I just find myself doing what feels right. And I’m pretty sure the other dragon knows exactly what it means.

I’m not quite as big as my challenger, but my vocal prowess causes them to pause.

I don’t know why this is happening and I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but two things are extremely obvious.

I’ve got to do whatever I can to keep Rhoda safe, because she is squishy and cannot survive being squished by either of us dragons.

And I’m definitely not getting my damage deposit back.

Also, I decide that hesitating is bad and I want this fucker out of my apartment.

I do a little zigzag. I leap slightly toward the outside wall, to my right, in the direction of my opponent. Then, still accelerating forward, I bound left, pushing off the floor to launch at a spot on the inner wall, twisting my body to plant my feet there so that I can leap off that wall.

I never in my life imagined doing anything like this with my old body. It was just entirely inconceivable, especially as my chronic illness set in. But, I’ve spent countless hours visualizing this exact maneuver with a body nearly identical to the one I have now, in situations I’ve really only seen in action movies.

My tail acts as a springing counterweight that also pushes off the wall just after my hind legs have launched me in the direction of the flying hippo beast. My wings have also made a measured stroke to grab some air and swim through it without slamming into floor or ceiling, but I do feel them brushing surfaces and things in the process.

Head bowed and turned sideways, I slam the peak of my shoulders into the side of the other dragon, and then straighten my neck out and sink my horns into their haunch.

I manage to make them slide about two feet, and squeeze an agonized “grawp” from their throat.

It’s not enough, though. I need them out.

I get smacked repeatedly with their right wing as they try to twist to bite me. But I’m more agile and serpentine than they are, and I’m climbing over the base of their tail and wrapping my own around their legs, hooking my tail barb in one of their ankles and pulling.

Scrabbling and clawing my way to the huge hole in the wall, I manage to get them to spin in place just to reduce the pain caused by my tail barb.

A good nine tenths of the apartment is now flapping wings, dust, and enraged screaming and roaring the likes of which Hollywood has never managed to imitate.

And then I do the thing. If this asshole wants to challenge and fight me, let them do it outside, away from people.

I unhook my tail and leap from my apartment, rumbling and clacking the whole way, and dive across the street to the parking lot.

The sun is going down, so the air is cooling. But it’s been a long summer day and the pavement of the parking lot is still rising with heat, and I spread my wings as wide as I can to catch it.

The lift keeps me from slamming into a car. And, with a beat of my wings and a curve of my spine, I manage to clear a tree near the street and avoid becoming part of the mural painted on the nearest building.

I let out a cackling challenge as I work to gain altitude flying down the street and toward the bay, away from what used to be my home.

I don’t have to turn my head far to see behind me, and a flurry of movement in my peripheral vision tells me I’m being pursued.

Perfect.

How in the God damned hell can that thing fly?

---

copyright 2024 the Inmara Fenumera

if you see a typo, report a typo

[nocandnc]

and now i got a new question, who do you think your ships would go about proposing? like which of the two proposes to the other, how they do it, and the other's reaction

This was a tough one! Proposals aren't something I think about very often, mostly because I don't like big romantic gestures and the like...

Thankfully, proposal culture in Japan is a little more to my tastes - which is to say, it's pretty lowkey!

While some may propose in a special or fancy way, it's far more common for a partner to simply ask "will you marry me?" in some plain and mundane fashion. Engagement rings aren't seen as a big factor like in the west, and many don't bother with them at all. That's a generalization of course, and every couple is different!

So, how would my various ships propose?

Wellllll, I went a little nuts with KafMina and OkoHoshi - they turned into ficlette type things, so I'll be making separate posts for those! As such, this response will be covering KikoReno, AkarIharu and NaruRin.

Kikoru x Reno

Kikoru is interesting in that she's so strong and gutsy - I can easily see her being to be the one to propose if she wanted to... but at the same time, she seems to enjoy challenging others. She likes the thrill of making them chase after her, as it motivates her to push even further ahead herself. And she's also pretty tsundere, so.

While do I think she could propose to Reno, I think she'd really rather he "man up" and be the one to do it instead... luckily for her, Reno is a capable man.

"Would you marry me?" Reno asks this from the flat of his back, having lost yet another sparring match against one Shinomiya Kikoru. The woman in question spins on heel, rounding back to where he lay before sinking her battleaxe into the floor next to his head. "Marry a man who can't even beat me in a fight?" She peers down at him critically, mouth turned upward in what she'd insist was a mocking smile. "I hardly think so." Reno is unfazed by the large weapon in his peripheral, eye focused intently on the woman above him. "So if I beat you, you'll marry me?" Kikoru's smile falters at the seriousness of his gaze. "Th...! That's a pretty big IF!!" she sputters, heat blooming across her cheeks. "Another round, please."

(I actually have a funny(?) scenario for my Edo Period AU in which Reno accidentally proposes to Kikoru, resulting in much confusion on all sides - but that's a sketch series for another day lol)

Akari x Iharu

I definitely think Iharu would be the type to propose spontaneously. A real heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. Like they're on the battlefield and he suddenly grabs hold of her after narrowly escaping death to be like, I love you so much babe! Let's get married!!! And Akari is half-stunned but also ready to swoon amidst the surrounding horrors.

They take some time to cool off and talk it over more seriously later of course, making sure that they're both on the same page before deciding that yes, they totally should get married. They splurge their paychecks on matching engagement rings the next day and make sure to show them off at every opportunity.

"Take a look, Reno!" Iharu jabs at the other man's face with his left hand, ring in plain view. "I'm gonna be a married man before you! How's that feel, huh!?"

"I feel nothing but happiness for you both." Reno replies woodenly, though he's about two seconds away from jabbing back in a not so playful manner.

Narumi x Rin

Rin: We should get married. Narumi: Why? Rin: Good for tax returns. Narumi: Rin: And you can lord it over all those lonely little gamers online. Narumi: *Grabs her hand and shakes it* Deal.

In all seriousness though, I could see them just not getting married? I feel like Narumi wouldn't want or need a marriage certificate to prove anything (or rather, he'd want people to think he doesn't) - but if it did happen, it'd definitely be Rin proposing. She's boss like that.

Everyone knows by now that I don't love Narumi but I do love Rin. She can have whatever she wants, even if it's that pathetic gremlin man. Get it girl.

[chiisana-sukima]

Hello, I love your blog and your thoughts on supernatural. Could you explain what you meant when you said it's "barely disguised kink." This sounds intriguing but I don't really understand.

So you know how you'll be reading along in, say, an AU longfic where Character A gets turned into a vampire, so you know there's gonna be some biting in it? And the first chapter where Character A bites the neck of their beloved Character B, you're like mm yes good.

But then there's another big, lovingly described biting scene, and then another one and another one, and they all go on for many paragraphs with much loving description of how sensual, hot, and/or angsty it all is. And then you're like still yes good, but also "Oh! I get it now! The vampire plot is an excuse; the author has a biting kink!"

In a stunning show of 'start as you mean to go on', here's the first time we see adult Sam. He's shrouded in shadow behind a bright, idyllic picture of his military father and his dead mother, asking a loved one--who will soon die in an act that both is and is not his fault--if he has to do something he doesn't want to. It's spn, so of course the answer is yes, he has to.

And here's the first tasty vampire bite. The ghost is exacting punishment on men who have been unfaithful. Sam never has, so she sexually assaults him, and now, on a technicality, he can be punished because he's guilty of something he never did.

There's no way to make logical sense of this. On it's face, it's just plain stupid. Even on a thematic level, it struggles. She's afraid to go home, so is she Sam? She murdered her two children because of grief and anger. Is she John? She's wearing a white nightgown or slip or whatever. Is she Mary?

Is Sam thematically vulnerable because by going to Stanford, he's been unfaithful to John and Dean? Because by going back to monster hunting, he's being unfaithful to his commitment to have a normal life with Jess? Or is there nothing under the technicality that the monster about to kill him is able to do so because she kissed him against his will first? There's no real answer ever given. The justification for the inclusion of the sexualized violence seems to be merely that it's hot. In either the DVD commentary or on Supernatural Then and Now, I forget which, someone even comments that while they were filming the scene, everyone was jealous of Jared because he "got to" have the hot actor playing the ghost on his lap nuzzling up to him. And if I had a nickle for every iteration of this kind of weirdness over the following 15 years, I'd have way, way, way more than two nickles.

I don't want to make it about ships here, because I think the ship aspect is peripheral. It's not, I think, about kink between any two specific characters but between the creators and the viewers. The creators find a bunch of kinky power play hot or compelling or idek what, and expect us all to feel the same about it too. There are a bazillion kinds of kink of course, but a very popular one involves two or more people engaging in a stylized roleplay of transgression and punishment for the purpose of getting them off, and spn enacts that specific roleplay so many times it's just not credible to me that they are doing it purely for plot reasons.

Kind of gay to transgress so badly two men have to lock you in the basement to be pretend crucified, handcuffed to a cot, and then pretend tortured by yet another different man.

Kind of gay to have something so wrong with you that a man has to tie you up and order a third man to stick a belt between your teeth to muffle your screams while he fists you.

Kind of gay to have something so wrong with you, you have to be locked in a basement, handcuffed to a cot, have a man direct another man to presumably fist you while a third man watches and you scream and beg for--wait a minute haven't we done this all before??

Kind of gay to have something so wrong with you, you have to get double penetrated by two men at the direction of a third man with the assistance of a fourth man while-- Anyway, y'all get the point. This is way too much BDSM to be just about the plot.

And it's not just Sam. Dean gets forced to be the reluctant punisher even more often than Sam gets forced to be the punish-ee. And Cas may get tortured less often than Sam does but I think he probably gets humiliated more.

Despite the overlay of sexualized violence--and oh holy hell is there ever a lot of that overlay--I don't mean to imply that by "kink" or "getting off" I necessarily mean sexually though. There are a lot of nonsexual elements to kink that are equally, or sometimes more, important than just getting laid in a complicated, ritualized fashion. Often it's about comfort, safety, surrender, catharsis, intimacy, or other intense emotions that are too frightening, taboo, or embarrassing to experience in everyday life.

The term "Final Girl" has taken on a lot of other nuances since Carol Clover coined it in 1992, but originally it was used as an analysis of how men use the female protagonist in slasher flicks to experience emotions like fear and vulnerability that--because of toxic masculinity--they can't allow themselves to experience either in real life or even at the remove of a male hero in fiction. Spn, I think, is a very Men Who are Final Girls who are Still Men kind of show. There's so much crying, so much vulnerability, so much terror and loss of power, and so many heartfelt conversations about topics that most men will never broach IRL unless they're lucky enough to have a woman partner who will pull it out of them or maybe a sufficiently sympathetic nurse at their bedside while they're literally dying. It's this that I mean when I say it's about kink rather than whatever bullshit ethical dilemmas tptb are claiming they're concentrating on that season.

The sastiel-directed-by-Dean example above is my favorite for being the most overtly and unnecessarily sexualized (why does detecting the presence of a soul involve fisting?? what is the belt for; they usually just go ahead and grunt or moan or scream?? why the detail that Sam could've got up and left the whole time??), but here, straight from the pen of eventual showrunner Andrew Dabb, is my favorite for total divorce from making a lick of sense.

Kinda gay to shoot your load at another man during a fight over who gets to eat the foot long wiener.

[kirasworldofwords]

Hülkenrez + 57? 🫶

They are so dear to me, do you know that- I adore them- 🥺🥺🥺

Prompt 57: Accidental hand-holding

It just so happened that Nico showed up at the same workout place Sergio visited with his trainer. As soon as their eyes met, both of them looked at each other in surprise before they acknowledged the other in resignation, yet also whilst smiling lightly.

It wasn't like they hated each other - yet they also couldn't say they were the best of friends, either. They were, well... acquaintances. That was one way to put it.

Although both of them individually and silently wished they were more.

At some point during the day, Nico and Sergio happened to work out next to each other, one on the treadmill while the other did planks on a mat.

Nico breathed evenly with closed eyes as he planked, concentration deeply settled on his face as he listened to both his own as well as Sergio's much harsher breathing.

He wondered what the younger Mexican looked like on the treadmill - and one look couldn't hurt, right?

Thus, he looked up at Sergio through his peripheral view, disregarding his burning face as he tried to catch as much of Sergio as he could. He looked... good, he couldn't lie. All sweaty and exhausted, sure, but Nico was no better off either. The typical workout look really suited the Red Bull driver.

The timer Martin set for him soon went off, informing Nico that time was up and he was allowed to get back up onto his feet - the German sighed deeply in gratitude and thankfulness. At the same time, another timer went off, informing Sergio that he, too, was done with his workout on the treadmill. The Mexican stopped pushing the pedals and leaned back whilst closing his eyes, breathing unevenly and wiping the sweat from his forehead with the towel he had around his neck.

Both of them soon sat down on the bench, taking a moment to breathe, as Martin and Xavi engaged in light conversation, chuckling about some things neither driver had an interest in, if they were being honest. Between them, their water bottles stood, side by side, and both men reached for their respective bottle at the same time without looking - which caused their hands to brush together when Nico missed and reached into nothingness instead.

Both the Red Bull driver as well as the Haas pilot felt the proverbial spark flying then, their hands both shooting back as they stared at each other in shock after letting out noises of surprise each. Both of them blushed deeply, their eyes wide and hearts suddenly racing in their chests again - frankly, it made at least Nico feel like a teenager all over again.

Now those were some times.

Sergio laughed slightly uncomfortably after a few moments of silence as he finally took his water bottle.

"That was... surprising."

Nico finally managed to catch himself as well and chuckled awkwardly, looking down at the ground as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah. Uhh... sorry. About that, I mean."

But the younger pilot simply shook his head with a smile.

"No no, don't be! It happens all the time, no need to feel bad."

The German acknowledged this with a gentle nod and smile of thankfulness, both of them once more sitting in silence as they sipped on their water, throwing glances at each other here or there and blushing when the other caught the former.

After some back and forth of this, Nico cleared his throat and looked away, the cogwheels in his brain turning vigorously.

"Hey, say, uhm... Do you, well... Do you have time for lunch tomorrow? My treat."

Sergio stopped in his tracks and directly looked at Nico, eyes wide in surprise once again.

"Wait, are you asking me out on a date?"

He secretly loved how uncommonly shy Nico suddenly became at his question, how he sank into himself and tried to make himself look as small as possible.

"Uhh, well... Not if you don't want it to be one..."

The Mexican chuckled and scooted his hand closer towards Nico's, this time with clear intent.

"Oh, I don't mind at all if it's a date. Where do you want to go for lunch? I'm down for anything, honestly."

Something in Nico's chest bloomed right then and there, and it made him smile brightly.

"Oh wow, really? I mean great, yeah! See, there's this new place that opened up just recently, it's not far from here..."

Neither of them noticed their trainers watching them yap away happily with each other, Xavi's eyes quickly catching on to Sergio's hand on top of Nico's, a smile landing on his lips.

"Ah, finally, man. I was wondering when he'd get the courage, if at all."

Martin giggled softly in response and nodded with crossed arms.

"Same, honestly. I'm just glad Nico's happy, mate."

[batsplat]

what did you think of pecco accusing alex of crashing him out on purpose and once again reigniting the vr46 vs marquez feud

oooh boy anon. I've existed peripherally on various motogp-related social media platforms for quite a few years now without giving my immediate hot takes to various controversies, including and most importantly the rossi/marquez ones, and I'm not entirely sure I want to change that policy now

look, I'm mainly happy pecco seems more or less all right, because that was a really really scary crash and pecco spent much of the weekend flirting with serious injury. a lot of it was far too reminiscent of catalunya last year for my liking, and sometimes it's just worth remembering that riders are human beings who do get scared too. I'll keep my initial reaction to the incident as well as where I'm at now to myself. primarily since it's one of those incidents where my view has changed quite a few times after seeing it again, seeing different angles, seeing and listening to various opinions on it - which to me shows I don't have the tools to assess what 'really' happened (if anyone does). I'm not willing to take a firm stance on it, though I'd be interested to hear what various involved parties say at misano

all that being said, at the end of the day I just... don't massively mind what pecco said. riders accusing each other of playing dirty in crashes is something that existed before argentina 2018, it is something that will exist after this feud has run its course (aka once the concept of italy has finally been abolished). sometimes riders do invite contact without literally wanting to kill each other because it's a specific response to a specific racing situation. these debates are nothing new. I do get releasing a statement saying that crashing someone out deliberately isn't part of the dna of the sport but also, like, dorna's safety adviser infamously did that shit. so, y'know. it wasn't a nice thing of pecco to say, it probably wasn't all that smart - but this is also simply what happens sometimes when you put a mic in front of a rider who has just had an awful, at times terrifying day and has been knocked around a few too many times at frighteningly high velocities. it's even something non-italians have been known to do on occasion. I take more issue with the immediate vitriol of fan responses, but that does feel kinda unavoidable at this point. obviously, pecco is aware of who he is and of who alex marquez is - you see an incident sometimes and know the discourse will be 'bad', but I didn't clock immediately quite how bad it would be and pecco does ultimately share some responsibility for that. which is an interesting choice to make, one I'm still thinking my way through

at the end of the day, however, I would prefer to watch a version of the sport where riders sometimes say some wildly controversial shit about each other. it'd be nice if everyone didn't immediately lose their minds and quite a few of their morals too in response to those statements, but it does mean I'm not all that interested in condemning any riders for this kind of thing. I'm not interested in condemning anyone in general, that's just not really how I engage with sports. I'm interested in how this plays out from here - but it has reminded me personally of how I don't actually get a whole lot from interacting with social media fanbases in this sport, and it's time to make use of my rather stricter curation policy from circa... oh, I don't know, maybe 2018. which I have done! and was already increasingly enacting before this weekend. I don't want my enjoyment of the sport - including engaging with controversies like this, once the dust has settled and it's clear neither rider is 'seriously injured' (for a given meaning of those words) - to be tainted by already preemptively fearing the tone in which people will discuss a certain incident. sometimes you do just have to make the call for yourself to... make yourself unaware of the discourse from fans, to take the sport on its own terms. I'm interested in seeing how this situation develops and I'm interested in what it says about pecco, that's it really

oh, reading through the ask again - about the feud, I don't really have a take about that yet either beyond 'huh' and 'wonder how that'll play out'. the extent to which pecco (and his fellow academy members) engages or refuses to engage with that feud has always been fascinating to me, the feud's transitive properties are obviously crazy and ever so intriguing - but I won't have any takes on that until I see what tone he strikes when he's not just been dragged along under a bike at a high speed (even if he doubles down on his comments! which I'm guessing he will). also, it is always kinda funny when the sport has awful timing. it is kinda funny they're going to misano next for like a month

[sehodreams]

plus-size reader & (riize) mmbr are a business marriage. Reader's family is a hospital conglomerate, and mmbr's family is a pharmaceutical conglomerate. It's an obvious pairing for the prosperity of both families. reader & mmbr have never been intimate. mmbr regularly engages in one night stands, while the reader settles for vibrators. at some rich people gala, reader catches mmbr eyeing whom he's gonna take home for the night. she's used to this, but she's not used to how fucking obvious he's being. he's not even making an effort to legitimise their marriage. the reader makes a scene of wanting to go home, essentially denying her "husband" from securing a one night stand. the limo ride home is ice cold, silent except for the occasional sound of knuckles clenching in barely restrained rage. at home, the reader goes straight to the kitchen to pour herself an XL glass of sauvignon. As she's about to take a desperate sip, she sees her "husband" by her peripheral. Her hand moves too fast for her brain as it launches the sauvignon at the face offending her.

OMGG I LOVE IT AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Tw: cheating, words that could be sensitive about body image

In my mind I can already see Sungchan as the husband, I mean, Eunseok is also a good option but I don't think he'd be into one night stands, he prefers to have just one lover and to pamper her like a princess, showing you how much she was loved instead of you.

But oh god, I can totally see Sungchan looking around the room at your side, you looking at him embarrassed because he's so obvious that anyone near enough could see what was happening. When you saw a few recognized faces look over you both, you couldn't let yourself be seeing with Sungchan in that situation, those people would laugh at you at your expenses, something you couldn't tolerate, so you had no option but to pretend to be unwell, everyone looks at you worried and Sungchan has no option than to call your limo to take you both home, he can't let you go alone because everyone would interrogate him. Not giving him time enough to go and talk with who could've been his lover that night, you leave the place together.

In the limo there's a tense silence, you're looking at the window, disappointed in yourself for living a life like that all because of your family. He, on the other hand, furious because you ruined his night plans.

You had never been on friendly terms, he hates you because he was forced to marry you and you hate him because he was an asshole with you all the time, telling you how unmatched you looked, and judging everything you wore because you had your own sense of sexy and elegant style, saying it was ridiculous for you to try to look good when your body would never be it.

When the kitchen situation happened you both were first shocked, not expecting it from any of you, but then you were both mad, angry with each other and your lives. You disrupted his whole life, and he made you feel like you were the worst curse anyone could've ever received.

You were there, standing and looking at each other for a second, fuming, and when you recovered your senses again he had you sitting in the kitchen marble already, between your legs, kissing you with a fury you had never felt before, bitting your lips and molding your large tits over your strapless dress. Then, when you told him that you didn't want to be one of his many girls, he pulled down the top of your dress, showing your hard nipples and your full chest. He grabbed your chin with one hand, making you look at him in the eyes, and said, "That's not for you to decide, you're my wife, and you have duties to fulfill"

[faeriekit]

Faer i would love to know more about the event about fan ostracization from mainstream comic culture??? Do you have any like, panelist names or details or anything?

OkAY I found the program online because the paper thing they gave me for the programming sucked severely!!

It was a thursday panel, which meant pros/educator oriented (Thu, Oct 12, 2023 • 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM). The title was "Geekspaces Assemble! Safe Spaces for our Marginalized Communities". Clicking the link will give you all the details, but the panelists were (Left to right) an owner of a queer/female friendly comics store in Portland, a letterer who's been in prominent aspects of the comics industry for fifty years, a...business entrepreneur (maybe also she was an illustrator?) and Jubilee fan, and an Author/Illustrator who spent a good chunk of his childhood in Puerto Rico. The panel consisted of three women (which, for comics, seems rare as hell), one queer women, two women of color, and a gentleman of color who grew up outside of America.

The only reason I am not putting their names down is that I am Suspicious one name might be wrong and I cannot verify it because they did not link their professional contact information to their NYCC guest pages haha. Their identifying info give on the page is still present.

To summarize the bits I remember, everyone involved gave a rundown on how hostile comics culture and the outside point of view on comics culture was to their efforts to actually enjoy their hobby. The woman in the industry spoke on how hard it was to actually get her voice and interests heard, and how the need to make a safe space for women and people of color helps keep the peace. The business woman spoke on representation and how it affected her growing up, and how when there isn't anything to look up to, we sort of have to make our own role models and characters to lean into, and having a space space to create helps us do that. The man had an interesting perspective on how comics were a huge hobby of his growing up, but when the Simpsons made it to Puerto Rico, the Comic Book Guy made it so that other people looked down on him for engaging in something that seemed so snooty and unpleasant on the show. The bookshop owner talked about how it was not only super vital for her main audience, queer people and women, to have a space safe enough where they could explore comics how they wanted to, but that she heard testimonials after she opened that the main cishet white male audience of comics loved and appreciated her shop as a safe space too, because it was a place where they didn't feel the need to perform in order to engage with their hobby as they had to in the quintessential shops that were so popular at the time.

Everyone was well spoken and brought up great points about how the experience for enjoying comics is so different when you're queer, not a man, or white— something I have absolutely noticed from spending time even peripherally watching the dc fandom here on tumblr and on ao3. Having a place where you can express your interpretations and experiences with your hobby without fear of reprisal or attack makes all the difference. Comics are very often not written for us. Based on their age, comics written about us may be lacking, at the very least, or outright harmful at the very worst. Reading certain DC lore gives me psychic damage. If we want to make comics a fun, welcoming space (and I know that's not every comic fan's goal), we have to make and protect our own spaces from outside prejudice.

Overall, it was a great panel, I loved it, and I really wish it hadn't been at 10:30 in the morning because half the intended audience (and a panelist!) was still trying to get into the building by the time it hit 10:30! It also reinforced my need to make the graphic experience in the library better integrated with the younger kids, because I don't want them to think that comics aren't for them if the first experience they have is people being weird and rude when they get into it as teens. I know that the panelists are from at least one if not more generations above me, and that the landscape has expanded and changed since then, but I find the fundamental base of the talk very true, and find it even more prudent that they speak, because their work built the foundations we're trying to build up on right now— with graphic memoirs, with indie comics, with irl geekspace occupancy, with ao3 and tumblr gossip and interaction.

Anyway, occupy your local comics shop. If they suck, get on facebook, network, and see where all the weirdos like you collect.

[seat-safety-switch]

When they started automating my job, and fired all my coworkers, and replaced those coworkers with robots, I didn’t complain. I said, “good idea, boss,” and bit my lip until it bled. That’s how I got promoted. Now I manage an entire division of robots, which is honestly a pretty sweet gig. Lately, though, my relationship with my android coworkers has deteriorated.

Normally, my job consists of showing up sometime around noon, marking all the emails in my inbox as “read,” and then leaving a half hour later. Sometimes, during the silly season, I’ll have to oil one of their joints, or open them up and re-seat a peripheral interface card that’s wobbled loose out of the socket. That doesn’t happen very often, even though these suckers work 24/7 without pay. Anything bigger, the repair robots come and cart away my stressed-out subordinate, never to be seen again, immediately replaced by a new one with a fresh coat of paint and a younger serial number.

Unfortunately, it turns out that those bigwigs at the United Nations figured out that this level of dehumanization and separation from the consequences of my work does something bad to my brain. In fact, it does the exact same thing that it did to my boss when he had a bunch of human subordinates: it turned me into a sociopath. I began running red lights, throwing lit cigarettes at orphanages, and making fun of the elderly for not being smart enough to get a gang of robots to do their work for them. Don’t worry, though, the super-geniuses figured out a way to bring me back to Earth: they decided that it would now be law for the robots I manage to have individual little personalities. Now, I’d feel bad when one of them broke, and the experience of caring for another sentient thing would, in theory, make me less of an asshole.

It only half-worked. See, the thing I liked most about this brave new world of post-human work is that the robots never dropped by my cube to shit-talk about a reality TV show I hadn’t seen. Or make me sign a birthday card for another robot. Or ask me what I thought the weather would be like later today. Sure, they also didn’t engage in ribald office drama culminating in emotional breakdowns around Valentines’ Day, or get mad enough about parking restrictions to storm into the office and kick a four-colour plotter. All of this messy human bullshit was kept to where I preferred it: in my personal life. Now, all that was going to change.

“So, what do you think about the Yankees this year?” asked a robot. A blinking OLED screen on his(?) chest indicated that he was now in “COMFORT MODE” and would not leave until I answered the inquiry and filled up the little socialization meter. I’d have to put up with this bullshit for the rest of my working career, or at least until I figured out how to make a more lifelike, human-like android to replace myself. All I’d have to do is stop by that orphanage on my way home, and see if they had any leftover human skin they weren’t needing.

[navree]

tbh, i have the sneaking suspicion that emma d'arcy dislikes daemyra just as much as sara hess might. like, this isn't shade, but you can clearly see the difference in chemistry that milly and matt had compared to emma and matt. it doesn't help that s2 is at the part of the dance where their characters are separated for quite a while. the last engaging scene they had together was when they were arguing in 2.02 after blood and cheese. so, yeah it doesn't feel like much of the 🔥🔥🔥 is there for daemyra in the show after the actor change for rhaenyra.

Emma didn't describe the show as "too many men" for no reason, lol.

In all seriousness, I'm sure Emma and Matt are as friendly in real life as they appear to be in promotional material, there's been nothing to suggest otherwise, but the chemistry absolutely does not hit with them as a married couple. Part of it is that, yeah, they don't really spend a lot of time together (they barely had one on one scenes dedicated to their relationship in season 1, let alone in season 2 when they were on opposite sides of the country the whole time), whereas Milly and Matt's Daemyra had a lot of one on one scenes. I think another thing is that Milly and Emma are portraying Rhaenyra at vastly different stages of her life. Milly is playing a young Rhaenyra who sees Daemon as a challenge, a kind of dragon to conquer, she actively pursues time with him, she wants him very badly and that factors a lot into how she behaves around him and what she does when in his vicinity. Rhaenyra by the time of the change to Emma is a lot more settled. She is not actively pursuing Daemon at all, she's got a family and a lover of her own when we first see her, and after the second time jump her energy is devoted mostly to her own internal issues around the succession and, as always, her tumultuous relationship with Alicent (rhaenicent supremacy). This version of Rhaenyra is a lot less driven by Daemon when around Daemon, she's just doing her own thing and Daemon happens to be there. Some of it might also be some problems caused by the out of sync filming schedule, I think episode 7 is the first episode the show ever filmed (considering the first official pics we got were clearly done during ep 7), so the episode about Daemyra's reunion and their passion reaching its zenith and culminating in consummation is the first time these actors have actually played these characters, the first time Emma's even worked on a production on this scale given that their career up until that point. So that kind of early awkwardness and unsurety really permeates the whole relationship in that episode, which is why that sex scene is the most passionless thing HBO ever put to film.

Daemyra also really isn't a focus for the show in general and specifically Emma's portrayal of Rhaenyra. In meta material like behind the scenes talks or interviews, Emma really focuses a lot on two things: Rhaenyra's interiority and her relationship with Alicent. Focusing on the relationship with Alicent makes sense, the show focuses on the Rhaenicent relationship too and it's been obvious since the beginning that it's the driving force, the beating heart, of the entire enterprise (which is why I don't get people who are still upset about that when we're more than halfway through, you weren't bamboozled, they've been honest with you about what they're doing from the getgo, if you ignored that it's on you). So it makes sense that Emma's performance focuses on that as well, just as Olivia's performance also focuses on how Alicent relates to Rhaenyra in turn. But Emma also focuses their performance on a lot of things like Rhaenyra's views on other, more peripheral people (they had this wonderful quote after ep 10 about Rhaenyra sublimating Otto into a fatherly acceptance role and a bunch of stuff around the bridge scene and Rhaenyra's wants and it was so good, I wish I still had it), and also internal things, like Rhaenyra's desires, her now canonical queerness, and gender, which the show doesn't focus on a lot but it should because their insights are always so fascinating. So between the actor not really focusing on Daemyra as a driving force while they're acting, and the show not really doing much with Daemyra after they get married because why would it and thus making it periphery, the lack of sparks makes absolute sense, and is why I periodically forget that these two actually are married and Daemon isn't just some random pedophile squatting in Rhaenyra's house.

Closest to interesting Daemyra even got was the whole "Daemon has very complex feelings about Viserys and his pursuit of Rhaenyra is partly through the lens of viewing her as a Viserys proxy" thing, but that's it.