#that was around 125 at least

[justonefeather]

I get packing underwear for myself so I feel better at work mostly. I don't go to a job where i wear sweatpants anymore but it just makes me more comfortable since i see these people nearly every day. But uhh they're a little expensive, relatively, or at least for me. But I'm finally both paying off debt and saving a little money every check, so I bought a 3-pack, since some of the underwear i have are getting holes around the waistband and the.. leg bands? The end bits. Idk i haven't bought myself new underwear in years because it's something I've thought of as kind of frivolous, what i have still lives so I should use it and not waste money on buying something new. But doing laundry today i was like hmm ok yeah i need to replace some of these (to be fair most of the ones in bad shape are not the packing underwear, i will rep this brand forever, $20 a pair is rough but if you can spare it they're great)

[hannyoontify]

[21:23] jeonghan sighed to himself before gently knocking on your bedroom door.

'i'm home'

he heard you shuffling on the other side of the door before your soft voice called out. 'come in'

he pushed the door open and walked into the sight of you covered with tissues, plushies, and pillows. your laptop was resting on your lap (duh) and your eyes were red. jeonghan felt a fond smile tugging on the corners of his lips and he made his way to your side of the bed.

'what movie was it this time? big hero 6? inside out? up? coco? ratatouille?' jeonghan cupped your face with his hands and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb.

you pouted and hit his chest. 'ratatouille was sad, okay? they opened a new restaurant and remy was able to live the life he wanted with the support of his family' you sniffled. you felt your eyes sting as they began to tear up again and hit jeonghan's chest once more when he laughed. 'it's not funny! linguini and colette were in love and they ended up together'

jeonghan smiled. 'and that's why you're covered in tissues. because a rat can cook'

''better than you, at least'

he gasped and you giggled in delight in the way he took (pretend) offense to that. you smiled and pulled away as he reveled in his shock, his mouth hanging wide open. 'go get changed, i don't want your outside germs on the bed'

jeonghan did as he was told. he climbed into bed next to you (pushing a couple plushes off the bed in the process–you would kill him for that but that was a future jeonghan problem. right now he just wanted to hold you in his arms) and guided your head to rest on his chest. his arm wrapped around you and rested on your waist and pulled your body closer to his.

'how'd you know?' you asked more quietly. jeonghan rested his lips on the top of your head, inhaling the gentle scent of aloe shampoo.

your boyfriend simply hummed. 'what's there not for me to know about you, my darling? i can read you like a book- actually not a book, i don't like books'

you snorted.

'i can read you like.. a magazine! yeah. magazines. magazines are better because i'm in some of them. and they have pictures. lots of pictures'

you wrinkled your nose at his short ramble and pressed a quick kiss to his collarbone. 'i think you're sleep deprived, hannie'

'nuh-uh'

'yuh-huh. what if i told you that best friends to lovers was better than enemies to lovers'

you never got a response because jeonghan had already fallen fast asleep.

(although if he heard you say that, he would've been whipped up into a frenzy and present a 125 page PPT about why ETL was better than FTL)

a/n: and what if i wrote a jeonghan enlistment fic. would that be too horrible

[librarycards]

Submissions open through June 30, 2024 - Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds

Hello all! I'm editing a special issue of the literary magazine Sinister Wisdom titled Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds. If you're Mad –– regardless of personal label or diagnostic status –– and identify with some aspect of dyke experience (in all its multiplicities!), I want to consider your work for publication.

The title links to Submittable, the platform Sinister Wisdom (and most other magazines) use to process submissions. It's free to use, but can be inaccessible for visually disabled people. If that's you, email Sinister Wisdom for alternative submission options.

I am particularly interested in reading work by young/new/emerging creatives, survivors of psychiatric/medical incarceration, and/or those living outside the Global North/West. Visual art and written work are all welcome!

Note: Sinister Wisdom can't pay $; they compensate in a year-long print subscription and complementary copies of the journal. If you only submit to magazines that pay, consider checking out mine, manywor(l)ds.place; we reopen for general submissions June 1.

Feel free to email me with any further questions. Don't self-reject. ID for the image both in the alt text and below the cut.

Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds

What is Madness, and how do we, as lesbian/queer creatives, wield it? Amid much feminist discourse around the figure of the “madwoman,” mostly as an archetype to be avoided or, in some instances, appropriated, in reaction to rational distress under violently cisheteropatriarchal conditions, comparatively little discussion has focused on the lived experience of psychiatric survivorship, iatrogenic harm, and abuse under the sign of “mental illness” or psychiatric disability. Behind and beyond the figure of the madwoman, or the specter of “hysteria,” are the lived (sur)realities of Madpeople of all marginalized genders.

This issue of Sinister Wisdom seeks contributions by lesbian, queer, and/or trans people self-identified as Mad, mentally disabled, and/or psychiatric survivors. Following the portmanteaue coinages “transMad” (Cavar), “neuroqueer” (Walker, Yergeau, and Michaels-Dillon), and “neurotrans” (Smilges), Madness and (gender)queerness are deeply entangled and often inextricable from each other, both as they manifest “inside” us and in our ways of relating to our words, world(s), lovers, and friends.

What, who, and where are Mad dykes, and how do we find each other in a world increasingly oriented toward cisheteronormative, whitewashed wellness? What are the legacies and ongoing violences of queer/trans pathologization in our communities and beyond? How do we live as transMad people amid cissexist, saneist attacks from the reactionary Right? And how do we share, negotiate, or conceal our experiences of trauma, altered realities, and unfamiliar access needs while also building community?

Please submit works of any, all, or no genres, including reviews and interviews, up to 5,000 words, and a short contributor biography between 25 and 125 words. We are also seeking illustrations and photographs (.jpg or .tif files only, print resolution size at least 300 ppi). Please do not send previously published work.

Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2024

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[tagging for spread hopefully! @closet-keys, @rebirthgarments, @fluoresensitive, @heavenlyyshecomes, @trans-axolotl, @fatehbaz @sawasawako @felgueirosa @bioethicists @campgender @candiedsmokedsalmon @sadhoc @osmanthusoolong @boykeats ]

[mothmans-side-ho]

Armand called Lestat a clown in the most round about way

s2e3 hot wired the two passions in my brain into this info dump, however seeing as a central theme of this episode (and the season) is power, status, and their subversions, it seems relevant. for context, I have 2 degrees in theatre, specifically theatre history and how trends effect form. (I am in no way an expert though, and this is very simplified). long story short, I'm relishing in being a big ol nerd about this entire season

FINALLY, we got to see Lestat (a version of) strutting his stuff on stage in a scene with peak commedia dell'arte shenanigans. Commedia dell'arte is/was an originally Italian form of theatre which was defined by lazzi (comedic bits), improv, and stock characters. these stock characters have been around from Roman times and are still super familiar to us today - the young lovers, the pervy old rich man, the soldier with bravado, etc. It's been seen as a somewhat formulaic form of theatre which relied on quickly identifiable characters and situations so audiences can sit back and enjoy the butt jokes and servant beatings.

In the book - specifically The Vampire Lestat - our beloved Lestat RELISHES in playing a character called Lelio, one of the young lovers. It is in playing Lelio that he "found a tongue for verses and wit [he]'d never had in life" (TVL pg 31). It is in playing Lelio that Lestat first gets a taste of the person he can become, and it is in Lelio that we see the first glimpses of the Lestat which so fully seduces Louis. In short, Lestat casts himself as the suave and handsome romantic protagonist, here to sweep people off their feet. The young lovers are also notably some of the only roles portrayed without masks, to emphasize their youth and natural beauty.

SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN LESTAT SHOWS UP IN S2E3 DRESSED LIKE THIS:

He has a half mask! He's wearing all sorts of colors! He's clearly acting as a go between between two other characters who seem to be of a higher status than him! As I said before, commedia dell'arte can be very formulaic (especially by the late 1700s when it is being codified away from being improv focused to being cemented into scripts). From all of these visual and characterization clues, Lestat is not playing Lelio the young lover, he's playing a Harlequin! And his costume seems to be heavily based off of this Harlequin (Arlecchino, Arlecino, etc.) which is literally the wikipedia image of a Harlequin.

(note, if you give a fuck, this image is depicting an Arlechino from 1671, roughly 125 years before Lestat on stage. in my mind, this accounts for the changes in silhouette, styling, why Lestat doesn't wear the mask for the entirety of the performance, etc. Also, just while we're talking about costuming, I believe the late 18th Century was still a time in which actors would have been expected to provide their own costumes, which would explain why Lestat's version is made with expensive fabrics and includes cunty little details like the bow in his hair. At the very least, I can see him making looking good a priority as the owner of the theater and as...well...Lestat.)

Okay, okay, okay. Why does this matter?

Harlequins are not characters of any social status. They're servants who are quick witted enough to get into antics but stupid enough to be commanded by animalistic instincts (lust, food, you name it). The Harlequin being beaten by their master was ENORMOUSLY funny, and is the origin of the term "slapstick comedy". They a memorable iteration of clown.

In this scene, which I'm willing to bet was inspired by (if not outright) Carlo Goldoni's A Servant of Two Masters, Lestat plays a servant who interacts with two characters. One appears to be a young woman in a breeches part - another common trope of commedia performance. The other appears to be the young male lover! We see Lestat prancing between the two, seemingly facilitating some romance plot, being paid for his compliance, and doing a good ol fashioned butt lazzi. (Could he be presenting his ass for beating? Maybe.)

So why is Lestat not the young valiant lover, but instead A LITERAL CLOWN? Three potential, not conflicting, reasons. By the time Lestat is performing (mid to late 1790s, based off Armand's earlier comment about Robespierre's 1794 execution), the Harlequin characters were the most sought after roles! At this time, we are seeing the emergence of "Celebrity Culture" where audiences sought out actors for their off-stage personalities as much as their on-stage ones. This is an extremely fitting position for Lestat to fall into. Yay a semblance of historical accuracy!

Secondly, Lestat's ENTIRE ROLE in season two is to come between this season's new pair of young(ish) lovers: Louis & Armand. Lestat's function is to repeatedly detract and distract from their relationship through Dreamstat's antics (appearing at the piano calling Louis a whore, having Louis re-kill him, etc.). Additionally, simply put, Lestat (and Sam Reid as Lestat) is a lot of fun to watch. He is absolutely a stand out (if not THE stand out) of the show! His constant ability to serve cunt is often what your eye is drawn to, he pulls focus to himself, and often undercuts the more subdued, philosophical, and morose nature of others. Both on-stage and on-screen, Lestat continuously upstages his screen partners. He does kinda function as a Harlequin. But in the end, the Harlequin's antics are also what ultimately drive the young lovers together. If not for Lestat's actions, Louis and Armand would have never met nor bonded over knowing this fucked up brat prince.

But we also have to remember! This portion of the episode is presented by Armand the mind fuckery master. It is absolutely in his best interests to paint Lestat as some sort of ridiculous, lesser being driven by animalistic nature. Especially if - by extension of the metaphor - this frames he and Louis as the virtuous and optimistic young lovers, striving to cling to each other in a world of chaos. I would be EXTREMELY interested to see if, when recollected by someone else, Lestat appears in a different role or characterized differently.

Again, given the celebrity culture of the time and Lestat being himself, it is entirely believable that he would appear in the Harlequin role (Truffaldino, if this is Goldoni's Servant). However, I think it's extremely telling that in Armand's iteration of the story Lestat is not the dignified, refined, and sympathetic young romantic. He is instead a literal fucking clown.

[chaos-in-deepspace]

L&DS Zayne: Heartwarming Encounter | 18+

This was written right after I listened to Zayne's Affinity 125. Y'all let me tell you a secret...I don't write these things. I get possessed. When I tell you I wrote this in an hour and a half...I don't even recall writing it. I just listened to the audio, opened a doc, blacked out, then suddenly I came to and there was an entire fic written.

♡(ᓀ‸ᓂ)♡ Pairings: Zayne x Reader ♡(ᓀ‸ᓂ)♡ Warnings: Public settings, Zayne freezing, Submissive Zayne, Multiple Orgasms, Unsafe Sex, Creampie, Riding, Almost Caught. I'm not sorry Dr. Greyson ♡(ᓀ‸ᓂ)♡ Synopsis: Zayne's Evol had been acting up, and being the benevolent partner you were, helped him and cuddled against a couch. However, nothing could remain innocent when it came to the two of you, especially not when you were in his office. ♡(ᓀ‸ᓂ)♡ Word Count: 3.8k

Disclaimer: This is an original fan work for “Love and Deepspace”. Do not repost on other platforms or plagiarize. All characters shown in this fic is 18+.

Blog Information | Masterlist

Zayne

Heartwarming Encounter

You were a mix of emotions when you saw Zayne originally. First you felt a hint of anger, then it faded to almost disappointment and worry. You had always told him that if his Evol was acting up, to let you know. He didn’t even realize that you had been visiting him at his office until he came inside to see you relaxing with your feet propped on his desk.

You weren’t surprised in the least when the doctor dragged you to the couch with him. His arms wrapped securely around your waist as he pressed his face into your neck, spooning you from behind. His hands ran under your shirt as he tried warming them.

You were grateful that you had somewhat trained him to not be afraid of touching you when this happened. A few months back he would’ve told you not to touch him, that you’d both end up freezing. He had gotten over that quickly once you figured out that resonating would help him a lot.

The ice had melted at this point and you two were left there, relaxing on the couch as the stress of his day melted away…literally. Your stomach was wet from the melted ice and his fingers pressed into the skin there as though trying to massage it slightly. You let out a small hum of acknowledgement, realizing that he was only doing that to get your attention.

“Thank you,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of your neck after a few more seconds of stagnating silence. You let out another hum and spun around in his grasp, cupping his face and staring at those breathtaking hazel eyes that always made you weak.

“So were you planning on contacting me this time?” you murmured, your grazing his bottom lip as you zeroed in on it. Zayne’s mouth twitched slightly into a small smirk as he looked down at you.

“If you weren’t already here, I could’ve handled it myse-ow,” he winced as you pinched his lip and glared at him.

“Zayne,” your voice was stern. How this man managed to take care of literally everyone in Linkon City except for himself managed to always rile you up. It was a miracle he wasn’t dead yet with these antics.

He let out a sigh once you released your grasp. “I know, my apologies,” he murmured, leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on your lips. You tried following him, but he backed away too much. Before you could even pout, you felt your center of gravity shifting. 

Zayne sat up on the couch with you straddling his lap. You let out a small huff of amusement at this, now freely being able to lean down and capture him into a proper kiss. You gently nibbled on his lower lip, begging for entrance that he managed to deny you, much to your own frustration.

He parted from you, peppering kisses down your neck with small nips. The wet smacking noise of his kisses sent a flush on your face, the sound echoing in his small office as he managed to leave small marks all over you.

You shift in your spot, feeling something underneath you. You chuckle at knowing just how easy it was. “You know, Doctor, I think your heart rate might be going a bit crazy. You alright?” you teased him, tugging at his hair to detach him from your neck before you were covered in hickies.

“As a person’s body temperature decreases, their heart rate increases,” Zayne began, almost like this was an afterthought. “Yes, my heart is beating more quickly compared to before, but it’s not because of the cold.”

You let out a hum, rolling your hips. “Oh, then is the increased heart rate because of this?” you said, repeating the motion as Zayne audibly groaned at the sensation. “You know, this is rather naughty. Especially since we’re still in your office,” you commented.

“It’s alright, the door is locked. No one will walk in on us,” he said, his lips finding yours once more as he deepened the kiss this time. His tongue ghosted over yours as he moaned unabashedly into your mouth. You could feel yourself getting aroused, the throbbing between your legs intensifying with need for the man in front of you.

Still, you had to tease him. You tugged the hair at the nape of his neck, making him groan from the rough treatment as his head snapped back. “Are you telling me you were freezing to death, saw me in your office, and immediately locked the door so you could bang me after you felt better?”

Zayne let out an amused huff. “It never hurts to be prepared when it comes to you,” he admitted and you rolled your eyes. 

You felt his kisses back on your neck, pressing down and nipping on the skin as if his life depended on it. Perhaps today he was feeling extra possessive as he was intent on leaving as many marks as possible. His hands gripped your thighs tight enough that they might have bruises in the following days.

You mumbled his name, getting his attention back on you as you locked lips with him again, leaning closer so your chest pressed against his own. He was certainly getting warmer as your hands played with his tie, tugging it so he’d be forced down to your height.

You began rolling your hips over his clothed cock again, loving the small whimpers coming from him as he bucked into you, trying to chase a high. You chuckled, knowing that if you really wanted to you could have him spilling in his slacks in minutes. Still, you wanted more of a show, However, something needed to be dealt with first.

“Zayne, you’re being too loud,” you whisper. “We’re still at the hospital. If someone walks by the door, they’ll be able to hear all those pretty moans.” You both hated and loved the idea of that. On one hand, his noises were for you and you alone. On the other, it would be nice if some of the nurses learned to back off.

“Once we get started, you won’t be any better,” he reminded you. You let out an annoyed groan in response.

“This isn’t about me.” You didn’t want to admit it, but you were pouting ever so slightly. “If you’re not quiet, Zayne, I’ll need to gag that pretty little mouth of yours.”

“If I’m not mistaken, all the mouth gags are at the apartment,” Zayne said and you scoffed at the idea.

“Zayne, sweetheart, anything can be a gag.” You informed the good doctor, “In fact, you happen to have a very pretty one right here.” Your hand went to the silky material of his tie, the green fabric would look perfect around his mouth. 

You watched his ears turn red, the most noticeable place when he began blushing. You chuckled as you worked the tie off him and wrapped both ends around your hands, showing it off as you wiggled your eyebrows. “Now be a good boy and open wide for me, honey,” you said as you brought it down to his mouth.

He opened his mouth slightly, but you gripped his jaw and forced it wide enough to place the tie inside. You wrapped it securely around his head and leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to his lip. “Good boy,” you muttered. “That comfortable for you?” You waited to see him nod before continuing, “Good, then be quiet for me.”

“Gonna warm you up, okay?” you whispered close to his ear, your finger going down and unbuttoning his shirt to allow your hand to run across the expanse of his chest. You trailed down, feeling the soft hair that led down to his cock, until your hand pressed on his straining erection through his pants.

Zayne’s hips rolled into your hand, almost pleading for friction and you heard a slight whimper from beyond the gag. You smirked, pressing down a bit more before showing some mercy. You unzipped him, pushing his pants down his waist until you could see the wet mark on his underwear. You licked your lip, one finger pressing on the tip so you could feel just how wet he had gotten.

“Fuck Zayne, just from a little grinding?” you teased, watching the man glare at you. You shrugged, finally taking his cock out. You didn’t bother with formalities, your wrist twisted just right as your thumb slid over his frenulum. You knew the fastest way to get your doctor to cum, your hand sliding easily with the lubrication his cock provided you.

With how worked up he was, the wet squelching sound wasn’t too surprising as you easily worked him up. His face flushed as he tipped his head back, looking at the ceiling for a moment before those piercing eyes were back on you. You shivered under his gaze as it locked onto you while you fucked his cock with your tight fist.

You felt him pulsing in your hand, his hips bucking up to meet you every time. You hadn't even done much, leaving his balls alone this time around as you mainly focused on the head and shaft. Yet itt twitched and leaked pre-cum to the point where you thought he might’ve already orgasmed.

Still, you knew his tells, and from how vocal he was getting from behind the tie gag, he was close. You suddenly let go of his cock, watching as it hit his stomach. A small, sticky and transparent trail of his pre stuck to his abs and you looked over at your hand. You licked some of the substance off, rolling your eyes back in a dramatic show as you groaned.

“Baby, you taste so good,” you groaned. “Wish you could taste it.” His cock twitched at your debauched words. It was then you realized something. He might’ve been a good boy for you, but whenever you ruined an orgasm he never just sat back. You also happened to have only gagged him. Everything else about him was free, including his hands that had previously been on your thighs.

One hand goes over to the gag, easily untying it and letting the fabric pool around his neck as he looks at you. “Is that so?” his voice was husky as he grabbed your messy hand, bringing it to his mouth. His tongue licked a strip up your palm, tasting the saltiness of his own pre without breaking eye contact with you. “Perhaps I should give you a taste of your own medicine. I am your doctor, after all.”

You let out a small gasp as he lifted your legs up, pushing your pants down. When you seemed to fight him in taking them off, all he had to do was cast one stern look. You stopped resisting and instead helped him take off your pants, leaving your underwear on. Without bothering to take the fabric off, he simply opted to push it to the side. He plunged two fingers inside your heat, unconcerned with working you open with just one first.

Your entire body lurched forward, your hands grasping his shoulders as he mercilessly pumped his digits into you. “F-Fuck, Zayne, slow down,” you whimpered out, feeling your legs shaking already from the brutal pace. Your front rubbed up against him as you tried rolling your hips in time with his thrusting. 

You let out an actual yelp when you heard a loud slap sound echo in the room, followed by a stinging sensation on your ass. You glared down at Zayne. “H-hey, do you want to be caught?” you grumbled, but your voice turned back into moans as he managed to find that sweet spot inside of you that always had you turning to mush in his hands.

“You were the one who started this, were you not?” he reminded you, the hand that slapped your ass earlier gripped onto the flesh there and gave it a squeeze. You let out another whimper, feeling your peak growing tantalizingly close but this wasn’t how you wanted to cum.

You grabbed his wrist and stopped him from further finger-fucking you into a whimpering mess. He looked at you curiously, noticing the strong flush covering your cheeks. “W-wait, why don’t you just fuck me already. It would feel better.”

“And what have you done to deserve it?” he asked and you huffed.

“Did you want a list? We can start off with me unthawing your ass,” you snapped back. He smirked at your quick comeback, loving it when you got a bit feisty. While he was amazing at taming brats, sometimes he liked the fight, especially when you got fucked dumb from his cock soon after your witty remarks were made.

“Is that so?” he mumbled. He took his fingers out of you and pressed them to your lips. You didn’t hesitate to part them, licking the digits and groaning at your own taste. He slid his fingers deeper into your mouth. As soon as you were almost gagging, you felt him sheathe his entire cock into you in one thrust.

Thankfully he had somewhat gagged you or else the scream you let out would have alerted the entire security team at the hospital. Zayne was huge. It normally took plenty of prep time and sometimes lube before you could take him. It seemed he really was done with your bratty attitude as his hips began thrusting up into you, not bothering to let you get used to his size. The stretch stung a bit. Thankfully you two fucked often enough that your body seemed to almost remember, loosening up slightly as he pounded into you.

He took his hand out of your mouth, dragging you down for a kiss as you began matching his thrusts.  Your hands grasped his biceps, nearly tearing the fabric around them. You let out a gasp as his hand slapped your ass again, jostling you forward on his lap. His hands then found your thighs, using them as leverage as he worked your body in time with his own.

Your orgasm was approaching faster than you anticipated. You could feel your front rubbing against him and the familiar coil inside your stomach. Still, you wanted to see him come undone before you. With your new resolve, you managed to adjust yourself enough so that both of your arms were in front of you.

You then pushed him down, making him let out a startled gasp as his back collided with the plush couch. “Not so fast, Zayne.” You chuckled as you began riding him, rolling your hips at a breakneck speed as you tried to get him to cum before you. “I was in charge first, yeah?” you chuckled.

Zayne let out a groan. His hands squeezed your thighs, but let you control the pace otherwise. You felt far too good on top of him and judging by how you had edged him earlier, it was only a matter of time before he came.

“Come on, my love. Cum for me. Fill me up,” you said between broken moans, your hands resting on his chest for support. You forgot how much effort it took to ride him like this, but you weren’t about to quit. Not when you could feel his cock twitching inside you and saw how his blush spread down his exposed chest.

“You’ll be the death of me,” he groaned out, bucking his hips up into you a few times. He then let out the most beautiful groan known to man as he pumped his seed inside of you. Feeling his warm release was the final straw as your legs clamped down around his hips, your entire body clenching as you hit your peak.

You let out a few whimpers as you rode out your own orgasm, feeling his stomach tighten under your grasp as you did so. You felt amazing as you panted out his name, looking down at him with a dopey grin plastered on your face. “Fuck, you’re amazing,” you murmured, your hips rolling leisurely on him.

Zayne grunted, sitting back up with you still in his lap. His cock nestled perfectly inside of you as you felt it softening. “I feel like that should be my line, Snowflake,” Zayne said, pressing soft kisses along your jawline.

You looked down and noticed that some of his release was dripping out of you and onto his lap and you chuckled. “Damn…think we can get the cleaning crew to mop up this mess?” you joked. Before Zayne could say anything you both froze. There was a knock on the door and you both slowly turned. The doorknob jiggled a bit as whomever was out there attempted to open it.

Zayne bit back a groan, feeling how you clenched around him in what he assumed was fear of being caught. His hands went to your waist as he leaned close. “Don’t say a word. He’ll go away soon,” he whispered, pressing a kiss behind your ear after.

“Doctor Li, are you in there?” You recognized the voice as Doctor Greyson, making the situation even worse. You went to Greyson on days Zayne couldn’t see you. The thought of being caught by him…oh wait. Why should you care?

You bit your lip, rolling your hips against Zayne’s sensitive cock. The man, not expecting you to move like that, let out a grunt and his hands squeezed you tighter. The noise was audible enough to the person outside apparently as midway through knocking again it stopped. You were silent for a moment before you heard Greyson leaving the door in a rush.

You snickered, knowing the man probably realized something was going on behind the closed doors. Zayne, however, was not amused as he pinched your thigh, making you gasp.

“Are you proud of yourself?” he asked and you continued laughing at his question.

“I mean…kinda? Got him to leave, and I bet if anyone needs to speak with you tonight, he’ll tell them you’re busy,” you said with a shrug. You ground your hips back down onto him and Zayne hissed, his sensitive cock not knowing if it wanted you to continue or stop.

You did it one more time and he whimpered, making everything seem worth it. “Zayne, I can feel you twitching inside me,” you teased and he grunted.

“Then perhaps you should take responsibility for once,” he said, almost gritting his teeth. You did adore the man, and the thought of not letting him finish was a bit too cruel. Still wanting to spoil the ever loving hell out of him you raised your hips and then sat back down, watching how his eyes rolled back. You decided one more round would be fine.

You could see Zayne was panting underneath you as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, lifting yourself until the tip was almost sliding out then slamming back down. This got a loud moan from the two of you, and at this point there was nothing you’d be able to do if someone overheard. Lying would get you guys nowhere when the obscene sounds of skin-on-skin slapping and the wet squelching of where you were joined would tip off anyone nearby.

Zayne began thrusting up into you, and without you even realizing it his hands were on your hips as he controlled the pace. You’re too far gone though, your entire body buzzing as you felt that familiar coil already forming. You wanted to cum so badly and if Zayne was going to help speed up the process then so be it.

Your hands dug into his shoulders as you let out moan after moan, so loud that Zayne had to lean forward to capture your lips with his own to stop the noises from escaping. You were drinking up his own moans as well, feeling how your legs were shaking with your impending orgasm.

When his lips detached he went to your neck, pressing a few more kisses before he placed one on your shoulder. Suddenly you felt teeth and yelped, knowing the bastard bit you. You groaned in frustration, knowing you wouldn’t be able to hide that one with some of your shirts. 

You manage to push him back down, but this time he wasn't letting up as he continued fucking into you. “B-behave,” you groaned out, pressing small kisses and nips of your own on him. Zayne had a good rule to not leave marks in noticeable places since he had a reputation, but if he was going to play dirty then so would you.

You press kisses along his jaw until you happily sucked a dark purple mark right above where not even a turtle neck would be able to hide it. Zayne knew exactly what you did, but judging by how his cock was twitching so deliciously inside of you, you had a feeling it only spurred him on.

“C-close, cum with me,” he said between his teeth, trying his damndest to be quiet. Knowing that ship had sailed and sunk long ago, you chuckled as you leaned down to kiss him. It was sloppy and most of it was tongue and teeth as you tried finding some sort of rhythm, but the sensations were too much.

Your hands grasped at him, one tugging his hair and the other pressing between your bodies. Your thighs quivered as you came, squeezing down hard on Zayne’s length. He gave a few more thrusts before spilling inside of you for the second time that evening.

This time you felt lightheaded, resting your forehead against Zayne’s as you tried catching your breath. His condition didn’t seem to be any better as he panted, his breath ghosting over you. You gave him a shaky smile and kissed his nose.

“Damn…I think the entire hospital heard us,” you murmured, relaxing on his chest. Zayne’s arms wrapped securely around you as he pressed his nose into your hair.

“Mhm, perhaps,” he said, following it with a yawn. “However most of the department is gone for the evening. This wing is normally empty at this time of night,” he said and you huffed.

“Except for Greyson,” you said and you felt him tense under you.

“Can we not discuss that right now, I’d rather forget it ever happened,” Zayne confessed and you shook your head. You pressed a small kiss on his chest and looked up. Your hands gently playing with the muscles there as your eyes swam with affection.

“Fine, I guess that’s acceptable…however, we should probably clean up and head home. If we’re here by morning the entire hospital will know we were up to no good,” you said and Zayne shook his head.

“Just a few more moments, please.” And how could you ever deny this man when he asked so sweetly?

So anyways...I think I made this one very gender neutral in a sense when it came to the sex? I don't recall really stating too many body specific words in here.

[theoreticaltranstherian]

Jumping on the bandwagon woo-hoo

no spam reblog or spam comment ;P

For every 100 reblogs I'll drink another bottle of water

Update: Ive drank almost 2 whole water bottles in the last 3 days which isn't much proportionally but for one, I'd probably not even drink one if it wasn't for the internet critters in my phone telling me to and also, yk, thats alot of water compared to my last few weeks getting all my fluids from food

10 reblogs: Go to bed before midnight tonight

50 reblogs: I'll make my bed in the mornings for a week

Update: I found out that my bed being made kinda stresses me out for some reason, it's just so neat I get scared, and so instead I am putting away 3 pieces of clothing that have been clean for months and i just haven't touched every morning :D

75 reblogs: I'll work on getting accommodations for my autism at school

Update: I don't have the required "proof of diagnosis" and I'd have to wait 2 years or so to get it and I won't be in school anymore at that point, so I'm working with my counselors to see what they can do aside from official autism accommodations

125 reblogs: I'll work in upping my failing grade in math

Update: Math test retake on the 12tg, wish me luck!

150 reblogs: I'll work on my dopamine addiction and get help

Update: Hooooooly shit addictions are hard. I'm going to start a timer for time between uses of YouTube shorts or Instagram reels in an effort to reduce my need for instant gratification and try to replace every time I pick my phone up with drawing or reading or talking to people around me.

200 reblogs: I'll post my art that I've been self conscious about posting

Update: I am really happy for this, it's finally an excuse for me to make myself post my art :D it's probably gonna be 1-2 drawings per post with a little background with each :3

300k reblogs: I'll start cleaning up my room

400k reblogs: I'll clean out my bag (God pls don't get to 400 yall T T)

500: I'll get sharp objects out of my room

1k reblogs: I'll be really happy :0

Edit; Added more goals

2k reblogs: I'll start streaming on twitch again!!!

3k reblogs: I'll empty out my drafts

5k: I come out as trans to my parents (I don't know if they're transphobic so to speak, but they are of the mindset that "do whatever you want once you're out of our house but until then you are our kid" but I wanna be like um no actually-)

5.5k: I come out as trans to my non-transphobic grandma

6k: I come out as trans to my transphobic grandma

Edit 2; Yo same picture of the earth reblogged me?!? the picverse found this?!?! that's insane xd

Edit 4; I added some coming out goals because I'm not gonna do it if I don't have the pressure from hundreds of little things in my phone cheering me on xd

Pinging moots so there's at least a small chance of any of these happening xd

@calimewzz @annotated-catastrophe @glitched-out-dusk @life-is-okay-rn

[kissoulie]

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼 ࣪ 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒

𓆡 ⭒ㅤ𓈒ㅤׂ 🫧

— NSFW, MDNI. bowling with p1harmony!

a/n: some of u may not know but hot & mysterious user kissoulie has a bowling hyperfixation!! 😭 i went bowling last night for 3hrs and i'm prob going to go again tonight 🤭 this reminded me that seob posted a pic of piwon bowling while they were on tour which is why my brain made this! this is def not my best work but i work like all week so i wanted to write a lil smth silly, short, & fun before i post my first series masterlist tmrw 💓

cws: fem bodied reader but generally gender neutral (use of "pretty"), not entirely explicit smut?? it's just not super detailed the bowling is the main focus my bad 😭, 3some (soulseob), skim proofread for readability only pls excuse all spelling/grammar errors i wrote half of this in a movie theater! that's all i believe, lmk if i missed anything ‹3

— keeho.

he definitely has an average over 125 you cannot convince me otherwise. he's a straight bowler, but knows how to hook a ball. i also think he has his own bowling ball because he's extra like that. best bowler in piwon!!! i think he kinda bowls like an old man, and still gets extremely hyped for every strike. he will def blow your back out after a bowling date though ❤️ his baby did so well!!! you even almost beat him, so he thinks you deserve a reward, and he knows for you there's no better reward than his fingers inside you while he fucks your pretty head empty.

— taeyang.

he's the average bowler for sure. i'm not entirely convinced he gets super competitive over it, i think he's just there to have fun!! definitely uses an 8, has no particular technique he just walks forward and sends it lol. assuming you're bowling at a place with couches, he for sure has you in his lap while his members go. he orders you both french fries but soul eats them all while you're distracted eye fucking each other 😭😭 he'll start feeling you up, one hand inching higher and higher up your thigh while the other presses against your middle to hold you in place. may or may not invite you to a 'bathroom' break by tapping your thigh and announcing, "i'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick" with some searing eye contact while he walks away, which will leave your stomach in knots thinking about how he's going to rearrange your insides ‹3

— jiung.

i think he's super competitive about this actually 😭 he probably practices bowling at least once a week if they go often, it's something he has a lot of fun getting better at! he hooks as many of his shots as he can, definitely a spare sniper who leaves only a few frames open per game. maybe i'm just a jiung professional bowler truther. he uses his newfound finger dexterity on you though, curling his fingers inside you perfectly while thumbing at your clit. he'll have you seeing stars in no time.

— intak.

straight bowler, averages 100, bowls with a 9. he's pretty straightforward when bowling, he's there to have a good time & look good doing it. i am also of a mind that he plays pool, specifically with you. loser gets the best head of their life (his idea). naturally, he's the one who wins and gets to have you choking around his cock in the back seat while the rest of his members wonder where you both have gone.

— soulseob.

The competitive ever. please they both want to impress you!!! seob is bowling for his life!!!! soul is just having fun!!!! (he got a gutter ball and screeched like a dinosaur.) your little giggles spur them on, "winner gets a kiss" 😭 their sibling rivalry has been unlocked, but their rivalry in bed is worse!! seob did throw 119 in the end, beating soul by 3 pins, and he wastes no time in taking you back to the dorms to get his prize. he shoves you down onto his bed while soul trails behind, "watch us, sho." jongseob holds your hands to pin them to the bed, slipping into you with a wet squelch. his body grinds into yours with desperation you didn't know he had. he fucks you nice and rough. "think he deserves a consolation prize, baby?" you nod dumbly, your eyes droopy and dilated. "poor princess." he muses, beckoning soul closer, letting him stretch you out impossibly wider, your mouth dropping open in a broken moan. ‹3

taglist: @tkooooop ♡

[zvaigzdelasas]

“Cyprus will be part of this war too” if it opens its airports and bases to Israeli forces, Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address that came just a day after Israel warned the powerful Iran-backed militant group that the prospect of “all-out war” was “getting very close.”

The comments by the Hezbollah leader are the first time he has threatened Cyprus, a member of the European Union that lies in the Mediterranean sea, roughly 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Lebanon, and which has held joint military exercises with Israel since 2014 and as recently as last year.

Nasrallah’s threat came as part of a fiery response to Israel’s warning that saw him boast of his group’s growing capabilities and threaten to “shake the pillars” of Israel if a war “were to be imposed on Lebanon.[...]

[On Tuesday] Hezbollah flaunted a 9-minute video filmed by a drone showing civilian and military locations in and around one of Israel’s largest cities, Haifa. The video prompted Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz to warn of an “all-out war” in which “Hezbollah will be destroyed, and Lebanon severely beaten.”

On Wednesday, Nassrallah celebrated the video as evidence of its growing ability to gather intelligence.

“The enemy knows that no place in the entire (state) is safe from our missiles, and it won’t be arbitrary. Everything will be deliberately targeted,” Nasrallah said in his speech.

“We have long hours of footage of Haifa, of the outskirts of Haifa, and what comes after Haifa, and after after Haifa,” Nasrallah said, in an apparent reference to a Hezbollah slogan from the 2006 war with Israel, when the group’s rockets hit Haifa for the first time.

In response to the threat by Nasrallah, Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides said the island was in “no way involved in the war conflicts.”[...]

Parts of the Hezbollah footage, filmed in the daytime, claimed to show Krayot, a cluster of “highly populated” residential cities north of the Israeli city of Haifa and 28 km (17 miles) south of the Lebanese border, along with malls and high rises.

Other parts claimed to show a military complex near Haifa belonging to Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael – including Iron Dome batteries, missile storage sites and radar sites – and military boats, ships and oil storage depots in the port of Haifa.

CNN analysis has geolocated the video to a number of locations around Haifa. Those locations include a number of sensitive areas, including at least two military installations: a base in northern Haifa and the port of Haifa. The drone also flew over the oil tanks that sit north of Haifa, the Haifa airport and several residential areas.

CNN also analyzed the shadows in the videos, which indicate the drone mission over Haifa lasted multiple hours, or took place over multiple days. The analysis shows parts of the video have been sped up.[...]

Hezbollah has claimed the video was the “first episode,” suggesting more videos would surface from deep inside Israeli territory.[...]

The release of the footage comes as Israel’s military says it has “approved and validated” operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon and made decisions on increasing the readiness of troops in the field.[...]

Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets, missiles and drones at northern Israel since October 7, claiming that its attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Hezbollah has said in the past that it will only stop firing on Israel if Israel stops the war in Gaza.

"Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war," Nasrallah threatened.[...]

“Hezbollah is not far away at all. If they can target the outskirts of Tel Aviv then they can hit Cyprus. It’s not something that can be excluded,” Haritos said.

Nasrallah’s threat against Cyprus came as its foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, wrapped up a meeting on Monday in Washington with his counterpart Antony Blinken.

“Cyprus is an important player in the region, and a partnership for the United States that we deeply value,” Blinken said.

Since 7 October, Cyprus has emerged as a hub for US special forces. US Naval Special Warfare Operators conducted joint training with Cypriot counterparts this year. Cyprus also actively billed itself as a staging ground for aid into Gaza and the Port of Larnaca has been the first point of entry for aid traveling to the US-built pier in Gaza. [...]

In the last decade, Israel has grown increasingly close to both Cyprus and Greece.[...]

Cyprus was a founding member of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which sought to deepen energy cooperation with Israel and Arab states, amid maritime tensions with Turkey. Last year, Cyprus pushed to cement its energy ties with Israel by lobbying for a new gas pipeline between the two, MEE reported.

Cyprus, like Greece, has also benefitted from an influx of Israeli real estate investment in recent years, ironically, along with renewed interest from Lebanese investors. [...]

Israel's air force has reportedly also used Cypriot airspace to conduct a drill simulating the scenario of an Iranian attack on Israel.

But Cyprus has been cooperating with Israel on security for years.

Since 2021, it has participated with Greece and the US in annual naval exercises under the moniker "Noble Dina". They also conducted largescale naval exercises in 2023 that saw Israeli naval fleets sail to Cyprus.

Israeli special forces also train in Cyprus where the rocky terrain resembles Lebanon.[...]

Middle East Eye reported on Wednesday, that US envoy Amos Hochstein told Lebanese officials that the US would back an Israeli offensive on Lebanon after five weeks if there was no halt to daily fighting between the Iran-backed group and Israel.

“Throwing Cyprus into the mix means Nasrallah is under pressure and believes Israel may go ahead with an attack,” Harari said.[...]

In 2018, [Cyprus] signed a bilateral security cooperation statement and in 2022, US President Joe Biden's administration lifted a decades-old arms embargo on the island.[...]

Cyprus's burgeoning relations with Israel marks an extraordinary change since its independence from British colonial rule in 1960 when the country's then-leader, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios III, welcomed figures like Gamal Abdel Nasser and the island openly embraced Palestinian resistance fighters.

For years, Cyprus harboured anti-Americanism over lingering frustration that the US quietly backed Turkey’s 1974 invasion of the island after a failed coup attempt to unite it with Greece. Turkey maintains more than 35,000 troops in occupied northern Cyprus.[...]

"[Nasrallah] is saying if you help Israel there will be ramifications."

19 Jun 24

[sgiandubh]

Offer and demand

For comparison purposes, kindly find below what a devoted Ozzie fan will have to be prepared to pay for a pic with one or several of the participants to the Hublander Australia 'A Visit to The Highlands' event, this week-end, in Sydney and Melbourne:

On top of that, there is an extra option I have never seen for European events (and correct me if I am wrong). You can buy signed personal items and autographed pics for somebody who cannot attend (personal items cost a little extra, no idea why). Here is an example, for S:

Just to have an idea, remember (I will always LOL at this word, from now on, and that's really a shame, because I use it a LOT, irl) these are the prices in Australian dollars. A pic with S would cost you around 115 euros or 125 USD and the most expensive group pic would lighten your purse by around 360 USD or 333 euros.

All this, like for the Paris Landcon, are on top of what you pay for access and the rest of the side gigs, depending of your tier of choice. Those can set you anywhere from 200 Australian dollars for the standard entry ticket to 1800 Australian dollars for the Platinum Tier, where I hope S will pour you a dram or something - nope, not really, that was really a cheap joke, forget about it. You do the math, it's easy.

If you take the time to compare with the Paris Landcon, the discrepancies are clear. The Australian Lollapalooza easily costs the double. But before you screech and wail, do remember two things:

Prices in Australia and France are not really the same. Same goes for the disposable wages of the people buying these tickets. Same goes for the logistical costs (venue rent, talent accommodation and fee, insurance - very important!, other administrative expenditures like legal costs: never forget these people also sell licensed merchandise, which comes at an extra cost itself, etc).

Also, event organization is a business in itself. There is a market and a pool of potential clients for this type of business. Demand and offer meet (or should do so) on that market and the result of this encounter of sorts should reasonably reflect what the people are willing to pay for whatever you peddle around, from bagels to Scottish fantasies. Too expensive - nobody will come. Too cheap - the talent you hope to attract would, in all likelihood, not show up, especially if it takes 10 to 20 hours of flight to get there.

Now add to this the need to satisfy just about everyone in the room. The simple need to make sure that the person who paid 200 dollars for the basic ticket would not feel left behind those who paid nine times (yes, nine times, for Australia, land of plenty) more. That is not an easy task and those figures you have seen are not what you may think they do represent, on face value.

Last, but not least, a wee secret: the bulk of the talent's fee comes from those autographed pics you bought extra, the Q&A sessions and the Platinum Meet and Greets - isn't that a strange form of Marxist distribution circuit (but I digress, forgive the scholar). The rest is probably going to cover operational costs.

Nobody robbed you. Nobody forced you or hypnotized you. You will meet the real people, not some denizen of Abuja who pretends he is Mr. Blue Eyes. And S will not get richer after Melbourne, only more tired.

You're welcome.

PS: merci à toi; chérie, pour l'info and also a heartfelt thank you to you, New Friend on the Block. You know who you are! 😘😘😘😘❤️❤️❤️

[Edit]: @joey-baby tells me the Oz fans can buy the recording of both days. That is a local exclusive and I surely hope we'd see some of it in here. Thank you! 🙌

[alienbabydraws]

PM me to inquire about details or get a price on something.

PLEASE cycle this around, I'd really appreciate it as this is my only income right now.

Pricing details and more examples under the cut!

The pricing above is a basic format, but depending on the amount of detail it can vary. 

Please consider commissioning me! This is my primary source of income, and basically All I Do...SO I can promise things in a timely manner if you need.

For additional characters:

+ $20 for sketch + $35 for Lines/Shading + $40 for Flat Color and for a fully rendered image pricing can be negotiated but starts at $75 and goes up from there.

NSFW:

+ $75 + Discuss this with me first, pricing can be negotiated depending on detail. (Drawing sexytimes is hard, but I’m not opposed.)

Backgrounds:

+ $125 + Price can be negotiated based on detail.

Paintings:

+ Painting prices vary based on detail  as well and can be negotiated, but generally I will charge 25 an hour, because they do take me quite a while to complete. 

My Terms:

+ Payment will need to be given in full upon receiving the initial sketch. After the sketch is approved, there will be no refunds. (Sorry!) + Allow me at least 1-4 weeks to complete your piece. Generally it will take less time than that, but if there are several slots taken up it may take me some time to get to yours. (I will communicate with you, but feel free to ask for a progress update!) + Non-Commercial use ONLY unless discussed. NO NFTs. + Feel free to use the art you receive for whatever you’d like, but please give me credit :> + Payment through Paypal or Ko-Fi

[thegildedbee]

Apology/Imperfect: May 23 & 24 Prompts from @calaisreno

This latest chapter and the previous ones are here at ao3. ..................................................................................

In and of itself, the passing of time had not yet begun to blunt whatever was continuing to tear at him in losing Sherlock; in and of itself it had not offered a pathway forward. His impulse to revisit the beginning had surprised John –.he had no idea if this flight of fancy (and of his feet) would worsen his situation; although he’d wager that "worse" was not a possibility. But the impetuosity had sparked his synapses, and as he buys his ticket for the train, he knows that it is the right thing to do, even if he cannot put words as to why.

On the day after Sherlock had come into his life, the “pink lady,” Jennifer Wilson, had traveled from Cardiff to London; nearly two years later, his remembrance of her existence had prompted John to travel in reverse, allowing the train to carry him further back in time the nearer they drew to Wales. Six minutes from Paddington, as the train accelerates to its running speed of 125 miles an hour, he realizes that he has no idea what he will do once the train pulls into the station. He takes himself to task, wondering if what he’ll do is to step out on the platform, consider the whole journey a folly, check the timetables, and turn around and head back to London. He decides that he doesn’t need to decide, not yet. In two hours’ time, when he steps off the train, he can exit the station, sit down in the nearest pub, and then work out what comes next.

Already he feels as if he is more free to breathe, outside of Harry’s home, beyond Baker Street, increasingly distant from the Diogenes, and Bart’s Hospital, and Scotland Yard, moving further and further away from Charles Magnusson’s corporate high-rise and the street where Irene Adler had lived, and the Tower, the Old Bailey, and Sherlock’s grave. Within the neutral space of the moving train, within the in-between of departure and arrival, John thinks he can let go enough that it will allow him to begin to make a reckoning, loosening knots that bind him to what has been, by thinking new thoughts.

The day that Sherlock had solved the pink lady’s murder was the day that John had thrown in with him. It was the start of them being . . . something . . . to each other. A something that would become something more over time. Two mates? Best friends? A pair? A duo? Twinned? A merger? A team? A partnership? A match? A couple?

It's a complicated question, he admits to himself grudgingly, because there are two sides to it, right? Knowing the answer for one side does not automatically reveal the answer for the other. From one angle -- his -- it’s simple, because whatever it is, it just is. But the whole bloody mess is full of multiple dimensions isn’t it, tenth Doctor timey-wimey stuff. He starts to feel irritated at this line of thought, and throws up his hands. Best put this off until he gets to the pub. Best put this off until he’s been at the pub for a while – and after he’s a few pints down.

But it wasn’t just two of them, was it, he and Sherlock, although they wouldn’t know that for a while. There was a third, right at the start, although the third had thought that he was one of two. He had thought that he was at the start of . . . something . . . with Sherlock. Nothing as simple as mates or best friends or a pair; what he was after was more complex than these: A duo? Twinned? No, it would be closer to a merger, although that wouldn’t be emotionally true enough, would it?

Sherlock had been on Moriarty’s mind ever since he discovered him in the aftermath of Carl Powers’ death. He had been planning a courtship through all these years, the trainers his Rosebud, that he would lay at Sherlock’s feet. He wanted, at least early on, to be a team, a partnership – yes, that would be closer. It might have even been satisfactory if that was all that was possible from Sherlock's end; or might be satisfactory as a way station, until Moriarty could bend him to his will. Moriarty had already raced ahead: his something was as a match, as a couple.

Moriarty had been writing himself and Sherlock into a twisted fairy tale from the start. He didn’t know Sherlock as well as he might have thought; he would need access to Mycroft’s brain, and memories, and his expressive tells to compensate for both his lack of data, and his lack of a soul, unable as the psychopath that he was to feel the emotional connection that his lust for power over Sherlock craved. In the aftershocks of Jennifer Wilson's death and the Yard's summons to Sherlock, Moriarty had sent Sherlock a setpiece from The Princess Bride to play, to test his mettle: to see if he died -- and that his brain had been made of inferior stuff, and playing the game wouldn't have been worth the candle; or whether Moriarty’s hypothesis that Sherlock was worthy to be one of two with him was proven, by his staying alive, demonstrating that he possessed a mind that was laced with iocane powder.

How disappointed Moriarty must have been when he realized that Sherlock hadn't understood the reference! John smiled, wistfully, remembering: the inevitable glitch in the operation of genius, yes? That there’s always something.

But Sherlock hadn’t needed an iocane-laced brain; he had John: John could act that night as the antidote to the poison, and he had. He had played a role in the fairy tale, although not a part that was written by Moriarty, but the part that was appearing in letters across the London skyline, like magic ink when it becomes visible, written by the two of them: John and Sherlock.

Their once upon a time, which had begun the day before, ended its first chapter with John saving Sherlock by slaying a dragon.

The train surges ahead as the landscape outside the window greens, and a young mother and her son make their way down the aisle back to their seats, hand-in-hand. She listens to him with an intent expression as he waves outside the window and then to his mobile, explaining something or other about the Pokemon he’s captured. Outside, the long stretch of empty track behind them leaves evidence of the miles that have disappeared during that moment.

John had seen himself as Sherlock’s protector from the start: a soldier to protect him from harm, harm from others and harm from himself, even as Sherlock set out to protect London, with all the recklessness, brilliance, abrasiveness, arrogance, imperfection and exuberance that was embedded within his being.

But John had not been able to protect Sherlock in the last days of his life. Something had gone wrong, and while there were more contributing factors than he was sure he could count if he counted until the end of his days, he knew that some of that wrongness had been down to him. He catches glimpses when he remembers those times when he was at Sherlock’s side during the tumult of the photo calls that began with his retrieval of Turner’s Reichenbach Falls painting. He senses deep inside that he owes Sherlock an apology for the condescension he had indulged in, which obscured his view of the field of battle, leaving Sherlock alone to try and overcome the curse that Moriarty had spun around him. There's more there he needs to think about it, if he's ever going to understand what happened. He can't just skip over it; he has to go through it, and hope that he emerges on the other side.

........................................................

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @friday411 @peanitbear @original-welovethebeekeeper

@helloliriels @a-victorian-girl @keirgreeneyes @starrla89 @naefelldaurk

@topsyturvy-turtely @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @jobooksncoffee @meetinginsamarra

@solarmama-plantsareneat @bluebellofbakerstreet @dragonnan @safedistancefrombeingsmart @jolieblack

@msladysmith @ninasnakie @riversong912 @dapetty

.............................................................................

[eroticcannibal]

Yet another updated beg post

So we are surviving and housed now but there are still a few pressing things to pay for:

Another moving van to get my stuff out of storage (300+)

Moving my piano (its sentimental) (300+)

Paying a mediator to resolve the cat microchip issue and get the relevant information about moving the piano from my ex otherwise the movers won't proceed (125+)

Flooring (its cold here) (A FUCKING LOT ive not got a quote but looking around its gonna be at least 1k. got a whole house to do and council always strips the flooring out before someone moves in. I got bare concrete here. Its so fucking dusty send help)

Any help is always appreciated, my PayPal is risukadekei@outlook.com

[city-of-ladies]

A pioneering female composer, Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) defied the norms of her time. Unlike many women of her era, she was not a wife, a nun, or a courtesan; but an independent woman devoted to her music.

The heiress of the Muses

Barbara was immersed in music from an early age. Her father, Giulio Strozzi, an illegitimate member of the noble Strozzi family, played a significant role in Venetian musical life, writing librettos for major composers and poetry. Her mother, Isabella Garzoni, was Giulio’s longtime servant, possibly of Greek origin, as she was known as “La Griega” or “La Greghetta” (“The Little Greek”).

Unlike Nannerl Mozart, Barbara benefited from a supportive environment. Her father acknowledged her and provided her with a comprehensive education, allowing her to develop her talents from a young age. She trained with opera composer Francesco Cavalli, and by the age of 15, Barbara was already performing at gatherings in the Strozzi home. She possessed an impressive and flexible soprano voice, capable of singing complex compositions.

Her talent was widely recognized. In 1635 and 1636, composer Nicolò Fontei dedicated two volumes of solo songs to her. She also performed at meetings of her father’s intellectual circle, the Accademia degli Unisoni (“Academy of the Like-Minded”). Among the attendees was Giovanni Francesco Loredan, a supporter of feminist writer and nun Arcangela Tarabotti, who remarked that “had she been born in another era, surely she would have usurped or expanded the place of the muses.”

An extraordinary career

Barbara went on to publish her own compositions. In 1644, she released Il primo libro de madrigali (First Book of Madrigals, Opus 1), dedicated to Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, known for her patronage of female convents and musicians—a strategic choice on Barbara’s part.

Despite the dominance of opera, Barbara achieved recognition as a composer of chamber music. Her compositions showcased her vocal talent, though she sometimes wrote with other female voices in mind. Her songs explored themes of love, jealousy, joy, despair and sensuality. Most of her work was secular, but she also composed religious pieces in Latin—a unique accomplishment for a Catholic laywoman in early modern Europe.

Barbara’s work was more than just a portrayal of women as sensual temptresses; she also demonstrated a powerful and dramatic voice. An example of this is “Lagrime mie” (“My Tears”) from 1657, a poignant expression of a lover’s despair that fully utilized her vocal abilities.

Over her lifetime, Barbara published around 125 compositions across eight volumes, making her more prolific than any other female composer of her era. By 1656, her works were included alongside those of male composers in printed collections. While she did not perform publicly, her music has been preserved.

A troubled personal life

Barbara never married but had four children, at least three of whom were fathered by Giovanni Paolo Vidman, a friend of her father. Long-term concubinage relationships like theirs were not uncommon at the time.

The nature of their relationship remains unclear. An anonymous commentator wrote in 1677 that Giovanni Paolo had raped Barbara. This might seem contradictory given the length of their relationship, but societal norms of the time regarding female virginity sometimes forced women to remain with their aggressors to protect their reputations.

Through her work, Barbara was able to provide for her children. Giovanni Paolo died in 1648, leaving provisions for her and their children. Both of Barbara’s daughters entered convents, with the entrance fees paid by Giovanni Paolo’s wife, Camilla. Barbara rented a house from Giovanni Paolo’s brother until 1677 when she traveled to Padua, where she died of illness.

My Ko-Fi

Further reading

Kendrick Robert L., “Intent and textuality in Barbara Strozzi’s sacred music”

Magner Candace, “Barbara Strozzi, a brief history”

Ray Meredith K., Twenty-five women who shaped the Italian Renaissance 

[aihoshiino]

chapter 145 thoughts!

what even was this chapter, y'all. i'm getting a migraine.

While it certainly wasn't actively bad, it basically hits on enough of the issues I've been having with the Movie Arc that if you've been reading my chapter reviews lately, you could probably write this one yourself. Weird pacing, skipping over interesting parts of the movie, continued framing of AQRB as a shallow gag and failing to follow on any of the implied development from or literally any referenced fallout of the kiss in 143? It's all here, babes. It would ultimately just be boring and redundant for me to go over all that at length again, so I won't.

I will however say that I'm pretty disappointed we're blasting through what had the potential to be some really interesting bits of postmortem characterization for Ai, even filtered through 15YL. I don't mind the manga breezing past scenes we saw firsthand but like… how did Ai react when she realized she was pregnant? How did she feel, especially given that Spica once again emphasized her longing for a family of her own? IDK. The way the story is suddenly jolting forwards in these last few chapters and skipping such huge chunks of Ai's life ultimately feels very strange and I don't know what to make of it yet.

Everyone reacting to Crow Girl's acting was pretty funny though I'm kind of exhausted with Ruby's Gaga-For-Oniichansensei Gag Character flanderization. IDK if my tolerance for it is just decreasing or if it really is amping up, but at least in the 125-137 stretch I at least got the sense that they could be in the same room and have a normal conversation but ever since 139, it feels that bit more relentless. I imagine this would be less irritating if we knew how the aftermath of 143 had played out but it really seems like the manga is going to drag this out until we're all old and grey.

THAT SAID, this chapter does confirm that Aqua's hoshigan stayed white after that chapter and… eh. Who even knows what that means lol. It does at least imply that his talk with Ruby has brought him back to Baseline Aqua but Baseline Aqua is still a guy with every single mental illness on planet earth so I don't know if that's the world's biggest W quite yet. It certainly implies an improvement over double black hoshigan but… again, with Aqua being so totally cut off from the readers this whole arc and no idea of what happened in the aftermath of 143, it's impossible to make a meaningful guess as to wtf is going on with Aqua right now.

Oh yeah, uh. This chapter also I guess constitutes the reveal of how the AQRB reincarnation happened. I guess LMAO. Honestly, I don't have much to say about it other than it feels like a bit of an anticlimax for me? The idea works fine, the execution just left me… idk. Whelmed at best, underwhelmed at most. I feel like this backstory and the implied deep fondness for GRSR -> AQRB it implies doesn't really like up with the personality she displays in the Private arc but like, I kind of feel like she was tossed into the story without Akasaka having a clear idea as to what her role was even going to turn into so maybe that's not a surprise LOL

I will say I'm glad this seems to quash the theory that Aqua and Ruby were secretly capital-G Gods, instead framing it as a Tsuru no Ongaeshi type return of kindness to two otherwise mundane people. There was some fun fan theorizing around the idea, but for me personally, Oshi no Ko is most interesting when it focuses on that aspect of the story Akasaka highlighted in an interview recently, of human relationships being warped by the entertainment industry and I think an explosion of the emotional stakes to the cosmic scale of AQRB (or tbh any of the characters) being Secretly Gods All Along would be a bit of a shark jump for me and would really shift away from what I like about the series most.

That's kind of it for this one…! Not really a lot to say about this chapter, which is why most of this review was me explaining why I didn't have a lot to say about it.

[pokepollsters]

Best Pokémon Protagonist Tournament- Stats Breakdown!

After many weeks of voting, we concluded that Tumblr's favourite Protagonist is Akari- but we still have a lot of other data to sift through that we can learn from! Read more to find out about the most and least popular matches, the averages, and maybe most importantly- who won the biggest sweep?

As usual, let's start with the total number of votes across the whole tournament. This time it was 15,433 votes over 25 matches for an average 617 votes per match- slightly lower than our last tournament (20,353 total and 727 average) but still the second most popular tournament we've run. If you include the preliminaries, however, the total number of votes increases to 21,204 over 35 matches and 1 tiebreaker- an average of 589.

Next up, a look at the average votes a contestant brought in- who was a bigger draw than the others? Who inspired the most enthusiastic voting? When we rank them, this is how it stacks up:

Hilda- 494 (2,472 votes across 5 matches)

Akari- 461 (2,304 votes across 5 matches)

Dawn- 374 (1,868 votes across 5 matches)

Serena- 330 (989 votes across 3 matches)

May- 328 (1,641 votes across 5 matches)

Rosa- 319 (958 votes across 3 matches)

Hilbert- 315 (631 votes across 2 matches)

Red- 314 (629 votes across 2 matches)

Gloria- 310 (930 votes across 3 matches)

Lyra- 308 (617 votes across 2 matches)

Kris- 278 (278 votes in 1 match)

Leaf- 248 (248 votes in 1 match)

Ethan- 234 (234 votes in 1 match)

Selene- 223 (223 votes in 1 match)

Lucas- 209 (209 votes in 1 match)

Rei- 189 (189 votes in 1 match)

Juliana- 155 (155 votes in 1 match)

Elio- 139 (139 votes in 1 match)

Nate- 125 (125 votes in 1 match)

Brendan- 112 (112 votes in 1 match)

Chase- 109 (109 votes in 1 match)

Calem & Elaine- 103 (103 votes in 1 match each)

Victor- 88 (88 votes in 1 match)

Florian- 80 (80 votes in 1 match)

Through this ranking, we can get a general idea of the top ten (according to our voters anyway), and yes, as we all observed in the tournament, the girls are far more popular! 80% of the top 10 are ladies, and only 2 men are in the top half at all- 3 if you include Ethan sitting in exactly the middle.

Of specific note, the top 3 are indeed our medal winners, though Hilda and Akari are swapped in position- and we're about to see that same phenomenom in the next list. And poor Florian sits at the bottom, only 80 votes to his name, proving beyond a doubt that the girls are more popular when his counterpart who wears the exact same outfit sits several places higher in 17th.

Okay! On to average vote share. When comparing our contestants, who- on average anyway- took home the biggest proportion of the votes within their matches? And yes, I've already given you a little spoiler about our top two.

Hilda- 68.7%

Akari- 67.7%

Gloria- 64%

Dawn- 60.1%

May- 56.8%

Rosa- 56.4%

Hilbert- 54.3%

Lyra- 53.4%

Serena- 52.5%

Red- 44.7%

Leaf- 42.9%

Kris- 42.4%

Lucas- 40.9%

Rei- 38.7%

Ethan- 35.3%

Selene- 35.2%

Elio- 29.4%

Nate- 21%

Chase- 19.7%

Brendan- 19%

Elaine- 17.9%

Victor- 17.8%

Calem- 17.2%

Florian- 16.5%

Juliana- 16.1%

With a few notable differences, this list is largely similar to the last- in fact our top 10 are identical, albeit with the rankings shifted around a bit. Dawn loses her 3rd place spot to Gloria, and Red is barely hanging on to the 10th spot, but he's still there!

As I mentioned before, Hilda tops this list, not Akari- it seems increasingly clear that with how popular she is, only Akari could've beaten her for that gold medal! Down at the other end though, Florian manages not to be last, this time only losing to his female counterpart- perhaps the girls aren't always popular after all? But it's hard to argue against the same proportion of boys in the top half as before- only 2 (with that coveted middle spot now going to Lucas instead of Ethan).

Now time for my one and only graph! I think it's nice to have some data in a visual form, but I try and keep the important stuff in text form so it's easy to read and more accurate. But here's our lovely pie chart of what proportion of the total tournament votes each contestant got.

Last but by no means least, it's time for individual match stats.

The most voted on match was Round 1: Match 8, Juliana vs Hilda, with 964 votes- just shy of 1,000. Closely following behind it was the finals, with 939 votes. On the other end, the least voted on poll (outside of the preliminaries, which had on average lower votes anyway) was Round 3: Match 3, May vs Gloria, with 483 votes. With only 3 votes more at 486, was Round 2: Match 7, Florian vs Hilda.

Individually, the person to gain the most votes in a single poll was Hilda, once again in that Round 1 match where she got 809 votes! Poor Florian in his Round 2 match got only 80 votes, however- the least in a single match.

The last thing we always look at is margins. For the closest match this competition, we look to Round 2: Match 3, Red vs Lyra. While it shares the exact same 4.6% margin as the final match did, the vote margin was smaller, with only 30 votes separating them (compared to 43 in the finals).

And now- the biggest sweep. Here we specifically look at margins, not votes, but in this case it's one and the same. The match we keep mentioning- Round 1: Match 8- ended in a huge 67.8% margin, or 654 votes. Hilda may not have won the gold in the tournament porper, but she absolutely swept the competition in these stats, and earns herself a spot in the biggest sweep hall of fame.

After all that, we're finally finished. Thank you so much for sticking around through this competition, and I can't wait to see you back here again soon for the next one! Currently a poll is up to decide what that tournament will be, so don't forget to vote and share it, and we'll be back with more polls very soon!

[heroesriseandfall]

Thinking about Tim’s 16th birthday and how it contrasts and compares to what his 15th birthday could’ve been…

Tim and Jack both forget Tim’s 16th birthday is coming up, but Tim’s new stepmom Dana remembers, despite only being around for at most one other birthday. (She became Jack’s girlfriend when Tim was 14 and married Jack when Tim was 15, so the only birthday she’d know him for was the 15th.) Once Dana reminds Jack they plan the surprise party with all Tim’s favorite foods and friends—all in all a much better reaction to Tim’s 16th birthday than what Bruce and Alfred did.

But here’s the thing. Tim’s 15th birthday occurred during No Man’s Land, when the islands of Gotham were cut off from the mainland and it was considered an illegal and dangerous place to be. Tim ran away to NML around July 7th, and was still there 2 weeks later (using this timeline for reference) sometime after which his dad managed to get him extracted from NML via a helicopter (lol). This means Tim was in No Man’s Land at least from around July 7th to July 21st…and Tim’s birthday is July 19th.

There’s no way to be confident what happened for Tim’s birthday, because it had never been mentioned yet. One idea is that in the chaos, Tim & Jack once again forgot. However, this wouldn’t quite explain both Dana knowing Tim’s birthday and being surprised when they forgot it.

Dana could have looked it up or asked when she became Tim’s stepmom, but also. We know Dana was with Jack the whole time Tim was in No Man’s Land. Considering how stressed and worried Jack was about Tim being in No Man’s Land, my guess is he could’ve made a big deal about Tim turning 15 while he was stuck in NML. If Jack made a big deal about the date, that would explain why next year, Dana remembered Tim’s birthdate was coming up, despite having never celebrated it before.

Edit: Remembered/found a panel in Robin #125 where Tim says Jack used to proudly tell stories every year on Tim’s birthdays + Christmas about Tim’s grandpa lying about his age to enlist in WW2 at 15. I dunno if this adds much to my analysis but it’s deeply ironic and funny to me.