#reclaiming pro life tag for true pro life for all

[beholdnormalcy]

Why have strict religious regulation on clothing when the Creator made man naked?

Obviously I am not a religious scholar. But I had this sudden thought. All my amature knowledge on a wide range of religions distille down into this bizarre concept. In the Judo-Christian-Islamic traditions, the God created Man and Woman in the Garden of Eden and they were both naked. The Original Sin is Eve disobeying and eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The first realization she and Adam have are that they are naked.

Conclusion: God doesn't care what humans wear. Humans were naked until this Original Sin incident. Only other humans care about clothing.

Yet we exist in a world where there are strict rules about what men and women are supposed to wear. Be it in their daily wear or for religious activities.

The most conservative religious sects require extremely conservative clothing which covers nearly all exposed skin. The most obvious is the burkas required by strict Islamic sects. But all Judo-Christian-Islamic have sects that have similar requirements. Women are usually the most subjugated. Special hats, long sleeves, long skirts, loose and non-formfitting clothing of any sort.

Conclusion: Organized Religions use clothing as a means to control their adherents and to villainize those who do not comply.

I remember growing up in the Church of Christ and the preacher angrily demonizing the cheerleader for the skimpy attire that is their uniform.

While I agreed that the cheerleader uniforms are unnecessarily small and expose a great deal of a prepubescent girl, I disagreed with the preacher villianizing the girls who are wearing these uniforms and not the adults who assign the uniform in the first place.

This disconnect among others of similar veins of thought fueled my distrust of organized religions telling women in particular that they are evil for their choice of clothing.

It is the patriarchy assuming control and asserting dominance over half of the population.

Which is why the most conservative sects of religion force women into a second class, not even a citizen in some sects. Those women have no freedom of choice.

It is dangerous to these women. They are not allowed to go to school, not allowed to drive, not allowed medical care unless the man is making the decisions.

Conclusion: Conservative Religions only exist to empower a small group of men and to subjugate the rest.

What truly worries me is the legislation being enacted by conservative religions are trying to legitimize their existance by refusing agency to others.

If some of these opinions become law, I will not be allowed to choose my own reproductive health. I will not be able to wear the clothing I enjoy. I will not be able to be independent.

These are the very choices the Women's Rights activitist have granted us and it terrifies the conservative right. They are loosing their power and their dominance.

[the-afterparty-au]

[✨*ABOUT✨]

The Afterparty AU is briefly summarized as taking place in a party within the void, lasting forever after a genocide route that was never undone. After many months of nothing but wind, our first fallen human realized the world was not going to be reverted by the player, and they stayed true to their word of Erasure. Chara however, simply getting bored decides to play a game framed as a experiment & brings back all the monsters you failed to befriend in a Genocide route back for a encore. Allowing everyone to reside in the void, a space between files & between deltarune and UNDERTALE. The amount of monsters that are happy about this is uncertain, but all of them are certainly questioning literally everything that brought them here.  (Lightly Inspired by these fanworks so, Thanks to @garbagechocolate, @djsmell & @jazze-bee for accidentally inspiring me to make a whole AU)

By; Modphys (They/them) (Main Blog & Art Blog: @kates-cave & @ryzies-ralley)  Modtaton (He/they) (Main Blog + Art Blog: @spiltmilk34 & @spoiledcheese34 | Instagram ) Papymod (She/they/he) (Main Blog + Art Blog: @theartistthatcantraw & @fail3dexp3rim3nt) Also thanking this for the text boxes haha

[*TAGS]

#ModAlphys🍍 #ModMTT🦝 #ModPapy💀 - Content from specific Mods

#OutOfVoid - General out of character posts/Asks/Announcements Etc.

#PostsFortheVoid Reblogs of any Fanart or random posts I/we might reblog

#PostsOfTheVoid Extra Content asks lore etc. not relevant to the actual plot Or announcements

#TheAfterPartyAU In universe & Main Story posts

#AskAfterparty is any asks in character

#ModsQ&A, Any Asks directly for the mods + #ModsArt is any Art Directly from the mods (not counting story)

[📋*RULES 📋]

[*Current AU Status: Active]

- No SERIOUS NSFW media. Swearing and certain (Chara Frisk & Flowey are all children) jokes are allowed but actual sexually explicit content & HARD GORE is prohibited. Plus the mods are minors 

- Harassment towards me, Or anyone of Any group, will not be tolerated

- Repeat asks will probably be ignored, sorry.

- Please Be patient, This blog does not have a schedule & updates come out when they’re ready (aim for at least 2 weeks) 

- No Magic!Anon please, While this story is a bit aimless it’s still there, plus Keep Roleplaying limited maybe. Makes my life easier.

- Technically not a hard rule but If you’re asking & have an ask blog I recommend you add your @, Love seeing other AU/Blog’s Out there in the wild!! Doesn't matter the fandom either :D 

- Probably will close the ask box if it gets too full, might cap it at 20 0r 25.

* Have funnnnn. =)

[*⚠️ *WARNINGS ⚠️]

This AU is estimated to be 15+  

While I don't plan to include shipping, it might sneak its way in here, who knows.

Swearing in Asks Is allowed plus the mod swears. (Steer clear of slurs, even if you can reclaim them.)

Scarring, Blood, Death, themes of unreality trauma & gore is around, Everyone was brought back from the dead. Additional CW for mentions Genocide considering this au is after one. 

potential mentions (& possible depictions) of suicide & Self harm, Fratricide, Mind Control (Possible Manipulation), & Divorce.

While this aims to be (kind of) joke au, General CW for potential disturbing content is out there. 

Feel Free the DM With any warnings I missed & should include

[*ACT - ASK] - ASK BOX STATUS [OPEN]

*Chara - 💔 *Frisk - ♥️ *Toriel - 🔥 *Papyrus - 💀 *Mad Mewsy - 💢 *The Undying - 🦈 *Muffet - 🕷️ *Mettaton NEO -  👾 *Sans - 🦴 *Asgore - 🔱 *Flowey 🌻

 DNI LIST

Homophobes, Terfs, LGBTQIA+Phobic, Racists, Xenophobes, Pro shippers, Anti-Anti's, Misogynists', Cancel Culture & Cringe Culture, NSFW/18+Blogs, Abelists, Zoophiles, Anti Semitism, Hate speech, MAPS/Pedos, Discourse Blogs, AI supprters, Y’know the basic DNI criteria stuff  (Just don't be a dick man this feels dumb to make.)

[*LINKS – 📎]

Beginning - N/A

Arcs  - N/A

Character Sheets - N/A

Most Recent - N/A 

[cheap-jumpscare]

Welcome to Uta's blog population like 2.

helooo I'm Uta or several other names. I go by it/void and many other prns. check my prns.page >here< !!

read this very important thing written by my meowtual please, thanx :D

a lot more detailed info under the cutt ~

DISCLAIMERS ABT ME / BYF ;;

I say slurs (only those I can reclaim!)

I rarely am ever serious!

I can be very sensitive to rejection!

I'm very apathetic in regards to other people; I wish I wasn't!

I can be very harsh or rude on accident!

im basicallt INCAPABLE of processing if/when a joke is taken too far!! :(

Pls tell me if I fuck up i will not know :(

BASIC INFO ;;

diagnosed and medicated ADHD, peer-reviewed as "def autistic" by my autistic little sister and older brother, depression (or at least some of the symptoms)

divorced parents, adopted at birth!

in general there is something fundamentally wrong/silly abt me

i LOVE homestuck, hiveswap, ddlc, genshin, hsr, crk, cats, borzois, drawing, singing, gacha, voice acting, animation, rain world, etc. (hyperfixations r bold and italic like this!!)

i like spiritual stuff (shifting realities, subliminals, etc) and i may reblog stuff like that sometimes <3

i have a bf!!!! NOT ANYMORE /silly

my fav color; tie between red, black, n white. pink n yellow are very close shared-second places

im here to be gay and shitpost man

OTHER SOCIALS ;;

spacehey - cheapjumpscare noplace - hiveswap pesterchum - hollowClown spotify - uta ౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ tiktok - qualia.automata

DNIS . . .

thin ice ;

anti-endos / don't believe in endo systems, but don't harass or fakeclaim people abt it (i have friends who are endo and they are very cool!!!!!)

post abt politics Regularly (stresses me tf out)

post abt religion christianity at ALL

if you were that one person who told me I was silencing asians by having a cute/pink/"kawaii" aesthetic blog on tumblr in like 2020. yes that was the actual reason. im being so forreal. /silly but also /gen on this being something that actually happened

DNFI (do not fcking interact) ;

anti-endos / don't believe in endo systems, and DO harass or fakeclaim people abt it

pro-contact / anti-recovery towards paraphilias

nsfw/kink/18+ centered blogs (i am a minor :/)

pro-harassment/anti-anti-harassment

doxx people or support those who do

believe/participate in cringe culture

pro 🇮🇱 or otherwise not pro 🇵🇸 (its a genocide mf)

^ post pictures of gore n dead kids in relation to the genoc¡de w/o tagging, censoring, or warning ANYYY of it (the reason i left twt)

im on your dni (respect your own gd dni)

RANDOM ASSORTED NONSENSE I THOUGHT WAS FUN !! ;;

my true zodiac is Pittarius !! [homestuck]

probably a

i tend to fixate on characters/whatever so hard i either Want to be them, believe i Am them, or both.

^ speaking of, at the bottom of this post is a list of stuff am that way about

^^ i should add here that the personality assigned doesnt contribute to this (though it certainly helps if i can go "THEY JUS LIKE ME FRR") i just. fixate so hard i go "mm i should be [whatever]" or "i mustve been [whatever] in a past life :D"

^^^ i am, most of the time, not under one of these episodes (idrk what else to call them but im not distressed rlly so shrug)

i barely ever remember to categorize things but i will remember for this blog i promise

ORGANIZATIONAL TAGS ;;

#shut up uta! - yapping. rambling even. general Posts tag. #definitely not stolen! - reblogs !~ #uta time travels (again!) - queue'd posts.. mostly going to be whatever im currently horrifically nuclear levels of autistic abt #uta; nobody needs to know this - TMI posts; complaining abt periods, personal life, etc. etc. etc. it can and will get weird here #uta hears voices part ??? - askbox....... #uta pls shut up fr this time - LIVEBLOGGING ~ #(not) uta; [ANY-CHARACTER-NAME-HERE] - for when i am Fixating So Hard On A Character That I /Gen Believe I AM Them. Temporary. pls humor me/play along /gen. #uta's sprites - Sometimes I post homestuck / hiveswap sprites! this is the tag for that :3

Characters / Things Uta sometimes IS (not exhaustive) ;;

italicized = more current / more likely to be this than not | bold = even more current | italicized & bold = almost always this

PROJECT SEKAI ; Minori Hanasato, Airi Momoi, Emu Otori, Kanade Yoisaki, Mafuyu Asahina, Ena Shinonome, Mizuki Akiyama VOCALOID / VOCAL SYNTH ; Xi Yi, Hatsune Miku GHOST & PALS ; Tamari [RECKLESS BATTERY BURNS], Say [CHATTERING LACK OF COMMON SENSE], Cakey [APPETITE OF A PEOPLE PLEASER], Teto [PATHOLOGICAL FASCADE] HIVESWAP & HOMESTUCK ; Charun Krojib, Dave Strider / Davesprite, Jade Harley, Karako Pierot, Meulin Leijon, Nepeta Leijon, Tyzias Entykk GENSHIN ; Collei, Fischl, Furina, Hu Tao, Kirara, Lumine, Qiqi, Xingqiu, Yae Miko, Yoimiya COOKIE RUN ; Peach Blossom, Caramel Choux, Linzer, Mozzarella, Affogato, Strawberry Crepe, Cream Puff, Kumiho, Espresso, Vampire, Stardust, Black Pearl, Whipped Cream, Roquefort, Butter Pretzel, Scorpion, Bellflower, Sour Belt, Crowberry, Pizza, Black Garlic, Coffee Candy, Baguette, Gim, S'more, Strawberry Cream, Astronaut, Starch Noodle, Strawberry Stick, Lotus Dragon, Lychee Dragon, Sugar Swan POKEMON [SPECIES] ; Absol [MEGA], Bewear, Blacephalon, Breloom, Carbink, Chatot, Cramorant, Cursola, Darkrai, Dedenne, Delcatty, Delphox, Eevee, Furfrou, Furret [SHINY], Galvantula, Glaceon, Hatterene, Iron Valiant, Jirachi, Kommo-o, Leavanny, Lucario, Lurantis [TOTEM], Luxray, Lycanroc, Maractus, Mareanie, Meowscarada [SHINY], Mew, Milotic, Mimikyu, Mismagius, Mudkip, Nihilego, Pheromosa, Pyukumuku, Raichu [ALOLAN], Rayquaza [SHINY], Sandslash [ALOLAN], Scoliopede, Scorbunny, Serperior, Shaymin, Smoliv, Sneasler, Solgaleo, Sylveon, Tapu Lele, Thievul, Tinkaton, Torracat, Tsareena, Vaporeon, Wooper, Wynaut, Xerneas, Zoroark [SHINY] POKEMON [HUMANS] ; Justy [JELLOAPOCALYPSE DOGS IN LOVE], N, Ingo, Emmet, Roxie, Clemont, Lisia, Lillie, Ilima, Mallow, Acerola, Marnie, Allister, Klara, Sabi, Florian, Penny, Iono, Rika, Ortega, Kieran, Lacey MISC ; wip.... sorrgy :(

Uta's Glorified Kinlist [IN THE KINNIE WAY] ;;

CHARACTERS ; Kanade Yoisaki, Mafuyu Asahina, Ena Shinonome, Mizuki Akiyama, Charun Krojib, Dave Strider, Fischl, Yoimiya, Strawberry Crepe Cookie, Espresso Cookie, Sprigatito, Ingo, Emmet, Iono, March 7th SONGS ; Born2Run [PENELOPE SCOTT], Hammerhead [PENELOPE SCOTT], Sweet Hibiscus Tea [PENELOPE SCOTT], Baxter Ward is Under Fucking Siege [PENELOPE SCOTT], anarchy [EGG], Digital Girl [KIRA], Nobody [MITSKI], Gay Jokes [RIO ROMEO], Mirror Man [JACK STAUBER]

[hyenahunt]

Beast Survival - 8 [END]

Writer: Nishioka Maiko

Season: Summer

Proofreading: royalquintet (JP & ENG)

Hiyori: After all, Jun-kun, you had the ambition to haul yourself up from that bottom rung, the spirit to stand up against those above you, and the determination to cling onto that opportunity.

[Location: Starmony Hall Courtyard]

Leo: Munch, munch, chew—

Aira: Nom, nom — this is the best ♪ It's delicious~! I never knew food could taste sooo good~ ♪

Tatsumi: I wouldn't have thought you'd be able to fish up a sea bream of all things, Jun-san. Impressive work.

Jun: Oh no, it was all luck, honestly. Right back at you, Kazehaya-senpai — thanks so much for handling all the food prep right away.

By stacking up some rocks together, you managed to make us all a simple stove ♪ [1]

Tatsumi: I read about it in a book once, some time ago. Who would have thought it'd come in handy as an idol?

And all that aside, you really went above and beyond in trying out a real-life survival game for the sake of getting into your role.

Jun: Nahhh, at first I just got swept up in the whole thing, really.

But if I'm gonna take up this stageplay role as a professional, I can't give 'em some half-assed work, so I decided to take this chance to really get into character.

Tatsumi: Hmm. Jun-san, you're truly diligent.

Jun: Mmm. Rather than diligence... you could say it's something like pride, maybe.

This is gonna be my first time performing in a stageplay, but that makes no difference to the audience.

Whether it's a big name or a newbie up there performing the lead role, guests still pay the same amount to come and see 'em...

So I believe it's only right that an actor shouldn't betray their level of experience to the audience.

Well, even if I say all that, my lack of experience is gonna jump out in some way.

It'll take time to build up experience, no matter what. There's no way I could rack it all up in a day, right?

But when it comes to learning my role, there's at least something I can do. That's what I figured, anyway.

If it really was something I couldn't do anything about, I would've resigned myself to it, but I don't wanna say something's impossible without even trying it first.

That's the pride I have as a pro in the making, after all.

Tatsumi: Heheh. That sort of attitude is most befitting of an actual professional, and to continue holding onto it is truly a challenge.

So, how did it go? Have you gotten a better grasp on your role?

Jun: Mm, well... Thanks to this experience, I've gained a newfound appreciation for things I normally have around me and my own abilities.

I feel like I now understand what it's like to be in a situation where I've no choice but to do everything with my own two hands, but I don't think I can really say I've completely gotten a grip on my role yet...

Since I'm no prince, much less one who's gotten exiled from his kingdom, I can't quite wrap my head around the sheer weight of responsibilities someone like that's gotta deal with.

Though my old man's a former idol, I grew up in a pretty average household, after all.

Tatsumi: ...Hmm. Jun-san, aren't you overthinking this a little?

Jun: Am I?

Tatsumi: Yes. You took such an impossible mission upon yourself, faced it squarely, and even accomplished it without ever throwing in the towel.

That kind of tenacious spirit and resolve would stay with you no matter what shape or form you take, don't you think?

Jun: ...!

Leo: Hey now~! You two over there! Quit floating off into your own little world and get over here~!

I've just had a flood of inspiration burst forth! Let's sing a survival song with everyone!

Aira: That's riiight! The veggie foil packs are gonna get all burnt, y'knooow!

Tatsumi: Ahh, so they are. I'll be right with you.

Jun: (I get it now... I'd thought I didn't know anything about the animal kingdom, but I was only judging things by my own standards.)

(Though I didn't realise it at first, all the things I felt today could be the very same things animals living out there in the wild experience, huh.)

Leo: Heeey! Namiii~! Hurry up and get over here, toooo~!

Aira: What he saaaid! Sazanami-senpaiii~!

Jun: (Maybe the Hyena Prince would feel all these things, too.)

(What a rag-tag, fun, and reliable group. If this band of merry men is the one I'm gonna be taking back my kingdom with, then well, I guess things aren't so bad after all ♪ )

I heard ya clear as day~ I'm comin' over now—!

✦✦✦✦✦

[Location: ES Breakroom]

Jun: Heya, thanks for all your hard work today. Huh? Are you the only one here, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: It seems Adam's running late at their current gig. Work is work so there's no way around it, but keeping me waiting is unacceptable!

Jun: Now, now. I'm sure they're gonna come by soon. Want some tea while you wait?

It looks like they've brought in that black tea you've been wanting to try, Ohii-san. Shall I brew some for you?

Hiyori: Yes, yes. But of course, you shouldn't even need to ask. It's a given that you brew tea for me, yes? It should be as natural as breathing for you!

Jun: There's seriously something wrong with your personality... Ohii-san.

Hiyori: What's this? Jun-kun, you seem like you've made some kind of breakthrough. That's a fine weather! A little while ago you were going around looking like you were dead inside. Did you manage to master your role?

Jun: Mmm~ Well, you could say I'm finally standing on the starting line.

Right, speaking of which. Ohii-san, you told me the other day that I was a good fit for this hyena role, didn't you?

And that I'd just have to remember why. What was that all about?

Hiyori: Hm? — Ahh, yes.

Jun-kun, you were a non-special student, weren't you? As a result, you had no more merit than a pebble on the roadside.

After all, that's the kind of system that school had, but...

Like a messiah, I extended my hand of salvation to you and lifted you up from that place. That's why you should be all the more grateful towards me, of course.

Jun: You really don't have to be so annoying about it, but I mean, it's true. I'm always telling you how grateful I am, aren't I?

But what does that have to do with what you said, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: Well, it's not like I chose you on a complete whim, of course.

After all, Jun-kun, you had the ambition to haul yourself up from that bottom rung, the spirit to stand up against those above you, and the determination to cling onto that opportunity.

That's the very Jun-kun I chose... and with a role like an exiled hyena prince, returning to reclaim his kingdom with the help of his friends — there's no way it wouldn't suit you, right?

Jun: ......!

Hiyori: As I've told you once before, you're a noble beast who can't tell lies. [2]

And you see, that's why I extended a hand to you. Isn't my foresight incredible!

Jun: Can you stop flattering yourself with everything you say? It really doesn't feel like I'm the one being praised at all.

Hiyori: I'm just saying it as it is, of course!

Now, if you just think back to those days in Reimei Academy, to when you'd first met me, then that alone would be enough for you to play the Hyena Prince better than anyone else.

Jun: ...So that's what you mean. If that's the case, then I feel like I could keep playing him all the way until the end. Those days are carved right into my soul, after all.

Hiyori: Exactly! That's why out of everyone out there, you're the one who has to play him! Jun-kun, no one else would understand the Hyena Prince better than you!

Jun: Well then, I should know just how to reply, shouldn't I?

"I'll swallow up all the fruits of your charity, and all the days I've lived through up 'til now — and then I'll show you how I've grown strong enough to hunt my own prey!" [2]

✦✦✦✦✦

Translation Notes:

[1]: Specifically a kamado, a traditional Japanese wood/charcoal-fueled cook stove.

[2]: These lines are a direct reference to quotes in Saga - Release 4 (which will hopefully be back up soon!)

✦✦✦✦✦

← prev ✦ all ✦

[r3almellow]

Gavin’s First Time With His S/o

Thanks to the anon that requested this! I must be honest...no amount of writing from me will do Gavin’s First Time with the love of his life justice! Like...I have SOOOO MANY IDEAS! I also didn’t intend for it to be this looooong!  Make sure to hit the read more!

Warning: Smutty

Tagging: @breathe-in-spiration because I love feeding you!

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

Your first time with Gavin is one of the sweetest experiences of your life.

Even if you’ve had sex before, he’ll make it feel like its your very first time. 

It probably happens after a night out  with your coworkers after another successful show and he offers to take you home afterwards. 

With it being as late as it is, you invite him to stay. 

Gavin has spent the night twice, but nothing has come from it except heavy make out sessions in your couch.

With the way he kisses you, you’re not sure how you’ve managed this long without jumping his bones. Like goodness... He leaves your lips swollen and you’re practically gasping for air when he pulls away.

Gavin, tries to be the ultimate gentleman when it comes to you. He never wants to force you into anything, but it gets hard (pun intended). Especially when you start grinding on him and the tightness of his pants becomes almost unbearable! He, himself, is not sure how he’s lasted this long. Maybe it was the respect he had for you and the thought of you seeing him as the type that only wanted one thing. 

Tonight, however, the two of you make a mutual decision to take things to the next level.

It’ll start with harmless kisses while the two of you are snuggled up on the couch and end with you taking his hand and leading him into your bedroom. 

This should go without saying, but Gavin will put all his focus on you. He wants to make you feel good in every possible way.

He’s very attentive to your needs and will pay close attention to your movements and the sounds you make. He wants to learn about your body!

Loves leaving kisses along your torso just to have you writhing under him. You’ll be getting a lot of hickeys while hands caress every dip and curve of your body.  

NECK KISSES! Is all for leaving a hickey or three on your neck for people to see.

Feeling insecure? Gavin will pay extra special attention to areas he knows you find unflattering. Worried about stretch marks? Scars? Hate your tummy? You’re absolutely gorgeous in his eyes and he’ll leave a plethora of kisses just about everywhere to make sure you know you’re beautiful. 

Being someone who is really good with his hands, Gavin is a pro with using his fingers. You won’t notice his hands slipping between your legs until you feel him gently glide a finger against your slickness.

And when he slips two fingers inside of you, you can’t help but fuck yourself using his fingers. You’re a goner once he starts using his thumb to brush against your clit.

Rest assured his fingers aren’t the only things you’ll be feeling. You won’t even have to ask, Gavin will willingly eat you out.  And he is so good at it! The way his tongue swivels around your clit then slides along your folds has you losing your mind. He’ll have to hold your hips in place to enjoy his meal. 

You’re going to have to remind him that this is a two way street before he makes you forget your own name. This is supposed to be a pleasurable experience for the both of you, so you have to make that be known.

Once you get him on his back, you show him the same amount of love he gave you just moments ago. 

You kiss every scar you can find as your lips travel down his body. You’re already stroking him before your lips make it to his hardened member, precum seeping from him. 

Whether you’ve done this before or your friends are a great source of information, you’ll leave your man shook. It will take everything he has not to cum right there.

When you can see he’s close, you’ll crawl your way back up to his lips and straddle him, kissing him passionately. You love how you can taste yourself as your tongues mingle together. 

Not breaking the kiss Gavin will roll you two over, reclaiming his position on top. 

Gavin entwins his fingers with yours. His gaze falls upon your flushed body beneath him. When the tip of him presses against your entrance, your breath hitches. His cock slides along your pussy, your juices coating him. 

“Just breathe. I got you.” He’ll say this as he slowly sheaths himself inside of you, groaning as he does so.

Once you’ve grown accustomed to his size he begins moving at an  agonizingly slow pace. This is partially because he wants for you to adjust to his size and the other reason being that he didn’t want to lose himself and hurt you with his recklessness. 

The way you clench around his cock made it extremely hard to hold back. The things he wanted to do to you wasn’t how he wanted your first time with him to go. Gavin made it his mission to be gentle with you, but the way you roll your hips to meet his thrusts has him heavily reconsidering his plans.

You can tell he’s holding back and once you feel comfortable enough you’ll encourage him to give you everything. You want him to give you his all. You want Gavin to let go and enjoy this moment with you.

When you give Gavin the go ahead to let loose, there’s a switch within him that flips and that gentleness you’ve grown accustomed to was replaced with something dangerous. 

The way he fucks you with abandon is surprising but definitely welcomed. He’ll cup your ass with his hands, pulling your lower half up to meet his thrusts. You lock your legs around his waist afraid that you’d lose him if you didn’t. 

With the sound of your bed creaking throughout your room, your skin slapping against his and your moans growing louder with each passing second; you might have to apologize to your neighbors later on.

Gavin will praise you non-stop. 

“You take me so well. Keep making that face for me. You look so beautiful when you moan my name. That’s a good girl....ah...hah... You’re...ah...you’re so amazing.” 

The whole experience will be so emotional. ESPECIALLY with the way he looks down at you with a faint blush coating his cheeks and nothing but love in eyes. You can’t help but cry.  

Gavin knows the reason for your tears. He knows that the love between you was overflowing in this moment. He was sure that he too would succumb to such a powerful feeling as it was too much for his heart.

He’ll lean down, his thrusts slowing  as he kisses your tear stained cheeks. 

“I love you so much.”  He whispers against your skin.

“I-I lov...ahh...” Through soft moans and sharp gasps you try to find the words to respond, but words alone don’t seem to express your true feelings. You love this man so much and sharing such an experience with him meant more than even you realized. 

Using your body is the only way you can properly convey what would have been lost on your tongue. 

You reach for him, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a searing kiss. Hopefully this kiss is enough. 

Gavin will apologize, afterwards, if he feels like he was too rough with you. You’ll have to remind him that you’re not made of glass and if you tell him you like how rough he is, he’ll turn super red and try to play it off. 

Gavin is a master of aftercare. He’ll have you cleaned up and a hot bath drawn for you to relax within minutes. If you’re up for it you might get a round two in the shower. 

Expect cuddles soon after. What better way to end a night like this than with the person you love holding you in their arms.

If anyone was wondering, no condoms were used. 

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

I don’t know how this happened! My fingers slipped and this was the result. This is the main reason it takes me 2000 years to respond to requests. I have no resolve! 

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this! 

If you want to read more of my work please check out my MLQC stuff here! 

[butchharrydalton]

How to Include Autistic Women in Your Feminism

Hey, given that this is an activist post, I might be mentioning certain issues that might be triggering to some. Check the tags and stay safe. Ily. ❤️ 

Ever since activist and feminist Audre Lorde devised intersectionality as a way of describing the experience of multiply-marginalized women, feminism has adapted to include women of color, trans women, queer women, disabled women and religious minority women. Although white, non-intersectional feminism is still pervasive and is the dominant ideology carried on by cishet white women, a significant portion of the feminist movement has embraced the identities and diversity among various groups of women.

Intersectionality allows for us to look at the various ways womanhood affects those experiencing it, instead of just slapping one catch all experience of femininity onto all women. It lets us understand that a woman of color, for example, has less amounts of racial privilege than a white woman and must deal with the burden of specific stereotypes around being a woman of color. Intersectional feminism centers the women with multiple identities, or “intersections,” that society considers unfavorable or marginalized.

However, with all the strides intersectional theory has made in social justice circles, the plight of Autistic women is largely ignored by even the most inclusive feminist circles.

Disabled women as a broader group are often lumped together, even though cognitively disabled, intellectually disabled and physically disabled women contend with incredibly different forms of ableism. Alternatively, the feminist movement also tends to cater to physically disabled women who often have more visibility (which, granted, isn’t a lot) and acceptance than those whose minds are thought to be lesser.

It’s common in the disabled community for people to justify their humanity by asserting their neurotypicality, while erasing and oppressing non-neurotypicals. The pro-Autistic movement itself is mostly made up of women, queer individuals and people of color, and yet somehow it always ends up headed by cis white men. In both feminism and Autistic advocacy, women (especially ones with multiple intersections) are ignored and pushed to the sidelines despite typically facing greater oppression than cis autistic men.

Thus, it’s important to make sure to be inclusive towards autistic women and GNC individuals in both feminism and disabled activism. Here are some ways that I’ve compiled on how to make your feminism both inclusive and accepting as a queer, Autistic feminist.

1.       Mention Autistic Women and Bodily Autonomy

Women’s rights to their bodies are an important topic to discuss in feminism, but Autistic women deal with specific challenges in regard to consent and access to care and their bodies, so it’s important to bring up these issues in your discussions.

For starters, the court case Buck v. Bell still stands to this day. The case itself took place in the early 20th century during the eugenicist movement, and the court’s ruling allowed the forced sterilization of anyone labeled feebleminded. It’s legal for parents and guardians of the disabled to sign paper and sterilize anyone under their control regardless of whether the person in question consent to it even now. This is especially unsettling for women of color, who have historically been abused by eugenicist doctors. (See The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and the book Imbeciles for more information on these topics).

In the medical industry, there are also barriers Autistic women must deal with. Today, there are still ableist debates about whether Autistic and other disabled people deserve emergency medical treatment and organ transplants. Once again, this is especially bad for women of color who deal with medical abuse and malpractice committed against them in modern times.

The gist is, the most vulnerable Autistic women often don’t have the ability to consent to harmful and damaging procedures.

For transgender Autistic women, the burden is tenfold. Many Autistic trans people on social media have shared their stories about how people struggled to believe that they were trans because of their neurological difference. This makes transitional care and access much harder for GNC Autistic people and trans people, as their gender identity is viewed as a symptom.

2.       Talk About Consent

Along with consent to medical procedures, there’s also the fact that Autistic women are particularly vulnerable to the whims of violence against women. Here are some ideas to mention when talking about consent.

First off, many Autistic women use alternative methods of communication. Neurotypical women can usually say an explicit ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ though they still face violence. For Autistic women who are nonverbal and communicate through AAC, in a victim blaming culture such as ours their hindered ability to consent can be used against them.

Through ABA therapy, Autistic women are also further taught that their ‘no’ doesn’t matter. True ABA therapy, created by Ivar Lovaas, is essentially legal conditioning. The aim of this psychological form of abuse is to train Autistic children into seeming more Neurotypical instead of embracing their unique neurology and changing their environment to fit their needs. These kids are taught to obey authority at all times, or else they’ll deal with the use of an aversiv e. This of course, discourages their active consent to a situation and puts Autistic women in a dangerous position.

If they are physically as well as cognitively disabled, they may not physically be able to resist or run from an attacker. In many cases, an incidence of assault is justified by the perpetrator claiming that the victim wouldn’t have had a consensual encounter otherwise because they are “ugly” or unworthy of a healthy relationship. Autistic women are often considered to be such..

Trans women and women of color, who are often assaulted more frequently than cis white, women are of course very vulnerable when it comes to this issue. As such, it’s vital to mention this at any discussion of consent.

3.       Know that Toxic Femininity Affects Us More than Neurotypical Women

To preface this, I want to say that there’s nothing wrong with being feminine. I myself identify as a femme woman, out of my own personal fashion sense and aesthetic. I like being a feminine woman and wearing dresses and having long hair, though these also aren’t the only ways to be feminine, of course. Embracing femmeness does not mean that someone is servicing the patriarchy, and embracing androgyny and/or butchness also doesn’t mean said person has internalized misogyny. Everyone is entitled to the way they want to present, and feminism should be about uplifting how people choose to present themselves instead of putting down women they don’t think look “liberated” or “feminist” enough.

That being said, the patriarchy tends to enforce feminine roles on cis women and police the feminine expression of transwomen to make them “prove” they’re really trans and “sure” about being women. I like to call this “Toxic Femininity,” the way that women are pressured to conform to Eurocentric femininity regardless of how they actually want to present, but then oppressed for both their femmeness or their alternate presentation if they disregard the aforementioned. Either way, women can’t win.

Abiding by gender roles is exhausting for anyone, but for Autistic women who have limited energy to go into their daily activities and deal with sensory issues and neurotypicals. As such, gender presentation is often pretty low on our list of priorities. Autistic women are often unable to conform to society as our hindered social skills prevent us from perceiving these norms. It’s hard for us to fully conceptualize what’s acceptable and what’s not. As such, it takes extra effort for us to live up to Toxic Femininity.

With our sensory perception, certain clothes are uncomfortable for us and it’s sometimes a necessity to wear certain textures. Men’s clothing or androgynous clothing are often more comfortable, so it’s not uncommon to find us wearing those. As such, we are often labeled butch or non-femme regardless of how we actually identify our presentation. We are cast aside by Toxic Femininity.

This is of course, even more true for fat women, trans women, and physically disabled Autistic women, who’s bodies already don’t abide by the unattainability that Toxic Femininity forces us to live up to.

4.       Downplay the Voice of Neurotypicals in Autistic Women’s Issues

Despite their position of being privileged oppressors of the Autistic community, most of our advocacy is done by parents and relatives of Autistic people who believe that they are more entitled to our community and voices. They are the “Autism moms” and those with blue puzzle piece signs in their backyards, constantly yelling over us.

Most of the Autism organizations are run by these people, who often don’t consult with Autistic people about the needs of our community. Even though most of them don’t think they hate Autistic people and may even share common goals with the community, they still oppress us because they’re centering the voices of the privileges instead of the voices that are affected no matter how supportive they are.

An Autistic inclusive feminist space means downplaying Neurotypical rhetoric, meaning stopping the use of hate symbols like puzzle pieces and functioning labels. Cut out the influence of ableist organizations and monitor the use of words like “retarded” in your space. This will be difficult in a pervasively ableist society, but it will be worth it in making a more united social justice movement.

It also means allowing Autistic people to have input in their own issues, and allowing them to reclaim their agency. Know that no matter how many Autistic people you know, if you’re Neurotypical, you will never truly experience being Autistic even if you know more about the condition.

5.       Autistic Women Can Still be Racist, Homophobic, or Transphobic – Don’t Be Afraid to Let Them Know

There are usually 2 stereotypes Neurotypicals believe about us, and strangely enough, they’re complete opposites. We’re either hyperviolent, unfeeling school shooters to them or perfect innocent angels who never do anything wrong. Obviously, these are ableist because they assume that all Autistic people are the same, but most people tend to look at us as the latter stereotype because it’s more “politically correct” even though both viewpoints are hurtful in different ways.

As such, when Autistic people are genuinely oppressive, they aren’t held accountable. I’ve had interactions with homophobic Autistic people who accepted me for my Autism but not the fact that I was a girl who loved girls. I’ve met misogynist Autistic men who viewed me as an object and wouldn’t respect my boundaries and right to say ‘no’ to a relationship. As an Autistic white person, I myself hold institutional power over Autistic people of color and as such, am able to be racist.

Autistic people shouldn’t be given a free pass for their bigotry, and assuming that they should denies them their agency and oppresses others in that space.

Autistic women have a lot to contribute to feminism, and neurotypical women should allow them the opportunity to rise against their own oppression. Thanks for reading and for making your feminism inclusive –

Trust me, it means the world to us.

[occupyvenus]

On why Dany should be an antagonist ( ≠ villainy villain )

Season 7 is right around the corner and I have some thoughts, opinions, speculations and theories I have to get off my chest. I will try to keep any book-specific analysis out of this discussion. This is (as much as possible) show only.

Something that always struck me as odd was the existing controversy sorrounding Daenerys’s character in the fandom. With all other characters, the audience can generally agree on where they fall on the “morality-spectrum”, so to say. Jon Snow is an unproblematic fave, if there ever was one, Joffrey and Ramsay are among the most evil characters to ever grace our TV screens, the Hound made a text-book antagonist-to-protagonist transformation (even receiving in-show absolution via Arya taking him of her kill-list) and show!Stannis - before the daughter-burning incident - was clearly planted in the middle. People liked him and even rooted for him, but no one’s arguing that he was involved in some very dubious, evil, amoral shit. Show!Cersei was ripped of most of her book-counterparts cruelty, but the fandom generally agrees that she is one of the clear antagonists / villains of the series. 

The point is that the audience - minus some radical stans or antis - can generelly agree on where characters are on the good-evil, protagonist-anatgonist chart at any specific time of the story or during a particular arc. If not on the exact point, at least on the general vicinity. 

But Daenerys? Her placement jumps all over from divine saviour to unreedimingly mad queen depending on who you ask, unlike any other character on the show. 

In the end what’s really important isn’t to wether a character’s behaviour is 100%, 75% or 50% evil/good but wether we - the audience - root for them (protagonist), root against them (antagonist) or aren’t really sure about it.  

If there are any clear protagonists, or hereos if you will, in GOT and ASOIAF it is the Starks. There is nothing they could do that would actually turn the audience against them. I know I promised to keep any book stuff out of this, but there is a reason A Promise of Spring’s original title was A Time for Wolves. The Starks are the heart of the story.

A little sidenote on starkbowl and Sansa becoming an antagonist (which I really can’t see happening): Sansa turning into a villain also comes at the cost of her being a Stark, just like Tyrion tuning into a good guy severed him from the Lannisters. When talking about “the Lannisters” you mean Cersei, Jaime and Tywin. Tyrion and his family have become two separate entities in the collective mind of the fans and show watchers. If Sansa really were to team up with Littlefinger and turn into an antagonist/villain she wouldn’t be ‘a Stark’ anymore. Even now, with her clearly being a protagonist of the series, anti’s will always fall back on the ‘she isn’t a real stark anyway’ rethoric. A Stark simply cannot be evil. (grr martin and D&D might let me fall straight on my face with this prediction, but I’d say that its veeerrrrryyyyy unlikely.)

But Daenerys? There is no other character in GoT who’s ultimate and inherent good-ness or evil-ness is so bitterly fought about. While misogyny definitley plays into it, I think it would be false to see it as the sole or main source or reason. Her character is set up to be ambigious. I disagree with those who accuse her of being a ruthless tyrannt, willing to do anything to achieve her goals and those who see her as a benevolent messiah who can’t do anything wrong. She is - at the same time - both of those things and neither. 

To the general audience she is very much set up as a protagonist. It’s easy to root for her when she overcomes her abusive brother, fights for agency in a partriarchal world, destroys slavery or is on a subjectively honourable quest to restore her families legacy and reclaim her home.   

But what happens when her goals and desires clash with those of our other protagonists? If the Starks are our heroes and her enemies/rivals, what does that make Dany to us, the audience? 

But why can’t she just team up with the Starks and be a good guy ???

Two reasons: Drama and avoiding a clear good vs evil dichotomy.  Going into season 7, our main-ish characters are set up as follows: 

The Protagonists / Camp “Good Guys” Team Stark (Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, et al), Team Targaryen (Dany, Tyrion, Theon et al) 

The Antagonists / Camp “Bad Guys” The White Walkers, Team Lannister (Cersei, Jaime et al) & Euron, Littlefinger

Has Game of Thrones really introduced us to some of the most sympathatic villains, problematic heroes and placed almost every character somewhere in-between only to have it end with various constellations of Camp “Good Guys” batteling differing fractions of Camp “Bad Guys”? No, I don’t think so. (Unless D&D stray faaaaar from grr martins original plans and intentions, which could happen, sure....) In order to prevent merely explicit good vs evil fights one or more characters/parties have to move towards the opposing camp. In my opinion, the most likely candidates for that are The White Walkers turning more good-ish -or less less bad-ish, if you prefer - and/or Dany expiriencing a similar shift in the opposite direction. 

The show already laid the groundwork for the first option by revealing that the White Walkers originally were first men, who were turned into ice monsters by the children of the forest. [ The Youtube-Channel “A Theory of Ice and Fire” has some really good videos on the Origin of the White Walkers and the True Colors of the Children of the Forest. I recommend everyone to watch them and his other videos. His analysis and theories are very insightful and definitly worth a watch.] But humanizing the White Walkers can only go so far. It will be really hard, if not impossible, to make us actually feel any kind of remorse over their demise. They are such big threat to all of humankind, that any moral ambiguity about destroying them is lost and any question wether our heroes should oppose them becomes obsolete. Comparisons that come to mind are eradicting a virus or putting down a rabid dog. The dog isn’t responsible for the state it is in, but ultimalty it is for the best.

I will go into Daenerys transformation from pro- to antagonist at the end of the post.  

To make for some interesting drama we also need tension and conflict between characters that are on the same side. Finding possible sources for this within Camp “Bad Guys” is pretty easy. Jaime is probably going to turn on his sister at some point and every alliance with Euron is going to be fragile at best and will turn into chaos for one or both parties at worst. 

What about Drama within Camp “Good Guys” and it’s individual fractions?

Jons parentage is going to cause some tension within Team Stark, yes, but I don’t see any of the remaining stark children ‘throwing him out Winterfell’ because of it. I don’t see Jon discarding his identitiy as a Stark neither, especially after Arya and Bran come back into the picture. His relationship with sansa is so controversial that I don’t want to touch on it, but he isn’t going to go full Targaryen with his little sister and brother around. Can we at least agree on that? They will insist that he still is one of them and so will he. (I stand by my opinion that R+L=J and more importantly Jons reaction to it will cause a rift between him and Dany, not him and the starks).

The Dothraki and their way-of-life are probably going to cause some conflict within Team Targaryen. Dany isn’t as ruthless as some parts of the fandom make her out to be and she will be conflicted about bringing so much destruction to “her lands and people”. She might try to silence her conscience, because the ends justify the means, but she and her allies will have to face some really difficult choices. Tyrion might feel just a bit bad about attacking his home as well. 

It’s as good as impossible to predict or speculate on Bran’s or Arya’s story line, since they are kept top-secret, but I don’t think they involve one of them turning bad.

Sure, Sansa and Littlefinger could team up and cause some drama in camp ‘Good Guys’, but they simply don’t have enough influence to put the stakes sufficiently high. Seriously, against a Jon&Dany tag-team, what could they - or anyone really - do to oppose them? What use is an antagonist if he doesn’t pose a vital threat to our protagonists?   

Daenerys turning into an antagonist ( ≠ ultimate evil villain) simply makes the most sense from a storytelling-perspective. Both to cause tension between our  protagonists, shake up Camp “Good Guys”, color our final conflicts in a nice shade of grey and lead us toward a bittersweet ending. Why is Dany the best character to “break bad”? She is the most powerful human character right now. (With the threat of the White Walkers looming over everything, any secondary antagonist/”villain” will have to bring a lot to the table to form a interesting, engaging plotline. I think it’s safe to say that Dany’s help against the army of the dead will be crucial. Keeping her allegiance unstable or it coming at a great cost would be substantial enough to stand on it’s own, while still being connected to the bigger arc surrounding it.)   She is allied with some shady characters (As stated above, the Dothraki aren’t going to magically turn into peaceful people. Bringing an army whose entire culture revolves around raiding and raping and pillaging could be seen as a questionable move. Also, I do not think that her alliance with the Greyjoys is a coincidence. Yes, we all need to put our differences aside to face the White Walkers, but the Iron Born have caused so much havoc in the north, so recently, that their presence NOT causing any issue for a Dany-North alliance is hard to imagine. Specifically putting established enemies of the North - including Theon with his very complicated relationship to House Stark - on Danys side has to have some significance. As for the rest: I honestly believe that Olenna is going to kick the bucket very soon, she’s only still around because she’s so good at sassing people. I refuse to waste any more thoughts than necessary on the Sandsnakes, but murdering your family in cold blood isn’t exactly nice? Tyrion might be the only person on Team Dragon that has any kind of positive connection to the Starks. show!Tyrion, at least, does have a rather agreeable relationship with both Jon and Sansa.) Her political goals stand in direct conflict with those of the Starks (The Seven Kingdoms vs Northern Independece - and yes northern independence is actually important to numerous characters on the show) Jon’s parentage will cause some tension between them (some people believe that she’ll see him as a potential rival to the Iron Throne. I disagree. I believe the reason for Dany ‘turning against’ Jon won’t be him being a Targaryen, but him not wanting to be one. I am pretty sure that Jon’s initial reaction to R+L=J will be to utterly reject his Targaryen heritage, to get through this majore identity crises. And Dany will, understandebly, feel utterly betrayed by that. She won’t see him as a threat, she will try to persuade him to become ‘the man he was always meant to be’, she will want him to be a Targaryen and she will want him by her side -wether in a romantic way or not- when she takes the Seven Kingdom. And this is something that Jon will not give her. He will choose to be a Stark and that will be a hard blow for Dany. Her beloved brothers, Rhaegars son calling the “usurpers dog” his father. I don’t know who much this will influence the overall plot but it will definitely strain the relationship between Jon and Dany.) The North, Vale and - presumably- Riverlands allience (Having the same regions rally behind Jon/House Stark “against” a Targaryen queen smells of Rebellion 2.0 ~with a twist~ this time opposing a conquerer, not the established ruler. I admit that this leaves out the Stormlands but with Gendry coming back, who knows? He has a friendly - possibly romantic, *wink* *wink* -relationship with Arya and if he’s put in any position to make such a decision he will ally with her side.) She has shown the compasity for cruelty & violence (You can argue wether or not her opponents had it coming - yes for Kraznys mo naklos , no for the randomly crucified & burned masters of meereen, mayybe for the khals; but the fact that she’s willing to use such questionable, violant measures while having giant fire-breathing dragond at her disposal opens her up for a very dark path. Someone with nothing but swords going a bit too far wouldn’t have the same consequences as the mother of dragons stepping over the line. Speaking of dragons) Her dragons are a ticking time bomb, she can’t properly control (At one hand they will play a crucial part in defeating the army of the dead, but on the other hand they are fucking dangerous and Danys ~varying~ inability to control them is a well established plot point. Reducing their final role to being magicals weapons bringing down the big evil would be so chliche and go against many of the problematic themes concerning them. Btw when has one person having so much power ever ended well?) There will be no Iron Throne or Targaryen Restoration (I don’t believe that ASOIAF or GOT is about Dany restoring the Seven Kingdoms to it’s “ideal��� previous state of absolute Targaryen rule. Not only would this render Roberts Rebellion meaningless, it would portray it as a mere temporal disruption of the rightful order which is just... no. The rebellion was a justified uprising against a tyrannical king, it’s the event that started the story and it should still have significance at the end of it. Sorry, not sorry, but Dany isn’t simply going to press the ‘reset button’ on Westeros. The Iron Throne is doomed, so is House Targaryen and so is Daenerys - unless she peacefully settles down as Lady of Dragonstone, which is ... rather unlikely.) The controversy about her character is exactly what grr martin wants (This whole long-ass post started with the extraordinary discrepancy concerning Danys position on the evil-good spectrum. People can’t seem to be on the same page when it comes to her. And you know what? That’s the point. No ones objectively ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Characters are on opposing sides for their own reasons, not because they are inherently evil or good. Everyone can either agree or disagree with those reasons and form an opinion accordingly. Having the audience “choose sides” between two fractions we both rooted for when separeted, once their stories collide would be an appropriate ending for the story. 

I propose the theory that this contradiction (rooting for the Starks and Dany) and Danys role reversel when switching from her own separate to the shared storyline (from protagonist to antagonist) is already in full effect within the more obsessed part of the fandom (who loves to speculate and “think ahead”) and will hit the the casual viewer in season 7.  

Last, but not least having all of our protagonists team up after meeting for the first time and descending on the evil dudes with immense force just feels so ... boring, predictable,anticlimactic, lord-of-the-ring-sy? Everyone coming together and defeating the White Walkers after having some serious beef with each other (sometime mid to end seaon 8) would be way more dramatically satisfying. I think that Daenerys will take a clear antagonistic role against the starks until the very end when she comes around to save the day. 

Since I know someone is going to bring it up: I am not saying that any of this would be an impregnable obstacle for any romantic relationship with Jon. It would complicate things, yes, but also make them a lot more interesting. Neither am I saying that Dany will turn bat-shit crazy and burn down all of Westeros just because.

In the end, these are only my thoughts and opinions. Maybe I’m wrong about all this and the show will move into a completely different direction. We won’t truly know until the last episode, will we? 

Thanks for sticking with me until the end, you’re a champ, and tell me what you think. 

[danandphilsecretsanta]

End Up Here

To: @prickkly

From: Your Secret Santa

I had fun writing this, and because of reasons (1. I’m lame and 2. I’m lame) this fic is based off of the song End Up Here by 5sos, which you may choose to listen to or not, up to you. I am thinking about writing a second part for the second part of the song but who knows - for now I hope you enjoy this! (includes one OC named Eleanor who is the bartender bc I needed a bartender and I like that name) (also contains one Thoroughly Modern Millie reference)

Phil isn’t the kind of person who goes to parties, ever. But his friend Louise insists he needs to get out more, promises him “a good time or your money back” (actual quote) and says she’ll even buy him donuts the following morning if worst comes to worst.

“It’s my friend’s 25th birthday, and she wanted a huge blowout sort, as celebration for surviving a quarter of her life, you know? She told me I could bring a friend,” Louise says. “I’m sure she meant boyfriend — she nudged me and winked — but I haven’t got one and I’d rather not be alone, and plus,” she pokes his shoulder, “we have to hang out more.”

“But at a party, Louise?” Phil says, even though he knows and she knows that he’s going to agree. Louise gets what she wants, and Phil has never been able to say no to her.

She fixes him with a pleading look, and he sighs. “Let me change my shirt.”

She grins.

The lights change colors way too quickly to register. Red, blue, purple, green, white, rinse and repeat. Phil groans, nursing his second gin and tonic, which tastes like subdued fire and floor. He leans against the wall and his eyes close of their own accord.

Louise fits right in; she’s the life of the party, dancing with everyone and chatting them up. Phil retreated to a corner half an hour ago. His ears are pounding and probably broken; who picked this music? No hate to Iggy Azalea, but really?

He opens his eyes, lets them unfocus and scan the dance floor. People are flocking together now, and Phil swallows the last of his drink and cranes his neck. It’s a person they’re crowding, and Phil can’t see them very well. He gets to his feet to get another drink from the bar.

Slowly people disperse, and Phil gets a better look at the guy as he signals the bartender to refill his drink. He can understand, now, why they surrounded him like bees to honey: he’s undeniably gorgeous.

The bartender slides Phil’s drink across the counter and Phil inquires, “Um, do you know who that is?”

A long shot, but the bartender — her name tag reads Eleanor — follows his extended finger and grins. She’s young, and her hair falls over her eyes. “Dan Howell,” she says. A pretty name for a pretty boy. “I guess he’s like…as close to a celebrity as a normal person can get, especially for doing virtually nothing. He just exists and people like him. He’s…distant. I dunno.” She shrugs. “I’ve only talked to him to get his drink order.”

Phil gazes at him. Smiling loftily, a graceful spring in his step, fingers pushing his hair back into a quiff that barely lasts before falling onto his forehead. Phil sighs.

“I don’t go out a lot,” he admits. “Does everyone here know him?”

“Well, he’s here quite a bit, and there are rumors about him, but I don’t know him personally so I couldn’t tell you,” Eleanor says, leaning over the bar. “Supposedly, he sleeps around and doesn’t talk much — well, that last one I know is true. He’s hot enough that he doesn’t have to, I guess.”

This is just fact: the evasive Dan Howell is very hot, and with two drinks in his system, going to speak to him seems as tempting as it is risky. Phil gets tongue-tied with pretty boys.

“Fair enough,” he says instead to Eleanor. “Thanks.”

She nods and he takes his drink, and she smiles at him as she returns to wiping down the counter. Phil reclaims his corner.

His eyes track Dan Howell around the room, catching his every move: he seems to just float past people, and only opens his mouth to speak twice. Phil sips his drink, and it doesn’t burn down his throat anymore.

He exhales deeply. His glass fogs up. There are way too many lights and noises and people here. The floor is cold and it’s seeping through his jeans.

He struggles to find Dan Howell for a minute in the throngs of people, and draws his eyebrows together, looking for his face.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he materializes directly in front of Phil.

Phil’s eyes go wide as he presses his spine against the wall, willing it to swallow him up. Dan Howell is so much prettier up close. He’s holding a drink, and it’s half empty, but it looks like the same one Phil has in his hand, which he is gripping tight like a lifeline.

“Hi,” Dan Howell says, his eyes sparkling. “I like your shirt.”

Phil blinks and looks down at his old Muse t-shirt from 2010. He’d bought it big back then so it would fit him now. He takes a quick, nervous drink, and then says, “Thanks.”

“Did you go to that concert?” Dan Howell asks, and then, of all things, he sits. In the corner, facing Phil with a look of interest. Phil feels weak. He nods.

“I’ve been to, um, three Muse shows,” he manages, though his mouth is filled with dust.

Dan Howell’s face lights up with amiable envy. “Damn, really? I’ve been to one — 2012, New York City. It was awesome, though.”

“Yeah, Phil agrees. He tips the remains of his drink down his throat.

Dan is quiet for a moment. “Gin and tonic?” he guesses, gesturing toward the empty glass in Phil’s hand. Phil swallows and nods, and Dan raises his glass. “Me too.”

“Nice,” Phil says. The tightness in his chest is loosening slowly. “What — what’s your name?”

“Dan,” he says, and doesn’t offer a last name. “Yours?”

“Phil,” Phil says.

“Nice to meet you, Phil,” Dan says, and holds out his hand to shake. Phil tilts his head, and takes it hesitantly. He has a firm handshake and a very nice smile. Phil feels something flip his heart over.

An hour flies past in a second. Dan is telling him about the pros and cons of him getting a dog.

“I’ve never had any dogs,” Phil tells him. “I did have a hamster once. I bred him, actually.”

Dan laughs a beautiful sound. “Fascinating,” he says, dry humor. “How was that?”

“They were very cute.”

“I’m sure.” Dan glances around and Phil follows his eyes. They’ve been entirely left alone the whole evening and Phil wonders if spending time with him made Dan invisible, because how is that even possible? Dan wonders the same, out loud. “This corner is great. No one can see you.”

“How did you see me, then?” Phil challenges.

Dan glances back at him and grins. “Must’ve been looking.”

Phil blushes.

“Hey,” Dan says, “do you wanna get out of here? I’m…it’s loud, and I’m bored of it, to be honest.”

Phil blinks. “Actually, yes. That would be great.”

“Fantastic,” Dan says, standing. He holds a hand out to Phil, who takes it and pulls himself to his feet.

“I should tell my friend, though,” Phil remembers, thinking of Louise. He spots her across the floor, her hair slightly disheveled, giggling with some other girl. The friend whose party this is. Phil doesn’t even know her name. “Well…I’ll text her.”

Dan chuckles. “We can go to my place, it’s nearby and I have water and blankets.”

“I don’t have a car,” Phil says cautiously.

Dan shrugs. “Doesn’t matter, can’t drive. It’s close, though, we can walk.”

Walking feels safe. And Phil is comfortable with Dan, like he’s an old friend, almost. He trusts Dan.

They slip out the back door and the chill of the outside sweeps over Phil. He shivers, and Dan wordlessly shrugs off his jacket and offers it to Phil.

He glances at Dan, who looks expectant. “Thank you,” he says, taking the jacket and wrapping it around him. It smells like something clean and vaguely like cinnamon. Like Dan.

Outside, it smells like winter. “Did you ever notice,” Phil begins as they fall into step leisurely down the sidewalk, “that it’s colder before it snows than when it actually snows?”

He pulls the jacket tighter and breathes out. It appears in a foggy puff in front of him.

“Yeah, I like how it smells,” Dan says thoughtfully. “Snow. Or right before it snows, I mean. Like metal, kind of.”

Phil nods. They walk quietly, taking in the city, Phil taking deep breaths of the fresh air.

“Hey, you know what’s a great song?” Dan says suddenly.

“Madness?” Phil suggests, and Dan grins.

“Yeah, that, but I was thinking of that song — Livin’ on a Prayer, you know,” he says.

“Bon Jovi?” Phil says incredulously. Dan nods. “You know, I’d have never pegged you for a Bon Jovi kinda guy.”

Dan chuckles. “Wow, okay. What kinda guy do you peg me as, then?”

Phil pretends to think for a moment. “Taylor Swift, maybe. Or One Direction.”

“I love One Direction,” Dan says approvingly. Phil laughs. He feels comfortable here, walking on the sidewalk (and secretly avoiding the cracks) and talking with Dan. He almost unconsciously leans into the other man, and Dan reaches out and entwines his fingers with Phil’s naturally.

Phil’s breath catches in his throat.

It starts to snow.

~end~

[[~for now probably we’ll see where this goes~]]

[zipgrowth]

Apple’s Strongest Case to Reclaim the Education Market Is Not the New iPad

“Welcome to your first day of school!” That was how bubbly Apple employees, decked out in the green-and-yellow outfits that matched the colors of Lane Tech College Prep in Chicago, welcomed arrivals to the company’s highly-anticipated education event this morning.

Attendees were given a schedule of “classes” and directed to the cafeteria for orientation. Among the 1000 present were former vice president Al Gore, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and 300 educators from around the world.

An announcement over the PA system reminded everyone that the general assembly session was mandatory—and to not chew gum as no one is above detention. Bells signaled transitioned time between hands-on workshops led by educators.

That Apple chose this selective magnet school as the site for its latest product showcase—rather than, say, the San Francisco Moscone Center or its Cupertino headquarters—reflects the company’s renewed focus on the education market.

“We believe that our place at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts makes it possible to create and amplify our creativity,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on stage. “This is something only Apple can do.” Throughout the speeches, presentations and product showcases, company employees and Apple touted how their tools can offer “creative” learning experiences that no others can do.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

It was hardly Apple’s first day at school; the company’s education efforts trace back four decades. But once a staple—and stable—presence in the classroom, Apple’s dominance in the education market has taken a backseat. According to Futuresource, a UK market research firm, devices running the Chrome operating system accounted for close to 60 percent of all sales of mobile devices in the U.S. K-12 education market in 2017. Apple’s share made up roughly less than 20 percent—a number that trails Microsoft’s as well.

What will it take for Apple to reclaim its pole position? Indeed, the company proved rumors right by unveiling a new iPad. But Apple has never lacked for flashy gadgets. Rather, the most important updates may be upgrades to collaboration and management tools that could make those devices much easier to deploy and use.

Here’s what we saw.

First, the ‘Education’ iPad

The big announcement that caught everyone’s eye—and splattered across all the headlines—was the new 9.7-inch iPad, unveiled by Apple’s vice president, Greg Joswiak. The device retails at $329, but education purchasers can get it for $299. Among the upgrades is a 10-hour battery life, an 8-megapixel camera and increased processing power with the A10 fusion chip. Such features, he claimed, made the device more powerful than any laptop or Chromebook. That’s a not-so-subtle dig at Apple’s competitors—and the first time that the company called out Chromebooks at a keynote event.

The new iPad is also compatible with the Apple Pencil, the stylus that previously only worked with the iPad Pro. However, the Pencil must still be purchased separately—$99 for public and $89 for schools. Other add-ons showcased at the event were a new Logitech keyboard case which retails for $99 and Logitech’s own stylus, Crayon, which retails for $49.

Add all the costs up, and schools are looking at close to $500 for the new iPad with the keyboard and stylus. That cost is still steeper than Chromebooks, which start at $179. (And not to mention, Google announced yesterday its first “education tablet made for Chrome OS” that comes with a built-in stylus. The cost: $329.)

There were rumors leading up to the event that Apple would reduce the price of its iPads to as low as $259. That didn’t happen. Still, Brendan Kelly, an Apple Distinguished Educator who teaches at Wilson Elementary School in West Allis, Wisc. thinks the extra cost is worth it.

“The ability to create on an iPad is second to none,” Kelly said in an interview. “You’re not going to record what’s in front of you with a Chromebook. With an iPad, you can move everywhere. I don’t see anything that comes close.”

Dissecting a frog on Apple’s new iPad

Accompanying Updates and Upgrades

In addition to the iPad, the company unveiled a slew of upgrades and apps to work in concert with the tablet. These included:

Smart Annotation for iWorks: New features in iWorks tap into the new functionalities with the Apple Pencil. The iWorks suite, which includes Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, will soon have Smart Annotation, a feature that allows users to mark up documents and allow for teachers or peers to share feedback.

iBook Creator: The popular iBook creator, which was previously only available on Macs, is now available for iPads. Students can create ibooks and use built-in collaboration features that allow them to work in groups.

Everybody Can Create: Building off of the company’s “Everybody Can Code” initiative that aims to introduce students to computer science, Apple announced a new curriculum, “Everyone Can Create.” Available this fall, this program will focus on four strands: music, video, photography, and drawing. The curriculum is not meant to be a standalone class, but rather weave these creative elements into existing classes to engage students.

Teacher Learning Center: The company also announced the launch of free, self-paced courses provide teachers guidance in implementing devices and curriculum into their instruction.

More Storage: To make sure students have enough digital space for their new creations, Apple also announced that education Apple ID account holders will enjoy an increase in their iCloud storage from 5 GB to 200 GB.

Augmented Reality Features: After the main event, attendees got to explore apps that harness augmented reality to dissect frogs and explore landscapes created on empty table tops using the iPad. Ordinary classroom walls turned into works of arts which students could examine up close to see each brush stroke.

The (Possible) Game Changer: Data in a Smoother Workflow

While the ability to create multimedia projects and experiences with iPads has been a major strength of Apple, managing how students use these devices as part of the classroom workflow has not alway been easy. The company’s strongest case to woo back educators may lie in two updates that aim to resolve these issues.

Sample screenshot of Apple Schoolwork

The first, Schoolwork, appears to be Apple’s response to Google Classroom. Launching in June, Schoolwork allows a teacher to send out documents and open specific apps on their students’ iPads. It also gives them visibility into what each student is working on to make sure they are on task or to provide support. The tool integrates with Apple’s remote device management app, Classroom, and School Manager, which helps manage and deploy devices.

An additional feature in Schoolwork is that teachers can assign students to a specific activity within a third-party app that is integrated with Schoolwork. That means, for example, that a teacher can direct kids to do a specific assignment within Tynker, a coding app that is one of 15 education apps currently synced with Schoolwork. These apps can also feed data back to teachers to show students’ progress.

Giving teachers a single place to see how students are performing across different third-party apps is an enticing prospect. Other edtech companies have recently rolled out solutions to aggregate data from multiple programs, including Yet Analytics and Clever’s Goals, but the ability to assign a specific activity and receive data back is unique to Apple’s Schoolwork (for now).

For other education app creators to sync with Schoolwork, Apple is inviting developers to check out ClassKit, a set of APIs that they can use to connect with Schoolwork. Mindful of the aftermath of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica incident, Apple vice president Susan Prescott underscored on stage that any data passed is private, and that the company has made available guidance for developers to meet these privacy requirements.

Additionally, Apple launched the Shared iPad feature which brings it up to speed with Google Chromebooks and Microsoft devices. Recognizing that not all schools have 1:1 programs, this feature allows different students to pick up any iPad and login to their unique profile and access their individual apps and files.

Final Thoughts

Apple’s vision of pushing education towards more creative thinking skills, enabled by technology, is certainly lofty. The idea behind fostering creativity in students through projects and genuine engagement with the world resonates with many educators. Unfortunately these ideals are not always aligned with the realities of an education system that still emphasizes standardized testing and compliance to rigorous academic standards.

Then there’s the simple issue of cost. Even with all of these new features announced today, the iPad’s price tag still remains high relative to its competitors—and cost cannot be ignored in districts where budgets have been slashed. This is especially true for a device without a built-in keyboard, in a world where typing remains a critical skill. It reinforces the existing notion that iPads are good as a tactile device more suitable for students too young to type—and just a nice-to-have for older ones.

While the new iPad took the spotlight, the operational improvements enabled by Schoolwork could have the most significant impact on teachers as it reduces the barriers to implementing the devices in classrooms, and allows them to assign targeted activities for students. Of course, that can be used to reinforce having students do independent work on their devices—and that may not be Apple’s ultimate vision. But it could make a compelling case for bringing iPads back to the classroom.

Apple’s Strongest Case to Reclaim the Education Market Is Not the New iPad published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

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