#mcd promotions

[madcatlad]

Chicken Shaman

OK, so I'm not really a rewrite myself BUT I've been thinking about what a rewrite of the Chicken Shaman would look like.

I love the idea of him being comedy relief, but I feel like the approach to it would have to be different than a minecraft roleplay would portray him to be taken seriously. Plus a lot of the humor and chemistry comes from him being one of Jess' friends I feel, which wouldn't really work so well for an Avra or Aphia or Aphara- whatever.

I really like the darker approach people are taking to Minecraft Diaries. Considering it was previous a minecraft letsplay for kids. Because when you really think about the lore it is REALLY DARK. So I want to continue that approach.

This of course extends to the chicken Shaman. I want to see a portrayal of him that is funny but in an off-putting way. In that "is it funny haha or funny boohoo" kind of way. Like the guy is CLEARLY unhinged in the original, but make it less in a harmless portrayal, so that the reader feels as unnerved and cautious as the characters should be by him. Make it so no one is truly sure if he will harm them or not.

AND LET THIS GUY BE A SHAMAN!!! I want to see some wild rituals, disturbing practises, and ominous beliefs. Some true viking sh*t! It would also be fun if you threw in some ominous prophecies in there threw him as well! I love prophecy tropes, especially vague ones. I think it would really set the tone for all the underline evils that Aphmau was Blissfully unaware of in S1 but would soon come to face as her world gets bigger and scarier. Or perhaps just little comments that just so happen to come true mysteriously.

I don't know if it's because I am binge watching Vikings & Vikings Valhalla right now, but I really crave this portrayal. I want to see some Floki behavior from Castor (if you know, you know). I want his mannerisms to be impulsive and erratic, and scary for all who don't really know him. But then you do know him, and he's still crazy but he's still your homie, and you love-hate him.

If anyone IS doing this interpretation or has SEEN it please please tag, or reblog, or link, I NEED thisssss!this session!

(Also if there was a "Hold The Door!!!" Plot Twist with Irene and Castor or something that would be AAAHHH 🤯 If you know, you know)

[messrsrarchives]

maybe time running out is a gift - my contribution to the @imsiriuslyreading noah fest <3

"Do you want to discuss treatment options?”

The sharp intake of breath from Sirius is the loudest noise he’s made today, and his eyes snap over to Remus’. There’s a lot to be seen in them: overwhelming fear, the slightest hint of anger, the start of tears that haven’t quite formed yet. But most of all, there’s something gentle. A gentle acceptance laid over the top of everything else where, even though he hasn’t spoken the words himself, Remus knows what Sirius is trying to say - It’s okay. Whatever you want. Whatever you need. I’m here.

Remus shakes his head.

OR:

It's a terminally-ill Remus fic, a bucket list of travels, a box of blue-hair dye, and a letter marked 'Give to Sirius when I'm gone'.

[simanzi]

seeing some people not even have the spine to boycott brands is so disheartening. all you gotta do is not open your wallet and you can't even do that in solidarity

[saccharisu]

they are called Zizzle :)

THANK YOU KIND ANON

[super-affection]

just dropping this here since ive been explaining to friends why its not fantastic

mcdonalds can you please not touch a series that i love? its such a shame and the most bizarre thing to see theyre doing an alice stole the precious thing parody. didnt think we’d be here but here we are

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Antiusurpation and the road to disenshittification

THIS WEEKEND (November 8-10), I'll be in TUCSON, AZ: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

Nineties kids had a good reason to be excited about the internet's promise of disintermediation: the gatekeepers who controlled our access to culture, politics, and opportunity were crooked as hell, and besides, they sucked.

For a second there, we really did get a lot of disintermediation, which created a big, weird, diverse pluralistic space for all kinds of voices, ideas, identities, hobbies, businesses and movements. Lots of these were either deeply objectionable or really stupid, or both, but there was also so much cool stuff on the old, good internet.

Then, after about ten seconds of sheer joy, we got all-new gatekeepers, who were at least as bad, and even more powerful, than the old ones. The net became Tom Eastman's "Five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four." Culture, politics, finance, news, and especially power have been gathered into the hands of unaccountable, greedy, and often cruel intermediaries.

Oh, also, we had an election.

This isn't an election post. I have many thoughts about the election, but they're still these big, unformed blobs of anger, fear and sorrow. Experience teaches me that the only way to get past this is to just let all that bad stuff sit for a while and offgas its most noxious compounds, so that I can handle it safely and figure out what to do with it.

While I wait that out, I'm just getting the job done. Chop wood, carry water. I've got a book to write, Enshittification, for Farar, Straus, Giroux's MCD Books, and it's very nearly done:

https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Adoctorow+%23dailywords&src=typed_query&f=live

Compartmentalizing my anxieties and plowing that energy into productive work isn't necessarily the healthiest coping strategy, but it's not the worst, either. It's how I wrote nine books during the covid lockdowns.

And sometimes, when you're not staring directly at something, you get past the tunnel vision that makes it impossible to see its edges, fracture lines, and weak points.

So I'm working on the book. It's a book about platforms, because enshittification is a phenomenon that is most visible and toxic on platforms. Platforms are intermediaries, who connect buyers and sellers, creators and audiences, workers and employers, politicians and voters, activists and crowds, as well as families, communities, and would-be romantic partners.

There's a reason we keep reinventing these intermediaries: they're useful. Like, it's technically possible for a writer to also be their own editor, printer, distributor, promoter and sales-force:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#intermediation

But without middlemen, those are the only writers we'll get. The set of all writers who have something to say that I want to read is much larger than the set of all writers who are capable of running their own publishing operation.

The problem isn't middlemen: the problem is powerful middlemen. When an intermediary gets powerful enough to usurp the relationship between the parties on either side of the transaction, everything turns to shit:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/direct-the-problem-of-middlemen/

A dating service that faces pressure from competition, regulation, interoperability and a committed workforce will try as hard as it can to help you find Your Person. A dating service that buys up all its competitors, cows its workforce, captures its regulators and harnesses IP law to block interoperators will redesign its service so that you keep paying forever, and never find love:

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2024/02/13/1228749143/the-dating-app-paradox-why-dating-apps-may-be-worse-than-ever

Multiply this a millionfold, in every sector of our complex, high-tech world where we necessarily rely on skilled intermediaries to handle technical aspects of our lives that we can't – or shouldn't – manage ourselves. That world is beholden to predators who screw us and screw us and screw us, jacking up our rents:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/yes-there-are-antitrust-voters-in

Cranking up the price of food:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/04/dont-let-your-meat-loaf/#meaty-beaty-big-and-bouncy

And everything else:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

(Maybe this is a post about the election after all?)

The difference between a helpmeet and a parasite is power. If we want to enjoy the benefits of intermediaries without the risks, we need policies that keep middlemen weak. That's the opposite of the system we have now.

Take interoperability and IP law. Interoperability (basically, plugging new things into existing things) is a really powerful check against powerful middlemen. If you rely on an ad-exchange to fund your newsgathering and they start ripping you off, then an interoperable system that lets you use a different exchange will not only end the rip off – it'll make it less likely to happen in the first place because the ad-tech platform will be afraid of losing your business:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-shatter-ad-tech

Interoperability means that when a printer company gouges you on ink, you can buy cheap third party ink cartridges and escape their grasp forever:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Interoperability means that when Amazon rips off audiobook authors to the tune of $100m, those authors can pull their books from Amazon and sell them elsewhere and know that their listeners can move their libraries over to a different app:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/07/audible-exclusive/#audiblegate

But interoperability has been in retreat for 40 years, as IP law has expanded to criminalize otherwise normal activities, so that middlemen can use IP rights to protect themselves from their end-users and business customers:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

That's what I mean when I say that "IP" is "any law that lets a business reach beyond its own walls and control the actions of its customers, competitors and critics."

For example, there's a pernicious law 1998 US law that I write about all the time, Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the "anticircumvention law." This is a law that felonizes tampering with copyright locks, even if you are the creator of the undelying work.

So Amazon – the owner of the monopoly audiobook platform Audible – puts a mandatory copyright lock around every audiobook they sell. I, as an author who writes, finances and narrates the audiobook, can't provide you, my customer, with a tool to remove that lock. If I do so, I face criminal sanctions: a five year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for a first offense:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

In other words: if I let you take my own copyrighted work out of Amazon's app, I commit a felony, with penalties that are far stiffer than the penalties you would face if you were to simply pirate that audiobook. The penalties for you shoplifting the audiobook on CD at a truck-stop are lower than the penalties the author and publisher of the book would face if they simply gave you a tool to de-Amazon the file. Indeed, even if you hijacked the truck that delivered the CDs, you'd probably be looking at a shorter sentence.

This is a law that is purpose-built to encourage intermediaries to usurp the relationship between buyers and sellers, creators and audiences. It's a charter for parasitism and predation.

But as bad as that is, there's another aspect of DMCA 1201 that's even worse: the exemptions process.

You might have read recently about the Copyright Office "freeing the McFlurry" by granting a DMCA 1201 exemption for companies that want to reverse-engineer the error-codes from McDonald's finicky, unreliable frozen custard machines:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/28/mcbroken/#my-milkshake-brings-all-the-lawyers-to-the-yard

Under DMCA 1201, the Copyright Office hears petitions for these exemptions every three years. If they judge that anticircumvention law is interfering with some legitimate activity, the statute empowers them to grant an exemption.

When the DMCA passed in 1998 (and when the US Trade Rep pressured other world governments into passing nearly identical laws in the decades that followed), this exemptions process was billed as a "pressure valve" that would prevent abuses of anticircumvention law.

But this was a cynical trick. The way the law is structured, the Copyright Office can only grant "use" exemptions, but not "tools" exemptions. So if you are granted the right to move Audible audiobooks into a third-party app, you are personally required to figure out how to do that. You have to dump the machine code of the Audible app, decompile it, scan it for vulnerabilities, and bootstrap your own jailbreaking program to take Audible wrapper off the file.

No one is allowed to help you with this. You aren't allowed to discuss any of this publicly, or share a tool that you make with anyone else. Doing any of this is a potential felony.

In other words, DMCA 1201 gives intermediaries power over you, but bans you from asking an intermediary to help you escape another abusive middleman.

This is the exact opposite of how intermediary law should work. We should have rules that ban intermediaries from exercising undue power over the parties they serve, and we should have rules empowering intermediaries to erode the advantage of powerful intermediaries.

The fact that the Copyright Office grants you an exemption to anticircumvention law means nothing unless you can delegate that right to an intermediary who can exercise it on your behalf.

A world without publishing intermediaries is one in which the only writers who thrive are the ones capable of being publishers, too, and that's a tiny fraction of all the writers with something to say.

A world without interoperability intermediaries is one in which the only platform users who thrive are also skilled reverse-engineering ninja hackers – and that's an infinitesimal fraction of the platform users who would benefit from interoperabilty.

Let this be your north star in evaluating platform regulation proposals. Platform regulation should weaken intermediaries' powers over their users, and strengthen their power over other middlemen.

Put in this light, it's easy to see why the ill-informed calls to abolish Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (which makes platform users, not platforms, responsible for most unlawful speech) are so misguided:

https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/

If we require platforms to surveil all user speech and block anything that might violate any law, we give the largest, most powerful platforms a permanent advantage over smaller, better platforms, run by co-ops, hobbyists, nonprofits local governments, and startups. The big platforms have the capital to rig up massive, automated surveillance and censorship systems, and the only alternatives that can spring up have to be just as big and powerful as the Big Tech platforms we're so desperate to escape:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/23/evacuate-the-platforms/#let-the-platforms-burn

This is especially grave given the current political current, where fascist politicians are threatening platforms with brutal punishments for failing to censor disfavored political views.

Anyone who tells you that "it's only censorship when the government does it" is badly confused. It's only a First Amendment violation when the government does it, sure – but censorship has always relied on intermediaries. From the Inquisition to the Comics Code, government censors were only able to do their jobs because powerful middlemen, fearing state punishments, blocked anything that might cross the line, censoring far beyond the material actually prohibited by the law:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#hugos

We live in a world of powerful, corrupt middlemen. From payments to real-estate, from job-search to romance, there's a legion of parasites masquerading as helpmeets, burying their greedy mouthparts into our tender flesh:

https://www.capitalisnt.com/episodes/visas-hidden-tax-on-americans

But intermediaries aren't the problem. You shouldn't have to stand up your own payment processor, or learn the ins and outs of real-estate law, or start your own single's bar. The problem is power, not intermediation.

As we set out to build a new, good internet (with a lot less help from the US government than seemed likely as recently as last week), let's remember that lesson: the point isn't disintermediation, it's weak intermediation.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/07/usurpers-helpmeets/#disreintermediation

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en (Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified)

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

> message recording begins: "All right, so, uh, I'm here. ... Nah, that's not enough... (clears throat)

I'm Savannah "Fursona" Caruso, leader of the Fursona's Fusiliers mercenary unit. You may have heard of us, but if not, it's understandable; we haven't done all that much since Fortress Republic and The Wall went up. Fought in the Battle of Terra, I guess that's notable. But most of our success was prior to the Republic, the 4th Succession War, the Clan Invasion, the Jihad.

As far as size, the Fusiliers are roughly two RCTs in size - 72 Mechs, 72 Combat Vehicles, 12 AeroSpace Fighters, a battalion of PA(L) "unarmored" infantry, a battalion of Battle Armor infantry, and two platoons of Space Marines. Got ourselves two modified Colossus class DropShips, and our pride and joy, the Argo. Relic of the first Star League, civilian exploration vessel. She's got her very own Grav Deck, and is the only DropShip with the MCDS, Multiple Collar Docking System; lets us attach two other DropShips to the Argo, and daisy-chain 'em along through a jump.

I've been asked by... heh... Commanding General Hazen - seriously, Mysty, wow, talk about a promotion, huh?

Anyway, I've been asked by her to "make myself available for queries or interactions". We've gotten settled in here in the Islington system finally - heh, hard to find the Argo a big enough docking berth on the station...

In any case, you wanna ask me stuff or come talk to me, I'm free and clear. Just look for the busty muscle mommy wolf-chick in a silver one-piece heeled jumpsuit. I'm kinda hard to miss.

- Commander Savannah "Fursona" Caruso

[screamingviridianforest]

About Me!

For names Forest or Zeph is okay, deffo prefer Forest for this website just bc of my username

They/them pronouns, homophobes n transphobes can gtfo, any masc terms are fine tho

I actually do art commissions as well! Feel free to dm me asking for any info if you're interested bc i'm currently on making a proper post to promote them

Will write: Fluff, angst, small amounts of smut but nothing in detail(Simply because I don't know how), hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort

Won't write: MCD, heavy smut, anything I'm not super knowledgable about(but if its like an ask regarding reader having some sort of disorder, I will do my best to research and then write so i properly portray everything 💚)

Please please please let me know if my wording isn't all inclusive! I refuse to write gendered reader or specifical ethnicities for reader bc my writing is supposed to be for everyone

Asks and anon are on so feel free to make requests! If its specific to disorders or anything, give me some time to research 💚

MASTER LIST BELOW

Catshifter!Reader AU -

You're a cat shifter. The boys are human. Shenanigans ensue.

Idea

Chapter 1 - A sick cat

Drabble 1

Hybrid AU -

Cat hybrid Ghost, dog hybrid Soap, rabbit hybrid reader.

Idea

Part 2

God AU -

God Ghost hasn't had a follower in a long time. You stumble upon his altar in a forest and clean it up.

Idea

Part 2

Omegaverse AU -

Smut Drabble - MDNI

Ao3 Story

Unfinished but is read-able, no cliff hangers, no smut

Scenting with John - 141 joins too

Random Drabbles

Link - Reader using puppy eyes on the 141 and how they react/retaliate

GhostGaz Thoughts

Johnny waking up from a Coma - thanks for 200!

[coyotelip]

starchaser (+ onesided moonwater) microfic: salt, hypnotized || MCD || @into-the-jeggyverse @taylorswiftmicrofic || wc: 687

Every Saturday, the same man comes to the restaurant. 

They are a fairly prestigious restaurant, so regular customers are not uncommon, but this man is particularly eye-catching. He is always dressed in a perfectly tailored suit over a black shirt. In fact, all of his clothes are black, which suits his pale skin and black hair. He books a table for the same time, arrives exactly 5 minutes earlier, orders the same dish with the same wine. 

He is always alone.

This sets him apart from others, because such prestigious places are used for dates or meetings with partners to impress. However, it seems that the man has no one to impress. He is sitting at a far table under a painting of a forest landscape, eating his meal slowly and with manners and watching the candles on the table. 

He seems to be hypnotized, sometimes he can take a sip of wine and roll it around in his mouth, watching the flame at the end of a long candle for a couple of minutes. 

Remus is equally hypnotized by these moments, but it's not the candle, it's this man, his slow and graceful movements. And although he is dressed in black, he acts on Remus like a flame on a moth. He wants to get closer, wants to hear his voice and smell his cologne. 

However, the man's table is not assigned to him, and Remus does not even get the opportunity to ask if he needs some water or the bill, or to say bon appetit or good evening. 

So he stays in the corner, hypnotized by the unattainable flame, running through hundreds of questions in his head and wondering why. 

◇◇◇

Every Saturday, Regulus comes to their place. He comes to their restaurant, at their time, sits at their table, orders their favorite dish, and spends exactly the same amount of time as it took James on their first date to charm Regulus completely. Thirty-three minutes.

He recalls how the wine tasted the sweetest on those evenings together, how everything around them disappeared for him, and they existed in their own bubble, sharing events in their lives, discussing colleagues and friends. They met their anniversaries, birthdays, and celebrated promotions at work here.

James proposed to him here. At this table, with a bottle of this wine, five years ago. He hid the ring in the salt and made Regulus laugh with this incredible performance.

“Oh, I think the salad is under-salted today... Mm, something is wrong with this saltine, could you please take a look, dear?”

“Oh my god, it's probably just empty, call the waiter and they'll replace it”

“I don't want to bother them with something so stupid, but look, for me?” James' big eyes does wonders on Regulus, so he couldn't refuse and took the salt in his hands, unscrewing the lid.

Only to find a silver engagement ring with an emerald inside instead of salt.

Four years ago, they got married.

Three years ago, they bought a house on the outskirts of town because James wanted Regulus to have a studio at home.

Two years ago, their house burned down with everything inside. With James inside.

And the most painful thing was that Regulus was left with nothing, not a single thing, because the house had everything. He didn't care about the documents or his studio, all of which could be repaired with money. However, he did care about the things they had earned together, about their photos and books with notes, about gifts from his husband, about his things. He cared about James's body, which remained there, right in front of the door, because he hadn't managed to get out before he lost consciousness.

Regulus was left with only memories, and he decided to drown himself in them, finding no other way out.

And every Saturday he came to their restaurant, sat down at their table and ordered their meal, hypnotized by the candle in front of him, begging for the little flame to swallow him up and take him away with it, just as it had once taken James away from him.

[pandapodfics]

Panda's Podfics - Halloween Special

excited to announce that this year's Halloween Special will be in collaboration with the one and only @1dtrickortreatfest!

on to the details:

Participation

first things first; your fic(s) featuring in the Special is completely voluntary. Just because you submit a fic to the collection, doesn't mean you're automatically included. This also means in turn, if you want to be featured, please fill out this form.

Publishing

The Halloween Special episode will be published on the 31st of October (please be lenient if it ends up being the 1st of November). It will be available on Apple Podcast/Spotify, as well as for on-site streaming and as download (MediaFire) from AO3. Disclaimer: I won't be linking every individual fic to my AO3 post and instead just refer to the fest as a whole. Similarly, I will only tag the most common tags across all recorded works. Hope you understand. The podfic post for the episode will include links to all the featured fics and @ the author's tumblr (if available). The episode will also be promoted on Twitter.

Recording

The individual reading of your fic will include: - title/author - rating - [warning only if it's marked for MCD and/or Violence] - 2-3 of the most important tags/potential TWs* - fic (*you're welcome to let me know which of your tags you'd like to have included, otherwise I will choose at my own discretion.) If you gave permission to be featured, I will get started on recording your fic ASAP after you submit it to the collection. You're also welcome to send the fic to me directly via pandaspodfics@gmail.com - please make sure to include everything on the aforementioned list.

I know that Life™️ happens, but if you know you'd like to be part of the special, and have the opportunity, I kindly ask to not leave submitting your fic until the last minute. I will do my best to have the episode done in time, but it can be aided by you submitting your fics as early as possible. Thank You!

For further questions/concerns feel free to reach out via this blog, Twitter or email (see above).

Looking forward to reading some spooky fics!

[lovelaurs]

Oooh more requests??? Part 2 of the zane one by chance?? Remember your water :D

AN UNDERSTANDING | part 2

you can find part 1 here!

pairing : mcd zane x gn reader synopsis : after receiving a job from the great priest zane, you accept it and begin working as his secretary. but, as you continue your job, you begin to notice that something is a bit... off about the priest. tags : romantic, build up, tension, fascination, workplace relationship word count : 1.1k a/n : oh man oh man i was REALLY excited to write this one! after leaving the original on such a cliffhanger, i actually thought about writing a sequel just for sillies anyway, so i'm really glad someone requested it! i definitely went slightly into the more darker side of zane along with his infatuation with the reader this time, so i hope you enjoy!' - by the way, i do intend on making a part 3 after the rest of my requests are done! can't wait to explore this story more!

MASTERLIST

It’s been a few weeks since you began your job as High Priest Zane’s secretary.

Along with the job coming with an immense salary you could never dream of having, you were also provided with your very own accommodations; in which you can serve the priest far more efficiently (his own words).

When you originally told your family about your new job, they didn’t believe you, berating you for taking the attention away from your elder sibling who recently got a promotion. It wasn’t until a group of O’Khasis knights and a carriage was brought around in front of your house that your family finally believed you.

As you began to bring all of your belongings to the carriage with the help of the knights, your family pleaded with you to share your earnings with them. Guilt tripping you and saying things along the lines of “You’re abandoning your own blood!” and “You can’t just turn your backs on us!”. Of course, you responded by purposely turning your back to them, inciting a rage in your family as the carriage took off to your new home.

A smile graced your lips as you watched them fade away from sight.

You would not miss their company one bit.

When you were brought to your quarters, you could barely stop your jaw from dropping at just how big the room was. The space itself was bigger than your family’s house; with windows large enough to start from the ceiling and end by the floor, to a massive carpet beneath your boots, and the ginormous bed they laid at the middle back wall of the room.

That doesn’t even begin with the wardrobe packed full of official-like clothes for your job!

It was amazing.

You would make sure to thank the High Priest for this later.

Of course, besides the room, there was the job you were given as well.

Besides the basic job of organizing papers, setting up meetings, and managing his schedule, things looked like they were going to get… messy.

It all started off easy, with the High Priest giving you directions as to what your job entailed; giving you a basic outline as to what he expected from you and how you were to act. It was pretty intense, but hey, that’s what you expected from someone in a high level of power such as his.

As weeks went by, your job became more and more interesting. Usually during meetings, you would be asked by High Priest Zane to take notes, however, as of recently whenever he’d meet with one of the members of the Jury, you would be asked to step into the hallway as they spoke.

Now, you have never been impolite, so you’ve never once purposely eavesdropped on a conversation. However… 

It wasn’t your fault that the voices from behind the door were loud enough to hear, right?

You couldn’t help but overhear a scuffle from behind the door, a raised voice along with a thump.

What the hell was going on in there?

After a bit of a wait, a disgruntled member of the Jury rushed out the door, mumbling some sort of curses against the priest, leaving the door ajar.

Guessing it wasn’t that great of a meeting.

You took the opportunity of the opened door to peak your head in, taking a look around the room.

What you saw confused you, as the rug before his desk was moved slightly, with something on the floor that looked like… is that a tooth? And there seemed to be a stain by the edge of the carpet as well…

Just what happened during this meeting of theirs?

Your eyes soon found the priest, facing the window with his hands behind his back.

Without turning around, but seemingly sensing your presence, his voice echoed through the room. “Ah, that was quite a meeting.” He turned around to face your peeping eyes. “You can come in, you know.”

Shit.

Your body practically froze for a few seconds, hoping he was referring to someone else. But when it seemed that no one else was around, you began to slowly move toward his desk.

“High Priest Zane, I apologize for-” “Please, just call me Zane.” He rounded his desk and began to walk around you, his watchful eye never leaving you. “If we truly are going to work together I hope that we can be our true selves around each other, yes?”

You nodded. “Yes, High Pr- I mean Zane.”

“Good, good. Seems we’re already getting more acquainted.” His deep voice gave you chills as he continued to pace around you. “You know, those clothes I picked out for you truly make you look like a different person than when I first met you.” He smirked as he watched you repeatedly turn around to face him.

“You picked these out?”

He let out a deep chuckle. “Why of course I did. I have a keen eye for fashion, can’t you tell?” His hand gestured to his own attire as his eye wandered over you once more. He then turned to the door and shut it.

He was mad at you, wasn’t he? You peeped in when you weren’t supposed to and now you’re going to get fired- oh my Irene he’s definitely mad. The man began to approach you slowly. His boots sounded against the wooden floor before finally making contact with the carpet you stood on.

He approached you slowly, coming face to face with you. He slowly began to reach his hand out to your face, in which you responded by closing your eyes. You couldn’t help but gulp, which resulted in him humming in response.

You could feel his hot breath against your skin.

You slowly felt him as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear, before he leaned in to whisper to you.

“You truly fascinate me.” His hand then cupped your cheek with his palm which caused you to open your eyes. 

What you were met with was an extraordinary blue; one like you’ve never seen. You never noticed from afar, but close up? His eye was so enchanting, especially when it was focused on you.

You could barely tell that your own lips opened slightly as you were in awe of your superior’s appearance. He looked so ethereal up close- as if he were one of the gods you heard about in preachings before.

He began to lean in closer, causing your nerves to grow.

The priest simply placed a kiss on your forehead, before slowly pulling his hands back from you.

The action left you stunned.

As he walked past you to his desk, you simply stood in the middle of the room frozen, not knowing what in Irene’s name you should do next.

“I think that’ll be all for today.” He spoke nonchalantly, sitting in his chair while beginning to sign different papers. "You are dismissed."

You gave a quick “excuse me” as you left the room, your heart racing as you made your way to your own quarters for the night.

Your mind couldn’t help but be left scrambled after such a scenario.

What just happened?

@lovelaurs, 2024. do not repost this work in any way!

[gomzdrawfr]

[oc x cannon rambles]

OKAY. Continuining from this.

New Au that originates from Royal AU -> Isekai Royal AU

more rambles/lore/fic/explanation/art below (compiled it into one post so i dont spam yall's tl with my bs LMAO:

[wARNING: big sad, MCD(Raven), angst, death, violence, injuries]

In the ending of Royal AU, King!Price married another Queen and had a kid, Royal Guard!Raven got promoted to Commander, they go their separate ways for the sake of the nation

The kid, aka the Princess, has everything Price had, the exact blue eyes and all except she was blonde like her mother.

She was rather fond of Raven, and always sneaked out to find Commander Raven despite Raven warning her not to.

Raven's still a softie though, so in the end, she ended up growing soft for her.

Until it all falls apart.

First it was a scream, and before she could register it she was bolting towards the voice.

It was the lil girl's scream.

She regretted not wearing armour that day, but somehow she managed to escape with the Princess in hand, stumbling down to the deeper part of the woods that was safe for now.

"Shhh...don't cry Princess....you're safe now"

Raven coos the trembling young Princess, her poor face pale from the shock and bruises on her delicate skin.

Lost count of how many arrows were on her back, she knew it was only a matter of time before it will take its full effect.

Poison arrows, the fletching bearing a black greenish gradient.

It was an assassination attempt on the young Princess.

"R-Raven...Raven I'm scared...."

"It's okay, it's okay...don't be scared....help's on their way..."

"Papa...I want Papa!!"

"......"

She sighs quietly, it stings, not from the arrows itself, but...from the weight of it all.

"I want your papa too....Princess"

She mumbled in a dazed, blood loss and her dizziness making it hard for her to decipher if she was thinking, or talking out loud, one thing she is certain was she can no longer hunched forward as she slumps to the ground.

"R-Raven? Raven!"

"....listen to me well...lil one..."

"...your papa....the Emperor...your majesty...is a great man..."

"he was a man who loved with all his heart...."

"your papa loves unconditionally....and the one thing he loves most in the world...is you"

More sniffles were heard from the lil girl, who were shaking worse than before, Raven reaches her hand out in an attempt to calm the young lady, only to smear some of her blood onto her pretty pink dress, she frowns at that...but...she was tired...

So so tired...but she kept going.

"....papa may be scary sometimes...and he scolds you...or punish you...but it's for your own good"

"....papa is also very kind...when he needs to...he bought you the tiara you really wanted...remember, Princess?"

"y-yes...I love it..."

"that's right...and you are a pretty girl...pretty eyes like your papa...yeah?"

Raven smiles, the pain subsiding into a blur

"and you have the brightest smile...don't cry...Princess...because a smile suits you better...please?"

She knows this is all wrong, that the poor princess will be traumatized forever because of this.

But the Princess was obedient, and smiles through the snort and tears.

Raven chuckles quietly, nodding weakly.

She'll be alright.

"...treasure your papa...Princess..."

Her eyes closed once, twice...and it was getting harder and harder to open them, or to hear anything else, not even the sound of horses gallop that was getting closer and closer

"...do it for me..."

And then she was swallowed by darkness

In her last moment, she watched a couple sitting side by side, she knew this scene.

The last time they were allowed to be with each other.

"Maybe in another life..." "I'll look for you in every single one of those lifetime" "yeah...you'd that for me, birdie?" "mhm..." "just remember...I love owls" "pretty vague if you ask me..." "you'll know it when you see me" "....that I can guarantee..."

The scene before her morphs into nothingness when she tried to reach out for it, a blinding light forces her vision to go white as she struggles to move.

When she does open her eyes again, she was heaving, sweating and....grabbing the air?

She blinks a few time, this doesn't feel like dying, wait-

She quickly sat up, and realise she was in a room, dimly lit but there were light at the balcony, she dash towards it, opening the windows only to be greeted with something she wouldn't expect.

She recognise this place...the ocean, the city, the flags, the castle- this castle-

How the hell did she end up in the Umbralis Citadel? [bear with me here i literally cannot come up with names of places LOL]

She quickly strolls back to her room, stopping before a mirror as she glanced at her reflection.

A Princess.

She has reincarnated as the Veil Princess.

=================

anywyas yeah thats sort of the fic SO the premise for the first art itself is moreso Princess Raven who managed to finally see King!Price after some careful planning and such, took the opportunity and meet him.

At first she gaze from afar, because she got emotional seeing him after...after everything they went through (she didn't even get to say good bye to him before she died).

Her attire choices was deliberate, although she was already rocking the modest, simple look since as the Veil Princess, no one really pay attention to her (she's the youngest in the royal family).

So she finally approaches him...AND THE STORY BEGINS-

[shes-some-other-where]

what's a whump piece you're proud of but didn't get much attention?

I want to read and reblog whump writing that didn't get a lot of notes when it was posted.

doesn't have to be generic, OCs are okay. love whump of all genders. shorter pieces are best for me atm but whatever there are no rules, just ideally something that doesn't require an obscene amount of context or background knowledge/lore/plot.

please not at this time: pet whump/bbu, conditioned whumpee, heavy gore, mcd, noncon, emeto, fanfic. I love you, writers of these things, but I'm not your audience!

FYI/disclaimer: realistically, responses/reblogs won't happen immediately. pls be patient, I am but human. i probably won't respond to individual reblogs/comments, so:

ੈ✩‧₊˚ thank you kindly in advance for your awesome recs! ˚₊‧✩ੈ

reply or reblog with your shameless self-promotion?

[stupendousfoxthing]

Random thought Wednesday: I think Tae posted the fries because they were cute and if he'd taken the picture right before posting I would not feel any differently about it or him as a person. I think this social media witch hunt over McD's/Starbucks is ridiculous. I've thought that the entire time. I think it will look more clearly like mass hysteria in hindsight, and some people focus so hard on this because for them it's about feeling like they're better people than others while they send death threats over a small fry. Thinking that it's the job of a fan to "educate" a grown adult, especially the laser focus on Kpop idols, feels abusive and racist in equal measure. This isn't education, this is trying to tell them how they should live their lives. And if they don't do what you want you'll unstan or something? When you could do that first and save them the mountains of harassment. If you care that much about them falling perfectly inline with your ideals, save yourself. But some of these people have been dragging out unstanning for months because they'll get zero attention once they leave the fandom and they want to hurt someone. Including the idols they clearly no longer have any respect for as artists or human beings. BTS did a massive promotion for McD's already, and that company was already doing fucked up things at the time. I called McD's out then, because of their involvement in horrendous factory farming practices. Factory farming, by the way, something so evil on such a massive scale that we will never be able to pay back the karmic debt for it. Watch Earthlings if you would like to educate yourself, because that's your choice. But anyway, I spoke up at the time about McD's farming practices. I of course didn't buy the BTS meal or anything else from that company. But I don't think BTS cosign mistreating farm animals. I've seen the way they care about animals and treat them. It is a much more complicated issue even as McD's and the things you eat there have a direct connection to this horrible thing. I choose not to eat there. I don't need everyone else to make the same choice I do, and I don't think everyone that eats there is a bad person. It's fast food. There are so many things that have to be changed societally and systematically to have any effect on McD's existence. And yeah, they do donate to good causes as well. 🤷 Whaddya do? Not my job to make that choice for everyone. If you think someone eating there makes them a bad person, if that is someone you're a fan of you can stop being a fan of them. You don't get to harass them or send them death threats. They never asked you to be a fan in the first place. Personally, I try to cut people off as soon as possible if they try controlling me and telling me how I should live my life. But some "fans" have a real sense of entitlement, and if they are allowed to push it once they will keep pushing it. This is why sometimes I want BTS to just disappear and go completely off the grid post-military (that thing they are forced to do that could involve killing people) and forget all of this. They've done so much in service of others, and they just get treated worse and worse by their own fandom, by their company, by their country. It's so sad.

[lcdrarry]

LCDrarry 2024 Round-Up Post | Week 6

This is the final Round-Up Post for LCDrarry 2024. Reveals are later today, on June 15, 2024! Wheeee!

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

PPS: Please share far and wide! Thank you!!

***

Art

***

Go the Whole Wide World

Prompt: "Stranger than Fiction", 2006, Marc Forster Prompted by: @stavromulabetaaa Artists: Anonymous Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Audiences Warnings: None

Summary: When government employee Draco Crick was assigned to audit baker Harry Pascal, neither anticipated falling in love, but sometimes the person right next to you is the most welcome surprise.

View it now on AO3.

***

Fic

***

Eternalism is a Never Ending Day

Prompt: "Russian Doll", 2019 Prompted by: 5u9as (ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 25,970 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: Temporary Suicide, Temporary MCD, implied/referenced Depression

Summary: Malfoy has been reliving the same day for longer than he can keep track of now, and has just assumed that he was dead in the real world, which was fine to him. It isn't until the time loop stops doing what he expects that it occurs to him that maybe there's something else going on.

Read it now on AO3.

***

Obscuro

Prompt: "Love is Blind", 2020 Prompted by: @DrarryMyHeart Author: Anonymous Word Count: 35,227 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: None

Summary: Draco is grieving. His conversation partner is here against his will. It's a shameless rip-off of an insipid Muggle reality dating show. Hardly the occasion for true love, if you ask Draco. feat. a cat named Marmalade, a bird named Mumble, Lee Jordan's answer to Love is Blind, and two best friends who only want their dads to be happy.

Read it now on AO3.

***

First Impressions

Prompt: "Pride and Prejudice", 2005, Joe Wright Prompted by: MoonyEmilie3017 (ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 87,934 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Period-typical racism and colourism (only present in one chapter), A/B/O dynamics, Dubious Consent, Classism, Smut, Mpreg

Summary: At the Shacklebolts' ball, Ginny found herself irrevocably smitten at first sight with Ms Pansy Parkinson. Meanwhile, her brother, Harry Potter, became the unfortunate target of biting remarks from Parkinson's haughty and aloof best friend, Mr Draco Malfoy. Harry's disdain for Mr Malfoy grew, fuelled by the latter's evident arrogance. Amidst this burgeoning animosity, Ms Romilda Vane began to spread malicious rumours regarding Malfoy, further tarnishing his reputation. Yet, the true nature of his character was far from what these tales suggested. Could Draco overcome his pride and Harry his prejudice, allowing love to blossom between them despite the odds?

Read it now on AO3.

***

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Creator reveals are on 15 June 2024.

[nso-csi]

240822 MCountdown Mini Fan Meeting — Taemin translation thread.

MC: If a fatal charm is born as a person, it will be this person. A word to your TAEMates. T. Hello everyone, this is Taemin who is back after a long while with my 5th mini album. Nice to meet you.

MC. Applause! Congratulations on your solo 10th year debut anniversary. T. I have been busy carrying out activities and before I knew it, it’s my 10th year since debuting solo. Looking back at it, it’s because of the love given by so many people that I was able to continuously promote. I will non-stop develop myself and be the Taemin that can present everyone with good music. thank you.

MC. Do introduce Sexy In The Air T. It’s song with various genre and it’s a song fitting for the summer. The summer is hot so I will be thankful if you can listen to it and spend this summer refreshingly.

MC. (Talks about the MCD’s concept today, Vampire) With that vibe, we would like to see a part of sunbaemin’s Sexy In The Air. T. If I were to say a little about it, the beat for Sexy in the Air is one where you can dance well if you dance to the beat. You can just do it like that and I think that would be good.

MC. That’s so cool. Shall we be Taemin sunbaenim’s wings and dance with him on both of his sides T. Oh that would be a great honour to me.

(After dancing to SITA)

T. How did you guys prepare this? You guys danced well. Thank you.

MC asked Taemin to review them with the stickers T. While I was doing it, I was able to feel how cool he danced on the side, and I could hear his breathing too and it sounded cool. And on this side, he did it sexily with the gaze and all… Hot guy. thank you.

MC. (Asking Taemin the questions MCD collected)

MC’s Qns. Congratulations on reaching your 10th year anniversary. In 10 words, what’s the aspiration you have for the future or what are your thought on the promotion this time. T. Oh in 10 words. Hmm…. I will be the Taeminnie that is always up for challenges. That’s my aspiration.

MC’s Qns. Second question. Matching the song title ‘Sexy In The Air,’ if there’s a time that you thought ‘Oh I am kinda sexy huh’ recently, when is it? T. (Checks the openings of his top) I think there was a time that I felt myself sexy. If you are asking when is it… I am actually working hard in preparing my concert rehearsal and when I saw myself when I was doing my rehearsals I would think ‘Wow… this is no joke though? I am kinda sexy though?’ If you guys are going to come watch my concert, you guys would probably able to see it too. Please do come and watch it a lot.

MC. I want to go too.. T. Thank you.

MC’s Qns. Third question. You will probably be everything from sexy, charismatic and chic on MCD today. So looking forward to it. In that case, can you be a super cutie after a long while and show us your aegyo? Please T. Ah… aegyo… Uh huh uh huh… well if you were to request for it, I can’t refuse right. (Does a peace sign, rabbit look) So do I just need to do this? I learned that there’s a front teeth flirting. Yes… thank you.

MC. Thank you. That’s all the questions we prepared today. We have TAEMates here with words for Taemin today. Are the TAEMates ready? 1, 2, 3!

TAEMates. Lee Taemin! x3

MC. Taemin’s sunbaemin’s stage will be revealed in a bit so do look forward to it. We will look at SF9 and Hyori’s stage first. SF9’s… T & MC. Don’t worry be happy!

cr. iheartshinee_