#my favourite is when they don't even explain what post has triggered them

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

God is anything funnier than people who try to send anonymous hate. It's like getting savaged by a small child that promptly shits itself and cries. Like oh, did you not like some of my words? Did you feel Bad after you read them? Did you want to throw a little tantrum but didn't quite feel brave enough to do it with your URL attached in case you experienced some Consequences?

Did you think I would do anything other than block and forget about you entirely?

Do you think maybe you should have saved your effort and told your therapist about it instead?

I cannot fathom what these people think they're achieving. Bestie, look at me. Listen carefully. All you will achieve is a moment's contempt, and then a block. Nothing more. Consider taking up knitting.

[tylernation]

A message to the following…

The previous day was pretty hectic, so I thought I might do some explaining here.

I don't usually get angry, but when I do, its pretty ugly, which I don't like, but I can't help it if I'm provoked by some truly disgusting idiots in this fandom.

Those who know of my account know that I am Wyler fan. A Tyler Galpin fan. Someone who believes he is a tragic villain who should heal and get a redemption arc considering how much he got fucked over in life and unfairly at that too. I don’t like to trash other ships or characters belonging to that same fanbase, but it is my firm belief that some portions of the fans in general, have become really horrible, not only to our favourite character, but to fans of that character as well.

This isn't about shipping wars ok, I don't care who you ship in this show, but when you constantly denigrate a character who our side of the fanbase loves, as well as the fans of that character itself, then I (as well as others) will start biting back, and we will bite back much harder. Stick to promoting your favourite character or ship, rather than put down another character who quite a number of us actually like talking/learning about, and all this drama can be avoided.

For those who don’t know what I am referring to, yesterday, a user on Instagram commented on the latest Wednesday post about Tyler. The admin user responded in a rather negative manner to that user which the account should never have done. As the main social media account for the show, they should be impartial as well as considerate for this diverse fanbase and learn that fans of other characters other than Wednesday and Enid exist too. But that particular comment made in response, has triggered some Wenclair fanatics to go on and bully and harass that Tyler fan for no reason. That user never attacked Wenclair, or Enid in particular. So there was no reason for the following harassment whatsoever. And now they have the audacity to post on their Twitter circles and claim that they are the victims in this situation, which is truly pathetic. But this is not the first time our side of the fanbase has had to deal with these toxic individuals. Fans of the Wyler ship, or Tyler as a character, or those in favour of him getting a redemption arc, are constantly looked down, treated condescendingly, and bullied by some Wenclair fanatics on Instagram, Twitter, and here on Tumblr. And we are not the only side of the fanbase who have copped it badly from these people. Fans of Wavier / Xavier / PHW, and even Ajax / Georgie and the Enid / Ajax ship have been subjugated to such immature behaviour by these fans who attack them, mainly because they see them as threats to Wenclair,

For those angry with me and accusing me of doxxing some accounts on my last post, fine, maybe I took it a bit too far, but I truly feel that it was vital to expose the toxicity of the Wednesday fanbase that no one should have to go through. Plus, it’s not really doxxing if it’s photos of accounts that are mainly pseudonyms and fan centric accounts, and not private details such as real names etc.

[blueberry-bubbles130]

The disappointment of the characterisation of the Bourgeois family in Miraculous Ladybug.

This essay/post will be talking about my feelings regarding the characterisation of Bourgeois family, as I'm doing a rewrite fanfiction of Miraculous and the Bourgeois family plays an extremely important part in my rewrite.

Trigger Warnings include:

TW: Child abuse

Child neglect

Verbal abuse

Emotional abuse

Domestic Violence

If I have forgotten to add any trigger warnings in the post please comment and I'll add them as soon as I can.

Getting this out of the way with now because I don't want to focus on her in this post, and because she won't be in my rewrite at all, I don't like Zoe. In the canon of the show all she serves as is a replacement for Chloe and a wielder of the Bee Miraculous. Unfortunately in the canon show, she is tied to the miraculous and Chloe in such a way that she cannot be talked about with bringing Chloe salt/bashing into the discussion, and has no true character of her own out of just being nice. There are others in the show who already could've filled the role much better. Zoe is far better written in fanon and fanfiction. But I don't want to be beating a long dead horse so there are other posts you can read to see Zoe's poor implementation in the show, and absolutely great fanfictions you can read that gives her a developed character if you like her. With that being said lets get onto the main essay.

Who are the Bourgeois family?

In the show the Bourgeois family are an upper class family that are said to hold a lot of influence. The family consists of Andre Bourgeois; the patriarch of the family who owns a hotel, and is also the mayor of Paris. Audrey Bourgeois; the matriarch of the family and a famous fashion critic. And Chloe Bourgeois; the child of the family and the temporary bee miraculous holder. The Bourgeois family can be considered a large secondary example of Miraculous's wasted potential, and it's inability to truly give a satisfying conclusion to any concept they've tried to execute during it's run. And some will say this is just the end of an arc and season 6 will continue and deliver. But it won't, especially considering Miraculous' record with delivering on expected plotlines it isn't promising in the slightest and I do not hold hope for season 6. Despite this, I'm rather interested in the Bourgeois family, and they are my favourite part of Miraculous making it even more disappointing to see the outcome of the plotline involving them.

Audrey Bourgeois-

I'm doing Audrey Bourgeois first because despite having a lot to say about all the family members, I have the least to say about Audrey.

Audrey is characterised as a harsh fashion critic who has nothing kind to say about anyone around her. Her kind words are only reserved for someone who can truly impress her, examples being Marinette and Gabriel. Marinette being shown to the audience and Gabriel being told to the audience. She is responsible for launching Gabriel into fame as a fashion designer. Audrey isn't even remotely nice to her own family. She abandons them mostly and seems to return only when work arises in Paris. And even then she belittles both her husband and Chloe constantly.

Something I find interesting in fanfiction for Miraculous Ladybug is that before we got any glimpse of who Audrey is. Everyone assumed she'd died and they either called her Simone or Julia, Julie or Juliette. And this gave depth to both Chloe, and Andre. This will be discussed again later.

Audrey's character has at least stayed consistent throughout Miraculous' ever-increasing run, which is a miracle considering Miraculous issues with characterisation, among other issues. However at the same time it's quite odd considering unlike Andre who got more developed regarding his past and what he wants, Audrey remains quite flat character-wise with only glimpses of there possibly something else to her. I think that Audrey despite staying consistent and explaining a lot about Chloe and Andre, she's still wasted potential. In one of the episodes characters such as Gabriel, Natalie and and I think maybe Tomoe are shown watching important story information on a tv. This would seemingly hint that Audrey had something to do with Gabriel. Which is believable considering Audrey's personality and previous appearances with Gabriel. However as of season 5 this has not been expanded upon in anyway whatsoever and like I keep saying I doubt it will be in season 6 or future seasons if they get anymore. This makes me believe that Audrey should've been expanded upon as a villain, she could've stolen a miraculous and possibly became a main villain. She's close to Gabriel, she's got the perfect personality for it; the only thing she needed to be a good villain was a decent motivation and I easily could've believed her becoming a villain if she'd been given decent motivation. She's already controlling and demanding, so Zoe could've never been introduced and you could've had it so she wants ultimate control over Andre and Chloe while placing herself as some sort of evil Queen. And that's all I really have to say about Audrey. Hell! I've already seen a few posts where people state that Audrey should've taken over as mayor after Andre, which makes a hell of a lot more sense then Chloe doing it. It's not exactly the same because she's the stepmother, but something I think Audrey should've been a bit like but far more toned down for the child audience is like Julia Cotton from Hellraiser. She's just so perfect as a example of someone willing to go to extremes in order to achieve their desires. Hell it's already there in her akuma, Style Queen! Just make her an evil queen, it wouldn't have been that hard and then we wouldn't have to deal with that mess we got with them attempting to make Gabriel sympathetic but then being shown him horribly abusing his son with glee at every opportunity he gets. You could keep Gabriel and Natalie sympathetic and make Audrey even more despicable than she is.

Also Audrey is clearly abusive, and in 2023 we should not need to have debates over whether she is because some people say she's just cruel. No she's abusive, it's clearly abuse.

Chloe Bourgeois-

Chloe is definitely my favourite character out of the Bourgeois family and Miraculous as a whole, and while her characterisation post season 3 does sadden and disappoint me, it doesn't anger me like what the writers did with Andre.

Chloe starts the series as nothing more than an obnoxious bully who torments her classmates. When we get to season 2 we get to see Chloe receive more depth as a character and see how her parents helped her in becoming the person she is today. Then season 3 happened and we see Miracle Queen. Now I don't think Miracle Queen is completely horrid, It makes sense that Chloe may begin to regress or backslide into her unhealthy habits. And I've even seen people still redeem her with miracle queen being in their stories. What pisses me off about Miracle Queen, especially when people online talk about it, is that they just seem to forget about Gabriel akumatising Audrey and Andre to use as blackmail against Chloe. Like yes at the end of the day, Chloe still makes the decision to become Miracle Queen and do what she did. But you cannot deny that a fully grown man who should know better, put the two people she presumably cared about the most at this point in danger in order to blackmail her. He cornered her on the balcony and essentially railroaded her into making that decision. Like what was she going to do if she said no, she can't fight Hawkmoth without a miraculous and even if she'd tried he might've legitimately hurt her or her parents to win. Here again we see fanfics just knock the show out of the water, with many people deciding to make Chloe trick Hawkmoth into giving her the miraculous and then she just runs away to get help. Also Marinette shouldn't have gotten involved in Chloe's family drama, like why did she think it was a good idea to do what she did in Queen wasp. Just why?

Something else regarding Chloe's character arc that just genuinely confuses me is that during season 2 it's obvious in episodes like Zombizou, Style Queen, Queen Wasp and Malediktator is that they're written by other writers who have differing opinions on Chloe to Thomas Astruc. And now I think Thomas was busy on a different project while this was was being written, which is fine. But what confuses me is that surely Thomas could've looked over the episode script and maybe said to change it. Instead of just letting a character he clearly does not like get development he also didn't like and then arguing with Chloe fans and Miraculous fans who may not like Chloe but understand her character arc was butchered as well as others, on twitter over it.

As well as this is season 5, I think it's revealed season 1-5 of Miraculous takes place over 1 school year. In France the average school year is about 10 months long lasting from September to late June early July. This means each season could technically take place over about 2 months. This gives Chloe 2-4 months at most to redeem herself. Which is just too much to expect of her to try and completely redeem herself and undo a lifetime of unhealthy behaviours in that short of a timespan. No wonder Miracle Queen happened, she hasn't had the proper support to try and unlearn those behaviours or redeem herself. And it makes Andre giving her over to her mother even more saddening/rage enducing, because Zoe has been around for the same time Chloe was given to try and unlearn her healthy behaviours. So Andre has abandoned his daughter who's he risen for her entire 13-14 year life for some child he's known for about 3 months at best.

Then season 4 and 5 begin the endless parade of Chloe Salt/Bashing in order to prop up Zoe. As well as the butchering of other characters, to continue hammering in that point, such as Andre, but we'll get to him later. Now I'm not saying I'm completely against the idea of evil Chloe, there are some brilliant fanfics out there with Chloe just either hamming it up as an evil villain or treated as a tragic villain, who's fall from grace is a pure tradegy. And I love it both because it treats Chloe with the seriousness she deserves, the majority of fanfics treat the abuse she's suffered with seriousness and not as some joke like the serious does. You want a absolutely brilliant Chloe Bourgeois fanfic read "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee" on ao3 it's just so good and I can't recommend it enough.

Also on the topic of redemptions Sabrina, Felix, Natalie and especially Gabriel shouldn't gotten redemptions. Gabriel, Sabrina and Felix don't show any remorse for their actions, in fact they all show glee in their actions apart from Natalie. But even then none of them truly face any punishments for their actions and sure Gabriel doesn't get to enjoy Emilie being back alive, but he still gets away with his numerous crimes.

As a final note on Chloe's development, it's been said by some people before it's quite harmful that Chloe doesn't get treated with the seriousness that she deserves and is one of the only villains not given a redemption as well as not being what is considered a "perfect" or "idealised" victim of abuse like Adrien is. And as someone who has lashed out at others due to issues with authoritive figures in the past (not to the extent Chloe has thought, especially with the bullying and wealth, I'm also not French) I do relate to Chloe in a small way. And this makes it harder for me personally, and it really is just harmful because it might give kids who have lashed out like her due to similar or the same issues the same idea that they don't deserve love or a guardian who can actually care for them in the way they need, as children.

I'm not saying give Chloe a redemption, she just should've been treat with the seriousness she needed.

Gettting back on track lets talk about the final member of the Bourgeois family.

Andre Bourgeois-

Oh Andre, where do I begin with him, in canon.

For seasons 1 to 3 he's mainly Chloe's nervous father and enabler. Then we get a bit of depth in season 4 and 5 about him wanting to be a director but not getting to due to Audrey and politics. Then in season 5 he lets Audrey take Chloe.

A deleted part of the script was revealed in which originally he gave Chloe to Audrey which in itself is horrific because he knows how Audrey is. Not only has she subjected Chloe to verbal abuse but him as well. This would be changed in the series to him just letting Audrey take Chloe, which is just as worse. These are just as bad because either way he's trying to absolve himself of any responsibility of what happened with Chloe which he is equally responsible for as he is Chloe's main enabler. And you know I actually had some hope for him in canon that he'd realise it was time to as someone else brilliantly put it "ditch the bitch" and forge a better relationship with Chloe, but that never happened. I guess that's what I get for having hope for Miraculous's canon.

It legitimately pisses me off so fucking much than in canon he gets to wash his hands clean of the whole problem with Chloe.

Now fanon Andre is so much better than his Canon counterpart and thinking about it now, Fanon Andre has always been better than his canon counterpart.

Bringing back up the whole thing about fanfics that pre-date Audrey is that it gives not only Chloe but Andre more depth. These fanfics typically paint the picture that Andre is a man that closed off not only by politics but the death of his wife and because he's not in tune with his own emotions, he can't help Chloe so instead of ignoring her grief like her father, Chloe is lashing out instead.

Even fanon versions of Andre that are more far more closed off, corrupt, and evil are much more enjoyable to read about than canon Andre, and have more depth. Something about Canon Andre just makes him even more loathsome and detestable then his many often better fanon versions. And when he does get redeemed in fanon it's just so good, because the people writing him, understand what makes his character have actual depth to him and make him realise his faults in a satisfying way that gives him a good redemption.

Maybe it was just me projecting the fanon versions of Andre onto the Canon version that made my disappointment and anger so much worse. But either way his overall canon characterisation is disappointing.

Again if you want to a fanfic that has Andre be a good antagonist, read "Chloe and the Bee" by @anxresi it isn't complete but what is there is just brilliant. And If you'd prefer to read a fanfiction where Andre is trying his best to be a good parent to Chloe read "Float like a Butterfly....Sting like a Bee" by Bookmonkey on ao3. They're both such amazing fanfics.

Conclusion-

Overall the characterisation of the Bourgeois family within the canon of the actual show is just a neatly packaged example of Miraculous' many issues such as bad writing, poor pacing, inconsistent characterisation and either attempting to poorly redeem abusers who should know better or just letting them get away without any consequences whatsoever.

I'd like to say thank you for listening to my long feral rambles about the Bourgeois family.

[futbofurbo]

Deleted all my posts because of the malicious messages from anons lately. It shifted my perspectives on my presence and participation in this digital space. I always delete those and never post them because they just don't deserve the space or attention. It wouldn't be honest for me to say that those never upset us even if we already know that most of them are submitted by disgusting anons plus some fans who have maybe taken the whole parasocial relationships to harmful levels. I can’t empathise with hateful anons because I’ve only ever sent anon messages to mutuals to lowkey tell them that I appreciate their existence, and that they make me laugh. I’m also cringe and incoherent when I do it. Full of emojis obviously. Those disgusting anons said I went too far with my jokes about specifically men. Honestly what they've sent actually reads like whatever is the opposite of backhanded compliments, but still completely disgusting. Backhanded insults?

Those anons obviously didn’t attach any links so I don’t even know which are the ones that got them so rattled. I have two most likely guesses. First being the comical series of pics of Son Heung Min which were obviously done affectionately. If I ever were to go too far with it, @steeple-sinderby-wanderers would be the first to tell me off. It’s her favourite you know. I was not joking in my pinned post that I posted previously about wanting to see him win ballon d'ors and whatever else he wants in the future, so why would I ever try to offend or hurt a footballer I think so highly of? I honestly hope it was not because of those. A big reason why I love ��sportsblr” is because it is not connected or linked to any official accounts of footballers or their clubs. It also just doesn't make sense that a professional player would scroll through "sportsblr". It has the vibe of like an old skatepark the girlies just feel sentimental about almost.

My second guess is that it’s because of the one about James Maddison's victory over that inferior one? I can't even bring myself to call him a footballer. If those anons were triggered by that one, then happy days, because I don’t even care about that. Because the only thing I worry about is accidentally offending and hurting footballers that I am actually a fan of. The ones that actually give everlasting meaning and beauty to the sport. The ones whose glorious moves make history. If the hate came from the fans of Son Heung Min or other footballers that I support, then I've got to say, if it's not already obvious, that I never meant to offend or insult anyone with regards to that. I’m not apologising, simply clarifying. I have nothing to apologise for so it would be very silly for me to do so.

The purpose of this note is to explain the deletion of my posts. I don't think I will be posting anything any time soon which may be a good thing because whenever I watch football with people they get annoyed at me for using my phone a lot to check what the girlies on “sportsblr” have said about anything. I’ll still to do it obviously, but with a little less participation and interaction. I don't have any friends who are Tottenham fans which is honestly a little frustrating, and the reason why I get so attached to “spursblr”. I don't need it like I need I don't know coffee, but it's still nice you know. The fans on other platforms just don't do it like "sportsblr". The cutest ones mingle here.

I’ll continue watching and supporting all the FCs and players that I support even though I won’t be posting, for now. I’ll always come back COYS. I know futbofurbo never writes in a proper way like this, but it’s still her, it’s me, just without my silly cat persona. I just didn’t want to discount any seriousness by using cute emojis.

[thestral-queen-rules]

WELCOME TO MY 30 DAYS MOODBOARD CHALLENGE From: September 1 To: September 30

I am really excited for this challenge. there is no specific fandom in this challenge. you can skip the day if the topic is triggering or you are not feeling well that day. disclaimer: this is just for entertainment purposes only. let me know if you wanna be tagged in the posts. I will also reblog the posts of the people who are joining me in the challenge. thank you to all the people who are supporting this challenge!!! and if you wanna start making moodboards, this might be your chance!!!!! (This is my longest post)

RULES:

Do not post inappropriate pictures.

You can skip few days if you want and you can do the skipped topic with the next day's topic. if you don't want to do the skipped topic, it's alright.

If you come across this post in the middle of this challenge, feel free to join it at any time. just send me an ask.

No hate comments or bullying.

Mention triggers if used, and warn beforehand.

Please mention if you want your post to be reblogged or not in the tags or anywhere you want.

Please, please, please tag me in your posts. I would love to see them!!!!!

CHALLENGE:

Day 1 - a song that is stuck in your head for a very long time.

Day 2 - favorite art. (it can be anything you like. It can be an art by Van Gogh or da Vinci or even your favorite tiktok art or Instagram art. Please mention the artist if you know them)

Day 3 - favorite myth or epic.(it can be Ramayana, Mahabharata or any of your favorite myths or epics)

Day 4 - favorite fairy tale(Cinderella, beauty and the beast and such)

Day 5 - create your own aesthetic using the things around you (you can do this by clicking some pictures around you and edit them. Or you can find pictures from Pinterest or google that is similar to the things around you)

Day 6 - favorite quote (create a moodboard for your favorite quote. Like, how does the quote makes you feel.)

Day 7 - create a moodboard that is weird af (create a moodboard with weird ass pictures. You can do anything you want)

Day 8 - create a moodboard on what you are feeling right now (sad, happy, angry, or numb)

Day 9 - a song that is stuck in your head for a very long time pt.2 (in your native language. If English is your native language, do another one if you want or you can skip this)

Day 10 - your horoscope

Day 11 - your dream life

Day 12 - things you are missing due to the pandemic

Day 13 - your creation (this includes the art that you have done or any poems or fics you have written. Just make this moodboard to make you feel better about yourself. When you start searching for the things you know, you realize how much things you've done. And be proud of it)

Day 14 - favourite queen

Day 15 - favorite creature

Day 16 - favorite season

Day 17 - things you gained due to the pandemic.

Day 18 - favourite time of a day

Day 19 - create a character (create your own characters using pictures and use a quote that describes them)

Day 20 - create a new world (create a whole new world! If you can or create a moodboard for your favorite world)

Day 21 - favorite thing to do in your fandom ( I hve to explain this clearly. So, this is about the favorite things to do in your favorite fictional world. For example: hogwarts has classes like herbology, astronomy, divination etc. Which is your favorite class in hogwarts or any other fandom you are in. I don't know much about other fandoms but I hope there are things like that in other fandoms too)

Day 22 - favorite cartoon character

Day 23 - your aesthetic if your favorite fictional character is your boyfriend/girlfriend ;)

Day 24 - a moodboard inspired from your profile picture

Day 25 - create a moodboard for a ship of lifeless things. (For example: TV and remote, paper and glue, books and bookmarks. etc)

Day 26 - your dream appearance (your dream outfit and makeup and stuff)

Day 27 - favorite king

Day 28 - favorite day of the year

Day 29 - your aesthetic if you were a character in your favorite author's book/director's movie/series.

Day 30 - the aesthetic of your favorite book/movie/series.

_____________________________________________

I've already asked about the people who wanted to join this challenge and here's the list.

@smr-the-tired-crackhead

@silky-moon

@balladofableedingpoet2112

@yourbelovedannoyance

@little-star-aesthetic

@nightshade3465

@rainbowsnowflake

If you want to join or be tagged in the posts, please send me an ask!

@elentiyathemoonelf @ya-boi-leto @samalaingik @charmolypi-reverie @thebengalurubisexual @chandanbala @telugumeow @asperargus @adoginthemanger @sabrxna @paranoidnihilist @sarcasm-caffeine-and-chaos @wolfstarrysky @carmen-riddle @ashieverlore13 @crazy-beautiful @book-dragon-not-worm @guerrera-3010 @slytherinicequeen @hecalledmebeloved @wornoutconversegirl @wowyoufeelorphic @cupids-crystals @kajukatliontop @shirothestrangewolf @lemonphrogg @metalvenomludens7 @jugn00 @tonicaballos @nacho08 @starviki @stolen-kisses-pretty-lies @seekerbrave @the-stars-love-us @crystal-the-carrot @blndbandt @simpingforwillsolace @cipher-dorito @romanian-longhorn @charme-de-malchan @justalonelywriter @curious-fruitcake @chaoticaindica

[hazydaaze]

An analysis of the Bold Type that I need to get off my chest (it'll be worth it, I promise)

I studied English literature at university, and it has always been instinctive for me to analyse characters, storylines, bigger pictures and under the surface tensions in film & tv. Discussing emotions, motivations and themes with my gf and my pals late at night is one of my favourite pastimes ever and I love everything to do with filmography and art ahhhh. (I wrote my dissertation on David Bowie & The Artistry of Sexuality, ya feel me?)

The Bold Type isn't filmography at all, but I think Jane Sloan and Jacqueline Carlyle hit different for me, being a queer woman in my 20s and a full-time writer. I can't really explain why. I guess there are a lot of queer female characters in film & tv that don't really feel inherently queer, and even as two identifying straight women Jane and Jacqueline felt queer to me. Their connection and understanding of each other was authentic and quite complex. I think they had potential to be something that we'd never seen before in mainstream media, because of their age difference and life experiences. I thought that was so compelling and so important to talk about and to give a recognised space to.

There is one thing that struck me most about them and it's insane to me that I haven't seen a lot of analysis on it, so it's the point of this post.

To my knowledge the show or actors haven't delved too deeply into it either, and given what went down I don't understand why people AREN'T talking about it. I wanted to bring it up. Btw, this post contains spoilers.

***Sexual abuse trigger warning***

In season 1, we learn that Jacqueline is the victim of rape, and the only person she has told about it is her husband, Ian. Given that she mentions that they've been married for around 19 years and the assault happened before they met, we can assume Jacqueline has been carrying the weight of what happened to her for over two decades. During all that time she didn't talk about it with anyone else, not a single other person.

And then Tiny Jane comes along. Jane Sloan, the big swing writer who just wants to write meaningful stories that help other women and girls that need it, like she did growing up. She fucks up a lot on the way and slowly begins discarding her judgemental opinions as she grows. But when she is at her best she has genuine compassion and empathy for people, and despite her reservations, Jacqueline gives her the opportunity to write about the story of a rape survivor and performance artist. She isn't aware, at the time, what that means for her own trauma or her own acceptance of it. But she does it anyway, because she sees something in Jane and she has seen it there from the beginning.

Jane starts to write and, as we know, in the most beautiful and compelling moment at the season 1 finale, Jacqueline is confronted with what happened to her. She stands in Central Park holding these weights, and you can see the crushing pain in her eyes as the realisation descends down on her. She shares a look with Jane, and a moment of understanding passes between them at what this means.

Despite all this, she lets Jane capture her trauma. She lets her publish her untold experience of her rape from two decades gone. She lets millions of people see her story in writing, with Jane Sloan's name printed above it. She re-lives and faces up to the harsh reality of that pain and that truth, through Jane.

Can you even imagine the trust you must have in someone to do that? The sheer love that took, for Jacqueline to give Jane her voice and her truth, with all its painful and hard repercussions?

This storyline is the boldest part of the Bold Type. It's the most honest and the most authentic. It captures the raw emotion of Jacqueline, and of Jane, and the two characters really see each other for who they are. It's one of the reasons why their relationship is so central to the other's storyline.

We don't ever see Jane truly unpick in detail what Jacqueline did for her. It spoke so many volumes and ... well, isn't that what love is?

It's this storyline that sets the tone for their relationship over the course of the show. Jacqueline sacrifices herself for Jane again and again. She publishes the article about the lack of accessible healthcare at Safford and gets fired for doing so, purely so Jane can afford to freeze her eggs. Jacqueline says there were a lot of other things that contributed to it, but Jane knows her article was the final straw, the point of no return.

Over a decade of pouring everything she could give into Scarlet Magazine and it’s readers, only to be gone in a second. All for Jane.

And again, in season 4, in the few real moments we are given between them, one of their final interactions is Jacqueline giving Jane the go-ahead to explore a story of potential abuse at States & Nations, a company Ian is associated with. Ian literally asks Jacqueline to stop pursuing the story, due to the sexual relationship he had with the source when he and Jacqueline were separated. When Jane challenges Jacqueline over her reasoning for pulling the story, she asks her to give the story a chance. Jacqueline lets her, knowing full well that it could prove irreparably damaging to her marriage and her family, and she does it anyway.

Jacqueline chooses the truth, over her career and over her marriage. She chooses Jane. As humans, there isn't much more you can give to someone else. I’m wracking my brains trying to think of a way Jacqueline could portray her love for Jane more, and I’m all out of ideas.

I want to reiterate again how insane it is to me that none of this is really acknowledged, or at least not nearly as much as it should be amongst the show, its creators and its viewers, Jacqueline continually falls on her sword for Jane (weird analogy, but she does) and it is repeatedly glossed over. Their relationship is quickly dismissed as a "mother Jane never had" or a simple "boss/employee" power dynamic, and it seems so hollow, unjust and sorry - so unbelievably boring - in contrast to the experiences they have shared together and the sacrifices they have made.

I understand Jacqueline’s character was based on Cosmopolitan Editor in Chief, Joanna Coles, and therefore it makes sense that this queerness to her relationship with Jane was not intended. However, it’s there. Everything I mentioned in the post happened on the show in canon.

In 2021, the possibility that these two women could have romantic or sexual feelings towards each other shouldn't be a stretch. If either of these women were male characters with this much intertwined investment, high stakes and sacrifice, there would be no doubt they would be endgame. They would run away, have the hottest sex, all the while their reputations would be forever ruined in the name of love. And we, as viewers, would celebrate it without question - we would never dismiss it.

The concept of what they are, and what they can be as two women should be able to live and thrive. It should be given a beating heart. In the very least, the reality of it should be on the table and up for debate. But for many viewers, and the show’s creators, it just isn’t. And here lies the problem.

Jane and Jacqueline have such a beautiful dynamic, it is so deep and soul-wrenching. How can we ever limit what these two women are and what they would do for each other?

I really hope that one day we can see a relationship like theirs given the queer space it deserves. Because it would've been the bold thing (and the right thing) to do.

I'm going to publish a longer and more in-depth article about this on Medium, because as I said, analysing is my favourite pastime and I can't stop doing it. But for now, this is all I can manage.

Edit: Read my published Medium article.

Here's to Jane and Jacqueline and what could've been.

[rainbowninja00]

my lovely fandoms

I thought I would make a post comprising of the fandoms I'm in, even if I'm not really active in them.the main ones Undertale - specifically UTMV (undertale multiverse)

this is my main fandom and the one I participate most in. the art, writing, and creators are great. are there some bad parts? of course, every fandom has its faults but it's not nearly as bad as others think. bless all the super dedicated artists and writers who work so hard to keep it alive and make everyone smile, cry and everything in between. Edit: I literally cannot escape, if you want a fic rec im your gamer. I will sing the praises of the talented writers in this community any day of the year. Danganronpa this is one I recently joined and I love it and the games so much but JEEZ, people need to chill over the ships and mainly need to stop shitting on characters they either don't understand and mistreating people who have different favorites like their favorite protag or antag. that being said, kokichi is my favorite character and no I will not change that. that being said, there is one character that triggers my anxiety and I cannot even think about them without shaking and feeling sick so that sucks but overall I will be buying the decadence collection when it comes out. Edit: I got the collection, barely played it cause i have a very short attention span and the stupidity of the characters infuriates me. The owl house I promise I'm not joking this series is gold, amazing art, I love the covens and show and characters, it's just * chef's kiss*. the show may only be on its second season but I hope that it gets more seasons. real excited for an actual gay Disney character. I am so excited for new episodes, don't worry I won't post spoilers! Edit: I would literally commit arson for the collector omg. I HATE HUNTLOW WITH A PASSION, why? eh, feels forced and boring as hell. their friendship would mean soooooooo much more to be honest, neither of them should be thinking of a relationship in there current predicament. kind of in this fandom? splatoon I love the second game and I'm super excited for the third, but I never played the first. I play splatoon 2 on and off, but it is the game I have around 500 hours on, on my switch. I have read some comics and absolutely adore the art, but I haven't read any stories on their own out of fear, it's a game with squids and octopi, you can understand why. Edit: I have splatoon 3 and it is my favourite game atm, i love it so much im so excited for the dlc and the fresh season coming up. im very proud of the squid research lab for having gender abolished. My little pony (only friendship is magic though) I can explain. I started watching the show when it first came out when I was little so I just kept watching and got the mobile game, dolls, a big applejack plushie, (she was my favourite) and some of the comics. if you ask me the comics are actually really good and get a lot darker than the show and it feels more expressive and less "the magic of friendship will fix all!" even though that does happen. overall, I just like rewatching the show sometimes and seeing what great works of art people make. the soundtrack slaps though. also, cupcakes, that creepypasta and a couple others traumatised me when I was like ten so there's that. gravity falls?

I love the entire series to bits, the art and headcanons but there is little to no new content so I just lurk and wait for more.

Disney gets a mention cause it's not really a fandom (Edit: fuck disney support indie creators and the actual creators of the cartoons they deserve so much more than the platforms give them)

Helluva boss/ Hazbin hotel well, one of these is content starved, and the other is bountiful. still live them both a lot. addict is one of my favourite songs ever, also stolas' song, and ironically vacay to bonetown is a comfort song. the character designs are cool! Edit: Stolas is my blorbo i love this silly owl man and I am hype over season 2 and more episodes, also i have some merch! an alastor pin and some stolas stuff including his grimoure! steven universe since the series ended there isn't much to say other than, I liked the original series, the movie was good, steven universe future was okay but overall felt kinda frustrating to me? the point of it makes sense, showing steven can't take his own advice, doesn't want change, and needs to feel useful, but overall I just wanted someone to try harder to get him to understand? it felt like everyone around him was just watching and barely cared. art is cool, the show is always fun to rewatch, and the SONGS. pokemon pokemon itself has been big for me since I was little so finding a bunch of people who loved it as well was fun. my first game was emerald (which was also one of my very first video games overall too) and I loved X, omega ruby, moon, ultra moon, and shield. the art, nuzlockes, gameplay, TCG, plushies, it's a huge community, but I'm not the most active in it. (my favorite pokemon is shiny sylveon btw) Edit: my favourite pokemon are shiny sylveon, spheal, and alolan vulpix as well as the tandemaus line. Lego Monkie Kid MOOOOOOOONKIE KID! FAMILIAR TALES, NEW ADVENTURES!!! I love macaque and sun wukong, shadowpeach forever. the series is so good the art style is gorgeous just chef's kiss all around. Kirby Love me the round pink boi what can i say. i loved triple deluxe growing up, enjoyed star allies, and adored forgotten lands. it's such a cute, sweet, sometimes eldrich horror-y, fun series. Daycare Attendant (FNAF SB) just this specific part I love sun and moon and all their depictions, animatics, the daycare theme song unironically makes me feel calm, it's like a baby sensory video. I wanna hug all the talented artists who made this very niche part a fandom in the first place. barely in these fandoms Miraculous I may be super into the show, but the fandom? not so much. I haven't seen much but there are some cool comics and predictions, but the whole love square stuff is kinda what puts me off of interacting or really talking about it. Edit: i just want it to end please it's so insane now i have no idea what is going on anymore in this series. i will stick around for fan comics and the finale. Hollow Knight the silly bug game made me smile, cry, rage, and so much more, my furthest completion rate is 107% I believe. still waiting for silksong.Harry Pottertrans rights Edit: FUCK HARRY POTTER NOPE NOPE NOPE NOT EVEN NOSTALGIA WILL SAVE THIS SERIES. I have seen the light and learned about the rampant anti-semitism, racism, shitty plot, etc. I am removing it entirely from my list. (Also i am trans i figured that out wayyy after making this post i think) That's it! I'll add more if I remember more! Edit: I added more :)

[blackkittiesinabox]

YES YES hold on i have two sets of thoughts about this.

Okay

1. The other messages i saw replied back to this post

I'm not devalue-ing anyone elses experiences here just giving my thoughts

Ontop of them rejecting it from fear of what they or other headmates have done, which you already went over, and as a persecutor i agree with you, people *can* change, even from horrific things. I have ! I can personally attest to this, none of them are [metaphorically, if they are literally a monster - like me - then thats sick as] monsters.

They also stated that they don't beleive their headspace is real becausr it doesn't behave like the real world, which is simply untrue.

Headspaces, by all means, are still real, even if you have members who are literal ideas or metaphors, I like to think of it as a fantasy worlds

Fantasy worlds don't act on the same logic as our world does. Theres magics, theres orks, theres dragons, but by all means, inside the bubble of the story its all real.

Characters do get traumatised from that near death experience, characters do lose loved ones [even if their revived], characters do make friendship. Characters who embody sound are real, characters who are kids in adult bodys are real, characters who are symbolism are real.

It's all real in this bubble, even if it couldn't exist in this reality.

And we can use this to back up your claim on the persecutors, yes what the persecutor did was real, but does anyone REALLY blame the dragon, who was protecting itself, from the idea of being chopped up by a knight.

Does anyone REALLY blame the guard for beating up a peasant for misbehaving? When he has had the rules built into him.

How many villains really go to jail?

How many are redeemed?

Unfortunately for systems, we do have to steven universe threw it, they are forgiveable, but you have to understand, you can still be affected by their actions

You can still be traumatised by them

Even if thats hard to accept, the trauma you have from headspace is perfectly valid.

Thats whats real

Thats what i see this post as reffering to.

The laughter, the crying, the fun, the games, the hurt

The interactions

Thats real.

Which leads right into

2. Our experience, warning this part has brief mentions of violence, abuse, and sexual assault

Personally, we've always thought of it this way, even back when we thought it was all day dreams, we were still affected by it.

Which i think is why we struggle so much when explaining how it effects us. How to us it IS real. We were BADLY hurt, even if the logics a little different.

Yes the headmate who spoke about the near death experience they had was traumatised, they nearly died

Yes the headmate who was sexually assaulted in headspace wont stop sobbing, they. Are. Traumatised.

Yes the headmate who was beaten half to death is too afraid to sleep THEY. ARE. TRAUMATISED.

And we sometimes just wish it could be recognised

That we are hurt, we hurt each other, it really hurts. Especially holy shit ESPECIALLY when someone from the bodys world caused a persecutor to hurt other headmates.

Im not talking about doing something day to day that triggered a persecutor to, i mean when you convince a persecutor to do something to us, you are enabling that abuse.

Like YOU ARE ENABLING IT. We will be upset.

Same goes on the other end, i want my friendships to be acknoledged as real.

I want my bedroom, my house, my favourite spots to be acknoledged as real.

I want my favourite memories to be seen as real.

And in our experience, treating is as real? EXACTLY what heals our persecutors

This isnt a cartoon.

Telling them, treating it as if its not.

It reinforces the harm they do is real, they are affecting us.

Not only that, it shows the kindness given, the happy moments? They are real too. That happy moment they had with another headmate was real, real kindness like that does exist here, and they be that, they can be that kindness, and they can feel that kindness, they don't have to be afraid, theiy are safe now.

And holy shit did we need this post as of late, because we forgot exactly this. We've been talking to alot of systems lately, and its made us forget this is real. Even if its not for those systems. It is real for us.

We've gained so many new persecutors lately due to this, and genuinely it feels horrifically preventable, if we hadn't of forgotten this.

I guess perhaps thats why i so desperately wanted to reply to those replying to this post

I cant force you to think of your innerworld as anything,

But i can atleast reccomend giving seeing it as real a shot, its helped us, and if its still not real for you? Good for you! Im glad your not getting as traumatised in headspace as we are! Im glad its a full escape for you!/gen

If you made it this far, thanks for hearing my scrambled thoughts lmao. Its mostly persecutor based since a large part of me is dedicated to persecutors healing in a healthy way, its important to me. This is important to me in that sence. And i think acknoledging the harm they did as real legitimate harm, just as valid as any abusers harm, aswell as acknoledging they can be better, and that the reasons why they did it were valid even if it doesn't excuse it, that they arent monsters even if they did do real harm, that they do need to get better, while being self forgiving, but still guilty, is important. You need a rounded idea of these situations to heal, a real view, with nuances, and varying factors, to understand how to heal. So yeah guess that was one of these rambles.

[Edit, p.s, this does not mean you can speak over abuse victims in this world for this worlds versions of your innerworlds abuse, however, you can speak up for innerworld abuse and insys experiences, talk about how insys abuse affects you !! Just specify you do not mean this material worlds abuse, fantasy world abuse ≠ this worlds abuse. ]

-Shilo

this is itching my mind about outer world syscourse, so i'll release it

the inner world is part of the real world. inner world events are real events that actually happened because, spoiler alert, we are real people. we aren't characters made up and roleplayed by a singlet, we aren't OCs, we aren't "one person who believes to be multiple people but is actually one", that's not how (our) plurality works, plurality is not a psychosis, this is not schizophrenia, there is no delusion involved unless the system is also psychotic on top of being a system (which is not our case)

we are just as real as any other person, as any singlet, therefore the intetactions that happen between us are real interactions that really happened between real people

[its-afucking-mess]

A little guide on ao3 (by an ao3 user and writer)

Friendly reminder for mobile users! Ao3 is a website. It doesn't have (as far as im concerned) an official app for mobile, so better get comfy with using crome on your phone.

Some video links ill leave for people who prefer video and audio:

- navigating the fanfiction sites

- popular fandom terminology part 1 and part 2

- shipping etiquette

i really reccomend coley's videos if you want to get to know more fandoms, or get an inside look to how some stuff works. There also might be more vids about fandom's and fan works, so don't hesitate to look through some of her stuff!

the explaining under the 'read more' ao mutuals wont kill me :)

(also tagging @ethanesimp since they asked for this advice )

So, what is Ao3 really?

Ao3 is a website made by fans for fans. There are no ads, and all content is free on Ao3. Anyone can post (with some age restrictions) and they can post anything.

How can I browse Ao3?

Ao3 does not require an account to view stories. You can easily browse as an anonymous user. You just are not able to view certain works, as creators have the ability to show their works to registered users only. Some cases, commenting is possible while anonymous, but again, it's up to the creator of the work.

If you want to be a creator and share works, you need an account.

An account also gives you the ability to bookmark works, so you can re-visit them, mark works for later, keeps a history of the works you've visited and allows you to favourite tags.

How do I get an Ao3 account?

When you first open the site, it gives you the option to "Get Invited". An invitation will be sent to your email anywhere from 24hrs later to a week later, depending on the amount of people in the automated queue.

After the invitation, you are able to set up your account like any other social media account. Pick a username, pseuds (name), description and bio. You can have a profile picture as well.

How do I navigate the site?

There are few ways to do so efficiently, but there's countless of ways you can experiment with to find which is more comfortable.

1st option: As the website loads, you can go to the 'Fandoms' tag.

Then, after clicking on it, this column appears. Through there, you can pick which media your fandom is from and from there, browse the huge list of different fandoms until you spot your own.

The list is in alphabetical order, so if your fandom begins with an "C", it shouldn't be too far down.

2nd option: At the top right, under your profile, and the options 'Post' and 'Log Out' should be a white oval search bar.

(im using my own account for demonstration)

When searching, there are many ways to work around it.

Personally, I press search as it is. It will lead you to a page where all the fanworks of the site are listed. (i believe its easiest, but always feel free to experiment)

From there, you press the 'Edit Your Search' button, located near the top right.

It will then lead you to a page with multiple fields.

Don't panic when you see all the fields. Only half those are of interest when you want to browse works for a fandom.

The most important ones are those under the Field name 'Work Tags'

Whatever you select under this field will be included in the works the site presents you with.

What are the work tags? What do they do?

Lets go through the options.

Fandom(s): when typing on this option, multiple fandom names will autofill in a list under the white space. If your fandom shows up, you can just click on it.

example:

From there, you can select the fandom you want to see works from. If your fandom doesn't show up, it can mean one of two things:

-there are no works for it

-it isn't popular enough to be picked up by the algorithm

After selecting one fandom, you can select another fandom, or more, to see works that are crossovers over universes.

Ratings: Ratings are selected by author. It defines the level of maturity it has in the work

- General audiences is the tag you want to use when nothing bad happens in the work. No swearing, no sexual activities, no violence or gore. It wont contain scenes that minors are not allowed to see.

- Teen and up audiences is the tag used for most works on the site. It is what would be used when you have mentions of/vague sexual content or violence. Normally, the most extreme stuff on there is excessive swearing, heavy angst and hurt/comfort with no excessive details

- Mature is the tag that is for 18+. It is mostly filled with one of following : Violence, Sexual Content, Ab*se, R@pe, Death and SH.

Reader descretion is advised by looking at the additional tags the author has provided, especially for those with triggers.

- Explicit is like Mature, but contains more graphic content. Works rated explicit mostly fall under the 'Graphic depictions of sexual content', 'Graphic depictions of Violence and Gore' or 'Graphic depictions of Ab*se, R@pe, or Self H*rm

Reader descretion is advised, stronger than mature, since it can be much more triggering. The works are scarily detailed sometimes.

- Not rated: the author has not given this work a rating because none of the other ratings fit the work. Pay special attention to the tags.

Warnings: Also known as Archive warnings by older users. The trigger warnings of Ao3. There are 6 archive warnings:

-Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings: The author didn't use the warnings, either because none of them fit the work's theme and warnings, or to avoid spoiling the story. Pay attention to the tags for any warnings.

-Graphic Depictions Of Violence: It is pretty self explanatory. Can contain any sort of violence, from wars, to simple fights, to ab*se of any kind. Can and often contain death. The type of violence is in the tags.

-Major Character Death: A main character in the story will die in this work. Pay attention to the tags always. The name of the character will be mentioned, as well as the way they die.

-No Archive Warnings Apply: None of the warnings apply. It is most times a perfectly safe work. Check the tags to make sure though!

-R@pe/Non-Con: The work contains non-consensual activities. Ranges from non-consensua sex to non-consensual use and ab*se of substances. Very close attention to the tags!

-Underage: The main character(s) in this work are underage/minors. This is normally tagged along sexual content so be aware and pay close attention to the tags!

Categories: This regards the relationships in the work:

- M/M, or better known as mlm or a relationship between two non-woment (men mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- M/F, a heterosexual relationship (is inclusive of trans characters too!)

- F/F, or wlw, or a relationship between two non-men (women mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- Gen, no sexual or romantic relationships are in this work, or if there are any, they arent of main focus.

- Multi: Polyamorous relationships, or multiple relationships are included in this work (this is also where threesomes+ are tagged in sometimes)

- Other relationships: One of the two people in the relationship is non-human (mostly), or the relationships are platonic/family.

Characters: The characters you want to be included in the story. This works just like the 'Fandom' filter, so the same things apply. You can tag as many characters as desirable.

Relationships: The relationships that you want present in the work. This includes both major and minor relationships. It can also include ended relationships (tagged Past x/y) and implied/referenced relationships. This works just like the Characters and Fandom filter.

Additional Tags: These are things the author has included to give potential readers an insight to the story. 'Angst', 'Fluff' and 'Smut' are additional tags. Works like the Relationships filter, so all same applies.

Is there anything I have to avoid/ I should avoid?

There is this very infamous tag, 'Dead Dove: Do not eat.' This tag is a warining to readers that the things in the work are really messed up, and can include anything illegal in it. PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE REST OF THE TAGS IF YOU STILL ARE INTERESTED.

How else can I filter works?

You can choose how they are:

sorted (Titles, Authors, Hits, Kudos, Comments, Bookmarks, and Best Match)

the word count (from 1 word to millions)

the language (most are on there)

the amount of chapters

if the work is complete of not

when it last updated/when was posted

and if there are crossovers.

These are all options that author has to include, and therefore you can sort freely. Most are bulletin options you can click on.

What if I want to find a specific work?

If you happen to know one of these: Author, Title, Fandom or Rating, you will find it. If you were reccomended one, it's better to ask for the author or the title, to make looking for it easier.

Can I find a specific author/ user?

People search is for finding users on the site

Bookmark search helps you look through other people's public bookmarks. Not really used.

Tag search finds works that include this specific tag you searched. Also not used a lot.

People can see my bookmarks?

When bookmarking a work, you are able to do a lot.

if you do not want your bookmarks to be visible to the public, make sure to check off the Private bookmark box at the bottom left.

Common terms thrown around by Ao3 users:

-tags: the additional tags of the work

-kudos: liking a story

-bookmarks: saving/saved stories. makes it easy to revist. you can see your bookmarks from your profile

-hits: the amount of people that have clicked on a story. Isn't necessary they liked it, but they did click on it.

And those are the basics! If you had to take one thing only, its ALWAYS READ TAGS

I hope this helped the clueless souls even a bit :)

Im open to reply to any other questions, and you can send me them in my asks, messages or comments of this post

[karasunology]

⸙ ˚₊ ➷ SUNA RINTAROU & KITA SHINSUKE AS YOUR OLDER BROTHER HEADCANONS ! ❞

╰─ ─ ﾟheadcanons of suna & kita of how it would be like if they were your older brothers.

✐ . . . BIG BROTHER HEADCANONS.

[ OIKAWA TOORU & KAGEYAMA TOBIO VERSION. ] [ MIYA TWINS & BOKUTO KOUTARO VERSION. ]

-ˏˋ ➶ character(s) ━ suna rintarou & kita shinsuke <3

[ trigger warnings ━ slight manga spoilers !! ]

-ˏˋ ✉️ REQUESTS ARE ALWAYS OPEN.

⇣ please read the RULES before requesting.

SUNA RINTAROU.

➜ suna would your quiet older brother that's very caring for you

➜ nAH I'M KIDDING SHSJZ LMAOOO

➜ THIS BOY MAY SEEM QUIET BUT PHEWW

➜ DAMN IS HE NOISY IN TEXT & ON UNGODLY HOURS

➜ let me explain

➜ suna is the type of person that may seem quiet but could honestly be as chaotic as he can be

➜ good chaotic? or evil chaotic?

➜ you decide for yourself

➜ and that's when he's just a normal person to any other normal person

➜ but you're his younger sibling

➜ y'know, the one he sees everyday

➜ willingly or not HSJSNNXC

➜ yeah he'll be quiet sure but if YOU ever join into the mix

➜ fox boi is thriving quietly while your parents are just so done with you guys

➜ i headcanon that he's the type to fall asleep in day time

➜ but when it's night where h's supposed to be sleeping, homeboy is anything but sleeping

➜ he'll have a hard time sleeping and honestly you're probably also in the same situation as him because wow, sibling goals😍❇✨🗽

➜ and if you ARE in the same situation as him, and you'd get a random message from him at the most UNGODLIEST TIMES to go to a 24 hours open mcdonalds fast-food,

➜ who were you to object??

➜ like y'all's parents would wake up to go to work or something and would when they check the family gc, suna sent a pic of you falling asleep on a mcdonalds playground

➜ would paniK LMAOOO

➜ but before they pull your drowsy ass back, they'd check your guys' rooms and in the midst of checking they'd find you guys sleeping on the living room sofa

➜ woke up the next day in the floor because suna unconciously pushed you from the sofa y'all were sharing but you had a blanket placed on top of you while he was ShiVERING to death

➜ expect cursed videos or weird snapchat stories of you guys either saved privately or drunkenly high posted for the whole world to see😗😍

➜ y'all have the most random conversation at 3 am in imessage but y'all still forgot you sent those

➜ the type to message you a meme he finds funny while his drowssiness is taking a toll on him

➜ the type to message you while he's in the same room as you

➜ like especially if there are guests around & he hates socializing & just doesn't have the energy to talk to them

➜ fights were uncommon, and if it ever happens oH my

➜ he'll give you a cold shoulder because he's THAT petty b itch💅👊

➜ but he's probably the first to apologize because you are probably also a petty bi tch 💅👊

➜ b i c t h

➜ he's honestly a great listener 10/10 would recommend

➜ he may not be the best at advices, but atleast he's good at listening

➜ would a HUNDERED ( 100 ) PERCENT % dump the chores ordered for him to do TO YOU

➜ and would definitly use the excuse

“ because i'm older than you ”

➜ in conclusion, suna may be a lazy bicth but he'd be an . . . entertaining brother to say the least & never fails to take the role as an older sibling through hidden and small ways.

KITA SHINSUKE.

➜ the silent but active older brother

➜ the type of older brother that may not seem he cares about you but he actually does

➜ like  a l o t

➜ like that one chapter in the manga where kita may sound like a judgemental douche but actually cares about atsumu and gave him a note to take care of himself or something? with cough drops, pickled plums, lemon water etc.

➜ ugh i live for that

➜ anywh0res, that chapter?? yeah, you experienced alot of those

➜ you have gotten used to his attitude ever since you guys were young

➜ one time, when you guys were young, you scraped your knee and kita may seem like he's lowkey judging you but he was actually so worried

“ see? that's what happens when you're too clumsy ”

➜ yet proceeds to kneel next to you & would piggyback you while saying that you should lay off desert becausr you were getting heavy

➜ THE DIFFERENCE WITH HIM AND BOKUTO THO FGFDJJKDR

➜ and one time when you overworked yourself because of your studies to the point you got sick, kita was the one that was taking care of you

➜ your temperature? taken AND recorded by him. your porriage? made by him. if you got worse, he would make an appointment with a doctor. appointment? scheduled and made by him.

➜ and that's on periodt😋

➜ would scold you and use judgmental tones BUT would be so caring towards you ahHh

➜ and if it wasn't that bad but you still had to stay home the next day, but it was a school day so that means volleyball practice for kita

➜ and y'all probably argued about something that morning and he left while you were still sulking about your fight and when you entered the kitchen you would find a bag of your favourite foods, those cooled things you put on your forehead to bring the heat down, & medicines.

➜ and in the table was your porriaged cooked and served with a note on the side which says :

please take care of yourself more, i'll be home after practice like usual.

love, kita-nii.

➜ UGH YOUR HAND IN MARRAIGE SIRRRR

➜ and when bb boy went home you apologized about your fight that morning and he'd be so shocked because you don't usually say sorry first whenever you guys fight

➜ would tell you stories of what happened at practice that day simce you weren't there

➜ speaking of that, you would wait around the volleyball club and would be their unofficial manager

➜ why? because kita made you since he would ALWAYS walk you home with him and maybe some of his team mates that lives near you guys

➜ like he ain't reporting a missing teenager anytime soon

➜ already has a lot of things to handle so he would appreciate that you would get kidnapped on a different day? yeah, thx💋

➜ would garden with you because i headcanon that he really loves and has a passion for gardening & probably has his own little vegetables growing in the side awe

➜ would 100% help you do your chores

➜ and with anything you need honestly

➜ ugh we stan

➜ and if you ever awknowledge everything he has done for you and would let him know that you awknowledge him & that you REALLY APPRECIATE HIM AS YOU SHOULDDD💅😩✋

➜ he'd probably cry on the spot ngl

➜ i'm joking, but y'all would probably be so soft at that moment that he just offered you to watch those old childhood movies you guys used to love to watch

➜ in conclusion, i love this mans so much and that you should too. even if he may seem judgemental & a douche but trust me when i say he cares ALOT about you but he just shows it subtly. and he deserves a lot of love as well because you don't know how much has he taken care of you ever since you guys were kids.

-ˏˋ playing soleil's tape ˊˎ-

[ 📼 ] . . . another big brother headcanon?? y'all eating tHAT SHI T UP. but honestly, me too. also, another one of bokuto's sister x akaashi one will be posted either tonight, or tomorrow as per an anon's request. ugh we love a productive sister. @ to the anon who requested this, hope you enjoyed it because i totally did while my crusty eyes tries to stay awake last nighy writing this👑

requests are open or just send me anything because i need hooman interactions rn😋✌

[oftenderweapons]

Girls’ Night — a girlfriends’ tale

Characters: OCs (Vixen, Princess, Lace), small Namjoon intromission

Wordcount: 12.2k

Genre: slice of life with discussion of BDSM themes, conversation

Rating: suggested 18+

Hello doves! As I announced the other day, I have been working on extra pieces that I really loved as a concept. This one — I must admit — is especially dear to me since it covers topics that I consider extremely important. This fic discusses mature themes. Please minors, do not read or interact.

Quick recap: (read Jimin’s Love Talk if you want to know the whole background for this story) Princess — Jimin’s girlfriend — has ventured into the world of BDSM after Jimin expressed his interest in being dominated and spanked. A few days after her first brief session with Jimin, two old acquaintances come to her help: Vixen — Namjoon’s girlfriend and Princess’ high school classmate — and Lace, Vixen’s best friend, Princess’ university flatmate but also Taehyung’s latest crush. (Tae and Lace met through Vixen at Taehyung’s housewarming party). The girls meet for dinner at Princess’ apartment and after some confessions and girl talk, they explore the most important rules and procedures a person should know before dominating their partner in a basic impact play scenario, with special contributions of a trained domme and an experienced brat. 

The piece is written with the girls as characters described through the POV of an external narrator. If you want to get to know the characters a bit better, you can find their headcanons here (Vixen — Princess — Lace).

On a lexical note: throughout the text I’ve used the word “dom” both as in short of the verb and of the noun. Even though the feminine form is usually “domme”, I’ve considered it gender neutral, as a short term for both “dominator” and “dominatrix”. 

On an ethical note: I wanted to raise awareness on how a safe, sane and consensual domination works. These days there’s an increasing number of BDSM pieces coming out, and very few of them mention the level of emotional connection that is necessary in these circumstances. Most of them focus on the scene, without showing how pre-session negotiations, aftercare and post-session feedback work. I wanted this piece to be educational and I wanted to show the “background work” on how I plan each BDSM-themed piece before I write it. Though I’ve done a lot of research on handbooks, websites and forums, I am NOT a BDSM educator, so I would recommend reading more in-depth manuals in case you ever decided to venture in this world, and possibly speak with an expert first.

On to trigger warnings: swearing, consumption of alcohol, obviously there is in-depth discussion of NSFW and BDSM themes with focus on impact play. Discussion of hard limits, negotiations, SSC (safe, sane, consensual), safewords, aftercare, bruising, cutting/puncturing (connected with cane and cat-o-nine-tales whipping), marking, pain kink, punishment, drop (both for subs and doms), anatomy of impact play (where to hit, how to hit), sex toys (spanking, face slapping, paddle, riding crop, slapper, strap, whip, flogger, cane). That should be all. In terms of angst, there is some insecurity, jealousy, and slightly traumatic past experiences. Lace recalls one time she “dropped”, Vixen recalls a series of quite intense scenes. There are mentions of Vixen’s second relationship (toxic relationship with a man who called her out for her sex drive, kinkshamed her and forced her into becoming exclusively vanilla). Both Princess and Vixen mention abandoning some friends since they couldn’t trust them close to their boyfriends, or not respecting their privacy. Lace mentions traumas that lead her to learn domination. She also explains her insecurities about possibly dating Taehyung.

Word count: lengthy. 12.2k words. Reading is not necessary but recommended since a lot of pieces stem directly from this one. 

Here is my masterlist!

Enjoy 💖

————————————

EDIT: You can find part two here

————————————

Lace came through with the loud stomps of the heels of her boots, the bag on her shoulder swaying heavily. It looked like she was ready to enter Cat Woman mode, wearing a cropped leather jacket rimmed with a thick black-fur neck. Her wondrous thighs were clad in tight, high-waisted jeans, her black leather knee boots completing the look. She impeccably wore her part.

As she neared the door, she checked her watch, noticing that she was a couple minutes early.

Five minutes later, always fashionably late, arrived Vixen, her hair falling perfectly around her pretty face, her lips tinged with a deep wine red, her doe eyes as inquisitive and wide as usual. It was exactly the girl she had met two years before on the other side of the counter of her shop, it looked like she hadn't aged a week.

"Hello!" She greeted her friend.

"Hi there! Look at you, you look like the best girlie in the world." Lace hollered back.

"Because I am." Vixen replied, basking in the attention and the praises.

"That self esteem is thriving! Freshly fucked and ready to misbehave?"

"Unfortunately not freshly enough, but you know me, I'm always ready to misbehave." Vixen winked before making her way to the entrance of the building, pressing the buzz for Princess' apartment.

"Isn't your big boy attending to his duties?" Lace asked, curious about the whole situation. She had personally met Namjoon and had seen the two of them together. They looked like the it-couple and she would gladly bet big money on the pair. Plus she knew about Vixen's collection and Namjoon's taste in terms of lingerie and negligees: in her honest opinion that's a solid base for a lasting union.

"He's attending, yes, but I don't want to vex him with my continuous cravings."

"Baby, not all of us are like that slut-shaming bastard of your ex. Stop thinking that needing to get laid more than once a week is a shame."

Princess voice sounded from the intercom. "Hi! It's floor 16 number 41!"

"Thank you!" Vixen replied before pushing the door open.

Lace slapped her hand and held the door as Vixen walked through. The other followed. "It's just that… He's been busy, plus he keeps saying he likes to come back early so we can have dinner together, he's always rushing from the studio to the dorms to his apartment. He looks like he'll get drunk on motion sickness before the tour even starts."

Lace stared at her feet as you both stood in the lift. How could she start something serious with Taehyung if they were going on tour? By the time she would get used to him he would be travelling on the other side of the world.

"So he stays at the dorms?" Lace fixed her bag on her shoulder.

"Often, yes. He stays at the apartment when I'm around, but he prefers the dorms when he's by himself or working."

The lift dinged and you exited, heading down the hallway "Thirty-eight, forty, there!" Lace chirped, noticing the open door.

There stood Princess, hair in a ponytail, wearing a fashionable white turtleneck and a thigh knee-length skirt. She looked classy and smart, just like she had appeared during previous meetings.

"Hello girls!" She waved at the pair, gesturing at them to come in.

"Hi there!" said Lace, "long time no see."

"We don’t see each other in ages and then two times in less than a month." Princess replied while hugging her. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we reacquainted?”

Vixen nodded with a cute smile. "It would. I must say it was a surprise to meet you at the party with Jimin." Vixen took off her shoes as Princess offered her a pair of slippers.

"It seems like fate brought us back together." Princess replied.

“Indeed.” She commented, thinking about how they would get even closer if she gave in to the preternatural connection with Taehyung. Lace tugged at her boots, fighting with them a little before finally removing them, lost in her thoughts. She clumsily tried to avoid Vixen’s stare. She knew the girl would spot her secret in a second. Not now, she told herself. With the slippers on, Lace still looked like Catwoman from the ankles up, but her feet were clad with a pair of pink panther slippers that gave the outfit a hilarious twist.

"Let's move to the kitchen," Princess said, leading the way. "The apartment is small, sorry."

"Don't worry sweetie, with a view like this I would gladly live in a shoebox." Vixen commented, looking out of the window. "Plus you live pretty high up."

"It was accidental. I just needed something close to my office."

"What did you end up doing?" Lace asked as she looked at the prints on the wall.

"I work for a fashion magazine. Usually I do model casting and a little bit of everything about organising photoshoots." Princess replied.

"That sounds great!" Lace exclaimed, grinning.

Princess clumsily opened a bottle of wine, but fortunately no damage resulted. "What about you?"

"I'm a shop assistant in a lingerie shop." Lace replied.

"Don't diminish yourself like that." Vixen said, looking away from the window. "She works at the La Perla boutique in Gangnam, plus she has her own studio where she creates customised orders." The woman patted her friend on the shoulder. "She's amazing."

Princess lit up. "So you managed to make part of your dream come true!"

"A small part. I'm still far from having my own shop." Lace exhaled.

"But she's getting there." Vixen added with a positive note.

"I ordered in a little bit of everything." Princess said, taking the food out of the oven. "I didn't trust my cooking skills knowing this one." She pointed at Vixen. "I've heard you're almost a chef."

"I just took lessons." She shrugged. "I just really like everything that feels like home."

Sniffing at the air, Vixen sparked up, getting cozy at the smell of bulgogi. "This smells very nice."

"A little bird told me it's your favourite." Princess winked.

"Do I know that little bird?"

"He knows you very well." Princess said, admiring how the polished, elegant woman-girl turned completely smitten.

"I'll make sure to thank him."

Lace snickered. "Do you need help?" She offered, while Princess laid out a bunch of smaller plates and bowls with side dishes. "I got some dumplings, pancakes and our baby's favourite: braised potatoes."

Vixen clapped enthusiastically.

Dinner proceeded calmly, all the partakers digging in quietly, chitchatting between one serving and another, catching up on the various mishaps that had happened during those years apart.

"So you studied in Europe, right?" Princess asked Vixen.

"I spent almost two years between France and England, yes." She replied politely, sipping her wine composedly as if she hadn't devoured her serving of potatoes like a very smug wolf.

"Cool. But you came back here." Princess continued.

"Yes, I missed home. And I missed jajangmyeon." Vixen grinned. "Food in general. I like my life here. Living in Europe to me felt like being continuously on the sidetrack of something. Catching up with the culture is seriously a challenge, especially when you're in the art world."

"Right, you're an interior designer." Princess reminded herself.

"Exactly."

"I've heard you met Namjoon because of that."

Vixen smiled. "Yeah, well… The usual. We met at a gallery, I had a meeting with the artist and he accidentally participated. The artist and the director of the gallery accompanied us through the exhibition and at the end he asked if I wanted to grab a coffee. At the beginning I thought it strange that he hadn't booked a private visit, but he said that because of a last minute plan he had begged the director to book him in anytime. Since I'm friends with the director and I have strict privacy agreements at the firm, the curator thought it was a good idea."

"Who would have thought, uh?" Lace chirped in, laying her chopsticks on her empty bowl.

"Y'all, soju?" Princess asked, now that they were all done with the food.

While Vixen nodded, Lace held back. "I think I'll take just a sip. It gets me bloated."

The table was clean, the small cups for soju laying on the table as Princess shook the bottle and poured it according to tradition.

"Cheers to your taken asses and my single one." Offered Lace, the three of them laughing and downing the liquid. Princess drank it without even blinking, Lace taking it in a small measured way while Vixen downed it and scrunched her nose, shutting her eyes tight and shaking her head as she processed the burn.

"You're still a doll." Princess commented.

"And you're still otherworldly cool." Vixen replied, smirking. "You were the most bad ass girl of the class. I had lots of respect for you, but I was so scared of approaching you."

"You were so tiny and shy." Princess gushed. "You were everyone's crush but you were so smart. And a bit strange. It felt wrong to even think of you like that."

Vixen shook her head, "It feels strange to bring up those memories. After university and being abroad it feels like another life."

"Because many things changed in the meantime." Lace argued. "I've known you since you started working, two years ago."

"I spent half of my first paycheck at your shop."

"You did. And I asked you for coffee because I liked your sense of fashion."

"I thought you wanted to date me." Vixen laughed.

"Well, when you're done snuggling your big bear, you know you can come to me." Lace winked.

"My bear is pretty big so it might take me a while to be done with that." Vixen joked. "Plus I'm pretty happy. I haven't been this happy since I was nineteen. I'm content. Satisfied. Taken care of. Loved. I'm thriving." She closed her eyes and shrugged, smiling.

"My bad." Lace patted her own shoulder in support. "What about you and Jimin?"

"Oh, we met during a photoshoot. I assisted in his shoot and when he was done he asked to see the pictures that would feature on the magazine. That's when he asked me out for dinner." Princess said, her eyes shining as she remembered the event.

Lace noticed the two women staring at her. "Well time for my story… Me and my dildo met at the store, he was cute, I was needy and I invited him to my bed. That's how we first met and we've been happy ever since." Lace told emotionally. The other two burst out laughing, Vixen holding her belly while Princess leaned on the table.

"Oh goodness." The smaller one said.

"I think it's time we face our main topic. Would you like to start?." Lace asked Princess.

"Okay. I'll be very direct." Princess warned.

"Don't worry, we're all grown ups here. You're safe, darling." Vixen stretched her arm out to caress her forearm. "And we're pretty open minded, trust me."

"Okay. Basically, Jimin would like me to get a bit more rough in the bedroom. Namely, we tried spankings the other week. He sort of power-bottomed? Like he gave me instructions on how to do it."

Lace nodded.

"I am worried about how to handle this. I want to do it, but I don't know how to do it right. I don't want to hurt him." Princess said with a frown. “And I’m a little worried I liked it so much.”

Lace’s lips formed a small conspiratorial smile. “At the beginning there’s always a little bit of fear. And a bit of… Shame.”

“Yes.” Princess confirmed. “But it’s not something that bothers me. Like, it’s there but it doesn’t bother me. I don’t think it will persist. When I think about what we did… Well, I’m almost proud.”

Lace smirked and nodded. “That’s good. What would you like to work on? Is it just impact play — you called it "spanking" — or is it also domination on a broader sense?"

"Well… Wait, I took notes." Princess looked around, walking towards her bedroom and coming back with a small notebook and the guide.

"It's the book!" Lace exclaimed.

"The book." Vixen wiggled her eyebrows knowingly.

"You, vixen." Lace smirked. "Namjoon is right calling you that."

"You have no idea." The other replied. "Now, let's see."

"I'll return you the book." Princess reassured her.

"You can keep it for another bit. You'll need it again with Jimin."

"We have our own copy, don't worry." Princess replied, with a quick smirk. "Well, I think I can dom pretty fine — as I read the book I realised I already have some of those behaviours. However there are some practices I might have to learn in person."

"Normally we teach how to dom through subbing: what you experienced the first time with Jimin was subliminally subbing." Lace took the reins and explained. "It is one of the most sophisticated forms of domming — being a power bottom — and the fact that he did that should suggest you that A — he's a very skilled sub, or B — he's generically a very smart person with good manipulative skills."

Princess listened to the explanation quite raptured. "Personally, I don't know how far he's gone with his exes but I would say he has taken the lead before and he's quite used to speak up and order me around a little, so his behaviour might come from that."

Lace nodded. "I would recommend that you talk to him and try to design a specific plan for the two of you. As I hinted before I have taken lessons on BDSM practices in a club here in the city. I have received almost two years of training and I have taken part as an assistant to a teacher for another two years, that's why I might sound academic and serious. You can stop me whenever you feel uncomfortable or when you need to ask a question." That's when Lace shifted. Her whole position changed: her back got straighter and her hands splayed on the table, somehow squaring her position.

"Okay." Princess confirmed.

"You know that during university I took that course on acrobatic yoga?" Lace asked.

Princess frowned. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, it wasn't exactly acrobatic yoga." Lace shrugged and raised her eyebrows. "At the beginning I did do some acrobatic yoga lessons but then one of the students introduced me to this BDSM course and I left yoga for… yeah, you know." Lace laughed.

Vixen listened quietly, observing Princess' reaction.

"Would you consider taking lessons from an expert?" Lace asked.

Princess shrugged. "I think that the book was very good on general analysis. Personally, I've never considered meeting an expert mostly because I wouldn't know where to look for one. Plus, I've only had a week to think about this."

Vixen looked at Lace. "I'll be very blunt here, darling. I think that the best thing to do would be discussing the whole book thing with Jimin. Have pre-session negotiations. Discuss stuff. Find out what you want to explore and go there together."

Lace raised an eyebrow. "However, it is perfectly okay if you want to practice by yourself. Being a good dominant means that you can convey control and safety through your stance and behaviour. That requires practice."

Vixen nodded before adding, "It's okay if you want to take some steps by yourself before bringing him into the equation."

"Okay, so I reckon you have quite some knowledge on the theme. Maybe you could teach me something?" Princess asked Lace, a bit shy but fully determined.

Lace smirked. "That's why I came prepared. However, I must remind you I have been a co-trainer, and that doesn't mean I am a teacher, therefore I can only cover the basic stuff, which for now will suffice."

Vixen's eyes burned expectantly.

"Our girl here might help you see stuff through a submissive's eyes, right?" Lace questioned.

Vixen nodded and smiled, reassuring Princess by placing a hand on top of hers.

"Okay. Let's talk about general principles. BDSM is an acronym for Bondage, Domination, Sadism and Masochism. But I guess you read this in the book." Lace presented.

Princess nodded.

"The golden rule is SSC: Safe, Sane, Consensual. Use protection and make sure that you're both tested and clean if you go without a condom or dental dams. Also, keep your toys clean. Do not start anything if your judgement is clouded — by alcohol, drugs or violent, instinctual emotions. Make sure that both you and your partner want the same things. Explain what is going to happen and negotiate before each session — at least for the first few times. This is also the right moment to talk about safe words."

"Me and Jimin covered these already." Princess noted.  

“Then you’re already halfway there. The biggest part of training is making people always aware of all the steps that could possibly go wrong and make sure that you’re prepared for the worst case scenario.”

Vixen nodded. “As a sub, it is important to feel safe. An anxious sub is a sub who can hardly feel pleasure, and that invalidates the experience as a whole. We only do it for pleasure.”

Princess listened carefully and thought about it a little. “How… How does it feel…To be a sub? I mean, I’ve sort of subbed with Jimin but… Yeah.”

“Well, I’m leaning-sub. That means I rarely dom, and when I do I’m a power bottom — that thing that Jimin did when he gave you instructions on how to dominate him. Being a sub has a lot to do with feeling cherished and taken care of. Some of us are not comfortable with power and responsibilities. Some of us simply like to be told what to do and please. I like doing what Joon tells me to do and do it perfectly the way he wants it to be done, because I know he will praise me and reward me. I know that he loves me regardless of me doing what he wants, but it pleases me immensely to use my submission to show him how far my trust and love for him go. I feel safe when I'm in his hands. And I like punishment, it helps me deal with guilt. When I make a mistake, I always torture myself with guilt and self-hate, but punishment makes me feel like I've made a mistake and I've paid for it. The point is not the punishment, but rather the forgiveness and the sense of atonement afterwards." Vixen spoke with a composed attitude, however her eyes wandered around nervously, as if trying to avoid meeting the others’ gazes.

"In that case the dominant is supposed to be attentive in terms of how far the submissive pushes themself. A sub looking for forgiveness is a sub willing to go further than normal, which means that they might inadvertently reach their breaking point — which shall never happen." Lace highlighted.

"The golden rule is to always leave hungry. There is a fine line between satiety and nausea. The moment you overstep and reach nausea is the moment your sub might hurt themself." Vixen said, tight lipped.

Princess nodded. "I'm glad we can have this conversation. It's not something I can quite talk about with my friends since the whole situation with the boys is pretty delicate. I had to close some of those friendships to keep Jimin safe. I realised I couldn't trust some of those people and I'm glad I realised before it was too late."

Vixen’s leg started bouncing. “Same with Joon. I don’t have that many friends in the city, mostly because of the time abroad and the fact that all of the friends I had by now are married and/or with kids. I couldn’t trust many of them, but you —” she said, gesturing towards Lace, “and when I introduced you to Namjoon I told him you were one of the most discreet people in the world, because you value your privacy and other people’s privacy because of your, uhm, lessons.”

“It feels good to have someone to share this burden with. I’m pretty scared of the tour.” Vixen looked down. The poised young woman seemed to crumble, giving space to an insecure little creature. “We’ve been dating since last November, but our relationship hasn’t really begun until late February. To be honest I’m terrified.”

Both Lace and Princess reached out for her.

“I’m scared.”

“Have you told him?”

“Yes, he knows.” Vixen sparked up for a minute. “We talk a lot. He always asks me how I feel about things. Lately I’ve been spending all my time away from work with him. It’s been… maybe three days since I last went back to my apartment. And in the last month or so I’ve slept alone maybe three or four nights. I don’t know what I’ll do when he’s away.” Vixen’s eyes welled up with tears before she smiled classily and recomposed herself. “But that’s not relevant.”

“It is, baby.” Princess rubbed her shoulder. “You have my number. You can reach out to me anytime.”

“I’ll be there too, you know. I know I’m not your Big Bear, but I can cook and I’m an excellent vintage movie marathon partner.” Lace rubbed the other shoulder, catching the few tears that had fallen. This was a further confirmation that Namjoon was the right man for Vixen: he had reached out to Lace a few weeks after they had been introduced, asking her if it was cool if he asked her updates on Vixen during the tour, mostly because he knew she would put up her strong, charming face in front of him, but secretly she would be worrying over his absence. That brought them close; it felt good to create this safety net for Vixen and it felt even better to know her in the hands of a man worthy of her, attentive despite his busy schedule and strong work ethic.

“Thank you, girls. That’s really sweet of you.”

“You’re the one who made this possible,” said Princess, gesturing to the three of them sitting at the table together. “I owe you. And I reckon this is a good time to make amends for not making friends with you in high school.” Princess laughed. “We’ll all need each other. We could have a group chat with Jin’s girlfriend too. Plus Jimin mentioned Yoongi is seeing someone.”

“Yes, Namjoon mentioned too. I’ve heard she’s a lawyer. He’s got this insanely huge crush on her.” Vixen giggled. “I haven’t met her yet but I’ve heard they were supposed to go out tonight.”

“Maybe we’ll see her at the next gathering.” Princess wondered. “I must admit I’m curious.”

“I am too.”

Lace felt a bit out of the conversation. “Me and Taehyung have been texting.”

Vixen blinked and turned to her. “What?” She had this face that read perfect confusion. “How long? And you’ve never told me? I mean, I gave him your number but I didn’t—”

“It’s because I haven’t been really taking him into consideration until recently.” Lace replied. “Normally I would reply to him with small texts, just to avoid sounding rude.”

“You mean to tell me you have Taehyung wrapped around your little finger — Kim Heartthrob Taehyung — and you weren’t even interested? Have you been doing drugs too?” Vixen looked outraged. “Fucking insane.” She shook her head.

“You know me. I value my privacy. Do you know how fucking un-private it is to potentially date that man? What if they find out about my extracurriculars?” Lace pointed out.

Vixen exhaled and formed a tight-lipped smile.

“Don’t give me the disappointed mom look.” Lace replied. “Plus I’m the same age as you, you have no right to turn judgemental.”

“Of course.” Vixen nodded. “Your safety first, love.”

“It’s just that I want to, but I can barely imagine how fucked up that could be.”

Princess breathed out. “Jimin and I have been extremely private about us and me being so close to the press means I am risking so much.” Princess opened her arms wide. “But it would take a catastrophe to take him away from me.”

“Give him a chance. Tell him about everything outright and let him choose. He’ll take his chance. Don’t choose for him.” Vixen pointed out. “That’s how I did with Joon. We talked and clearly said ‘this is what I need and what I can give, can you comply? Are you okay with it?’ It’s a bit of a bet, but I think the prospect of gain outweighs the actual risk of it.”

Lace nodded. “And then there’s the tour.”

Vixen and Princess nodded. Vixen tried to keep her insecurity and jealousy at bait. All those girls drooling over him, all those female staff members travelling with him. She propped her elbows on the table and pressed her forehead against her palms, her lovely hair falling forward.

Princess, sitting beside her, rubbed her back. “What if you just give him one date. Tell him your situation both about your, uhm— hobby and your emotional state. I’m sure he will understand. His emotional intelligence is impressive.” Princess stated, nodding, her hand still rubbing Vixen’s spine.

“He’s the kind of man I would gladly be a sucker for.” Lace explained. “I knew I was a dom since I was eighteen, but Jesus, I know I would sub for him.” Vixen seemed to awaken at that comment. “I’ve seen his stages. He is insane.” Lace bit her lip. “But I need time to trust him. And it would feel useless to get cosy with him only to have him leave for the tour.”

“Just tell him.” Vixen encouraged her. “He will surely work with you on a compromise.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Are you okay?” Lace checked in on Vixen.

“Yup. Just a sudden jealousy rush.”

Lace frowned. “He would never. Don’t worry about that.” Lace cocked her head to the side. “He worships the ground you step on.”

“Girls throw thems—”

“He throws himself at you.” Lace remarked. “Plus he loves you. You love him. That’s all that matters. He gave you the passcode to his house, basically made you move in, what else do you need? I bet he’d gladly handcuff himself to you if you asked kindly enough.” Lace joked.

“Scratch that ‘kindly enough’. He’d cuff himself to you without you even asking.” Princess remarked.

“Can we move back to the BDSM introductory lessons?” Vixen asked, shaking her head, but with a tiny smile on her face.

Lace saw that was a good sign. Princess smiled beside her. “Okay, I’ll go with my request. I know I told you I wanted to get to know more of impact play and if we could focus on that...”

“Yes, I get where you’re headed. Let’s get it. But we’ll need a clean table for this.” Lace explained.

“Let’s do this.” Princess stood up from the table, beginning to clean up everything. It took the girls only a couple minutes to get rid of dirty dishes, empty boxes, the glasses and the soju. Even the fruit basket the guests had bought was moved on the kitchen counter.

“Do you have any sanitizer, perhaps?” Lace asked.

“Isn’t it better if we move to the sofa?” Suggested Vixen. “Use the coffee table?”

Princess shrugged. “Same to me.”

Lace nodded convincedly. “Let’s prep the coffee table. Sorry for the main table.”

Princess shrugged. “Needed to clean it anyways.”

A few minutes later the girls were all sitting around the coffee table, Lace’s bag placed at her side while Vixen occupied her other side, Princess sitting in front of them.

“Let’s do an impact play in depth analysis. What you need is one — a dom, two — a sub, three — optional, — supplies.” Lace listed. “Let’s go a bit at a time. First, the dom. A dom must be sober, lucid. No alcohol, drugs, and most importantly, no impulsive, instinctual emotions. If you’re furious, don’t go there. Violent emotions can cloud your judgement. Don’t let those lead you. Of course you might be angry or aroused, but that must not take the lead. If your anger makes you want to give them fifty spanks, but normally your sub can take twenty, you can negotiate maybe twenty-five. Be judicious, never hungry.”

“Good.” Said Princess, focusing on every single one of Lace’s words.

“Once you’re sure you’re in a coherent, calm mindset, you should negotiate with your sub. Remember: safe, sane, consensual. Safe, in this case, involves that your supplies are clean and cannot hurt your sub, both in terms of cleanliness and state of use. Check for loose threads, scratches on leather that could possibly host bacteria or dirt, splinters in case of wooden devices, porous surfaces. We’ll talk about this more accurately in the supplies section. Sane means to check your mindset and your sub’s mindset. Same rules as before: no alcohol, drugs, violent emotions.”

Vixen made eye contact with Lace, silently requesting permission to speak. “Small note on that, may I?”

Lace nodded.

“Your sub might come to you while being emotionally unstable. They might need you for comfort or atonement. Make sure to heal that emotionally before dealing with it sexually. It means to discuss what caused the upset state of mind in order to identify the real entity of the problem, correct the perception of it and negotiate the atonement.”

“Excellent point.” Replied Lace.

Vixen smiled cutely.

“Can I have an example?” Asked Princess with a frown.

“Of course. Let’s say I fucked up at work, I booked the wrong artwork and the artwork they wanted is no longer available. I manage to find an alternative but I somehow feel like I let down my client. I go home and I am scolding myself because I didn’t deliver what was asked of me. My dom may spot my disappointment or may recognise self-punishment. Also, I might explicitly tell my dom I am not feeling well due to a sense of guilt. This leads to my dom asking me why I am upset or why I am punishing myself. I — along other perfectionists like Jimin — tend to overestimate my mistakes, making them a bigger deal than what they actually are. My dom corrects my perspective through objective analysis, underlines my successful abilities in dealing with the issue and suggests potential improvements on those things I didn’t manage to solve. Perfectionists have a strict inner judge that scolds them and punishes them. Therefore their psych is divided into victim and punisher. This fracture obviously causes discomfort. The dom’s goal is to heal this fracture, especially since the perfectionist’s “punisher” side — so to say — is very strict and usually overestimates the damage and subsequently overestimates the punishment. After correcting the perception of the mistake, the dom gives an appropriate price for atonement.”

“So the goal is to stop the guilt trip mechanism?” Princess asked.

“Yes.” Vixen confirmed. “But this is just one kind of spanking. There are other cases. It can be educational or simply sexual. Educational is when the dom corrects the sub’s behaviour because they violated a rule or an order. In that case it’s mostly dom-initiated—”

“Unless the sub willingly misbehaved to earn a punishment.” Lace added.

“That sounds Jimin.” Princess commented, rubbing her forehead.

Vixen smiled widely.

“That’s not funny, you brat!” Lace scolded her.

“When you find your sub willingly misbehaving, you should talk to them very clearly. Usually they do it to attract attention. Ignoring them might hurt them or bring them to further misbehaviour, which can turn dangerous. I normally recommend conversation.” Lace explained. “Pay attention to them and ask why they broke the rule, what they were trying to get out of it. You can give them the punishment they were asking for — for example if your sub disobeyed because it earns them spanks and they like spanks, you can either give them spanks or punish them with something that they really don’t like, for example edging.”

Princess nodded. “That’s interesting, thank you.”

“Any remark, Vixen?”

She shrugged. “No, I don’t think so.”

“What about sexual spanks?” Princess questioned.

“Those can be incorporated into foreplay. Some people are simply aroused by pain.” Vixen shrugged. “It puts the sub into a vulnerable position, and it underlines a power imbalance. It makes the sub feel smaller, powerless — or almost so — and sometimes humiliated.” Vixen explained.

“Exactly. I would add that it stimulates the circulation of blood to the pelvis region, which means that skin is more sensitive, arousal increases and the whole perception intensifies. It builds trust and sometimes, according to personal history of each sub, it can send them back to childhood memories, mimicking the power imbalance between child and adult who disciplined them. It has strong disciplinary and educational value, back to the punishment scene.”

“Oh, about punishment!” Vixen exclaimed. “We forgot the most important part of it all. But it refers to all sorts of spanking, to be true. Negotiation. Once you have identified the fault, tell your sub how many hits there will be, how you will deliver them and with which instrument, which position they will have to assume. Repeat safewords. Make sure that they agree fully to every detail of the spanking. If they do not agree to some parts, ask to find a compromise, a middle ground between your and their needs. Once you have the green light, you can talk your sub through the whole experience as the scene actually develops. Once you are done with the scene, say a code phrase that means that the scene has finished.”

“Okay, me and Jimin did this stuff our first time trying this.” Princess confirmed.

“Wonderful. Was it a positive experience? Did you have any uncertainties, questions?”

“It was a very positive experience, both in mine and his opinion. We talked it out the morning after, since I preferred to have some time to elaborate my personal feelings about the scene”

“That’s okay. As a dom you can experience mixed feelings, especially after a first scene, with activities that are usually misjudged by society”. Lace explained, gently patting Princess’ hand on top of the table.

“I think that Jimin’s positive reaction and guidance helped me feeling positive about the whole scene. He was truly supportive through all of it.” Princess smiled softly.

“That’s a good partner. Both for life and for play”. Lace smiled herself, glad that Princess’ first experience went well.

“There were very deep emotions of care and support and love during the whole scene. A kind of affection and vulnerability I had never experienced with anyone else. I hope I can go there again with him, but next time I want to be more reliable and secure and experienced. I thought that a general introduction, especially about supplies, could help me, since Jimin was interested in that.”

“Okay, let’s just finish the general intro. We were saying safe, sane and consensual. Safe means toys, safewords and aftercare supplies. Sane means both parties know what they’re doing, the dom is aware of the sub’s mental space. Consensual means negotiation about number of blows, technique, position and eventually toys. Make sure that your sub always knows about the motive of the spanking. The natural response, especially to pain, is ‘why’. Make sure they know. Eventually, remind them. Once more remind them of safewords and the final sentence.”

“Do not ever stop unless they safeword.” Vixen said. “If they repeatedly tell you to stop, remind them they have their safewords if they want to. As a sub I’ve said both ‘stop’ and ‘why’ at least a hundred time during a spanking. ‘Stop’ and similar are pretty recurrent. Just say ‘You know your safeword, love’. If they really need them, they will use them, trust me. Just remind them all the time. You could maybe need to slow down, make sure that they aren’t panicking and they do actually remember their words.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Lace confirmed before turning to Vixen. “Have you been studying?” She joked.

“I’ve been reading lately.” Vixen confirmed, with a very happy smile on her face.

Lace mirrored her expression. She knew Vixen had been pushed into quitting BDSM activities by her ex boyfriend. Knowing that she was finally back to something she liked, something she was comfortable with made her happy. “I’m glad you’re back on track, sweetie.”

“Thank you.” Vixen closed the small exchange with Lace.

“Once a scene is closed, your sub might have different responses. They might ask to be left alone. In that case, make sure that healing supplies are ready for their self care. Remind them to check for abrasions. If the skin is damaged on a surface level — that means it is not only bruised, but also broken — you will need disinfectant and probably band aids.” Lace explained.

“But that happens rarely, right?” Vixen asked.

“With average spanking, that is quite rare. Normally you need specific instruments specifically meant to cause abrasions.”

“Like canes and spiked toys?”

“Yes, but not only those. I’ve seen pretty heavy damage caused by an apparently regular flogger.” Lace commented, shuddering at the memory.

Vixen blinked, a bit shocked. “Okay, back to aftercare.”

“Yeah,” said Princess, exhaling and looking away.

“So, unless your sub wants you to leave, you stay around. Provide for them. Rub lotion first. Some subs store specific lotion for this kind of stuff. To ease the burn, the sting, or lessen the bruises.”

Vixen interrupted. “I must say, most of us like the bruises and the reminder-sting, so they don’t really do much about it. Still, it depends on how far you’ve gone and how the sub feels. Usually, my favourites are a cold cloth, lotion and if I went particularly far maybe a painkiller. Normally herbal lotion and muscle relaxant are an excellent solution. They’re softer and safer, especially since you never know how a sub might react to medicines. As usual, make sure that whatever you use on them is safe. Let them prepare their usual medication. Make sure you have plenty of time to ascertain that they are emotionally stable. Do not leave them alone unless they request so, and tendentially it is good etiquette to stay in proximity, in case they change their mind.”

“Thank you so much for all the head ups.” Princess said, true gratitude shining all over her face. “I feel more comfortable knowing that we followed those lines during the first time too. It’s not something absurd. Youjust really need to use your common sense.”

Vixen nodded. “Being smart sure helps, but it’s not everything. You can only truly learn it by making it a routine.”

“You mean practice?” Princess questioned.

Lace nodded. “Yes. Once you actually start practicing, you’ll immediately find out your forte and potential weaknesses. Be comfortable with those: you can ask us or look it up on the guide, or on BDSM blogs. I can send you reliable sources, if need be. I would say you can reach out to my dungeon, it is a safe and discreet environment, but I fully understand your position, and I get that you might prefer to have a private approach to this. You can eventually book personal appointments with an expert. Those normally include non-disclosure agreements and Jimin could be protected from the public eye, as far as it can go.” Lace explained. “We have had many, many clients who have requested so. It would be perfectly normal.”

Princess thought about it and nodded. “I’ll discuss it with Jimin.”

“Perfect. As you can see the key to this is communication.”

“Indeed.” Confirmed Princess.

“Now, let’s get down to the actual business.” Lace opened the bag but left all the contents inside. “Impact play can happen on different parts of the body. Vixen?” Lace called.

Vixen stood up gingerly.

“Tie your hair, doll.” Lace reminded her.

The woman fished a ribbon from her pocket and did a soft ponytail.

“Good. I’ll show you.” Lace fished out a long, silky bag from her weekender; untying the ribbon, she pushed her hand in and extracted a long stick. A cane, Princess corrected herself.

Lace didn’t pay much attention. Its purpose was that of a pointing stick at that moment. “Number one, the derrière.” Vixen turned and Lace let the wooden instrument hover over the girl’s ass. “You know what to do to hit here?”

“Find the tailbone and place your non-dominant hand over it to protect it. Alternate sides, rub between a spank and another. Hit the lower region, far from the nerves up high. Where the flesh swells, that’s where I can hit. Also the back of the thighs.”

“Excellent. That’s all.” Lace congratulated. “Other spots are the back of the legs, more precisely the back of the knees and the calves. However, knees are delicate, so you can only deliver delicate blows with a restricted selection of toys. I would not recommend it. The back of the calves also offer a limited selection of toys, but it is slightly safer to go there. Still, the surface is limited and the knees and ankles are close. The risk of missing your target is high. Since you’re a beginner I would not go there.”

Princess nodded. “What kind of toys can I use?”

“We’ll cover that later. For now let’s just run through anatomy.” Lace answered calmly. “Are you good, Vixen?”

“Yup.” The other replied.

“Perfect. Turn to your side profile.” Lace asked and Vixen quickly provided.

Lace pressed the cane in a line connecting the peaks of each of Vixen’s glutes. “From here—” she moved all the way down to her mid thighs “— to here it’s good. The peak to the midthigh.”

“Great. Got it.” Princess replied. “There are other places? Like…?”

“Would you like to talk?” Lace asked Vixen. “You're the expert.”

“May I?” She asked.

“Of course, sweetie. You’re the expert in this.”

Princess raised an eyebrow at the comment, but still she stayed focused. To say she was intrigued was a big understatement.

Vixen’s sweet voice began speaking. “Other than the backside, as we’ve just mentioned, there are other spots that can be involved in impact play. While the back of the thighs and the butt can stand harsher beatings with almost all toys intended for impact play, other areas are more sensitive, more delicate or consist in a smaller expanse of skin, therefore they shall be treated differently. Both the palms and the back of the hands, just like the soles of the feet can be involved, especially when matched with instruments with a smaller surface of beating, like a slapper, a riding crop and a cane — for example. They shall be treated lightly, since they have lots of nerve endings, bones and tendons exposed.”

“What’s a leather strap?” Princess asked.

Lace lifted a finger as a sign to wait, before digging her other hand in her bag and extracting a small device, of maybe twentyish centimetres of length and five or six of width; she placed it on the table to let Princess observe it. “Handle and slappers.” She pointed. “Very noisy, actually pretty innocuous. The leather bits slap against each other and create a single impact that sounds like a double.”

“It sounds scary, though.” Vixen noted. It always made her blood curl in her veins, the heavy smack turning into a torturous feel as the hit didn’t match the noise. Fear worked, but the sensation didn’t. It was not something she liked, usually.

Lace nodded. “I haven’t used it much. Usually people like the cane on the back of the hands. Because of old school punishments.” Lace explained.

“Right. Thanks.” Princess nodded.

Vixen waited for a sign before moving on. Once she had both women’s attention, she proceeded. ”Thighs are generally all good, if they’re fleshy and plump enough. Make sure that you don’t go too hard when hitting close to private parts. While a vulva can handle a fair bit, the penis is generally more delicate in the structure. Thighs can handle all toys, just like the ass. Paddles, slappers, straps, riding crops, whips and canes. For private parts I recommend the riding crop.” Vixen smiled politely.

Princess interrupted. “The strap is that kind of… like?” She gestured a long and thin rectangle with her hands, looking for words.

“It looks like a belt bent in two, with a handle. Maybe I have it…” She rummaged in her bag. “No. Sorry. I think I left it at home.”

Princess waved her hands. “Don’t worry, that’s okay, I think I visualised it pretty well.” She smiled. “There’s more?” Princess said, marvelled as Vixen began talking again.

“Well, yes. Oh, first a small warning — before I forget. You must absolutely stay away from the belly and the stomach. Same for the lower back.” Vixen showed the various spots on her body with precise gestures of her hands. “Too many vulnerable organs left unprotected there.” She took a small pause and then moved on.

“Some people can handle hits on their shoulders and upper back, where the internal organs are protected by the ribcage and other bone structures; however I would talk with a professional about that kind of scene since you need to flawlessly master advanced equipment — people tendentially use whips and similar, or the strap.” Vixen stopped for a second, looking at Lace as if asking whether she had anything more to ask. Lace shook her head, inviting the other woman to proceed.

“Now, about delicate parts: some people like being slapped in the face, but then again, that must be clearly stated in the negotiations. I’d say you should only use hands, but maybe I’m projecting.”

“In four years, I’ve only used and seen other use hands. Also, riding crops, but usually that’s just to direct head movements or to pat the face, rather than slapping it.”

Vixen nodded. “Great. About interesting stuff, nipples can be gently stimulated with small, very delicate pats. Riding crops are excellent for this use. Also slappers. Maybe canes in some cases.” — Lace did a so-and-so motion with her head. Vixen continued, — “Some people can go very hard on nipples and technically — just like with the butt — women who have bigger breasts can stand more intense stimulation”.

“Oh, that yes. You can use, as usual, riding crops, but also paddles, straps and whips — if you’re experienced.” Lace added.

Princess nodded with an interested expression. She could mention that to Jimin. Imagining him with a riding crop, standing at the side of the bed, rubbing the leather bit against her nipples before whipping them harshly had her losing focus for a second, taking in a big breath and biting her lip.

Vixen grinned. She could practically read the other woman’s thoughts. “For women with smaller breasts and men, I would say to stay on the more gentle side for the first few sessions and eventually — once you know each other and once you know your sub’s pain threshold — you can get more heavy-handed, so to say. As I said before female private parts can handle pretty harsh whippings, especially since arousal tends to make the labia plumper and therefore protect the skin better. Still, you should start slow and work your way up. Male crotch area is a lot more delicate, however the shaft can take a medium-intense whipping. I recommend riding crops and small leather straps.”

Lace raised her eyebrows at Vixen with a proud grin. “Nothing to add. This should be all.”

“Wow.” Princess was a bit excited. If Jimin had looked that good with a few spanks, she could only imagine what he would do once she got more experienced and learned what actually drove him crazy.

“That’s a lot of stuff, I know.” Lace reassured her.

“I’m actually excited. Like, it sounds very interesting. There’s a lot of trust and knowing each other. I really like that. I think it brings the partners very close.”

Vixen nodded. “It does.”

Princess bit her lip. “I don’t want to pry but… Do you do all of that?” She looked at Vixen with a slight blush.

The woman giggled. “Not anymore, no.” She took a meditative pause, like she was reminiscing something. It felt strange that a girl so young could feel so old every now and then. That dark cloud that obscured Vixen’s doll-like traits disappeared, leaving only a fond grin in tow. “Now I do the bits I like best.” She grinned.

Lace looked at her with a bit of worry before smiling again.

“Before we actually start with tools I need to make sure that you know all you need about aftercare and drops.” Lace said seriously.

“Yes, please.” Princess said. “May I recap what we said about aftercare?”

“Yes, sure.” Lace invited her.

“Prepare the stuff before. Check for abrasions: if there are, then disinfectant and band aids. Next cold cloth, lotion and eventually painskiller. Use medicines that my sub takes regularly. Make sure that they’re okay emotionally. If they want me to leave, I do, but I stay close.”

“Amazing. Quick learner.” Lace cheered.

“Those were also in the book.” Princess commented, diminishing her feat. “Plus I did it already. Sort of.”

“I’ve seen people take weeks to put all of that together. You did a good job, stop doubting yourself.” Lace corrected her. God, these two insecure creatures would be the death of her.

“Aftercare is not only physical, but mostly emotional. If your sub wants you close, cuddle them. Jimin looks like the type to want cuddles and reassurance afterwards. Make sure you give plenty. Would you like to explain the drop Vixen?”

“Yes, of course.” Vixen intervened before addressing Princess. “I always like to talk about this subject because it can affect anyone, without any need to get involved in BDSM. ًWhen experiencing an orgasm, our bodies produce an incredible quantity of hormones that make us literally ecstatic. What happens sometimes, especially after long or intense scenes is that our bodies get high on these hormones, experiencing a sense of withdrawal once the rush is over. Such withdrawal, so to say, can cause pretty intense sadness that can lead to numbness, indifference, or even hate and depressive or aggressive behaviours. A good way to slow down this sadness is providing the body with other hormones that usually calm us and relax us. Cuddles and sugars usually are a good way to help the body produce oxytocin — commonly named ‘the hormone of happiness’. It’s the same hormone that spikes when mothers are breastfeeding their babies.” Vixen smiled fondly.

“This is incredible.” Princess said, completely amused. “So cuddles heal both the sub and the dom, I assume.”

“I think so, yes. Usually I’m the cuddler while Joon is the cuddlee during aftercare. Both subs and doms can experience the drop since both suffer the shift in hormones. It’s really about mutual care. Usually though, there are people who suffer more.” Vixen commented.

Lace spoke shyly. “Once I went so hard on a sub that I felt awful with myself after the scene was done.” Lace said. The silence felt heavy, like in some part of her mind Lace was still seeing that scene. “Usually the dom is expected to give the sub water, sweets and a cozy blanket — water for the body fluids, sweets for rebalancing the sugars after an intense effort and the blanket for emotional safety. I remember that one time the sub used the aftercare kit on me. It took me almost an hour to get back on a neutral state of mind.” It was Lace’s turn to be comforted. As Vixen rubbed her friend’s back, Princess spoke.

“So I might experience guilt and sadness afterwards and that’s normal?”

As Lace was still thinking, Vixen spoke up. “It happens, though usually, if your partner reassures you and supports you properly, you should be able to deal with it together with quite some ease. I myself have shouted slurs at my dom in the past during punishment, but that is because pain or anger make you do that. I may have sent him into a drop once, and since that time I always make sure that I praise and cuddle my dom once the scene is over. It’s important that you remind yourself that what is said during an intense scene is due to the sub’s sensations in that moment, therefore you shouldn’t give it much importance. Still, once you have your post-session chat you have every right to say ‘that hurt me, please don’t do that again’. It’s etiquette.” Vixen said with a serious note.

Princess nodded. “So cuddles, water, sweets and a good comfort blanket.”

“Normally, yes.” Vixen replied. “Sometimes shower or bath together, wash your partner clean or have them wash you. For some people physical cleanliness is also spiritual cleanliness. It eases the mind from whatever ‘dirty thing’ you’ve done during the scene. The rest is really what you would normally do during self-care, but with your sub. Facemask? Junk food? Lotion? Massage? Tea? Whatever you like as long as you do it with affection.”

Princess nodded. “This is really helpful. I just need to do anything that Jimin likes, and do it with him.”

“Yes, if he wants you close — which I assume he does, knowing the two of you.” Vixen smiled.

Lace added her own contribution. “If possible, remember to schedule a post-session chat. Whenever it feels comfortable. Normally you wait until all parties have fully recovered before saying ‘let’s talk about it together’, but some subs are already okay talking about it during aftercare. Just make sure that you know how your sub felt about the stuff that you did together, and that you tell them how you felt yourself. This is not one-sided. Power imbalance is limited to the scene: once you’re done, You’re equal again — that’s why a final sentence is necessary. It breaks the power imbalance and repristinates equality. All parties are equally entitled to support and communication.” Lace said, making sure that Princess grasped the concept. That’s where most couples went wrong: communicating.

“Thank you girls.” Princess said gently. “Thank you for the insights, and for your personal experiences.”

“You’re welcome.” Lace said heartily before grinning. “Now, let’s discuss supplies.”

Vixen cheered with a small ‘yes’ at which Lace replied murmuring ‘painslut’, chuckling playfully.

“Let’s start with these.” Lace showed her hands, letting the sleeves of her shirt fall a little, exposing her wrists. “These are your main instruments.” She showed the palms, then the backs. “You can use them everywhere. You can use your whole palm, flat, for a sting and cupped for a thud.”

“What’s that?” Princess asked.

“Vixen.” Lace called.

“A sting is when it prickles and bites, a thud is when it reverberates and goes deeper. You go with a quick, fleeting swat when you go for a sting—the palm must be flat and there must be a bit of wrist game. To deliver a thud, you should let your hand cup slightly and hit hard, keeping your hand pressed where you hit. It’s a matter of angle and speed.” Vixen replied readily, as if she were being asked what is two and two.

Princess grinned and nodded. “I see. Jimin mentioned something about it, but I don’t remember clearly. Which one hurts the most?” Princess asked Vixen.

“Well, it depends. It’s a different kind of pain and it depends on one’s sensitivity. Personally I prefer thuds, because usually it’s the muscle taking most of the impact, in case of traditional, over-the-knee butt spankings. Stings make my eyes water a little, because it hits a smaller area of skin with more pressure. But it really depends on what your sub feels.”

“It is all in the way it is delivered.” Lace stated.

Vixen bit her lip, nodding, and moved on.

“Hands can be also used to slap the face, as we said,— that should be especially clarified during negotiation — but also nipples and genitalia. Also, thighs, calves, hands and feet — though in some cases they might be too mild. Always remember that it is good manners to try the toys on yourself first, especially if it’s a toy you’ve never used before. Get familiar with its weight and density and grip, so you know how it affects you before affecting your sub. Make sure to start slow and eventually intensify, always asking your sub if they’re okay in the first place. Be careful with your sub’s pain threshold: since you don’t have direct perception of how much you’re hurting them, try to increase force and pattern a bit at a time.” Lace explained.

Princess felt sure about the directions. Common sense and the guide told her the same things, which reassured her about the fact that she would remember all the complicated passages. Sure, it would be easier to have an actual practical exercise.

But for now she would make do.

“You ready for the next?”

“Yes.” Vixen replied.

Lace tutted. “The question was not meant for you, menace.” She said, reprimanding a grinning Vixen.

Princess cackled. “Sure.”

Lace picked up another object from her bag. “Here we have a paddle. It can have different shapes and textures. Some contain small indentations, or even spikes. The main features are the handle.” She showed the part. “And a flat surface, used to hit the sub. In terms of tenacity and resistance, mine has a hardwood interior covered in a leather exterior. Oh, and it’s branded.” She showed a red leather heart sewn onto the black leather cover. “It leaves a mark.” Lace smiled cutely. “Best used on wide, fleshy surfaces. Questions?”

Princess shook her head. “Oh, yeah. How much is it?”

Lace twisted the object in her hands. “A good one is around thirty five thousand won or so. If you want something that lasts and that is actually covered in true leather, the price might be higher. I could recommend a shop that sells excellent gear.”

“Thank you. Also, you said it comes in different shapes.”

“Yes. A dom in my dungeon has a pretty extravagant one in a cherry shape.”

“With a double sting?” Vixen asks, eyes almost glittering.

“Yup.”

“Amazing. I had spotted it once but I never bought it. Maybe I’ll have it commissioned.” She mused.

“Joon would?” Lace asked, eyebrows raised.

Vixen shrugged. “I just need to be good — or bad — enough.”

“See, darling, this is a brat.” Lace addressed Princess, pointing at the other girl in the room. “Their anatomy is five percent manners, five percent playfulness and ninety percent utterly smart evil.”

Vixen smiled before cocking her head to the side prettily. “Yes, that’s me.”

Princess bit her lip and smiled. Vixen was a lot more interesting than she thought. All those cute manners and polished looks could not entirely shade the dark magnetism of her eyes. She would pay good money to see what ruckus she could cause with Namjoon in the bedroom. And it would be even more interesting to see what poised, calm Lace could do to teach her how to behave.

Lace put her paddle down before fishing something else from inside her bag. “For tonight let’s cover only the basics. I’ll keep more lowkey devices for another time. Or maybe I could show you what I have and you ask me about what looks interesting to you.”

Princess nodded. “That would be lovely. Plus I’m sure you’ll have to get back to Joon since he’ll want to see you before they leave tomorrow.” Princess asked Vixen.

“I don’t know if I’ll see him— oh, that one looks lovely!” She said, looking at a riding crop from Lace’s collection and distracting herself with it. “Yeah, I told him he should stay at the dorms and rest. His week has been hectic with all the briefings for the press conferences and tv shows.” Vixen explained as she picked up the crop, studying the red, heart-shaped bit.

“Yeah, I figure. Jimin and I are meeting for an early breakfast tomorrow, before they leave.” Princess explained.

Vixen’s fleeting gaze moved away. She seemed visibly unsettled. Still, her mood changed once more as she collected Lace’s paddle from the coffee table, the other woman not even noticing one of her devices had attracted Vixen’s attention.

Vixen rolled it in her palm a couple times, shifting it to feel the weight distribution and the texture.

Princess looked at how she studied the object, carefully taking in every detail. Vixen’s perfectionism showed in that exact moment, in the undisturbed, slow way she felt every ridge and stitch with her fingers. If she could think of an adjective it was ‘thorough’, in the first place. ‘Sensual’ in the second.

Raising an eyebrow and biting her lip, Vixen opened her free hand, lifted the paddle and delivered a heavy thwack.

A shiver ran down Princess’s spine. She could almost feel how Jimin would moan after a smack like that.

Lace turned around, looking at Vixen. “Like it?”

Vixen simply nodded with a wicked smile. “Do you know what wood it is?”

“Not sure, possibly birch or cherry tree. Soft wood but very elastic.” Lace sat upright as she was done taking out all of her collection.

“And the leather is splinter-proof.” Vixen commented.

Lace hummed in confirmation. “See anything interesting, Princess?”

Princess creased her brow. “What about the riding crop?”

Vixen smiled mischievously as Lace wrapped her palm around the handle, lifting the object. “Here. This is a personal riding crop. It has been commissioned specifically for me. It’s my favourite and somehow my brand.” She smiled fondly as she studied it. “However, I would say one should never grow fond of a vulnerable thing such as a riding crop. They break fairly easily. Anyway — the general traits of a riding crop are the shaft, the handle and the tip. In terms of length, I normally recommend minimum sixty centimeters, to increase flexibility and impact strength. The shaft should be elastic, but not too much or it loses impact strength and a submissive usually doesn’t want the whoosh without the smash.”

Vixen giggled at her side.

“What is that?” Princess asked, frowning.

Opening her palm, Lace calculated the distance and whipped the leather bit hard against the soft flesh at the base of the thumb. Princess clearly recognised the sound of air whistling before she hit her skin with a thin clap. “That’s what I meant.”

Princess nodded with eager eyes, keeping an amused silence.

“Fiberglass is a good material for beginners. If you’re buying one in person — which I recommend for the first time — make sure that it can make a forty-five degree angle when you bend the tip towards the handle. A forty to fifty degrees with a fair amount of resistance means it’s flexible enough, just make sure that it’s not too close to the breaking point. The handle is normally made of leather or very good rubber to improve the grip. Some cheap riding crops — also, the ones not intended for BDSM purposes — come with a strap to slip your wrist into. I recommend you don’t use the strap or that you remove it completely because first, you shouldn’t need it and second, you should avoid everything that keeps you from interrupting the scene and comforting your sub as quickly as possible. Sometimes even a couple seconds can be very important when it comes to subdrop. Remember this at all time, in all scenes. Remove everything that could keep you from helping your sub.”

“Okay. But if my riding crop falls?”

Lace smiled darkly. “Trust me dear, you’ll hold on to that as if it were the sceptre of England.” Princess laughed. “And if it falls, it’s usually a sign of poor mastering of your tools. Train yourself. You can use a dense pillow to learn the variety of strokes that a crop can deliver. It can be used for sensation play, simply rubbing your sub’s skin, caressing it, spending some time to arouse them before the whipping starts—”

Vixen purred at that.

Princess thought of Jimin biting his plump lips, eyelids fluttering at the gentle touch of the leather tickling his body.

“Are you with me?” Lace called for Princess’ attention, an amused grin on her face. Lace almost wanted to congratulate her for staying focused for so long.

“Yeah, just — thinking.”

Lace exhaled and wore a grin on her face. “I get that. Let me just finish this and we can take a pause. The tip is the important part of the crop. Mine has a fancy, heart-shaped tip, however, the best standard ones have triangular or rectangular tips that are a couple fingers wide on the very tip and restrict around the head of the stick.”

“Sounds nice.” Princess said.

“It is.” Vixen mused. “As Lace said, riding crops aren’t excessively difficult to use, if one has the patience to learn the basics and take some time to experiment. They can offer plenty of freedom to the dom in terms of use since they can be incredibly harsh, but also extremely light and gentle. You can use them on most spanking areas: breasts and nipples, feet, thighs, ass, shoulders and genitals, both male and female. Also the face, if you’re being light-handed enough.”

“Jesus, you’re wicked.” Lace snickered.

Vixen shrugged. “Says you.”

Princess looked at the exchange quite amused. “Okay. I think I got it. Oh, isn’t that a flogger?”

“Yes, it is. But that is for your sophomore lessons. For now, let’s stick to the beginner deals.” Lace said, slowing down Princess’ enthusiasm.

“Oh.” The other answered, taken aback.

“The bigger the toy, the more difficult it is to use it. Floggers, also called multi-tailed whips, are unpredictable because the whips are really flexible, usually made of leather, and very light. You must have excellent wrist flexibility and great spatial awareness. Once you can use your crop with your eyes closed, then you can consider learning the basics of flogging.”

“Okay. I assume canes and that fancy thing over there are off-limit too.” Princess noticed.

“Isn’t that a cat-o-nine-tales?” Vixen said, wide eyed. “It’s been years since I last saw one. Since my training.” Vixen shivered. “He had silver studs on the tips.”

“Did he ever use it on you?” Lace asked, very serious.

“Once. I didn’t speak to him for a week afterwards.” Vixen said, gaze empty. “I’ve never seen one like that in my life, though. Are those flowers?”

“Yes.They have a silver bead in the middle with some petals around it. The effect is very unusual, or so I’ve been told.” Lace answered with a chuckle. “It was a gift from one of my students. Lovely girl. Kinkier than hell.” Lace smiled and took the toy. “See. Those are meant to hurt. Mark or scar even, in some cases.” She showed the appendage to Princess.

“I don’t like that.” She replied with tiny hesitance.

“The cane is also a vicious one.” Lace suggested.

“The first time I safeworded was with a cane.” Vixen said with a meditative smile. “It hurts like hell. Normally I can take around forty to fifty spanks. I couldn’t handle ten with a cane.”

“I don’t think I like that either. My favourite so far are the paddle and the riding crop. I think Jimin likes the paddle, or at least the idea of it. The riding crop is… for personal reasons.”

“Excellent choice.” Lace grabbed a glass of water and drank, easing her mouth and throat after all the talking. “A riding crop can really gratify a dom at their first experience. You can study it, if you want to.” Lace encouraged Princess to hold the toy and look at it from up close.

Princess thanked her before lifting the crop from the table. “It’s very light.”

“Indeed. It’s a lot lighter than a paddle, that’s why it’s a personal favourite to most female doms. Plus it can be used to praise and to punish, making it a tool of great versatility.”

Princess studied the handle, with a thick leather band wrapped around the stick to grant a good grip. Lace, previously standing, bent down behind Princess. “The leather has been treated so to reduce any slipping.” She corrected Princess’ grip around the handle, placing her hand wrapped tight around it and fixing her thumb. “Like this.” Next, she placed the tip on the flat of the opposite hand. “Always make sure that there are no loose stitches here. Make sure that the spot where the tip meets the stick isn’t rough or hard or juts out in a way that could cut the skin.” She fingered the spot, tracing it. “Also remember to check the flexibility, see?” Lace made Princess’ fingers wrap around that spot, making her push it towards the butt of the handle. The sensation was extremely elastic, with a bit of give still, but far more resistance. “That is good elasticity for a versatile crop. Try it on your forearm.” She suggested, pushing Princess’ shirt upwards.

A bit hesitant, Princess lifted her dominant arm up. Lace corrected her stance, repositioning her elbow. “You only need to do a slight rotation of your forearm for now. Keep your elbow still and smack your forearm down, like you were arm wrestling but with more snap.”

Princess nodded, her eyes closing before she let her arm snap. First she heard the ‘whoosh’ of the stick cut through the air, and then the snapping sound, like a dry cracking.

“Good one. Did it hurt?”

Princess tutted. “Not too bad. The bite was pleasing.”

The sound awakened Vixen from her trance. She had been staring at the paddle for a few minutes, thinking.

“Try using it feather-light now. Like it was a make-up brush on your skin.” Lace placed the tip of the crop on Princess skin with the lightest pressure, the touch so soft that the tip didn’t even bend a little to accommodate the skin. It was simply lingering, grazing.

“I really like it. I think I’d love to own one.” Princess said enthusiastically. “Would you come with me if I go buy one?” She looked up to her friend.

“Yes, sure. You have my number, we can arrange someday this week, or whenever you like it.” Lace smiled genuinely. Her cheeks puffed up in round apples.

“I think you should check on Vixen.” She whispered.

The girl was being too quiet. It meant she was thinking. Overthinking, if Lace knew her friend well.

“Are you okay?” Lace moved towards Vixen, looking at her vacant stare, her skittish mood and the insecure nibbling on her lower lip.

“Yeah, I was just thinking...” Vixen replied, still unfocused from her surroundings. “I don’t know if Princess is okay with this. It’s her home, after all.”

“What is it?” Asked the other one, immediately alarmed.

“Would it be awkward if we tried a small simulation? Not a scene, just an exercise. For practice.” Vixen proposed. “If you’re all okay with it.”

Lace studied Vixen’s expression. “What about Namjoon?”

“I could ask him. I think he’s awake, I’ll text him. Ask him if it’s okay with him. This is nothing sexual. It’s just for learning purposes.” Vixen shrugged.

A part of Princess’ brain was already seeing it happen, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “If it’s not too much of a bother, I think it would be really helpful to me if you and Lace tried. I don’t think I want to do it myself, but I’d like to watch.” She admitted.

“Are you in the right mindset to do this, sweetie?” Lace asked. “You’ve been on mood swings the whole night. Are you sure?” Lace asked, seriously concerned.

“Yes, I’m sure. Trust me,” Vixen said, reassuring her friend with a kind smile. “I just need to ask Joon.”

Lace thought about it. Doing such a thing with Vixen of course could be extremely helpful to Princess, showing her how a scene worked, however Vixen’s mood swings suggested that she was looking for reassurance, that she was hoping someone would literally spank her negative thoughts out of her. She probably wanted Namjoon instead of Lace, but maybe this mechanism of simulation and education was what she needed to rein in her insecurities. Vixen was a smart woman, extremely aware of her emotions and the mechanisms to handle them. Lace decided. “Okay. Call him.”

“Let me grab my purse, then.” Vixen stood up and reached for her phone at the dining table. “Thank you”, she said to Lace before unlocking her phone and finding Namjoon’s number on her shortcuts.

“Put it on speaker.” Lace told her.

The three women waited expectantly as the ringing echoed through the small room — Lace with cold ice settling in her veins, Princess with ebullient anticipation and curiosity, Vixen with a certain emptiness in her gaze, her free hand toying with the small pendant laying between her collarbones while she rubbed the flat of her upper chest.

The ringing stopped, followed by a couple seconds of silence.

“Hello?”

-----------------------------------------------

Part two here

[kit-kat-astrophe]

💫mutuals birthday appreciation💫

i tell myself that this is when i started my blog so let's pretend that this is also and anniversary thing

***if i actually know you then you're not gonna be here***

@wak4tosh1 your writing is chef's kiss, mwah, mwah. i love screaming about ashnikko to you over text and when you scream back!! reading the asks from your moots that you answer is certainly... entertaining, i'll call it. you have such chaotic energy but you seem to have it all figured out. um like wtf teach me. it is very admirable that you are the "mom friend" that has to regulate everyone's water intake. i do not like that milk doesn't count.

@everythingnerdyxoxo !!!! i consider you as one of my OG mutuals. you found me through reading a gruvia fic i wrote for their special week (no i did not complete the other days) and you said you were excited to read my other works! this is a huge compliment for me so i am very sorry that i have literally not written anything gruvia related since then. HOWEVER i am always glad to see when you've tagged me for anything, and i promise i will write something that doesnt make me want to bury it in the core of the earth eventually.

@rintaroll seeing as our first interaction couldn't have been longer than a month ago, we haven't talked much, but i would very much like to!! your writing is similar to a new song i've discovered in that i could spend all day appreciating it. the characters are so true to their original selves but they're not completely 2D either. and i appreciate your y/n being spicy, i'm tired of seeing uwu soft y/n everywhere so this is a welcome change!!

@tellescora we met through FT at first, and even though you don't post about it any more i still enjoy your content!! i'm just waiting for the genshin nintendo switch port so i can catch up already, because attempting to play it on my poor laptop gives me about two FPS. i am in love with your artwork, your hatching stands out to me a lot, and your colours pop but are never too distracting!! remember me when you get famous :']

@youreneighborhoodfandomfanatic you bring the variety to my dash. it's a mix of genshin memes, every iteration of the wellerman shanty there is on tiktok and i now declare you the news presenter that gives me political memes. i will bring you more headcanons like Ice Bridge Kaeya as soon as i can!! and also if i see somethinf that is even vaguely related to razor in any way i will not hesitate to submit it to you. he has a f r o g g i e h a t

@deadontheinsidebut angel!! whenever you call me your "day one" i feel so proud. my tiny fledgling is now a haikyuu writing master and i am but a tiny worm about to be eaten up by thou. i'm gonna let you in in a secret: sometimes i still go back to the shirabu matchup you made me!!! and i still get as excited as i was the first time i read it because it's still that good. seeing you grow so fast was so wonderful because it was so well deserved. now despite this i will continue to send you tsukki slander whenever it comes across my fyp. xoxo

@demiwizard7 weird thing is that we never talk, but i always know exactly when you're logged in because of the 20 notifs i get from you alone!!! i'm not complaining tho, it's like a silent nod of approval, which is very reassuring considering that i reblog whatever comes makes me laugh. i' glad to see that someone enjoys my trigger-happy reblog sprees, amd rest assured that i enjoy yours too!! i just don't always want you blow up your notifications-

@pokeprism14 we really need to talk more!!!!! i will take the time to explain juvia's character development thoughout the entire series if that is what it takes because i aint a quitter

@fairyreaper22345 you need to sleep on time at some point, ess. ignore when i am writing this. i can always rely on you to answer dms faster than, like, anyone. it's like you have them typed before i ever wrote anything. anyway: ess you are so pog. your fairy tail quotes never miss, your niceness is infectious and somehow you're more innocent than i am which doesn't check out at all. i adore asking you random things as 4am then complaining about the time that you're reading it. and you recommended pipeline punch which is now my favourite flavour so that's cool. we have the same slightly obscure interests (fountain pens, crime) which makes it all the more engaging to talk to you. ur just pog.

@anarchistasexual why are your political views so smart, i bet you know what happened to the stocks too. other than that youre very cool and so are all your friends. i thoroughly enjoy clowning around on the server and ignoring my homework. oh also you're just chill, and i like your vibe. you're one of those people who i'd hang out with just stare at my phone and show you memes

@pinkbtr you are also one of my oldest mutuals!! it's just hilarious to me that you figured out you like the guys with the daddy issues. you seem to have just accepted it joke and i live for it, frankly. i will use the new information that you like obey me very wisely and debate share my opinions with you. i appreciate you popping into my notifs every now and then.

happy birthday to me!

[aspoonofsugar]

I don't understand why everyone is shitting on Eren , Okay his plan is definitely crazy but i really feel like there is more to it than meets the eye ,And even if his plan does kill innocent people I don't think it's that bad, Those people would've lived their entire lives as slaves and in injustice So killing them in a way is freeing them , Also Eren doesn't seem like he expects to live after all the cruelty he s going to commit. What do you think ?

Hello anon!

I do not hate Eren and I am actually full of feelings for him after this chapter, but I do think that he is wrong and that the manga is making it very clear in how it frames the whole situation.

First of all, there is the very basic argument that you can not really justify genocide and that defending a character who is basically going to commit one can be very triggering to people as @hamliet explains here (the post also has a link to another post by @momtaku which can be useful).

Secondly, I think that the way the story is currently being told really frames Eren as an antagonist.

Let’s begin with the fact that he has stopped being a POV character hence we are given very little access to his interiority, while we are given a lot of insights in how other characters feel about him and the whole situation. We know how Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Connie, Hange, Levi and Zeke feel and we also know how Reiner, Gabi and Falco feel and why they are doing what they are doing. In short, both sides are given a lot of space, but Eren’s interiority is not explored at all. He has been the character moving the plot the most recently, but his POV has yet to be seen. This in itself makes him a less sympathetic character, not because it is inherently impossible to sympathize with him (by the way sympathizing or feeling for a character is different from excusing or justifying his actions), but simply because the narration doesn’t give us the chance to do so. We as readers are meant to empathize with the other characters and to wonder together with them what happened to Eren and why he is doing what he is doing.

In a sense, the way Eren is currently framed in relation to others reminds me of how Johan is framed in Monster. Both Monster and Snk are stories which explore the idea of what is a monster and why monsters are born. The point of Johan is to be for the other characters a mystery they have to solve and in order to solve it their empathy is challenged because every easy answer is promptly discarded. When it comes to why Johan became who he is there are not reassuring answers and explanations people can use. I think that Isayama is doing something similar with Eren with the twist that Johan is presented as a negative character since the beginning, while Eren is introduced as the protagonist and so seeing him turned into one of the monsters he despised in the beginning is even more heartbreaking.

Apart from this, the reason why I think Eren is the final antagonist is simply that by this point all the other characters having a conflict with him is what makes the most sense for the plot and which could make the whole cast shine. The SC have literally no one else left to fight because the way Eren currently is he can annihilate all the enemies of Paradis on his own. Why should we have a final conflict where we basically have the Warriors and Marley as the underdogs (and they are going to be the underdogs because they are going to be the major POV characters since we are not given Eren’s POV) while all the members of our original cast are simply there watching what happens? Sure, they can have some conflict with Zeke and Yelena, but let’s be real the stakes would be nothing compared to the Warriors fighting Eren to save the world and I do not even know why Yelena and Zeke should fight them by this point. In short, a final battle where the whole cast is involved and which has the final goal to stop Eren seems like the most plausible solution for me. As usual, I am ready to be surprised and I do think that some minor conflicts will arise (for example conflicts with the Jeagersists, Floch and Yelena), but I also think that everyone will take part in the major one involving Eren.

As far as your second point goes i.e. Eren’s plan being more than just the destruction of the world, I think that there are still two POVs which could give us additional information and they are Historia’s and Eren’s. Up until the moment we are given them, everyone can still be hopeful there is something we are ignoring. That said, the only revelation which could partially change things and which comes to my mind is that Eren is playing the part of the villain, so that everyone can unite to bring him down and that he is acting this way because he has seen Armin, Mikasa or someone else stopping him. This could also explain why he has been pushing Armin and Mikasa away. However, even if that were the case, I would say that, without anything more, Eren would have still gone at it in the worst way possible. Why couldn’t he simply be honest with at least his closer friends? If he is playing the villain, why couldn’t he let Armin and Mikasa know? In the best case scenario they might have been able to avert such a future and in the worst case scenario they could have still helped him in his plan in a more efficient way. A lot of victims could have been avoided if at least a small group of the SC had known of Eren’s plan. They could have let him and Zeke touch each other immediately for example and in this way Zeke would not have transformed all those people in titans and Levi would not have been wounded. Mikasa, Armin and the rest of the 104th would not have felt betrayed and they could have acted without having to process a lot of contradicting emotions.

Finally, I strongly disagree with your last point.

By your reasoning, then why shouldn’t they have gone with Zeke’s plan? Zeke’s plan would have ensured the deaths of all the Eldians and (if death=freedom) it would have freed all of them. What is more, this freedom would have come after easy and peaceful lives and not in a violent way like in Eren’s plan.

Or even better, why should Marley’s solution to kill all the Eldians be so wrong? Aren’t the Eldians living as slaves and in an unjust world? Then why should it be wrong to “free” them from this world?

The point is obviously that taking someone else’s life away against the person’s will is something which negates freedom. People are free because they are born into this world and they can make their own choices.

It is true that the manga has presented some characters’ deaths (Erwin’s and Kenny’s to be precise) as the characters finding freedom, but they are a minority. Most of the deaths we are shown are cruel and painful. Marlow regretted joining the SC just before dying, Sasha died wishing to eat her favourite food, Bertholdt screamed for help. What is more, we have characters like Mikasa or Historia whose arc is about living despite it all. They have both shone when they refused to give up on their lives.

Let me also highlight that Eren himself does not think of what he is about to do as he himself freeing the world. The last chapter makes it very clear:

He remembers that it was violence what took his freedom away to begin with and he is planning to use that same violence against people (like the kid and his family) whose freedom has already been compromised by another war.

Eren knows that what he is about to do is something terrible. He knows that he is no different from Marley or from Reiner, but he has still chosen to keep going.

These are my current thoughts on Eren. As usual, I am open to be surprised in a positive way and as stated above it is true that we are still missing some key POV, but as for now this is what I think.

Thank you for the ask!

[damn-behzinga]

Hometown

Will's Friend Otis pt 3

Will Lenney Centric

summary- Will goes home to take care of himself but re-lives the worst memories possible

warnings- swearing, my terrible writing, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, PAST SUICIDE ATTEMPTS.

a/n- I didn't give Will's siblings names bc I don't know them or want to get it wrong aha.

masterlist

Fans were nagging, desperate to know what happened to their favourite YouTuber. They were trying to find answers through everyone. Friends, family, even those who were barely connected to Will. Everyone was tight lipped. Alex had tweeted about it, "Will's not feeling to great at the moment. His next videos are pre recorded so after the last one, he won't be posting until he's better. Don't be a prick, he'll post when he's ready."

Will knew the fans were desperate. His heart broke when he read a message from his friends whilst the taxi made its way to his parents' home.

Stephen Try Hard

Hey mate, I know shit's tough but your tougher. You've dealt with me, this should be a walk in the park. Text me if you need anything.

James Marriott

gonna send you some memes to make you laugh during your recovery. one for every day your gone. xoxoxoxo

[A picture of Jesus Shrek is sent. It makes Will snort with laughter.]

Alex Earns 50k

Can't wait for you to come back, George is annoying on his own :( Get better soon x

Small man George

I'm gonna guess everyone has written hearty messages yeah? Get better soon I guess 💜

Gee

Flat is lonely without you... You're  getting better everyday! xxx

JJ

I know we're not besties but if you wanted to talk about whatever is going on I'm here ❤

Laurence

What is life without a few challenges along the way? You don't have to face then alone. Everyone has your back, none of us are leaving you to deal with this x

Big Boy Brian

We don't really do heart to hearts but I've got your back whenever you need us

Will paid the driver and collected his stuff. He pulled his suitcase, backpack on his shoulders, a pillow under one armpit, whilst he walked Otis to the front of his childhood home.

His mum quickly ran out and hugged him. "Oh honey I'm so glad you're home!" She beamed despite the circumstances. Will knew so it wasn't to trigger anything. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Will almost cried. His mum shushed him and pulled away. She smiled sweetly before looking down at Otis.

"Now this lovely boy must be Otis!" She bent down and started stroking Otis.

"I bought his dog bed if you don't like him on the sheets." Will rambled. "I also bought my pillow, a little reminder of London. I also bought his bowls and food and toys. I didn't even think about Darcey and-"

"Honey, you're my son; not my house guest. He can sleep on the sheets. How about you unpack and I'll make us some tea?"

Will nodded before taking his stuff up to his room. He opened the door and sighed contently. Nothing had changed. The walls were still a light blue and all his old football posters were plastered on the wall. He placed the dog bed on the floor and let go of Otis so he could explore the room. Will put the pillow on the bed. He immediately started putting his clothes in the wardrobe.

A knock at the door startled him. He turned to see his mum holding Darcey by a lead.

"I figured it'd be best if they'd get introduced." She said. Will nodded and held onto Otis' lead as he walked him over to the bigger dog.

After the dogs got introduced Will's mum explained that his dad was on his way home with Will's siblings. Will had simply nodded, anxious about the inevitable "talk" that was bound to happen.

Will and his mum were watching Eastenders when the rest of their family wondered through the door. Will quickly jumped up and gave them all a hug, before lying to his siblings that he was home for a break. His brother immediately asked about YouTube and all the famous people he's met.

Later, they were all sat around the table for dinner and the conversation was flowing easily. Old memories and silly stories were brought up. Will smiled at how peaceful he was at home. It wasn't until his siblings had left the dining room that it became tense.

"Will, we should talk about what's been going on." His mum had stated quietly, worried that her other children were listening in.

"We want you to talk to us." Will's dad added and it made Will feel physically sick. "We can't have a repeat of what happened when you were sixteen okay?" Will tensed.

"You promised you'd never talk about that again." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"It needs to be spoken about, Will." His dad said.

"This is different." Will stated, anger over taking him. He had made his parents promise to never talk about what happened at age sixteen.

"How do we know it's different?" His dad's voice raised a bit. "How do we know you won't try to take your own life again, Will? How do we know?" His dad yelled.

"Shut up." Will growled.

"How do we know that you won't try to jump off that bridge again? How will we know?" His dad yelled.

"I said shut up!" Will screamed, standing up suddenly. "You said you would never talk about it again!"

Otis bounded into the room and started to try and help his owner calm down by licking his leg and nudging against him. Will was shaking as he leaned down to stroke his dog.

"I'm going to bed." Will sighed. As he walked out the room he saw his siblings all stood outside. He quickly ran upstairs and got a hold of his phone before calling up James.

"Hi, mate, everything alright?"

"Um can I rant quickly?" Will stuttered out.

"Of course."

"I just got into an argument with my dad."

"Oh."

"He brought up what happened when I was sixteen. He yelled it and they heard. My siblings heard!" Will sobbed. "He promised to never to talk about it again."

"Will... what happened when you were sixteen?"

Will froze. He hadn't told any of his friends what happened, he couldn't.

"Will?"

"I tried to kill myself, James." Will whimpered. "I was so close to jumping off that bridge."

"Oh, Will."

Will flinched. "Don't pity me."

"Will are you gonna be okay there? Or do you want to come back?"

"I need to stay, have a break."

"Will putting yourself in a place where you are uncomfortable, is gonna make everything ten times worse. I promise you."

"But I can't be in London."

"Why not?"

"I- I don't know." Will whispered. "I thought this would help, but-"

"Give it a few more days. If you need to come back to London and we'll look after you here. Okay?"

"Alright." Will whispered.

"Hey, I love you, man."

Will swallowed the lump in his throat. "Love you too."

Will hung up and laid on the bed. He stroked Otis lightly when there was a knock at his door.

"Who is it?" He asked. Slowly, his younger brother walked in. "What's up?" He sat up a little bit.

"Why are you home? I want the truth this time." His brother sighed.

"I missed you all, needed a bit of a break." Will said.

"I said the truth, Will. I saw what Alex put on Twitter. I also saw that video online of you having a panic attack." Will quickly sat up. "What's going on Will?"

Will patted a spot on his bed and his brother wondered over and sat next to Will.

"I've got anxiety. And shit's been real tough lately. Gee and Alex and all my other mates told me I needed to take a break." Will spoke quietly.

"What happened when you were sixteen? What was dad talking about?" Will's brother asked. Will felt his eyes water.

"Dad and I were talking about how, when I was sixteen, I tried to kill myself." Will stuttered.

Will was expecting questions or disgust or something bad but instead he was engulfed in a hug.

"I love you. You're my big brother and one of my best friends. Please don't leave me." His brother's voice wobbled.

"I won't. It was a long time ago anyway." Will promised and kissed the top of his brother's head. He wasn't going to kill himself but the intrusive thoughts weren't going to leave.

[myfandomrambles]

Do you have reasoning/evidence for your Septimus Heap ND headcanons? If you don't feel like explaining it that's fine, I just like seeing the reasons people have certain hcs (and I really like yours!)

Yeah!

I have whole posts on Septimus and Marcia if you want to check those out. 

Well umm, hope you like this cuz this is pretty long. I super love these books, and I have thoughts lol. (Also: Projection? In my HCs? It's more likely than you think)

Jenna: ADHD & Anxiety

ADHD: 

she is generally very restless. Jenna never really is into just chilling with stuff. Often being the one to initiate doing things. Likes to stay busy even if it’s just walking through the halls of her palace or tending to the horses.

she can hyperfocus on things sometimes. We can see this when she’ll focus on things, like Maricas shoes in book one and kind of zone out when they walk and the stars outside her window.  In the second book, she remembers the bones in the skeleton and is able to just do it all in one go.

She gets distracted easily normally though bouncing between doing things. And gets bored when people talk around her. Like sometimes being the second one to get annoyed with Stanley.

Hyperfixations. Like the Dragon Boat for a while, the Queen's’ Room and other things.

Usually pretty hi energy. And has pretty large outbursts with her emotions even when trying to keep them under control. Kind of goes along I think with her kind of being described as one of the boys and a lot like her brothers in comparison to other kids. (I got called a tomboy a lot for my not liking sitting still and yes please I will play in the mud lol)

She stims some and doesn’t like not being able to. Comes up when she is trying to be unemotional or is told to play Queen.

Some impulsive behaviour. But even sometimes with more silly stuff as well.

Anxiety: In the later books, we see she can start to ruminate on things. On top of that, she starts to be a bit more cautious about things. Stuff that reminds her of previous stress is more powerful, not to the extent of PTSD like symptoms but it is noticeable. She also experiences anxiety in the run-up to having to make large decisions becoming more overwhelmed. I also think we see in the last to books some sympathy with sep who used to confuse her with his anxiety (like in Syren)

Mandy Marwick: C-PTSD & Selective Mutism

C-PTSD: 

Hypervigilant all the time. Down to the way he sleeps. 

Has identity confusion, kind of picking up new personalities around where he is. Reckless to his own detriment. Easily agitated. Struggles to form relationship really thrive where he can have more simple relationships. 

Also just like the young army, like Septimus he can sometimes slip back into the cations in relation to the young army.

Checks out possible dissociation may be related. He also shuts down in general in response to his emotions turning stress inward. He can even check out as a bit of a survival tool. This helps when he goes to see the Port Witch Coven.

Selective Mutism: He is just literally selectively mute, can talk but doesn’t under most circumstances. Doesn’t talk much, some people haven’t ever heard him talk. Being the most talkative with Septimus and then when necessary. And in Todd Hunter he is more talkative it seems especially with his boyfriend Sam Heap. 

Nicko Heap: PTSD & Depression

Well with this I’m mostly looking post-House of Foryx. It���s explicitly stated he is very different from when he left, never goes completely back but overtime is able to adjust back to home.

He had a lot of trouble reintegrating to things. Has become more passive in a sense, I think slowing down unable to do things and interact with his family the way he used to. Describes being tired, so  I think fatigue could be present.

Struggles to enjoy anything like he used to, even though he still likes boats he doesn’t get the same excitement we see in the early books more searching for peace.

His relationship with Snorri also is strained for a bit because they both feel so disconnected from everything. Preoccupied thoughts with the trauma too.

Sarah Heap: Anxiety and Depression

I think her anxiety is brought on when her very specific way of life in the Ramblings is disturbed and a mother of 7 is turned into really only being mother to 1 kid (Jenna) and even the kid still in the same general lace is essentially never been her kid and is mostly raised by someone else. This disruption caused this I believe. Flyte really describes this and we see it worsen anytime her kids is missing for long periods of time.

Ruminates on her kids and what they might be doing.  was shown to be irritable but in a way more reminiscent of anxious breakdown then anger when fighting with Silas. Obsessively, mothers, the duck Jenna brings back. Struggles anytime things she tries to use to manage stress (like her garden)

Depression: Shown to be very emotional often crying and showing signs of despair. Sometimes feels a bit secondary and useless/helpless when her skills around herbal medicine are not applicable and she really has the pertinent info to her kids' problems. This triggers hopelessness.

Has trouble keeping things clean, borderline hoarding behaviour. Observed in her sitting room.

Isolates from others. Seeming to only see her own family rarely out of her control, but when there is not a major problem like an illness or siege she tends to stay away from most people.

Simon Heap: BPD

BPD:

Deeply insecure needing outside validation and hates rejection and abandonment. This fear tears him up and fuels his worse choices.

Dangerous/Risky behaviour is common. I think his ability to hold his breath underwater is a Darke skill we see used in the port and later in the Todd Hunter books. But to have this and other of his Darke skill they would be practised.  We also see this in being willing to do bad dangerous things like pick fights with extraordinary wizards, neutral things like ride his horse way to fast. use half a flyte charm and use magic that is dangerous/draining/Darke for himself to protect the castle.

Unstable identity looks for a new one a few times when the perception of perfect wizard falls he become full-blown dark wizard breaking ties with his family, this breaks moves to the port tries to be something else but still not really a heap again, then alchemy apprentice and reunites become a family man (later even having his son). This also can be unstable goals after his fixated one is broken.

Volatile and hot relationships. Even his consistent relationship with lucy can be read as dramatic and volatile

Very dramatic emotional reactions, big mood swings. Also very reactive emotional states. Including anger

Is capable of long term planning to get his goal but still acts impulsively very often when his emotion are rilled up. Like joining Dom Daniel in the first place as a huge example.

Depressive symptoms and moods

Splits on people. Jenna, his Parents, and Septimus. Even picking a fight with Sleuth and his horse to some extent.

Lucy is his favourite person

Snorri Snorrelssen: Anxiety

Anxiety:

She definitely ruminates on things and can get stuck in one thought pattern.

She also scripts and will plan out what she is going to do

really doesn't like it when life doesn't go as planned, the seen in sally Mullins is so relatable TBH my poor girl.

Shows similar worsening problems with communicating and interacting after the house of Foryx to Nicko. Seeming even more disconnected and stressed out, Snorri even seeks to return home.

Ullr is a comfort animal. Having the magic ability of synching thoughts, but more commonly she plays off her cat to feel more in control and power. Even just his warmth and presence. She is very sad when they are separated but tells Ullr to work with Jenna.

Is on edge a whole lot in connection to being able to see hidden ghosts. Feels like she has to constantly watch everything she is doing.  

Syrah Syara: C-PTSD & Dissociation

C-PTSD: experience distress at reminders of her trauma. Relates well to sep but not the others. Shows clear signs of anxiety even when not possessed. Definitely shows feelings of helpless earned from her captivity. Has breakdowns.

Dissociation is way more of just a fan theory. I think her memories are not totally gone but a factor of dissociation. This might be more projection but I think the possession played a role in this with trauma. When the stuff with the syren and all of that happen her mind tried to deal with it all by dissociating. So I think it is possible she could remember the stuff. Also just she is relatable so yeah.

Silas: Dyslexia

This headcanon wasn’t mine originally I stolzed it from the great @septimusheapheadcanons In this post

Umm so yeah! That’s the things I think, Hope you liked it?

[charlicpace]

( 1 ) NEW EMAIL. YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GRAND OPENING OF MAD WORLD. Welcome to the madness. Feel free to explore the city, have a drink, embark on a quest. Don't worry about any rumours you might have heard. We have everything under control. Hey Pace! Madworldshq is a new appless rp based on Westworld on Black Mirror, where guests are staying in an AI filled park in which a human has just been found dead. Could we please get an opinion from you? Thanks in advance!

you sure can ! i’m just gonna quickly link you here, as i gave a full disclaimer on how my opinions work and all that jazz, but tldr: my opinion is literally just my opinion and doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but i’m always going to be nice about things and say things as constructively as possible ! being an admin and running an rp is hard, and i truly appreciate that ! no matter what i say, you’re doing great ! p.s thank you for inadvertently reminding me to watch the new season of black mirror ! 

FIRST IMPRESSION. first off, my immediate thought was ‘dang, this looks good.’ even from just the aesthetic of the main alone, i’m intrigued. the colour scheme looks great ! something else i noticed immediately is that the gif icons being used on the main are a good size; i personally hate it when gifs are impossibly small and even if that’s just a personal pet peeve, it might’ve put me off a little if i were looking at the rp in a ‘i want to find an rp to join’ kind of way, and not a ‘i’m gonna see what i think of this here rp because these two kind souls asked me to.’ p.s excellent mascot choices ! both from a biased, person-with-opinions point of view, and from an objective pov as i feel like using poc on the main can often encourage people to join with more diverse fcs, which is fair enough ! i also absolutely adore admin tabs, and although it’s a tiny thing, it always makes me happy when rps have one ! my only negative thought comes from the size of the contained section of the theme; it’s a little small for my personal taste ( but again, i’m only one person ) but the size of the text is good, and i can read the posts on the main without trouble* ! 

AFTER LOOKING A LITTLE FURTHER INTO THE RP.the welcome page is genius. i’m immediately thrown into the world of the rp ( which is also achieved by the format of the opinion request ! ) and the warning is very much appreciated. it both shows that you care about the well-being of those checking out your rp, and that you’re serious about enforcing the 18+ rule, and i love and appreciate both of those things. *as i went further and clicked the link to read the plot, i am gonna have to admit that i added /mobile to the end of the url just to make reading it easier for me, and continued to do so while browsing the other pages.  

getting to the point, i absolutely love the plot, and adore the way it’s written. i easily got a sense of the world you guys have built, but you managed to write something that does that successfully without it being too much info all in one go. while all the info on the ins and outs of the world being on one page can be appreciated, i feel like immediately being faced with a massive block of text can be off-putting to a lot of people, if that makes sense ? you guys have found a really great balance by having the basic plot be the first thing you see, and further information being linked to then read after. it’s such a good idea, and the thought and imagination put in is really evident; you’ve created something really amazing, to be honest. 

when it comes to rules, i feel like all of them are fair ! your activity rule is pretty reasonable, and i like the added mention of welcoming people back but not allowing people to take advantage of that. in terms of character rules, everything seems very reasonable, and i think the rules for applying for more than one character are all pretty great, and something i’d find to be a plus if i were thinking about applying. i also love that you’re willing to put anybody on the banned list that your members are uncomfortable with, as again that shows that you’re dedicated to your members and care about their comfort and well-being ( but clarifying that you won’t ask folks to change the fc of somebody already accepted is a smart move; people can be so difficult when it comes to fcs and expecting you to make people change them after already accepting them. you guys clearly know what you’re doing ! ) however, it might be worth putting the obligatory ‘deceased people, people convicted of serious crimes, etc’ on there, too; i know it should be a given by now, but people really are fools sometimes, y’know ? the only rule that made me raise an eyebrow was the age cap being thirty-five, as i love an ‘older’ muse personally and while usually that might initially put me off, your explanation when asked about it actually makes a lot of sense ! it’s also impressive that you’ve thought about it deeply enough to come to that conclusion, and care about bubbling enough to put it in place ! although i was originally like ‘oof, why ?’ when i actually got to answer, i for sure see why and actually agree !

i always love an faq page, and everything is explained well and answered concisely. it’s one of those tiny things that’s always a selling point for me, and i’m glad to see you guys have one, especially because the way everything is answered also makes it clear that, again, you guys are good admins and care about your members and potential members. the admins were always the biggest selling point when i’d be looking for an rp, and i can say i’d be comfortable applying and being in a group run by you two from what i’ve seen. it also translates to the posts on the main; you’re just running things really well, and it’s admirable !

i love your app. having little reminders of the rules as well as some general application-etiquette is such a good idea, and going to save you guys so much tomfoolery when those apps start flying in at lighting speed ! having people provide a little bit more than the standard app is one of my favourite things to see in an app, especially because it’ll help weed out the people that don’t have a solid grasp of their character yet and will lose muse within a few days, and as an applicant i always have a love of fun creating playlists or whipping something up in photoshop or on pinterest ! also, including the ooc questions is such a good idea, and very considerate – not only does it make things easier for you, but again it makes it clear that you’re genuinely care about your members and what everyone to be included. before i keep gushing about things i love, i do just also wanna quickly add that having the example app be for a non-binary character again will help bring in more NB muses, as people will know their non-cis muses are safe and welcome with you !

other things i love and could gush about for an unreasonable amount of time: - the added extras of the playlist & pinterest board, as it really helps people get invested in the world you’ve built.- the banned & taken fcs lists being in alphabetical order. it’s such a tiny thing, but it makes life so much easier and i appreciate it. - the credits page ! very considerate, and a smart move !- having a triggers page in general, but especially the way you guys are specifically approaching it, and encouraging people to be smart and tag anything that needs it, as well as having the list.

there is a tiny thing i noticed, though, and that’s that the rules page says characters can be as young as twenty, and the app page says nineteen ! other than that tiny typo, y’all have created something that’s pretty perfect ! i’m so, so impressed, and my overall opinion is that i love this rp, would rec it to anybody, and i wish you all the best and hope you thrive ! you’ve clearly thought about everything and are dedicated to the world you’ve built. katie and gabby, you’re doing bloody amazing, and i wish you all the luck in the world !

i always wanna add on the end of these, the good ol’ ‘would i join ?’ and the answer is a massive yes ! if i were group-inclined, you’d be seeing an app from me in a heartbeat !