#me and procreate have a love hate relationship

[luckkythirt33n]

Starmaker Angel [REDACTED] also known as the Fallen Demon Crowley, formerly Crawley.

I think I broke procreate.

Thank someone I saved this, albeit unfinished, version beforehand. DTIYS Challenge @emihotaru, so so much fun thankyou! and thankyou for your amazing artwork <3

Birds are singing now and I just checked the time, it's 5am, time for me to pass out.

[sunkissedspirit]

I’ve been thinking about my art style a lot recently

More so thinking its childish for my age and its making me self conscious

Did I try and change it? Yes. Did it work? Ngl I don’t know?

Anyways I thought while trying to change it, BH’s body feels unbalanced

So I went ahead and changed up Browser History’s shape a little

AND BEHOLD! Now he’s 50% “fren shaped” (a little inside joke between me and @prismsoup )

OKAY BYE I LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD DAY ❤️

[learnastrowallura]

💗The Fifth House in Astrology💗

The source if this information is The Astrology Podcast (Chris Brennan) on Youtube and from the book The Twelve Houses: Exploring the Houses of the Horoscope by Howard Sasportas and I will add a personal example as well

5th house: fun, hobbies, recreation, creativity, generativity, creation, production, art, passion, inspiration, talent, gift, relationships, romance, sex, procreation, children, offspring, progeny, fertility, parenting, inner child, sports, good fortune, joy, succedent, Venus

The house in which the lord of the 5th house is in is where you have most agency over your life+ where you are most lucky + creative <3

The 5th house also gives us an idea about how fertile we are, how we are as a parent (for me both 4th house and 5th house indicate this), how our relationship with our children is, traits of our children, style of creation aka are we more spontaneous or dreamy or emotional or strict etc, whether we are into short term relationships and "casual" sexual encounters or not, types of hobbies and spare time habits we might have that help us relax and that we only do for ourselves; no duties involved

Personal example: Moon in Aries in 5th house

Right so um 😅 I hate discipline and having to do stuff omg guys I am not the most disciplined person ever sue me- I like doing things at my own pace and whenever I would like to do so

I'm also very moody when it comes to, well, creating and writing out stuff (which for me is mostly a 5th house thing than a 3rd house thing since I write from the heart and impulsively) and I think it is the influence of the moon since it moves so quickly

I don't have children yet but I do take care of my 💗baby cousin💗 I love him so much a lot and I am very childlike with him haha we pretty much do whatever he wants as long as safety is certain; if not, then my protective side comes into play

And since I have Aries and the Moon in 5th house I would assume that my children will turn out to be quite emotional and impulsive? Yay? Ig? Idk

Oh and my Scorpio placements and 5th house placement are clearly at odds because I do like to be casual with people but most of the time I like and prioritize long term relationships of all kinds including intense emotional connections

An interesting aspect my Moon has is Square with Saturn which I would interpret personally as life always giving me the wake up calls and reminding me to be SERIOUS lmao

But yeah that is all

Comment down below your 5th house sign, planets and aspects

Thank you for reading <3

Paid readings available

Masterlist

[yakumtsaki]

Spice and Cyan are the last cousin-fuckers left standing and are proving impossible to break up. I'm inclined to blame the fact Sugar and June also had the hots for each other and passed these destructive genes on to these losers but whatever it is they're just annoyingly into each other.

Now I'm not gonna lie, I did almost waver cause I was like 'man you know what they're second cousins so at the end of the day truly who cares, maybe I should just let them stay together and create one Union super-bebe'.. and then I see this:

In case you can't tell from this amazing screenshot they have ONE BOLT. ONE. ALL THIS DRAMA OVER ONE BOLT ARE YOU KIDDING ME

-What is drama compared to someone you almost desire? -Oh baby, the mediocrity of my passion for you is too much to bear!

-This lukewarm hot tub water is the perfect metaphor for our love.. -Exactly, it's the water of the womb and we all know that's where that sole bolt is even coming from!

UGH. Also man the difference between your noses is UNREAL, now I'm more worried about that if you procreate than the incest.

-Hahahaha, as expected I'm the only one of this trash family that's in a non-disgusting relationship!

Felina no offense but you could afford to add some drama cause you've become boring af.

-People are sick of all this perverted nonsense! They want someone dignified and happily monogamous!

Ya idk sis, I mean look at Barth dislocating his entire spine as we speak:

-I SENSE BETRAYAL AGAIN. WHO DARES CHEAT ON ME NOW

-JIMMY, BACK IN THE ARMS OF MY COUSIN THAT I RIGHTFULLY STOLE YOU FROM. AND TO THINK I WAS GONNA MARRY YOU WHEN I WON THE HEIRSHIP

-You were??

-OF COURSE NOT

Bro I can't, the entire house hates Barth other than Meadow and her billion nice points and Spice who is his childhood bestie. Note that he and Sunset have that goddamn amour fou and are independently becoming un-enemies, which I'm NOT GONNA LET HAPPEN.

-Ok Barth, let's get drunk and make some reckless and sexy decisions!

SUNSET GODDAMMIT IT

-Why do you keep cockblocking us? You know our kids would be hot!

I DONT CARE

-Ya right! Don't act like you haven't thought about it!

IM NOT LISTENING TO THIS

-You know we would produce a hot, psycho turbo-Union! A little Jojo or Jojette, untainted by non-Union DNA, one freakshow to rule them all!! Look into your heart, you know it to be true!!!

ENOUGH, STOP TRYING TO SEDUCE ME WITH THE PROMISE OF COMICALLY INSANE OFFSPRING, SUNSET. EVERYONE FUCK OFF TO BED RIGHT NOW, GOODNIGHT

-AND GOOD MORNING, LOSERS

WTF. Why are you here we've paid our bills!

-BUT YOU HAVEN'T PAID THE INCEST TAX

-OMG THERE'S A FIRE🌞

-OMG THE REPOMAN IS HERE TO TAKE OUR SHIT

-OMG THE STREAKER KILLED OUR FISH

What??

-I JUST DON'T WANNA ADMIT IM STILL CRYING OVER BARTHOLOMEW

NOOOO NOT OUR BEAR STATUE WE'VE HAD IT SINCE GENERATION 1! PLEASE JUST TAKE ONE OF THE KIDS INSTEAD

-YOU SHOULD HAVE PAID YOUR BILLS

WE FUCKING DID

-PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU FLOPS

FUCK YOU, REPOMAN, WE'RE NOT FLOPS

-WAAAAAAAAH I CAN'T BELIEVE HE TOOK OUR BEAR

Oh great, now half these flops are in aspiration failure, that's just what the doctor ordered.

-OMG AND NOW THE OTHER PLANT IS ON FIRE

BRO WTF IS HAPPENING WE'RE CURSED

-WE ARE AND WE ALL KNOW WHO'S TO BLAME

-HE'S BEEN BAD LUCK SINCE HE WAS BORN

-Can you harpies take this somewhere else, I'm trying to get high here!

-KILL HIM

OK NO. No one's killing anyone, we're NOT cursed, ok?

-We're broke, afflicted with a bills glitch, fires keep starting and half the house is in aspiration failure!

Well let's be real, the broke part is on you.

-US??

You idiots are averaging a D each semester because you're too busy fucking each other, beating each other up or both..

..I mean freaking Jimmy is on academic probation, I have never gotten this before in all the years I've played this game, this is the worst college run of all time.

-WHAT IS YOUR POINT

My point is the bar is in hell so let's just get out of this run alive, ok? Now you kids make nice!

-Well, Failina, now that I'm looking at you up close I guess putting lipstick on a pig does work sometimes.

-For my next move, I'll shove my queen in your other eyehole.

See, now isn't this nice? And I think I figured out what caused the bills thing so everything should be fine now..

-THINK AGAIN BITCH

OH FFS

-I'M HERE TO FREE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FROM YOUR TERRIBLE SPOKEN WORD POETRY

Ok you know what I'm actually fine with that one, take it- Um do I hear hearts??

UH WHAT????

-THAT'S RIGHT IM IN LOVE WITH KEA FOR NO CLEAR REASON

WTF

-We've been friends for a long time-

You have?? Man I really need to pay more attention around here.

-Yes well you can't help being useless!

Very true! Well please, continue, let me just call someone over-

-YOU LEFT THE HOT TUB OF LUKEWARM LOVE TO CHEAT ON ME???

Man I know, it's so terrible! Anyway-

-HOW DARE YOU BE UPSET WITH ME FOR CHEATING ON YOU

CYAN WTF LOL

-YASSSS BEAT HIS ASS UP BABE HE DESERVES IT

DOES HE?? Cyan you are one crazy bitch, I love it.

-I take after my mom! :D

Which one, they're both insane! :D

-What's it take to get your number? What's it take to bring you home? Hurry up, it's time for supper, order up, I'm hot to go🎵

Alright well Chapell karaoke seals it, Kea, welcome to the family!

-You mean it this time right, you won't fuck me over again like when I was engaged to Sophito?

LOL I forgot about that but no I'm certain this one is gonna work out, unless crazy ass Cyan goes back to one of her cousins

-What?

I said start planning the wedding!

[sunshine-on-my-mind]

Soldat’s fairy

chapter 3

pairing: winter soldier x reader / bucky barnes x reader

general warnings: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!! Dark Elements!! HYDRA!! (Dub Con implied but not really and NOT FROM BUCKY), Winter Solider, Mind Control, se-xual in-tercourse. forced relationship forced procreation (HYDRA!!), ANGST - (this is my first time writing something like this so please let me know if I should more warnings)

chapter warnings: non-graphic s.mut, mentions of virginity, mentions of crying, mentions of blood, injury from glass (accidental), mentions of pregnancy, pregnancy test, (+ general warnings)

words: 890+

a/n: hi everyone, thank you for showing love to this story, things accelerate quickly in this chapter but it’s shorter than the previous, thank you for your support, hope you like it. please please read the warnings before continuing.

<- Previous Chapter

DO NOT COPY MY WORK!!

—————————

Soldat kept his word, he was gentle with you, as gentle as he could be.

It hurt, more than the physical hurt it was the betrayal, the fact this was not happening willingly

You always thought your first time would be special, or at least with someone you loved but mostly it will be your choice.

“You’re so beautiful” The Man kissed you, whispered in your ears. Soldat was kind to you, he made you feel good but a part of you felt broken, and he felt something similar.

He blamed himself, if it wasn’t for him maybe you wouldn’t have to do this, maybe your life would be better. You could be free.

Soldat kissed your jaw, your neck, as he could feel his high approach, it felt wrong, but both of your bodies betrayed yourselves.

Maybe the two of you could challenge fate and take it in your own hands. That moment, even if forced, was shared just between you two. It was yours and only yours.

Soldat looked at you with kind eyes as if asking permission, you gave him a gently smile, which was enough answer for him, he leaned down and kissed you, he made sure to provide you pleasure, as the two of you reached your high, you felt full, even something so wrong felt so right.

Fate played a game with you both but in that moment, you didn’t feel betrayed, in that moment, it was just you and him.

“I’m sorry” Soldat couldn’t stop blaming himself. He didn’t look at you, lying beside you staring at the ceiling

“It’s not your fault” He wasn’t used to hearing that. After everything that happened how were you not screaming at him, cursing him or hitting him?

You looked at him as the man kept avoiding your gaze. Soldat was beautiful, you thought. There were so many questions going through your mind, what happened to him being the most prominent.

“Do you- do you think I…” You trailed off gently touching your belly. The future seemed uncertain and scary. Soldat didn’t say anything, instead he looked at your hand on your belly.

The silence of the room got disrupted when there were loud knocks on the door followed by footsteps and people coming in. Thankfully you were modestly clothed by then. Few of Pierce’s men came in notifying you that soon a doctor will arrive to check you, to see if you got pregnant.

“Soldat, come with us now.” They ordered. Soldat looked at you, saw the tears in your eyes. Part of him wanted to stay with you, but the other part felt you must hate him now, why wouldn’t you, he thought. Probably it was best to leave.

Soldat got up to leave. He looked at you one more time and you were looking back at him. What he didn’t realise was that you wanted him to stay.

All of them left the room and you were alone again. How did your life turn out to be like that? Was it your fault? Were you not a good enough daughter? Could have done something differently?

No. Suddenly all you could feel was rage. You didn’t deserve this. No matter what. You got up from the bed and started throwing whatever you could grab.

Eventually you got a hold of the glass of water which was on your bedside table and threw it hard on the floor and a tiny piece of glass cut your arm.

It was tiny, didn’t really hurt much but you felt so broke, everything added up which resulted in you sobbing on your bed. You didn’t know when you fell asleep. Losing the idea of time, you woke up hours later.

When you were given food that day, you didn’t feel like eating at all but you knew if you didn’t take care of yourself the consequence won’t be nice. You felt empty as you gulped your food down with water.

More than week passed in solitary. Your mind wandered to Soldat, wondering what he must be doing. He was not doing well either. He was sent on a mission, which he obliged like the good soldier he is but he couldn’t stop thinking about you, about the future, about the pregnancy test that was about to take place soon.

When the day came, Pierce burst into your room followed by doctors and his men. You did what they say, they tested you.

“Well daughter, in some time we’ll get to know if you are of any use” Pierce had a sickening smile on his face. You felt like throwing up, literally. And you did.

The test result - Positive.

“Now then, I’ll see you soon, after consulting our doctors and scientists. Congratulations daughter, you are gonna be a mother.” With that Pierce left your room.

Soldat was informed about the news as well. They needed more of his blood sample and run some other tests on him as well as on you to make sure you were healthy.

The next day there is another knock on your door. But no one enters without permission, which was unusual, usually the knocks were just to give you a moment, to notify then people are about to come in. But this felt different.

You opened the door to see a bloodied Soldat standing in front of you.

“Wha-“

“We are leaving. Now.”

———————

previous chapter | series masterlist

taglist: @vicmc624 @floralwsloki @cjand10 @420-hun @identity2212

[ahungeringknife]

Let's talk about Aspec characters and relationships!

I'm aroace. I write a lot of characters who are aspec in some way. I have a lot of aspec friends. And this is why your aspec character is driving me crazy. There's also sex talk in here so if you're not mature enough to handle it please scroll past.

Edit: Allos also should reblog this if you found it helpful.

First lets get some terms right:

Aromantic (aro) and Asexual (ace) are two distinct things. Aroace means you're both aromantic and asexual at the same time. It is generally referred to as 'aspec' (aro/ace spectrum) when you fall on one or both spectrums. If you are not aspec you are allosexual/alloromantic (allo). It just means someone who isn't ace or aro. You can also be aroallo or aceallo (aromantic allosexual, asexual alloromantic). All these terms are neutral and not used in derogatory ways similar to trans/cis. It's a descriptive word not a put down.

Now about those characters and their relationships. Because that is the most :))))) to me as an aroace is when people just don't know how to handle an aspec character. Usually because they're allo. But that's okay you probably don't know and we're all here to learn from each other. Here's some things to consider when you want to make or write an aspec person.

Ace's do sometimes have sex. They just aren't motivated by sex. That's it.

Along with sex your ace character may also masturbate and feel good being touched. They also might only like touching themselves and hate when other people do it. They usually also know when someone is hot/sexy and will comment on it. Finding someone sexy =/= we want to fuck them. Thinking someone is hot =/= we want to fuck them. We're still human. We know what a hot human looks like. Your ace character might be attracted to someone's appearance aesthetically but have no interest in their bits. Your ace character might fall in love with the most beautiful person in your story and never show any interest of wanting to bed them.

They can have boyfriends/girlfriends/romantic partners they do or don't have sex with. But they can be anywhere on the spectrum of sex repulsive, to sex positive, to absolute sex hound. Some of the horniest people you know are probably ace. Some of the horniest people I know are ace, and I have a lot of ace friends.

And we're not all virgins. Some ace's had sex and realized 'nah fam. Didn't do it for me' and never did it again. Others are virgins and have no intention ever of having sex. Others are virgins but don't care either way? It just hasn't happened. Others enjoy sex with their partners. Some are parents! You can be ace and had enough sex to procreate. Some also think sex is icky or it squicks them out. Some might be squicked out at the thought of sex with another person but they're fine looking at porn or doing it themselves. There is a wide range of what asexuals are into just like allos.

Aros also sometimes do the sex. They are not motivated by romance. That's it.

That being said your aro character can have a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner and it can be 'romantic'. It doesn't have to be a queer platonic relationship. Your aro character also might not want to be in a relationship at all. It is not weird for your aro character to call their partner their partner or bf/gf or if they're married their husband/wife.

Aro people do not get butterflies. They don't really get flustered around people they like. There's no spark. And they don't feel that romantic attraction allos do when they meet someone and fall in love with them. I've found that aro people are also terrible at flirting or picking up flirting cues. At least in my own personal experience when it took my aro ass 3 years to realize some girl was flirting with me and I just thought she was being nice to me. Take the 'useless lesbian' trope and take it to 11. We just don't know. Aro people also know when other people are hot. Just like aces just because we're aro doesn't mean we don't know a baddy when we see one. We just probably won't realize said baddy is flirting with us...

Aro character still love. They love their family, they love their friends, they love their partners. And it's all real love. The love is still there. Aro characters also probably know what they should do to mimic being in love. Even if we don't love someone more than platonically they may still do the things romantic partners do with their partner. Some don't! And that's fine too. Sometimes you're boyfriends and you share the same bed with him, and sometimes your girlfriend is just your roommate. Both are totally valid aro relationships. Maybe your character kisses their partner passionately and they like it, or they might only kiss during sex, or they might not kiss on the mouth. All valid and correct, still no romo. Kissing =/= romance for aros. Sex =/=romance for aros.

Aroace characters do all those things! At once! They can do the sex, and the boyfriend/girlfriend/partner and loving their friends. They just are not motivated by sex or romance. Kissing =/= sexual attraction. Sex =/= romantic love.

Being aspec is looking at the most beautiful and delicious cake in the world and going 'neat, cake' and walking away not even wondering what it tastes like, not even for a second considering having a bite. It's a cake. Neat. You are not motivated by cake. You don't even really care about cake. It's nice that other people fucking loooooooove cake but it's just not for you.

We also know what love is supposed to be like, what a 'healthy sexual' relationship should feel like. It's everywhere. All around us. Constantly. It's also sometimes fucking exhausting! It's why some aspec people can be a bit agro. We get it you're in love/got a new partner/are sleeping with someone/really sexually attracted to this person/keep spamming us with your celeb thirst pics/etc. It does get tiring sometimes. We don't care about the cake and sometimes listening to you talk about the cake drives us crazy. Consider that too when writing aspec characters. Sometimes their friends and their cakes are annoying no matter how much they love them platonically or romantically.

Anyway just some things to consider for your aspec OCs from an older aroace. Should be said aspec is a wide spectrum and I'm drawing on my own experience as an aroace with aspec friends, and my writing of those characters. If you have more questions about writing characters on this spectrum feel free to ask!

[christinesficrecs]

Any recs where Talia or the hales absolutely hate stiles or disprove of their relationship? I’ve already read the searching ceremonies.

hedwig221b (don't feel awkward! 🩷) also had a fic that matches this ask. So, go read that as well if you're a fan of the angst.

The Happiest of All by Hedwig221b | 32.5K | Explicit

“It’s every wolf’s dream. To find a perfect mate, to procreate. It’s a necessity, it’s healthy. It’s in our blood; akin to the moon in the sky, a wolf belongs to their mate. And humans don’t have the capacity to become a mate.”“But I love him,” Stiles whispered, begged.Talia stayed silent for a couple of minutes.“That’s why you should understand it’s not healthy for him to be with you,” her words were simple and clear, like a piece of glass, but sharp all the same. “He will not find true happiness with you. You’re wasting his time. Preventing him from having a future he deserves.”

Also, compromised-emotionally suggested this one.

Down By Contact by standinginanicedress | 117.4K | Explicit

Lydia looks over her shoulder to look at Derek Hale again, then back to him. “He’s an asshole, you know.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Stiles is confused, furrowing his brow. “I’ve only spent the last ten years of my life fighting with him.”

“Yeah, but, I mean, he’s an asshole,” she draws the word out nice and long, as if it takes on a different meaning depending on exactly how she says it. “No one who has ever dated or hooked up with that guy has ever had anything nice to say about him after the fact.”

“What do I care about that?”

She looks at him. It’s that all-knowing, all-seeing gaze, like the eye of Mordor. Stiles feels tiny under its wrath, so he looks away and stares down at his beer can, traces the design with his thumb. “I know you, Stiles Stilinski.”

“Not really. We only dated for, like, five months.”

With a snort, totally uncharacteristic of her and something she would never do sober, she rolls her eyes. “Gee, I wonder why.”

Hmmm. Not really, but here are a few.

Divided We Stand by  KouriArashi | 156.7K

Derek is being pressured by his family to pick a mate, and somehow stumbles into a choice that they didn’t expect and aren’t sure they approve of….

A Pair of Shoes by ReedMeme | 5.7K | Explicit

He was the human boyfriend. A lot of them don't really approve. Of course his boyfriend had to have a huge family. Which makes sense with the whole Werewolf thing, he supposes. But once in a while, Stiles still wishes he knew that before falling abso-fucking-lutely head over heels for Derek Hale.

Hello, Heartbreaker by  astoryaboutwar | 18.4K

Stiles and Derek have been fuckbuddies for a while when Derek loses his memories of the past three years - and them - in an accident.

Talk Me Down by SylvieW | 26.3K | Mature

After the Hale family narrowly escapes the fire, Derek moves to New York to escape their lingering resentment. There, he meets Stiles, and feels an instant connection to him, but their relationship, and Derek’s self worth is tested by the hurdles Derek’s pack throws at them

I Would Fake Forever With You by Halevetica | 53.9K

Derek Hale is the black sheep of the family, always has been. That’s why he moved to Seattle. Now he’s got a job he loves, a nice apartment with an incredibly hot and endearing neighbor, Stiles Stilinski. One night when Derek’s overly large and demanding family shows up early for their yearly visit, they run into Stiles, who is accidentally introduced as Derek’s boyfriend.

Taught by Experts by unpossible | 29K

“Let me get this straight,” Stiles says. “You’re going to be publicly dating someone else.”

[angelasscribbles]

All That She Wants Chapter 5: Consequences

Series: All That She Wants

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake, Liam x Olivia

Word Count: 1,094

Rating: M

Warnings for this chapter: none

My other stuff: Master List.

Riley stared down at the plastic stick in her hands as a myriad of feelings washed over her.

Another negative test.

How? It had been 6 months since she’d first set her sights on Drake. They had been sleeping together regularly ever since.

Frequently even.

Disappointment and disbelief were the first emotions. She had conceived Ellie on her honeymoon with Liam. Xander had taken only two months of trying.

Frustration and relief were an odd combination, revealing her conflicted motives. Her original goal of procreation was being thwarted, and that was frustrating.

But another negative result meant she would have to keep sleeping with Drake. Not just sleeping with him, but basically dating him, per the arrangement she had agreed to.

She hadn’t meant to, but she found herself enjoying the dating part. It felt good to be wanted, to be pursued, wooed, romanced, valued.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear him until he was right behind her. “What are you doing?”

Her body jolted as awareness of her surroundings rushed back in. “Liam! I thought you had meetings all morning!”

“I did. But the Duke of Rothsford spilled his coffee on me and I came back up to change.” Astonishment crept into his voice. “Is that a pregnancy test?”

“It’s none of your business, is what it is!” She snapped as she moved her hand behind her back.

“Oh, I think it’s most certainly my business if my wife, whom I haven’t had sex with in months, is taking a pregnancy test!”

“Try a year and a half, Liam!” she bit back furiously.

He looked momentarily taken aback. “Has it been that long?”

“Yes!” She hated the tears that gathered in her eyes.

Liam faltered for a moment. He looked at her with compassion, his hand reached out toward her in a comforting gesture but froze halfway there. His voice was icy as he demanded, “Why are you taking a pregnancy test?”

“I wanted to see if I was pregnant, Liam, that’s why!”

“So, you’re having an affair?”

She gaped at him, the anger in his tone confusing her. “You literally told me that if I wanted another baby, to find someone else to be the father!”

“That was hyperbole, Riley!” Liam was shaking with barely restrained fury. “The Queen of Cordonia can’t just have another man’s baby!”

“Oh, but you can sleep with Olivia and ignore your wife, and that’s fine?”

“I—”

“Exactly. You’re a hypocrite, Liam. What if your mistress got pregnant? Then what?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Liv doesn’t even want children! She took the necessary precautions to prevent that years ago!”

“Wow.” Riley shook her head as anger replaced all the despair and sadness she usually felt when confronted with her husband’s infidelity. “You didn’t even try to deny it.”

His shoulders slumped as his fury abated. “I’m sorry, Riley. You deserve better than I’ve given you. I know that.”

“Did you ever love me?”

“I do love you, Riley. Things with Liv and I are…. complicated.”

“No, Liam, you don’t love me. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have shut me out. Something changed somewhere along the way, and you didn’t bother to let me know.”

“I’m not disputing that things changed. Our marriage became…stale.”

She wasn’t sure which emotion was more prevalent as she took in his assessment of their relationship. There was an ample amount of rage tempered by an overabundance of grief.

She had never stopped loving him. Had never stopped trying.

But the unvarnished truth was that he had left their marriage, at least emotionally, long ago, and there was nothing she could do about it.

For the first time since she had said I do, she admitted to herself that this was not the fairytale they had sold to the press. This was not her happily ever after and Liam was not her prince charming. They had been living a lie from the moment he proposed.

“Why didn’t you just marry her in the first place?” she asked bitterly.

“I just told you…. she refused to have children. I needed an heir.”

“So, you married me for my uterus?”

A defensive note crept into his voice. “You knew the terms. You agreed—”

“I agreed to the marriage terms because I loved you, you fucking unbelievable bastard!”

“Riley, you’re upset. I understand. But once you calm down—”

“No.”

“No? No, what?”

“No, to whatever is about to come out of your mouth. I’m done worrying about what’s best for you! It’s my turn, Liam!”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you have three choices. Either give me a baby, let someone else give me a baby, or let’s just get divorced and I’ll do as I damn well please.”

“Riley, we can’t just—”

“Those are your choices. Even the king can’t force someone to stay married to him against her will. Just imagine the scandal that would cause!”

He struggled to maintain his composure when what he wanted to do was throw things, yell, lock her in the room, and forbid her to leave it. Instead, he took a steadying breath and counted silently to ten before he spoke. “We said forever, Riley.”

“You promised to love me, Liam.”

“Who is it?”

“Excuse me?”

His voice was tight as he searched her face for answers. “Who are you sleeping with? Who is stabbing his king in the back?”

For the first time in their entire marriage, Riley had the upper hand. She gave him a self-satisfied smirk as she tossed the plastic stick into the waste bin. She crossed the room to the door, opened it, then turned back to face him. “You have two days to decide which option pleases you most, my king.” Then she was gone.

“Son of a bitch!” Liam picked up the nearest object and hurled it at the door that had just closed.

Glass shattered against the wood, as water and petals exploded outward.

Who the fuck had been sending her flowers?

He had barely noticed the vases of fresh-cut blooms that had changed every few days, assuming housekeeping had been putting them there to brighten the room. Now the certainty that someone was not just fucking his wife but romancing her took hold.

Something had to be done. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made quickly.

He pulled out his phone and quickly punched in Olivia’s number. “We have an urgent matter to discuss. I need you to drop whatever you’re doing and come to the palace immediately.”

[kakyogay]

I did the thing :3

I have a very love hate relationship with rendering but dayum I had a mostly pleasant time. Like the brush I used for the background is just so nice. The texture is oh so yummy (it's larapuna in the artistic catagory on procreate if you wanna know). And despite lowkey struggling with the line art because FUCK LINE ART I'm pretty content with it :)

oh yeah also the canon took me maybe 10 minutes while the my style took maybe 4 hours (according to procreate's statistics) so sick ig

[myangelhaven]

These are my recommendations of LEEKNOW fics! It will be updated once in a while for new stories I have read. Hopefully the links work (lemme know if it doesn't)

Credits to the authors!! All information written is taken from the authors' post and has not been modified. Reminder that some fics are NOT for minors, so please read the key and avoid 18+ contents.

HAPPY READING!!

KEY

[❀]: fluff [𖦹]: humour [𖤓]: angst [☄]: sad [☾]:smut [⟡]:smau [✮]: my favs

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮------------LEEKNOW------------✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

DRABBLES & SHORT FICS

Grape soda by @agi-ppangx [❀]

Half-court shot by @starlostseungmin [❀][✮][f2l?][e2l?]

matching tattos with minho by @ppiri-bahng [❀]

ten things lee know says when he thinks you’re asleep by @soobnny [❀

meanie minho by @fluffylino [☾]

lee know eating you out after a bad day of practice

What are we? by @jinhyun [❀][𖤓]

Lino and the "friends? Why are you looking at me like that?" prompt, where he asks reader what they are, and is finally frustrated (and whipped) enough to come clean about his feelings, after some time in their fwb/situationship, or wtv they had going on

Only if the cats approved by @jae-bummer [❀][𖤓][soulmateau][grumpyxsunshine]

Request: I have a request for a Lee Know fic where when you first find your soulmate you have to be near them 24/7 for a certain amount of time. Also, the reader has been waiting for their soulmate their whole life and is super excited while Lino isn’t super into the idea. The rest is up to you.

The only exception by @astraystayyh [❀][𖤓][s2l][slowburn]

Minho was content with straying away as far as possible from love. That is until you stumbled into his café on a rainy night, and unwittingly, into his life.

Feline tendencies by @withleeknow [❀][establishedrelationship][suggestive] 0.9k

The pepper thing by @like-a-diamondinthesky [❀][✮][established relationship] 1.4k

it's a routine, it's a tradition, it's a lifestyle. it's the pepper thing.

Middle of the night by @j-0ne25 [☾][f2l] 1.5k

Tentacles by @jonespicy [❀][☾][aliensau][foreplay] 2k

Gates of hell by @tasteracha [☾][demonau] 2.2k

minho is the demon that welcomes you into hell

Promises by @ta3mint [❀][𖤓][bff2l] 2.4k

The one that got away by @imagine-a-life-like-this [☄][this is literal pure heartbreak] 2.4k

she returned after four years engaged to another man, someone minho is convinced doesn’t love her as much as he does. but as he watches them get married, he sees the love in his eyes, and comes to terms with the fact that she will always be the one that got away.

Clementia by @skzsauce01 [𖤓][e2l] 2.5k

You’d always had a special place in your heart for Lee Minho even though he gives you countless reasons to hate him. How long will your patience last?

Eyes on you by @jonespicy [❀][☾][coworkers] 2.6k

Cruel summer by @starseungs [❀][𖤓][childhood bff2e][e2l] 2.9k

friendships can break. some even turn into enemies. that was a fact you unfortunately knew all too well.

A chance by @staywritten [❀][𖤓][☄][slowburn][hurt/comfort] 3k

You fall the heartbreaker.

Taste by @tasteleeknow [𖤓][☾][e2l] 3k

aphrodisiacs are agents that are held to arouse desire. the word originates from aphrodite, the ancient greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. 

Bad idea by @setsugekka [𖤓][☾][e2l] 3.6k

stuck in a vacation home with nobody but the most annoying man in your friend group, there’s not a lot offered to help take the edge off.

a couple of glasses of wine and a crazy idea might, though.

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄more to come!⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄

☆-------Minho's masterlist || skz masterlist--------☆

[mermaid-trash]

Hi! I’m crazy shy about this but I have a NSFW oneshot prompt with the archons (Ruka not Nahida for dendro obviously) but I only have ideas for the first three so I wanted to share it… please don’t hate me…

All vision holders suddenly went missing, on the same day Celestia informed the archons that they’re sending down a god whose been kept in captivity. Most archons wonder if the two events are related, many worry that this god is supposed to replace one of them.

1. Venti was told the god would travel to each nation, starting with Mondstadt. He hopes to endear himself to this new god in hopes they won’t kill and replace him. As he’s waiting at Stormbearer Point, cecilia petals fall from the sky and completely coat the ground. From the petals emerges a girl wearing a white frilly lace-covered corset romper whose hair ombrés into glowing pink. Her god name is Asmodeus, but goes by Y/N, she is the goddess of fertility. She’s nervous and asks to go somewhere more private where she tells Venti that Celestia sent her to complete a mission. The vision holders where kidnapped and murdered by the abyss, Celestia managed to obtain their souls and wants Y/N to birth new bodies for them… but they want to make them more powerful by infusing their bodies with the power of their element, however, this would require Y/N to procreate with each archon. Venti is disgusted by the idea, by Celestia, and is initially disgusted by Y/N until he discovers she is being forced, bound by celestial chains which get tighter and hotter the more she resists or is unsuccessful. Venti pities her and is very kind, comforting and gentle with the poor traumatized girl.

2. Venti informs Zhongli before Y/N shows up, Zhongli starts off very hesitant, but instincts take over and he gets a little… rough, when breeding her. Wholesome aftercare ensues.

3. Ei is also told ahead of time by Venti, and her genitalia changes upon meeting the goddess. This makes extremely uncomfortable and it takes her a bit to get into it, however, once Y/N has birthed new bodies and recreated all the electro vision holders, Ei kidnaps her and tries to force her to revive Makoto by birthing her a new body, however, Y/N refuses as it’s morally wrong and she doesn’t have access to Makoto’s soul.

That’s my only ideas for now, but Zhongli and Venti would have to save her and deliver her to Rukkhadevata, and Y/N would eventually have to go through all archons.

bestie I have been thinking about this ask for days now and I love it

Venti's relationship with Celestia is strained at the best of times, and he's furious that they would force someone into a situation like this, but after seeing how much pain his refusal is causing you, he changes his mind. He's careful and tender, all soft touches and gently rocking his hips against yours, kissing your tears away and whispering promises of safety into the crook of your neck. When he cums, the pain of the celestial chains subsides a little, and he helps you clean up with a sad smile.

Zhongli, on the other hand, whilst also being furious at Celestia, is a dragon who has been thrown a piece of meat, and it gets harder and harder for him to resist. Then, he finally snaps, and apologises profusely as he flips you onto your knees, lifting your ass in the air with ease and thrusting in as deep as he can go all at once. He's too far gone to control his movements, too eager to pump you full of his seed, but in the afterglow he makes sure to kiss your bruises and apologise for his loss of control.

And Ei....bestie I don't even know what to add, she's petty and possessive and maybe a little yandere here? And I'm so into it <3 I cannot write for female characters but I love your interpretation of her

thank you so much for putting this in my inbox ;;-;;

[luckkythirt33n]

I can't decide which one I like more :c

[mothwingwritings]

I'm thinking of that type of reader, sweet and naive but so morally and mentally broken after Yujiro's violence that she may not realize that her strange relationship with her father is not normal at all.

A naive reader who doesn't understand why everyone, especially her brothers, look on in confusion and horror when a huge horrible mountain of muscle kisses her in front of witnesses and maybe even touches her all over. Just for their reaction.

And Hanma brothers, who stand there just shivering, each having different obscenities in their minds about their stupid sister, but they try to behave appropriately, blowing off excited steam when left alone.

I love the way you think, anon. (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ `)♡

(I apparently can’t answer asks without spitting out a small story, so I apologize. I have no idea how to shut up and this is why it takes me so long to answer lit rally anything! (ᴗ ͜ʖ ᴗ))

WARNINGS FOR INCEST/STEPCEST/UNHEALTHY FAMILY DYNAMICS PLEASE BE ADVISED!!!

You've been so sheltered your whole life, holed up in your home by your mother who lived in a constant state of fear that your father may find you. You never understood why she would chose to procreate with someone she believed was so awful, or what was even so dreadful about the man to begin with. She kept everything from you, shooting you an icy glare if you so much as uttered his name. If she hated the man so much, why were you even born? It all seemed so unfair.

Whenever you looked outside and saw a father walking hand in hand with his daughter or when you watched a tv show with a supportive and kind father figure portrayed in a loving home, you would feel a pang of jealously, be overcome with sadness. Why couldn't you have that? You spent all of your youth home schooled, constantly moving from place to place for as long as you could remember, never staying in one home for more than a year. It barred you from any normal social interaction you should be having at your age, kept you from any lasting friendships. Since an early age you felt like half of yourself is missing, and you didn’t know what to do about it.

All you really have are your brothers, both of whom you love very much, and you know love you in return. But even they have been mostly barred from you by your mother, kept away in fear that their presence may summon your father and ultimately lead to your demise. You feel stagnant, suffocated, and unable to grow-like a shell of who you should really be.

But then one day, something changes. You wake up to a man in your bedroom, imposing and dominant, leering over you with a horrible smile as soon as you wake up. It’s alarming, and you found yourself struck with an innate fear as soon as you witness him. However, you note that your mother is also in the room, hidden away in the corner. Though she refuses to look at you, her presence feels reassuring and gives you an instant clue to who this man is.

This man introduces himself as your father, and though you are still incredibly leery of this situation, the joy you feel over finally meeting him clouds your better judgement. When he asks you to follow him, you concede without much prodding.

From there your life changes drastically. You get to see much more of the world then you did under your mothers care, and while that in and of itself is quite exciting, it also fills you with a trepidation that you have never felt previously. Because of that, you usually end up clinging close to your father’s side when you are out and about, feeling much more secure when you have him around for protection.  Often this seems to cause him irritation, and you have found out quite quickly that when your father is upset nothing good will come of it. You’ve seen what happens to those on the receiving end of his fury, been on that end quite a few times yourself, and it’s the worst kind of hell you can imagine. The first time you witnessed Yujiro’s true rage was also the first time you could truly grasp your mother’s life long concern over you, and the realization hit you like a ton of bricks. This is why she had raised you the way that she did, shielding you from the monster you didn’t realize your father was.

But your new life wasn’t all bad, and there were moments when your father actually showed you kindness, treating you like true family. He’d take you out to lavish restaurants and resorts, bought you pretty clothes that you never dreamed of owning. You had access to salons, your hair and makeup done up in ways you yourself would have never had the skill to accomplish. You were no longer a child, but you had also never felt so… mature. The lovely clothes he provided you hugged you in all the right places, accentuating features of yourself you previously concealed. Thick mascara and cherry lips made you look like an almost entirely different person, someone much more alluring than you ever imagined you could be.

In certain rare instances, your father would even show you affection. The hugs and kisses weren’t how you envisioned they would be- much more intrusive, something you would expect from a lover and not a family member. But he assured you it was fine, that this was all normal, that other fathers just didn’t have the courage to truly appreciate their daughters like he did. He told you the only children he had ever had were sons, so you were special and needed to be treated as such.

He wanted everyone to see just how exceptional you were, witness how gorgeous his baby girl was. So when he paraded you around the underground arena he so often frequented, pawing at you with that devilish smirk on his lips, kissing you so deeply you felt like you were choking, you couldn’t quite understand the strange looks you got from the people around you. Sure, his heavy handed doting felt a little uncomfortable, but shouldn’t these public affections be better received? Maybe the people watching were just shy, or like your father said, not brave enough to handle this type of flagrant love.

… And maybe you could convince yourself of that for strangers, but when you caught a glimpse of your brothers during these public moments of intimacy, a pit would form in your stomach.  It was like staring into a tempest, a swirling miasma of revulsion and anger reflecting back in their piercing gaze. They had never looked at you with such disgust before, and you couldn’t help but feel as if you had done something horribly wrong.

You HATED feeling that way. The guilt was overwhelming; you couldn’t stand the thought of Baki and Jack being upset with you. You knew it had to be in part due to your closeness to Yujiro, you knew they never were big fans of the man, and their distaste only seemed to grow the stronger your bond with him became.

You felt as if your family was finally coming together, you didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize this new life. You would have to talk to Baki and Jack about it later-you were willing to do just about anything to get back in their good graces.

[sunburnacoustic]

@origin-of-symmetryy's poll about the Muse album closers got me thinking (and frankly, the addition under their poll was getting ridiculously long, and so I've decided to make a new post), Muse are really good at album closers. Really good. Of course, the order of songs on an album is something most musicians will spend some time thinking about, but usually outside of concept albums, what songs close the albums don’t really matter as much. Sometimes they’re coincidentally great; the best of the album closers are ones that will leave you sitting in silence for a minute just thinking about what you’ve just heard. (There’s an English band called Yard Act who closed their debut album The Overload with, “It’s not like there’s gonna be nothing, is there?” And then there's silence; the album's over. And the whole song itself was in short, about humanity and people being people, and so I did sit and think about the album for a minute, it was great.)

Muse are like that. Their album closers are really meant to be closers. It's almost like their shows: the albums are paced out in such a way that you're being taken on a journey listening to them, and you're not just going to have all the energetic stuff at once, and you won't just have the chilled out, relaxed or downtempo songs in one lump. We've all definitely marveled right here on Museblr about the transition on Absolution from Hysteria -> Blackout -> Butterflies & Hurricanes. Those are not exactly similar songs, but Muse know how to make it work.

All this is to say, Muse certainly know how to bring the rollercoaster down to a stop at the end of an album, both musically and emotionally/thematically. Think of Megalomania, Ruled by Secrecy, Exogenesis Symphony, Isolated System, Drones, The Void, even Glorious if you're willing to consider the extended version of BHAR. Musically, they're a bit more chilling, emotionally usually less settled, kinda despondent, they seem to almost close with a message of 'it's all kind of messed up. It doesn't matter, you see? They're fucked up. We all are.' Or 'See? That's how everything goes wrong' (depending on which album you're listening to).

The only album I would say does not seem to have a thematic intention behind it is Showbiz, but Hate This And I'll Love You does have a certain grandiose element to its outro that makes it a perfect show closer; the brash little bow taken at the end of what they know is an album well done. Thematically I can only surmise: 'try hating this. We dare you to. You see the current musical landscape? What do you think of it? We are Muse. We are about to change everything; destroy the status quo. Stay tuned.'

To my mind at least, here's how the other album closers relate to the themes of the records: Origin of Symmetry is partly about human connection, observed through its relationship to technology (New Born, Screenager, Plug In Baby), occasionally religion (Hyper Music, Megalomania, or sometimes mysticism.

Throughout the album, Matt has explored themes of becoming distant from other people, loneliness, reliance on technology (and erm, sex robots I guess), paranoia, love, hope, the feeling of being perceived. Megalomania seems to come down from the heightened emotions, whether negative or positive, turns despondent and challenges a God about why people should even bother going through it all: why love? Why trust? Why procreate and restart the whole cycle again? It's bringing it all back down to earth to close out the album. And of course, musically too, that song sounds pessimistic. Come on.

Absolution: Matt and Dom have talked about how this album was less about actual religion, but more about their own personal absolutions: freeing themselves through music. The religious themes are allegorical, the album's motivations are more existential, personal and heightened emotionally: we're dealing with themes of self-worth, paranoia, relationships, and more of that search for meaning that we saw glimpses of in Origin Of Symmetry.

At the end of it all comes Ruled By Secrecy, with the protagonist realising that no matter how hard they try, a lot of their own life is beyond their control. Despite all the hopes, fears, anxieties about who you are, your future and your own death; no matter how hard you try to fight it, it is out of your power, and no one knows who's in control. A final fight-or-flight at the end of the album that concludes, it doesn't matter. There's nothing you can do. Can't fight it. And of course, that dark, echoing, reverb-drenched piano arpeggio is haunting and will linger in your mind well after Dom's last cymbal crash.

Black Holes and Revelations: Look, I think the human spirit and connection is such a central theme to Matt Bellamy's writing that I ought to stop mentioning it because here too I will go 'ditto'. It's the human emotional spectrum: love, loss, anxiety, needing control of your life, loneliness; but this time explored through the lens of politics, of conspiracy and paranoia, extraterrestrialism, but drawing those connections back to feeling alienated rather than literal alien stuff (save that for the interviews ;) )

I think Knights is definitely a change in direction from Muse's previous few closers in that there's no way you could call it downtempo, but it works for the same reasons that it is Muse's staple set closer: it goes out on a high. It acknowledges how real our fears are, but also how silly they can seem spoken out loud (or, say, sung out loud on a record or in concert with 90,000 people), and says, you know what. We can still wear silly hats and boots, play space cowboy riffs and sing anthems about it. (I know this is not the exact meaning of the song, but that's the meaning I get from it being placed at the end of the album, if you see my distinction). Glorious, on the other hand, is a more classic mellow Muse album closer (and would've definitely worked too), but more optimistic and taking comfort in love. Still as much of a full-stop as any previous closers. See when I say this is a band that knows what an album closer is!

The Resistance: Muse's dystopian thriller, 54 minutes of exploring the personal in the context of the global, set against a backdrop of strife, tensions, big ideas about the geopolitics of the world, and of course, a reflection on the books and media Matt had consumed around the time of this album. Against this backdrop, Exogenesis Symphony seems to run parallel to the album itself, a 3-part story exploring the hubris of thinking that the only way of saving humanity from all its problems was the nuclear option (figuratively): to begin life on a new planet, only to conclude that we're doomed to repeat our old habits and fail, hinting that our only real chance is to band together to save ourselves and what we have right now. Muse would go on to employ a similar 'parallel what-if' storyline later too on The Globalist. Anyway, for ending with a message insinuating peace as the only option to avoid destruction, that's a classic Muse album closer.

The 2nd Law: Matt turns his eyes to environmental and existential anxieties, while placing the blame squarely at the feet of greed and capitalism, presented through a physics metaphor for an economic situation: just as the 2nd law of thermodynamics states that entropy (or general instability) of an isolated system is always increasing, an economic system building itself on endless growth becomes more unstable. (And as the first law states, perpetual motion, or growth, is impossible, and hence unsustainable in the long run). How anyone was surprised that this exactly was Muse's first album in the aftermath of the global financial crisis is beyond me.

An interesting mix of the electronic and 'real' elements on this album at a time when the debate about rock and guitar bands using electronic instruments was rife, it's interesting to me how some of the most overtly electronic songs on this album (Madness, Follow Me) also happen to be the most personal ones Matt wrote, while his rawness is reserved for his environmental angst: Animals, Explorers, to an extent Survival, when seen outside the Olympic light.

The two 2nd Law tracks flip that script of course, and the contrast between them (one heavier, the other much more understated) does kind of reflect what they're about, but the cold, chilling nature of Isolated System? Easy to see why they picked it as a soundtrack to play repeatedly under an apocalyptic film (which is still extremely diluted from the book, which does encompass more themes of a bio-ecological disaster than the film). It does return to Muse's tried and tested album closer formula of finishing the album with a haunting piece of music that will leave you thinking about the album you've just listened to, slightly unsettled.

Now, Drones! An album exploring the pitfalls of artificial intelligence in the military sphere, on the surface about warfare, but underneath, a much more human and emotional journey undertaken by a protagonist not to lose their human spirit, their sense of what is right and will to stand up for their rights. A mix of the personal and political. Muse's first explicit concept album.

The song Drones delves into the dystopia, separate from the timeline of the album where the protagonist (Mary) freed themself, returned home to their loved ones, stopped being an emotionless drone and discovered love again, only to retire away from all the pain in order to heal. It's a proper summariser of a track, and so a fitting album closer: you don't need to look your victims in the eyes anymore, you don't have to fight your own sense of decency and humanity: 'now you can kill from the comfort of your home with drones'. I also think having many Matt voices with none of them ever taking the role of lead singer is a sly little summary of the album too: you're all just voices in the choir, you can't tell any of them apart. You're faceless. But I suppose, also the fact that you're able to discern meaning from this chorus of voices that is not always singing in unison, that conveys the strength of working together to overcome adversity? All album themes. Anyway, any song that closes the album with 'Aaaa-men.' is a proper album closer, cheers Matt!

Simulation Theory (standard version, because the deluxe doesn't have new songs, just other versions of the existing ones): the darkness has finally lifted from Matt's life. Bouncing back from the album meant to convey emotional deadness (and Matt's breakup album), Matt's found love, robots and nostalgia, and by god he was going to make it known! Even through the sci-fi, this album is still exploring the ramifications of the AI powering decisions that impact all our lives: this album explores the consequences of algorithms, social media and peer pressure, spreading misinformation and chaos, but also the humanity that connects us all that the computers can never really nail down. That's where the album closer The Void comes in: statistical modelling may have you believing that everyone is just a number to fit along a neat mathematical line, that anyone outside the norm is unaccounted for, erased, alone, estranged; that individual people cannot have an impact: they're wrong. Just for that line, this is a cracker of a closing song. Ending with Matt's now-trademark hope, belief in humanity and optimism. And yes, yet another emotional, downtempo Muse album closer that'll leave you thinking and feeling things for a while.

Will Of The People: Now this one is so interesting to me. On an album exploring the current landscape: near-apocalyptic scenes in terms of the environment, global public health, economy, civil unrest and failures of public leadership, only a Muse album could really do the scene justice. So where does We Are Fucking Fucked fit in? It's so different from traditional Muse album closers. Where's that optimism and fighting spirit Matt says he simply cannot write without? I don't think I can say it better than Matt's said it himself:

[W]henever someone creates a film or a book that ends on a sort of tragedy of some kind, or ends on something bad, what happens is, it leaves the viewer or the listener in a state where they can’t help but feel compelled to do something about creating an equilibrium that isn’t there. When I was studying films briefly, that’s what someone told me: If you wanna do something where you leave it to the actual person who’s watching or reading or consuming the art… if you leave them in a state with an unhappy ending … they can walk away from it and go, “Maybe I need to do something about this.” So that was one of the reasons why I put “We Are Fucking Fucked” at the very end. Hopefully people come away from it and go like, “Well, are we? I don’t know about that. Maybe I’ll do this…”

And what did lie at the end of the album? A Muse concert? Perhaps something bigger: a real-life push for justice and peace? I love the concept of WAFF as an album closer, that's a brilliant concept.

What do you guys think?

[ourlordandsaviorgojira]

Seems like you've got a lot of thoughts on sacred bodies! Tbh I didn't entirely get it and moreso liked it for the art. Would love to hear your opinion :)

As the author says, Sacred Bodies is about "what different people/s see as taboo, and the socio-cultural lines that delineate propriety and deviancy." Which is a fascinating topic! They've created a really interesting world with a lot of really interesting character relationships and concepts but all of it fell JUST short of having real depth and punch. When I say I liked the idea of everything but found shortcomings to pick at with all of it, I mean it.

Barely organized ranting and a lot of it under the cut.

I should say right up front that I'm both a hopeless romantic and a conneseur of monster loving. However, the simple presence of either in a narrative isn't going to cut the cheese with me, it's gotta be Good. So here we go.

The World:

This relationship between humans and garaang as cooperative in the holy space above the clouds, viciously antagonistic below, is really interesting and I have a lot of questions about it. What made these apex predators choose to give up their perfectly successful biological niche and live mutually with their prey? What made humans decide to trust them enough to go along with it? The comic implies divine intervention, at least as far as the characters know, but that's a narrative cop-out, and I think there could be some interesting things done with that. Especially with the implication that this ostensibly utopian society is actually quite cult-ish. Garaang are expected to perform various levels of self mutilation to remain pure, its implied that mating with the matriarch leads to the males being cast out below the clouds, and a certain amount of abuse is definitely happening amongst humans. Nothing is what it seems here and there's a lot of potential in that.

Also humans are the ones who are raising garaang children, so what's up with that? Is having garaang chicks imprint on humans a key part of this coexistence, so that they instinctually see humans as "people" too and not automatically as prey? I'm also very curious about this thing where garaang have a hive-like biological/social structure. That's rare in anything more complex than insects and I'd think it'd have a lot of complications for a fully intelligent species. None of that really gets addressed though.

I'm also frustrated that what constitutes "sin" is more specific for the garaang (being predators) but not so much for humans. Obviously sex is meant to be strictly for procreation and there's an apparent aversion to meat(?) but does that mean humans here are vegetarian? Are the garaang allowed meat and humans aren't? Are there protocols to make meat acceptable vs unacceptable? Like it's generally implied that humans are more concerned with controlling sexual appetite and not what they can or can't eat, which is something in cultures that fascinates me personally (I'm a huge Dungeon Meshi fan btw). More on this when I talk about characters.

The Characters:

I love the idea of a neurodivergent/autistic character in general (hello, hi) but especially one who is used as an offering/sacrifice, something which probably did historically happen. Dualayim's abuse at the hands of her mother in some ways leading to her "promiscuity" is interesting but that's a whole can of worms that I don't feel the comic addresses honestly. I don't believe sex is inherently bad or evil but an autistic woman trying to cope with her abuse by having casual sex is... not a choice I'd make easily as a writer. Especially within the context of a society that, apparently very reasonably! associates promiscuity with death and suffering. Like, both garaang and humans have a very good reason to fear and abhor the feral urges that lead to the MASSIVE amounts of suffering that goes on below the clouds, it's not a theoretical. Dualayim's mother, abusive as she is, technically has a very good reason to fear and hate her daughter (some more). Somehow though, I doubt that justifying this prejudice in the narrative was Ver's intention.

Tolpan is... so fucking disappointing. I love me a good monster character but Tolpan is the quintessential monster husband archetype and it breaks my damn heart. He's big, outwardly scary but apparently harmless, he instantly respects Dualayim and asks nothing of her, he's deadly afraid of appearing threatening to her despite her having no reason to do so, he's attractive by the standards of his people and he has a respectable job. This is like a teratophile checklist, it's painful. He has basically no personality of his own. He barely even provides any interesting context for his culture aside from what's directly relevant to the story. He exists to be cutely awkward at over eight feet tall and fit the shape of Dualayim's needs and that's about it.

It's a stereotypical romance dynamic and it's boring boring boring. Tolpan and Dualayim never have any significant conflict aside from the very end when she misinterprets his bloodlust as sexual lust and it leads to the biggest flop of an ending I've read in a while. The whole story is about cultural propriety and deviancy and the two deviants don't even get to release their feeling of repression on each other? And yet this is a good thing because the story has established that he wants to fucking Eat Her, because he apparently doesnt have sexual desires. So while the theme is ostensibly "giving into natural desires" neither of them... actually does. And if the theme should instead be "outcasts finding interpersonal connection" then it still fails, because what they find is still only surface level because the characters have one pivotal moment of understanding and then... hug it out, DESPITE the narrative establishing their desires VERY EXPLICITLY. This could be a story about two people discovering a shared nature between them as animals that have multifaceted interconnected desires and needs, but instead it's satisfied with them just acknowledging that those distinctly separate desires exist. It makes no damn sense to me, and it shouldn't make sense to anyone who's been told to wait just a little longer for dinner or gotten interrupted while trying to get off.

Basically, Ver is a very good artist but they are not a very good writer and bit off WAY more than they could chew to try and cram into 60 pages. This is the kind of story that could be told by someone with a lot more experience in literal volumes of material and also the help of an editor who knows from more than AO3 fics. I want more. I want it to be good. It has SO FUCKING MUCH POTENTIAL it makes me want to tear at my hair! But every time I read it I keep asking questions that the narrative doesn't seem prepared to answer and I get more frustrated every time.

[niiwa-angel]

Okay, this may be a controversial topic, but I just need to say it. The reading comprehension among Radblr is just piss poor. For a group that tries to present ourselves as well spoken, scientifically minded, educated women, we really fall flat when it comes to any media that makes us uncomfortable and the first example that comes to mind is fellow Radfems complaining about 1984 by George Orwell. Specifically, the Hate Minute scene where the main character thinks about raping a woman

A lot of Radfems took this as something Orwell was encouraging, that he was saying that raping a woman was exactly the same as loving her and he wasn't. The book goes out of its way to describe how basic human emotions and instinct have been weaponized, distorted, and trained out of the general public by The Party. The book mentions children turning in their parents to the police, or how people are made up for feel good stories to make the public more malleable.

Hate Minute itself is a great example of this, The Party has pavloved dogsed these people into working themselves into a vicious frenzy whenever they follow this ritual. If I remember correctly (I read the book but it's been years and I don't have a copy on me) in the scene, other people are ripping their clothes, breaking furniture, and screaming horribly. This is the scene where he thinks about rape. In the midst of all the violence surrounding him, he is also think about violence.

Later in the book, the main character and this woman get together. They develop a loving relationship, something that no longer exists in their society. The book mentions that sex is only to be used to procreate , not for anything else. Most marriages aren't unions of love. The pair have consensual, enthusiastic sex many many times.

Instead of looking at this book as an example of how humans are easily misled, many of our fellow Radfems took it as an example of how authors cant write stories about women without rape. Something that may be a fair critique of media like Game of Thrones, but one that I don't think is fair for 1984. I think Orwell was using the thought of rape as an example of how violence against fellow people can be trained into us. We see this in real life now, with men so accustomed to violent porn depicting violence against women as a normal sex act that many porn consumers cannot tell the difference between rape and sex.

I think Radfems have fallen into the idea that anything that makes you uncomfortable is bad. It's not. Books like 1984 are supposed to make you uncomfortable. If you walk away from 1984 going "well that was a feel good story" you completely missed the point of the book. Things that make you uncomfortable are not always bad