#male lead commissioner

[vsimp]

he catches you writing smut (18+)

pairing: Kamisato Ayato x F!Reader

genre: smut

wc: 2.6k

kink warning: a line or two about panty sniffing lol

There was a pretty popular erotic novel currently published by the Yae Publishing House. Hundreds of copies so far have been sold in Inazuma. It was released by an anonymous author, a story telling the tale between a CEO and his secretary. Although the people weren’t too familiar with the concept of a corporation, people really did enjoy the little power dynamic between a dominant CEO and his submissive secretary. Smut had recently grown popular in Teyvat, and this erotic novel was the current driving force of it all.

Little did they know that you were the author, the current lady of the Kamisato Clan, and the Yashiro Commissioner's wife. You had based the male lead off of your own husband. Surely if you revealed your identity, the whole of Inazuma would be in uproar and you would soil the Kamisato Clan’s name. That was why it was your own dirty little secret, the fact that you were writing erotic fiction based on you and your husband, a little secret that only you and Yae Miko know.

What you didn’t expect was for the novel to reach the insides of the Estate. Housekeepers were gushing about it during their breaks, retainers were talking about how their partners wanted to try these different positions from the novel… You couldn’t help but be mortified, yet flattered, that so many people enjoyed your dirty novel.

It wasn’t until the news had reached your husband’s ears did you really, really get in trouble.

Kamisato Ayato called his wife to his study after a long day of duties for the both of them. Usually, he would invite her to tea if they had the time to talk about what they had for plans during the week.

You took a sip of your tea, relishing in the nice silence after a bustling day and the warmth that the tea brought.

“There’s this novel that has been the talk of the town lately,” Ayato said and you did everything you could not to choke on your tea.

“Ah, I heard the staff speaking about it this week. My, I wonder what had caught their attention like so…” You replied as casually as you could.

“Mm.” He replied briefly and took something out of his jacket. You tried not to tense up as you recognized the familiar pink book cover, of course graced with the illustration of the main couple that suspiciously had the same hair color as you and Ayato. “Ah, yes, let me read the title out loud. ‘The Nightly Trysts of Hayato and his Lover.’ Hm, a strange title indeed. This ‘Hayato’ character has a similar name and appearance to mine.”

You wanted to cringe at the entire name. Guuji Yae was the one who suggested such an embarrassing title. She said it would attract a more mature audience who enjoyed that sort of fantasy. Ayato maintained his relaxed smile despite reading all of that, and you didn’t like it one bit. It meant he was currently hiding something he knew, and you were too scared to delve into what exactly that was.

“Ah…” You had to keep your calm, even though you wanted to scream into your own pillow right now. If you showed any sort of discomfort or anxiety, your husband would recognize it right away. After all, nothing came past your husband with that sharp mind of his. “Perhaps it’s just a coincidence?”

“Hm, maybe so. Shall I read the summary?”

No. Please, archons, no.

He continued anyway, despite your inner thoughts pleading him not to. He read off the summary on the back of the book with his same laxed voice, detailing a CEO who was currently smitten by his secretary, who starts to avoid him at all costs once she sees him half naked on a business trip. The CEO, frustrated, chased after the secretary and had an erotic time with her in his office.

“It sounds interesting,” you forced a smile on your face.

“Doesn’t it? I started to skim through it whenever I had time off during the day.”

“Oh?” You wanted to cry at this point, a wide smile plastered on your face. He’s noticed. He’s definitely noticed. “Do you like it so far…?”

“It’s surely an interesting read. This male lead named Hayato… The way the author describes him, with light blue hair and light blue eyes and a small mole on his left lower lip…” Ayato’s smile remained the same, although the corner of his eyes crinkle a bit, indicating a more mischievous look. “He sure does sound like me.”

“Haha…” You let out a forced laugh. “Maybe someone is a fan of your appearance.”

“It appears so.” He flipped through the pages casually. “Such a detailed little novel. This author sure does have a penchant for writing erotic scenes.”

“They must be passionate about their work.” You felt like your smile could break your face at this point.

“Mm… The female lead sounds quite familiar as well. Her name is similar to yours.”

“I-is it?”

“Indeed. The same eye and hair color too.”

“Wow. What a huge coincidence!”

He chuckles softly. “My dear, there’s no need to play dumb anymore.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Your voice wavered a bit, but you were committed to it.

“You’re going to keep playing this game? Very well then.” He stood up and took your hand.

“A-Ayato?”

With one fellow swoop, he helped you to stand up. Before you knew it, he led you over to your bedroom, locking the door behind him and guided you to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Let me read out an excerpt I found interesting,” Ayato stated as he looked at the book, although he made small glances at you too while reading. “He pins her down to the bed and kisses her passionately. His blue and white sheets were softer than anything she’s ever felt, but that thought was soon taken away by the force of his lips upon her.” His usually relaxed smile soon morphed into a smirk. “My, I didn’t realize you were such a big fan of our blue and white sheets.”

Without a doubt, the bedsheets in the room you shared had always been blue and white for the last few years. Suddenly, he pinned you down against the sheet, his hand pushing your shoulder gently so you rested back against the bed, just as he had read from the book. And then he simply leaned down to kiss you, his soft lips meshing with yours as you felt yourself melt in his embrace. Your lips came together gently, although there was a playful bounce to his kisses that you did not expect, and soon, his tongue ended up pushing against yours.

He chuckled after he parted away from you, leaving you panting and breathless from the makeout session. “Cat got your tongue, my dear? Or will you finally admit the truth?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Your cheeks grew hotter as he tried to corner you into admitting that you were the author.

“Mm… Sure, you don’t.” His lips made their way to kiss your neck, his tongue hot as he bit and sucked on the skin there. “Did you really feel that lonely that you had to write erotica off of our experiences? Have I not shown you enough attention lately?”

“D-Don’t say that…!” Your voice grew weaker as he teased you, your resolve slowly crumbling the more he kissed you. “You know that’s not the case…!”

“Hehe,” he let out another small chuckle. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered. Tell me, y/n, do you just like our experiences so much that you put it into a novel?”

You gasped as his hands went under your robe, undoing your clothes and caressing your breast through your undergarments. His fingers tease your nipples through your bra, pinching the sensitive bud and flicking it around. You let out small whimpers from the teasing.

“Shall I reenact one of the scenes I was particularly fond of?”

“Please no…” you begged. 

“Why not?”

“I-it’s embarrassing.”

“I think it’s endearing that my lovely wife has such vivid fantasies.” He smiled down at you and then started to strip you naked of your clothes. “I could drown in the beauty of your body, my love.” He repeated a line from the novel as he kissed down your neck to your chest.

You let out soft pants as he unraveled your body, his eyes raking every inch as if he hadn’t memorized it all already. He gave your breasts another squeeze, pinching the bare nipple before he slowly dragged it down your rib cage to your lower abdomen before resting right in front of your aching core. It just sat there, his palm digging into your mound as your hips buckled, wanting more and more stimulation.

“Patience, love…” Ayato gave you a calculating smirk as he picked up the book once again and flipped to a bookmarked page. He read off another excerpt. “He buried his face into her pussy, panties on, sniffing and tasting her neediness that drenched through the soft fabric.” Ayato took a finger and ran it gently along your slit, and you did everything you could not to beg him for more despite your legs trembling slightly from anticipation. “My, I didn’t realize my wife had such fantasies about her panties like this. Such a pervert, wanting me to sniff her precious flower like a deranged animal .”

“Mm… n-no, t-that’s not true…” you tried to deny, but your flushed body and face were saying otherwise. 

“Such a lewd expression,” he chuckled and crawled down, taking a sniff of your core straight through your underwear. “You smell delightful,” his voice deepened, almost guttural, as his tongue dipped to languidly lick at your clit. 

You let out a soft cry, which was like music to his ears. Ayato wanted to laugh in amusement, his own mind twisting into pure sadistic pleasure. Who would’ve known that his own wife would be such a naughty little thing? He savored her taste, enjoying the way she writhed beneath him. With one fluid motion, he pulled her underwear off and sucked at her wet core, kissing and slurping all of her love juices. 

Your mind was all fuzzy as pleasure filled your lower region. Your legs wrapped around his head, hips buckling as he ate you out, dipping his tongue into your pussy as deep as he could before taking it out to swirl around your clit. It reminded you of the scene you wrote in the book, and you wonder how committed he was going to be to the scene.

Nevertheless, it seemed like he was going to tease you nonstop until you finally admit that you were the author.

He then pushed a finger into you, stretching out your walls and he admired the way your walls tensed around his digit, how your moans grew louder and louder. One, and then two, he started to pump his fingers, curling them to hit the spot you liked the most whilst his tongue continued flicking against your clit. Your hands made its way to his soft blue hair, and it wasn’t long before you came all over his fingers and lips. 

You panted as he took himself out of you, your eyes watching as he licked your juices off his fingers before he positioned his waist in between your legs.

“Are you ready, princess?” His hands undid his pants, taking out his cock as he rubbed the length against your sensitive slit. You just came, after all, so he was getting well lubricated with your juices.

You whined a bit as you needily stuck your arms out, and Ayato chuckled as he bent down to meet your lips. Your arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. He kissed you deeply and a bit more rough this time as you felt his cock grinding against your wet, warm pussy. He wanted you so bad, but he also wanted to stay committed to his teasing.

“Mm… Ayato, put it in already…” You scolded him as he continued to grind against you, occasionally slapping the tip of his rock hard cock gently against your clit. 

“I don’t think so…” He said after pulling away from your tongue, smirking down at you. He hissed a bit as he continued to rub his length up and down, his other hand making its way to squeeze your breast. “Not until you admit it.”

“Are you seriously still on that?!” You moaned in frustration, wiggling your hips in hopes that he’d just put it inside and fuck you relentlessly to dull the growing ache in your lower abdomen.

“Well, we are following the scene in the novel to the tea. I just want to confirm that you are truly one of the main characters.”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You were so horny for anything that you didn’t care at this point.

“Fine! Fine, yes, I admit it. I wrote the book. Now hurry up!”

Your husband leaned forward, placing a hand beside your head to hold himself up as his other hand started to push his cock in just a bit.

“Hehe, so demanding.” You gasped as he pushed his entire length in you. “And yet, you’re such a good girl.”

His hips slammed into yours, his lips kissing and sucking the skin of your neck. You could only grip him tightly as he fucked you deeply and thoroughly with the only goal to draw out your sweet moans that he loved hearing so much. He grunted as he felt you squeeze around him, taking you over and over until you were crying out his name.

His lips slammed back onto yours, exploring your mouth as his cock pushed in and out. He wanted to leave you as a sputtering mess, until you can’t think of anything else but him and his long, aching hard member.

“You’re such a dirty girl, writing those lewd scenes about us.” He muttered in your ear, hissing as he felt you tightening every time he uttered some dirty words. “Is that your fantasy? Me fucking you hard in my office with my employees outside?” He chuckled as you were too caught up in pleasure to respond. “Hm? Or do you just like the idea of me fucking you wildly out in the open?”

He pushed your legs as far up as he could and he continued to slam down into you.

“Shit…” He cursed, so unlike his normally composed self. You were the only person in this world who could unravel him completely. You, and you alone. “You feel so good, princess…”

The sound of his skin slapping yours filled the room, coupled with your moans and his quiet grunts. He slid in and out of you with ease at this point, stretching you whole. He watched your breasts bounce to his movements and he didn't hesitate to squeeze and play with them as he wished.

He fucked you in different positions, bending you over the bed, on your side with your foot high up in the air and leg over his shoulder. He couldn’t get enough of you, making you cum over and over again before sputtering his own seed deep into your walls, enjoying how you clench and convulse from his cock alone.

“Mm…” He hummed as he kissed your shoulder tenderly, his cock still deep inside you as he finished cumming, drawing out small thrusts as he got the final load out. He could drown in the sound of your moans, and suddenly, he understood the appeal of your erotic novel.

Ayato took himself out of you before collapsing next to you, holding you closely in his arms. He kissed your forehead as you both panted from the heavy exertion before he looked at you with that mischievous smile.

“So was that enough for you to write a sequel?”

[toulousewayne]

🌿🍃Toxic Lover: Pt: II

Nightwing X male!reader with a former team who had become Poison Ivy like meta-human.

Summary:Your a former Titan teammate, you and Dick have unresolved feelings and you become infected with the same toxins and chemicals that turned Poison Ivy into a meta-human.

————-

“They Can Bury Us Deep, But We Always Grow.”

Batman sat perched on the rooftops of Gotham. It was a rainy night, much preferred these nights. Most of the crime was kept to the shadows it made it easier for him.

“Batman,we’ve got a problem,”Oracle’s voice filled his coms. “Fill me in.” He jumped off the building and glided north of his location.

——

A man walks outside of the Stacked Deck Bar, and takes a puff from his cigarette. He walks into the alleyway and takes a swig of his flask.

He rounds the corner to see a shadow figure standing before him.

“It’s the freakin’ bat,” he takes out his pistol but it’s knocked out of his grips my a WingDing. The next thing he knows he’s thrown against a nearby dumpster.

“You murderer.” Nightwing snarled at the man before his feet. He kicked him in the stomach, then picked him up and flung him to the other side of the alley.

“L-look I’m sorry about you friend—it’s wasn’t personal.” He’s met with a powerful shock to the gut.

“AHHH-pplease.”

“That’s enough, honey,”A thin cloud of pink and gold mist surrounded the two men, Y/n emerged be held by tree branches pink petals. “It’s good to see you,Nolan wasn’t it. however, the last time we meet you killed me along with your friends.” Y/n grinned. He sported a new pale green skin tone now, his normal (E/C) eyes were a deep emerald. Leaves and vines woven together to map pants and some wrapped around his forearms and torso.

He lowered himself and walked over to Nightwing placing a hand on his emblem. “You know I should really thing you, you allowed me to be a better version of myself,”

“You’re welcome-“Nightwing kicked him in the gut again.

Y/n crossed his arms across his chest. “Though I could have done without the new color. No matter it’s time you answer my questions.” He waved his hand and Nightwing backed away from the goon. Y/n crouched down and blow from his palm, more of the same pink dust engulfed him squared in the face and almost immediately his grimace morphed into a blank stare.

“Now what I want to know two things. What is the name of the scientist that gave you the order to kill me, and last where is Poison Ivy?”

———

The Batmobile came to a screeching haunt behind several police cruisers. He leaped out and walked past the small crowd held back by officers.

A officer lifted a yellow tape and he entered the crime scene. Gordon stood a foot away from two white sheets, Spoiler and Red Robin stood at the bodies scanning them before joining Batman and the Commissioner.

“They two of the best people on the force,” Gordon puffed after taking a drag from his Pipe.

“Any leads?” Batman turned to the two heroes. Red Robin hand him a zip lock bag with several deep green leaves.

“Posion Ivy, she’s been quiet.” Spoiler folded her arms.

Batman walked past them and removed the sheets to observe the bodies. It’s definitely something Ivy could have done but Batman isn’t so sure. He knows that’s she’s been MIA for months.

He rises his head and looks straight ahead. “Gotham Cemetery.” He mumbles. He stands up and walks towards it.

“Is he himself?” Gordon turns to the two who shrug.

—

Batman enters the cemetery and walks past the stone statues. He moves like a black phantom through out the grounds until he stops in front of what was supposed to be a fresh grave. Red Robin and Spoiler approach and stop themselves.

“What happened?” She questions. Vines and purple flowers grown from the grave and have consumed it. The casket is in the heart of the greenery and is split open. And no body inside.

Batman turned to the two, before worry took over his masked features. “Has anyone spoke to Nightwing tonight?”

“Not since the afternoon, he said he was patrolling the East End tonight.” Red Robin replied.

“You think Y/n did this?” Spoiler looked back at the grave and back to Batman who was practically running towards the entrance.

“Alfred I need to find Nightwing he’s not answering his com links.” The Batmobile came to a roaring stop at the cemetery gates and Batman hopped inside before racing down the street.

“I’m afraid I haven’t been able to locate him Sir. His tracker when down two hours ago.” He sighed.

Batman gripped the steering wheel.”Any last know location.”

“Allow me to check,”Alfred typed a few keys before giving him the last location,”Robinson Park Sir, the Botanical Gardens.” The Batmobile raced and roar onto Pioneer Bridge towards the other part of the city.

——

One man stumbles and falls down a few stairs and coughs. As he runs down a hallway into a warehouse.

“Please have Mercy!” He cries as he ducks behind a crate.

“Mercy,I’ll show you mercy.” A voice boomed in the dark room. The man cowered in fear before he flew back from his hiding spot and was carried up fifty feet in the air. He was wrapped in an oversized vine and was being constrained.

Y/n moved into his view ontop of an another vine and smirked. He had his arm resting on his knee and leaned forward towards the man’s face.

“So sad isn’t it. We take for granted the gifts Mother Nature can offer us,” he plucks a maroon flower from his vine that looks between a cross of a tulip and rose. He twirled the flower and looked back at the man. Before smirking.

“So tell me Wilson, where can I find the scientist?” Before the man could reply Y/n blow on the flower and black particles landed on his face. He started to cough and scream in pain.

“He’s meeting the Boss I don’t know who but he’s meeting him Chinatown. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!” He screamed in terror before a massive coughing fit and his limbs go limp.

Y/n lowers himself down and allows the vines to drop the body with a loud crack. Nightwing stood a few feet from where the man landed. He stare at him for a while before Y/n came into his view.

“Where are we going?” Y/n placed a kiss to his cheek. Y/n took his leave with Dick in tow.

“To make one more stop.”

——

Batman crashed through the same skyline Nightwing had to find the place abandoned. He took a look around with a flashlight.

He came to a makeshift bed and found the same leaves Red Robin gave him.

He turned on his scanner and turned the leave over. “Alfred identify and breakdown these leaves basic components.”

“Right away Sir. These two leaves have the same trace amount of pheromones. The scanners indicate they are of a stronger concentration. The combination is similar to the lab where Nightwing and is team were a few nights ago.”

Batman turned and looked at the ground. He found a WingDing and a remnant of a sleep dart. The same Nightwing gauntlet. “Nightwing must of found Y/n and tried to stop him.”

Alfred hummed, “Do you think he killed Master Richard.”

Batman kneeled down a traced his finger to find them covered in a green dust. “Unlikely, what happened to him he still cares for Dick.” He stood up and grappled out of the greenhouse. He glides down to the street and gets back into the Batmobile.

“The attack on Y/n in the lab must of caused a biological shock and rewrite his DNA the same way it did Ivy. But what I can figure out is what’s motivate?” He began to drive before another call rang.

“It’s Ms Gordon I’ll patch her through.” Soon the ringing stopped and Barbara’s voice filled the car.

“Batman we found two bodies.”

“Where?”

“One at the Stacked Deck an hour ago Red Hood is on the scene with Bullock. And another at a warehouse at Dixon Docks,Batgirl is there with Robin now.”

“My word, Sir my analysis is completed. There is another drug mixed in that was scanned at the fire. It’s a drug called Tomgenalixe. It’s a substance used in modern day Hallucinogens and can be used to create mind altering effects.”

“Mind Control.” Batman and Oracle reply.

“So Y/n isn’t just killing people for fun, he’s been controlled too.” Oracle took a deep sigh.

Batman gripped the steering wheel.”We need to find them. Alfred can you track Y/n’s pheromones?”

Alfred typed at the Batcomputer. “Sir his tracking is leading to the Diamond District.”

Batman raced back towards the highway. “Oracle take the components of the drugs and chemicals and synthesize and antitoxin. Have someone bring it to me. Alfred, have Red Robin and Spoiler meet me at my location.”

“Working on it, I’ll have Red Hood and Batgirl pick up the antioxins as soon as it ready.” Oracle signed off.

“Sir, when you arrive what will you do?”

Batman didn’t answer as thunder crashed across the night sky.

“I’m going to save them.”

———-

“Where’s my cut?” The scientist hissed at the man in a chair turned away from him.

The man chuckled. “Your cut, you were supposed to bring me a new drug. You burned your research. I can’t get any of that funding back, and now Lex Luthor has questions about fire you caused.” The man stood before as Black Man rises from his seat and the scientist cowers.

“I’m—“ SMACK

“You little runt, you work for me and you’ll get paid when the fuck I say so.” He snarled. He grabbed a wad of cash from his pocket and threw it at him.

“Now get back and figure out the poison, you still have the plant woman in holding?”

“Yes, she’s secure downstairs.” He took the cash. But before he could leave he was kicked square in the jaw and crumbled to the floor.

Black Mask turns to see Nightwing giving his a death stare. “What brings you here?”

The doors burst open with three of his goons with green glowing eyes and Y/n strolling behind them.

“I’m here for a little payback.” Y/n smirked. He outstretched his arm and vines bursts from the floor and tied up Black Mask.

“You crazy bitch I’ll kill you.” Y/n yawned. “Boys take care of him,” he turned to the scientist. “I think you have someone who doesn’t belong to you, don’t worry I’ll kill you when this over just like I did you henchmen.”

“Boss!” The large man who had did most of the damage to Y/n emerged through another door. Nightwing sprang into action and brutal fought him. It didn’t take long before he hit the ground hard.

Y/n crossed the room and stood over the dazed man.

“Remember it’s nothing personal.” Y/n dropped seeds into his gapped open mouth and vines and flower rapidly grew from his mouth and stomach.

“That’s sick.” Black Mask gagged before getting punch by Nightwing.

Y/n nodded and then two armed guards took Black Mask away. The other waiting for them and Nightwing grabbed the Scientist.

“Let’s go.” He barked. Y/n and the other guard followed him. The arrived in a basement that was like a huge underground bunker.

They ventured until the came to a catwalk and bellow was a cell in center with Ivy unconscious.

“Well it seems you’ve severed your purpose.” Y/n turned to the man that uttered the order to kill him and before he could grab him a Batarang nearly took his hand off.

Batman leaped down and glared at the group.”That’s enough, you’ve taken to many lives tonight I won’t let you take more Y/n. This isn’t you.”

Y/n pursed his lips and brief a chuckle. “What do you know about Y/n?” Batman eyed down below and saw Ivy talking almost as a puppet.

“Ivy, you’ve been controlling him from the start.”

Ivy/Y/n chuckled. “I can’t take all the credit you seen when they turned Y/n into this new and improved version of himself. We form a connection, and the more his powers grew—“

“The greater your control became.” Batman finished. Ivy chuckled in her cell.

“He makes a fine successor, does need some weeding but no matter he’ll do fine to kill you.” Y/n caused two large vines to sprout beside Batman who leaped down and landed on his feet. He cartwheel out the way of a shock from Nightwing.

“I know you can hear me, don’t make me have to put down.” Nightwing smirked,”Come and try.” He lunged at Batman and the two attacked and blocked each others moves.

Red Robin and Spoiler crashed the room and took out the guard and Spoiler went after Y/n to jumped onto a moving vine.

“Y/n snap out of it you’re still in there.” She pleaded. Y/n formed another overgrown plant to seat her away like fly. He caused a giant Venus Flytrap to sprout and it held him in place.

“This will be your tomb.” He laughed wickedly.

——

Black Mask stood ontop of the building with rifles at his head.

“Jump.” One order. He moved his leg out to jump before he heard gunfire and the sounds of punches. He nervously turned to see Red Hood and Batgirl.

“I’m saved—“ he was lassoed by Batgirl who tied him to a pipe. Before following Red Hood into the building.

“Hell let me Go!”

—-

Nightwing kicked Batman in the chest sending him stumbling.

Red Robin back flipped out the way of a vine nearly crushing him.

“Give up.” Ivy hissed.

Red Hood and Batgirl arrived. Batgirl grabbed a vine and began to run up it to Y/n and Red Hood leaped down and fired a few rounds at Nightwing which distracted him long enough for Batman to land a punch.

He stagger and when to fight him some more giving Red Hood the chance to fire a dart the hit Nightwing in the neck. He growled before he slowly turned and fell into Batman’s arms going limp.

Batgirl managed to get a clear shot and injected Y/n with large dose. He felt tired fell onto the catwalk, Red Robin check on him before injecting an orange liquid into Y/n arm.

“This will break the connection to Ivy.”

Ivy screamed in pain like a part of her had been stabbed. “You’re going to Arkham.” Batman stood before her and she was about to shout before green mist filled her cell and she collapsed.

“Hey Oracle whip up something for her too.” Batgirl chimed in.

Batman grinned and turned to Nightwing and sighed.

———-

Y/n felt like everything that happened was a fever dream. Killing them men that assaulted him, rising from the dead like an uprooted carrot and his finale fight with the Batfamily.

He sat up with an instant migraine. He rubbed his temples from the bright lights and turned to the side to see a shadow.

“Where am I?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy.

“You’re in Arkham.” Batman sighed and came into the light of the cell.

Y/n took in his surroundings and it was in a cell in Arkham. He was also in hospital gown with a collar around his neck.

“So I’m in jail?” He raised a brow the Dark Knight. Batman took a stance at the foot of the bed.

“Not exactly, what do you remember?” His voice was full of concern and worry. Not the same voice typical of Batman.

Y/n rubbed his temples for a brief movement. “I remember the taxi driver…I vaguely remember two officers and then everything went black. Did I hurt them?”

“They’re dead. Poison Ivy took control over your mind after you transition into a meta-human.”

Y/n felt all the air suck of his lungs. “You’re here because I know you’ll be under careful observation,” he lifted his gaze to the ceiling and Y/n followed. Vents were overhead them.

“This cell is constantly being pumped with an antitoxin that helps with the more advanced powers. It won’t rid them completely but you’ll be in control.” He walked closer to the doors.

“You should be in for a few more days, once that finished I’ll come get you myself. Gordon has already dropped any charges and no one knows Y/n L/N was the new Poison Ivy.”

“Did I hurt him?”

“I don’t know what your—“

“Damnit yes you do. I know I didn’t just kill two people. I hope I can..live with that. But did I hurt him?” Tears formed in the young man’s eyes and streamed down his face.

“No.” Batman whispered.

“Oh.” He wiped his face. “Can I see him?”

“I can’t allow that, you didn’t hurt him but Ivy used your feelings for him to make into your mind-controlled bodyguard. You killed people Y/n…He’s still recovering in the cave. Y/n it may be best to give it time.” Batman exited the cell where Gordon was waiting and the two walked away into the Asylum.

Everything began to flash before Y/n and he flopped back on the uncomfortable cot. Before sleep took him back and he dozed off.

[freyjas-musings]

So , now that the event has officially come to an end I think I would like to say my 2 cents on the troll account that popped in the middle of an event . Irrespective of which fandom or side this person belongs to one thing that is accurate is that it's an abomination that shouldn't have been born at all. I am a 100% sure its someone everyone hates in their real life too.

TW : INSENSITIVE SA DISCOURSE POINTED OUT

Now, is it fair to blame the entire group of Elriels for that troll? No , but what is shitty is Elriels pretending an Elriel has "never" done anything like that.... That's inaccurate...

Below is an example from a verified Elriel account saying exactly the same sort of shit .... since some of you want to pretend it's not an elriel thing

There you go a verified Elriel who has been around for a while ... and consistent discourse in SA insensitivity. .. So its reasonable for people to assume the troll account is an Elriel... stop pretending to be Victims. I have a few more examples from other accounts that are verified Elriel too

One of Elriels lead Commissioners on Gwyn ... So this BS that Elriels have never made hate posts or insensitive posts about Gwyn is farthest from the truth. No one is buying it .

2. This troll account popped up in the middle of an event, an event that was going exceptionally well and was getting the recognition and reach it deserved , why would one of our own cause Drama to disrupt that ?

3. The trolls brain , the quality of that brain is unbelievable.... its unfortunately questionable ... How ?

Elriels: They are trying to pretend to be Elriel so they can make us look bad....

Troll : while completely engaging in anti gwyn and Gwynriel discourse ... Littering all over an event page by leaving disgusting comments on the content.... tagging all their posts Elriel

I mean the quality of that brain, if this was someone who created that account to make Elriels look bad why on earth would they say they "aren't" Elriel 😅😅😅😅😅

This is the sort of brain that comes up with bread and roses so please don't blame us for assuming this asshole is an Elriel.

Now , do I care which side that asshole belongs to ? Not really , anyone who has been here a while knows shitty people in this fandom are rampant irrespective of the side .

Sexual Abuse is not limited to females so when someone writes terrible things about SA survivors it's not gender based hate speech , Male assault is just as real and relevant too.. its an insult to SA Survivors as a whole ... I don't give a fuck about people's personal opinions about fictional characters but when you specifically write posts that are insensitive towards what is a very real issue in today's world you should stand up against it irrespective of the group .

I am specifically not tagging Elriel in this post because I have no interest in interacting with any of them . This is for my side , my people for Gwyn stans ... for Gwynriel stans .... so I am specifically asking Elriels to stay away from my blog and posts.

I am going to be inactive on this account for a few weeks , I am truly burnt out with the fandom and some of the things I have read about survivors in the recent few days has unfortunately triggered me a lot. Based on my discussion with my friends and my husband I do feel the best course of action for me would be to take a brief break ... I will be back for Elucien Week 🤗

[thealtoduck]

UNFORGIVEN

Tim Drake x Riddler Sidekick!Male Reader

Warnings: Angst, superhero violence…

Tim Drake x Riddler Sidekick!Male Reader: Masterlist

Summary: You and Tim have your first confrontation after the night at the motel…

——

Riddler was at it again, he had taken several hostages and left riddles that would lead Batman and his many sidekicks, to the hostages that he had spread out over city.

Tim grappled to the top of a building where he had managed to track a captive down. When he got to the top he came face to face with the last person he wanted to see. Y/n was standing there waiting, he was back in his old Riddler themed clothes.

He looked at Tim with a cold look. ”Clue” Tim greeted him. ”Duck” he adressed Tim in a distant voice. The hostage was on his knees with his hands handcuffed behind his back in front of Y/n who held a gun in his hands. Tim all of a sudden feared what Y/n was going to do.

”Let him go, Clue” Tim said to his former lover. He ignored Tim’s words and lifted his gun once again saying ”Duck”. Tim then realised he wasn’t adressing him, he was counting. ”Clue!” Tim yelled.

”Goose”. A gunshot echoed through the neighborhood.

Tim looked shocked at first but the hostage was fine… Y/n had shot the handcuffs setting the man free. ”You can go” Y/n said throwing the gun to the ground. The man stood up and ran to the fire escape climbing down from the rooftop.

Tim was confused. ”What was the point?” he asked annoyed. ”Come on, Tim, think a little” you stated with a smirk. Tim stayed silent while thinking and you said ”I’ll give you a clue: You’re here and the others are where?”.

”Spread out” Tim stated in realisation and he saw the devilish smile spread on your face. Tim was about to contact the others saying spreading them out was part of the plan. But Clue had different plans and went on the offensive, attacking him.

The two fought brutally, still pissed at each other after their last meeting. There was no holding back to between the rivals as they threw punches at the other. But Tim kept fighting needing to contact the others.

Tim eventually managed to take Y/n down, handcuffing him to a watertower, he contacted the GCPD saying ”Commissioner, I managed to capture Clue, he’s handcuffed, i’ll send you the location”. Tim was about to grapple away without looking back but you then spoke up saying with a emotionally blank face.

”You know i really did try to change… for you…” the words hung in the air for a few seconds before Tim spoke up asking ”Then why are you back working for him?”.

”Because you used me… when were you going to tell me you are Robin, huh? Or were you just planning on never telling me that you were the guy who had tried to arrest me several times?” you questioned him in a quiet rage. ”Eddie may be a psychopath, but at least he tells me the truth” you explained.

”He took care of me when no one else did” you said painful memories flashing in your mind. ”And i wanted to leave him for you because you made me want to be better, only to find out you were actually just spying on me the whole time” you said, your words dripping with venom.

”I wasn’t spying on you” Tim countered. ”Then why didn’t you hear me out when you found the plans” you said. Tim was silent. He didn’t know what to answer. There was a long silence were neither boy spoke.

You then said ”You should go, Robin, Eddie’s pretty heavily armed at the moment”. Tim gave a small nod and turned and grappled away. The GCPD soon arrived at the scene, taking you away.

Time to return to Arkham…

[familyabolisher]

Managers often required all job classifications to work in “split” or “broken” shifts, but live-in chambermaids and waitresses were expected to submit to such hours because they lived on the premises. This made life outside of work difficult to plan as the regular weekly shifts varied. These “broken shifts” led to a “hit or miss” existence, as a reporter for the Consumers’ League suggested, because the whole week became occupied by work. Working hours were often distributed over a period of 14-18 hours, seven days a week. On average, according to a study conducted by the Consumers’ League of New York in 1922, hotel workers’ hours ranged from 45.5 to 59.5 hours per week. Sometimes, however, extra shifts could lead to a 70-hour workweek. Even into the 1940s, the Industrial Commissioner of New York State determined that seventy-five per cent of female and male minor hotel workers worked split shifts that extended the working day beyond “a reasonable amount.”

James Woodall, 'From "Servant" to "Hotel Worker": Class Warfare, Hotel Workers, and Wobblies in New York City, 1893-1913

great news everyone. nothing in the hospitality industry has changed since 1922

[theodorecanaryhood]

Birdie

Arkham Knight/Red Hood/Jason Todd x Male! Reader

Commissioner Gordon had ordered a City wide evacuation, no civilian to be left - course the odd few stayed behind.

‘Sparrow, what’s your location?’ Batman ask through the comms.

He was roaring down the streets chasing down his next lead to this Arkham Knight, you stayed high up.

‘On top of Iceberg Lounge, Barbara called and needs help. I’m gonna head there now’ you said, grappling to the next building.

‘Robin is at GCPD, he will join the mission later, I need you to stay out of danger’ Batman said for the fourth time tonight.

You entered the clock tower which was used as Oracles base of operations, Barbara had been your friend for a few years now.

When she was Batgirl and you were protege to Selina Kyle, though you liked being good more and Bruce needed extra help since Dick left.

‘Y/n, that you?’ Barbara called out, you walked into the room. Not losing the cowl yet.

‘Yeah sweetness, it’s me’ you smiled, handing Barbara the Chinese food you picked up on the way.

‘Thank God, I forgot to eat’ Barbara chuckled as she took the food from you.

‘I noticed’ you chuckled too, looking at the screens.

The Arkham Knight was causing mayhem but no one knew who he was, you theorised it might be someone personal as he knows Bruce is Batman. But, there were no other details other than he’s military.

‘We ever consider Tim for this Knight character?’ You asked serious as Barbara looked at you.

‘My Tim? No way’ she laughed, picking up her chopsticks and beginning to eat.

‘I’m serious Babs, he could be, he’s never around whenever we go up against the Knight’ you spoke with reason.

Barbara shrugged a little as she looked back at the monitors, you heard a noise in the distance but couldn’t work out what it was.

Batman suddenly appeared on the screen with urgency, panic in his eyes as he called out to Barbara.

‘Oracle, get out of there, now’ Batman called through the speaker.

‘Relax B, no one knows I’m here’ suddenly the power was cut and before you knew it someone had hit you over the back of the head.

It went black for a good space of time, in which you had no recollection of what happened. You just knew you were waking up when your head started to thump.

‘Leave him, he won’t be trouble. If he knows what’s good for him’ you heard a voice, modulated and dark.

You felt a little fear but Bruce always told you to disregard your fears when around an enemy. They’ll sense it and prey on you.

‘Well, hello Birdie’ the Knight said as he pulled the sack off your head.

You weren’t wearing your cowl anymore so he could see your face clearly.

‘What have you done to Barbara?’ You demanded as the Knight laughed, kneeling in front of you.

‘She’s fine, in another room. So what’s your story Handsome?’ He asked as he touched your knee.

You jerked your leg away from his reach as he stood up, his voice being heard even when muttering under his breath.

‘I see how it is Birdie, well, I’ll leave you a little longer and come back later when you’re ready to cooperate’ the Knight said as he left the room.

You didn’t know how long it had been since the Knight last paid you a visit, but you were still alone in the room.

A few Militia members came into the room, you went to throw a punch but were tased and out in a second.

You woke up soon after in a different room, just you and the Knight. Who was now standing in front of you.

‘Hello again Birdie’ he chuckled as you stood up and found your wrist shackled to the wall.

‘Where the fuck am I? What do you want?’ You asked, face as threatening as you could make it.

‘Where’s Batman?’ The Knight asked you, completely ignoring your question.

‘Looking for you’ you looked to the door as you spotted a shadow walking passed.

You calculated in your head it would take roughly 30 seconds to make it to the door from where you were, yet, you would need to find a way to get out of the shackles and passed the Knight.

You suddenly lifted your arms up in front of your face as the Knight came toward you, his hand in front of him.

‘I’m not going to hurt you Birdie, I’m gonna undo your shackles. If you run, I’ll have to hold you down’ The Knight said as he revealed the key in his hand.

You obeyed orders and allowed the Knight to release you, he held your arm as he took you to another room.

This from was dimly lit as you saw four Militia members stand guard with their guns.

‘Hold him until I tell you, well let him go once Batman is dealt with’ Knight said as he left you in the room with the men.

You found yourself tied to the chair as they stood and looked on, readjusting their aims every time you looked like you were about to move.

It has been at least an hour by now, the Knight hadn’t come back yet and you were getting impatient.

Bruce has to be nearby surely, but you needed to find Barbara first. You watched the room and saw two of the men were further away from you, one with their back turned.

You could catch them off guard, but you would need to be quick. Though you were tired, adrenaline would need to take over.

‘I don’t like the way he’s looking at me’ one Militia member said, you didn’t let go of your eye contact.

‘Just ignore him, he doesn’t have any power’ another one responded.

You counted down in your head that you could potentially knock them down on 30 seconds or so, though it would need to be relying on speed and accuracy.

The biggest member got closer to you with his gun in your face, smiling devilishly.

‘Something you want to share?’ He asked trying to seem threatening.

You swing your leg up and kicked him in the thigh, knocking him off guard.

You rose to your feet and have a hard head butt, swinging your back, still being tied to the chair, knocking another member over.

You threw yourself on the ground and broke the chair, grabbing a gun and shooting all four Militia men in the arms, legs or shoulders.

You managed to get the door open, thankfully it wasn’t locked, going to the room you were sure Barbara was in. Seeing she isn’t there, you panicked.

‘Birdie?’ The Knight almost whispered as you saw he was standing. You couldn’t see, but for some reason you knew he was smiling under the mask.

‘Your men suck’ you mocked, lifting the stolen gun in your hand, pointing it at the Knight.

‘You’re outta Ammo’ he chuckled as you pulled the trigger, hearing a click.

The Knight came forward and hit you over the head, making it all go black.

Time seemed to stop for a while as you woke up to daylight, Dick and Tim sitting next to you as you found yourself in a hospital bed.

‘Where am I?’ You mumbled as the two rushed to your side.

‘Gotham General, don’t try and move too much’ Tim said softly, placing his hand on the top of your head.

Barbara?’ You asked, Tim smiled and nodded, answering with no words to let you know she’s fine.

‘Scarecrow?’

‘Arkham, he’ll be there a while. The Knight took off, no one can find him. But I’ll take that as a good thing’ Dick stood near your feet.

‘Where’s Bruce?’ You asked, Dick looked down as Tim teared up a little.

‘He was revealed as Batman, him and Alfred were in the Manor when they released the Knighfall Protocol’ Tim choked a little, you were stunned.

You’d heard of the Knightfall Protocol, but you’d hoped that Bruce would never have to use it.

After grieving and working as a solo act for a while, you’d found yourself coming across the plans of Black Mask.

You’d got to his source of latest crime, the location being not too difficult to find alone.

You walked around to find his men down, some shot or necks snapped. You saw the leftovers of the massacre, only to hear talking in the distance.

Going into a room where you found Black Mask being held up against the window by a man in a mask.

You gasped as you saw Black Mask get kicked out the window, falling to his death.

‘Say hi to Joker for me’ The masked man said, he turned and stood still when he saw you looking at the outcome.

‘Way to make a statement’ you said with a small smile.

The stranger said nothing as he picked up a bag, putting his guns back in the holsters.

‘Do you have a name?’ You asked, the new guy simply nodded.

‘Red Hood’

‘You need help? I’ve found myself working alone since the Bats left’ Red Hood shook his head, placing the bag on his shoulder.

‘I work alone, but thanks for the offer’

You stood deciding on what to do next now that Sionis is taken care of.

‘It’s good seeing you again, Birdie’ Red Hood said as you turned around to look at him.

The suit, the build, the violence and the tone of anger in his voice. It made sense.

‘Knight?’ Was all you got out before Red Hood grappled out of the building.

Gotham City lights were always beautiful to look upon from the rooftops, it had been weeks since the takedown of Black Mask.

‘You’re not an easy man to track down’ you announced yourself to Red Hood. He simply turned around to look at you, then continued on what he was doing.

‘I don’t need a partner Birdie’ he said lowly as you approached.

‘I know, but it would be nice to have friends. Batman is gone, Robin retired and Nightwing went back to Bludhaven. There aren’t many of us left now’ you revealed.

Red Hood scoffed, looking at you as he took off his mask.

‘Us Batboys have gotta stick together huh?’

‘Jason? Jason Todd?’ You asked in disbelief, Jason nodded.

‘In the flesh’

It was this moment that had you thinking that life was in a way, turning in the right direction. You’d only ever heard of Jason, and just that Bruce lost his second son.

Gotham City was under the control of the two of you, and you could both help clean the streets.

You both looked upon the city in a comfortable silence, as you both realised you had the city to yourselves.

[suosdisciple-keelmember]

Suo Hayato x Reader — Undercover in the name of love♡ Part 1

Suo x fem reader

Summary: You are a new detective in the department and your colleague Suo is your partner. The two of you get soon the instructions to infiltrate a night club so you can gather information in order to expose a drug trafficking ring.

Warnings: Mild language, romantic tension, workplace romance, undercover operation (drug trafficking mentioned)

Word count: 1.6k

A/n: I know that I'm maybe a bit late, but here is my contribution for the windbreaker week from @windbreakerweek! The story will be splitted into two parts and I hope you like it ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

WB Week: Day 4 — Fake Dating

You adjust your uniform one last time, before stepping into the police station.  As the newest detective in the department, you are nervous but still want to give your best to make a good first impression on your co-workers.  It's pretty lively as you enter, people talking with each other about cases, some filling out papers and others getting ready for an operation. You scan the room for any signs of your assigned partner, who you should meet up with here. The higher-ups had instructed you that you would be under the lead of Detective Suo—well-known for his immaculate record and unwavering demeanor. A smooth voice comes from behind, disturbing your thoughts: "Detective (Y/N), I presume?"

Turning around to see who had spoken to you, your eyes widen. Directly before you stands a young male. His hair is brown and curtained, two tassel earrings adorning his gentle, smiling face. Piquing your interest, he did also wear an eyepatch which covered up his right eye. A calm aura radiates from him. You weren't completly sure but concluded that it must be your appointed partner Suo. The composed detective extends his hand, and you shake it firmly, feeling a welcoming warmth in his hold. "Yes, you're right. Nice to meet you. I look forward to work with you, Detective Suo." you reply, reciprocating his smile. "Well, our commissioner told me that he wanted to speak with us about our first task together. I will introduce you to him, so... just follow me." You nod, starting walking directly behind him.

Following Suo you pass by many divisions, each totally different from the previous. After some minutes, you reach the office of the commissioner. Suo knocks softly on the door. "Detective Suo here. I have brought Detective (Y/N) with me." Waiting shortly, a friendly "You can come in" rang from within, and Suo opens the door. The room is neat and clean. A wide variety of books standing in shelves, files lying on a desk—just how a typical office would look like. Behind the desk sits a man with white swept back hair, he seemed quite curious, tilting his head to the side. Suo bowed slightly as soon as he had closed the door behind you. "Greetings, Commissioner Umemiya." He turned to face you. "(Y/N), this is our commissioner, Hajime Umemiya." You follow Suo's example and also bowed now. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Commissioner Umemiya." "No need to be so formal you two! I find it just annoying to talk about such a difference in positions. Umemiya is fine!" he insisted, smiling brightly. Somehow you thought that his careless but goodhearted nature was kinda reassuring. "But if Officer Sugishita gets to hear that, he will become mad again." Suo said, his soft smile lowering, like he had remembered something unpleasant or annoying. Umemiya let out a big sigh, looking devastated. "Is he still like that? How often have I talked with him about the way I get addressed doesn't matter to me?" He starts to seek through the files on the desk. Taking out one, he piles the other up. "Nevermind that for now. I have ordered both of you here to speak with you about your first case together."  

Opening the file, many different pictures with texts were visible. The photographs showed a small building at night. Lights of various colours lighted  the scenery. Prints with people also had a place in the file. Could that be possible suspects? Umemiya starts to clarify the details for your upcoming operation, your very first in your new division. Alone the thought of it, hits you with a wave of nervousness and excitement.

"Since a while, we have happened to witness some cases of drug trafficking in this town. Most of them were carried out by people of a lower rank in their circle. After interrogating one of them, we had caught previously, we could get new information. Some of our investigators found a possible origin of the drug trafficking ring—the nightclub 'Eclipse', located near the red-light district. Head of the business is a man named 'Mitsuki Kiryu'. Important to note is that he comes from a rich family which owns multiple companies and establishments, even clubs like previously mentioned. Until now we can't really say if he's also involved in the case."

"So you want us to find out who is responsible for the drug trafficking there?" Suo said, seemingly concentrated on the details of the case. You contribute to the conversation with a question that comes to your mind. "That sounds like it could be quite difficult to find the people, who are managing that. I mean there are surely a lot of people who can be the possible contact person. How do you believe we can find the needed clues to solve this case?"

A grin flashes on Umemiya's face. He seems definitely amused by the idea of his, making you wonder what kind of was it would be. "Suo and (Y/N)... I want you two to infiltrate the club while posing as a couple!" Your eyes widen, your cheeks slightly flushing red, before you freeze right in place—perplexed. A wave of flusteredness hits you. Why would someone like you get chosen for such a task? Suo meanwhile, remains calm, keeping his slight smile.

Umemiya furrowed a brow, the slit on his eyebrow moving with it. "No need to worry! Detective Suo is experienced in all kinds of illegal trafficking! You will be in good hands." He raises a fist into the air. "I believe you can do it! So I want you to practise for the first and handle this!"

You two got offered to use a secluded room at the end of the corridor on the same floor as Umemiya's office. The room was relatively simple from the interrior furnishings. A table with chairs in the middle and a mirror on the side decorated space.

Being honest, you aren't calm at all. A wave of nervousness washes over you as you realize the weight of the given task. Even before, when the commissioner explained you the operation, had your heartbeat risen, not because you were in any way romantically-interested in Suo, but due to the fact that you just never came to happen to be in a relationship. You fear that this situation would end up awkwardly, with you possibly failing completely.

Sitting at the table opposite of each other, a silence hung in the room. You decided to break the ice first: "I hope you can bear with me as a partner for this mission." Suo locked eyes with you, his gaze modest and comfortable. "I can only return that comment." he says with a presumably wink (thanks to the eye patch not really visible to you). You fidget slightly with the hem of your uniform shirt. "How... shall we start to prepare ourselves for the task?"

He stretches a hand out. "Let's start easy with hand holding. Come, take my hand." Your heart skips a beat at his response.  Unsure, you place your hand slowly in his. His warmth feels reassuring and at the same time undescribeable. Without really realizing it, a blush creeps up your cheeks, at the until now not known touch. Suo's eyes seem to form into a concerned expression. "Your face is kinda red. Are you feeling well?"  However, in just a few seconds, changes his worried gaze into a teasing glint. His lips twitching amused. "Or... are you blushing?" "I-It's not like that..." you say, the red flush on your cheeks deepening at his teasing. "I'm just not used to such things." Suo tilts his head to the side, his facial expression altered into a more sympathetic one. "No problem, me neither."

You began to talk about your interests and daily-life, so you get to know each other better. Both of you engage a lot in the conversation, your worries and anxiety from the beginning slowly fading.  After that you pose a bit before the mirror to look more like a couple. Suo's hand found place at your waist, his grip secure and gentle.

Unexpectedly opens the door, both of you freezing in place. A boy with black and white split-coloured hair stands in the doorsteps, his cheeks fully heated up. "D-Detective S-Suo, w-what are you doing in here?!" he blurts embarrassed out, avoiding any eye contact with you. Suo laughs wholeheartedly. "Isn't that obvious, Officer Sakura? I'm just having an intimate moment with my new colleague who is, at the same time, my lovely girlfriend."

"That's—" You wanted to tell him the situation and reason for the circumstances of you two, but Suo was faster. He immediately put a finger on your lips to shut you up. "That's the sweet truth." He bows down towards your ear, whispering "Am I right,... my love?". At that moment, you realize that this might be a perfect chance to practise your roleplay, so you try to act out the role given to you.

"It's pleasant to meet you, I'm Detective (Y/N)." you say while bowing exemplary.  Sakura tries to pull himself together, the flush on his face not leaving. "O-Officer Haruka Sakura... from the Patrol Division. Nice to... meet you too..." He scratches the back of his neck, seemingly feeling awkward. "And you two are really..."  "In love with each other? Yes!" Suo exclaims cheerfully, still maintaining his usual smile. "Is that a problem?"  Sakura face goes to the side, the embarrassment of him rising steadily,  shouting out: "N-No of course not!"  Suo decides to tease Sakura. "But Sakura-kun, given how red you are, I definitely don't think you're that opinion-" He turns around, mumbles "Tsh, idiot..." and goes then, without looking back out of the room.

[berriblossom]

Chapter 2| Pleasure over Power

Ayato x Male Reader

✄----------------------------------

For a long time, Ayato knew when not to get too involved or too committed to something. Relationships can and were temporary, friendships for the longest time were seen as politically motivated relationships and factors of his life and young career as the Yashiro Commissioner. Thoma and Ayaka were the only exceptions. However, he counted them more as family than as friends.

So when it comes to experiences and certain joys of life you can only have with a partner or friend is a foreign concept to him. Even in the department of lustful intimacy, Ayato would only in his dreams wish for such a fantasy to come true, nights where he'd have to resist the urge and irrefutable pleasure brimming in his abdomen, begging for him to just release all these inner desires. But did he?

Not until now.

"WhA~! Wait! S-Slow down a little [name]! Please!" You lapped his tip again, taking his cock fully into your mouth while slowly rubbing circles on his thighs. Ayato fully forgot himself and how much pride he had in himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It started when you asked how he ended up in Ritou's red-light town, with the stare you had at him, the way your eyes crinkled mischievously, and how he was flustered. he innocently didn't know anything you were talking about, nor had any idea what he wanted.

"I just needed...I just needed to relax.. that's all. Nothing I wanted is whatever this all is..."

Ayato didn't even touch on the topic of how you recognized him if you spread rumors of him being here? What could happen? What about his position? His sister and Thoma? What would they think of him, what would the other commissioners think of him? Before Ayato could put a pin into those thoughts and his fears for his reputation, you cut him off.

"Do you think you are the first Inazuman official to come here? I mean, the Kanjou Commission is right next door. So what is there to fear dear Yashiro Commissioner?"

You smiled, your voice dripped like the finest honey found deep in the forest of Mondstat, your little chuckle at his small stutters and surprised face. You explained further. "I have seen many people secretly enter that house, and seen many secretly leave it too. Going back to their wives, husbands, children, and clans. Therefore this isn't the first time I've seen such a high official here. though you do give off a different type of desire. A more unknown and hidden one, no? Mr. Yashiro?"

You tilted your head towards him, your thumb still rubbing against his knuckles, they were laced with small knicks and scars from sword practice and training. Ayato remained silent, but the tension between the two of you grew deeper and deeper, the small clasp of waves against the rocks and the peer in Ritou was a pulling reminder of the time and place. Time felt slower here, no wonder people can get lost in it. And Ayato hasn't even done anything yet, not anything exciting for how this place ran.

But he didn't run, rather he just flipped his hand over slowly and shifted his palm to touch and align with yours. His fingers slightly dancing against your palm and wrist, almost as if he was scared you would make a sudden move. But you didn't, rather you just relaxed your hand and let him be a little gentle. It was cute, to say the least.

You huffed out a laugh as you saw his blush growing on the tips of his ears as you hummed and leaned forward a little. You gave him the same little kisses as before, this time they had a little more emotion to them.

"How about I take the lead this time Mr. Yashiro, relax, that's why you're here anyways right? Let me handle everything~."

You stood up and helped him off the beach near the peer back into the house. Now when he walked inside the house, the lights were dimmed. The bartender was gone, and hardly anyone was there. You guided him down the hall into an empty room, it had simple ocean-like wallpaper, a fluffy futon, blankets, and also a sliding closet from what Ayato gathered. No matter what or where he was, he would take in his surroundings first, but now, his surroundings didn't matter.

You helped him down onto the futon, despite him being a slight bit taller than most men, Ayato curled up close to you when you leaned down beside him and pressed kisses against his neck and chin. His hands gripped the sleeve of your plain yukata. Noticing his anxious behavior you kissed his temple and whispered.

"Why don't I just help you relax fully? I won't ask for anything in return, but just for me, for tonight...relax a little, my dear Commissioner. Okay? So relax for me, love."

Ayato hearing the small endearment of "love" made his heart pang but in a good way. He had never had anyone care for him so gently, even being pampered all his life he never had someone take the time to make him feel as loved as possible. No less a stranger he met like an hour ago. The small details of reality settled and crept into his mind as the situation developed more. But he didn't want to think of that. He wasn't the Yashiro Commissioner right now, he wasn't the charming, but unavailable man right now that every woman wanted for herself. Right now he was your sweet precious thing you were helping relax. yes, he was in your care, that's all.

Your hands slowly crept down, giving encouraging circles against his hips, then to the meat of his thighs. You glanced back at Ayato to make sure he was fully aware of what was going on and that he was okay with it. He nodded and bit down on his lower lip. 'Cute' you thought and you gave another kiss against the corner of his lips. The smile you had, he could feel as your mouth traveled down his chest. Your wet kisses against his neck, the open mouth kisses against his chest. Your thumbs press against his nipples and give them slight stimulation.

The soft moans and coos Ayato let out as he melted under your touch were so melodic to your ears. His dreamy eyes glanced down at you, begging for a little more stimulation, his hands helping support him while he leaned back, he was even trying to keep his head up too. He wanted you to see him, and make eye contact, seeing you give him pleasure was such a rich spike of pleasure to him. You kissed down his stomach until you were between his thighs.

Completely laying back, Ayato let you rest his legs against your strong chest. From this point of view, Ayato could see your chest poking out of the small window in your yukata. Your cock was slightly outlined, in the cloth. Ayato felt his eyes continuously drift back to it, he could feel you slightly pressing into him, messing with him. But as you reminded him and teased him.

"Right now isn't about me remember Mr. Yashiro? I just want to help you relax." You gave a small bite to his thigh, that was going to bruise a little later. You missed the small mark, kissing down his thigh you reached the center. Pushing his silk-like cloth away from his mid-section, you kissed the outline of his cock, he was already hard. It was so entertaining to see him jerk at the simple movements. How his voice was wavering from trying to maintain his voice to trying to beg you to do more, please touch him a little more.

Frankly, you were surprised he didn't cum already, he was dripping in precum. Evenly soaking the cloth trapping his cock, you slipped him out of it. His cock slapped against his abdomen with a small "smack" sound. The exposed air to his cock head sends chills down Ayato's spine.

You kissed his tip, pressing it flat on your tongue. Ayato moaned and gripped the bedding so hard, that his knuckles were turning white from the tension, and his flustered expression had changed to pure lust and need. He needed you to touch him, please just let him experience this. He had been waiting so long and patiently. Just please.

Kamisato Ayato was taught never to beg from anyone or for anything. He should demand what he wants or ask in a polite but firm tone. However with how much control over the situation you had over him, over his body. "Please...[Name]...please just please more...please just...touch me more...let me..please..." His soft whimpers and pleas were so quiet it was almost as if a ghost said them. But you heard them, you smiled against his thigh.

"The cute commissioner begging for his release? I guess as his lover for tonight I can't go against his will can I?" You kissed along his shaft pressing your tongue against his tips, rolling your tongue around his tip while you slowly pump the rest of his cock.

Ayato bucked into your mouth a little, moving his hand to hold your head, not gripping your hair, but just gently holding the side of your head. It was so cute how he didn't want to make you choke or make you uncomfortable. Such a gentleman you thought.

But even gentleman crumble, you sped up your pace a little, bobbing your head and pumping his shaft and a little faster. You pulled back a little, moving your hands to his thighs and just taking him fully in your mouth and throat. The warmth and tightness of your throat made Ayato cry out in pleasure., he pressed his hand against your head, trying to gently as he remembered to push it down to push his cock deeper in your throat.

"WhA~! Wait! S-Slow down a little [name]! Please!" You swirled your tongue around his tip again, taking his cock fully into your mouth while slowly rubbing circles on his thighs. Ayato fully forgot himself and how much pride he had in himself. He was so close, so fucking close that you could see how badly he wanted this. Normally you'd tease someone when they were at this point, but cute Yashiro Commissioneer needed his relaxation so you let it happen this one time.

Pushing him deeper into your throat, your throat contracting and fighting around his size, which wasn't just above average to say. You started caressing his balls a little to help the climax come a little closer, Ayato was at this point fucking your throat, chasing his high. It felt so good, so mind-numbing it was unbelievable.

Finally, he let out a loud cry and leaned forward, pressing you against his abdomen and cumming down your throat. You gagged against his sudden movement but held onto his thighs to ground yourself. You exhaled through your nose as you swallowed all his cum, groaning against him as how much of him flooded into your senses. Ayato feeling the vibrations of your throat from your voice sent his aftershocks into overstimulations. His body jerked when you pulled off of him and gave his tip a small kiss. Ayato fell back into the bedding, his chest heaving. You rubbed his thigh, kissing his temple.

"You did so well, do you feel much more relaxed now Mr. Yashiro? Hmm, tell me, sweetheart?" Ayato leaned into your touch, he could still hear the waves crash against the shore outside the window.

"Yes....I feel...much more relaxed..."

Tags: @kiiyoooo , @cassidycampfire , @avatsufaust

Sorry for the late update! I had college work and moving things! Thanks for reading this chapter!

[starfall-spirit]

@officialfeysandweek Day 6: First of Their Kind

🎨: the_megabee33

Feysand Week Masterlist // Read on Ao3 // SFW Commission

Summary: Rhys and Feyre spend Solstice Eve bringing a fantasy to life at the Court of Nightmares.

AN: Art is awesome, but I think I speak for many of us when I say it's twice as fun to have art and a story. It was an absolute honor to write this for my fellow commissioners, @popjunkie42, @moonpatroclus, @foundress0fnothing, @tunaababee, and @cauldronblssd

CW: Public sex, egregious use of "good girl", naturally.

"I feel slighted, you know."

Rhys looked up from where he was fastening his cufflink, slowly crossing the room to join his mate at her vanity, reaching for a comb to start running it through her damp hair. "How's that, darling? Have I neglected you somehow?"

She huffed, meeting his eyes in the mirror. They'd be attending the revel held in the Court of Nightmares this evening, just as they were obligated to every Solstice Eve. "Not recently."

"Holding a grudge, are we?" He twisted the upper half of her hair into a smooth knot, gathering a few pins to keep it in place. "What's this about, Feyre?"

"Do you remember the first time you took me to the Court of Nightmares?" Even now he held a careful mask, but Feyre could sense the subtle shift in her mate all the same. "Before we were mated, all pent up, waiting for something to happen. I wanted you to take me right there, Rhys."

He cursed behind her, taking a large step back to finish dressing himself for the evening. "You can't—" He let out a long breath. "You can't say something like that when we're expected somewhere, Feyre. Fuck."

There was no way he was unaware of what her desires had been, now several years into their mating. There were no true secrets between them. But she'd never discussed that particular moment so brazenly. Put it in bold lettering for him to read. "Can't I, though? It's a revel after all. I'm sure that after living this long our dear subjects know how we came to have two children. If they can fuck out in the open why shouldn't we do the same from your throne?"

"My little exhibitionist," he teased, shrugging into his evening jacket. The slight amusement she caught in his voice faded when he rejoined her at the vanity, gripping her chin. "You're sure?" She nodded and his smile returned. "They won't know what to do with you, wearing a crown and warming my cock." She shivered, eyes fluttering shut when he pressed a kiss to the corner of her painted mouth. "I hardly know half the time. Come, my love. Let's go give the sycophants a show."

~~~~~

They started with a dance. “I suppose we should be someone respectable this evening,” she’d told him upon arrival. He’dd taken her in his arms, pressed another kiss beneath her ear, kept his head bent low to whisper every filthy thing he planned for her tonight, before their court and behind closed doors. She made it through two songs before letting him lead her up the dais. She passed her own throne without hesitation and let him turn her around to more easily pull her down by her hips. She only paused a moment before a soft tap against her leg had her reclining into his chest, slightly off center so her legs were parted over one muscled thigh. Not that she had any intention of resisting if he wanted to keep her spread open to play with.

Feyre had no fear when it came to what the court would think tonight. She wore a crown from their High Lord’s family trove, was happily mated to a male with unwavering loyalty. There was a tender stroke of affection at the very edge of her mental shields that reinforced the thought all the more.

But most importantly when it came to the views of the people not-so-discreetly watching the two of them, in the near decade since she’d been Made her power had only grown, a force to rival their High Lord’s when his had gone unmatched for so long. Even if she spread her legs and bowed to his whim tonight they new better than to make a comment to degrade her when the walls of the Hewn City had ears of their own.

The proclaimed Cursebreaker could be just as ruthless as the male holding her.

“I love you more for it, you know.”

She let herself grant him a slow smile, tilting her head back to expose the length of her throat, almost hoping to feel his teeth there. “Show me how much.”

His thumb was already slipping under the dark panel covering her breast, absently teasing her nipple, the other four fingers dropping down to cup her breast from beneath. She barely started to roll her hips before his other arm banded around her waist. “Rhys,” she whined, curling into that little space he left open for her in his mind, content to stay there for the remainder of the evening.

“Keep still for me, darling. You want to be a good pet for me, don’t you?”

“Yes, High Lord.”

He groaned softly, the tip of his tongue flicking the sensitive skin beneath her ear. “Good girl. Close your eyes. You’re going to sit here and take what I give you.”

Feyre took a breath, deep and slow. Let her legs go limp against him and bit back her whimper when he spread them wide, her ankles caught between the cold throne and his knees. Cool air brushed over her center when he slipped his hand beneath the fabric, the chill made worse by the wetness already building there.

Rhys let out a low hum and she honestly couldn’t tell if it was a chastisement of praise for what he found waiting for him. Thoughts muddled, all she knew was that she was left open and waiting for him to torment or please. “I’ll always please you, little mate,” he said just loud enough for the nearest court members to hear. “The only question is how long I want to play with you first.”

She couldn’t suppress her whine at that. The promise in her ear, his fingers dragging up her center, thumb circling her clit. The shadows rising from the throne should have been warning enough that Rhys was up to something, but it hardly took a moment for the dark wisps to secure her wrists on either side of Rhys’ thighs. She still couldn’t contain her sharp cry when Rhys pushed two fingers into her core, the sharp curl of his fingers hitting a tender spot he was well aquainted with by now. She’d put herself in the lap of a male who could play her like a fiddle. And he had every intention of doing just that.

“Rhys.”

“Do we need to stop?” His movements slowed, the drag of his fingers gentling.

“No. Just wasn’t expecting that.”

He kissed her temple, keeping the slow pace, but pushing a little deeper. “Alright, darling. I need you to breath through it. If you want my cock tonight you’ve got to come on my fingers first. That’s it. Breathe. Good girl.” She thought to open her eyes. See how much attention she’d drawn, yelling like that. “No, pet. That’s not for you to worry about. I don’t want you thinking anymore tonight. The only thing you need to do is feel.” He gave her a third finger and she whined, teeth scraping his neck. “Good girl. Good.”

“Close. Need—”

“I know. I know, pet. I need you to come like this first. Then you can have my cock, sweet girl.”

She let out another whine, jaw clenched tight to keep from crying out even as she trembled in his arms. She was halfway down his length before she came back to herself, panting between her teeth.

“Such a good little pet,” he crooned. “Now that you’ve been satisfied, darling, I believe we have a few matters of the court to tend to this evening. A shame to mix business and pleasure, but such is life.”

“Rhys.”

It was hardly a whisper. It couldn’t be considered a true protest, but she needed something else in that moment. Not necessarily soft comfort. An anchor of another kind. He snapped to summon a nearby courtier and then his hand was around her throat. Not applying pressure, just a steady weight, guiding her to lean back into his chest, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

She felt like she was there for ages, still as a statue even as she soaked through the fabric of his pants. A good pet, there to warm his cock while he conferred with the members of their court. He let her get away with biting and sucking at his neck, but nothing more than that. By the end of the night she was trembling in his arms, overstimulated from the constant edging through the evening. In the years they’d been mated they never stayed in attendance for so long.

An hour or two at most, making an appearance for their people before winnowing home to celebrate Solstice Eve in their own way. But Rhys had always enjoyed testing her limits. Confessing she wanted to be his plaything, she should have known he’d drag it out until she was a desperate mess. She could have told him to stop. He would have respected it. Took her home and finished what they started in the privacy of their room. But part of her liked it too. Letting go of that control, endless thoughts and worries evaporating simply because she was told not to resist. To channel her focus to feeling alone.

Maybe she was her mate’s plaything tonight, but she was also cherished. “Always, darling. Never forget that.”

“Can we go home?” she whispered. He kissed her brow, lifting her off of him. A moment later her feet were planted on the familiar wood of their bedroom at the Riverhouse. “How long was that?”

“Three hours,” Rhys murmured, setting her crown aside and easing the dress from her shoulders before carrying her to the bed.

“It felt like years.”

“I’m sure,” he responded, not showing any sign of amusement, though Feyre was sure she sounded ridiculous. Vanishing his clothes with his magic, he settled in too, bracing himself over her, hips resting between her legs. “You’ve been so patient for me tonight, sweet girl. Gonna take you nice and slow. You can come when you need to.”

He did his best to ease into her, but it did little to help the sensitivity that had built through the past few hours. Whimpering, she started to push up the bed. Her plan was foiled when Rhys used one hand to catch her leg, rubbing soothing circles to the inside of her knee. “Deep breath.” She obeyed. “Again. Good girl. Again.” He peppered tiny kisses along her cheeks and brow, thumbs sweeping just under her eyes when a tear fell. “Alright?”

“Yes."

“Good.” He was careful, his movements slow and even until she wrapped her legs around his waist, raising her hips with his next thrust. The pressure inside of her was climbing, just starting to overtake that teetering edge she’d been standing on all night. “Don’t try to stop it, darling.”

Squeezing a hand down between them, he flicked her clit, sending her flying over the edge, nails biting into his shoulders in a weak attempt to ground herself. He swore when she clenched around him, shuddering through his own release before reversing their positions so he wouldn’t crush her with his weight.

For a good long while they stayed just like that, time meaningless when the only thing either of them cared to think about was the bond glowing between them. Shields down, connected in every way, they could rest for a while. Rhys was the first to speak, drawing back enough to meet her eyes. “That was… something.”

“A lot,” she murmured in response. “But I liked it.”

He bent to kiss her, stroking her hair back from where it clung to her sweaty face. “I’m going to draw you a bath.”

“Alone?” she pouted.

He chuckled, pecking her lips again. “I’m going to look in on the kids, then I’ll join you. How does that sound?”

Feyre sighed, pure contentment overtaking any other feeling she’d faced that evening. “That sounds perfect.”

~~~~~

Taglist: @lulling-night-sky // @edgyellie // @shallyne // @the-lonelybarricade // @darling-archeron // @goddess-aelin // @the-lost-changeling // @faeriequeensuriel // @pandavelaris // @s-uppertime // @elentiya-whitethorn // @acotar-fanns // @jealousveronya // @acourtofwips // @gwynkyrie // @corcracrow // @thelovelymadone // @reverie-tales

[samgirl98]

Wail of the Silent 8/?

Prev | Next

TW: Mention of suicide

Breaking into a mental asylum was much easier when you had someone who could turn invisible and intangible. Jason wondered if he would end up getting powers. Hell, if he were half-dead anyway, it would only be fair.

Danny had flown them to Arkham Asylum. They landed on top of the roof.

“So, we look for this bitch and then get rid of her, right,” Jason asked as he primed the ray gun. They left the bazooka behind. It was too big and unwieldy. Jason had pouted at Danny’s explanation but understood. At least he still had the ray gun. Jason had also tucked the collapsed boo-staff on his back. It was better to be prepared.

“Yep,” Danny said, taking two thermoses out of his chest. Jason had freaked out when he saw Danny put them in his body, but the other man had just joked, saying he liked to keep them ‘close to his chest.’

 Jason had not been amused.

“You think I’ll get powers,” Jason asked suddenly. Danny stopped what he was doing and looked at Jason.

“Oh, absolutely. We just have to filter out that corrupted ectoplasm. It’s stifling your core.”

Huh, good to know.

“You think you’ll be around to help me learn to control them?”

Danny paused and then turned to Jason with a blush on his face. Jason could taste his hesitance in the air.

“If you want me to,” he whispered.

“I would like that,” Jason answered. The helmet made his voice sound expressionless, but he hoped Danny could feel the truth coming from Jason’s chest.

Both men stared at each other. (Danny wished he could see Jason’s green eyes instead of the white of his helmet.)

They turned away from each other when they felt a sadistic, amused glee through their core. Both men stared at each other.

“Spectra,” Danny sneered.

“Do you think she knows we’re here?”

“Most likely,” Danny answered. He gave Jason a thermos.

“Great.”

Danny got Jason’s wrist (Jason did not blush.), and they fell through the roof into the facility. Jason tensed when he saw a guard right in front of them, but he just went through them. He felt a weird chill when the guard walked through them. He noticed the guard pausing for a moment and rubbing his arms.

Danny held on to Jason, and they started walking. Jason noticed all the patients through the glass doors. They ended up where the main rogues were kept. He saw the Riddler, King Shark, Killer Croc, and a few others. Thankfully, the Joker was nowhere in sight. He was kept in another part of the facility.

And he still managed to escape constantly.

“Where are we going,” Jason asked once they were alone in another hallway.

“I don’t know. I’m following her ectosignature. It’s easier because she’s the most powerful ghost here.”

The place was a maze. Even with Danny walking them through walls, they had a hard time navigating the asylum. After half an hour of walking around without finding Spectra, they took a rest.

“This is harder than I thought,” Danny said, “I can feel her in the facility, but I can’t pinpoint her exact location.”

“Follow me,” a wispy voice suddenly said.

Danny raised glowing green hands while Jason prepped the ray gun. In front of them stood a shadow. It was humanoid, but Jason couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

Danny relaxed when he saw the figure and let his hands lose the green, toxic glow.

“It’s a shade,” he said, “they’re harmless.”

“Follow me. I can lead you to her,” it said.

Danny nodded and started following the shade. He still hadn’t let go of Jason’s wrist. They passed through halls and walls, even through floors at a point in time, until they landed in front of a door that read Dr. P. Spectra.

“Don’t let her get away with my death,” the shade said before disappearing. Jason vowed that the bitch wouldn’t. She had fucked with the people of Gotham too much. Now, Spectra was going to pay.

They walked through the door and found Batman on his knees.

____

Bruce had decided to visit Arkham. He had sent his findings to Commissioner Gordan, but his hands were full.

After some digging, Bruce pinpointed the rise in suicides with the arrival of Dr. Penelope Spectra. The suicides started the same day she did. Bruce didn’t believe in coincidences; they had to be connected.

Batman didn’t go in through the entrance. Instead, he had memorized which floor and office she was in and entered quietly through a side door. He didn’t care about the cameras, knowing that Oracle would redirect anything and the shadows would keep him hidden.

(Even though she was mad, Lady Gotham was helping the Dark Knight. She could get her petty revenge later.)

Batman picked the door’s lock and entered the office. It was empty. He entered slowly, warily. His instincts were telling him something was wrong; he wasn’t as alone as the room made it seem.

He went toward the file cabinet, still looking around. He stared at a wall; the shadows seemed thick and darker there. Batman looked through the files and found the ones on the eight patients who committed suicide.

At first glance, they looked like normal medical notes, but when he read them a second time, he noticed that the notes focused on the patients’ insecurities. More than that, though it was subtle, the notes also showed how to exploit the insecurities. Dr. Spectra was driving her patients to suicide on purpose. But to what end? What was the point?

Batman was suddenly flung to the opposite wall. He got up, groaning, and got on the defensive. He didn’t see anyone.

“It’s illegal to read medical records,” a voice echoed throughout the room, “but then again, you are a vigilante.”

“Show yourself,” Batman bit out.

A shadow on the wall started moving.

The first thing he noticed was the red eyes. Then he noticed a wispy, purplish, humanoid shadow appearing before him. It was feminine and had on purple lipstick, the only color aside from the red eyes, and had spiky black hair. She didn’t have feet. Instead, it was a tail, and he noticed fangs and sharp claws.

 “Dr. Penelope Spectra, I assume.”

“Hm, you’ve done your homework. Yes, I am her. Now, to what do I owe this visit from the Dark Knight?”

“You’ve been killing your patients. Why?”

She laughed.

“I didn’t kill them. They killed themselves. I was feeding off their misery; it’s not my fault they were too weak.”

Batman glared at the shadow woman. Did she feed off their misery? Why?

Suddenly, she was in front of Batman. He threw a punch, and it went right through her. It was like punching cold air.

“You feel of misery, too. What has you so miserable?”

Spectra touched Bruce, and every mistake, every bit of hardship, of suffering came to the forefront.

His parents’ death, Jason’s death, and his failure to bring his son home. Everything was right there for her to see. Batman felt his will to live slowly leaving him.

“You’re almost as delicious as that boy in Crime Alley. Almost.”

Batman fell to his knees just as Red Hood appeared.

Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this fic. It'll take a while because of work. I don't know when I'll be able to update again. I hope you like.

[gizkasparadise]

What is the worst, most technically inept drama that you secretly love? Tell us of the best badgood drama, the clunkiest dialogue, the most inexplicable casting, the hideously costumed yet most fun dramas, please.

🫥Anonymously yours🫥,

💜Purplehanfu😈💜🍇👾

dear complete stranger (<3),

man i love badgood dramas so much!!! i chose ones that are flatout objectively not good, but i was glued for them all. here's a few that are jumping out

triad princess (taiwan). it ends on a cliffhanger that will never be continued, the relationship building is non-existent, jasper liu basically plays himself yet still acts like he's doing a community service project, but omg it's cute and hit all the right notes for me. fave bonus is that one of the gangster henchmen falls in love with the FL's best friend, a shy boy who works at a mart and makes youtube covers

hold on, my lady (chinese). a bandit is offered a choice when she's caught during a heist: be executed or marry this aloof but beautiful but delicate son of the general. she chooses the latter, and hijinks ensue. made on a budget of pocket lint and just wacky, im going to rewatch this today, actually. fave bonus moment: the FL falls dramatically down and the ML breaks both his arms instantly when he tries to catch her

thumping spike & thumping spike 2 (korean). the two are barely related, but both deal with a competitive men's volleyball team! thumping spike 1 is about a washed up competitive female player going to coach a high school team to glory (just dont...think too critically about the age difference, there) and the second is COLLEGE EDITION with a love quadrangle between two identical twins, one of whom is a cheerleader for the team, the ace volleyball player who's too cool for school, and the WILDCARD volleyball player who gets mad when people call him gorilla. the second one is definitely worse than the first one, but neither are bringing home awards. i still watched them both in one sitting.

my heart twinkle twinkle (korean). this show is actually insane and a parade of toxic that i can never, in good conscience, ever rec to anyone. but gd did i watch the whole fucking thing. look at this fucking poster. this fucking poster looks like it was doused by a fake snow machine.

premise: Noble But Poor family has 3 daughters: the eldest, who is the caretaker; the middle who is Aloof and Ambitious; and the youngest who is A Fucking Menace. they are lead by their single father, who owns a fried chicken store

Rich but Dysfunctional family also has 3 children: the eldest, who is the only son and a fucking piece of work, the middle who is school colleagues with the other family's middle daughter and a hot mess who loves Da Club, and the youngest, who is clingy and gets into a ton of fights with the other family's youngest but is otherwise ok. they run AN EVIL FRIED CHICKEN FRANCHISE that is poisoning people through subpar ingredients!!

there's so much that's so wrong with this, im going to bullet point it from another post i made:

the entire premise is that there’s a fried chicken restaurant rivalry between two families but somehow there’s murder and slush funds and this guy who owns a string of fried chicken franchises named after himself (yeah) has direct access to seoul’s police commissioner at any given moment

one of the main actresses was involved in a scandal a little over halfway through production so they just….vanish her character/entire plotline like it never happened

the main male lead is toxic personified. him and li chengyin from goodbye my princess could co-author a dating strategy/forced-marriage-after-you-kill-your-girlfriend’s-head-of-household book because jesus christ. he literally screams that he hates women and he ends the drama (rightfully!!) in fucking prison

the second female lead disappears/creates a new identity and becomes a chicken chef student of the world. shes later in a love triangle between a single dad chicken shop interior designer and another vanilla guy

that's right, one guy’s job is he’s an architect for chicken restaurant interiors i cant

the main male lead leaves the main female lead’s father to die in a chicken-coop-themed arsony and then cha-cha slides into the son-in-law’s role during the father’s funeral and later MARRIES the female lead

the main male lead tells the female lead’s father’s grave that HE WON AND DAD LOST because the male lead is standing and the father’s in the dirt?!

a friend/almost!love interest of the second female lead dies tragically in a chicken delivery motorcycle chase????

it's the worst drama i've ever seen. i watched all of it.

kakafukaka (japanese)

this one is so gd weird and unappealing it somehow circled back around and became off-puttingly charming to me? so the premise is that there's a 20something year old woman whose life has gone to shit and she ends up in a sharehome with the most sexually dysfunctional bunch of people in the world. one of these is her ex, who tells her that she's the only one he can get a boner with (yeah) and asks her to help him get over his impotence in order to write his novel (yeah). if you read the whole show as kind of an exploration into sex without romance/love, it's as not bad, and there's something weirdly endearing about everyone--i really love the second female lead akari in particular. but it's not a good show, not by a long shot (MDL rating? 6.6), and the ship is dysfunctional at the very best. the ost somehow is great though?

speaking of trash dramas with great OSTs, love in sadness has some of my favorite songs:

okay that's enough for now!!!!

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey's interview with The Standard (2023)

(TW: this interview contains a story of Jonny being threatened by an homophobe in DC the day after the Human Campain Rights Gala)

Queer as Folk, Will & Grace, It’s a Sin: it’s not as if TV hasn’t tackled the gay male experience – and well – before. But I can’t think of a gay, straight (as it were) drama that matches the sweep and sheer mainstream gloss of Ron Nyswaner’s new eight-part Paramount+ series Fellow Travelers. 

Nor can I think of one that does sex quite as brilliantly – frequent, searingly hot, sometimes tender, sometimes perfunctory, sometimes borderline brutal (one of the writers’ rules, Nyswaner has said, was “that we would never repeat the same act. When we got to episode eight, we were really kind of flummoxed”) and always articulate in a way that the necessarily secretive characters can’t be.  

It’s certainly the first series I’ve seen that explores gay relationships in such an unapologetic yet nuanced and, frankly, expensive way, I tell Bailey, when I meet him at the Corinthia hotel in London. 

“Totally,” he says. “And you can see it on the screen; the respect. In the early 90s, you needed a straight superstar like Tom Hanks [in Philadelphia, also written by Nyswaner] to bring a queer story and commission it. Cut to thirty years later, and it's the story itself that is the commissionable thing.”

I think the heartthrob star of Bridgerton is underselling his own clout a bit. The series follows the love affair between Tim Laughlin, an idealistic young congressional staffer (Bailey), and the vastly more experienced, cynical and outrageously handsome State Department official Hawkins ‘Hawk’ Fuller (Matt Bomer, whose all-American jawline could open a can of luncheon meat) that begins at the height of McCarthyism.

It jumps around a thirty-year timeline, expanded beyond the mid-century scope of Thomas Mallon’s original novel, to explore the relationship’s far-reaching repercussions, and the way that legislated oppression shapes people.

The other thing that stands out about the series, which begins in 1953 at the start of the Lavender Scare – the government crackdown on homosexual federal employees that resulted in upwards of 5,000 losing their jobs, and an alarming number taking their own lives – is that all the gay leads are played by out gay actors.

Bailey has said before that the important thing is gay stories being told, rather than slavishly ‘appropriate’ casting, and “I still 100 per cent stand by the fact that I think all actors should be able to do everything,” he says. “But to have gay actors chronicling the oppression and the trauma of it, I think it only adds to the experience. It's exciting that people welcome it.”

It’s encouraging too, that an out gay man was trusted to anchor a heteromantic behemoth like Bridgerton, to the point that having been snapped at Wimbledon with Ariana Grande (with whom he stars next year in the movie of Wicked), a newspaper was calling his agent threatening to out him as straight (“I'm in two minds about whether that's a really good sign of progression”). But all this progress is set against a sobering backdrop.

Rights for women and LGBTQ+ people are being rolled back across the world. Hate crimes based on sexuality have risen by 112 per cent in the last five years in England and Wales alone. How does he feel, right now, I ask him. After a moment’s consideration, he tells me a story that shocks me to my core.

He’d been to Washington DC, he tells me, at an annual event for the LGBTQ+ organisation The Human Rights Campaign. 

“It was an incredible experience,” he says, sitting one leg tucked under on a tasteful beige chaise longue. “I met President Biden. I was there with Shonda Rhimes, she was being given an award, Matt Bomer was given another one; I was introducing him. My first political gala. I had the most amazing night; had a drink; couldn't sleep; buzzing.

“I woke up the next morning, it was like a montage. Sunshine, I was like, this is brilliant. I went into a coffee shop, and I was wearing a Human Rights Campaign cap from the night before. And the young lady who I was ordering from recognised me from Bridgerton, we were just chatting.

“And a man arrived behind me and he said, ‘Are you famous?’ And I said something like, 'I'm really famous for ordering coffee,' which is actually quite an annoying thing to say,” he laughs. “And then he got my cap, and he pulled it off my head and he threw it across the room and he said, ‘get out of this f***ing coffee shop, you queer.”

The room went still, Bailey remembers. But he walked over, picked up his hat, and put it back on his head. “If you don't take that cap off, I'm gonna f***ing shoot you,” it came again. “Where I'm from, people like me kill people like you.”

It was, of course, terrifying. But “in the moment, everything slows down,” he says. “No one knew what to do, apart from one girl, she was amazing. Angela, she came up, and she got her phone out and she said, ‘I'm recording this message, I think you are welcome in this country. And what you're saying, I think, is appalling.’ That happened sort of five minutes in, and he left.”

The man was from Pennsylvania (yes, Bailey did ask), and what Bailey took from the experience, he says, is that “potentially, there is a kid who – that's his father. That's his uncle. That's his teacher.” 

He pauses. “My life was threatened. My body believed it; my brain didn't and it took me a while to really catch up with it. But I've got friends and security. There are so many people that don't. They are surrounded by that every day, and the torment of what that must be like, the amount of fear that was generated... If that's what children are surrounded by, they're not going to be able to grow in any way.

“And of course, that's not just an American story,” he continues. “It's international. And it's terrifying, that [here in the UK] we're not looking after queer people, in terms of allowing them into the country. Because that is the reality; people’s lives are literally at risk.”

He says the messages he’s been getting in response to the show bear this out. “People are still living in the closet. Or they’ve had a moment where they're watching and they realise, that was their father's story, or their mother's story; or it’s people who have been affected by this, but for the first time are understanding the trauma.

“People are so shocked that this is such recent history, but the majority of people in the world are living under that sort of belief system. And people on Instagram message from areas in the world where just getting through the day without being outed is survival.”

Bailey, 35, grew up in rural Oxfordshire as the youngest of four and the only boy to an audiologist mother and a father who worked for Rowse Honey. He had nothing but support and love within his family, but even he internalised shame from the way gay people were represented in the media when he was growing up. 

“The majority of gay people were either the butt of jokes, or being caught in sexual acts and considered deviants, or they were committing suicide, or they're dying of AIDS,” he says. 

He’s spoken before about an episode of Casualty he saw, aged 11, with exactly the latter storyline, “and I do remember that episode, viscerally, and crying and being like, that's what I'm [going to be]. And that isn't Casualty’s fault. It's brilliant to have that story out there. But it was the lack of variety, of access to being allowed to feel that you're going to be okay.”

Having said that, he says, “every five years is a different gay generation. It was nowhere near as tough as if I'd have been born 15 years earlier. Me and my friends, two in four, if not three in four, would not be here.” 

His relationship status is off-limits. There’s “a lovely man”, but that’s all he’ll say. “It's not secret, but it's private,” he says. “Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don't know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”

Bailey’s next big screen project is Wicked, playing Fiyero alongside Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. At one point though, he was doing that, Fellow Travelers and Bridgerton at the same time, which sounds insane.

“On World AIDS Day last year, I was in Canada playing Tim on the AIDS ward,” he says (you know this from the start, no spoilers here). “And then I wrapped, went straight to the airport, slept on the plane, got up and went straight to a Regency ball, slept in a hotel in London overnight and then went and danced with Ariana Grande for a day, my first day of rehearsal. Then I came back and burnt some conscription papers for the Vietnam War on the Monday.”

He’s got big plans of his own too – galvanised by the gala in Washington, he’s been working with the charity Just Like Us, which brings queer speakers into schools. "You're twice as likely to be bullied if you're gay, or queer," he says. "And yet if there's positive LGBTQ+ messaging within the school system, 100 per cent of people's mental health and happiness increases. It's a no brainer." He is planning to establish a foundation next year, to consolidate his charitable work.

But for now he’s glad to be home for a bit. Bailey moved out of London to be closer to his Nana during lockdown, and stayed (“I was watching Strictly with her the other day”). She’s 93, born in 1930, so “we worked out she's the same age as Tim. So we charted everything that Tim experiences with where she was, and it was amazing,” he says.

“I knew that she had known one gay man at work in her life, because that obviously came up when I was having conversations about who I am, and I knew he had taken his own life. She's watching Fellow Travelers, and it's really emotional for her because she's, I think for the first time, really being allowed to understand what might have been going on.”

She's “blown away” by the show, he says. They haven’t talked about “specific scenes”, but “she said to my sister – ‘I didn't know he had it in him.’ I actually want that on a T-shirt.”

Source

[mariacallous]

A doctors’ organization at the center of the ongoing legal fight over the abortion drug mifepristone has suffered a significant data breach. A link to an unsecured Google Drive published on the group’s website pointed users last week to a large cache of sensitive documents, including financial and tax records, membership rolls, and email exchanges spanning over a decade. The more than 10,000 documents lay bare the outsize influence of a small conservative organization working to lend a veneer of medical science to evangelical beliefs on parenting, sex, procreation, and gender.

The American College of Pediatricians, which has fought to deprive gay couples of their parental rights and encouraged public schools to treat LGBTQ youth as if they were mentally ill, is one of a handful of conservative think tanks leading the charge against abortion in the United States. A federal lawsuit filed by the College and its partners against the US Food and Drug Administration seeks to limit nationwide access to what is now the most common form of abortion. The case is now on a trajectory for the US Supreme Court, which not even a year ago declared abortion the purview of America’s elected state representatives. 

The leaked records, first reported by WIRED, offer an unprecedented look at the groups and personnel central to that campaign. They also describe an organization that has benefited greatly by exaggerating its own power, even as it has struggled quietly for two decades to grow in size and gain respect. The records show how the College, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes as a hate group, managed to introduce fringe beliefs into the mainstream simply by being, as the founder of Fox News once put it, “the loudest voice in the room.” 

The Leak

A WIRED review of the exposed data found that the unsecured Google Drive stored nearly 10,000 files, some of which are compressed zip files containing additional documents. These records detail highly sensitive internal information about the College’s donors and taxes, social security numbers of board members, staff resignation letters, budgetary and fundraising concerns, and the usernames and passwords of more than 100 online accounts. The files include Powerpoint presentations, Quickbooks accounting documents, and at least 388 spreadsheets. 

One spreadsheet appears to be an export of an internal database containing information on 1,200 past and current members. It contains intimate personal information about each member, including various contact details, as well as where they were educated, how they heard of the group, and when membership dues were paid. The records show past and current members are mostly male and, on average, over 50 years old. As of spring 2022, the College counted slightly more than 700 members, according to another document reviewed by WIRED. 

The breach exposes some material dating back to the group’s origin. It includes mailing lists gathered by the group of thousands of “conservative physicians” across the country. (One document outlining recruitment efforts states in bold, red letters: “TARGET CHRISTIAN MDs.”) The ongoing recruitment of doctors and medical school students seen as holding Christian views has long been its top priority. The leaked records indicate that more than 10,000 mailers were sent to physicians between 2013 and 2017 alone. 

While the group’s membership rolls are not public, the leak has outed most if not all of its members. A cursory review of the member lists surfaced one name of note: a recent commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, who after joining in 2019 asked that his membership with the group remain a secret. (WIRED was unable to reach the official for comment in time for publication.)

The SPLC’s “hate group” designation, which the College forcefully disputes, haunted its fundraising efforts, records reveal. A barrage of emails in 2014 show that the label cost the group the chance to benefit from an Amazon program that would eventually distribute $450 million to charities across the globe. Amazon would deny the College’s application, stating that it relied on the SPLC to determine which charities fall into certain ineligible categories.

A strategy document would later refer to a “unified plan” among the College and its allies to “continue discrediting the SPLC,” which included a campaign aimed at lowering its rating at Charity Navigator, one of the web’s most influential nonprofit evaluators. One of the group’s admins noted that despite SPLC’s label, another charity monitor, GuideStar, listed the College as being in “good standing.”

The College’s GuideStar page no longer says this and appears to have been defaced. It now reads, “AMERICAN COLLEGE OF doodoo fartheads,” with a mission statement saying: “we are evil and hate gays :(((”

The Google Drive containing the documents was taken offline soon after WIRED contacted the American College of Pediatricians. The College did not respond to a request for comment.

The Talk

Leaked communications between members of the group and minutes taken at board meetings over the course of several years speak loudly about the challenges the group faced in pursuing its deeply unpopular agenda: returning America to a time when the laws and social mores around family squared neatly with evangelical Christian beliefs.

Many of the College’s most radical views target transgender people, and in particular, transgender youth. The leak, which had been indexed by Google, includes volumes of literature crafted specifically to influence relationships between practicing pediatricians, parents, and their children. It includes reams of marketing material the College aims to distribute widely among public school officials. This includes pushing schools to adopt junk science painting transgender youth as carriers of a pathological disorder, one that’s capable of spontaneously causing others–à la the dancing plague–to adopt similar thoughts and behaviors.

This is one of the group’s most dubious claims. While unsupported by medical science, it is routinely and incuriously propagated through literature targeted at schools and medical offices around the US. The primary source for this claim is a research paper drafted in 2017 by Lisa Littman, a Brown University scholar who, while a medical doctor, had not specialized in mental health. The goal of the paper was to introduce, conceptually, “rapid onset gender dysphoria”—a hypothetical disorder, as was later clarified by the journal that published it. Littman would also clarify personally that her research “does not validate the phenomenon” she’d hypothesized, since no clinicians, nor individuals identifying as trans, had participated in the study.  

The paper explains that its subjects were instead all parents who had been recruited from a handful of websites known for opposing gender-affirmative care and “telling parents not to believe their child is transgender.” A review of one of the sites from the period shows parents congregating to foster paranoia about whether there’s a “conspiracy of silence” around “anime culture” that was brainwashing boys into behaving like girls; insights plucked in some cases straight from another, more notorious forum (widely known for reveling in the suicides of the people it has bullied).

A 2021 prospectus describing the group’s focus, ideology, and lobbying efforts encapsulates a wide range of “educational resources” destined for the inboxes of physicians and medical school students. The materials include links to a website instructing doctors on how to speak to children in a variety of scenarios about a multitude of topics surrounding sex, including in the absence of their parents. Practice scripts of conversations between doctors and patients advise, among other things, ways to elicit a child’s thoughts on sex with the help of an imaginative metaphor. 

While the material is not expressly religious, it is clearly aimed at painting same-sex marriage as aberrant and immoral behavior. Physicians lobbied by the group are also told to urge patients to purchase Christian-based parenting guides, including one designed to help parents broach the topic of sex with their 11- and 12-year-old kids. The College suggests telling parents to plan a “special overnight trip,” a pretext for instilling in their children sexual norms in line with evangelical practice. The group suggests telling parents to buy a tool called a “getaway kit,” a series of workbooks that run around $54 online. The workbooks methodically walk the parents through the process of springing the topic, but only after a day-long charade of impromptu gift-giving and play. 

These books are full of games and puzzles for the parent and child to cooperatively take on. Throughout the process, the child slowly digests a concept of “sexual purity,” lessons aided by oversimplified scripture and well-trodden Bible school parables. 

Another document the group shared with its members contains a script for appointments with pregnant minors. Its purpose is made evidently clear: The advice is engineered specifically to reduce the odds of minors coming into contact with medical professionals not strictly opposed to abortion. A practice script recommends the doctor inform the minor that they “strongly recommend against” abortion, adding “the procedure not only kills the infant you carry, but is also a danger to you.” (Medically, the term “fetus” and “infant” are not interchangeable, the latter referring to a newborn baby less than one year old.)

The doctors are urged to recommend that the minor visit a website that, like the aforementioned website, is not expressly religious but will only direct visitors to Catholic-run “crisis pregnancy centers,” which strictly reject abortion. The same site is widely promoted by anti-abortion groups such as National Right to Life, which last year held that it should be illegal to terminate the pregnancy of a 10-year-old rape victim.

The Professionals

The effort to ban mifepristone, legislation the Supreme Court paused last month pending further review, faces significant legal hurdles but could ultimately benefit from the appellate court’s disproportionately conservative makeup. Most of the legal power in the fight was supplied by a much older and better funded group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has established ties with some of the country’s most elite political figures—former vice president Mike Pence and Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett among them.

A contract in the leaked documents dated April 2021 shows the ADF agreeing to legally represent the College free of charge. It stipulates that ADF’s ability to subsidize expenses incurred during lawsuits would be limited by ethical guidelines; however, it could still forgive any lingering costs simply by declaring the College “indigent.”

In contrast to the College’s some 700 members, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)–the organization from which the College’s founders split 20 years ago–has roughly 67,000. The rupture between the two groups was a direct result of a statement issued by the AAP in 2002. Modern research, the AAP said, had conclusively shown that the sexual orientation of parents had an imperceptible impact on the well-being of children, so long as they were raised in caring, supportive families.

The College would gain notoriety early on by assailing the positions of the AAP. In 2005, a Boston Globe reporter noted how common it had become for the American College of Pediatricians “to be quoted as a counterpoint” to anything said by the AAP. The institution, he wrote, had a rather “august-sounding name” for being run by a “single employee.” 

Internal documents show that the group’s directors quickly encountered hurdles operating on the fringe of accepted science. Some claimed to be oppressed. Most of the College’s research had been “written by one person,” according to minutes from a 2006 meeting, which were included in the leak. The College was failing to make a splash. In the future, one director suggested, papers rejected by medical journals “should be published on the web.” The vote to do so was unanimous (though the board decided the term “not published” was nicer than “rejected”). 

A second director put forth a motion to create a separate “scientific section” on the group’s website, strictly for linking to articles published in medical journals. The motion was quashed after it dawned on the board that they didn’t “have enough articles” to make the page “look professional.” 

The College struggled to identify the root cause of its runtedness. “To get enough clout,” one director said, “it would take substantial numbers, maybe 10,000.” (The College’s recruitment efforts would yield fewer than 7 percent of this goal in the following 17 years.) Yet another said the marketing department advised that “the College needs to pick a fight with the AAP and get on Larry King Live.” Another, the notes say, felt the organization was too busy trying to “walk the fence” by neglecting to acknowledge that “we are conservative and religious.” 

[whatevergreen]

"The Scottish government has hailed a “historic day for equality” after MSPs approved plans to make it easier and less intrusive for individuals to legally change their gender, extending the new system of self-identification to 16- and 17-year-olds for the first time.

Six years after it was proposed by the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, after two of the largest public consultations in the history of the Scottish parliament and amid an increasingly toxic and polarised political discourse, the bill was passed by MSPs on Thursday in a specially extended session.

As a mark of the escalating tensions surrounding the changes, the debate was disrupted minutes before the final vote by protesters in the public gallery shouting “shame on you” and “this is the darkest day”.

The final vote followed an unprecedented two days of debate as members worked cross-party and past midnight on more than 150 amendments to address concerns about abusive males potentially taking advantage of the new system, and its impact on UK equality law.

The gender recognition reform (Scotland) bill removes the need for a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria in order to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC), and extends the application process to 16- and 17-year-olds for the first time.

Scotland’s new self-identification system will also reduce the time someone must have been permanently living in their acquired gender before they can apply – from two years to three months, or six months for those aged 16 and 17 – with a three-month reflection period during which an individual can change their mind. ..."

Before the vote:

"... Shona Robison, the cabinet secretary for social justice, is winding up the debate on the gender recognition reform (Scotland) bill.

She says a clear international consensus now exists in favour of self-declaration for gender recognition. She says only yesterday Spain passed the first stage of a law that would implement this.

And she also says this was recently acknowledged in a report from the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights. Here is an extract from that report.

"The UN independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has also recommended that legal gender recognition should be based on self-determination, be a simple administrative process, and not require applicants to fulfil abusive requirements, including medical certification.

The commissioner considers that, from a human rights perspective, selfdetermination models for legal gender recognition represent a best practice, and the introduction of such a model in the UK would therefore constitute an important step forward.

The commissioner notes that the number of Council of Europe member states that have eliminated the requirement to provide medical certificates or diagnoses for legal gender recognition has more than doubled since 2018, with nine having adopted such models, and proposals pending in other member states.

To the commissioner’s best knowledge, there is no evidence of these self-determination procedures being misused or leading to issues in relation to the rights of others."

Some good news for a change.

[australianwomensnews]

When it comes to Australia’s national regulators, women rule.

Women now dominate the leadership of federal regulatory and oversight agencies that enforce rules for business and the economy, with 33 women holding chief executive or chair roles. This signals a profound shift for the nation’s top watchdogs, once almost solely the domain of male enforcers.

Rapid digitisation and rising globalisation are making traditional black letter enforcement approaches less effective, leading to women with so-called solid soft skills, such as influence, collaboration and communication, winning top-tier regulatory roles.

Women are now at the front line of the battles against scams, identity and data theft, cyber ransomware attacks, electronic espionage, digital surveillance, misinformation, social media abuse and dark web criminality.

“It’s very different to the skills base you needed a decade or two ago where it was just about telling people what to do, and they would toe the line,” says Ann Sherry, a former head of the Office of Status of Women in the Hawke and Keating governments.

“Those jobs were filled by a particular sort of person cast as a regulator. So, in a way, it was almost an enforcement role, whereas the jobs have changed.”

The leadership of the federal public service reached gender equilibrium last year.

Sherry, who is now QUT chancellor and chairs Queensland Airports, digital marketing firm Enero and UNICEF Australia, says that the public sector has been better at promoting women through the ranks but that many women have also built relevant skills in the private sector.

“Many women have had to broaden their careers and build a broad set of skills to be successful. There is now a body of capability to draw up. The talent pool has changed, and the jobs require broader skills. It is a confluence of events,” she says.

The surge in women leading federal regulators compares with 19 women (10 per cent) chairing ASX200 companies and 26 women (9 per cent) who are CEOs across the ASX300, as at the end of 2023.

Competition chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock (who also chairs the Payments System Board) are the first women to lead their institutions. Others, such as media watchdog Nerida O’Loughlin and energy regulator Clare Savage, have won second appointments.

A push to bring in new blood from outside the Australian public service helped veteran NSW regulator Elizabeth Tydd win an appointment as head of the Australian Information Commission. Carly Kind was tapped from a London think tank to be the new privacy commissioner.

They join a swag of women now overseeing vast swaths of the economy, including infrastructure (Gabrielle Trainor), aviation (Pip Spence), food (Sandra Cuthbert), petroleum (Sue McCarrey) and fisheries (Helen Kroger).

Others such as Rachel Noble (espionage), Julie Inman Grant (e-safety), Jayde Richmond (anti-scams centre) and Michelle McGuinness (cyber co-ordinator) are focused on rapidly emerging harms, including national security threats, identity and data theft, consumer abuse, online scams and fraud.

Workplace and safety regulators are now dominated by women too, including Anna Booth (Fair Work Ombudsman), Joanne Farrell (Safe Work Australia), Jeanine Drummond (maritime safety), Natalie Pelham (rail safety) and Janet Anderson (aged care).

The dominant role female regulators play has been part of a profound shift in the number of women in leadership roles in the Australian government. This has risen from a quarter of executive roles being held by women 20 years ago to over 50 per cent last year.

Battle ready

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, who rose through the ranks as a competition lawyer at law firm Gilbert and Tobin, says her generation of leaders had battled their way through male-dominated workplaces.

“In those workplaces, to get ahead, we needed to target the areas we thought were most important to make an intervention and where we could most effectively make an impact.

“We actually had to build skills to succeed, which are beneficial skills in these roles.”

Ms Cass-Gottlieb says women have also had to differentiate themselves. “You needed to point to other ways of working, including creative and different solutions that drew from experience in various areas rather than a pure step-by-step standard career path.”

Australian Information Commissioner Tydd points to Columbia University research that measured creativity by analysing songs, finding that women created more songs than men.

“Digital government requires a creative use of proactive tools to identify and mitigate future harm. It’s the unforeseen or latent harms that are the most refractory and so we’ve got to look at diagnosis and predictive tools, and that’s where you start to get a bit creative.”

Tydd says she was attracted to regulatory work because of the value of promoting open government, transparency and accountability.

“I think that seeking service and purpose orientation are factors that drive people into this work and I do think seeking service is a very comfortable and well-established motivation within women.”

Demand for new approaches

According to ANU Crawford School of Public Policy director Professor Janine O’Flynn, the data on the importance of public motivation for women is mixed. However, she suggests that women’s more attuned risk and relationship skills help them to be more effective regulators.

“We certainly know that the most effective models of regulation are around how you can think about risk and how you build relationships with the parties that have been regulated.

“I don’t mean that in a sort of dodgy way. The higher the trust relationships you can get between regulators and those who are regulated, the more likely you are to get the outcomes that you’re looking for.”

Read the full article in the link above!

[beardedmrbean]

A man has been arrested in Bristol after human remains were discovered in two suitcases by Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Police launched a manhunt after making the horrifying discovery late on Wednesday evening. They are no longer looking for anyone else after armed police detained a 34-year-old in the early hours of Saturday morning at Temple Meads railway station in Bristol.

Elsewhere, forensic officers were photographed at a crime scene at a property in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, and at the site of some nearby bins, on Saturday. Officers said on Friday that they had discovered more human remains at the West London property.

It is believed that the remains in London are connected to those found in Bristol and that they are both of two male victims.

Avon and Somerset Police received a report of a man with a suitcase acting suspiciously on the Clifton Suspension Bridge just before midnight on Wednesday.

When officers arrived, the man had left with the two cases soon found.

The investigation was taken over by the Metropolitan Police after human remains were found at the property in Shepherd’s Bush.

On Saturday, the force’s deputy assistant commissioner Andy Valentine thanked the public for their support, saying the arrest was “a significant development in our investigation”.

Witnesses who saw the suitcases near Clifton Suspension Bridge described them as “tatty”, with one woman saying she saw one of the pieces of luggage “leaking blood”.

A suspected serial killer has allegedly confessed to murdering 42 women, including his wife, and dumping their bodies at a rubbish tip in the Kenyan capital.

The discovery of nine mutilated bodies at the disused quarry, in the Mukuru slum in Nairobi late last week, horrified the country and triggered a huge manhunt.

The 33-year-old prime suspect was arrested in the early hours of Monday at a bar where he had been watching the Euro 2024 final.

Police said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha had confessed to more than three dozen killings with his wife being his first victim.

Mohamed Amin, head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, said: “We are dealing with a serial killer, a psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life.”

“The suspect confessed to have lured, killed and disposed of 42 female bodies at the dumping site.”

Another passer-by described how he had joked with a woman who was helping to move the suitcases that they could have bodies inside.

Giles Malone, 61, said he recalled the woman saying: “These are the heaviest suitcases that I have ever lifted I suppose there could be a body in there.”

He described the suitcases as “real tatty, really beaten up and [they] had straps around them like in a criss-cross.”

He added: “They were maxxed out, it was like they were bursting at the seams.”

Another man, 36, was arrested in Greenwich, south London in connection with the discovery on Friday but they have since been released without charge.

The Metropolitan Police are leading the investigation and working with officers at Avon and Somerset Police.