#the last paragraph is why I was debating to even respond

[notyourmajesty]

Henry's Dog David, and How RWRB (the Book and the Movie) Explore the Meaning of His Name.

(GIF by @andysapril)

CW: Mentions of deaths, murder attempts, mostly from Bible verses.

An Easter Egg from the book that the film managed to incorporate in an entirely different context.

Henry naming his dog David is one of the things Alex comments on both in the film and the book. He finds the name particularly odd for a pet, and when Henry tells him later that the inspiration was David Bowie, Alex remarks that he could have just used the surname instead.

This is basically just me overthinking the way the book and the film added "David and Jonathan" to two totally different scenes haha.

David Bowie

There has been a lot of debate over Bowie's sexuality since the 70s, and possibly conflicting statements from Bowie himself over the decades, but he did leave quite an impact on queer people in his time (ref: this article). Henry both in the book and in the film has often turned to literature and art for inspiration, and solace, when it came to exploring his own identity as a gay man. All kinds of historical queer identities - both debated and confirmed - show up in the tapestry of people and ideas that have influenced Henry's own thoughts and ideas (Alex's too). So it definitely makes sense that he would name his beloved pet dog after one of those inspirations.

(notably, during Henry's dramatic entrance when Alex comes down to the UK for damage control, the song playing is Bowie's "Up the Hill Backwards". You also see him choose a Queen song for karaoke, which makes me want to really headcanon him as a 70s prog rock fan 😄)

David and Jonathan

In the book, Alex goes over the details of Henry's fact sheet with Nora and his sister June. When he mentions the name of Henry's dog, he claims his dislike for the name is because it sounds more like a "tax attorney" than a beloved pet (Ch 2).

In the film, it's his SS detail Amy who quizzes him. She responds to his quip about Henry's choice of name for a pet by telling him what she's named her own dog. It's a tiny, fun detail with no lasting importance in the film, but I feel it does work within the larger framework of how the film incorporates queer readings and figures too.

I see this as a reference to a popular reading of the Hebrew/Biblical story of David and Jonathan from the 2 books of Samuel. David was a shepherd anointed by the prophet Samuel (through orders from God), to succeed King Saul, and Jonathan was Saul's son who was extremely devoted to David and even saved him from his father's wrath. They were known to have made a covenant to each other soon after they met, and the first Book of Samuel gives us a picture of an immensely close bond between the two:

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. (1 Samuel 18, 1-4)

Interpretations of their relationship have ranged from close friendship to a romantic relationship, and there have been many, many queer readings on this pair.

In Casey McQuiston's RWRB too, Alex references both a saying from the Book of Proverbs (24:13), and the story of David and Jonathan in the same paragraph. This is in Ch 10, when Henry takes Alex to the V&A museum. This particular sequence is in the inner chamber of the museum, shortly after the couple dance to Elton John's "Your Song".

He compares himself and Henry to "a lost David and Jonathan", and it's pretty obvious why when you think of their devotion, and the tragic end of the relationship of the latter. Like Jonathan, Henry is a prince utterly devoted to one man, and sure that his family too will be against their bond. Like David, Alex is an outsider who the royal family may view as a threat to their stability, and therefore must be kept away. David's love for Jonathan is immense: he makes the covenant with Saul's son soon after they meet, and when he mourns Jonathan's death, he says "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." (2 Samuel 1:26).

This amazing post from @elipheleh explores this metaphor more in detail (as well as St. Chiara, and a quote from Oscar Wilde, who is referenced both in the book and the film as a writer Henry is fond of). It also speaks about the verse from the Book of Proverbs that Alex remembers, partly in Spanish, partly in English - Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. (Proverbs 24:13-14)

(Jonathan in 1 Samuel also has his own reference to honey - there is a story that chronicles a tense moment between Jonathan and his father, King Saul, due to Jonathan eating wild honey on a day when the troops were bound by an oath to fast (he had not heard the oath himself). He almost faces death by Saul's hand for breaking the oath the latter had made, but is saved by the other people in the troops. (1 Samuel 14: 24-46). I've seen different ways of this passage being interpreted - as either Jonathan being judged for disobeying an oath even though he was not around when it was announced, or Saul being viewed as foolish for making such an oath in the first place. The main point is, Saul is ready to kill his son for breaching a certain protocol, and it is the people who save Jonathan.

Similarly IMO, Henry is prepared to live his whole life in the closet viewing his sexuality as something that would bring shame to his family, but eventually recognizes that he has support. Both within his family (in the form of his mother Catherine and his sister Bea), and in the public eye)

At this point in their lives, Alex and Henry see very little hope that things will get better soon enough for them to unite. It is more than likely that - in their minds - this one romantic visit will be their last for a long, long time. Of course David and Jonathan - who parted ways in the hope of being reunited after the battle with Jonathan's father, and whose friendship/love met a tragic end - would be considered a fitting parallel for the situation Alex and Henry find themselves in.

The book has the space and scope to explore many, many images and symbols that could fit Alex and Henry. Whether it's in the letters they send each other, the references Alex learns more about as he figures out his sexuality. The book can - at the V&A museum - describe the statues the two men linger at in loving detail, making us more aware how poignant their temporary separation will be and how bittersweet this last dance is.

The movie's focus is different - the V&A scene is a (presumably) final, deeply intimate moment that lets Alex see for real the weight of his role in Henry's environment, and how little he expects to see his dreams come true. It also lets Henry see how determined Alex is to make his every dream a reality.

Most moments of highlighting queer literature or history are pocketed away in smaller sequences in the film, as small references and Easter eggs (eg. the books they recommend each other), as the film focuses more on the relationship and it's effects both on the men and the world around them. The V&A is more a visual backdrop for that bittersweet last moment where the two can find equal ground and truly understand each other. I think mentioning the names of the statues would take away from that.

The movie didn't need to include David and Jonathan. Why is why I'm truly, truly grateful that they still did. Even as a tiny, cute Easter egg that is supposed to be banter about weirdly specific pet-naming protocol 💖

[persmo]

Not that last anon, but there are endogenic systems in the OSDDID community. There are systems who had trauma after their system already formed which can cause a dissociative disorder to develop. There's also like what I think that anon's case is, there are DID systems with endogenic headmates who are spiritual, thoughtforms, etc.

This especially goes for OSDD, which isn't even inherently a system disorder. OSDD is just a catchall in the DSM-V for disorders that don't fit DID, Dissociative Amnesia, or DPDR.

What you are doing is closer to gatekeeping in that sense. Even if you think their experiences are real, you are excluding systems from dissociative resources for something as arbitrary as origin that may not even impact how the system is now if the later trauma was severe enough.

This is also where a lot of fakeclaiming that targets OSDDID systems comes from. It starts with "we don't want endos in our community" then spirals into "this is how you spot an endo". This is how fictives started to be viewed as a faking red flag (the term "fictive" came from endogenic systems), too many nonhumans make you fake (endogenic systems and otherkin have a long lasting overlap), as well as knowing too much about your system (endogenic systems don't usually have dissociative barriers unless something happened later). Even if you aren't fakeclaiming explicitly, encouraging an origin binary and excluding endogenic systems does contribute to the problem that loops around and effects all systems.

Also there are a few cases where you can win a debate with a fakeclaimer. Some people are genuinely misinformed, and if you have the energy, ability, and sources, it can be worth to send a message to try.

Ok so, I know I already said and established that I wouldn't be answering anon things regarding this topic, but I need to clarify something cause, again, you didn't read correctly or you didn't get the point of our post/reply, so I'm gonna explain in detail every point your talking about in this message and also some extra things hoping that people would stop making themselves incorrect ideas about us and maybe do a purification regarding followers (Cause damn, we are getting a big hate even though we aren't famous or shit like that)

So please, if you really want to hate us and really want to know our stand read this whole and then comment or reblog-respond, because if you don't read it whole we're just gonna block you and don't count your opinion

First paragraph topic: Endos in the OSDDID community

I didn't talk about that topic, but you're bringing it out so I will now, and I hope that you and other people can understand my point in this. I know there are endos in the OSDDID community, I know there are cases in which someone has a dissociative identity disorder and also have plurality in some other way, if that's what you're trying to explain me well... You didn't explain anything that I didn't know already, with the last anon I said if their case is they having DID and also having a cultural-spiritual base plurality I know they exist and I don't fakeclaim them because they have OSDDID, so why would I fakeclaim them?

The specific point that I have it's the way they talk and/or present those parts that aren't because of the disorder, but I'm fakeclaiming those parts? Of course not, cause I know they're a different presenting way of plurality that have nothing to do with the disordered parts, and I won't talk about them because our speciality is disordered dissociated parts, not plural parts in general, also cause I don't know almost anything about the topic and, most importantly, don't know last anon case

So with this I hope I clarified this point, if not, tell me and I will explain (Like with every point, so this state applies to all)

Second paragraph: OSDD not being an inherently a system disorder

With this I have a lot to unpack cause we entered in our hyperfix and knowledge field. For this part I'm gonna do multiple paragraphs cause there's a lot to say and explain

First of all OSDD is a disorder, that's why it is in the DSM-5, I'm not sure if you claimed that OSDD is not a disorder or just is not a system disorder, so I clarify this just to make sure

Now, let's see what the DSM says about OSDD, ok?

The DSM V says:

The DSM V TR says:

Besides that info it's good to know that OSDD can be classified in various subtypes, 4 to be exact, and why it's important to clarify the 4 subtypes? Cause only one of this subtypes is capable of being a plural disorder this being OSDD-1 (This subtypes includes from OSDD-1a to OSDD-1d)

So if you're gonna say that OSDD isn't inherently a system disorder you're half correct, because it depends in the subtype you're seeing, if you're talking about OSDD-1 when it is, but if you're talking about OSDD as a whole and not seeing the subtypes, well you're right, and in this case when I talk about OSDDID community I talk only about OSDD-1, it's just that it's better and shorter to just say "OSDDID community" rather than "OSDD-1, P-DID and DID community" don't you think?

And for the OSDD being "just a catchall" for the other dissociative disorders... Well you're not completely right and let me explain. The OSDD stand for "Other Specified Dissociative Disorder", just in the name says it's for specifying other thing because it doesn't enter to the other criterias, and yes, that make OSDD a comodin like diagnosis, but if you read below that you'll find the UDD or "Unspecified Dissociative Disorder" and this diagnosis puts more info about dissociative disorders that doesn't fit in the other criteria including OSDD so even though OSDD can count as a catchall UDD too, and you're not talking about it

So with this information I hope I got clarified this point

Third paragraph: Gatekeeping and excluding

First I'm gonna address the gatekeeping thing.

If you're saying I'm gatekeeping by saying "endos DNI", then I am, because that's one of our boundaries, getting mad for someone else boundaries because it doesn't align with you it's horrible in my opinion.

If you're saying that I'm gatekeeping for excluding endos when I talk about systems and plurality in my blog, then I am, because this is a disordered aligned blog and I'm not gonna be talking about endos, and because a lot of endos want to make everything about themselves I don't want them to interact.

If you're saying I'm gatekeeping because I'm not talking about endos because I don't want, then I am.

If you're saying I'm gatekeeping because I exclude endos that are also disordered well you're wrong, I'm not doing that, if they want they can interact ONLY if they keep comments about them being endos away from our blog, I'm not saying they have to stop being endos cause they have a disorder, just that comments and things about being endo don't put them in our blog, outside our blog talk all you want about being endo cause we don't fucking care

It's just our preference, our boundarie, I don't get why people get mad about it when I'm not even attacking endos, damn we're not even anti-endo, we said it the last post and we'll repeat it. I hope this explains it because, from what I understand we're not gatekeeping nothing, we're just setting boundaries, and if you're mad for that is a you problem, not ours, but if we're gatekkeping please come and explain in detail how

Now about the exluding allegations... Simply we're not ???

I'm not excluding anyone from dissociative resources, I don't know were do you take that conclution, because from our words don't. We can't decide and stop every random from the internet and exclude them, that's imposible, we're not in position to exclude anyone

Again, if you have disordered plurality we don't care if you also have another kind of plurality, if you have disordered plurality and/or you experience maladaptive dissociation go ahead and use the resourses, after all the resourses are for people who strugle with complex dissociative disorders

But if you're not disorder nor experience maladaptive dissociation then why would you want to use resourses for people with CDD??? (No, I'm not counting neither Simply Plural nor Plural Kit in the dissociation resources because, one, their aren't resources just tools, and two, the creators said that SP and PK can be used for any reason that you please including disordered plurality)

If someone has a disordered plurality, a trauma disorder or a complex dissociative disorder then go ahed and use that resources, because the resourses are for you, we don't care if apart from that you have another type of plurality and if you do well good for you, you're still able to use that resources because one, I can't literally stop you, and two, the resources are for you

Fourth paragraph: Fakeclaiming (A binary excluding way and disordered targeting)

This is the most long paragraph you put so I'm gonna talk part by part just to make sure you don't miss any point at all

I don't understand what you mean by "This is also where a lot of fakeclaiming that targets OSDDID systems comes from", but if I'm getting it correctly you said that the exclusion and gatekeeping that I'm doing (Again, I'm not, but you're assuming and claiming I am) encourages the fakeclaimin towards OSDDID systems which in my opinion sounds dumb and let me explain why

Fakeclaiming is not a term that the plural community invented, fakeclaiming has been existing for years before that, but the use of the word was popularized by the plural community. Fakeclaiming disorders have been happening way back before the internet even existed, now a days fakeclaming has been evolving and having new stupid criteria to fakeclaim

Endos fakeclaiming, disordereds fakeclaiming, singlets fakeclaim, everyone fakeclaims, actual plural fakeclaming is mainly towards OSDDID systems and yes, some things of the fakeclaimings is because endo fakeclaiming, but the fakeclaiming to OSDDID has been existing way before the name change to DID/OSDD, the fakeclaiming criteria just evolved and changed

So yeah, for me saying that the fakeclaiming or at least a lot of fakeclaiming towards OSDDID systems come from endo exclusion seems dumb, but everyone has different ways of viewing this and I respect that, I'm just stating my opinion and view of things

Now, you can't say all OSDDID systems act the way you say, first saying that they don't want endos in the community and then making guides to spot endos, because if you're gonna generalize I'm gonna do it to with endos too. We don't do guides to spot endos because that obsessive, wrong and kinda sickly, we just don't care at all about that, endos sometimes say explicitly that they're endos and I believe them so I don't interact with them and sometimes block them, that's all, I don't think that's wrong if it's my prference

It is obvious that I cannot speak for the entire OSDDID community cause we're just some random system online, we're just talking about ourselves in this case. Do you know the amounts of OSDDID system that we have blocked because they're horrible? No, you don't, because you don't know us and our point of view in this topics, in reality we hate almost all the internet OSDDID community (generalizing)

You're explanation of what its seen like signs of faking is correct, and we actually can't say anything for that part, just to clarify that we know singlets that have never encountered the plural community nor plural things in the internet and do that fakeclaiming (we know it because they have done it to us), so no, it's not actually encouraged by the endo fakeclaiming/exclusion like you say

Now about the endo exclusion and binary origin. All that I'm gonna say in this point is about us and our point and stand of all this things, I'm not talking about the whole community, just for us, because to talk about the whole community another post

AGAIN, we're not excluding endos in general, in that case we're excluding all systems besides close friends. Saying that in this blog we don't want endos here is to be safe and prevent fights and things similar to this and other more horrible actions to our person becasue we don't feel comfortable with endos atacking us

In fact if we met endos that are opend minded, respectful, patient and have an attitude that we like we're not gonna exclude them, actually if they want we're more than willing to befriend them, so no, we don't exclude them

It's like neurodivegents prefering not to interact with neurotipicals, they're not excluding them, just they don't feel comfortable around them, but obviously if they found a neurotipical they like they'll can befriend them, we're in a similar position with endos

And in the same manner of exclusion it's the binary origin thing. We only care about origin when talking about our preference and experiences, it's like the cis and trans, it's a binary system about identity, but for some reason that is not offensive and this is?

Like I don't get your point, we're not excluding via origin because we're not doing it at all, pointing out the differences is important to recognize and understand the diversity around systems, and also know it to understand the subcategories and have personal preference, just like us

Again with the allegory, saying that neurotipicals and neurodivergents and different it's ok because even though the two are humans they have some differences and that's ok, and even with neurodivergents are subcategorys and some people may have preference to one or another, but that doesn't make them bad people because it's just a preferencem of course sometimes this can be related to discrimination and things like that, but not always, and when is about discrimination you will be a bad person, but if just for preference it's ok

And now with the last sentence, doing the exclusion (we don't, but you say we do) it's countribuiting to the problem that affects all systems, and here's when I ask how we're countibuting to doing harm to people?

We're not excluding, perpetuating harmful thoughts or points or view to others, we're just setting boundaries bassed in our preference, how we're countributing to harm around systems when we're not atacking no one and we're not doing any harm?, in fact are endos and pro-endos who are atacking us and are trying to make us the bad guy when we're not even mentioning them in a malicious way, damn we're not even a big account or something, we're just starting this blog and people already have us in a blacklist when we did nothing wrong, the only thing we did is have and set boundaries (that people keep breaking just to see cool or for some other reason) and respond attacks and comments against our person just because we don't have the same opinion

If we're gonna talk about problems that affect all systems let's do it, but do it in a right way, not making assumptions about someone and trying to prove some random point when you don't know if the person your talking to is in your side, sometimes remarking things in a condescending way when someone already agrees with you and claiming that they're something that they're not makes the person don't be in your side anymore

I'm not in the plural community as a whole nor in the system community as a whole, I'm not talking or saying things about systems in general, I'm just talking about OSDDID systems and the OSDDID community because for me that's comfortable, because I know about that topic, because that's my comfort zone, and if I'm a bad person and huting others just by having preferences, boundaries and prioritizing me without attacking anyone then I'm a bad person and I do hut people, but we're not and I don't get what's the fixation of people telling me that I'm that villain they're making up with their assumptions

Because if we're gonna talk about hurting others endos have hurt us A LOT way back we had our medical recognition of DID and knew the meaning of "system community", and if that's not a problem that affects all systems because I know that have happend to many OSDDID systems, that and some more horrible thing done by endos to disordered systems then I don't know what it is. But I'm not here to talk about the bad things endos have done because that's not the blog purpouse, because I'm not here to talk about endos, is the people that are making us talk about it and it seems a bit hypocrite to us

For this paragraph I have nothing to add, so again, if I didn't make myself clear or something like that you can tell me and I will clarify it

Last paragraph: Win debates with fakeclaimers

Yes, I'm aware sometimes fakeclaimers are just uninformed people and you can win the debate with them, but many of them just want to mock and attack people, specially within the OSDDID community, that's why I think is best just to block them and don't give them attention, and we made clear in our posts about fakeclaiming that it was our opinion, you don't have to agree with and that's ok

If you want to do a debate with a fakeclaimer go ahead, I respect your patience because I don't have that and you will be helping

We just give our opinion, we just stated our point of view, we don't have to be perfects like no one. And it's not like the post have a big reach, it doesn't even have 50 likes, so it's not like a lot of people is seeing it

Sometimes we do tend to debate with fakeclaimers and uninformed people in general, when we're in the mood and we have the sources and references in hand, we had won various debates because we're informed, but that experience also teached us that most of fakeclaimers don't even care about it so we made a post about that

Extra notes: Some other points not deeply talked about in this post

Ths post already extend so much that we see prudent to just stop it here, even though we have a lot more points to talk about and clarify. We're planning not only to update our intro to be more specific and so we can avoid problems like this in the future, but making some other post talking about various of the topics seen here and a bit more about our points of view

If you want us to clarify some points or things, ask us things or something like that go ahead adn will do it gladly, also, anon of this post we're be gratefull if you say something about this text we did for you

Like a extra note I'm gonna say in short words our stand with endos, we're oct-endo, in other post we're gonna expalin it deeply

That's all, if you read the whole thing thx and see you random people on internet :)

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

just so you guys know, people are still throwing rocks at me in my inbox.

I don't think I'm gonna post or respond to the messages, because I am just tired at this point. even though I have a lot to say and I feel the need to defend myself when someone sends me long ass paragraphs accusing me of not being 'accountable' and using my chronic illness as something to 'hide behind'?

like girl. I write fanfiction. I. write. fanfiction.

at the end of the day this is a hobby. it is a hobby that I am very passionate about - but I am beholden to no one. I could post 10 different fics that are 2 sentences long each and make no sense and I would have to explain myself to no one about it.

but I know that a lot of people wondered why I deleted @/pinkchubbiebunnie and for a lot of people it was very sudden - and it was because of harassment like this. and it was a lot of harassment that you guys didn't see. for every one message I posted then, there was 30, 40, 50 messages in my inbox - ones I deleted or debated responding to. and that was because I was pointing out fatphobia and lack of trans and amab inclusion in fics (a lack of representation for reader characters outside of cis women, which I think is unfair even though I am a cis woman).

and this time I am being harassed for - pointing out that genuine, healthy reader/writer interaction is down across the board for all authors and saying that due to lack of interaction and because of rude interaction, I had a very hard time finishing a long, multichapter fic. (which I did end up finishing). and I am being berated for not sticking with fandoms, not finishing fics in the past, and supposedly being a rude horrible person.

I am really, really trying hard to push past those rude messages and forget about them so that I can move on. and something I was thinking about last night was doing WIP Wednesdays (aka posting a tiny sample of my wips on Wednesday, which is usually only something people do if they are tagged to do it?) - but now I feel like if I reveal anything about a fic and then don't complete it, it's rude? idk. I am just trying to focus on what I'm working on now because I liked the idea when it was conceptualized in my mind.

but this is really, really demotivating me from posting anything ever

I don't want this to be the straw that breaks the camels back (when it comes to me quitting posting fics) and I don't want to post rude messages that people send me just to get sympathy (because I don't want sympathy, I guess I just want understanding?) - but just know I'm going through the ringer rn. and I want to keep sharing my fics, because I know that those fics make people happy.

before all this, I was even considering doing a series on AO3 called 'from the vault' where I posted all the old kpop fanfics that I have still stored in my google docs just so that people can read them and maybe enjoy them, even if I consider them cringeworthy because they are not up to my current skill level - but idk. all of this is just aggravating my existing mental illness so much and sucking away all the excitement I had for any of these things

[damnfandomproblems]

758838699545001984

I'm the one they're responding to. This'll be the last ask I send on this topic cause I don't want it to turn into a heated argument.

First Paragraph: Yes, I'm aware there's a difference, I wasn't saying there wasn't. I was just saying a lot of antis oversimplify it, thinking writing it= endorsement even though there's a variety of reasons someone might write 'problematic' things, as I tried to illustrate with my personal experience. Regarding "because it’s more convenient to argue every anti is against any bad thing being depicted ever", antis want censorship, they don't want bad things depicted, that's the definition from what I hear of fandom veterans. And I'm not saying they're against everything, it's mostly sex related things in my experience, they're terrifyingly desensitized to fictional violence and often cause real harm to living humans even though willfully hurting people is wrong irl, so it should, by their own arguments, be wrong in fiction, but they're... rather obsessed with and narrow-mindedly focused on the sex related crimes in fiction.

Second Paragraph: Video games. Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row, Manhunt, Fallout. Games where you can kill anyone you want without consequence (as long as they're not an important npc) and/or reward you for killing story related enemies. They glorify violence, make you feel so cool and badass for mowing your enemies down. That's why there was a big debate, that I still see sometimes, on whether or not video games cause real life violence. School shootings in America were sometimes blamed on the shooter playing a violent game. Murder is quite clearly portrayed positively in a lot of video games, and those are also stories. For shows, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, South Park, Simpsons. They depict a lot of dark things positively; murder, incest, cannibalism, minors doing sexual things, abuse. In my experience people used to be concerned that watching these shows, especially cartoons, would "rot your brain" because they didn't have a moral message and characters rarely got punished for their crimes. Plenty of shows glorify violence, or at least don't portray it negatively. I don't know what stories you're looking at if you are looking at any, but the majority romanticize murder/ect.

Third Paragraph: I'm not ignoring anything. I'm aware self-defense is a thing and I personally think it's okay if killing your attacker is the only way to save your own life, there's nothing inherently wrong with the desire to live. But I consider murder to have negative connotations, for example, someone planned and killed someone else because the second person got the promotion the first one wanted. That's not okay in real life, but antis don't often have a problem with it in fiction.

Fourth and Fifth Paragraphs: John Wick is romanticized though. You're supposed to root for him. He's still murdering people which is still wrong irl regardless of his motivations and his enemies' crimes. It's still bad and "justified retaliation" isn't a thing in the context. It's still as bad as murdering innocents. Again, it's still murder and not comparable to self-defense. He's just as much a murderer as the mobsters are. Murder is murder regardless of context. Someone who only murders rapists is as bad as someone who only murders college students. Ever hear the saying two wrongs don't make a right? The fact you genuinely can't see that and think it's amazing and acceptable is concerning. I'm honestly afraid you might hurt someone irl and you kinda seem like a person who wants others to suffer for the rest of their lives if you personally deem their crime "unjustifiable".

Last paragraph: Playing devil's advocate here. Drunk people can't consent. What if two people get drunk and then have sex? It's rape, but both of them are both the victim and the perpetrator. Who would you punish? Both of them? Because they shouldn't have gotten drunk? In this case I'd say it's better to let both go. I'm not saying it's justifiable, but it is excusable. Better to let both go than try to figure out who to charge and how. Incest...let's say a parent forced two siblings to do it. It's still incest, but the blame should be on the parent. And some places allow cousins to marry which is incest. Maybe you should try to change those laws instead of going after fiction. Pedos: not every pedo is a child molester. There is a difference. Imo I think that pedos' that are no contact and are trying to get help should be allowed to get help. Child molesters on the other hand, should be punished, but not by death, and if the victim wants to someday forgive them, that's their prerogative, not yours or mine. Also, what's morally acceptable/legal/the right thing differs from time period and culture. Slavery used to be okay, incest used to be okay in medieval times (many royals were inbred), ancient Spartan men would sleep with little boys. I'm not condoning these irl. But are you going to try to ban history books? Historical accounts? Classic literature and mythology (incest, rape, beastiality, which the gods and sometimes humans were never punished for)? Fairy tales (Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty was raped and she married her rapist)? Going to ban Disney for being based on those same "problematic" fairy tales?

Again, I don't condone these in real life. In fiction? Write/draw what you want, ship what you want, thirst for whatever character you want (yes, even if it's Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura and the person is 40 or it's a pokemon). If I real living being isn't being hurt, I don't care. And if you do genuinely care, then why only target fanfics/fanart? If this really concerns you so much, then try to ban the stuff I mentioned, not just fanworks. And what about a personal account of rape written by the rapist? Do you think that should be burned, or should we read it in hopes of understanding rapists in order to prevent more victims? Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they don't have a purpose. And once again, the examples I listed last paragraph often have the crime justified and/or rewarded. You claim to care about this stuff but only go after fan made things and not the "offical" works taught in schools, sold for money, rewritten and shared around the world, ect. What does that really say about you?

"I never thought I’d have to explain this but here we are."

My perception of you is not the perception you have of yourself. I think you need to reflect on some things.

Posting as a response to a previous ask.

[whatudowhennooneseesyou]

Conversation: Possessive vs Jealousy

I don't know how to feel about this but @lyramundana ask about the difference between jealousy and possessiveness has inspired me.

After having that discussion with them, I am so curious to hear everyone's opinion on this question.

If you were given the option of either your partner having issues with being possessive OR being jealous?

Which would you choose and why?

Guidelines:

I feel like I don't even need to say this but I am going too because of what happened last time:

Please be respectful of everyone's opinion, it is why I have named this a 'conversation' and not a 'debate'. I want this to be a healthy, mature and stimulating conversation where we can offer different perspectives.

If you are a moot and I have tagged you and you're not interested in participating in this conversation, you do not have too and I am more than happy for you to just scroll and forget about this.

I understand this type of conversation might inspire people to bring up their own experiences surrounding these two topics. I am completely okay with you doing that and I will do my best to provide a safe platform however...

If you are going to bring up an experience that may fall under themes like ab*se, v*olence, lack of c*onsent etc, I ask that you please put some sort of warning or disclaimer at the beginning of your paragraph.

The anon box is *tentatively* open for those who do want to remain anonymous but if you are comfortable with not being anon, can you please either reply to this post use the reblog option so I can be able to respond and see everyone's opinion and perspectives.

Okay, let the games begin!!

I'm really looking forward to this!!

Moots: @hipster-shiz @creativechaoticloner @cherry-0420 @scuzmunkie @marievllr-abg @saintfool @umbralhelwolf @starsareseen @lino-jagiyaa @mischiefsmind @mrcarrots @junieshohoho @partywithgyu @whatsk-poppinhomies @craxy-person @hologramhoneymoon @gyuhanniescarat @staytinyinmybpack @necessiteez @wooyoungmybelovedhusband @berryberrytan @sensitiveandhungry @laylasbunbunny @bangchanbabygirlx @ateezzseonghwaa @anyamaris @lemonhongjoong @krishastumblernow @hexheathen @michel-angelhoe @honeyhotteoks @muselin @sanniessnails @xiuminswifeforever @hwalysm @velvetjoongie @ja3hwa

[meruz]

im gonna reply to some asks but not that many bc the last time i tried to type up one of these posts i accidentally closed the tab and lost like several paragraphs so now im scared

lots of heavypaint questions

@porch-gremlin

its the fan tool on heavypaint!! which is a free drawing app that i love a lot. and the fan tool is my fave its kind of a crutch actually im trying to use other tools gkfdhgsdg but its so fun i can do a whole painting using it exclusively. heres a video of it in action while i mess w the configuration options. u can slide the noise jitter up and down so its more or less streaky hehe ^^

thank you!!! heavypaint ROCKS!!!!! I love it... its like the only art program ill be a shameless shill for lol

also im flattered you think of my art while playing splat...i should draw more splat i feel like i havent done enough.

my phone!! I have a samsung galaxy note 20 that I am still not done paying off LMAO.... but I've been a galaxy note user for years. combined with heavypaint its a shockingly good mobile sketchbook.

I'm sorry it's crashing on your tablet... I don't have a tablet so I don't really have an advice. Unfortunately because HP is a small dev app it can be kind of finicky... especially in between updates. I think if you reached out to vaughn ling/heavypoly he'd probably respond though! he seems to keep up with the community pretty well.

@hellisrealsign nice nice.. I'm glad our tastes match up a little! hopefully that means you don't mind my frequent fandom jumping LOL. I promise to always be true to my homestuck-loving infinity-train-loving self.

LMAOOOOOO I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD TIME? (covered in blood)

idk is it worth it to read any shounen manga for female side characters?????? (??) HEAVILY DEBATABLE. on one hand the casual observer would say no but on the other hand femslash shippers are the strongest people on god's green earth and will endure great tortures for paltry table scraps.

I think mha is a good manga but it's still a shounen, some of the tropes they squeeze the girls into kind of suck. I can kind of put my annoyance aside because regardless im still a big fan of cool fight scenes and the power of friendship but I think your mileage will vary depending on how much tolerance you have for that kind of story...? There's an awful lot of chapters afterall. I will say this: though toga and ochako aren't the main characters they're not in the background either. the path of their relationship spans multiple arcs across the entire manga and is both plot relevant and relevant to the greater themes/thesis of the story. it's pretty clear that the mangaka and editorial team are dedicated to giving these characters the time and page space to play out. it's not perfect but thats better than a decent amount of big shounen femslash in my opinion? shrugs

Thank you! for both the compliments and the concern. but I want to assure you that... to be perfectly honest I don't think I'll ever stop posting my art regardless of AI. I don't want to make this into a hot take like this is an entirely personal opinion and I don't expect any other artists to share my position but: Everything about my art that I consider valuable is inherently impossible for AI to replicate and everything about my art that is replicable and monetizable is not something I'm interested in owning or protecting. (this is also why at the end of the day i dont really care that much about art theft, tracing etc. and i think 90% of the time style theft is just silly)

I believe art should be freely shared and to restrict that is to make art into a product which is morally despicable and moreover uninteresting... to me. lol. I DO RECOGNIZE HOWEVER I'm very lucky to have both more of an online audience than I even want + a fulltime job that takes the pressure off any of my other art to make money. it's totally valid for other artists to have differing opinions on this especially depending on personal circumstances. AND also I make art that is primarily a product above all else for work everyday so im a hypocrite but. yeah thats my two cents.

I love posting art online LOL. I do it because its fun for me.

HAPPY NEAR YEAR!!!!!!!!!11111111

[allthingsgerman]

So you're just okay with the e*kimo slur? Tbf the selection is not great because it's basically the same song in 6 different voices but I'm glad that said band is not part of the NF. It's delusional to think that they can get top scores, but what do I even expect from germans.

I just typed out a very long response, but couldn't really find a way to properly bring it around without it being way too long so I will try and give a shorter response.

In my view there is more to it than a simple "ok with it"/"not ok with it" dichotomy, that is just too reductive and also some weird kind of purity discourse that tumblr too often tends to get lost in.

Yes, it would have been ideal if they had named themselves differently when they founded the band. Then there would be no problem now, and I don't think they have much of an emotional connection to it, outside of the connection you generally have to your band name.

Changing a band name is difficult. They have gained international name recognition in the last few years, which is quite an achievement. But in my opinion they are not mainstream and successful enough that they have the same brand recognition beyond their name. So it's an economic risk.

It's actually why I think that Eurovision would have been a great opportunity to change it. If they were the German entry, they would have had a great deal of media exposure regardless, so a name change after the national selection would have given the new name enough exposure, and, since the name is controversial, would probably also have been good PR for them.

That is not to say that that was their plan in any way, it's just what I maybe would have done. I know that they are aware of the issue, and they have signaled that "they are thinking about it", which I think means that they will probably change it, because otherwise they are in a weaker position than before, which would not be very smart.

And I know that this response will probably not be all that satisfactory, that some people will hate it, but I also did not want to ignore the ask, because it's a legitimate point and a legitimate discourse. It's a discourse that needs to be had, and from what I am aware of, the band is engaging in it internally. I just think that the way that some parts of the internet engage in it is not productive, because to them it is not about any actual action and them actually changing the name, it's about screaming at each other for social media clout.

[anamericangirl]

It’s funny watching you get so upset at being called pro rape when you have no problem ignoring that most SA cases go unreported & that a lot of them happen within families/ people they know so there’s even a less chance of it being reported .

It’s even funnier because even if it was as small as a percentage as you claim, you gloss over it like it isn’t an issue that needs to be greatly addressed in abortion discussions. You literally don’t agree with abortion even in cases of rape and you expect people to respond good to that?

It takes a lot of entitlement & lack of morals to tell a victim that they should not be allowed an abortion after they were assaulted & traumatized simply because you value the life of a non-sentient fetus with no former consciousness more than a woman. Forcing someone to carry their rapist’s child will always be disgusting, no matter what mental gymnastics you try to do to justify it. That’s barbaric for any country to allow let alone a first world one.

Wow you misunderstood just about everything I was saying. Great job.

We can either talk about abortion or we can talk about sexual assault. Those are not the same thing. Using sexual assault to justify abortion is using the minority of abortions to justify the majority. A lot sexual assault does go unreported it's true, but to assume the numbers of pregnancies resulting from sexual assault account for a significantly higher percentage of abortions than what we currently know is an incredibly fallacious argument to make. We have to use the numbers and information we have. So unless you have evidence that shows sexual assault accounts for a much higher percentage than what is currently estimated to be the case, you don't have an argument here.

And, also, if there are so many women getting abortions because of sexual assault and it's not being reported, guess what that means. That means the abortion provider is not reporting it. Either they are not asking enough questions about why the woman is getting an abortion, which means they aren't doing their due diligence as a "healthcare" provider or they are just flat out not reporting cases of rape. They're just killing babies and sending these women right back to their abusers.

I am not glossing over these women. That is a very incorrect analysis of what I said. Of course it needs addressed and it has a place in the abortion debate, but it is not ok to use the minority of abortion cases to argue for the majority. That is a malicious way to use these cases. It's actually really disgusting for pro-choicers to immediately start using victimized women to justify all abortion. Because when you use these women to argue for all abortion, you're using them disingenuously. You're not making the argument because you really care about those particular women and think we need a special solution for them, you're using them as a blanket argument for all abortion. Because I know if I relented here and said I think abortion should be an option for rape victims, would still be against nearly 100% of abortions and I would still be as strongly against it as I currently am and that wouldn't be good enough for you because you're not arguing for rape victims, you're arguing for abortion.

When I talk about abortion in general terms, I am always talking about the overwhelming majority. Even if the percentage of rape victims getting abortions is higher than the current estimate of like .5% it's still not anywhere near the overwhelming majority of abortion seekers. So if you want to talk about rape victims we can do that, but don't conflate the issues of abortion and sexual assault.

Your last paragraph really demonstrates why you need to do to a lot of research before continuing to discuss this issue. I don't know why you pro-aborts all seem to think that abortion is some magical, trauma free solution to giving birth and erases the trauma of rape but it doesn't. Advocating for a procedure that you don't understand is foolish. Abortion is a very invasive procedure. It comes with trauma and risks of its own. You're not taking the trauma of rape away when you advocate for rape victims to get abortions. Giving birth naturally is often the safest thing to do when you are pregnant instead of forcing your body to deliver a dead baby. That is traumatic in itself and the fact that you think abortion is trauma free and childbirth is just trauma and torture means you have no idea what you're talking about. Many rape victims have said they actually found healing and empowerment after giving birth, but we can't know that until it happens.

Killing a baby because their father is a rapist will always be disgusting. No matter what you do to try and justify it. I am always astonished how you pro-choicers push so hard for abortions for rape victims yet know so little about it. You're not advocating for help and healing for victims when you advocate for abortions. You advocate for putting a victim through additional trauma by forcing her body to deliver a dead baby long before it's supposed to. That's barbaric to me. Killing a baby does not erase trauma.

So yeah, I don't like people calling me pro-rape when I am vehemently against it. You are literally advocating for a procedure that is often used to cover rape up. You are advocating to make things easier for rapists and to force women to deliver dead babies. So if anyone here is pro-rape it's certainly not me.

[thequeerhistorian]

Olga - the Ruthless Saint of Kyiv

So this was not originally the story I wanted to write about. I was planning to write about Elizabeth I. But, considering recent events, I decided it’d be more important to write a piece on one of the infamous women of Ukraine. I want this piece to be an example of the rich history of Ukraine that deserves to be recognized. Let this be an example of why we must look out for our brothers and sisters around the world and support them against the destruction of their culture, as well as a call to look into cultures outside of our own.

Happy (belated) International Women’s Day, everyone! This is a day that I, an AFAB non-binary person, still love. There are so many incredible women in history and across the world, so you can imagine what a hard choice it was to figure out who to write about. As stated in my last paragraph, I figured that with recent events, this amazing badass queen/saint would be a perfect name to write about!

Olga of Kyiv* is a bit of a tricky figure to write about up to a certain point. I found a lot of debate about what year she was born ranging from 890, 903, to 900. Based on what I have seen from my sources, I estimate that somewhere around 900 might be more likely. Sadly, there’s very little known about her life before her marriage. We do know, though, that she was born in what is now Pskov, Russia. She’s most likely a Varangian – people who descended from Scandinavians.

Olga was married early on in about 903 CE to Igor of Kyiv, leader of the Kyivan Rus. (Probably one of those “engaged as a child – secure the family line” kinds of things that are common with royalty) The Kyivan Rus during this time gained a lot of power and wealth by taking control of many neighboring groups. This constant fighting would be a major part of Olga and Igor’s marriage. Igor would make many enemies, including the Byzantine Empire. His constant enemies would be his downfall as he was murdered by the Drevlians. Leo the Deacon, a Byzantine chronicler, wrote about his death in stomach-churning detail. I won’t give details for those who have a bit of a weak stomach.

When he died in 945, Olga was about 20 and raising their 3-year-old son. Considering the problems of having a toddler rule the Kyivan Rus, Olga would become the queen-regent. This gave her the power to take her brutal revenge on her husband’s murderers and make a strong name for herself. The Drevlians dared to try and get Olga to marry their own Prince Mal. Olga responded by saying, “Your proposal is pleasing to me; indeed, my husband cannot rise from the dead. The Drevlians would leave pleased, returning the next day. They likely expected further discussions of marriage, but they would be sadly mistaken.

Olga would have these men buried alive in a giant ditch. This would not be the end of her vengeance for her husband, though. Olga messaged the Drevlians that she would come to meet their prince if their finest chieftains were sent to accompany her. Prince Mal agreed (they hadn’t even learned of the first ambassadors being buried alive yet) and sent his men to Queen Olga. Olga invited the men to rest in their bathhouse. While these men, like the last, were probably patting themselves on the back for their success, Olga set the bathhouse on fire, burning them inside.

Somehow, though, Olga wasn’t done! She messaged Prince Mal AGAIN requesting for the opportunity to hold a funeral feast for her husband in the city he was murdered in. The (big dumb) prince agreed again. Remember, they STILL hadn’t learned about what Olga did to their ambassadors and chieftains. Olga mourned and the feast began. They all drank and ate, but once the Drevlians were thoroughly drunk, Olga had the 5,000 of them slaughtered by her army, then returned to Kyiv.

But this STILL WASN’T THE END OF IT! Olga had the Kyivan Rus lay siege to the Drevlians. The Drevlians wouldn’t relent, and eventually, Olga decided to send a message. She offered peace if they would pay tribute. Every household in the city of Iskorosten (modern Korosten) was to send her three pigeons and sparrows each. They did this, thinking that would be the end of it. But, these Drevlians clearly didn’t know how far Olga was willing to go. She had the men tie cloth covered in Sulphur to the birds and set the cloth on fire. The birds flew to their homes and set the city ablaze. The survivors were enslaved and Olga was satisfied.

Olga would return to Kyiv and reportedly ruled peacefully until she gave up the throne to her son. During this time, Olga traveled to Constantinople and was baptized as an Orthodox Christian with Emperor Constantine as her godfather and Helena would become her Christian name. I think Olga’s cooler, though. After her besting him against his prospects of marriage, Olga would return to Kyiv where she would live with and advise her son and get him to agree to not persecute his people that did decide to become Christian. Olga would aid and protect Ukraine with everything she had up until she died in 969.

Olga is an absolute badass - the Ukrainian Daenerys Targaryen. I think it’s telling that despite Olga being considered the patron saint of Ukraine, the most well-known part of her story is her fierceness and lack of willingness to back down to her enemies. What they thought was a quiet young lady who could be pushed around, were very quickly proven wrong. It seems safe to say that considering how vengeful Olga was, there surely had to have been some genuine love for Igor. I’m sure another part of it is wanting to prove her own and not be pushed around. Olga is an example of the rich history of Ukraine that can sadly be overshadowed by bigger names in history. I think it’s important to remember that history, now more than ever.

*I wanted to make a note that I actually looked this up. While I grew up knowing the capital as “Kiev” (Ke-EEV), this is the Russian spelling & the Ukrainian spelling is Kyiv (KEE-ef)

Sources:

https://www.thecollector.com/olga-of-kiev-russian-saint-or-queen/

https://www.thoughtco.com/princess-olga-of-kiev-3529733

https://theconversation.com/saint-olga-of-kyiv-is-ukraines-patron-saint-of-both-defiance-and-vengeance-178019

https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/medieval-renaissance/olga-of-kiev-one-saint-you-do-not-want-to-mess-with/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Olga

[kamino-blues]

can i request gregor flirting relentlessly w reader who doesnt quite know how to respond?? bc they think this is just the way he acts? so he literally has to be straightforward and vulnerable w them to convince them that he likes them 🥺🥺🥺 LOVE UR WRITING SO MUCH !!!!

Rating: Pg & Sfw

Warnings: Some really cheesy flirting, reader mentally complaining at the beginning about said flirting, a tiny bit of jealousy from the reader (For a few paragraphs, just used to move the plot forward!), Pre-relationship, living together, Bartender!Reader, confessions

Word Count: 2k

Note: Hi this ask is absolutely adorable, I had so much fun writing this!! I went on a chaotic quest of looking up cheesy pick up lines I'm ngl 🤣I really hope you enjoy, thank you so much for the ask!!! 💕

Working at Cid’s bar has been an experience, to say the least. You have met a variety of patrons, from tough bounty hunters to those just trying to escape from their usual life. Nothing, and you mean nothing, has prepared you for the chaos that is Gregor.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t worked with clones before, you had interacted multiple times with the Bad Batch. They just didn’t interact the way that Gregor did with you.

When you first met him, he was being helped into the main area of the parlor by Echo. There was a loopy looking smile plastered on his face as he was lightly placed on the floor. Quickly you slid out from behind the bar, looking at the pair in front of you.

“What happened?” You quickly uttered out, getting ready to sprint back to Cid to let her know that there was a mysterious (and handsome) clone sprawled out on the floor in her bar. Echo opened up his mouth to explain what was going on, but the mysterious clone spoke over him.

“People I know call me different names, I don’t care what they use. But with you, I’d prefer if you call me mine~” The clone purred out with a wink, falling into a small fit of giggles. You were utterly speechless, staring at the clone with a blank look on your face. A light blush slowly started to slip onto your cheeks as you realized what he had said to you. You quietly let them know that you were going to grab Cid, practically running away from the pair to the back room.

You heard the clone yell out to ‘Comm him’ as you ran away, and you went to hide in Cid’s office, letting her know what was going on.

After that interaction, you figured that you would only have a few more interactions with him before he would leave. What you didn’t realize was that Gregor was being dropped off by the Bad Batch to stay at the bar.

The biggest surprise to you was that it was decided that he would be staying in your apartment while he recovers. It was an interesting night when you found out, the doorbell ringing as you were getting ready for bed.

Opening the door, you suppressed a groan, seeing the flirtatious clone you saw before standing in front of you.

“Let me make a call real quick, um I don’t think I ever got your real name.” You muttered out as you started dialing Cid’s number into your comm.

“Can I help you?” You spoke, your tone blunter then it would normally be. The mysterious clone rubbed his neck, a little titter falling from his lips.

“Cid sent me over, she said that I could stay with you?” You raised an eyebrow at him, before opening the door to let him in.

“Gregor’s the name sweet-“ You took your focus off of him as Cid picked up the phone, walking out of the room into the kitchen.

After a long talk, it was official. Gregor would be staying with you, and also working with you at the bar. Letting out a sigh, you rested your head in your hands, leaning against the kitchen counter.

You heard footsteps, stopping a few feet away from you. Moving your hands from your eyes, you saw Gregor looking at you curiously. You gave him a small smile, accepting your fate as you pushed yourself up to sit on the counter.

“So you are living here now,” You stated, not moving your eyes from him. Gregor nodded, giving you a small wink.

“I guess I am,” You saw him glance at your comm, and you could almost see the lightbulb go off in his head, especially with the way he started to smirk.

“You know, I think there’s something wrong with my comm. Your number’s not in it.” You stared at him for a few moments before rolling your eyes, taking your comm off to throw it at him. He fumbled with it, before successfully capturing it in his hands.

“Put your number in there than wonder boy.” You muttered out, turning away from him to cover the blush that was starting to form on your cheeks.

Your movement didn’t stop you from missing the large smile that slipped onto his face when you threw the nickname out. You heard him typing on your comm, you turning back when he exclaimed that he was done.

Gregor held the comm out, your hand brushing lightly against his as you grabbed it. The blush wasn’t leaving your cheeks, especially when you looked down and saw that he put his name in as ‘Wonder Boy 💛'.

You quickly let out that you were going to head in for the night, and practically jogged to your room. But Gregor couldn’t leave without wishing you goodnight in his own way could he?

“Sweet dreams… I hope I’m in them!” You heard him call out, and as soon as you shut your door, you leaned against it, sliding down with your face in your hands.

Your face was completely flushed, not knowing how to handle the constant flirting. It just had to be his personality, surely he was just messing with you. In fact, you were positive that he was just joking around! But why were you so affected by his words?

The next few weeks went by pretty quickly, even though you weren't used to the constant attention Gregor was sending your way.

It almost felt natural, him living with you. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, he was honestly a sweetheart, and also a big help around your apartment.

You were falling headfirst for him, and there was nothing you could do. So as you were making drinks behind the bar, it was your goal to stay focused on your work instead of him.

However, it was almost as if he heard your thoughts, him sliding over so he could ‘clean the bar’.

“Any chance you have an extra heart? Mine’s been stolen!” You rolled your eyes, and he held his chest in dramatics. “I’m serious! You don’t want me to die do you?”

“I mean-“ You stifled the laughter that threatened to fall from your lips. The look on his face was priceless, and you couldn’t stop the giggle that slipped from your lips. You saw Gregor trying to conceal his own smile.

“You wound me!” You couldn’t hold back your laugh, and the both of you fell into a fit of giggles. You heard Cid yelling at the two of you to get back to work, and you both fought off your giggles as you went back to what you were previously doing.

The rest of the night went by pretty smoothly, until right before closing. You were almost done with cleaning up until you saw Gregor laughing with a cute girl.

Your eyes widened, before your face flushed in embarrassment. Why were you falling for him? It was clear that he was like this with everyone. You finished up, before walking out of the bar, leaving without waiting for Gregor.

After a little while of wandering around, you stopped at the local park, sitting on one of the benches. You brought your knees to your chest, tears in the corner of your eyes as you looked around.

You felt your wrist buzz, and you knew who it was right away. You paused, not wanting to pick up. Though you knew better, he would probably scour the whole city to make sure you were ok. Tapping the answer button, you took a deep breath.

“Hello?” Your voice cracked, which caused you to flinch.

“Hey, where are you? You were here one second and then gone the next,” you heard him let out a nervous giggle, before a sigh fell over his lips. “Are you safe?”

You nodded, before you realized he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, yeah I’m all good. Don’t worry about me, ok?” You heard him take another breath, him seemingly debating on what to say.

“You may be out of sight right now, but you’re never out of my mind.” Gregor settled with, and you groaned. He let out a small laugh, before his tone turned serious. “Really though, where are you?”

“The park, the one a few blocks away from the parlor,” You told him. As much as you didn't want to see him face to face, the tone he had was the most serious you had ever heard so you complied.

“I’ll be there in a few, stay where you are ok?” You heard him shuffling, and it almost sounded as though he was running.

“Ok wonder boy, I’ll see you soon,” You heard him click off the comm, and you rested your head on your knees, mentally preparing yourself for the conversation you weren’t ready to have.

Gregor was true to his words, he was there in a few minutes. He slipped onto the bench next to you, taking in your form. Spotting the tears, a frown slipped onto his face.

“You don’t have to answer this, what’s wrong cyare?” You tilted your head at the nickname, before looking away from Gregor. You had so much you wanted to say, but at the same time you weren’t ready for the embarrassment.

“I.. When you talk with me, you’re joking around right?” Your face was bright red in embarrassment, not wanting to come out and ask him if he meant the flirting. Gregor stared at you, it slowly clicking in his head what you meant.

“Do you.. want me to be joking?” You squeezed your eyes shut at his response, not knowing how to respond. You shook your head, and you felt his arm wrap around your shoulders. You leaned your head on his shoulder, thinking of what to say.

“When I saw you with that girl in the bar, it clicked with me that you probably flirt with everyone, that it isn’t just me. I mean, you’ve been like this since minute one-“ you felt his grip tighten on your shoulder, a sigh falling from his lips.

“I wasn’t flirting with her cyare,” He let out another nervous giggle, “Ever since the last incident I had with my old line of work.. Before the gunshot I mean,, I’ve had a hard time filtering some of my thoughts and emotions. Flirting with you was the only way I could handle my crush on you. I.. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” You were sure he felt you tense in his arms. Gregor started to move away, but you lifted your head, moving to grab his hands in yours.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable Gregor, not at all… I just misinterpreted…” You trailed off, looking up at Gregor. He had a small smile, eyes light as he looked at you.

“Can I borrow a kiss? I promise to give it back,” You let out a small giggle, him joining you until you responded.

“Of course you can,” Gregors face had a wide smile on it, and you couldn’t stop yourself from giving him a peck on his lips. You moved to pull away, but he moved his hands onto your mid back, pulling you towards him.

Your lips collided once again, lasting for a lot longer than the last kiss. Your eyes slipped close, savoring the soft kiss that you never thought that you would have. As you both slowly pulled away, you leaned forward, resting your forehead on his.

As you basked in each other's presence in the cool evening air, it truly felt like the start of something new.

[kuroopaisen]

brat || gojou satoru

➵ gojou wants you to pay attention to him. and no, he doesn’t care about how annoying he’s being. 

wc: 2k

warnings: gn!reader, gojou is Annoying, mild spoilers i guess? 

a/n: hi welcome to my gojou brainrot i would like to escape and yet i cannot,,, will i deliver more mindless fanfic? who knows! 

You sigh, turning the page of your book with an exhausted kind of resignation. Had you even comprehended what’s in the last paragraph? Or had you just let your eyes gloss over it, admiring the shape of the letters without actually taking any of them in?

Reading a book isn’t so difficult under normal circumstances; sure, you’ve got your own concentration to wrestle with, but that’s an (occasionally) tameable beast.

The man sprawled on the couch next to you, however, is not.

“Are you done yet?” Gojou hums, sticking his legs straight up in the air.

“I’ll be done sooner if you shut up,” you mumble, starting from the top of the page for what feels like the thirty-second time in the past five minutes.

Gojou’s not handling the boredom well. He’s spent the past five minutes cycling between humming Danse Macabre in an octave too high to be comfortable while swinging his legs in circles and poking your cheek as he crouches next to you on his knees.

“You’re the one who said I could come over,” he chirps, completely unfazed by your words.

“I never said that,” you mumble.

It’s not a lie. Earlier today, Gojou’d asked if you were going out tonight. You’d said no. He’d decided to take that as permission to crash at your place.

Although the onus is at least a little on you; he has a habit of doing things like this. You’ve got to be one step ahead of him if you want to win against him on a petty debate like that.

A head of white hair wriggles its way onto your lap.

“Satoru?”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m bored,” he hums.

That much is obvious. But you know it’s not that simple; he’s bored, yes, but more importantly, he wants your attention. Even your chest flutters at that.

“You’re a grown man,” you smile. “Entertain yourself.”

A well-worn coquettish smile plays on his lips. “I can’t tell if you’re being lewd or not.”

You slap his chest.

“Ow!” He gasps, placing a hand over his heart. “I can’t believe you’d be so cruel to me!”

“Then stop being annoying.”

“I’d like to think I’m ‘charmingly playful’.”

“Do you take constructive criticism?” You tilt your head at him, biting back a smile.

“I would,” he muses, “if I weren’t already perfect.”

“That ego of yours is going to get you into serious trouble one day,” you grin, flicking his forehead gently.

He lets you, grinning back. “Ah, but you see, my dear,” he hums, grabbing your hand before you draw it away and lacing your fingers with his. It’s a bit of an awkward angle, but you don’t mind.

“I’m simply stating the truth.”

“Well, the truth hurts,” you mutter, “so it’s no surprise no-one wants to hear you gassing yourself up.”

Gojou laughs. His hair tickles your inner thighs and you’re almost convinced to give in. But it wouldn’t be good form to feed his ego after chiding him for it.

You’re well-aware his ego’s already gotten him in trouble – many times, in fact. But Gojou seems to have a way of wheedling his way out of anything.

And, of course, you know that his ego doesn’t come from nowhere.

Doesn’t stop it from being annoying, though. The fact it’s at least partially well-founded makes it worse.

You take a deep breath, turning your attention back to this blasted book. Gojou will just have to wait.

“Why are you even reading that brick?” He muses, tapping the bottom of the book’s spine with one long finger. “You look bored out of your mind. And, you’ve been on the same page for the past five minutes.”

“You know,” you tilt your head to the side, a sour look on your face. “‘Adult stuff.’ Upskilling and all that.”

“Ah,” Gojou grins. “Career work.”

“Mhm,” you sigh. “And some of us can’t just learn on the job.”

Although, you ponder, the thought blurred with gentle melancholy, some of us aren’t constantly risking our lives.

Gojou always tells you not to worry; he’s the strongest jujutsu sorcerer there is, after all. But even that’s not enough to lull you into an uneasy sleep, to bring you warmth when your bed is cold.

You’re never truly at ease until you feel him slip into your bed in the early hours of the morning, his arms slinking around your waist and pulling you towards him. It’s like clockwork how he buries his head in your shoulder as every muscle in his body relaxes. He always thinks you’re asleep – and honestly, it’s easier to let him keep believing that.

What you’ve got isn’t exactly a ‘relationship’. At least, not in the most traditional sense of the word. Gojou’s never pretended to offer you that. But it’s not so simple as a ‘friends-with-benefits’ arrangement.

Gojou Satoru doesn’t suit the domestic. But he relishes in it, the same way a child might enjoy playing at high tea with little plastic teacups and cupcakes made of playdough. Some might find this frustrating – the idea of existing in this grey, a dark, nebulous unknown stippled with moments of affection and vulnerability.

But there’s still comfort in it; a sense of understanding, a place to let loose and relax. Being part of this world is hard. It’s so cruel – sending children out to fight things they barely comprehend, letting them suffer and even die. And what do they have to show for it? A future of doing the same thing while also having to navigate just how shit the world of sorcerers truly is?

Why aren’t more of your colleagues angry about this? One counsellor isn’t enough to maintain the wellbeing of these children. Do the higher-ups even care? Well, you know the answer to that question – it’s enough to make you want to throttle each and every one of them—

“Hey.”

You clatter back to earth, met by a pair of electric blue eyes. It’s easy to forget just how striking they are; it’s like they can stare right into your very core, laying out secrets you never even knew you had.

“Hm?” You blink at him. You can’t risk him knowing you’re worried. He doesn’t stand for that sort of thing; he’ll just tease you for being concerned about him. Though, you’re well-aware that he enjoys being doted on.

“You’re spacing out,” he smiles. “Again.”

Sure, he sounds like he’s joking. But even he can’t disguise that little flash in his eyes, the slight tension in his face. It’s the same expression he has when he talks about that new student of his.

Gojou understands you better than you’d like. Every little tell, every tiny hint towards what you’re actually thinking. It’s near impossible to hide anything from him; it’s irritating, really.

But, at least he’s got the decency to leave the direction of the conversation in your hands.

You weigh it for a moment, deciding how exactly to respond. Should you play it off and throw his brattiness back in his face? Or should you pry open that conversation like the doors of an old temple?

Today’s not the day. Neither of you are ready for that.

You stick your tongue out at him. Perhaps it’s not how an adult should behave, but you don’t care. Neither does Gojou.

“I think,” he sighs, plucking the book out of your hands and tossing it across the room, “it’s time you took a break.”

You yelp a moment too late, watching your book slap against the wall and flop to the floor. It’s only a paperback – thank God – but you’re not ready to fix another dent in the wall caused by the force of mayhem known as Gojou Satoru.

“And I have been waiting long enough,” he grins, wrapping his arms around your neck and launching forward.

“Satoru—”

It’s too late. He’s got you pinned beneath him – and not in a sexy way. All six feet and three inches of him is laid flat on top of you, your face smothered by his chest.

You punch his side weakly.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” he laughs.

“Fine,” you try to say. All you get is a mouthful of Gojou’s shirt. You slip your hands up said shirt and tickle his sides.

“Hey, hey, hey—” He splutters, grabbing at your wrists.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” You smirk, continuing your assault.

Gojou whines, propping himself up by his palms and arching his back like a cat in an attempt to shake you off.

“Get back here,” you grin, lifting your torso in response.

His arms are immediately wrapped around you, pinning your own arms to your sides. You yelp in surprise, finding yourself laid gently against the couch with your face pressed against his neck.

“Much better,” Gojou chuckles, still on top of you as he nestles his head into your shoulder.

It’s not the most comfortable position, but that’s rarely a priority when it comes to Gojou. You wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t just his way of goading you into relocating to your bed for ease of cuddling (although you have your doubts that it’s the only thing on his mind).

“You want attention that bad, huh?” You chuckle, pressing a gentle kiss to his neck.

“Mhm,” he smirks, bringing his head up to get a proper look at you. “I’m a busy man, you know. I don’t think you’re appreciating my free time enough.”

“And yet, you never seem to leave my damn house,” you muse. “I’m starting to think you don’t actually have a job.”

Gojou laughs, leaning down and kissing you properly.

“That’s not an answer,” you say against his lips.

He ignores you, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth.

You sigh, conceding. His lips are so soft yet so persistent, somehow both desperate and playful. He’s aggravatingly good at this sort of thing – before Gojou, you didn’t really understand what it meant to be a ‘good kisser’. But of course, he manages to excel at this, too. And annoyingly enough, he’d been right to brag about it.  

He brings one hand up to cup your cheek and moves another down to your waist. It’s a surprisingly chaste move for him, but you don’t mind. You tangle your own hands in his hair, resisting the urge to tug it. If you do that, you’ll officially lose any chance of getting more reading done tonight. Although your ability to focus on anything other than him is waning quickly.

When Gojou pulls back, he’s got that look in his eyes. The one that always makes your cheeks flush, makes your heart feel a little lighter. The one that almost makes you say something stupid.

Thank God you always have your wits about you.

“You get five minutes,” you sigh. “And then you’ve got to let me finish the chapter I’m on, okay? Then I’m all yours.”

Gojou’s grin blossoms with delight.

He slots himself beneath your chin and rests his cheek against your chest. A hand snakes around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

You smile, propping your chin on the top of his head and wrapping your arms around him.

Despite all his big talk, his irksome demeanour, even his obnoxious height, Gojou Satoru loves to be held.

You always oblige. He never asks – that’s too close to admitting weakness.

But you understand. He needs this. Sometimes he just wants to be tended to.

Being let in like this is an honour. He’s letting you be part of his life, despite his grand plans. Plans that, when he’d told you them, shifted your whole understanding of him.

Gojou represents change.

You have to have faith in him. You have to believe he’ll make good on his promises and turn the sorcerer world on its head. It’s no easy burden; and despite what he claims, even he falters in the face of something so monumental.

But despite all that, he’s still him. He hasn’t let the weight of his goals crush him; at least, not entirely. He finds the little joys, indulges in mundane delights, sees the humour in things.

Gojou Satoru wants to change the world, but he still lets himself be a part of it.

Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to love him.

Even if he can’t offer the stability and promise of a stable relationship.

Even if he’s a little brat.

[lovely-ateez]

Vampire Shift~

ꕥPosted: 5/23/21

ꕥGenre: Fluff, Smut, Angst, College!au, Horror!au

ꕥPairing: Fem!Reader x Vampire!Jongho (feat Wooyoung and Minho from skz)

ꕥWord Count: ~5.9k (whoops)

ꕥWarnings: Horror themes, Language, Thigh riding, Unprotected sex, Mentions of blood and blood sucking (please lmk if I missed anything)

ꕥTag List: @cappujinho @bobateastay

ꕥA/N: I hope you all don’t a more spooky concept! Halloween is my favorite holiday and even though its May, it’s always spooky season to me lolol. Also! Feel free to listen to Vampire Shift by All Time Low while reading this (it’s only on YouTube I cry) since this is inspired by the song :)

It was a terrible idea, really, to work the night shift at a gas station alone. Even more so when you’re a young woman whose only defense is the pepper spray on her key chain and 911 on speed dial. Alas, college bills don’t pay themselves and every spare opportunity to get cash was one I had to take.

The digital clock sitting on the counter next to me briefly flashed, indicating another hour had gone by. It was currently four a.m. and it was safe to say I was losing my mind. I’d worked for five hours now, and not a customer had come in. That was the only advantage, really. So long as no one was around my boss let me finish any assignments I had, which came in handy on more than one occasion.

I was only six paragraphs into a five page report and had been staring at my laptop screen for over an hour, feeling beyond brain dead. I was assigned the topic of financial statements and country trade deficits, and wanted to cry every minute I thought about it. I was half convinced to pay someone to write the report for me.

The ringing of a bell indicated a customer opening the door and I closed my laptop to peer around the counter, ready to greet whoever entered. The first man to catch my attention was wearing sunglasses which fazed me, but I tried not to stare. The man that followed had black hair with blond underneath, a combination that I strangely liked. Both men were donned in all back, their faces stoic. They were attractive, I had to admit, but neither were my type.

And then, the last man entered. He looked over to me as he walked through the door, giving me a nod and a slight smile. His slicked back black hair matched his black ripped jeans and highlighted his red leather jacket. He was so handsome he looked like he jumped out of a magazine and I had to suppress a ‘wow’. A string of butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I did my best to ignore them, not even knowing his name.

The three of them wandered through the aisles until I could no longer see them, and I scolded myself for being so thrown off that I forgot say any form of a greeting. I sighed and turned my attention back to my laptop, opening it and blankly staring at the screen. My ears perked when I heard the men’s hushed voices.

“Y’oughta get that girl’s number. I saw the way you looked at her.”

“Yeah, Jongho. She’s pretty cute. If you don’t get her number you know I will.”

“Shut up.” One of the men, Jongho apparently, responded with a laugh, “Let’s just get some snacks, okay? It’s gonna be a long night. Also I’m buying tonight so get whatever.”

A smile crept on my face and I looked down, fiddling with my thumbs.

They think I’m cute. Maybe Jongho’s the one in red?

I heard the bell ring once more and a girl entered who I vaguely remembered from high school. She was popular but for good reason, probably being one of the nicest people I’d ever met. Our circle of friends overlapped slightly so I’d spent a fair amount of time with her. She was smart as a whip and gorgeous all the same, which seemed to stay with her. She looked bright, long red hair falling around her face, freckles still prominent as ever.

We met eyes and she smiled, “Hey y/n!”

I smiled and waved, “Hey Annabelle. How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in awhile.”

“Good! I got into my dream college and it’s been great, although I’ve had to take some pretty hard classes.” She giggled, walking towards me. It’s honestly not too far from here. You go to Westgate University, right?”

I nodded and I put my laptop aside. She spoke again, genuinely excited for me, “That’s awesome! Congrats!”

“Thanks,” I smiled, “I’m taking it you got into Orholt?”

“I did! I was really-”

One of the men that entered earlier—the one still wearing sunglasses—shouted the redhead’s name and caught her attention, “Hey Anna do you want a Redbull or a Five Hour Energy?”

“Redbull! I’m not a monster.” She laughed.

The man nodded and walked toward us with several drinks and snacks in his hands.

“Oh! I want to introduce you to my boyfriend!” Annabelle turned to the man still wearing sunglasses and reached for his arm, “This is Minho. I met him at Orholt.”

Minho gave me a slight nod as I introduced myself and he placed the food and drinks on the counter. I began to scan the items, the mindless routine that I was used to by now. The loud sound of laughter made me look up, seeing the two other men approach us and place their snacks down as well. I watched them long enough to notice the way two-tone—my new affectionate name for the man with blond and black hair, I decided—shamelessly checked me out, a cocky smile on his face when I caught him. I just let out a small laugh before resuming my task, watching his confused reaction in my peripheral vision.

“Oh my god I totally forgot to introduce you to my friends.” Annabelle giggled and pointed to two-tone, “This is Wooyoung.”

“Hiya, Wooyoung.” I said with a confident smile, enjoying the way he still had a slightly confused look on his face.

“And this,” Annabelle nodded towards the man in red, “This is Jongho. Both him and Wooyoung go to Orholt, too.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jongho. I’m y/n.”

“Very nice to meet you.” The man smiled before he sent me a wink.

I had never been a particularly shy person, but as he did so my eyes darted down as I felt my face flush. I didn’t notice the gears turning in Annabelle’s head as she put the pieces together.

I placed the final items in the bag, raising my head as Annabelle addressed me,  “You know I’m having a bonfire tomorrow night at my place and you should totally come!”

I stopped to think, first trying to remember if I worked the next day, then wondering if I was willing to go the bonfire when I realized I didn’t have to.

She sensed my hesitancy and her face fell, “Aw do you work tomorrow night? It’s a Saturday!”

“Oh no, I don’t. I...” I stopped to think for a minute. Although I likely didn’t know anyone else who would be there, I was familiar with Annabelle’s house, which brought me a bit of comfort, “Are all of you going?”

Annabelle gave a knowing smile, “Yes. All of us will be here.”

I nodded, accepting the credit card Jongho gave me, quickly after handing them the bags, and returning his card, “I’ll go.”

“Yay! We’ve gotta head out but I’ll send you the details. You’ve still got the same number, right?”

“Yeah I do.”

“Alrighty! I’ll see you tomorrow then!”

Annabelle left with a wave, her boyfriend on her arm and Wooyoung behind her. To my surprise, Jongho didn’t leave with them, the cocky look on his face all but telling me why he stayed.

I looked at him with wide eyes, playing innocent. “Can I help you?”

He placed an arm on the counter, his dark eyes seeming to put me under a spell. The confidence he was radiating was almost palpable and I felt myself being pulled to him. It was intimidating, to be honest.

“You’re really cute and I want your number.”

I let out a surprised laugh, “You really don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

“No, not really,” He propped his other arm on the counter, leaning towards me and raising an eyebrow, “So what do you say, doll?”

A smile crept on my face as I mirrored his actions and leaned towards him, “You gonna memorize my number? Or do you have a phone I can put my number into?”

Jongho’s smile got brighter as he reached to grab his phone, handing it to me. “You’re a firecracker, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, “I’d like to think so.”

When I handed his phone back, our fingers brushed and I could’ve sworn I felt sparks shoot through me at the simple interaction.

“Well I need to head out before the rest of them get too annoyed,” He nodded towards the exit where Annabelle, Minho, and Wooyoung left, “But it was enchanting to meet you, y/n.” He bowed, drawing a laugh from me.

“Ah yes. You as well, absolutely delightful.”

He gave me a smile, “I’ll text you later.”

"Sounds good. I’ll hold you to your word.”

“I’d expect nothing less.” And with that, he was out the door, leaving my heart a fluttering mess.

-

Me [8:37pm] So is there a dress code for tonight?

Annabelle [8:42pm] Nope! Wear whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m wearing this if it helps at all!

Annabelle [8:43pm] 1 Image Attached*

Me [8:45pm] So leather jackets and crop tops?

Annabelle [8:48pm] Haha sure! We can match!

Me [8:51pm] Lol bet. See you at eleven :)

Annabelle [8:51pm] See you then!

I started the process of slipping on a white cropped top followed by my light washed ripped jeans. I knew I was getting ready far earlier than I could have, but something about new events made me anxious and I had to make sure I looked nice. I giggled at the black leather jacket I was throwing over my shoulders, not having worn it since high school. In the middle of debating whether or not I should add another layer of mascara to my lashes, my phone dinged.

New Number [8:59pm] Y/n this better be you. This is Jongho and I’m texting you for a really important reason and I need you to reply quick

Me [9:00pm] Yeah it’s me. What’s going on are you okay??

New Number [9:02pm] I’m gonna go grab some food before I head to Anna’s. You wanna come with?

Me [9:02pm] Oh my god don’t do that to me, you buffoon. You scared me so bad rip

[New Number name changed to A Cute Buffoon]

Me [9:03pm] But sure I’m down lol. Here’s my address btw

Me [9:03pm] 1 Location Shared*

It occurred to me perhaps a bit too late that I was sharing my address with someone that I’d met only once and in a gas station.

I mean, he’s friends with Annabelle so he’s gotta be good right? God I hope so. I thought to myself.

A Cute Buffoon [9:04] Then it’s a date :) I live pretty close so I’ll be over in 10. That work for you?

Me [9:06pm] Fine with me!

A Cute Buffoon [9:06pm] Sounds good. I’ll see you soon ;)

I set down my phone and thanked myself for already doing my makeup. I checked myself out in the mirror, satisfied with my appearance and proud of how well my makeup turned out. I grabbed my bottle of perfume and spritzed the liquid in the air, letting it gradually fall on me so it wouldn’t be too overpowering.

You look beautiful, babe.

The waiting game was harder than I thought, not knowing what to do except awkwardly sit around and play an assortment of phone games. When exactly ten minutes had passed I heard my doorbell ring and I lifted myself from my couch, grinning at his punctuality.

I opened the door to see Jongho holding a bouquet of flowers, a smug look on his face. “Lovely to meet you here, stranger.”

I wanted to make a joke back but I couldn’t seem to think of anything, too surprised by the flowers in his hands. It wasn’t anything extravagant, the small bouquet of violets, but I felt my heart swell.

It’s perfect. He’s perfect.

My voice was small when I spoke, “No one’s ever given me flowers before.”

His eyebrows furrowed as a confused look painted his face, “Really?”

I nodded, taking the flowers from his outreached hands and smelling their sweet fragrance, “They’re beautiful.”

My eyes flickered to his, the tender look on his face making me feel as if I was melting on the spot, “You’re beautiful.”

I squealed, my face undoubtedly turning pink while my mind short circuited. I’d never become so shy around someone before and the only thing I could think of to say in response was another ‘thank you’ followed by ‘I’ll go get a vase for these.’

I opened my door further, rummaging through my cabinets for a vase when I noticed Jongho was still standing by the door, “You can come in, you know? That’s why I opened the door.”

He laughed nervously, “Sorry about that. Force of habit, I guess.”

I raised my eyebrows in a teasing manner, “What? Are you a vampire? Can you only come in if someone invites you?”

I thought I saw a flicker of shock on his face for a moment, but it was gone before I could register it and I shrugged it off, my eyes finding the perfect vase for the flowers.

“It’s just how I was raised.”

“I get that.” I placed the flowers in the vase, giving them a bit of water before walking up to Jongho and gently patting his cheek, “Your good manners are appreciated.”

He laughed in surprise, full gummy smile on display as he playfully swatted my hand away from his face, “Alright, alright. Let’s head out already.”

I made a sound of agreement before noticing a slight pink on his ears. I was temped to tease him, but ultimately decided to save it for later. If I could fluster him once I knew I could do it again.

-

The diner we went to was one I’d never heard of before, let alone been to, and I was beyond frustrated that I didn’t even know about it’s existence. It was an adorable fifties style diner and even the attire the waiters were wearing fit the theme.

“This is the cutest place to ever exist, I’m convinced.” I said as we sat down on the same side of a bright red booth.

“I really hoped you would like it. This is my favorite restaurant ever and they have fantastic milkshakes. If you’d like to share one for desert, I’m all for it.” A wink.

I bit my lip and hid my face in the menu that was placed in front of us, thankful for any method of escape.

“You’re so cute.”

“Ahh no don’t say things like that.” I giggled from behind the menu.

His hand grabbed the top of the menu, pulling it down so he could see me, “Why’s that?”

“Because you make me nervous. Like a good nervous!” I tried to explain, which only resulted in becoming even more embarrassed, “I-I mean I’m excited to be around you but I’m also nervous. I hope that doesn’t sound weird.” I cringed at myself. Never in my life did I think I’d be blushing and stuttering over some man, but my god did he prove me wrong.

“Not at all,” he reached over to take my hand in his, “because I feel it, too.”

Before I could properly react our waitress came over, taking our order and effectively saving me from becoming a human tomato.

We handed our menus back to her after ordering and she looked at us with a soft smile, “You two make a cute couple.”

While I was a bit too stunned to say anything, Jongho didn’t seem to have the same problem and went along with it, “Thank you, ma’am. That’s kind of you to say.”

When she left, Jongho leaned closer to me, “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable by saying that we we’re a couple. I thought that-”

“No, I didn’t mind it!” I bit my tongue after likely saying that way too fast with far too much enthusiasm, but I meant it, “I didn’t mind it,” I said again, softer this time.

The tips of his ears once again turned a faint shade of pink, “Good to know.”

The food was as wonderful as it possibly could’ve been, their fries alone being one of the best things I’d ever consumed. Just as Jongho suggested, we shared a milkshake, which led to shy eye contact and laughter and my crush becoming stronger by the minute.

Just as Jongho paid and we were about to leave, a certain song began to play and he looked at me with an air of mischief, holding out his hand to me, “Dance with me.”

I took his hand, trying to hide my smile but failing. He led me away from the table and next to the jukebox. The area surrounding it was more open, probably with the intention for people to dance near it. He grabbed my waist, holding the hand of mine that wasn’t placed on his chest and looking at me in a way that could make any woman fall in love on the spot. We swayed to the music and I couldn’t help but feel full. Like I’d found all that I’d ever need.

Put your head on my shoulder~

“Do you know this song?” He asked with a smile.

I scoffed, “Of course I do! It’s one of my favorites.”

“It’s one of mine, too.”

Hold me in your arms, baby~

I mouthed along to the words as I felt the need to prove it to him. As if to one up me, Jongho began to sing along, his gorgeous voice amazing me.

Squeeze me oh so tight, show me~

That you love me, too~

I blushed as he looked at me while singing along, becoming a bit flustered himself when the lyrics clicked with him.

Put your lips next to mine dear~

Won’t you kiss me once, baby~

As if we were in sync our eyes darted to the other’s lips at the same time. I could feel Jongho’s breathing becoming heavier before he said in a hushed tone, “Can I kiss you?”

“Please.” Was all I could respond before I pressed my lips to his, fireworks igniting inside me when he kissed me back. His lips were so soft and warm and as crazy as it sounded, he felt like home. I felt him smile against my lips as the music continued to play.

Maybe you and I will fall in love~

-

The fire was loud, crackling and lighting up the faces of all those crowded those around it. It was essentially the only source of light in the dark of the night, except for the distant lights still on in Annabelle’s house. My hands were interlocked with Jongho’s as we sat around it’s warmth, both of us finding it hard to separate from one another.

Conversation was flowing all around us, and I was relieved to find that everyone I had talked to was kind and welcoming. I was more nervous than I realized, but having Jongho next to my side alone calmed me. Someone around the fire mentioned an old story involving Annabelle and I began to wonder where she was, having not seen her since Jongho and I first arrived. I mentioned I was going to look for her and he nodded, at first wanting to join me but then getting pulled into conversation with one of his former classmates. I told him I’d head off on my own and he nodded again.

I looked around what seemed to be the entire property and still there was no sight of her. At that moment I heard yelling coming from her house, startling me. I felt my blood run cold when I recognized one of the voices as Annabelle’s. The yelling didn’t sound like it was out of fear, but instead more aggressive, out of pure anger. Without thinking I ran inside, hoping to calm the situation but instead found what seemed to be out of a work of fiction.

An unfamiliar man was on the ground, obviously trying to get away from a hidden figure before him that seemed to be cloaked in darkness. He let out a sound that I’d never heard a human make, one that I couldn’t even compare to something I’d heard before, and a shiver ran down my back. As the figure took a step forward I recognized it as Annabelle, or what seemed to be some version of her. Her normally grey eyes were now bright red, sharp fangs on display as she snarled at the man. A group of people were surrounding them, alarmed looks on their faces but hardly trying to intervene.

“What the hell?” I whispered, my eyes wide as I tried to back away without anyone noticing. But of course, I just had to step on an empty soda can, all eyes pointing my way. As I looked at the people around me, their expressions seemed to mirror mine and I swallowed, suddenly feeling immensely claustrophobic.

I met eyes with Annabelle and she seemed to change in a flash, her eyes returning to their former color and fangs disappearing. She looked more panicked than I had ever seen her which only scared me more. She was always able to keep her stressors under control, but as she stared back at me, I saw a version of her I never had before.

I was barely able to form a sentence, adrenaline coursing through me at a rampant rate, “Um...” 

Annabelle slowly walked towards me, “Oh—hey! Sorry I disappeared for a while but how’s the party going? Are you having fun?” Panic was still evident in her voice but I knew she was trying to keep a hold of the situation.

“I...I don’t-”

A stern voice came from left, and I nervously turned to meet Jongho, an unreadable expression crossing his face, “Y/n.”

“Yeah?” My voice squeaked as I began to regret agreeing to come along in the first place, still hyper aware of all the eyes on me.

“Come with me.”

His eyes softened at my panicked state and he held out a hand, “Please?”

I was hesitant, but being anywhere away from the crowd and whatever Annabelle turned into seemed to be a good idea. I took his hand and watched as he exchanged a look with Annabelle that seemed to calm her. Turning on his heels he led me back to the bonfire, sitting in a chair and motioning for me to do the same. Seeing no one around us gave me a feeling of both anxiety and comfort, and I wasn’t quite sure which feeling was winning at the moment.

“Well I’m sure you have plenty of questions.” He started, “I won’t lie to you and try to convince you what you saw wasn’t real, because it was, but I need you to know that no one is going to harm you. That guy is Anna’s roommate and they get into an argument at least once a week. Sometimes it can be nasty, but they never get physical and neither would ever hurt anyone unprovoked. No one here would.”

I was silent for a few minutes, trying to process what I saw on top of the time bomb of information he dropped on me. “Is she...is everyone....are you a vampire?” I whispered the last words, almost too stunned and afraid to say out loud.

He smiled slightly, his kind eyes making me feel safe. “Yes. We’re what you’d call vampires.”

I took a breath, almost afraid to hear the answer to my question, “Am I in any danger by being here?”

“No, everyone here is good. They don’t pose any threat. There are plenty of dangerous vampires but we stay away from them. Besides,” He placed an arm around my waist, playfulness in his eyes, “If there were, I’d protect you from them.”

“Oh? And how don’t I know you’re not dangerous?”

He leaned closer to me, clearly enjoying this, “You don’t, I suppose. Doesn’t that make it fun?”

“That’s very much debatable,” I smiled for a moment before a frown took over, “Everyone just seemed really...I don’t know, startled I guess?”

Jongho let out a loud sigh, looking down at the ground for a few seconds before looking back up at me, “Humans aren’t normally invited to these parties. It’s assumed that everyone here is a vampire. The perfume that you’re wearing, whatever the hell it is, is masking your scent. If I didn’t meet you before today I wouldn’t have known you were human. I guess Anna didn’t tell everyone, either.” He placed a hand on my knee and looked at me with kind eyes, “How are you feeling?”

“Surprisingly calm considering that I just learned vampires exist.”

Jongho laughed, “Yeah I’d say you’re taking it pretty well. Like I said earlier though, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of questions, so fire away.”

“Yeah I have a few.” I hesitated, hoping he wouldn’t be offended by my question, “Exactly how old are you?”

“Oh are you gonna age shame me?”

“No but it’s probably an important thing to know...since we kissed and all.”

He laughed again and leaned back in his chair, placing his arms behind his head,  “How old do you think I am?”

I used his question as an excuse for my eyes to wander over his body. He was beyond attractive, very clearly fit and he knew it, which equal parts pissed me off and turned me on. As hard as I tried, I kept finding myself being pulled to his thighs. Even through his jeans I could tell he had strong thighs and I had to press my fingernails into my palm to keep from drooling. “From your appearance? Early twenties. From what age fiction usually tells us vampires are? I’d guess you’re a hundred and three.”

Jongho nodded with a smile, “I’m not quite that old but that’s a fair guess. You had it right the first time. I’m a pure born and we actually age, but we don’t age as quickly as humans. I’m twenty.”

“Pure born?”

“It means both of my parents are vampires.”

I nodded as another question came to mind, a smile on my lips. “Do you sparkle in the daylight?”

“Oh my god,” He covered his face with his hands, a mixture of a groan and a laugh escaping his mouth, “No, we do not sparkle in daylight, “His hands came to rest on his knees, “But it sucks that we really shouldn’t be in direct sunlight for over two hours a day. That’s normally the rule to go by. It’ll burn us if we’re in it for much longer than that.”

“So do werewolves and witches and everything like that exist, too?”

“Yeah pretty much. We don’t all get along, but we have to coexist. It’s something we’ve struggled with for a while, unfortunately. Basically everything you’d believe to be supernatural exists.”

I was silent for a while, not really knowing what else to say.

“Y/n? Are you doing okay? If you’re not comfortable being here I can drive you home right now or if you’d rather be alone I can call an Uber or—”

My heart skipped a beat at his kindness. “No, I’m okay. I guess I’m just surprised I’m learning about this just now.”

“We do a good job of hiding it. Also it was probably a given, but keep this as a secret if you can. Having a lot of people know about our existence can be risky.”

I gave him a silent nod, unintentionally leaning closer to him. The sound of approaching footsteps made me jump into Jongho’s arms. I didn’t know why I found comfort in him, knowing that he could be dangerous as well, but he’d been nothing but sweet to me. I had no reason to fear him.

Annabelle approached us but stopped, taking a few steps back when she saw how I was buried in Jongho’s arms.

“Hey y/n.” She rubbed her arm, looking down as if she’d done something wrong.

“I guess Jongho probably told you everything at this point. I’m really sorry if I scared you and I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.” Even in the dark I could see tears beginning to stream down her cheeks and I felt a pain in my chest.

I got up from Jongho’s hold and wrapped my arms around her, feeling her stiffen, “I trust you, Annabelle.”

Those four words seemed to relax her and she returned my hug, still sniffling, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. We aren’t supposed to tell anyone and I thought you might hate me—”

I pulled back, “Why the hell would I hate you? You’re still you.”

She laughed through tears, gripping me tighter, thanking me over and over for not pushing her away.

We’re gonna be okay. It’s all gonna be okay.

-

Not too long after, Jongho drove me home. The ride was more silent than when we were headed to Annabelle’s house, but the air wasn’t heavy or uncomfortable. Feeling tired, I laid my head on Jongho’s shoulder, faintly hearing ‘sleep well, baby’ before drifting asleep.

When I woke, I was in my bed. I reached for my phone on the bedside table and found a little note placed next to it that read:

I hope you don’t mind that I carried you inside. I tried to wake you for like five minutes but you were out cold. Anyways, I had a really good time with you yesterday and I hope you had fun too :) Text me when you wake so I know you’re okay. -J

I looked at my clock and saw that it was still early, but I texted Jongho anyway.

Me [3:00am] Not sure if you’re still up, but I really enjoyed yesterday, too. I’m exhausted so I’m gonna go back to sleep but I just wanted to say I’m okay and everything is good :))

A Cute Buffoon [3:00am] Sleep well, darling. We can talk in the morning

-

It had been roughly a month since Jongho and I started dating, and while I felt like I knew him pretty well, we had only known each other a little over a month, on top of the fact that he was a vampire which was essentially an entire separate culture. I’d asked him most questions I had early throughout our relationship, but one in particular kept replaying in my mind.

We were currently sitting on the couch in my apartment, cuddling each other. The TV was on but neither of us were really watching it. I was far more interested in the warm body in front of me, and based off of how Jongho was looking at me, the feeling was mutual.

I bit my lip, anxiously mulling over the question I’d wanted to ask him for weeks. I didn’t know how he would take it, let alone how I would bring it up, but I needed to ask at some point. Knowing he could probably sense my nerves, I gave in. “Jongho, can a human turn into a vampire?”

He hummed, turning to face me. “Why do you ask?”

“I just...I didn’t know if it could happen or not.”

Jongho chuckled, “Yeah it’s possible. It’s a long ass process to go through though, and there’s a lot that can go wrong, so it rarely happens.”

I shifted in my seat, trying not to appear overly interested. “Why is that? What can go wrong?

He smiled and raised a brow, his cocky persona resurfacing, “You sound so eager to know, dear. Do you want to become a vampire?” His eyes briefly flickered towards my lips before he tilted his head, dragging his soft lips across my neck. I let out a gasp when I felt the tips of his teeth lightly scraping the skin, “Or maybe you’re just looking for an excuse for me to put my mouth on you?”

Like with anything that exuded him, I felt myself becoming quickly overwhelmed, my mind now hazy and distant. I shut my eyes in an attempt to gain some semblance of control over myself.

“Your thoughts are swirling, doll.” Jongho began leaving gentle kisses along the side of my jaw, “Don’t think too much. Just let me take care of you. Okay?”

“Okay.” I said through a short breath, knowing we’d just have to have the conversation another time.

We’d had sex before, so it wasn’t like this was new territory for us, but every time felt like the first, leaving me just as out of breath each time.

He lifted me and placed me on his thigh, dragging me across his flexed muscles. I felt my eyes roll back at the simple motion, my need growing at an embarrassing rate. I grabbed his shoulders as I began to drag myself against him, whines and whimpers spilling from my lips.

“God you’re hot,” Jongho said through hot breaths, beginning to kiss my neck, no doubt leaving marks.

“Thanks I try.” I managed to say, pleased when Jongho laughed.

“You don’t even have to, and it’s completely unfair.” His hands moved under my shirt and danced along my skin, “It’s like you’re an angel come to life.”

I let out a loud moan, feeling tears well in my eyes from his praise, “You always make me feel so beautiful when I’m with you.”

Jongho responded with a smile, carrying me to my bedroom and laying me down on the bed while hurriedly discarding both of our clothes.

“You’re always so eager, babe.”

He nuzzled my neck as he climbed on top of me, his hands finding my own and holding them, “As if you’re not.”

“I never said I wasn’t.”

He then moved in between my thighs, teasing me with his fingers as he ran them along my wet slit, occasionally rubbing my clit, drawing small whines from me.

“Jongho please just fuck me already.”

“Sweetheart, do you even think you’re wet enough for me?” He cooed.

Feeling frustrated, I pushed my fingers inside myself with ease, pulling them out and spreading them so he could see my essence dripping down my fingers, “I don’t know you tell me.” I said with far more sass than I intended.

Jongho’s eyes widened at the sight and wasted no time positioning his cock at my entrance, pushing in and letting out the most beautiful groans.

Neither of us ever bothered to use protection because, to put it simply, vampires couldn’t get humans pregnant. It was only possible when both partners were vampires, and we took full advantage of that.

“Fuck—baby you feel amazing. You’re so warm and tight ohmygod.” Jongho moaned as he began to move, thrusting in and out of me at a steady pace.

I clenched around him, loving when he was vocal. His sounds helped get me off just as much as his actions, at times it seemed.

“You feel...really good...too.” I said through heavy breaths. And as much as I wanted to last longer in bed, with Jongho, I never could.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re a vampire and you’ve got like magic powers or something or maybe you’re just a sex god—but holy shit...I’m close.”

He threw back his head and had the audacity to laugh, something I really couldn’t stay mad at with how good he was making me feel. “Babe it’s been like six minutes.”

“Don’t be an asshole.” I joked, my laugh turning into a moan. It only spurred Jongho on, making him angle one of my legs up higher, hitting deeper inside of me.

“I know you’re close, baby. I can feel it. Cum for me, baby girl. Let go for me.”

He reached down to tease my sensitive nub, drawing quick circles until I was seeing stars, chanting his name like a prayer.

After Jongho came down from his high, he disappeared into the bathroom as he always did, coming back with a warm towel. As he pressed the towel to my thighs I tried to ask again.

“So...about the human to vampire thing?”

“Well,” Jongho sighed, “I didn’t think I’d be able to distract you forever.” He smiled, “It’s mostly done because couples want to stay together. The thing is though, the vampire obviously gets a taste of the human’s blood and it can be hard to stop once you’ve marked them, especially since smell is such a big allure for us.”

He took a long breath, “Then the human will almost always pass out, and needs to be taken care of for the next couple days because they’ll be so weak. Another problem is that the scent of their blood will be amplified during those days and it’ll be harder for the vampire to not, you know...” He looked away, not able to say the words. I knew what he meant, we both did. In some cases, vampires would kill their human partners for of their blood. Sometimes it was beyond their control. Just a primal need that would betray them. “Then their scent is more easily detected by other vampires and the whole thing is just kinda a mess. I think I’ve only heard of five attempts and only one of them was successful.”

I nodded, not really knowing what to say.

“And then on top of it all, it can be harder for the human to adjust and it can put a lot of pressure on the relationship. Human and vampire relationships are dangerous.”

His face was serious as he ran a hand through my hair. I looked up at him and leaned into his touch.

He cleared his throat and averted his eyes, a shy behavior I hadn’t seen from him before, “I guess it’s important for you to decide then.” His eyes met mine again, “Is this still something you want to continue?”

“Our relationship?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course, are you crazy? You mean the world to me.” I swallowed, realizing he hadn’t voiced his own thoughts, “What about you? Do you want this?”

“I think you have a pretty good idea of what I want.” He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, his eyes sparkling.

“Hey Jongho?”

He hummed, looking at me.

“I want to spend forever with you.”

[damnfandomproblems]

5168:

As the anon who originally responded and upset the op, I'm kind of amazed how many responses I caused.

First off, I want to talk about my comments on the tone of the post. I don't care if people swear, I swear like a sailor in my personal life, but I also try not to swear when talking about complicated issues. I also know and am aware that this is a fandom vent blog, not an academic debate, so the tone really shouldn't matter. I didn't intend for the comments to be passive agressive, but reading it back I can see why it came off that way. In hindsight, I don't think those comments were necessary or constructive, and I apologise.

The original intent of my ask was to clarify what the AI people in fandom spaces talk about, because in my experience a lot of people don't understand what it is. The last paragraph was added afterward, and reading it back I don't think it got across the point I was trying to make as well as it could have. I was trying to say that there are grey areas with "AI" in fandom spaces which leads to people having differing opinions about them, not that I think the examples I gave are okay. I agree with a lot of your points about both of them, and also about fandom being a space for people to make art about a thing they love. As an artist myself I absolutely hate the rise of "AI" art and other generated content, but I also understand that other people will think differently. Even if I disagree with their opinions, I can understand that there's nuance to things and someone who's lived a different life and has different biases than me might think differently. I see too often in fandom spaces (and non-fandom spaces) a tendancy to villanise anyone who's opinion we disagree with, without trying to understand their perspectives. An example I forgot to give in my original post is an artist using "AI" as inspiration for their art. I can understand having trouble composing a piece and wanting inspiration, and I don't know wether or not I agree with using "AI" to do it. I don't, but I don't outright condemn anyone who does. The generative image generators that are used for that are primarily built on stolen works, so is it right to use it at all, even if just for inspiration? I don't know. You could argue that any use of it at all is supporting art theft, but you could also argue that it's similar to scrolling down google images for inspiration. I tend to agree more with the former, but I understand people will disagree, and that's fine.

Anyway, this once again has gone on way longer than I intended. I apoligise for the comments I made about the tone of your post. I did not mean them in a passive agressive or elitist way, but that's how they came off, and I'm sorry. I hope this response can clarify some of the intent of my original ask, and I hope you have a good day! =)

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - Their Girl

Loosely based off of several cases that have, unfortunately, taken place in schools.

Mabel defends herself when a boy touches her, only to be the one to get in trouble. Not on her grunkles watch.

~~~~~~~~~~

“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the - Anyone? Anyone? - the Great Depression, passed a - Anyone? Anyone? - a tariff bill. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, which - Anyone? Raised or lowered? - raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the Federal Government.”

Mabel leaned back in her desk chair to stretch. It was cold in the high school, but luckily her seat was right in the sunshine, warming her up like a lizard on a rock. Her baggy yellow sweater fell off her left shoulder and she let it without giving it much of a second thought, then watched some birds on a tree as the Economics teacher droned on.

“Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States fell deeper into the Great Depression.”

Tenth grade was too young to learn about something so boring. This was for suckers who paid money for it, like college students. Mabel held her breath to keep herself from snorting over her own inner thoughts. Grunkle Stan would be proud of her, she thought, and her thoughts wandered to him and Grunkle Ford, until she was snapped back into reality. Literally.

“Today, we have a similar debate over this, anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve.”

A boy behind her (his name slipped her mind at the proper moment) was playing with her exposed bra strap. It felt like he had grabbed it, barely pulled it back, and let go. At first, she thought maybe it was an accident. Unlike, but possible. But then it happened again, this time the boy pulled the bra strap far enough that when he let go it slapped against her skin a little. It didn’t hurt, and the teacher’s boring voice drowned out the noise, but still.

“Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point.”

Mabel turned around sharply at once and gave him a deadly glare. “Stop it.” She whispered firmly.

The boy grinned menacingly, and sneered just as quietly, “Make me.”

Mabel whipped her head back, making sure her long ponytail hit him in the face, but though her actions stopped him for a moment, soon he was back to pulling on her bra strap, each time pulling back farther and farther.

“This is very controversial. Anyone know what President George H. W. Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-D-O-O Economics. Voodoo Economics.”

A loud snap sound echoed, a yell of pain and aggravation, and then Mabel Pines stood so sharply her chair fell backwards, turned around, and punched the jerk in the face, left-hook boxing style.

“Ms. Pines!” The teacher scolded loudly.

The whole class was on the edge of their seats. All the kids had seen what happened; the ones sitting closest to the pair had been well aware of what was going on since the beginning. While they were hopeful the jerk would get what’s coming to him, they all knew that wasn’t likely. Not under the most sexist teacher’s nose.

“To Mr. William’s office. Now.” He growled.

“But he was touching my bra!” Mabel defended. “He was invading my personal bubble even though I told him to back off!”

“It’s a very small classroom, Ms. Pines. And maybe he wouldn’t have touched it if you didn’t have it out for the whole world to see.” The man said coldly and pointed to the door. “Now please leave my classroom.”

Mabel knew there was no point in defending herself. She did a quick glance around the room to see if anyone would defend her, but no one looked ready to jump into the line of fire. She understood why. This guy had a bad reputation. Mabel loudly stuffed her notebook filled with doodles into her backpack, took it and her small purse, and stomped out of the classroom.

She did manage to catch the blood coming out of the boy’s nose and grinned.

At Mr. William’s office, the sweet secretary with old-lady glasses offered her a mint and was very nice to her. But soon Mr. William entered the room and had Mabel enter his office. Apparently the teacher had called ahead so Mabel didn’t have to tell the principal what happened, leaving the girl to feel like she was walking into the Lion’s Den.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dipper left his Robotics class to meet up with Mabel, who normally would be leaving Economics, so they could walk to their last class, Language Arts 10, together. Economics emptied pretty quickly thanks to the boredom, so Dipper was a bit confused when he didn’t see his twin sister out in the hall, and wondered if she was in the bathroom.

He saw a fellow student who shared Mabel’s Economics class, Rose, leave the ladies’ room, and so he asked, “Hey Rose, is Mabel in there?”

She shook her head. “Nah, didn’t you hear? She got sent to the office for punching Jeremy.”

Dipper grinned with pride, but it quickly went away; Mabel would only do that if Jeremy was doing something. “What’d he do?”

“Smacked her with her own bra strap.” Rose pulled down the neck of her t-shirt and demonstrated, “Like this.” And she pulled her bra strap and let go, making it snap.

“Are you kidding me?!” Dipper yelled and his eyes landed on the teacher to his right, standing with his arms crossed and looking out for rule-breakers.

The young man growled in his throat like an angry dog, ready to tell the jerk off, but he felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled out his phone while Rose walked away. Dipper calmed down a little, sighed, and walked to the lockers to lean against them as he responded to his newest text. He had no intention of going to Language Arts. He’d be on his way to the office soon enough in case his sister needed him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ford re-read the maps and plans for Spring Break with an exciting grin all over his face. Soon the kids would be out of school and take a bus to the pier where he and Stan had docked the Stan O’ War II, then they would sail alongside the California shore, fishing, sailing, and occasionally swimming, for a whole week. They had been planning this since the holidays, when they had all facetimed for five hours while the old sailors were on the shores of the Netherlands. The kids had practically begged to go on the boat with them, and so they agreed to sail alongside Russia and visit California, planning to then re-visit Alaska quickly before sailing down to Oregon for the summer.

Stan climbed up from the cabin below as he pulled on his white t-shirt. “How much longer until the kids are free from prison?”

Ford rolled his eyes and checked his watch. “Ninety minutes. And it’s a twenty minute drive, so it’ll be about another two hours, Stanley.”

The youngest of the pair by fifteen minutes groaned and collapsed on the couch. “I could always hotwire a car and we could see them now. We can pretend one of us died and so we need the kids now.”

“Stanley, no.”

“Stanley YES!”

Ford chuckled and rolled up the map. “Text them if you miss them so much.”

“Maybe I will.” Stan snorted and pulled out his phone to text in the group chat. “Surviving okay, kids?” Just a casual greeting, and he and Ford were pleasantly surprised to get a little buzz back not a minute longer.

“Not really.”

Stan raised an eyebrow while Ford had his back to him and was organizing his papers. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Little dots appeared and reappeared. Stan knew what that meant. Dipper was being careful how he answered. Stan decided to check, and sure enough Mabel hadn’t even seen the texts yet. When he got a small paragraph back, Stan nearly crushed his phone in his fist. “WHAAAAAT?!”

Ford jumped a foot in the air and held his chest. “Christ, Stan, what…”

“Check your phone, Genius! We’re going to Piedmont. NOW!” And Stan slapped on his beanie and stormed out of the cabin of the ship with a slam of the door.

Ford picked up his phone, which had been lying face-down on the table, and once he was caught up on messages, he matched his twin’s anger and made sure his ray gun was in his blue hoodie as he left.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mabel sat in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, letting Mr. Williams go on his tangent. According to the school nurse, she had broken Jeremy’s nose. Good. That’s what he gets for touching her. But apparently Mr. Williams disagreed, saying things like how her actions were unlawful and that she had no right to punch another student.

“Under no circumstances should you ever punch a fellow student, Ms. Mabel.” Mr. Williams said firmly.

“But he was touching me!” Mabel quickly injected, in some effort to defend herself. “He was pulling on my bra strap and smacking me with it! And I told him to stop, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Mr. Williams snorted as he reached into his desk. “Well maybe next time you won’t wear such revealing clothes? How else are people supposed to pay attention to the lesson?”

Mabel felt her heart drop. She looked back down at her sweater, her purposely baggy yellow sweater that she had knitted herself a few months ago. This sweater - in fact, none of her sweaters - had ever been a problem before. Mabel plucked at her top and said in a quiet, timid voice, “But I made this.”

Mr. Williams glanced up from what he was writing for a second, before mumbling bitterly with his cold eyes on his paper, “Let the professionals make your clothes, okay? If you don’t want to find yourself in trouble then try wearing suitable clothing.”

Mabel felt her entire face turn red. She was so angry and so hurt and she saw no possible way out of this, so she decided to bite her lip and hide the lower-half of her face in her sweater, shrinking in her seat and lifting her yellow sweater up a bit.

“Now, I am giving you three weeks of detention.” Mr. Williams said. “Two for violence and invading a student’s personal bubble, and one for breaking dress…”

The door opened sharply. Mabel turned and her jaw was wide open to find her great-uncles at the foot of the office. At first she was jubilant to see them again, but then terrified to see them so angry. She had never seen them so mad. She knew they could be scary when they wanted to, but they had always seemed like soft old teddy bears to Mabel, what with their fluffy gray hair and warm hugs and squishy tummy-tums to snuggle against. Mabel was a little unhinged to find their faces darkened with anger. She could see a vein popping out of Stan’s forehead. Ford appeared to try to be collected, but his aura was as black as an imploding star, matching his brother’s quite well.

Mabel stood on shaking knees. Her uncles softened, ignoring the cold look Mr. Williams was giving them, and Stan was at her in an instant, with Ford right behind him, rubbing her shoulders and looking over her. “Mabel, sweetie, are you okay? Did he hurt you? I swear to Moses if that…”

“I’m okay, Grunkle Stan, I promise.” Mabel soothed, trying to smile, but she was still really nervous. “I… Wow, it’s great to see you guys, I missed you, but why are you here?”

“Dipper contacted us.” Ford said softly. “Said you were in trouble. What exactly happened?”

“She pu-...”

“I didn’t ask you.” Ford growled at Mr. Williams. Mabel actually shivered. She was so used to hearing a smooth, warm, comforting voice come from him, that hearing it growl like an animal like that startled her. “I am talking to my niece.” His eyes moved back on Mabel and he was instantly much warmer and not as scary. “What happened, pumpkin?”

“I was in Economics when this boy, Jeremy, was plucking at my bra strap.”

“Please show us exactly what he did.”

“Does it matter?!” Stan snapped. “He touched her!”

“Stanley, please,” Ford gave him a firm look, then returned his attention back to their girl. “Humor me.”

Mabel nodded in agreement. She had pulled her sweater down so it had covered both shoulders and sagged a bit on her chest. Now she moved it so her left shoulder was completely exposed, and she pinched at her strap. “It started like this,” She barely lifted it up, having little effect or sound. “But then after I told him to stop, he did this.” And Mabel pulled back far enough that when she let go it made a harsh slapping sound against her skin.

“Wait a minute,” Stan had caught a glimpse of it the moment she lowered her sweater. He gently turned her to look at the back of her shoulder, and he saw red. Literally. Her skin was reddening from the aggression. Not enough to swell or require ice, but enough to indicate just how invading and violent the action had been.

Stan was growling in his throat. He squeezed Mabel’s forearms reassuringly and said, “We’ll handle this, pumpkin.”

“Gentlemen,” Mr. Williams said firmly, still acting professional and snobbish. “Your niece here has violated several school rules and even went as far as to break a student’s nose.”

“You did?” Stan asked and patted her back. “That’s my girl!”

Mr. William’s nostrils flared. “Gentlemen, that is not what we should be teaching young…”

“While breaking cartilage is unfortunate, sir,” Ford said coldly, stepping forward, “It’s abundantly clear that she was only defending herself. Not only did the boy have no right to touch her, in any sense, in any manner, she was even gracious enough to give a verbal warning before she acted as she had to to get the boy to stop.”

Mr. Williams crossed his arms over his chest and snarled, “Well maybe if she hadn’t dressed in such a distracting way Mr…”

“Oh HELL NO!” Stan marched forward and slammed his fists down on the desk so hard he actually left cracks in the wood from the impact. “YOU’RE NOT PLAYING THAT GAME, ASSHOLE! NOT ON MY FUCKING WATCH!”

Ford made no attempt to silence his twin. In fact, he was smiling cunningly, like a policeman letting his dog go after the target. He gently walked Mabel to the door and ushered her outside. “Why don’t you wait outside, my dear? Dipper is waiting for you with a snack and some water to calm your nerves, you look a little shaken.” He said quietly.

Mabel dipped her head and smiled, unable to find the words, but Ford understood and closed the door after her.

Dipper was, in fact, there with a package of peanuts and bottled water in his hands for her. They sat in the cool office, listening to the conversation. While exact words were muffled by the walls and door, it sounded like Stan and Ford both were yelling and cursing at the principal. While Dipper and Mabel probably should have been more nervous, they weren’t; they were calm and they both knew that everything would be okay.

About half an hour later, just when the old men’s throats were getting a little sore, they left, leaving Mr. Williams to try to kill a small fire on his desk. Stan swiftly pocketed his lighter and smiled warmly at his kids. “Let’s ditch this hellhole.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Mabel was sipping some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows while Dipper was in the shower and her uncles elsewhere on the boat. She rubbed her shoulder with her free hand, elbows on the table, as she thought about the day. While she was grateful to not be in trouble and that the whole situation was over, it didn’t feel over. At least, the feelings it gave her hadn’t gone away.

The door opened and she smiled to see her favorite uncles coming inside. “Hey there, pumpkin.” Stan greeted warmly, but grew a little concerned. “You okay?”

Mabel blinked and tried to make a more convincing smile. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“That principal rattled you pretty good.” Stan pulled out a chair and sat next to her, rubbing her back. “C’mon, what’s on your mind?”

Mabel looked down at her hot drink, sighed, unsure of how to properly express her emotions, but managed to settle with, “It wasn’t fair.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Ford said firmly and stood on her other side. She looked up at him and the old scientist said, “What happened to you was completely unfair and should never be tolerated.”

Mabel nodded in agreement. “It’s just that… not only should Jeremy not have touched me, but you’d think people would have my back for defending myself, but… they made it seem like it was my fault…”

“Mabel Pines,” Stan moved his hand to her shoulder and squeezed gently. “That was not your fault. You did nothing wrong. You dress how you want and punch any guy that touches you if you don’t wanna be touched, and don’t let anyone tell you you should act differently.”

Mabel smiled weakly and nodded. “Okay.”

Stan chuckled and ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl.”

“Now hold one minute, Stanley.” Ford teased and wrapped Mabel up in a one-armed hug, making her giggle and hug him around his waist. “You were always terrible at sharing. She’s my girl, too.”

Stan smeared playfully and tickled Mabel’s ribs to loosen her grasp on Ford, pulling her into a big bear hug as she laughed. “Nu, uh. My girl.”

Mabel rolled her eyes as the twins only kept up the charade for another minute, filled to the brim with appreciation and power.

[andromeda-nova-writing]

Taking a break

Fem Black Reader

Modern College AU

Summary: Being convinced to take a break from working essays by Kaeya

Words: 1127

AN: I got a bit tired from finales and having to read x readers where it was clear that the reader was being described as white. Reader’s hair is described as curly with mentions of braiding.

Finals week. Every college student's least favorite time of year. No matter how prepared you think you are, something always gets in the way. It could just be life getting in the way or just more school work popping up with a surprise. The surprise being forgetting an assignment on the syllabus.

It was a miracle that Y/N could at least remember to eat in the chaos that was Finales. Her desk was covered in papers. Some notes she had taken had become a mess. Papers with assignment requirements had parts highlighted, underlined, and crossed off. No one would be able to make sense of the papers but her.

Y/N had been sitting at her desk since she got up at nine am. She took a break at noon for lunch, but she got back to work after that short break. She had two essays to write and only one was halfway done.

Both essays were for her English class. One was on a poem that the entire class had to read while the other was breaking down a character arc in her choice of movie. Honestly, what teacher assigns two papers at the same time. It should be classified as a cruel and unusual punishment. She could get having to do one essay, but two. Too much.

Y/N looked up at the clock on the corner of her laptop. It was almost 4:30 pm. She could at least keep working on one of the papers till she had to stop for dinner. She looked over the notes she took on the poem trying to make sense of how to even start the next paragraph. Why did English homework have to be so unnecessarily annoying?

The old school music she played filled the room. Music borrowed from her dad’s taste to bring any sense of comfort during such a stressful time. Songs were played loud enough to drown out the opening and closing of doors.

“Still writing?” Kaeya spoke. Y/N didn’t bother turning around. She only responded with a simple head nod yes. “When was your last break?”

“Lunch.” She continued writing out a sentence only to immediately backspace the sentence away.

“Get up from there.” Kaeya had moved closer towards her, leaning his hand against the desk.

“Can’t. Homework. Not all of us are Photography majors with breezy finals. I’d trade boring essays to taking some photos any day.” Y/N picked up a notebook and flipped through finding the original poem she had written into the book. Stanzas were marked up into even smaller sections breaking down the poem further.

“Some photos?! There’s an art to photography.” She had started up the joke argument they had once a week. “With my photos, I could perfectly capture any sight better than words could.”

“As fun as that debate is, I really need to focus right now.”

“How much have you written since I left for critique?”

“A hundred on each paper.”

“It’s been three hours! You’re gonna burn yourself out before the paper is even done if you just keep staring at the page.” It was solid advice. It was also words just repeated back at her from last semester.

“I have a week left. And they’re for the same class on the same day. I don’t know if I can afford a break.”

“Let’s just go on a walk and pick up some dinner early. Clear your mind.” Kaeya leaned over pressing a kiss on Y/N’s forehead. “I promise not to keep you away from your desk for long.”

“How long though?”

“If I tell you. You’ll never take a break.” Y/N frowned. Sometimes she hated when Kaeya was right.

“You’re citing the paper for me if I start running out of time.”

Kaeya only laughed in response.

“I’m serious.” She saved the two word documents before closing her laptop.

“I know you are. Just get up already. I’ll let you pick out dinner for tonight.”

“Should have led with that,” Y/N stood up out of her chair. “By any chance, are you also paying?”

“If it gets you out of this apartment quicker, Yes.” His response was followed up with another one of his laughs.

Y/N took a second to stretch. “Welp, then I guess I can take a break for more than ten minutes.” She picked up the hoodie off of the back of her chair.

“We aren’t leaving with you dressed like that,” Kaeya complained.

Y/N looked down at her sweatpants and the hoodie she had in her hands. “It’s Finals. I get to be comfy. Plus I think my hoodie looks very cute.”

“At least put on some jeans.”

“If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re trying to turn this into another date.” Y/N joked, raking a hand through her curls.

“Anything to get you to relax a little longer. I’ll start your citations if you get dressed.” Kaeya offered.

“The poem notes and references are written in black ink. Character arc notes are in blue. They should have all you need.” Y/N leaned up giving Kaeya a quick peck on his lips. “Thank you.”

Y/N left the small office she shared with Kaeya to their bedroom. She changed into something more fitting for a spontaneous date. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror Y/N began working on her curls. Taking a wide-toothed comb to detangle enough to have a neater bun than the pineapple she slept in and wore throughout the day.

She really needed to wash her hair already, but the idea of wash day and finals week sounded too painful. It would have been smart to braid her hair back or straighten it for the week. Less maintenance time meant more time to write for her essays.

Y/N left for the home office after spending most of the time on her hair. Kaeya sat at her desk with her laptop opened. He was still typing away at her papers.

“I’m ready. Hopefully, I didn’t take too long.” She walked over to the desk. Y/N took the chance to quickly organize some of her papers.

“Only long enough to read and correct spelling and grammar mistakes.” Kaeya retyped a word before saving the document.

Y/N frowned. “Please tell me there wasn’t a lot.”

“It was a bit worse than normal. Also a wrong use of ‘they’re’. It just showed how much you need a break.” He closed the laptop and stood up. “It doesn’t matter right now. You still have to tell me where we are picking up food from.”

“I’ll figure out on the way.”

“You were just complaining about not wanting this to take too long.” Kaeya laughed.

[miraculousmarifan]

Here’s a short songfic that I’ve been debating the end of for a while. If anyone wants to read all my WIPs and help me decide on the endings, feel free to message me :)

I really enjoy Deer in the Headlights by Owl City so I hope you enjoy this too! It’s only about 700 words.

    “She just takes my breath away. I can’t even explain how it feels well enough,” Felix let out a sigh, despite the admiration in his words.

    “Why don’t you just ask her on a date then? It’s not like the hardest thing out there and Marinette’s cool! Even if she said no, she’d still be chill about it,” Nino shook his head a little bit, with a small smile and affectionate eye roll. 

    “I just don’t understand women, okay? Especially not her,” Felix lamented, staring intently at his cup of tea. His friend laughed before responding.

    “Dude, I think you’re being a little dramatic. It’s just one date and if it doesn’t work out or she says no, you guys can go back to whatever you’re doing now,” he reasoned.

    “Nino, every single time I try to get close to her or surprise her, she hurts me…” With a slight groan, Felix rested his head in his hands, rubbed them up and down, then looked up with despair.

    “You’re such a drama queen. How does she hurt you when you won’t even make a move?” Nino fixed a stare at the blond, eyebrows raised.

    “I’m serious! She physically hurts me! For example, there was the time I was leaving work a little late. It was fairly dark and when I came out of the building, I noticed Marinette walking through the parking lot pretty slowly. I jogged over to her to see if I could drive her home, so she wasn’t walking home that late. When I said hello, she pepper sprayed me. Pepper sprayed me!” Felix’s hands pressed firmly into the table as he leaned forward to emphasize his pain, eyes wide.

    “Okay man. That’s definitely bad luck but it was a fluke. There’s no way it’d happen if you asked her out!” he assured with a small laugh. Felix’s face flushed as he quickly responded.

    “It’s not the only time! Do you remember when I was walking around with a little bit of a black eye and a bruised nose? I told you I had gotten hit in the face and got a pretty bad bloody nose and you laughed about it? That was from her. I saw her waiting for the elevator at work and came up by her to wait as well. I went to tap her shoulder to let her know I was there and she turned and punched me right on the spot. The moment she saw me, she hit me! I don’t understand!” his voice rose slightly and caught the attention of a few others in the coffee shop. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, flushed, and took a long sip of tea. 

    “Okay so twice… what are the chances it’d happen again, dude?” Nino spoke between laughs, picturing the dark-haired woman punching Felix in front of an elevator. The blond in question waited until his friend had stopped laughing.

    “There was the day that I saw her eating lunch and walked up to join her. When I tried to ask if the seat next to her was available, she elbowed me before I could finish my question. I dropped my food on the floor and had pain for hours after. The day when I stopped by her office to ask her to lunch. Her door was open and she seemed to be pacing, so I stepped into the doorway and greeted her. She threw the stress ball in her hand at me. I don’t know if you know this but she has quite an arm. It left a bruise on my side. Do I need to continue?” Felix was completely flushed and put his hand to his temple as he asked Nino if he was satisfied. His friend sat with a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter. 

    “Dude, you have the absolute worst of luck!”

    “I know. She acts like a deer in the headlights half the time that I see her. Do you think that she knows I fell for her the moment I saw her?” Felix couldn’t help but sigh the words.

Nino set his hand on his friend’s shoulder, shaking his head, and thinking about how bad Felix had it for Marinette. If only they realized it was love at first sight.

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

For those that have been waiting, sorry for the delay in new writing. This was started back in November and I basically sat on this last paragraph until now. I was debating writing in a scene with Marinette joining the boys, rather than just saying it was mutual, but I finally decided this fit the scope of the song better. Thanks for your patience as I reblog a variety of ships and disjointed stories instead of writing!