#so many people just flat out ignore everything in this game

[tossball-stick]

i am begging yall to play rdr1 please. head in hands.

[tojisun]

im shaking in need my god pop star f!reader x hockey player price oh god oh god

EXCLUSIVE: john price (2), goalie for the specgru and a nominee for this year’s vezina, seen holding hands with a budding pop star of the era, five years his junior.

both are seen dining together and walking around downtown after this night's victorious game against the florida shadows. the two seemed to be engrossed in their conversation and are happy with each other.

it is important to note that price had stated two years ago that he was taking himself out of the dating market after divorce with now ex-beau martha castillo, his wife of four years. is he rescinding his statement? when was this relationship formed? did… (subscribe to suns net to read more)

"jesus," john rumbles, his words muffled behind his palm as he sags in his chair. he passes the tablet back to laswell, their manager, and refuses to make eye contact with anyone else in the group.

the team were the first to call him since the incident, the incessant ringing rousing him from his peaceful dream. he stretched his arm out to pluck his phone from the nightstand, careful not to jostle you awake.

in the end, his efforts were futile because your own team reached out to you. unlike the specgru's management team, yours were more prepared for the fiasco, sending threads of emails full of instructions how to deal with the situation.

it's not necessarily a scandal, not with how there were more people reacting in favour of the relationship, but john had always been a private person and he is just not used to how his relationship with you ended up being public just overnight.

it's not your fault, no matter how many times you've told him so. he knew what he was getting into when he pursued you. he told his team, their PR department, and even his parents about what might change. even martha was given a lengthy call, the two of them making arrangements how martha and her new wife could possibly avoid being pulled into the spotlight.

so really, everything's fine. it really is. it's just that you've been ignoring his calls since this all started, running out of his flat with a yelled, "be back!", only to disappear for hours. john is worried.

"lassie’s probably doing work. damage control an' all that—you know how it is in the bizz," johnny says, consoling.

"do you know how the 'bizz' even works, 'tavish?" kyle pipes in.

john hears a choked sound, then an abrupt yelp, before scuffling fills his ears.

great. now his team’s tussling.

“out,” kate’s voice pierces through his thoughts. “you all, out. you’re distracting.”

“but missus!” johnny whines, but he doesn’t get to say any more and john looks up, wanting to see how terrifying kate must have looked like to shut johnny up.

oh, yeah, he thinks. that'd put the fear of god in anyone, alright.

he watches as the team shuffles out, all of them sending him comforting smiles, before he’s left alone with kate and alex. kate sits in front of him. “run it by me again, john. where did she tell you she’d be?"

john licks the back of his teeth, hesitating, but before he can respond, his phone rings. three chirps pass when john was finally able to reach for it, ignoring the bewildered look that alex is giving him—kate, it seems, is not even shocked by how agile john is when it comes to you.

"hello?" he murmurs, turning away from his managers in lieu of privacy. from the reflection of the window, he sees alex look away too, in pretense with john, while kate continues to stare, scrutinizing.

"hi, baby," you chirp with a giggle as if you were not radio silent for four whole hours; the afternoon is about to swell at its peak, the summer sun sweltering from every corner of the city. "i missed you lots."

and just like that, john feels himself relaxing. his shoulders sag in the newfound comfort wafting from within his chest, his bruised lips—he didn't even know he had been biting them in his worry—slipping between his teeth, and his forehead easing from all his frowning.

john feels like he's won another game; like they've defeated the shadows and claimed the cup for themselves already.

"s'alright," he says, a touch softer. "all is well f'r you?"

"all is well," you reply, voice curling like you’re smiling. "i'm gonna do somethin' soon so all i ask is that you trust me, okay?"

"of course," john instantly replies before his mind could even comprehend what you just said. "wait what-"

"okay then. bye!"

the line drops just like that.

"oh god," kate hisses from behind john. john can't quite say he mirrors the sentiment because anything you do is good. everything that you are is bright.

he would trust you with a goal, if he could—you have his heart already, after all.

.

"holy shit!" mactavish shrieks before a phone is shoved underneath john's face.

he goes cross-eyed, blinded by the blue light for a minute, before he is finally able to push johnny's hand away. he plucks the phone from his friend, grunting when the rest of the squad flank him, heads butting his own as they try to get a glimpse of what was on mactavish's phone.

simon begins to laugh while kyle repeats johnny's words.

john can't blame them. holy shit indeed.

it was a new post from you, in instagram. it was a picture he remembers you asking him to take for you from the night before, all coy as you danced in front of him, both of you ignoring the obvious tent underneath his sweats.

"i want a keepsake," you murmured while batting your eyelashes. "please?"

"it's all yours, if you want," john remembers replying, all parched with his need.

"no," you said with a giggle. "a picture's enough."

"okay," he had said with a croak, his eyes blown wide as desire bloats from the pit of his belly.

so here it is now, posted for everyone's eyes in your account, the product of your seduction—you, sitting on the back your legs, stretching out on the bed, clothed in nothing but his jersey for a top—the bold and white-coloured 2 almost covers your whole back—and a black bikini for a bottom.

his eyes flit to the caption: comfy in his shirt. #letsgospecgru

"holy shit," john rasps out loud this time, his need growing teeth.

keller bursts into the locker room. “your turn to post with her merch.” he throws something at john and it is only his reflexes that allows him to catch it with his hands.

he looks at it—it’s a cream jumper sold during the release of your new album. the material is soft, the embroidery so smooth. the logo, even, is beautiful.

say less, he thought, already slipping out of his practice shirt and into the jumper.

.

[image]

pricejhn2: her number one fan #newalbum

[amnestria-the-elf]

So we're all just supposed to be fucking grateful that Larian gave us "new Wyll content" (evil ending for a man who is canonically incorruptible, what the fuck) and simultaneously broke him again (giving low approval greetings to a romanced PC, what the fuck).

I... I just... the simultaneous feelings of rage and utter hopelessness are overwhelming.

Listen, if you've read any of my posts you know I have a pretty clear "Don't yuck anyone's yum" policy. If you think an evil Wyll ending is interesting, fine. But here's why it falls flat for me.

First, like I said above, Wyll is canonically incorruptible. It's literally the entire basis of his character. He is a man who was coerced into making an infernal contract to save a city and had to pay a horrible price for doing so, then spent seven fucking years alone in the wilderness doing his damned best to protect the people of the Sword Coast, while all along telling his horrible, abusive patron to just fuck off already.

Now, could you argue that during the events of the game, Wyll develops a taste for evil? Sure. There are plenty of opportunities for his villain origin story to unfold. But they never do. His moral compass never wavers. Turned into a devil? He feels shame, because it's an outward sign that he was doing things for Mizora that were morally wrong, and he didn't see it before. His approval rating for the PC shoots through the roof if you save Karlach, a sure indicator of his true moral compass. His father kidnapped? Fuck that noise, we're gonna save him. Rescue Zariel's "asset"? Ugh, fine, but don't get distracted from the real reason we're here. His father gets tadpoled? Oh hells no, we're gonna take down these assholes and save the godsdamned world. His father accuses him of being an agent of a devil and is super pissy about it? "Everything I did, I did for the people of the Sword Coast."

For fuck's sake, he will leave the party if the PC gets too evil, even knowing it means he'll probably turn into a mindflayer immediately. Even if he's romancing the PC. Unwavering moral compass. So giving him an evil ending without also going back and changing everything about his character just feels like lazy writing to me.

Which brings me to the second reason all of this rubs the wrong way. Wyll deserves so much more content. More romanced greetings, more reactions to other characters' choices, a final boss battle that is actually about him, a default ending that actually makes fucking sense (I have another post cooking about the Avernus ending, so I will leave it for now.)

And please, spare me your "But Wyll was rewritten after early access" bullshit. That's Larian's problem. They chose to listen to feedback and do a late-stage rewrite. They then chose to implement it poorly and never fucking fix it. Other characters, who already have far more content than Wyll, have had even more added over the course of the seven released patches. Wyll, on the other hand, has been sitting around completely ignored until now when we get this evil ending.

Many have rightfully pointed out the inherent racism steeped in all of this. I want Larian to be better. But as Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." I already didn't have much hope about Patch 7 for Wyll, but this... honestly, this is worse than him just being ignored again.

The thing that kills me the most is that this is just going to be more fodder for the fandom to completely mischaracterize Wyll, for those who already haven't bothered to think critically about his character at all to just be like, oh, cool, Wyll is evil now. Nope. You've completely missed the point.

I'm just... so tired. I've worked very hard to put this little bubble of Wyll enthusiasts around me (hi friends I love you all!) so that I can hold on to some shred of sanity in this fandom. The world needs heroes of color. Just let Wyll be the hero in peace.

[mountttmase]

Change Of Heart

The Middle - Part Three

Note - chapter three wooooo. Thank you so much for all your feedback last week and I’m really sorry I didn’t reply to you guys. It was a weird few days and I’ve been sick so it slipped my mind but I really appreciate you guys so much. I hope you enjoy this one too and happy halfway mark 🩷

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 6.3k

Warnings - series contains angst & fluff

Never in a million years did you think you’d be in the pickle you were in right now.

You’d never felt this awful about yourself before, fleeing the flat that you’d shared with Jack for just over three years since your second year of uni and returning to your childhood home for some much needed comfort. But the only person's comfort you wanted was still in training.

You thought everything was turning out perfectly, moving out of halls and into your first big girl flat with Jack was a massive step but you’d fallen into domestic life perfectly. The both of you still on the same course but taking a few different modules meaning you weren’t together 100% of the time and being able to study together and push each other forward helped you get the best results possible. Both ending up with firsts and it didn’t take you long to land a job so you could continue to live where you’d both made your new home but right now that all now seemed like a long lost dream.

As soon as you made it home to your parents house you rushed up to your old room. Ignoring your family entirely as you locked yourself away and as soon as you thought Mason might be finished with training you sent him a quick text.

Mason, he was always there when you needed him.

You were surprised at first at how quickly the pair of you had fallen back into the rhythm of being friends. Waking up that next morning after your dads birthday party to find him pressed up against your back with his head in your neck and an arm around your waist, but it was the fact he’d clearly gotten hot in the night and taken his jeans off that had made you chuckle. Knowing how much he didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable by taking his clothes off but you enjoyed waking up next to him more than you let on.

He’d woken up shortly after you and after a quick squeeze you felt him move away, not wanting you to wake up with him pressed against you but you were quickly rolling over so you could press yourself up against him and hold him to you until you felt his chest rumble with laughter.

‘Morning Masey’

‘Morning, love. You sleep okay?’

‘Surprisingly well actually. What about you?’

‘Yeah not bad’ he whispered but you could tell he was a little shy still. Not able to look you in the eyes for more than a few seconds but it was just nice to have him back in any capacity.

Mason stuck to his word after that night, always keeping in contact as often as he could and when he went on loan to Derby County you made sure to go to as many games as you could manage. Jack always in tow as it became your little thing but as soon as he joined back up with Chelsea Jack had to stop. Telling you he didn’t feel right cheering for Chelsea as an Arsenal fan so you ended up going to games alone or with some of the Chelsea girlfriends as Mason introduced you to more people as he made friends.

You were so proud of him, watching him take the world by storm and as his second season was coming to an end you knew one of the biggest games of his life was coming up and he didn’t need any distractions.

You needed him though. Urgently.

You needed him more than you'd ever needed anyone in your life and as you sat and waited for him to show up you felt sicker and sicker. The gravity of the situation still not hitting you properly as you hadn’t managed to speak it out loud to him yet but you knew you needed to get a grip.

When Mason eventually got to your house, the door was opened by your mother who gave him a concerned look as she nodded him in and he wasn't sure what to to think at all.

‘She’s in her room but she won’t tell me what’s wrong’ she huffed, rolling her eyes slightly and it struck him as a bit weird because he knew you told your mum everything. The fact she was laughing it off though made him think it was that serious though and he felt his heart calm down slightly.

‘I’ll speak to her’ he reassured her. Touching her arm as if to comfort her slightly before he made his way up the stairs and straight to your room. Knocking gently as the door was shut but he really didn’t know what to expect.

‘You in there love?’ He called, knocking lightly again as he didn’t know if you were sleeping but you were far from it. Laid on your back as you looked up to the ceiling to try and control your breathing but his voice had you sat up straight in an instant.

‘Yeah’ you answered, hoping it was loud enough for him to hear but you knew your voice sounded strained and when the door finally opened and you could see his face you felt yours crumple. Hot tears running thick and fast down your face but Mason was quick to shut the door and rush to your side so he could pull you into his arms.

Even though he had no idea what was going on, the fact he’d dropped everything to come here and comfort you meant the world and as you sobbed into his chest you’d never felt more lucky to have a friend like him.

He let you take your time, rubbing you back soothingly to calm you down enough to speak and even though you were petrified, you knew Mason would be there for you and on your side no matter what you told him.

‘Hey, come on it’s okay’ he whispered, trying to pull back so he could look at you but you weren’t ready yet and he didn’t push you to talk until your tears had died down. ‘It’s alright, love. Take your time, yeah? I’m not going anywhere’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you come all this way’

‘No no don’t be silly, you know I would have come a lot further if you needed me to’ he whispered. Trying his best to settle you so that you’d come out and tell him what’s wrong and when you looked up at him with a pout, his heart broke for you. ‘What is it, love? Whats happened?’

‘Me and Jack… well there isn’t a me and Jack anymore. He’s left me’ you told him, your voice wobbling as you tried your best not to break down again but you could tell he was shocked as he pulled you back into his chest.

‘Oh y/n’ he sighed, wrapping his arms around you tighter and rubbing your back soothingly. ‘What happened?’

‘If I tell you, can you promise it stays between us’ you asked, not wanting anyone to know your secret just yet but you knew you were about to burst if you didn’t tell someone.

‘Well I don’t kn-‘

‘No Mason, you have to promise’ you begged, feeling yourself get hysterical as he wasn’t promising but when he cupped your jaw you looked straight into eyes and knew you had nothing to worry about.

‘Okay okay, I promise, yeah?’ he told you, grabbing your hand out of your lap so he could link your pinkies together and you smiled for the first time that day at the gesture. ‘I pinkie promise you it stays between us. Now spill’

You tried your hardest to tell him, the words stuck on the tip of your tongue and it took a few tries but he never tried to rush you. Giving you the time he needed you gather yourself and get the words right but it was like you’d forgotten how to speak.

‘I can’t Mase, I can’t say it’

‘Why not?’

‘Cause if I say it then it’s happening and-‘

‘Whatever it is, no matter how bad you think it might be, I’m here yeah?’ He told you. Stroking your cheek so you could look at each other properly. ‘I’ll always be here. You’re not on your own at all so just tell me and we can face it together’

‘I’m pregnant’

The words came out as a whisper and you weren’t even sure if Mason understood at first but when you watched his face contort into one of shock you knew he had. All the breath in his lungs being expelled at once as what you’d said hit him like a slap in the face, but now you’d said it out loud the words came pouring out of you like word vomit.

‘I found out a few days ago and I’m way further along than I was expecting and it’s all just such a mess. I didn’t want to add more pressure onto your plate with the final coming up but I didn’t know who else to tell I’m so so sorry Mase-‘

‘You do not need to apologise, okay? You have nothing to be sorry for’ he whispered and you could see he was trying his hardest to comfort you but he was also stunned by what you’d told him. ‘Sorry I feel like I’m being shit but I don't know what to say’

‘No it’s fine, I don’t know either’ you laughed and the fact you’d cracked a bit made him smile. Pulling you into his chest so you could cuddle into him and when his fingers began to massage over your scalp you felt yourself melt.

‘Are you okay? Like are you feeling okay?’ He whispered into the side of your head and you nodded softly.

‘I’m a bit sick but I’m fine I promise’ you told him looking back up into his big brown eyes and it was as clear as day how much he cared and how worried he was for you.

‘So Jack left when you told him?’ He asked carefully but all you could do was nod knowing your voice would fail you. ‘I’ll kill him. I swear to god I’ll kill him’

‘Please don’t, I just wanna forget he ever existed’ you sniffed before looking down into your lap so you could let your tears fall.

‘Look at me’ he whispered, taking your face in his hands again so he could kiss your forehead and you felt yourself relax in his hold. Looking up at him through your tears but you could see he was calming down. ‘He never deserved you. The both of you, okay?’ He mumbled. Your eyes spilling over as he referred to you as a pair and even though you were petrified you knew you’d be okay as long as you had your best friend. ‘I don’t care what you say, I’m here now and I’m taking care of you’

‘No mase, you can’t-‘

‘I don’t wanna hear it okay.’ He cut you off, tucking your hair behind your ears. ‘Call it payback or whatever for when I left for a year but you’re not on your own. I’ll do whatever you need me to’

‘Mase-‘

‘You need to do one thing for me though, okay’ he asked and you had no idea what it was but you were willing to do just about anything for him right now. ‘I need you to tell your mum’

You knew he was right, there was no way you could hide this from her and you’d need all the help you could get but the prospect of telling your family terrified you. You knew this wasn’t what they wanted for you and the thought of disappointing them hurt but you knew deep down he was right.

‘Will you come with me?’ You asked quietly and his face softened immediately.

‘Of course I will’

‘Okay, let me just go to the loo and sort myself out and we can do it’ you smiled. Leaving him alone in your room for a moment but you had no idea what he was about to do as he reached for his phone and called the one person he needed to talk to.

‘Hello?’

‘Don’t talk and don’t put the phone down’ he said lowly, his mind scrambled with what he wanted to say but in the end he blurted it all out. ‘I’m just calling to tell you you’re a piece of shit and if you dare thinking about coming near her again I’ll rip your fucking head off’

‘Oh give it a rest mate, you think I give a shit?’ Jack laughed and the sound made Mason want to punch something. ‘You should be thanking me anyway, I know you’ve wanted me out of the picture since I got there. Not that it makes much difference, she still picked me even when you were begging for her’

‘Shut the fuck up’ Mason spat but it made no difference. Jack was still laughing at him down the phone like he thought he was pathetic and it made Mason want to scream.

‘Don’t call me again and I won’t call you. And don’t worry, I don’t plan on being near her anytime soon’

‘How can you be like this? You’re gonna chuck it all away for no reason?’

‘I never wanted a kid, that was never in my plans. She can do what she wants but I’m out. Just like I’m out of this conversation. I would say good luck with everything but I don’t mean it’ he said before hanging up and Mason could only just contain his rage.

How could he say that about you? You’d stuck with him for so long and Mason knew how much you loved him so to hear him speak about you in this way infuriated him. Mason was never Jacks biggest fan but he’d always been respectful for your sake and now he wished he never had been.

‘Mase, you coming?’ You called, your head poking into your room to see him looking furious but as soon as his eyes fell on you his whole face changed.

‘I’m here love, sorry’ he smiled. Popping his phone back into his pocket and meeting you by the door so he could take your hand and lead you downstairs. It was safe to say you were terrified but as long as you had Mason you knew you could get through this.

Telling your mum you were about to become a single parent was one of the hardest things you ever had to do, but she could see how upset and scared you were and thankfully wasn’t hard on you. Begging you to stay home so she could look after you and you took her up on the offer so you could be closer to Mason and away from the home you used to share with Jack. Even staying with him some nights just for a break and you always felt your happiest when you were next to him.

He did everything for you. He cooked, he cleaned, he even did your washing and when the time came for his big game he called you as soon as he could after he’d won to let you know it was you and your little pickle that pushed him over the finish line and gave him the strength to win.

When he had a small break from football he took you away for a few days just the two of you and you knew what you must have looked like to other people but you never corrected them. You just held his hand and let him treat you even if you did feel awful about it but in the back of your mind you wanted people to think you were together. That you had your life in order and the father of your child was in the picture rather than off doing god knows what because you weren’t good enough for him.

Pregnancy was tough. You felt sick most of the way through it and even though you were trying your hardest to make out that you were fine, you were still mourning the loss of the man you thought you’d be spending the rest of your life with. You kept your sadness private though, waiting until you were in the safety of your bedroom of a night to let your tears flow.

It took a while but you knew it had to stop. Your life still had to move on without him and you had a whole new human to think about. If he didn’t want to be a part of your lives then that’s his choice but it was also your choice to give your baby the best life you could.

Mason couldn’t make it to your first scan but he made sure to take you to your second. You could tell he was unsure about if you wanted him to actually come in with you or not but you just nodded your head in the direction of the door and he followed you in with a huge smile.

‘I see your red lipstick is back’ he commented as he helped you up onto the bed but all you could do was send him a smile. It was rare you’d worn it over the last few years as Jack always complained when you did but now you were free of him, you were free to wear it again. Feeling more like yourself with each day that passed.

‘So todays the day’ the nurse smiled as she gelled your belly up. ‘What have you decided?’ She asked but Mason was looking at you confused. He had no idea what an important scan this was but you just smiled at him before turning to her.

‘I want to know’ you confirmed but Mason just looked at you like you were speaking another language.

‘Am I missing something here? Want to know what?’

‘What I’m having. I can find out if it’s a boy or a girl today’ you told him and his eyebrows almost got lost in his hairline he was that shocked.

‘Oh’ he smiled. ‘Wait you’re just gonna find out now? No big gender reveal or anything?’

‘Nah, I don’t fancy it’ you shrugged. ‘I’ve got the most important person here who needs to know so I don’t see why I should wait. What do you think?’

‘Let’s do it’ he smiled, his eyes sparkling as they filled with tears and you squeezed his hand to let him know it was okay as the nurse began the search for your little one. ‘What am I having then? A niece or a nephew’ he joked, squeezing your hand gently as she moved the probe around and she let out a little laugh before her eyes fell to you.

‘Y/n… you’re having a little girl’

You didn’t realise you were crying until you felt Mason's lips on your forehead. Warm trickles spilling down your cheeks at the gesture as you covered your face with your free hand.

You’d told yourself you would be happy with whatever your baby was but deep down you knew you wanted a girl. A little mini you who would be your absolute best friend and now you knew you were getting your wish you couldn’t hold your sobs in. The nurse leaving the pair of you alone so Mason could help you calm down and after a few more forehead kisses and reassuring words in your ear you were semi back to normal.

‘Sorry Mase, it’s just a lot’

‘I know, love. It’s okay though, you’re allowed to get upset’ he reassured you and before you knew it you were getting packed up to leave and go home with fresh pictures of you little girl in hand.

You made a quick stop in the loo before you left, something that was now becoming a regular occurrence and once you were out, Mason was nowhere to be seen. You wondered if he’d maybe been mobbed by fans and had to go and hide but as soon as you got your phone out to text him he appeared. A sly smile on his face as he hid his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie and you eyed him curiously until he let out a giggle.

‘Where did you go?’ You asked him, the smile on his face contagious as he tried to suppress it.

‘The gift shop’

‘Why? Isn’t it full of flowers and get well soon cards?’

‘There was a lot of that yes, but I wanted to get my niece her first teddy’ he smiled, reaching back into his front pocket and pulling out a little giraffe teddy with a pink bow tied round the bottom of its neck and you felt your eyes sting for the millionth time that day.

‘Oh Mase’ you whispered. ‘That must have cost you an arm and a leg in there’

‘Worth it’ he smiled and when he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, you let him lead you out to the car to go home.

As you neared the end of your pregnancy you were ready for it all to be over with. Your little pickle wasn't so little anymore and everything was hurting. The worst were the Braxton Hicks contractions and even though you’d been having them for a few weeks now, the ones today felt worse. You weren’t due to give birth for another two weeks though so you knew it was nothing serious however after a call to your midwife she advised you to come in and stay the night to be observed.

You called Mason that night once you were settled in, letting him know you were staying over as a precaution and even when he tried to protest you made him stay home. He had a big game the next day and you didn’t want him to worry and get himself in a tizz when you’d be chilling in bed all day and by the time you were both ready to sleep he was pleading with you to see you afterwards. Agreeing that he could come and visit you after his game and you went to sleep excited that you’d be able to see him tomorrow.

As far as games go, it was a good one for Mason. He stuck to his promise and scored you a goal, his first of the season, which was then followed by 2 more. His first Chelsea hat trick and you just wished you would have been able to watch it in a little more comfort.

As soon as Mason could get out of there he did. Discreetly letting the staff know what was happening so they let him go without another word and even though all his team mates wanted to celebrate, there was only one place he wanted to be.

He knew he had time but he also wanted to get to you as quickly as he could so he only made one stop to pick you up a few things and he made it to the hospital by 6pm. Thankfully your mum had told him where abouts in the hospital he had to go and once he made it to the maternity ward reception he didn’t have to look far to know what room you were in. Your mum walking out looking more emotional than he’d ever seen her and once she caught sight of him she ran over to give him a big hug.

‘Is she alright? I text her a few times but she didn’t reply so I presumed she was asleep’

‘Oh Mase’ she sobbed. ‘She’s here’

‘What?… what do you mean?’

‘She was born about half an hour ago, it all happened so fast’ your mum told him but he was stuck frozen.

‘Is everything alright? Are they both fine? I got here as quick as I could I had no idea-‘

‘They’re both fine Mase’ she reassured him. Holding him but his arms in hopes he would calm down. ‘Why don’t you go in and see them. I think she was about to have a nap but she’ll be over the moon to see you’

‘Okay’ he whispered. Eyes trained on the door your mum had just emerged from and with a gentle push he was making his way over.

Mason had never been so nervous before, not even before he took his penalty earlier did he feel like this but the excitement took over and before he knew it he was pushing the door open to reveal you sat up in bed and even though you looked frightened and exhausted, your eyes were full of love and he couldn’t wait to hold you.

‘Mase’ you breathed, your bottom lip wobbling as he rushed to your side, dropping all his bags in the process so he could hug you and as soon as his arms were around you you cried your heart out. All of your emotions and hormones spilling out of you as the comfort of your best friend engulfed you and he let you cry it out fully. Pulling back as your breathing started to regulate so he could kiss your cheeks and take a good look at you. ‘I’m so sorry, they told me it would be hours-‘

‘Do not say sorry, yeah’ he whispered. Pushing the hair out of your face so he could get a better look at you and the look of pride on his face made you dizzy. ‘Are you okay? Are you in pain?’

‘Yeah, it hurt like fuck’ you laughed, wiping your eyes before he took your hands in his. "They said it would take hours and then all of a sudden I was fully dilated so I couldn't even get the epidural’ you told him and his face softened. ‘I think she was just too excited to see you and congratulate you for your hat trick’ you laughed tearily and his face crumpled a little bit. ‘You played so well Mase I’m so proud of you’

‘Are you kidding me? You just pushed a whole human out. I’m proud of you’ he told you as his eyes flickered all over your face. ‘And you’re the only woman I’ve ever known give birth in red lipstick’

‘I wanted her to know what type of woman she’s got for a mum as soon as possible’ you told him with a laugh. ’Do you wanna meet her?’ You asked quietly, knowing he’s been waiting months to finally see her and the bright smile he sent your way to you all you needed to know.

‘Please’ he whispered shyly, so you nodded him over to sit in the chair next to your bed before leaning over the other side so you could pick her out from her crib. Luckily enough she was still awake and you kept your eyes on Mason's face as you handed her over.

It was like love at first sight, his eyes filling up with tears that he tried to blink away as his lip wobbled but he was a natural when he held her. Getting her comfortable in his arms as best he could before he stroked her little face and you could tell from his ragged breathing he was overwhelmed with everything.

‘Oh y/n she’s your double’ he whispered. Tracing her features gently and your heart was racing at how he was with her.

‘Yeah, you think?’

‘Of course, she’s perfect’ he whispered, softly trailing his finger dow her nose as she looked up at him in wonder but your moment was only short lived as your midwife came back in to check on you and her eyes caught Masons immediately.

‘Ooooh a boy, what’s your name handsome?’ She giggled and you laughed at his frightened face.

‘This is my best friend, Mason’ you explained and she gave you an over exaggerated wink before directing her attention back to him.

‘Well Mason, I’m not sure if you know this but babies really benefit from a little skin to skin when they’re born.’

‘What?’ He breathed. Looking at you for help but the shrug of your shoulder let him know you weren’t about to help him.

‘It’s true, releases good hormones apparently and will help her immune system’

‘I’ve only just got here and you already want me bloody undressed’ he muttered, passing you back your little bundle of joy before undressing his top half and you felt your heart flutter a little at the sight of him. You hadn't seen him in this state for a long time and you couldn't believe how much he’d bulked out but you pushed everything down as you began to unwrap your daughter to hand over to him. Feeling yourself melt even more as he settled her back against his chest and you wrapped a blanket around them to keep them warm.

‘Hey, y/n? Have we got a name yet? I want to introduce myself properly’ he told you seriously. You’d had a name for a while but you wanted to make sure it fit her face and you wanted to discuss it with him too just in case he thought it was a bad idea.

‘I think I do, yeah. Mase this is Ginevra, Gee for short’ you told him softly. ‘I wanted to name her after my Italian great grandmother, you know the one I only met once?’

‘I remember’ he smiled ‘Hey baby Gee, it’s so nice to finally see you’ he told her looking down into her eyes that were staring right back into his. ‘We’re gonna be best friends, me and you’ he told her. Listing off all the adventures he was planning for them and you knew in that moment that it didn’t matter about Jack or anyone else, she would always have Mason.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship between the pair of them and even though being a new mother was difficult and required a lot of adapting, Mason always made sure he gave a helping hand.

You felt awful, letting him give up his free time to help you raise a baby that wasn’t even his but you could see he was in his element. His caring nature coming out in full force whenever Gee was around and you loved the way this extended to you too. Not that he hadn't always been caring but it was like he was extra gentle now.

Whenever he had a few hours free he would make sure to visit, even if it wasn’t for long but it always brightened your day to see him and it definitely brightened Gee’s. Next to you, he was becoming her favourite person.

You loved being back at home but there was something missing. A deep need inside of you to stop relying on your family and to give your daughter the life she deserved on your own. You had always tried to be as independent as you could but living off your parents and Mason was starting to take its toll.

Gee was the most special little girl in the whole world. You couldn’t believe you’d created a human so kind and funny and silly and after dreaming about your baby for so long, it was unreal to finally have her in your arms.

You had three months left of maternity leave when work checked in on you. You figured it was just for a general update but after a long talk they were offering you something you couldn’t refuse. A way out of the life you were currently in and you didn’t even think twice before saying yes.

Mason could tell there was something on your mind from the first look at you. He’d come over for a few hours after training just like usual and aside from a quick hello, you mostly sat in silence. Never one to push you though he let you sit a stew for a while as he laid with Gee on the floor. Tapping the toys hanging from the frame attached to her play mat so they dangled above her and as she laughed excitedly he would tickle her tummy to make it even worse so her giggles filled the quiet room.

He was so good with her, which made what you were about to tell him all the more difficult. Not having the courage to do it right then and there but after a little while you couldn't hold it in. Asking him to come and sit next to you on the sofa and he carefully picked up Gee so he could cradle her in his arms as you spoke and you looked on with a big smile as she playfully held his finger.

‘So the company I work for, they’re having a bit of a shuffle around and things are gonna be different when I go back’ you started but his face turned to one of anger immediately.

‘You’re not loosing your job are you? They’re not allowed to do that’ he told you seriously but you just smiled and shook your head.

‘No Mase I’m not losing my job’ you laughed. ‘I’m getting a promotion actually’

‘Oh no way, that’s amazing’ he smiled. His whole face lighting up now he knew they weren’t trying to get rid of you but now you knew the hard part was coming where you needed to explain what was actually going on.

‘Yeah they’re opening a new office and they want me to run my own department there, like it’s all getting set up for when I’m back it’s really exciting’

‘I’m so proud of you’ he smiled but he noticed the way your face had fallen and that you looked slightly nervous. ‘What’s up? You don’t look too happy about it’

‘No I am I am, it’s just, well it’s a big change’ you explained but his kind smile hadn’t faltered and you knew you were about to crush his whole world.

‘I know it is, but you can do’

‘Mase?’ You gulped. Looking down into your lap as you held the heart of the necklace he’d gifted you all these years ago. Hoping it would give you the strength you needed like it always did.

‘Yeah?’

‘It’s in Manchester’

‘What?’ He asked. Looking up to say his face contorted in confusion and even though you knew you had to explain more, a weight felt like it had been lifted.

‘The job. It’s in Manchester’

‘Oh’ he breathed. Looking slightly bewildered by everything you were saying and as he carried on speaking you knew you’d have to break it down a bit more for him. ‘That’s a pretty long commute isn’t it? A couple of hours each way at least. Can you work from home?’

‘I can work from home Mason, yes. But I also need to be in the office’ you breathed. Ready to give him the final blow and as you looked into his sweet brown eyes, you knew this would hurt him more than anything. ‘That’s why I’m moving there’

‘You’re what?’

‘I’m moving to Manchester, Mason’

You watched his face fall, eyes dropping down to Gee who was quietly laying in his arms and when he looked back up you could see his eyes were full of tears.

‘Please don’t take her away from me’ he whispered, his voice thick as his bottom lip wobbled and your heart broke for the boy sitting next to you.

‘No Masey, no I’m not taking her away from you I promise’ you told him, your own eyes burning as you tried to comfort him but you could tell he was distraught at the thought of not being close to her anymore.

‘I can’t lose you guys, I’ve lost you once and I can’t-‘

‘Mase no, come here’ you asked him. Holding your arms out for him to fall into and once he was settled comfortably you scratched over his scalp just how he liked it. ‘You won��t lose us I swear, we’ll be back all the time okay and you can come visit whenever you want. I just… I need to do this. For me’ you sighed. ‘I wanna give Gee the best life I can, okay?

‘I can do that, I’ll give you guys everything you need-‘

‘Mason, my minds made up’

‘But why’ he pouted. Knowing there was more to the story than you were giving him and the look in his eyes made you realise you had to be completely honest.

‘I can’t be here anymore Mase. Everywhere I look I see him and I just hate feeling like this. I need a fresh start’ you confessed and you watched his face drop instantly as a look of understanding washed over him.

‘Hey hey, it’s alright’ he whispered, sitting up and pulling you into his side. ‘If it's what you need to do then I’ll support you, okay? I’m not gonna sit here and act like I’m thrilled about the whole thing but whatever you need then I’m here for you’ he reassured you.

‘Thank you’

‘And you best believe I’m gonna be visiting every second I get a chance so you better get somewhere with a guest bedroom’

‘I will, I promise’ you laughed. Trying to hold back a sob but it was no use. Yes this was what you needed but it was tough on everyone and you hated upsetting Mason more than anything. ‘You knew you’re always gonna be my best friend Mason. Distance won’t change that’

‘I hope so’ he whispered tearily and you felt your heart break for the millionth time.

Tag list - @saltyheartnightmare @harvestmount @prideofpd @sid-vii @carlottawllms @footiehoemcfc @katharinanadiaa @whenelifallsinlove @neverinadream @cityzenchick @msnmnt @stikkibun @masonmtxo @chillymountsjess @yoursselo @maseymm @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps @leclerc13

[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore: Dating, Marriage, Sex, etc

Part 1/2

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest, etc etc etc]

DnD isn't exactly a dating sim, so most of this lore comes from mining Ed Greenwood's answers to questions, but since his answers are apparently canon unless and until contradicted in published realmslore, here you go.

It's mostly in regards to human culture (and the Heartlands, Waterdeep etc at that) but I'll throw in some demihuman stuff here and there.

So sexuality, and the norms and moral values Torilians build around it: More tolerant and kinkier than Earth, for the most part, and still not a perfect bed of roses. (You won’t face legal oppression; you can get called slurs.)

Attitudes in the Realms

Dating

Sex (and a bit about contraception and conception)

Sexual Orientation

Polyamory

Cut for space and expected in the follow up: marriage, sex work, religion, and the absolutely deranged shit going on in some noble families.

-

Attitudes about relationships in the Realms

The long and short of it is that the root of Toril’s mainstream attitude towards sex and relationships draws from the sexual revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Cultural variations on and subversions of these norms occur, but the rule of thumb, especially as it applies to the video games is as follows:

Sex is not a terribly big deal nor innately taboo; pseudo-puritan attitudes are solely the province of some old high priests on a few religions in a minority of a minority. Virginity and the loss thereof is meaningless unless you're nobility.

Pretty much anything is legal so long as all parties involved are capable of giving and gave consent on most of the planet (though legal isn’t the same as ‘approved of’).

Of course TSR, and later WotC, fell very much on the side of ‘we can’t publish that!’ So it got massively obscured. It only really came through now and again, usually in sly little hints that could get past the radar/editors, becoming more obvious with 4e and 5e (Although Sune and Sharess were flat out stated even back in 2e to ignore gender when they’re in the mood to seduce mortals, and we'd already had Mystra saying that gender is basically just a costume for gods (which Mask illustrates.))

The Realms itself still has bigotry to go around, of course, but generally it's the clergy of a select few gods and the nobles who'll make a fuss about such things, and the latter only in regards to their own social circles and inheritance shenanigans. A traveling merchant who encounters a culture that practices forms of relationships he personally disproves of was probably raised to be polite and keep the slurs unsaid; diversity encourages trade, offending your neighbours does not.

What is and isn’t morally acceptable to an individual is determined by church doctrine and dogma (which determines many of life’s aspects, including love and sex and what's good or bad (chastity vs promiscuity, monogamy vs polygamy, whether procreation is mandated or not or even a sin, if loving people instead of despising them is a sin or not, and what acts are taboo))... and all that as interpreted by the local priests, who may not agree with their fellows’ interpretations. Some gods declare chastity a sin and want you to engage in as many romantic and/or sexual relationships with as many different people in as many different ways as humanly possible. Loviatar mandates BDSM and Ilmater doesn't frown on it either.

Most deities probably aren't going to discriminate. Gods see the universe in terms of their portfolio: what aids it is good what opposes it is bad. Most portfolios aren't terribly impacted by mortal love lives and hormones so I suspect the vast majority of gods could not care less, and, as per Faiths and Avatars, the gods 'generally try to be as liberal as possible to try and attract as much worship as they can.'

With Toril being polytheistic all of these gods are due respect and conflicting dogmas are just a fact of life. Several times a day a person is likely to be confronted with a choice – usually a minor one – where one action will serve some gods and be a sin in the eyes of others, and the rule of thumb is that everybody accepts you can’t please all of them all the time. You live according to the gods you favour above all others and respect the faiths of those you don’t: you expect that people will mind their own business and do them the same courtesy.

In the majority of the realms, including the cities and realms of the Heartlands, Silverymoon, Waterdeep and etc, at least, people are open minded and tolerant. A rule of thumb is that cities are more liberal and rural areas more conservative, but even then their norms and values don’t necessarily match the modern earth norms that might spring to mind; the nuclear family unit is not necessarily seen as default and polyamory is very common in some villages.

Largely, there’s not a whole lot of emphasis put on identifying your sexuality or making it a big part of who you are: most Torilians wouldn’t understand the point of drawing attention to sexuality outside of occasions where it’s actually relevant. If you were visiting Baldur's Gate and pointed out two men getting married at the temple of Tymora the people around you would be utterly confused about why you felt the need to single out the gender of the couple.

‘Individuals may find [queer relationships] too much for themselves to handle, but the laws and general attitudes of society don’t frown on it.’

You may have to ‘pick your neighbours and friends’ to live comfortably, but that’s significantly easier to do on Toril than Earth especially because you should have no reason to worry about persecution or discrimination under the law for deviating from whatever moral code a particular priest might be espousing.

Bastard children and wedlock don't cause a fuss so long as you're not a highborn (or found to have cheated on your partner, one assumes).

Contraception is widely available and family planning is emphasised; you are firmly encouraged to use it in a dangerous world where famines and disasters mundane and supernatural mean babies at the wrong times can lessen the chances of survival (for you and them).

-

Dating

Somebody who catches your eye is 'glim,' as in 'oh no he's hot' or 'she's well fit' or whatever. A Torilian who's very attractive is 'right glim.' As in they're 'glimmering.'

A term for a pair of lovers is 'brightbirds.'

Your 'fancyman,' 'fancylad,' or 'fancylass' is what your disapproving relatives will call your lover that you insist on seeing for reasons that escape them.

Waterdhavians call the target of their affections their 'rose,' which may get confusing as in other dialects a 'rose' is the slang term for a submissive woman in a Dom/sub relationship.

Red and black are considered the erotic/'sexy' colours. Garments featuring black lace and leather in particular.

Many priests, curiously, seem to find potential partners more attractive if they get a tattoo of their deity's holy symbol.

You can advertise your interest by wearing an artificial rose pinned to one shoulder: red signals that you're looking for a long-term romantic partner and black shows you're looking for sex. If the rose is made of steel then it indicates you're looking for a partner of the same gender. Wearing multiple roses indicates you're looking for multiple partners, but you might expect some raised eyebrows or comments if people think you're being overconfident. It's very rare to see women doing this looking for men, since it's thought of as a 'man thing' (wlw doing this to seek each other out apparently don't count to said men).

Sunites, as devotees of the goddess of love and beauty, are available for matchmaking services, advice and make overs.

Dancing - especially erotic dancing - is a large part of courtship trends across the cultural board. Which might tie in to the fact that all the goddesses of lust and love - Sharess/Zandilar, Sharindlar, Sune, Sheela Peryroyl, and to a certain extent, Lliira - are dancers or have dancing as a thing within their faith. Lliiran clergy give dancing lessons, and Sharessans and Sunites probably don't mind teaching either.

The only description of what a one might wear if one is feminine and wants to dress up and look fancy in human culture - the equivalent of a 'little black dress' - is a simple black gown with a high collar and plunging neckline in the front (the latter of which is optional). It's matched with a sash and boots and some small jewellery. If you want to 'dress down' the gown is pinned open to expose either bare skin or the underlying chemise (if you're going for a 'classy' look it'll be lacy and white).

Dwarven courtship involves a slow exchange of crafts made by ones own hand (this can be tools or physical artwork or things like poems and songs, the point is to illustrate your skill and the care you put in). You send it to the dwarf you're interested in, and hopefully they respond in kind. You then spend years doing this and slowly getting to know each other, eventually moving in and seeing if you can settle into something that can last past the initial spark before tying the knot.

Elven courtship apparently involves poetry, songs, and yet more erotic dances.

Drow have courting games called 'spider hunts' usually played at festivals by young drow, which are basically hide-and-seek.

-

Sex (and a bit on procreation)

You can't just fuck somebody right in the market square, but borderline public sex hidden on a rooftop, or ducking into an empty alleyway is pretty common and tolerated behaviour. You are, however, encouraged to keep your shenanigans off the streets lest you 'scare the horses,' take yourselves home or to the nearest festhall/brothel, and keep your 'public displays' limited to appropriate festivals (Greengrass, for example, which is a fertility festival and usually involves dropping all inhibitions for the day).

Lingerie comes in black and red and lace clouts (underwear) and dethmas (bras) which can be readily bought in most cities. Lace-up boneless corsets and shapewear are available as unisex garments.

Sex toys named as existing include whips, dildos, clamps and 'tingling creams.'

I've heard something about halfling orgies, but have found no details beyond 'exotic food.'

And in the Realms you're more likely to say 'rutting' rather than 'fucking' when being vulgar/casual about sex. Unlike 'fuck' it doesn't seem to double as a curse.

If you're considering bedding a priests be warned that as gods are said to derive power from having their name said aloud priests tend to call their gods name in bed. Fervently. The enthusiasm and emotion behind it is supposed to have a positive effect.

Elven foreplay involves sensory deprivation and ear nibbling.

Contraception, as mentioned, is stressed upon. People are concerned about plagues, famines, monsters and other concerns that lead Faerûnians to place a lot of importance on family planning. Contraception is generally delivered via divine magic - a cleric or druid can render you temporarily barren/sterile, guarantee conception or freeze a pregnancy at its earliest and least detrimental stages to be resumed at a safe date. People can ensure that their children will be born in times when it's best for them to be born. Elves have apparently mastered birth control, and it's basically impossible to get a child from an elf when they don't want one.

You can also ask the gods nicely and if you make sufficient offerings the deity can also rearrange your organs a bit to change the way you procreate (or possibly allow you both methods). Generally people will ask the deity they have the most positive relationship with, but Sune and Lliira are the favoured choices in the pantheon. Of the gods not recommended are Bane, Shar, Malar (whose idea of the perfect transformation is lycanthropy) and Selûne (who gladly supports you, but she's considered too mercurial and everchanging. She's not one transition she's eternal, ever shifting transition beyond the human physical endurance or mental comprehension.)

Arcane magic can manage physical modification via transmutation and glamours, which people often play with either as part of exploring their gender identity or just for fun, but transmutation via divine magic is vastly superior at allowing you to be fertile after the change if that's a goal. Arcane magic struggles with that. Arcane magic that allows for surrogacy and sort of IVF apparently exists, having been invented by a pair of liches that wanted a child for whatever reason, but I don't know how commonplace that is.

-

Sexual Orientation

Most people freely experiment in their youth, working out their preferences. Heterosexuality is the default, with bisexuality making up a sizeable second place and other sexualities constituting a fairly sized but unremarkable minority.

Obviously, the Isle of Lesbos does not exist and so neither does the world ‘lesbian’; Toril doesn’t have Earth’s terminology, it has its own words. It should be noted that some can be used in a derogatory fashion, although, considering reality, they could very well be reclaimed or have been stolen terminology twisted into slurs. The given terms, in Common, are:

Thruss - Lesbian Liyan - Gay man (elvish slang loanword) Praed - Gay man (gnomish slang loanword) Tasmar - Bisexual (masc.) Shaeda - Bisexual (fem.) (elvish slang loanword) 'No-thorn' - Asexual

Butches (‘harnor’) and effeminate mlm (‘dathna’) are liable to get scorn for their gender presentation more or rather than their sexuality.

-

Polyamory

In some lands (unspecified which ones) it's unremarkable and even expected for a relationship to be open by default.

While obviously it's not socially acceptable to jump into anybody's bed with no consideration of your partner's feelings on the matter, it's not a foreign idea to see love and lust as separate concepts.

In rural areas one can find villages that definitely don't follow the nuclear family model with mixed families living under one roof, and symbolic polygamous marriages may factor into the traditions of some seasonal festivals. For example in Turmishan a farmstead is traditionally inhabited by a family consisting of four married people, usually two men and two women.

[ashdreams2023]

Helloooo can I ask for Loki x autistic reader where reader has a meltdown because they’re really overstimulated. And reader gets kinda snappy at him because of it? Pls fluff tho. Sending love!!!

Cape

You’re breathing was getting rigged as time passed, too many people were talking around you and so close for your comfort.

The pathway to the exit was closed by groups and important people.

You should’ve stayed in your room but you didn’t want to be left out, so here you in an outfit that felt too uncomfortable after a few hours of wearing it and shoes that hurt your feet.

"Try this, it taste sweet!" Then came Loki holding yet another colorful cocktail that most likely gonna get him too wasted to realize what’s happening around him, for the god of mischief he sure was a lightweight.

"I don’t want to" You grumbled steering away from the glass cup.

"But it tastes great! It’s colorful and isn’t disgustingly bitter like the rest" Loki kept pushing and that seemed to be your last straw at that point.

"Are you deaf?! No means no get it inside your thick skull!" You breathed heavily and then stormed out the place before anyone can see you break down even more.

Loki stood there stunned for a few seconds, he heard whispers but ignored them and immediately ran after you, it wasn’t your nature to just snap at anyone like that much less him.

He follows you until you threw yourself on the one of the empty sofas in the guests room and cried hitting your fist on the pillows.

"Dove…"

"Go away! Everything is so loud! I don’t want to be touched and these clothes Ugh!"

Loki dropped his arms and stared at you, it made sense, he was also skeptical about you attending tonight but also this was your choice, and he couldn’t tell you what to do.

He looked at the bright lights in the room then swiftly with a tap of his fingers they dimmed down, then he went down on his knees beside you, he took off your shoes, noting that your pulled away slightly from him.

Your feet were sweaty and red, no wonder you were all fidgety.

Loki sat down on the floor then sighed "sweatpants or my cape?" He asked, you didn’t respond immediately but after a couple of sniffs and finally looking his way you spoke "Cape" it almost came as a whisper but he heard you loud and clear.

Within second your clothes disappeared and his soft warm cape fell on your skin smoothly like a feather.

A sigh immediately escaped your lips and he chuckled laying his hand flat on your back "Better?"

"…yes." Loki didn’t say anything for a couple of long minutes, he let your breathing regulate again and the color come back to your face.

"I’m sorry…didn’t mean to be rude to you"

"It’s ok, I understand, I used to hate the Asgardian galas that father did, everyone would get drunk and play rough games, I counted the seconds until it was over"

"I see, do you hate the parties here too?"

"No…not as much anyways, the drinks tastes better and I have you around"

"Even when I ruin your fun?" you sat up pulling his cape over your body.

Loki smiled at you with nothing but adoration "there is no fun without my love" then he got closer and planted a kiss on each of your tear stained cheeks "Now are you hungry?"

You smiled softly and nodded your head "Starving"

"Pasta?"

"Sounds perfect"

[aceandanxious22]

Serious question based on an observation:

Why do people like Amanda so much but not Gavin, despite both of them being purposely dislikeable characters?

Gavin is supposed to represent racism. I get that, but he isn't really shown to be an inherently terrible person outside of hating androids.

Amanda, from what I've gathered, is supposed to represent everything we hate about big corporations, and what our future could possibly look like if they continue to grow and become more powerful.

From all the fan art I see of her, they mostly just admire her as a black woman, which is perfectly fine imo. But I see so much praise towards her with no one really talking about what she represents. I just see "wow, beautiful black woman" which, again, is fine.

Gavin, on the other hand, gets tons of hate. I completely understand why. He's a white cop who's ugly side is brought out by androids. He obviously has some serious personal issues and directly represents oppression based on ignorance and intolerance. I understand why people are so quick to rag on him.

However, we're not given much about him beyond what we see on the surface. Hank could be looked at in the same light if we weren't given an opportunity to see directly into his life, allowing us to better understand him and, therefore, sympathize with him. Would people treat Hank the same as Gavin if his storyline was cut? Would Gavin be treated differently if he was given a storyline similar to Hank's?

The community has done a pretty good job at giving Gavin a "redemption arch" which makes him more personable and realistic. I've been observing both sides of why people love him (more specifically, the fandom's version of him) and why people hate him.

I personally think both sides are valid. However, I also believe a character can change over time if given an opportunity. We don't see that opportunity in the game so, naturally, people made one up. I think that's great. A character with potential being explored. But there's still an entire group of DBH fans that will go out of their way to harass people who do give Gavin a chance, and it doesn't seem fair. Most people who do like Gavin, like the fandom version of him. Very rarely do I see people praising his canon character. (Again, everything we see is very surface level.)

The argument I see the most is that he represents racism, which again, couldn't you say the same about Hank? There's no other argument (that I've personally seen) outside of that. But if you completely take away the android element of the game, that argument completely falls apart, because we don't see any other behaviors that suggests he's a flat out racist person. Then again, we don't see much. And that's the point I'm trying to make. We simply don't know enough about him to completely define his character or why he acts the way that he does. I'm not really trying to make an argument for or against him specifically, it's just something I've noticed in the fandom overall. We get entire back stories for characters based on little to no information, and everyone is divided. But when there's a defined character like Amanda, all that is ignored because she's a black character, it seems.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this; I guess I'm just looking for another perspective maybe? To me, there seems to be racial undertones that I don't see many people talking about. I've seen some discussions on Markus arguing weather or not he's a hero or the bad guy. Or some racial implications that don't really make sense within the context of the game or character.

The point of the game is that it directly implies racial elements, no arguments there, but the way people seem to completely miss the point and twist it into something completely different is disappointing. It's part of the reason I'm even writing this. I don't mean to rant but there seems to be an imbalance of fans putting certain characters on a pedistool based on the wrong reasons, skin color being one of those reasons.

Of course, I could be looking into this way too hard, but the amount of Amanda fan art has me a little confused. Maybe I'm the one that's missing something lol. Either way, I'm just wondering what other people think. Sorry for the long post.

[mirroredmemoriez]

More Denlon Thoughts

From finally posting my comparison down below about the Denlon's and John, it made me spiral even more into them.

I have said it there above and I'll say it again- Jeff's test in my eyes accounted the fact his grief would slow him down. John wouldn't have of wanted him to be able to speed through it, especially due to the fact he's getting improv brain surgery. There was a bit of a reliance on the fact that Jeff wouldn't complete his test like, halfway through Lynn's. Which, I believe sometimes the fandom doesn't think about? Yes he's, ''Slow Ass Motherfuckin Jeff.'' However, if he wasn't Saw 3 would've been way shorter- Like imagine he showed up before Amanda was having her full blown breakdown? And or mid brain surgery. Another thing I mentioned is the fact that in comparison, Lynn is handling her test much better than her husband... And in turn this actually makes him seem even MORE slow than before. What we have to think about here is though, Lynn was not dubbed the ''best'' in regards to her medical pursuits for no reason. The playing field is working way more with her, the biggest stress and issue Lynn faces whilst going through her test is Amanda. Otherwise, if you took that factor out? Yes she may be using shit like a power drill but Lynn is a fucking amazing doctor. We get to see this even before she was kidnapped because it can be said she should've been there sooner, but when she helped that patient in the hospital she literally stabilised him in almost a minute flat whilst disregarding the other doctors inputs.

Lynn's test doesn't have her constantly facing her own grief and in comparison to Jeff? We don't know whether or not she even holds a shred of need for vengeance like he does. The most we know about the impact it has had on her, is she's now addicted to anti-depressants, neglects Corbett and her marriage is so fractured she's having an affair. One thing I'll hone on in here is the child neglect... We don't get to see the way Lynn does that as much as we do Jeff. The assumption is her long work hours and being out well... Having that affair! But also how active would Lynn have been in her children's lives even prior to Dylan's death? She to me is the main ''breadwinner'' let's say and Jeff is more so the one who is regularly looking after the children, because Lynn is a literal brain surgeon where generally surgery can last from 3-5 hours to even 5-7! How much did her role as a parent change when Dylan died in regards to how active she is in Corbett's life?

Shuffling back to the games- It's also such an interesting concept to think of Lynn going through Jeff's test, I stated this before in my previous post but it's still an ever running thought for me. Jigsaw tests tend to always be specifically designed for the person within them- In the Denlon's case they're being tested for almost the exact same reason... They are husband and wife after all. So although I don't think that means oh yeah they can be inter switched! Everything is still very close to home for the both of them. Like if Lynn was face to face with Timothy Young the way Jeff was, that is the man who killed her son. Mistake or not. It's whether or not she can or wants to forgive. Lynn in theory and I guess also in practice really, is good at detaching her emotions from what is at hand. Does she like John? No- But will she ignore that in favour of living? Yes! The same way possibly in her career she has had to save the lives of people morally she doesn't agree with. However, as previously mentioned- This is so much more closer to home. So does that all go out the window for her? We just don't know.

I'll stop here for now because I'm a mad man who rambles too much- Thanks for reading if you've got this far down! -MAL OUT

[emblemxeno]

Eik wins but because Baldr wins both sides are doing the same thing um no? Baldr is any sexy booby oc in a sea while Eik is the rare male fanservice character in a sea of women, a lot of people rallied around to prove male fanservice sells too but now we have the straight men being all “let’s agree all fanservice is bad “and I JUST WANT YO SHAKE THEM you don’t get constantly sexualized in everything while men can just be themselves and get catered to in everything and it pisses me off they refuse to see it and didn’t have a problem until now and now its both are bad I’m so tired. And here’s the thing I’m a sex repulsed asexual so I don’t like it period (hate this world) but my god how does anyone not see the difference?

Sorry to vent I’m curious on your thoughts on this you have really good analysis on things like this

I think you're spot on in your take tbh.

Like, I'm not gonna police horny stuff, or even generalize that people only vote for horny reasons. Baldr is pretty appealing in different ways. Design is one of them, but personally I also have interest in how they adapt the Norse myth into it (because Norse mythology go crazy) and because the Ojou-sama haughty personality is hiliarious to me.

But to ignore "she's hot" being a factor would be a bit naive. She's in the same position as Gullveig, only known for a couple months yet having a popularity boom because of aesthetic, interest in their story, and probable meme potential. But also cuz hot.

As you say, FEH has had no shortage of hot or attractive women. Example: How FEH treats the mainline FE game women, what with the odd (or flat out incorrect) body proportions, poses that make no sense, costumes that are impractical, and blatant imbalance of men and women in the banners themselves.

Even removing them from the equation, we have had many female OCs be massively popular for reasons that are... easy to understand, to be nice about it.

To start, there's the fact that, until this current book, the only free OCs we've gotten were women.

Fjorm, besides having a canon crush on the summoner, has also weirdly been hit with the sex appeal beam recently, with Summer and Ice Festival. Personally I think Fjorm was whatever, but became ironically hiliarious because of her crashing Forging Bonds every time, but I would've easily thought Gunnthra, Laevatain and Laegjarn would've had that "sexy OC" position more often, aside from their swimsuit alts.

Ash, Reginn and Ratatoskr fall into the "cute and bumbling" appeal which is a prominent niche. Peony would seem like an odd case of not having many hornybait fans, but then you realize Plumeria and Triandra were also there, and then Freyja hit a massive popularity surge for her story and design, before getting a sexy swimsuit alt as well. Even then, Peony's still cute. Dagr and Nott hit the "muscle mommy" niche. And Loki and Thorr are sexy and have been somewhat omnipresent.

Eir would be the true oddball, because she's very beautiful with a compelling story, but kind of is not given a lot of stuff.

But the real big example is all of book 7. Not only is Seior kind of infamous for both her design and "create a child with me" line, almost all of the cast was a variant of her/related to her in some way. Then looking at the designs for Book 7 in general, and like... yeah.

Now, compare that to the male OCs we have gotten over the years. Alfonse hits some good notes, but he was criticized as pretty boring early on until Book 3 started him on his cutthroat trend. Bruno is very obviously hot, but always had to be written around rather than written for, until he was flat out killed off in Book 6. Plus his clothes bursting apart to show his bod was kind of played for laughs rather than drawn to be outright attractive.

I think Helbindi and Surtr are hot, but I'm very much an outlier. (There could also be an anti dark skin element to them and Bruno but there's not enough evidence for that)

Lif was treated better than the actual star OC of Book 3, but he's not known for sexy fanservice, he's known for cool factor and being a dark future for Alfonse. Freyr is handsome but killed off mid Book 4. Book 5 had Otr and Fafnir, the latter I like, but neither were winning beauty contests. Same for Elm. Then you get Njordr, the only new man in Book 7, with a design that's not to everyone's taste (I happen to like it), a motivation that's badly undercooked, and has not even been made playable.

Eik was really kind of the first outright "here, we made this to appeal to people who like Muscular Men", considering the fangirling FEH was doing in the midpoint channel. Coming after Book 7 which was the most egregious skew towards fanservice-y designs for the women, and it was a bit of a perfect storm. And while interest in him for his design alone happened ever since Book 8's reveal, the above average writing of Book 8 (for FEH standards) helped him surge even more, along with more fourth wall breaking "you're interested in my muscles?" lines from him.

So, contextually, as you say, it's not a fair comparison for Eik and Baldr, because Eik is 1) the first guy who's had fanservice backing and popularity growth fueling it through his Book's story and 2) he had an entire Book to gain fans anyway unlike Baldr and Gullveig.

And definitely, there's major room for a conversation about misogyny regarding how women in media often have to be made attractive and sexy while the men get to be weird creatures and oddly shaped. FEH doesn't really treat many of its women as more than things to sell to horny people, and Eik was the first example of a man doing it, which was so uncommon that he got a lot of fans just for being different.

I wish that wasn't the case, considering the fact that many characters who aren't the typical sexy women have been conistently popular. Look at Veronica and Sharena! Idk why IS still believes that there needs to be curvacious babes in order to sell well when there's evidence that good writing or feel good personalities do just as fine. Women shouldn't just be hit with the "Sexualize Button", I would think that's pretty patronizing and demeaning for irl women and fans of female characters.

[ctimenefic]

So @strawberry-daiquiris wrote an incredible F1 Traitors AU (seriously, go read it) and was kind enough to let me paddle around in the Galex end of the pool.

Many thanks to @latecomersprivilege, for whom this is a belated birthday gift, an almost on time Valentine's gift, and ultimately not what she asked for but what she's getting!

It’s a month since the last episode aired and George hasn’t messaged him.

Oh, he’s in the group chat - he’s the admin of the group chat. He’s posting memes, even the ones about himself, nearly every day. Asking very sincerely after people’s partners, their kids. Adding little crying laughing emojis to almost all the jokes. (Almost all - never Alex’s. Not even once. Which. Come on. Checo’s not even that funny.)

So. Yeah, it’d been bad, at the end, at their last round table together, George damp eyed and smiling through it and Alex nearly fumbling his own defence trying to tell him one more time “it’s just a game”.

But. Like. Not so bad as to cancel out everything else. Or at least, Alex had thought so. Hoped so.

It’s been a month.

Hey just wondering if we shd have a coffee or smthg? Clear the air?

Sure. When?

Nxt wk? Peckham?

(George told him all about his little flat in Dulwich, how he properly loved all the twee village-y shit like the wooden sign-posts and bougie cafes, in their murmured conversations in the hotel corridors, heads ducked together and voices low. Alex had taken the piss, but so softly he’d barely recognised his own cadence. That- that had been the first clue, before he’d started noticing how George’s adams apple bobbed when he got loud.

But Dulwich is packed to the brim with Traitors fans, has to be, all middle class mums and families that gather round the telly of an evening to actually spend time together. They’d be spotted in seconds. So Peckham feels safer, crowded and anonymous and too fucking cool to pay attention if Alex has to get on his knees and beg George to- to-)

The cafe’s still a bit posh, which means it’s basically deserted. George is wearing the kind of T-shirt that only fits that well because it’s expensive.

He’s ordered tea already, and Alex wants to remind him to drink up, like he did at breakfast every morning, because George would always get too into their conversation to finish before it got cold. He’d slug it back anyway, wincing, and Alex would pretend to ignore the line of his throat.

“I’m sorry you didn’t win,” George blurts. “I know I- I didn’t help, I know, but after, I did want it to be you. You’d worked so hard.”

Alex stares at him. “I never thought I would. Maybe near the end, a bit, but. Well. I got lucky.”

George pulls a face. “Come on, you were brilliant at it. So convincing. I really thought I’d find out you were, like, an actor or something.”

George smiles at that, small and tight. “Oh, yeah, the office have been so weird about it. Saying they didn't watch, and then making jokes that prove they did. I've stopped paying attention to it.”

Alex tries to laugh, like it’s a joke. Like he hadn’t talked George’s ear off about the practice. How he’d use the money, if they won - as Faithful - to get back to his veterinary degree, properly qualify. “Nah, still at my old place. They’ve, uh, let me take the backroom stuff for a bit, while it dies down.”

Alex nods. Pretends George has got better at lying. “Hope they're not being nasty.”

“Oh, not too bad.” The ‘too’ makes Alex want to snarl, set his teeth in someone's neck. Bastards. And George's blasé tone runs a little thin as he goes on. “Might quit, actually, try the influencer thing for a bit. It's basically the same as sales, just, you know. Different product.”

“You'd be good at that,” Alex tries. “Influential. I'd be, uh, influenced.” In the time it takes George to blink three times, Alex experiences all nine levels of hell and a few more added just for him.

I'd be influenced. Christ.

“How are you doing with that, sponsorships and stuff?” George asks and Alex shrugs. He’s got his fans, the ones who think he was robbed, rather than bottled it. His Insta’s big, now, not millions but, like, decent. Marketable. Problem is, he isn’t.

“Turns out, being known as a really good liar doesn’t get loads of hashtag spon ops,” he says, trying to keep it light. Like money hadn’t been the whole point. George’s face falls, the first unrehearsed expression Alex has seen all morning.

“Oh crikey, I’m sorry, I didn’t- cause it’s been alright, and I was a traitor too, at the end so-”

“Yeah, but I forced you into it, didn’t I? I’m the bad guy.” There’s a decent TikTok edit of him to that Billie Eilish song, all his smiles and laughs and fond looks, set to the beat of sociopathy. It’s very slick; turned his stomach on the second watch. “Plus, you know, you look like that, which probably helps.”

He knows it’s been more than alright for George. He hasn’t liked any of his Instagram posts, too… proud? ashamed? But he’s seen them all, including the Stories, so George must know he’s been there. Or maybe he doesn’t, maybe there’s hundreds of people, and they’re not mutuals, he remembers abruptly. George didn’t follow him back.

He flips his phone in his hands, once, twice; worries at the crack in the screen down by the bottom right corner, just enough to feel the scrape against the pad of his thumb.

George notices, of course. Those big blue eyes, all the better for spotting clues. Terrible at knowing what they meant. “Do you wanna take a picture for insta then? Show people it’s all water under the bridge?”

“Uh, not really? I mean…” it doesn’t feel under the bridge, or air cleared. Alex still feels like he’s choking on it.

That small wrinkle he used to make fun of appears between George’s brows. “Wasn’t that the point of this?”

“Jesus, no, I’m not-” Alex feels sick, properly sick, hot chocolate coming back on him for a second. “I wanted to be friends - I want to be friends. Again.”

“Again,” George repeats, after a beat.

Alex swallows. Presses the tip of his tongue against the edge of his front teeth, where they turn sharp enough to cut, like a bit of pain now will soothe the sucking void where his stomach used to be. “Right, no, of course. Forget it, look, I'll get these and-”

George catches his wrist before he can make a break for it. His thumb lands in the soft spot between the tendons, where Alex’s pulse beats - ha - traitorously fast.

“Wait. You haven't told me how your mum is. And your sisters. And Luca, obviously, and the cats.”

“The cats?”

“Yeah, obviously. Can't go before I hear about the cats, ‘Lex. All of them. So you should probably, um, sit back down.”

So he does.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Fics Including PJ (4) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three

7.45 am (ao3) - TsingaDark

Summary: Dan hates morning classes. The only thing that makes the one on Monday mornings somewhat bearable is the cute guy sitting in front of him.

A Stolen Ring (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan’s not normal. Why?

He's not human, he has a mysterious ring, and he hates Phil Lester. They have a strange past, one filled with bullying and avoidance, but when Dan turns into an incubus, everything changes. He struggles with his identity and cries himself to sleep most nights, yearning to be normal. And somehow the universe makes it worse by bringing him and Phil together - in the most literal sense.

all i want for christmas (is you) (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: Dan has had the biggest crush on Phil for a long time now, but has been too scared to say anything to him. Will he finally get the chance when his group of friends participate in Secret Santa?

(and I spent all night) stuck on the puzzle (ao3) - carltzmann

Summary: It's Phil's first week of his final year of university, so really, he should be used to it by now. He should be able to behave normally when the cute guy down the hall is stepping out of the shower at the same time he's entering the bathroom.

Evidently not.

Burning Bibles (ao3) - cherryheartz

Summary: phil lester loved curly headed boys with tattoos on their arms and a joint made with torn bible pages between their soft lips.

and dan howell was exactly that.

Caller Unknown (ao3) - Marranje

Summary: “Well, can I scam you?”

Dan blinked.

What.

“Did you… did you just ask if you could scam me?”

“Yes. Can I scam you?” he repeated.

“… sure, you can try,” Dan replied, baffled.

or, that scam caller au nobody asked for

candles are how we keep fires as pets (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Dan tries to convince Phil that no, they absolutely cannot adopt the fire sprite that comes to visit their flat every day. Spoiler: He fails spectacularly.

down for the count and i’m drownin’ in ‘em (ao3) - kishere

Summary: they’re stuck in a waiting game, the area of time when Dan knows Phil should be beginning his heat and actually /starting/ his heat. preheat has many side affects including wanting to nest, increased libido, irritation just to name a few.

guess (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: dan and phil work at the same cinema.

theyre 19 in this

If You Don't Love Me, Pretend (ao3) - phantasticworks (steddieworks)

Summary: All his life, Dan has wanted to have the chance to be a parent someday. He would be the best parent that ever existed, he was sure of it. Fostering might not be the most traditional way on the road to parenting, but Dan's dead set on doing it anyway. But, well, it would be easier with a co-parent, right?

the bed-sharing, fake relationship, friends-to-lovers, parent fic i was desperate to read; when i shouted into the void and was met with silence, i decided i'd do it myself

It's So Meta Even This Acronym (ao3) - Dieupardonne, Mazabrei (Dieupardonne)

Summary: Dan Howell and Phil Lester lead anything but normal lives, but they were content with the direction they’d taken and happy with their current situation. But soon, they begin to realize that things aren’t right anymore; they’re not in the world they should be.

“That’s because you’re ruining our fucking lives, you sadist,” Dan said, scowling at the ceiling. He seemed to be ignoring the fact that his insolence would have consequences.

“What stupid trope are you putting us in next?” Phil asked wearily.

“It doesn’t even matter, does it?” Dan said, “They’re going to keep writing it as long as they want. They’ll find a trope.”

“But only if people read it,” Phil said.

“Then don’t read this stupid, overblown story!” Dan yelled at the ceiling, “You’re enabling this horrible author. You’re making us suffer.” While Dan was speaking, Phil had a realization.

“All of this…” Phil said in horror, “All of this dialogue we’re giving. We’re helping them shill this story.”

Like Fine Print (ao3) - totalincandescense

Summary: Every few weeks, Dan was given an unfriendly reminder of at least one of the many reasons why he never went outside.

The most frequently recurring thing on the list being the general existence of people.

But more specifically, the existence of people who flirted with Phil.

Mind Reader (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan's head was always filled with noise. He'd been blessed/cursed with the power to read minds, but not the power to control it. He heard the thoughts of everyone near him, and the constant voices in his head were close to driving him mad.

That is, of course, until he met Phil Lester, the only one who could make his mind go silent.

names of collision in the dark (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: Of enemy kingdoms, Prince Dan and Prince Phil meet one fateful night, leading to a surprising friendship that evolves into something more. As the looming threat of a major battle grows stronger, both princes grapple with their roles and the burdens of leadership, all while their growing bond forces them to confront their own kingdoms’ expectations and the possibility of peace in the chaos.

(aka the dan and phil royal au fic they wrote for the gaming channel but taken seriously)

new horizons (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: “Bry,” Phil says again, crashing to a halt against the table. Someone’s jammed the rickety sliding door to the back garden open and the kitchen is flooded with bright, sweet autumn air that he’s in absolutely no position to appreciate. “My Switch is broken.”

She turns away from the sink to look at him with much less urgency than the situation demands. “Were you playing Animal Crossing in the bath again?”

“No!” he says, much too loud, and there’s a muffled laugh from the other side of the breakfast bar. He notices only a few seconds late that obviously Bryony hadn’t been talking to herself. It’s Dan, oversized black hoodie and shadows under his eyes, clutching a Game of Thrones coffee mug like he hasn’t slept in a week. Which maybe he hasn’t, Phil can never quite get a vibe off him. “That was one time.”

New year, New us (ao3) - BlueFox1319, UnusPhanus

Summary: “Dan hurry we are going to be late, PJ and the others will be here any minute to pick us up! It’s already seven, we need to be at the restaurant by eight!” Phil yelled down the hall at his boyfriend. December 31st, New Year's Eve, every year the pair went out with friends and spent the first night of the new year together. For Dan and Phil, tonight would be a little different though, Phil had been planning this for months .

paint the town blue (ao3) - miku78

Summary: Feeling burnt out from tour planning, Dan and Phil make an impromptu trip to Brighton.

rip the plaster (ao3) - theloveofbees

Summary: dan isn't sure if things are moving too fast or too slow. nothing is going according to plan. he doesn't know what he's doing. but maybe it's time to just rip the plaster.

sk8ter girl (ao3) - ShiwiSins (IetjeSiobhan)

Summary: “She can’t even keep herself on the board for longer than three minutes, what makes you think she could teach you?” PJ asks doubtfully.

“She looks hot,” Dani says, and PJ cackles.

“That’s not a qualification for teaching someone how to skateboard,” he tells Dani wisely.

So, So Much More (ao3) - beaniebopbaby

Summary: Dan blinked, the sun too bright in his eyes. He forgot to draw the curtains last night, and they were now causing sun to beam directly into his eyes.

But that wasn’t the only reason he was waking up. He felt fingers card through his hair, fingernails gently scraping his scalp. He groaned, voice gravely as he spoke “Morning.”

He felt a bare thigh press into his own. He wasn’t answered with words, but a warm kiss that trailed down his neck. His groan turned into a whimper, a name. “Phil.”

Something fragile (ao3) - Bones_the_beloved

Summary: There's something clawing at the back of his throat.

It's always been there, he thinks.

There's an itch at the back of his throat when he looks at himself that he can't quite place. The same thing that grows and claws when someone refers to him by the pronouns he's used and felt comfortable with since birth.

It's not uncomfortable.

But it's something.

-or-

Dangender and how trying to find a word for it is difficult and the support of the people that love you can make all the difference.

Sun's out, nun's out (ao3) - m_katiep

Summary: It's pride month, Phil hears about an interesting drag event. He goes and sees a slutty nun. The nun is the most gorgeous non-binary brunette, who gets horny when drunk. They end up spending a night together <3

The Clock Keeps Ticking (ao3) - tellsfromhale

Summary: Dan has spent over a decade growing comfortable with himself. Finally, he can live his truth, and he can do it with Phil at his side. For the first time, he's excited about what the future holds.

Then, one day, he finds himself suddenly back inside his childhood bedroom a decade in the past, and getting to that future with Phil becomes a lot more difficult.

the metaphors of desire (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: The elbow of Dan’s jacket is smooth leather, stitched on, an unexpected contrast from the woolly fabric around it. His mouth is soft and his body is warm and Phil breaks away with a choked gasp of air.

“Shit,” Dan says, and his big warm hand drops away from Phil’s jaw, and he’s gone.

(in which they're both english professors)

This Could be the End of Everything (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Dan’s finally starting university, the phase of his life he’s been waiting for since he was a small child. His first real chance at freedom, away from his parents. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans for him.

Prompt: au where dan and phil are college students who get separated when they're sent home bc of coronavirus. potential dan isn't out to his parents angst + general ldr angst + fluffy reunion when they get back to campus and everything is over pls

Virtuoso (ao3) - aphroditegf

Summary: Phil Lester and Dan Howell both consider themselves the top selections for the best orchestra at their elite music university, and find themselves competing for the position.

(when you gonna realise) it was just that the time was wrong (ao3) - The_Blonde

Summary: "His notebook is divided into five columns, as much as he can remember. I’m with Dan. I’m not with Dan. Dan is far away from me. I love him, but I shouldn’t. I love him, but I can’t. Dan Howell; an impossible boy turning up in all variations of impossible dreams. The whole reason. The loss of something that you never quite found in the first place."

Or: Phil works in a coffee shop. Or at an animal sanctuary. Or at a university. Maybe he's a Youtuber. Maybe he runs an editing firm. Sometimes he's in the 1920s. In all of these places he has dreams. In all of these places he is in love with Dan. It's just trying to work out which time is the right one.

You’re my new dream (ao3) - danniepanic

Summary: phan but based on tangled. Phil is the lost prince and Dan is the thief. it will not be 100% tangled for example Phil does not have magic long hair, but powers! not everything will be based on tangled, just the story itself is inspired by it.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

You are aware that religion is a major part of people’s cultures and history right?

And what gives you the right to insult billions of people for their beliefs?

You are aware that sacrificing virgins to make the weather amenable to growing crops was a major part of people's cultures and history, right? You are aware that enslaving your neighbors was a major part of people's culture and history, right?

Aside from, what the fuck does this have to do with anything or justify belief in imaginary wizards, it's both an Appeal to Popularity, or Bandwagon, fallacy, and an Appeal to Tradition fallacy.

We stopped sacrificing virgins to the weather, we - well, the west - stopped enslaving people, and we're gradually surrendering belief in supernatural deities. If you're not willing to defend the resumption of slavery and virgin sacrifice on the basis of "cultures and history," you have no basis defending belief in mystical space creatures on the basis of "cultures and history."

May I also introduce you to evolution? Cultures evolve. And history documents those changes. Cultures that do not change go stagnant and die. And history is not a dogma on which to base freezing a culture in one point in time. You really want to see what that looks like? Afghanistan. North Korea.

And I guarantee you that whatever religion is dominant in any given culture overthrew a previous belief system, replaced an earlier culture. So, unless you're willing to unwind Xianity and Islam and reinstate the ancient Sumerian religions or Zoroastrianism, for example, neither you nor I believe a word you're saying. I'm calling full-on bullshit. Islam is notorious for having wiped out every trace of every culture it invaded and replacing it with Islamic supremacy.

Meanwhile, every culture disagrees on the nature of their gods. How many there are, where they came from, how they behave, what they want of humans. There are thousands of gods you don't believe in, without any guilt. All of you disbelieve each other's gods. I just agree with all of you.

So, if you want to play this numbers game, let's be scrupulously honest: there isn't a single religion anywhere in the world where there's more people who believe it than disbelieve it. Not one. Every single religion is a minority in all of humanity.

Religion comes from humanity's ignorance. We didn't have better explanations for the world and we resorted to magic because that was the best we could come up with at the time. But you don't rely on the Humoral Theory of the Ancient Greeks for your medical needs, so why would you rely on equally ignorant beliefs about magical space beings for your understanding of the world and the way it works? Isn't the nature of everything worth a better explanation than fables of magic written before people knew to wash their hands?

You're a hypocrite. Everybody in the world once believed that the Earth was flat, yet you wouldn't worry about a Flat Earther being "insulted." Millions of people believed in Zeus and the Greek pantheon, and many still do, yet you would never feel guilty while laughing at the jokes in Disney's Hercules. Why do you demand I meet a standard that you refuse to?

Not to mention, you come to me like this never worrying whether I might feel insulted. Why do you have different rules for others than for yourself? Why do I have to worry about the feelings of others, when you never have to worry about mine?

What gives me the right? The fact that being insulted is not an argument that defends unsubstantiated nonsense. Anyone can claim to feel insulted about anything simply by asserting it. That doesn't mean anything. All you're admitting is that you think feelings are more important than truth. I reject that.

Your beliefs are for you, not for me. Which means managing your fee-feez is entirely your responsibility, not mine. I will not manage your feelings for you just because you will not or cannot. And if you can't, that suggests a whole lot about the nature of your beliefs and how true they must be. Nobody feels "insulted" when someone disbelieves in gravity. Because gravity is real and doesn't need to be "believed" when it can be demonstrated.

I also have the right because religions are just ideas and people are allowed to criticize ideas. It's how we got better ones, like quantum physics and, you know, the Earth not being the center of the universe. Again, your religion is for you, not for me. Its rules are for you, not for me. I do not need to comply with the rules of your religion. What you're asserting is authoritarianism, which is something people use when their ideas are flimsy and unconvincing. When they can't make a compelling case, they simply threaten.

And I unequivocally reject it.

[twainxavier]

Last Line Tag Game

Tagged by @embroiderling and @samsalami66 thank you both! 😻

So, this is Dead Boy Detectives related (of course it is 🤣👌) and is from an upcoming Catwin Academic Rivals Dark Academia AU fic (so many buzz words 👀) Hope you like it! 🔎💀👻😻👑

TW: Homophobic slurs, bullying, threatening language

When it came back to him, he took a steadying breath, and gave a nod. He watched as Thomas’ feet led the way to the door, and then kept on walking as he followed. Edwin kept his head down all the way back to his old flat. The entire way there he couldn't help but wonder how on earth the two of them were going to move everything he had from one room to the other. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was still probably a lot, and he really didn't want to be in that place any longer than he had to be. He cursed his shaking hand as he raised his key to the lock on the flat door. He could hear voices behind the door, and he just had to hope that it wasn't Simon and any of his friends. He should have known any luck he had had long since ran out by now. “Oh look! The pussy is back! Where have you been, pussy?” a voice Edwin now recognised as Richie's rang out from the other end of the flat. He almost just collapsed on the spot, but then he felt Thomas’ presence behind him. With a breath he forced himself to stay standing and ignore the fear if just so he would not seem as weak as he felt. Instead he just went straight to his door and unlocked it. But before he managed to slip inside, he heard Thomas' voice. “Pussy. Interesting choice of word. I don't see any cats around here, just a bunch of bitches.” Edwin froze on the spot, shocked that Thomas would even try to stand up to these people. He finally looked up at his face again, but all he got was a soft smile. “You go pack your room up. Got anything you want from the kitchen?” Thomas asked, voice light as if he hadn't just called Edwin's attackers bitches. Before he could even formulate a reply for Thomas, Simon's voice interrupted. “So the fag has a bodyguard now?” It was a snide remark, but it lacked the venom it had the previous night. Thomas didn't even look away from Edwin, nor did he drop the gentle smile, so Edwin decided to just follow suit in ignoring Simon and his friend and answered Thomas' question. “Yes, mainly my plates and utensils,” Edwin said, pointing out where to find those things whilst giving Thomas a box. He didn't want to go anywhere near that kitchen again, so Thomas offering to go for him was a blessing he wasn't going to ignore. “Perfect,” Thomas still smiled at him, but Edwin saw it drop the instant he turned towards the kitchen. “I am a friend, not a bodyguard, but what makes you ask that, hmm? You think he needs a bodyguard?” Edwin couldn't see Thomas' face any longer, but he could hear a coldness to his voice that he had never heard before. Just before he shut the door to his room, he heard his attackers backpedal fast in a chorus of murmured ‘no’s.

So there we go, just a hint of protective Thomas, and he's going to say a lot more unhinged things whilst they move Edwin out of this flat 👀

I'm gonna tag @pumpkinkingsalem @stardustloki @seiya-starsniper and @here-be-bec and anyone else who feels like joining in 😻 No pressure of course! Have fun with it!

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

This isn’t like the usual posts I make but, I played through Monster Prom Second Term’s True Calling ending, and what the fuck!!?? TToTT I’ve read before that the reason for the True Calling ending is to expand upon Miranda’s character, but why like this?? Why make fun of their own writing and ignore all they’ve already worked up to? :(

Miranda is heavily reliant on her servants and refuses pretty much all work, that much is obvious. She has her serfs do everything for her while she does whatever she ever desires on a whim, lost and aimless and without a clear purpose, but… wasn’t it always implied that she’s that way for a reason? That reason being her father spoiling her with gifts and money and royal privileges. Her parents already conditioned her to see torture, murder and genocide as normal things! I always figured that her talking about true love and romance and romanticising not-so-good-or-healthy fairytale tropes was a part of that, that her parents more or less raised her to be the perfect little princess whose only purpose is to be married off to a prince of another kingdom to strengthen ties or as a peace offering or something (or for political reasons overall? It is strange that a princess would find herself in a high school of a foreign land, hmm…). That would explain why she really has no aspirations, besides love! She was raised to be that way and she didn’t just decide to be selfish one day.

So, how come the game comes out of left field and has Miranda’s own sister yell at her for being selfish and vague??? Suddenly it’s her own fault that she's spoiled with serfs who’ll do whatever she says? Hello, who gave her those serfs???? Yeah, maybe her sisters are crown heiresses or high priestesses but clearly they were taught those roles! Those were roles that already existed, waiting to be filled! And now Miranda suddenly is the only one who needs to figure out what to be all alone?

Worst of all I can’t believe they’d insult their own writing and literally call Miranda flat :( I know that’s the fandom perception of her but this is your own damn game!! You know how you wrote her! Did you not keep track of all you wrote!? Maybe Miranda’s twist (“sweet mermaid princess is murderous”) is open and out for all to see but that hardly makes her flat. She loves tradition and finds it very important, she’s super into silverware and napkin-folding, she loves singing and water sports (water polo and gymnastics to name two) and fairy tales and stories and she dreams of romance and even though her family’s immoral and murderous ways have been hammered into her so hard she doesn’t know it’s not normal to torture and kill serfs, she’s still kind and worries for people and their well-being, even if they’re commoners! She’s not very “bright” in many things but in the Revenge ending we see her formulate and execute a blackmail plot without any serfs at all, which does require intelligence. Dare I say, just like how everyone has a twist in their personality, another twist of Miranda’s is that she can be cunning when she needs to be? I just can’t believe that they’d go and agree with the people saying that Miranda is flat and make a WHOLE SECRET ENDING TALKING ABOUT HOW FLAT MIRANDA IS instead of… I don’t fucking know. Making a route where they feel they’re actually giving her more depth? They’re just lampshading the issue! They’re talking about how they made Miranda into a flat character and how sad and awful that is instead of doing anything about it.

And they could’ve explored so much too. A character lacking direction in life is already a really interesting thing to explore. They could’ve surely done something with her basically being a tool for her family and kingdom! Alas… Maybe it’s silly to get so worked up about a video game but I don’t know. The game made me feel things. I love Monster Prom but sometimes it is a love-hate relationship :/

[fallenwhumpee]

“I thought you, of all people, would understand why I did what I did.”

Day 27: Reluctant villain | Old friends | Cornered 

• Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Masterlist •

Warnings: Prison, beating, implied past abuse, superpower whump, drugging.

The team just stared as Leader was cuffed and dragged to the police car, and Leader stared back. That was what everything came, the public opinion. They were the sinner in the eyes of the citizens, and laws wouldn't save them even though there was nothing to charge them with— It was self-defense. And before, they protected the city. Got to the hearts of the very people chanting them curses.

It would be too easy to crush the crowd. Get out of the cuffs and kick the door of the armoured vehicle. Attack left and right until the anger boiling in their veins calmed down, demanding justice, and calling everyone out on their hypocrisy.

But they knew the target of their anger was not the guards.

They complied as they were pushed to the prison, too, with a blank face and even breaths. They knew that this was their death sentence. Half of the prisoners were in because of them. Personally. They held back their team often to keep the pressure of caging a life and being watched for the smallest mistake with gaining too many enemies at the cost of putting themselves in this situation.

The prison was noisy, and with them getting in, everyone started to shout at them, the curses and insults they would never tolerate in a normal day only a ring in their ears. They weren't going to give an answer. They weren't going to argue.

But they weren't going to be crushed among the criminals either. They could still feel the power in their veins— weak but there. Enough for Leader to cover the strength gap between them and the thugs.

The guards shoved them into the farthest room. Leader stumbled but caught themselves quickly. The cell was simple, with one bunk and nothing else. Someone was sleeping on the top, so they just took the other. They didn't care who the person was as long as they could stay in silence.

This wouldn't be their first time they were cut from mozt of their powers. This wouldn't be the first time they were abandoned for something else or accused of something they didn't do or even punished with brutal force. There was a reason for reformations in the academy. The agency started to think about the new recruits more after that incident. The next generations would have a more suitable training for their age, but with less... experience.

They ignored what their team would think if they had ever known who really Leader was. They knew they had been shaped into a monster, but they were trying. Apparently, also failing. They lost their control when Youngest was in danger, but didn't harm anyone, except one person. Leader couldn't know the enemy under the mask would be—

They turned in bed, laying flat instead of facing to the door. Their instincts screamed them about not doing, but they were in a high security prison. No one was going to open the door, and they would be awake before their cellmate.

But sleep didn't come, with their hands still cuffed and the lights open. Sometimes, time would blur, but nightmares folded into flashes would jolt them awake.

They didn't expect to wake up with a suffocating feeling on their chest. They trashed, the handcuff pressed hard against their ribs, vision covered by a pillow.

With curses in their mind, they felt the dark energy fuel their sleepy body, pushing the pursuer off of them. They rolled out of the bed, gasping as the world spun around them. They felt drained, and they tried to gather strength, failing. After that, they were at the mercy of their instincts and muscles.

They blinked as the figure replaced with Right Hand, begging them to stop, and they're hurting—

That was not real. Just their power and sleep - also oxygen, probably - deprived mind was playing games. Or the side effects of the suppressants. But at least it snapped them back into control.

The unlucky figure stumbled backwards as Leader slammed the cuffs to their chest. But it wasn't enough, and Leader found themselves across the room by their own power.

Imitation.

Leader darted forward, their hands clawing the figure's neck after slamming them to the wall. The struggle beneath their hands were for vain as they started to feed their strength with their power once more.

Their long history of being exposed to suppressants were paying back as tolerance, and the drugs were weakening as the time of the next dose came.

With a hiss, the cell dor opened, and they were shoved out, their body burning as a guardian hit them with an electrocuted baton. Leader cried as they fell to the floor, their muscles aching. They could barely shield themselves with their arms as the guard continued to hit them. The guard didn't stop until Leader screamed, and by that time, Leader could feel deep bruises forming on their arm.

They were thrown into the cell again, alone, twitching on the ground.

"What was that?"

"You don't know? They brought the agency's champion. One must've tried to kill them. Not much of a surprise, but I thought it would wait until morning. Guards dont like eventful night shifts."

Leader groaned, crawling to their bunk. This wasn't going to be a pleasant stay.

-•-

They were waken up with metal hitting metal, voices slurring into each other as curses or chatter filled the corridors. Leader didn't rise from the bed fully, examining themselves first.

Their exposed arms were full of purple bruises with two white spot at the center of each. They knew touching would hurt like hell. That would clearly weaken their defence if things came fighting, and they weren't so hopeful after hearing the prisoners.

Beneath those bruises, scars, and stitch marks were covering most of their skin. They didn't like looking at those, which only reminded them of their failures in various parts of their career and training, and later, their desperate tries to protect their team with their body when their powers failed.

With a deep breath, they rose to their feet. They felt sore, tired. They didn't have the patience to deal if anything happened, but they forced themselves to get out with the guard's shout. They didn't have much choice.

Their power vibrated in their veins, ready and waiting for their command, though distant. They stayed in alert, and while the count and check were mostly calm, they couldn't say the same for breakfast.

Leader kept their head up as they took a tray and found a place to sit. They put their hands to the table, the cuffs touching to its surface. When everyone sat, the cuffs opened, and Leader finally had somethinggoung down from their throat after days.

A thud caused them to jump from their seat to the source. A few prisoners were ganging up on someone on the floor, yet to do anything more than throwing the poor prisoner down from their seat.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Leader shouted. Well, they might have been branded as a cold-blooded monster, but they weren't going to let their ideals be crushed. In such things, all one could cling to was thoughts and ideals. It was more about Leader themselves rather than saving the person.

"What do you think you're doing, rookie?"

Rookie.

Rookie.

That was truly the only thing that could piss them off in mere seconds.

Leader wasn't a rookie.

They smirked, stopping it before turning into a sadistic smile, breathing heavily to keep the monster in themselves leashed. It had taken too long to realise that the monster was never gone or caged. Merely leashed all the time with a thin rope, always trying to snap it and run free.

Was there a better time?

"Giving you a lesson, of course, you scum!"

And everything burst into chaos right after that.

Leader counted thirty of the attackers get a taste of their power before finally going down, their already aching arms starting to throb even if there is nothing meeting with their blocks. It took them a second to realise that the guards were trying to get the fight over.

They stood with a grunt but were immediately kicked down by one of the guards.

"Not getting away with that little stun so easily. You're going to the isolation cells."

With the last word, nearly everything stopped. It couldn't be that bad. Leader could handle some time alone.

"A place I won't worry about being killed in my sleep," they answered casually.

The guard pulled them up, but Leader's pushed them, snarling.

"I can walk myself."

After that, they spat to the cameras.

"Use this to crush my reputation."

-•-

It had taken months to gather the evidence of corruption about some well liked public figures, but Right Hand could finally let out their nervous breath. And even though they went to the courts with that evidence, they didn't expect to get permission to see Leader.

The superhumans were always a controversial topic for the public, and the courts didn't like to go against them. It would only result in more hate than they already had.

They twitched in their seat, feeling uneasy. As a precaution, they were given a shot of the infamous suppressants, and they straightened their back. They felt vulnerable, but they weren't going to jump in the smallest inconvenience.

Forcing themselves to relax, they watched as one of the guards left the small room.

Perhaps one of the reasons they felt so tense was seeing Leader again. Right Hand considered themselves as an old friend of Leader, though they were quite too young to be one. Despite that, they saw no problem in it. They hadn't seen anyone near Leader, so they might have been the oldest friend, but Right Hand didn't like to think about things they didn't know much. All they knew was they could get Leader out now, and they were the only one who was willing to do it.

A guard brought Leader in, and Right Hand... Right Hand never thought they would see Leader like this.

A knot formed on their throat. Leader was worn out, their eyes dull and groggy, their once sharp expression was looking distant. Their posture was slumped, shoulders sunk, and steps slow.

But the smile Right Hand got was the same.

It was not arrogant. Not when Right Hand knew the older one had the power of bringing down with them if they wanted to.

"Leader," their voice trembled, and they forced themselves to breathe.

"Don't look at me like this." Leader looked into their eyes, their smile softening. "They just found out one shot wasn't going to be enough for me. I just thought they would stick with three, but they decided that I was a good test subject. They won't be selling their newest drug soon, if you ask me."

"How can you joke in a situation like this?" They couldn't help their anger, their sudden reaction alerting the guards.

And for the first time, Right Hand saw Leader look hurt for a moment before sighing.

"Why are you here, Right Hand?"

"We found something that might help, and I just wanted you to know before it makes to the news."

Right Hand didn't think the things would go that far. Most would prefer to keep it silent, as the evidence would shake many people from their chair.

They didn't expect a confused "what?"

"I am getting you out of here."

Leader froze in their place for a second and finally realised what Right Hand was talking about. "You wasted our failsafe!"

“I thought you, of all people, would understand why I did what I did.”

Leader breathed sharply. Right Hand didn't want to sound this harsh, but nothing was going in the way it was supposed to without Leader. The best for the team was Leader coming back as soon as possible, and so they used the blackmail materials for the team. And as much as Leader would deny, they didn't look good, too. They had to get out.

"The visit is over," a guard didn't let Leader answer back, and Right Hand took their leave, determined.

[kiwi2229]

Roof

(James Potter / Regulus Black | 641 words)

For @jegulus-microfic prompt: Abroad

CW: Reference to overstimulation

James loves his studies abroad. He is halfway through his Erasmus, and he did enjoy every single second of it. Was it hard to leave his hometown? Of course. He hasn’t seen his friends in months. He misses them. But he is also discovering the thrill of meeting new people, getting to know different cultures and overcoming obstacles.

Right now, he is at the party at Dorcas’ place. He met them at some party when he accidentally spilt their drink and offered to buy a new one and a shot as an apology. James loves to be around them. With Dorcas, something is always happening. He met their friends, Barty and Evan who were walking chaos. Barty is the light of every party.

Dorcas’ place is packed with people. They played some drinking games and talked about everything and nothing. About half an hour ago, someone put music on, and they started dancing. That’s when James made his exit. It got too loud, too hot and too many people brushing against him. He needed a break. He made his way to Dorcas’ room (with their permission) and climbed out of the window to a small flat space on the roof.

The moment he closes the window everything falls into silence. The night in Budapest is breathtaking and James is immediately jealous of the view Dorcas has. He breathes out letting his head rest on the cold wall and lets himself just be.

His relaxation is interrupted by the sound of the window opening. James reckons it’s Dorcas so he doesn’t turn to look.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” A cold voice snaps James from his relaxation.

He comes face to face with an absolutely beautiful but also angry boy. He hasn’t seen him at the party, he would have noticed.

Ignoring the angry expression James says. “Hi, sorry…” He moves so the boy can sit next to him and reaches his hand towards him. “I’m James. I haven’t seen you yet.”

The boy glares at him absolutely offended that he should share this place with someone. Even with the scowl on his face, James has never seen someone as beautiful. How come someone looks elegant while climbing out of the window. “I asked you something.” The boy snaps not taking James’ hand.

“Sorry, what?”

The boy rolls his eyes. “This is Dorcas’ room. What are you doing here?”

“Dorcas said I can be here. What are you doing here?”

“I fucking live here.”

“Oh, so you are Regulus.” James beams. Regulus is not pleased he knows his name.

“What are you doing and can you go away? I want to have a smoke.”

James pounts because he doesn’t want to make Dorcas’ flatmate mad, and this is after all his flat. But he doesn’t want to go back. He can’t. Not yet. He runs his fingers trough his hair. “I’m sorry but is it alright if I stay?”

“Why? Don’t you have a party to be at?”

“It got too loud and hot. And I was uncomfortable. Not their fault, it’s just me. I don’t do well in a space like this for a long time. I needed a break to calm down.” James explains. He highly doubts Regulus will care about his problems, but maybe he will take pity on him.

When James looks up he can see Regulus watching him with a searching gaze. His eyes fall to James' lap where he is fidgeting with his hands, his thumb swiping over the side of his index finger in a repetitive motion. He forces himself to stop because he doesn’t want to look weird in from of a stranger.

To his surprise, Regulus looks up with an understanding expression. “You can stay.”

James smiles gratefully and offers his hand to Regulus to help him climb through the window.