#this post is brought to you by book banning

[potterandpromises]

Guy who picked up John Green’s books because he wanted a teenage smut fest: Well this shit fucking sucks.

[feypact]

public libraries in the usa offering free digital library cards to people not in their areas (as of october 2023):

brooklyn (13-21yo us residents)

seattle (13-26yo us residents)

boston (13-26yo us residents, EDIT: just commonly banned books)

los angeles (13-18yo california residents)

san diego (12-26yo us residents, not the whole collection just commonly banned books)

these books unbanned cards (unless otherwise stated) get you access to each library's complete libby/cloud library collection, no hoopla/kanopy/physical copies included.

ebook collections are expensive to maintain (many american libraries have annual fees for non-residents because of this) but because of an uptick in book banning (particularly brutal in mississippi last summer) larger libraries have opened their doors more, which is very kind of them!

i've used my seattle card for the last several months and their libby collection has about three times the books that my local library does, which is wonderful for accessing more niche titles or skipping a waiting list. would love to hear of similar ebook initiatives internationally!

i use library extension (firefox/chrome/edge compatible) to check all my collections (+ the internet archive) at once, works for several different countries highly recommend it.

spotify seems to be offering 15hrs/month of audiobook listening to premium subscribers and while that does seem useful if you're already paying and are after a new release with a long library waitlist, libraries are better for everything else.

[manicpanicpixienightmare]

Sometimes it’s best to be a hater in your own head.

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Of Meetings and Musings

Masterlist

Not so Fake

“I expected this from Dick, not from you Alfred.” Tim said blankly from his place on the ground. Wrapped in what he could only define as a Military grade Bat-proof burrito blanket.

“Well Master Timothy I know better than anyone that you would not listen to reason. The moment your brothers’ and father's back are turned you'd be gone and already ten feet deep in your newest case.” Alfred moved forward placing a cup to the side of Tim’s head before bending the straw so that he could turn his head to take a sip. “Be happy I am letting you sit in on over video call for the Justice League meeting.” Alfred pulled out a domino mask, securely attaching it to Tim’s face.

“This is mildly embarrassing.” Alfred looked at him for a second before reaching over and turning off the camera feed on their side.

“Better?”

“Slightly.”

“Good, now I expect that water will be gone by the end of this meeting or your coffee ban will be extended. I will be in the kitchen, just call if you need me.”

“Understood.” Tim said glumly as he thought about coffee. Alfred gave him an amused smile before walking off towards the kitchen.

Tim couldn't help but pout over the fact that he was even in the situation. He just wanted to do an intensive search into the Infinite Realms, while simultaneously hacking into the government agency known as the Ghost Investigation Ward, light work really. He barely had time to react before he was caught by Alfred. Honestly they act like he had a problem.

Tim in fact does have a problem.

Dick had managed to convince them to let Tim at least listen into the meeting. Which won him some points in Tim’s book, going off a mental tally he was now tied for second place with Duke. Cass remained in the number one favorite sibling spot, while Jason had dropped to last after the spam of pictures he took of him in the burrito.

The complete asshole he was had probably already posted them all over Twitter and Instagram. Tim wasn't ready for his Wayne Enterprises PR team email, he was gonna get Jason back for this.

He sighed, taking a sip from his straw tuning back in as Batman called attention.

“Very startling information has been brought to my attention. Something that we should've known sooner but slipped under the radar.” Batman straightens, moving to the side as the projector turns on. Displaying a PowerPoint that Tim considered woefully uninformed considering Jason had made it. Jason's the only one that uses PowerPoints weird transitions, and Tim knows he could have found everything Jason compiled in under an hour.

“The Anti-Ecto Acts a law passed by Luthor during his President run. It was signed into law the day after Gotham was declared no man's land, leaving it to slip our attention.” Nightwing turned the page in the packet he had gotten made up, signaling the others to turn as well. It was the bill in full for them to read over. “This law states that any being made of ectoplasm or able to create it are classified as undead and non-sentient. They automatically lose all human rights, and are open season to be experimented on or exterminated. They also declare it a crime to be a ghost or Ecto-Entity, the Ghost Investigation Ward, operating under the government, is given full rights to arrest those they deem undead.” Batman clicked the next slide to show multiple League members’ pictures. “Multiple League members are considered to be undead.” Everyone was stunned as they looked over the pictures, Superman was the first to speak up.

“Batman, seven of those pictures.” Batman nodded his face blank but his kids could read him clearly.

“Seven of Gotham's vigilantes are considered non-sentient and inhuman. Myself included, anyone in the Justice League that has died and managed to come back. If we don't move fast, we'll all be in trouble.”

Tim sighed, shaking his head deciding to step in.

“Under statement of the year B. This is one, either a plan Luthor made to take us down, or two, the start to tearing down all protections Metas and Aliens currently have.” Constantine nodded before standing up  moving to the front.

“I thought you all knew about this, else I would've told you sooner. We're all in lot of trouble with these Acts. Luthor basically declared war against another nation.” 

“What do you mean John?” Superman questioned as he leaned forward more his Eyes kept straying back to his picture and that of his god kids. Batman nodded to Constantine letting him take over the presentation. Tim was surprised to see screenshots of Danny’s videos on the next slide.

“There is a Realm that coincides with ours and every other universe that exists. It's known as the Infinite Realms, to put in bluntly, if the Infinite Realms was to be destroyed every universe would too. The Infinite Realms is inhabited by ghosts and primordials, beings that could and would destroy worlds if they simply teamed up. The Anti-Ecto Acts is a declaration of war against them.” Constantine sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at the pictures. “For one we need to get it repealed immediately. Second we need to start peace treaties with the Infinite Realms, up until a few years ago it would’ve been impossible. The King was a tyrant that would love a war, however three years ago he was defeated in battle and another was Crowned.”

“How do we get in contact with this new King?” Wonder Woman questioned crossing her arms determined to see the Acts abolished.

“The only lead we have is, and I shit you not, this YouTuber.” Tim blue screened for a moment as his eyes zeroed in on a screenshot of Danny’s grinning face. Constantine held his hands up at the incredulous looks he was getting. “I know, sounds down right loony but it’s true. GalacticPhantom, also known as Danny, has posted multiple videos of himself and friends interacting with Ghosts from the Infinite Realms. The most important being the young ghost girl with white hair in the last photo. If our connections are correct, that girl is Princess Danielle Phantom, clone of High King Phantom and heir apparent. In order to reach the King, we need to reach her, and to reach her, we need Danny.”

Tim blinked before dropping his head against the floor groaning slightly, thinking about how they’d have to go about this.

“Before we continue with this.” He interrupted grumpily knowing this was going to cause issues. “So as the resident expert on GalacticPhantom,”

“Yes Red, we know you have a crush on the YouTuber.” Hood called out teasingly, earning a few small smiles. Tim was silent just glaring at the camera before speaking again.

“Congratulations Robin you’ve moved up the rankings of my favorites lists.”

“Tt- I don’t care about the nonsense you’re spewing Red.”

“Awe, Robin are you smirking? That's so cute! My baby birds are bonding!” “Nightwing I swear I will stab you.”

“Back to the point!” Tim said loudly, wanting to slam his head against the floor. “Danny’s friend Wes, he is either incredibly smart or a psychic of some sort. He has a majority of our identities clocked. Stop yelling, honestly, I believe he has a curse much like Cassandra of Troy, the only people that believe him are his friends.” Batman sighed and everyone watched in shock as he pinched his nose.

“Red, we are going to have a serious talk about sharing important information like that.” Tim snorted, rolling his eyes as he took a long sip of his water.

“Honestly B, the only reason I’m telling you now is because he is going to immediately know something is wrong. Given that only his friends listen to him, well I have no fact they all will be on high alert. To put it plainly, for once we can’t sneak around in the shadows.”

“Damn, we have to do a Superman confrontation.” Nightwing said glumly, earning a teasing offended look from the man himself.

“What’s wrong with my way?”

“It’s not as fun ‘cause they see you coming. It’s never a surprise, I like surprising them.”

“Ya, you would Wing.” Superman said affectionately before Batman called attention back to their meeting. 

“We better start planning then, I want us to be in peace talks within the week. I am giving Oracle and Red Robin full permission to pull up everything from GIW and get it blasted through every media outlet, converging with Superman on certain points of this. Given the new knowledge our best bet would be to go in with civilians. I will ask the Waynes to act as liaison for us, given they are our biggest benefactors they can be direct contact between the two.” Batman turned the power point off before moving to the middle of the table again. 

“Given the threat all of us are currently facing, I am enacting Protocol Convergence effective immediately. No hero is to do sole patrols, heroes are required to keep emergency homing beacons on them at all times. If anyone is confronted by the GIW they are to retreat immediately and alert the others. The Watchtower is having its shields upgraded and will be ready for the possibility of an attack. If the GIW does approach one of us, either meet here, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, or the Batcave. I will be temporarily opening the Zeta-Tube for the cave, do not abuse this.Now, we need to get to work everyone is dismissed.”

Danny stopped suddenly causing everyone to look at him confused as he slowly put his missing bowl down and looked around the school kitchen suspiciously. Lunch Lady also stopped in her mixing, having agreed to have a bake off with King Phantom for one of his videos.

“What's wrong Pudding pop?” She asked softly, placing a hand on his back, Danny didn’t respond for a moment before turning to them and making eye contact with Dani, who also looked off put.

“Someone not of the Realms used our official titles.” Danny muttered shifting back and forth before giving Lunch Lady a tense smile. He stood taller, no longer slouching as his transformation took place, leaving him in his royal regalia, Dani transforming soon after moving to stand beside him. “I’m sorry, can we reschedule this? I feel the need to speak with my Council.” Lunch Lady nodded, snapping her fingers causing their ingredients to disappear and be replaced with freshly baked cookies.

“Of course your Majesties.” She said curtsying before offering a plate to Dani who took it with a grin. “I will reach out to Royal Secretary Foley to reschedule. I hope that you find everything well.” Danny smiled nodding as he opened a portal for her back to hers and Box Ghost’s Haunt.

“I do as well, please tell Box Ghost I said hello.” Lunch Lady smiled, thanking Danny and promising to do so before stepping through and waving goodbye. “Do you all want to come?” Wes glared, rolling his eyes as he stood up stretching.

“Stupid question, of course we’re coming.” Danny grinned rolling his eyes as he opened a portal to the Infinite Realms Castle. Dani bounced through calling out to them as she started flying down the hallway.

“See you in the Council room! I’m going to summon the Council!” Val snorted, walking through after Sam and Tucker. Wes entered the portal two steps behind Danny watching carefully until it was closed.

“This’ll be interesting.” Sam said, stretching out her arms as the Realms fueled her liminal side and green vines wrapped around her left arm sprouting a few black and red roses. Tucker snorted as his hat was replaced by a Nemes and the traditional makeup of a Pharaoh appeared marking him as the reincarnation of Duul Aman. Val paused looking herself over before huffing and crossing her arms glaring at the ceiling.

“Really?? Still nothing? Is it because I tried to kill him at one point, come on I’ve changed and been reformed! Give me some cool ghostly changes! Even Wes gets them!” She said, glaring at Wes, who just grinned back as he adjusted the chest plate and sword that appeared on him.

“To be fair Val, I only get it because I forced my way into being his knight.” Val huffed, throwing her arms up more playful than frustrated. Danny snorted before starting to walk towards the Council room the other following after.

Dead-ends and Surprise Visits

[sarasade]

One of the most generally useful things to come out of Hbomberguy's plagiarism video and Todd in the Shadows' similar video on misinformation is how they bring transparency to the internet phenomenon of "I made up a guy to get mad at".

Seriously, I've seen people make up a lot of stupid shit on the internet over the years and it's often just a manipulative attempt to paint a group of marginalized people in a bad light.

That's the TL;DR version of this post. 

ANYWAY here is the long version

Those videos are mostly about James Somerton's plagiarism of other queer people's work. However I'd like to talk about that 20-30% of Somerton's original writing- and oh boy. It's mostly about complaining about White Straight Women and misgendering well-known trans creators such as Rebecca Sugar and calling Becky Albertalli a straight woman while it's pretty common knowledge that she was forced to out herself as bi because she received so much harassment over "being a cishet woman who appropriates LGBT+ stories".

One thing that irks me especially is how in his Killing Stalking and Gay Shipping videos Somerton brings up how straight women/ teen girl shippers exploit gay men for their personal sexual fantasies. This gets brought up several times in his videos.

Being all up and arms about Somerton being a "White Cis Gay Who Hates Women and Queer People tm" is not that useful because the kind of rhetoric he's using is extremely common in fandom and LGBT+ spaces on Tumblr, TikTok and Twitter. We really don't need to bring Somerton's identity to this since he is in no way an unique example.

It's hypocritical to make this about an individual person when I've seen A TON of posts, tweets and videos where queer people talk about these Sinister Straight Women who are supposedly out there fetishizing and exploiting queer men. It's pretty clear to me that this is just an excuse to shit on women and queer people for having any sexual interests. At worst these comments are spreading misinformation about BL, a form of media that has been excessively studied by both Asian feminists and Asian queer women.

This all sounds really familiar and I think it's good that people are calling it out as what it is: misogyny and transphobia. I'd also point out the potentially racist motives behind being this hypervigilant about Asian media.

People can absolutely be misogynist regardless of gender or orientation. I really don't know why we need to create some kind of made up enemy to get mad at. I actually think it's almost sinister how "anti-fujoshi" people call Slash shippers and fujoshi misogynists or claim that they have internalised misogyny while being dismissive about women's interests and creative pursuits under Japanese obscenity laws, China's censorship, book bans in American schools and various other disadvances that are part of being a queer and/or female creator.

I think we shouldn't be naive about the bad faith actors who want to turn queer people against each other. For example Fujoshi.info mentions anti-gender (TERF, GC etc) movement using this kind of rhetoric as well.

Anyway if you want to read more:

- about the false info around BL fandom fujoshi.info

-There is the scholar Thomas Baudinette who studies gay media in Japan. Here is a podcast with him and the scholar Khursten Santos

-James Welker is a BL scholar as well. Here is a podcast interview about the new international BL article collection he edited.

-I've already talked about this Youtube channel by KrisPNatz and his great Killing Stalking video that actually engages with the themes of the manhwa

- There is also HR Coleman's thesis DO NOT FEED THE FETISHIZERS: BOYS LOVE FANS RESISTANCE AND CHALLENGE OF PERCEIVED REPUTATION where she interviews 36 BL fans and actually breaks down why fetishization has become such a huge talking point in the fandom discourse. Spoilers, it's mostly about young queer people and women being worried that they will get judged and pathologized for their interest in anything sexual.

-Great podcast about Danmei and censorship with Liang Ge

[purpledemonlilyposting]

It's almost impressive how much incest shit Lily's been shown to have saved/written/whatever. She's got to be DIGGING to find this shit cause where to did that stupid slut phone game even come from???

Let's just catalogue all the incest shit Lily has broadcast across all her videos, streams and posts shall we?

Games:

Kana: Little Sister

Mentioned 17 seconds into her 2nd Dunmeshi video with an image of the little sister from Digimon on screen.

A game where the MC can bang his infirmed 15 year old sister.

That Lily didn't have much of a problem with back in 2011:

A Slut Phone

One of the ones Lily accidentally Vaush'd on screen while saving something to her downloads folder like a boomer.

This game appears to be about the titular "slut" being sexually exploited and raped by her father and brother.

Sisters: Ruby & Yang

The second game Lily accidentally Vaush'd on stream:

Not sure if its an actual game or not but it's at least a collection of porn of the two sisters from RWBY by incest porn artist Khartemis.

The Imoen Romance Mod

Written by TC Dale, a known incest erotica author, the Imoen romance mod allows players to romance their half-sister Imoen in Baldur's Gate 2. Lily won't ever shut up about this mod, acts like it's essential to the game's experience and calls it the best romance she's ever read:

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

The only one Lily will admit to and the only one that gets kind of unfairly characterized as "the incest game" when that's a small part of it and also the bad ending.

But since Lily won't shut up about it and doesn't seem to realize its her third most popular video because she released said video when the game was a hot topic I can only assume she heard "incest game" and slammed the buy button.

Books

[Evidence of Lily's post, she may have deleted this]

Flowers in the Attic

The most mild of these as its actually considered a classic book and wasn't written for titillation but we all know Lily's motivations for mentioning it aren't pure. She mentions it at 16:22 in her Wholesome vs Dark media video and put it on her chart up there.

Forbidden

One of the books on Lily's chart up there that she mentioned at 19:57 in her video on siblings. She claims she tooooottally had nooooo ideaaaaa what the book was about when she read it. Here's the description:

Hale

A book Lily flashed in at 7:53 in her Wholesome vs Dark Media video. Let's look at the description shall we?

You know K. Webster who got banned off Amazon for writing father daughter incest among other things.

Flawed

It's up there on Lily's chart and you'll never guess what it's about!

That's right! Brother-sister incest again!

MISC:

This one is a little more tenuous as I'm not sure which video it was in but someone claimed Lily brought up a film called The Cement Garden which is about... YOU GUESSED IT!

So that brings us to a total tally of

10

10 pieces of media about incest Lily has either referenced or been caught with. The majority of which were clearly produced to be sexually stimulating.

[varpusvaras]

Prequel/sequel to the Modern AU post I made yesterday: Bail, any given morning: Here I go again, going to work...with the ugly horrible stairs

Breha: Dear, can you give constructive criticism of the stairs for once? I thought you went to art school

Bail: Yes, when I was 12. I don't remember much of what they taught me there, but of one thing I am certain: those stairs are not art

Breha: Alright. Whatever you say, honey. But I am banning you from talking about the stairs until you can give me something new

Six hours later

Bail, on the phone: Love, I have found another point of view on the stairs. We have a dinner date at eight. Wear something nice

Breha: .....I didn't know we needed to take the stairs for a date

Bail: No, we're taking the man who is trying to make the stairs less horrible for a date. I promise you, it's going to be so nice!

At eight that night

Breha, looking at the very beautiful man her husband has brought into the restaurant with them: So, you're trying to make the stairs look better?

Fox, forgetting all of his social anxieties in an instant: Yes. Now I am legally being prevented from actually making them proper stairs, because they represent the "alternative progressive movement of the 1930's that worked as a precursor to Modern and Expressionist movements of the field while still encapsulating the trends of the late 1800s", which is, in my honest opinion, just a nice way of saying that the stairs look like a spiraling fire exit with some rather dated embellishments that are just empty copies of earlier styles with no deeper understanding of what actually made any of it work, and merely mimic previous artworks without any coherency, with the sole goal of looking extravagant

Breha, kicking Bail under the table because he looks too smug: Do you want wine and dessert as well?

That night, in bed

Bail: By the way, he also threw a man while holding a clipboard

Breha: I'm booking us a visit to the jeweler tomorrow. We cannot not marry him

[theunholyrogue]

under the mistletoe🎄

❤️bayverse! x GN reader💚

still on my writing hiatus, but i thought i would pop in for a quick, short christmas post with my favorite boys

tw: v mild cursing, none— all fluffy! ☁️

merry christmas, and happy holidays! <3

🎄💙Leonardo💙🎄

Oh, how Leonardo loved watching the excitement in your body language and emotions after he had agreed to helping you set up your christmas decorations around your home.

He didn’t mind doing anything for you, you were his partner after all and you definitely put up with a lot from him and his brothers— this was the utter least he could do for you.

So, while sipping on homemade hot chocolate, you and Leo spent the cold day together setting up your christmas tree, stringing the lights around it, and hanging ornaments off of the dark green branches.

You didn’t have many ornaments, as you had rather collect the cooler, more personal ornaments such as a hallmark oogey boogey from ‘the nightmare before christmas’ or a book to describe your various hobbies, over the glass or plastic bulbs that were really only used for the aesthetic…

unless the glass/plastic bulbs are your thing, then go off babe~

Both you and Leonardo enjoyed the quiet time off the moment, listening to the low sounds of christmas music or whatever you would rather play in the background on your TV.

“Thank you for helping me, Leo,” You speak as the two of you hang some garland over the top of your fireplace, followed by two stockings— one for you and one for Leonardo.

“Of course, love,” He responded, a warm and endearing smile on his features as you two finish and meet in the middle of your living room.

You wrapped your arms around his torso, around his shell as best you could as he returned the gesture.

“There is something that’s missing,” Leonardo muttered, causing you to look up at him.

“What?”

In an instant, you spot the mistletoe bundle above both of your heads, trying to figure out how Leonardo pinned it up there without you realizing.

Of course, the answer was that he was a ninja.

Without giving enough time to react, Leonardo tightened his hugging grip with one arm as the other slide to your neck, his hand coddling the back of your head as he pulled you into a longing kiss.

“A mistletoe kiss,” he states as the two of you pull away. “Merry Christmas, my dearest.”

“I don’t think I can love you anymore than I do.”

🎄💜Donatello💜🎄

The turtle genius had been hearing nonstop about Christmas lights from you, April, and Casey— about wanting to visit the biggest Christmas light display and drive-thru around their area.

Annnnd since April is a reporter, she and Casey had the benefit of going in before they opened to the public one night while April ran a story on the on the festive and flashy display.

Leaving you all alone.

Now— Donatello had never been one to celebrate Christmas, the whole ordeal stemmed from something that went against the science that he could prove, yet, after the two of you started dating, he most definitely put in a lot more effort for minor things like holidays and such just to make you happy.

So, since the turtle couldn’t bring you to the lights himself, why not bring the lights to you?

Thus, he banned you from the lair for roughly a week as he put his plan into action. He spent a lot of money for April to buy lights, while he would tinker and toy with the rest, ultimately creating an entire display of assorted lights that he and another could walk through.

And when it was time, he brought you back to the lair with a blindfold over your eyes.

“This is kinky,” you tease.

“Stop it.” Donatello replied, guiding you to the entrance of the lair before removing the blindfold.

You paused in awe, seeing the array of lights that was carefully manipulated into different christmas objected and scenes.

Candy canes, Santa, his reindeer, gingerbread houses, etc…

“Oh my… did you do all of this for me?” You asked softly, gazing up at Donatello, who watched you with a faint smile.

“Of course I did, you deserve it.”

You couldn’t help but hug him for a moment before the two of you walked through his creation.

Eventually, he led you through a multicolored tunnel that ended with an tinsel arch, white lights strung through it to resemble snowflakes. In the very middle, hanging off of the arch was a mistletoe.

Of course Donatello ended the walk with you both underneath it, and in the moment, he swept you off of your feet and bent forward over you, pressing his lips to yours.

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

🎄❤️Raphael❤️🎄

“Sorry we had to wait for everyone to clear outta here,” Raphael murmured, slipping around on the ice of the ice hockey rink that doubled as a ice skating rink in the winter time.

You had been talking about wanting to go ice skating, whether you were good at it or not, yet you had struggled to find the time to go by yourself… or at all— period.

So, since Raphael “knows a guy who knows a guy”… Casey Jones… he decided to ask for a favor from the male in exchange for some free pizza.

“Raph, this is so much better than being around others! We’re all alone, I’m with my favorite person, this seriously couldn’t get any better!” You exclaimed as you slid along the ice in your skates, remaining close to Raphael.

Raphael smirked as you proclaimed your total excitement for the night activity, making him feel better about, well, the situation at hand. He always felt bad when he couldn’t take you out in public with others around, yet you always found a way to reassure him that it was always okay with you.

So, he continued to try and pick up the simplest of moves— skating forward, in the ice skates that Donatello had made specifically for him.

“Dang, I feel real bad about calling myself a ninja and not being able to do this,” he grumbled, though you didn’t mind reaching out and guiding him along.

“It takes time to learn, just like how you had to practice ninjitsu to be good at it. Right?” You asked with a smile.

“Yeah… and I’m damn good at it,” he grins.

“You sure are, love.”

Slowly, but surely, Raphael continued to pick up on the way of ice skating, being able to move forward and slightly be able to spin around in a circle.

Finally, as you two were doing one more lap around the rink, Raphael looked over at you.

“You know how ya’ said this night couldn’t get better?”

You paused, watching him as he maneuvered back in front of you.

“Yeaaah?”

He pulled out a small mistletoe bushel from his pocket, holding it over both of your heads while moving close. He leaned down in your direction and smiled.

“Merry Christmas, hot stuff,” he grinned before pressing his lips against yours, both lingering for an extra moment before pulling away.

“Couldn’t get better than that.” You grinned, pulling him back into a greedy kiss, causing the two of you to fall onto the ice and proceed to laugh it off.

🎄🧡Michelangelo🧡🎄

The turtles had been planning this holiday party for weeks, now that they had a collective group of people that they now considered apart of the family and wanted to spend part of their holiday season with.

Making the most out of it, you had decided to spend the late morning and midday to help your turtle partner in cooking delicious sweets while the others set up for the party.

Plenty of giggles and goofing around erupted between you and Michelangelo as you two measured ingredients, throwing some of the flour at your partner with the turtle retaliating against you by smacking a palm-full of whipped cream into your face.

You also couldn’t resist taking your finger and dragging it across the surface of the cake bowl, licking the ingredients off while earning a whine from Mikey.

“Oh, no fair! I was gonna do that!”

“Guess you were a little too slow then, huh?”

He simply rolled his eyes with a cheeky grin, catching you off guard with a quick cheeky kiss and quickly copying your actions with the remainder of the leftover batter. He pulled his finger out, creating a loud ‘pop’ sound with his mouth as you narrow your eyes.

“Oop! Guess you were a little too slow, sweet cheeks.”

“You are a total asshole for that,” you pouted, sticking the empty bowl into the sink to wash, along with the rest of the dirty dishes.

As you two cleaned up the disaster in the kitchen and laid the finished desserts of cookies, brownies, fudge, and whatever else came to mind, out onto the bar— you started to plate the desserts onto Christmas themed plates rather than leaving them on the pans.

The boys had finished setting up for the party, leaving the rest of the job for you and Mikey to bring the plates of sweets out and settling them up on a table in the main area where the party would be, alongside the drinks and small finger foods that Casey and April had brought.

One by one, you brought the dessert to the entrance separating the kitchen and the living space, where Michelangelo would meet you and take the plate, moving to the table and setting it down— until it came down to the last dessert.

As you walked to the entrance, Mikey swiftly took the plate from your hands and moved it to one hand, snaking the other around your waist and pulling you close to him.

Without so much as a warning, the orange clad turtle pressed his lips against yours in a short yet passionate kiss before pulling away, leaving you momentarily dazed. From there, he grinned and winked at you.

“Merry Christmas, sexy.” He states before walking back to the food table, leaving you there to stare up at the mistletoe berry and leaf that hung in the doorway above your head.

“That was pretty smooth…” You mutter with a blushing smile.

[the-writer-ofthe-fandoms]

Your Pleasure is Mine (V for Vendetta)

Pairing: V for Vendetta x AFAB! Reader (no use of gendered pronouns/pet names, no use of Y/N)

 Words: 5.2k

Warning(s): SMUT! Masturbation (Reader), Oral (reader receiving), thigh riding, fingering, vibrator, dildo/strap-on, squirting, overstimulation, V gets a pinch crazy (very very minimal), use of safeword (nothing bad, Reader just knows their limits uwu), blindfold, light choking, V keeps the mask ON (for the most part) fluffy aftercare.

A/N: I am so nervous to post this bc I havent written a reader insert in some time, havent written smut in FOREVER, and I havent watched V for Vendetta for awhile either BUT I REALLY WANTED TO GET THIS DONE. SO HERE. Also, I headcanon V to have almost his whole body burned so, the strap-on warning is not for peggin’, sorry for those who thought that haha. enjoy

Also this post is goin up on my birthday so its like a reward haha

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It was a quiet evening in the Shadow Gallery. You did some cleaning for your partner V, and now you were doing some light reading of a book he recommended a couple days ago. It was a short, but very sensual erotic story that was on the banned list of books by the Chancellor. The words and analogies were simply written yet read as beautiful. You could see why V would recommend it. The story was eerily similar to yours and his dynamic; a masked vigilante character and his lover. The vigilante comes to his lover later in the evening and from the worry, they make love.

You almost wondered if he had you reading this on purpose, but you both never made that step your relationship. You understood from all that he has told you, his body was badly burned and he never took off his clothes or disguises. You've only seen his hands and you've felt his lips against yours and your face, but he had you close your eyes for that. You respected that aspect of V, you loved him for him and not for any appearance reason (although you wouldn't deny his typical get up was a major turn on.) Did you have your urges? Sure, but you took care them yourself with tools V stole for you whenever he was out.

Time was lost on you as you kept getting absorb in the short story. You finished the novella with a satisfied huff at its ending and set it aside. You stand up from your's and his bed, stretching your limbs. You glance at the clock and furrowed your brows.

"When did it become almost 11:30pm?" You mumbled and make your way to the kitchen to get some water. It was an hour or so later than when V said he'd be home, an inkling of worry bloomed in your chest. Whenever he went out to stop fingermen or steal supplies he always returned home to you on time, sometimes earlier. What had kept him so late?

You took a sip of water, welcoming the coolness it brought to your slightly dry throat and mouth. You clicked off the light in the kitchen and walked back to the main area of the Shadow Gallery. You yelped and jumped at V suddenly appearing, still in his cape and hat. The water in the glass you held ended up all on the front of you.

"Shit V, you startled me. Usually you announce when you're back." You chuckled, using the back of your hand to wipe water off your chin.

"My apologies, my dear. There were more fingermen than expected." He quickly approached you. His gloved hand takes the glass from your hands, setting it on a nearby table. One of his hands rest at the base of your neck while the one found itself softly cupping your jaw. His thumb swiped away water droplets still on your chin before slowly dragging along your bottom lip. "How was your day, hmm?"

"Wasn't so bad. I cleaned and then read that one book you recommended." You leaned into his touch, taking in a deep breath. You felt a shiver down your spine when you felt his fingers by your neck tap against your skin. With the story fresh on your mind it seemed like your senses were heightened.

"Ah, The Night Unveiled." V tilted his head, his tone indicating he was smirking. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Mhm, but I couldn't help but wonder if you suggested it on purpose, V. A smut story of a masked vigilante and his lover?"

He chuckled. "An idea formed in my head some when I saw the book in my collection. I thought you would enjoy a truly good read and... and would like to try something with me."

"You simply could have asked, V, though I did enjoy the read. The author wrote well."

"It got you in the mood though, did it not?" He tilted his head again, moving his hands to the hem your shirt. He maneuvered them underneath your top to grip your hips. He pulled you flush against him, your hands immediately resting on his chest. "I felt how you reacted to my fingers near your neck."

"What made you want to take this step?"

"I have always wanted you in an intimate matter, but as you know, my body is..." His usually confident tone faltered, his words trailing off. "But, I thought about it and came up with a solution. Come with me, dear." He gently took hold of your hand and lead you down the familiar hallway to your bedroom. You also felt a rush of heat up the back of your neck and to your face at the thought of sex with your beloved partner, something you often fantasize about.

V opened the door and the two of you walk in. He turns to you, his hands cupping your cheeks as he leaned forward, resting the mask's forehead against yours. You heard him take a deep breath and you couldn't help but mimic him.

"If you ever feel uncomfortable, my dear, let me know. We shall learn as we go so please use the light system."

"Got it." You smiled and place a small peck to the lips of his mask. He chuckled pulling away from you.

"I'll be right back,  stay here." You nod,  watching as he ventured into the large closet for a few moments. He came back out holding two boxes, one you recognized. It held the few sex toys you had. You bit your bottom lip at the sight. You were definitely curious to what he has planned. You would be lying if you didn't feel the heat pooling between your legs. Subconsciously you crossed your legs while still standing, watching your partner set the boxes down at the foot of the bed before sitting down on the edge closer to the middle.

"Can you take off your shirt and shorts for me, my love?" His deep voice cut through your brief stupor. You nodded and gripped the hem of your shirt, pulling the fabric up and over your head. You let your top fall to the ground and your shorts quickly followed. All you were left in were your white panties. You felt embarrassment wash over you for just a moment as you stood before him. You had been nude in front of him before. V liked to have days were he'd dedicate his time into pampering you, which meant he often helped bathe you. Yet, for some reason, in this moment you felt like shying away.

You heard V take in a sharp breath of air.

"You look divine my dear, as if Aphrodite crafted you herself. Please, come here."

"If anyone else heard you bring up a Greek God like so Creedy would have your head." You chuckle and heard him laugh as well. Slowly, you walked forward until you were between his legs. His hands, still gloved, were back on your hips.

He slowly dragged them downwards, gliding down your thighs. You felt your body shiver at the contact and he next moved them upwards. You felt his hands get closer to your chest, your breath caught in your throat in anticipation. You bit on your bottom lip as his hands cupped your breasts, squeezing them gently. You let out a content sigh before a small moan escaped; the pad of his thumbs grazed over your perked nipples. V tilted his head at your soft noises and decided to fully cup your tits, kneading and squeezing them.

"Sit." He spoke a simple command. He maneuvered his knee and thigh between your legs. You complied, taking in a sharp breath as your covered heat now against his thick thigh. "Go on, my dear, get yourself off on me."

You nod in response, not trusting your voice. You lazily started rocking your hips, riding his thigh. Your lips parted at the feeling and your hands gripping his shoulders; his own were back on your hips. Soft mewls left your mouth as you grind down, keeping a steady slow pace.

"That's it, darling." You didn't know his voice could get lower and huskier. You felt his fingers press into your skin, gripping your hips tighter but he made no effort to control your movements. "Does that feel good, hmm?"

"Yes-ah..." Your breath came out in pants. You leaned yourself into him to get more pressure and movement focused on your clit. Your roll your hips down and your body twitches. You've found just the right angle. You move faster and and faster, the pleasure making you slowly lose yourself. Your noises leaving your lips were getting louder. You sucked in your bottom lip to try and suppress them, but you felt V's hands grip your hips harder. Your rhythm came to a stop as you moved to look at his mask. There was a very brief moment of dull pain in his grip before he let up.

"Keep going. Do not silence yourself." His words were firm but you could tell by his tone he was adoring you. "I want to hear everything. I want to see everything."

"Sorry-"

"Don't apologize either." He chuckled and tapped your right ass cheek, signaling for you to continue. You nod, leaning forward again as you grind your hips down on his strong thigh, hoping to find that sweet angle. You slid your arms around his neck, your bare chest pressed against him as you tried to find that sweet spot again. You feel him wrap his arms loosely around your hips while you moved.

You shifted your left him and moaned loudly right by his ear.

"Yes, my love." You felt his chest rumble against yours. "That is it. Are you close?"

"Yes, V. Oh my god, yes." Your fingers gripped the clothes on his back as you rolled your hips, your movements getting sloppy as you chased your orgasm. You could feel it creeping up on you, getting closer and closer. V's hands soon found themselves resting on each asscheek yet he still made no effort to control any of your movements. You felt the heat rush up your legs and your body twitches and stills, before you sag against V.

"Did that feel good?" You feel one of his hands rest on the back of your neck while the other softly stroked up and down your lower spine.

"Mmhmm..." You pant, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck.

"What color are you at right now? I still have many more ideas-"

"Green, Love. I am doing just fine." You chuckle and sit up right, cupping the cheeks of his mask. "Although I have a feeling you will be focusing mostly on me tonight."

"And if I am?" There was playfulness in his tone, the hand at the nape of your neck gently applied pressure.

"I would feel a bit bad."

"Your pleasure is mine, my love. As I mentioned to you previously my body is not in the best state, but I find it enjoyable watching you get lost in pleasure. So please, do not feel bad. I will be enjoying everything." He turned his head to nuzzle his mask into the palm of your hand.

"What else you got in store for me?"

"I am glad you asked." There was a slight growl to his voice. He helped you off his thigh and had you stay at the bed. You watched with curiosity as he went to the corner of the room. Your masked lover dragged over the armchair back to the bed with ease before sitting down. "I would like to see what you do to yourself when I am away."

"Ah, that's why you grabbed my box." You smirked and he nodded. You reached over to your box, still eyeing the other one. You slowly flipped the lid opened and eyed your options. You glanced to V who was still watching you and glanced back at your toys. Biting your bottom lip, you pick up the small bullet vibrator.

You move to the headboard of your bed, back propped up by the plush pillows. You kept your eyes on V as you lifted your hips up to slide off your soaked panties. You spread your legs, your wet cunt on full display for him. You saw him straighten his posture at your actions which had you close to smirking.

You started slowly massaging one of your breasts as your lowered the off vibrator to your pussy. You sucked in a sharp breath as you slowly dragged it up and down, your legs twitching at it grazing over your sensitive clit. Your felt around on the toy with your finger before finally pressing the on botton, the vibrator coming life.

You moaned loudly at the vibration again your clit. Back arching, you stopped playing with your breast and immediately pushed to fingers into your wet hole. You desperately needed to feel filled up. The sounds of the vibrator, your fingers thrusting, and your moans filled the room.

"Ah-Fuck! V..." You almost whined saying his name. You repeatedly chanted his name as your fingered yourself. Your eyes never left his rigged form as he watched you intently. Your toes curled and you could feel another orgasm approaching. "I love you, V-"

Suddenly, V stood up from the chair and walked over to the foot of the bed. He quickly opened his box and grabbed a piece of dark fabric.

"Are you comfortable with being blindfolded?"

"Y-yes." You breathed, removing your fingers but keeping the vibrator against your clit. You lost the sensation of near relief, but knew you loving partner would bring it back. V immediately crawled onto the bed and kneeled between your legs. He carefully leaned in and placed a black, thick silky fabric over your eyes, tying it behind your head. You felt your nerves start to rise and you quickly turned off the vibrator to give yourself a moment to adjust.

"Make sure to tell me when your uncomfortable." His rich voice almost startled you now that you can't see him. "I figure this is your first time being blindfolded, would you like me to walk through what I am going to do?"

"That would be great." You smile, taking in a deep breath. You heard some ruffling comig in front of you and then felt the bed shift.

"I am going to touch your thigh." You noticed two things. One, his voice didn't sound muffled and two, you could feel his hot breath on your skin. You nearly jumped when you felt his scarred fingers gently stroke your inner thigh. "I am going to kiss you. I plan to leave marks there." There was a second pause until you felt his mouth gently kiss your thigh. Next thing you felt were his teeth nipping your skin. V started trailing kisses from what you felt. His mouth started near your knee and was getting closer to your heat.

"Mmm..." You practically feel his breath against your cunt.

"What color?"

"God, green." You couldn't contain your anticipation. He chuckled and slid an arm around to rest on your lower stomach. Your back arched when you felt his warm tongue swipe up your slit before he latched on to your clit.

"F-fuck, V!" You cried out. You wanted to reach down and press his face closer to your cunt but you kept your hands gripping the pillows. You knew he had both his mask and wig off, so you settled for jutting your hips. He chuckled and held you down with his arm.

"There, there." He mumbled, his tongue doing wonders your sensitive pussy. You felt him insert two fingers, they curled and hit the right spot, causing a pleased whimper escapes your lips at the feeling. He continued lapping your juices and gently suckling on your clit in all the right ways.

You're not sure how or why, but V was amazing at eating you out.

"H-how are you so good-Hng!" You whined, tossing your head back. That familiar warmth spread through your body, heat pulling in your stomach. He detatched himself from your pussy and while you couldn't see him, you knew he was smirking.

"I think it is both muscle memory from before Larkhill and from the many movies and books from the banned list I obtained." He hummed, the vibration of his voice felt so good. The blindfold had"Come on my tongue, darling."

"V..." You whimpered when he removed his fingers but then moaned as his tongue delve into your hole. His free fingers circled and played with your clit. "Fuck-fuck!" It felt like fireworks as your second orgasm hit. You threw your head back as you sputtered out a mixture of curse words and his name.

"Divine, darling. Absolutely divine." He moved away you to let you recover from your orgasm. "I am going to kiss you now." He didn't give you time to answer. His lips met yours in a bruising kiss, you could taste yourself. Unlike your gentler, more sensual kisses with V, this one was full of passion and lust. One of his hands rested on your neck and he applied a little pressure to the sides. Your thoughts were scrambled from your post-orgasm high, the hot kiss, and now his hand on your throat.

"Just a moment, dear." He pulled his face and hand away. You hear noises again and you assume he is putting his mask and wig on. A minute passes when he speaks again. "I am taking off the blindfold." You feel his hands trail up your neck and behind your head, untying the silky fabric.

"Ah, shit." You weakly laugh and wince at the light. Your eyes adjusted in time though and now you could see your lover staring down at you.

"You look stunning like this. Dazed from an orgasm on my tongue." He cupped your cheek with his hand and you immediately nuzzled into it. "One more thing, my dear. Are you up for it?"

"I think I have one more in me." You smiley blissfully.

"Good." He leaned forward and had his mask kiss your hairline before getting up. He opened his box again and you watched with half lidded eyes as he seemingly strapped something around his waist. He grabbed something else, what you swore was a dildo but then it was obscured by his body. "This looks quite silly." V laughed.

"Let me see." You giggled. Your lover turned around with his hands on hips and you had to cover your mouth to hide the grin. He was still fully clothed in front of you in his black get up but on his crotch was a realistic looking strap-on but it also was in a clear lavender color. You removed your hand and revealed your grin. "Yeah. It looks a little silly but I am very excited for what's in store."

"Good." V gave a curt nod and walked around the bed, sitting in the other side. "Do you have the energy to ride me?"

"Oh I would love to." You smirked and sat up, feeling energized enough. You threw your leg over his lap, effectively straddling him.

"My, you are stunning, sitting here on my lap like so. Oh how I love you."

"I love you too, V."

"Every time you speak my name I am put further under your spell."

"I'll be saying it plenty more here soon." You pecked the masks lips and reached back for the dildo, grabbing it and lining it to your entrance. You figured you were plenty ready to take it. Slowly you sunk down on the thermoplastic cock and you placed your hands on his chest. V took in a sharp breath as he watched your face show the pleasure you were feeling. His hands gripped your hip.

You set a slow pace to start. You softly moaned as you moved up and down. The strap-on filled you up deliciously. You knew it wasn't the real thing but the moment still felt special. The intense love you already felt for V only deepened now.

You felt V's hands help guide your hips and you could tell he wanted you to go faster. You smile at his masked face and quickened your pace.

"Fuck-This feels... feels good." You rasped. You couldn't tell exactly were he was looking, but you figured he was watching your tits bounce. V removed one of his hands from your hip and reached over to where your vibrator laid. You didn't let him even ask, "Green, V."

"Good. Come undone for me again. I want to see your while your whole face is shown to me this time." He powered on the toy, its buzzing filled the room. You slowed down enough for him to press the vibrator to your clit. You nearly scream in pleasure, your body stilling and twitching.

"Oh fuck!" You hissed at the sudden wave of pleasure. "Move V- Ah-!"

"Of course." There was a smirk to his tone. He started bucking his hips upwards, everything felt so intense yet so good. You felt what seemed like fire pooling in your lower abdomen. Your were getting lost in this immense pleasure and you could tell your third orgasm was going to hit hard. The vibrator against your clit and your lover fucking you had you nearly lost in ecstasy.

Your head started leaning back as your third orgasm was nearly there when suddenly you felt the hand that was gripping your hip fly up to back of your head. V's hand cupped the base of your skull and forced you to keep your face looking directly at the mask.

"Keep your focus on me." V practically growled.

That intensity in his voice, the very steady and strong thrust, and the vibrator had you crying out his name. Your third orgasm hit like a firey explosion. Your walls clenched around the strap-on as your body stilled, jaw hung loose and eyes almost rolling back.

"Yes, that is it." V husked. Your body trembled, feeling overstimulated. Your partner still kept going, seemingly lost in your reaction. You cried out as he kept going, as he moved the vibrators in circles around your sensitive and engorged clit.

"V-!" You whimpered out his name. A part of you wanted to stop, the stimulation practically overwhelming, but your mind and heart kept screaming for him to keep going, to see how much longer you could hold out like this. You wanted to feel completely undone by the man you adored so dearly. Suddenly his thrust came to a full stop. He quickly pulled out of you and switched the position, everything seemed like a blur in your drunken-like state.

You now laid on your back, V having a firm grip on your legs as he maneuvered them for easy access; the vibrator, still in his grasp, buzzed against your leg. He entered you once more, giving you only a moment before his thrusts continued.

"V, fuck!" You choked out. His grip on one of legs left and you nearly saw white; the bullet vibrator was back on your clit. Tears leaked out of your eyes as you stared up at the mask watching you so intently.

"Good, my love. You are taking this so well. So-fucking-well." He grunts. You feel your heart flutter at the use of a curse word, something he hardly ever utters. There was something in the tone telling you he was fulling letting loose now. And you loved it. "Cum one more time for me, alright?"

You simply nodded, unable to coherently speak.

"I asked you a question. I need to hear your voice."

"Y-yes!" You writhe and shuttered. Then your vision nearly faded to black as your fourth orgasm hit, you couldn't make a sound other than his name. You felt sudden wetness around your pussy and V's clothes as his hips languidly rolled against you.

"My, my dear. It seems you made a mess." V chuckled, slowly pulling out but still kept some of the dildo inside of you. You barely manage to lift your head and saw liquid dripping from his pants.

I've never done that before... You hazily thought.

Your tired eyes widened when you felt him push back in and your sweat drenched body twitched with the vibrator on your clit.

"V- red. Red sweetheart." You panted. Immediately, he halted his movement and turned off the vibrator. Carefully he removed both toys from your body and placed a hand on your cheek.

"I am sorry. I lost myself there. Are you hurt? What do you need?" His voice was soft and tender.

"I'm not hurt. I just knew I couldn't handle anymore." You said, nearly breathless as you came down from everything.

"Just relax. I'll start a bath for you while I change into clean clothes. Does that sound fine?"

"Of course." You lazily smile at him as he got off the bed. You close your eyes and hum a soft song while V went into the closet the change. It only took him a few minutes but you nearly lulled yourself to sleep.

"Are you ready?" He asked. You hummed a response and sat up, you swing your legs off the edge but as soon as you attempted to stand your legs gave out. If it V hadn’t had been so close without you realizing you would have met the ground.

"Wow, you really fucked me until I couldn't walk." You couldn't help but laugh. He looped an arm under your knees and used the other to support your back as he lifted you easily into his arms.

"Once again, I sincerely apologize to you. I know this night was supposed to be for us to test-"

"Don't. Everything felt good. Great even. I knew I wanted to keep going as you did for that last one." You stretched your neck to peck the masks cheek. "I don't mind rough either next time, V."

"Well I am glad." His seemingly bashful tone of voice told you enough. You giggle with a simple smile and wrap your arms around his neck as he walked you both in the bathroom. V sat you down on the closed toilet and wrapped one of the fluffy towels around your shoulder. You watched with half lidded eyes aa he got the bath going. The water started filling the porcelain tub and you watched as your partner added soothing oils to the water.

When the water reached the right amount V turned the handle to off. He removed the towel and lifted you up and hovered you over the water. It was routine now after his days of pampering you for him to do this so you could test the temperature with your foot. He lowered you just enough to do so and you hummed in delight.

"Just right, V." You smiled and he gave a single nod, assisting you to stand in the tub before helping you lay back. You sigh contently at the warm water around you before glancing at V. Your eyes widened a bit when you daw him roll up his sleeves. His arms, much like his hands, were severely scarred. Usually he let the water soak his shirts when helping you bathe. Deciding not to comment on it, you simply smile to acknowledge this step in trust.

You didn’t care about what his appearance may have been under his clothes, what you cared about is who he is. He was an essentric person, but kind. He was understanding and driven. And he was someone you loved dearly.

V pulled out the small stool he kept in the bathroom. He lathered up a loofah with the soap you liked and gently took hold of your arm. For the next few minutes he gently washed you, speaking softly to you. When he was done with that he started massaging your limbs, earning him content noises from you. You could fall asleep at any moment now. A whine escaped your lips when his hands left you.

"Sorry, my dear, I have to clean up everything. It shouldn't take me long. Try not to fall asleep."

"No promises." You sleepily smile, watching him as he left the bathroom. You stretch your arms and legs with a small hum. You felt hazy and content in the warm bath after being pleasured and cared for. Your eyes slowly closed with a small smile and you couldn't help but doze off.

You're not sure how much time passed since you closed your eyes. V's deep chuckle stirred you awake. You blinked up at him as he set down a fluffy towel, before he reached into the water to unclog the drain.

"I told you not to fall asleep." He teased and helped you up. With his hands placed on your waist, he easily lifted you out the tub. He grabbed the towel and started drying you off. You smiled contently at how warm it was. He must of thrown it in the dryer for you. Wrapping you in the towel, he lifted you in his arms and back into the bedroom.

You noted the different bedding and felt warmth flush to your cheeks.

"Sorry you had to clean all that by yourself."

"No, I am actually quite proud of myself and you for that." His boastful tone had you feeling more flushed. He sat you down on the bed next to a small stack of clean clothes. "I hope to get you to that point again, dear."

"That was the first time I ever squirted." You smiled. V knelt down while you carefully stood up, removing the fluffy towel. You shivered at the difference in temperature. Your lover unfolded a pair of black panties for you. You placed a hand on his shoulder and step in each hole. V slowly pulled the underwear up and quickly offered you some sleeping shorts, which you repeated the process. He had you sit back down so he could put on a very large shirt over your head. You smiled at how warmed the clothes were on your body.

"Thank you for taking care of me, V." You sigh.

"It is the least I could do for you." His hand cupped your jaw and his thumb stroked your cheek.

"Still, I appreciate it and you. Can you give me a kiss?" You grin getting up to stand.

"Anything for you." You close your eyes as he lifted his mask. His lips pressed against yours softly, the kiss full of love and adoration. He pulled away and you waited until he spoke again to open your eyes, his mask back on. "I love you, forever and always."

"I love you too, V." You smiled, the attempted to stifle a yawn.

"You need rest, my dear."

"Lay and tell me a story until I sleep?"

"Of course." V lead you to your side of the bed and pulled back the covers. He helped you get into bed and tucked you in. He quickly moved around the bed and got on top of the bed. You wasted no time scooting up to him, wrapping your arm around his torso and resting your head on his strong chest.

You sigh, feeling content and happy.  V started speaking, reciting a short story he has memorized and told you before. His rich voice was soft and comforting, and after a few minutes you were lulled into a deep sleep, feeling secured and protected.

[eternal-echoes]

Just to clarify some confusions brought on by this post (especially since it has reached outside my usual Christian tumblr clique a lot of implicitly agreed upon context is lost), Catholics do not seek to make every sin illegal. St. Augustine even stated that we shouldn’t make earthly human laws banning every single sin because some good may be wiped out as a result.

For example, it’s a mortal sin to use contraception during sexual intercourse whether within or outside of marriage. However, if we were to make it illegal, we would have to violate people’s right to privacy in order to find evidence to prosecute people due to this prohibition. Hence why Catholics shouldn’t seek to make it illegal.

The point of the statement:

"Is an alcoholic free if he's allowed to take another bottle or if he's prevented to get another drink?"

is to show that an alcoholic isn’t really free; he’s a slave to his carnal desires. An alcoholic reaching for another drink is only hurting himself; he’s not fulfilling his best potential. If you love someone, you would prevent them from hurting themselves. Because the definition of love is willing the good of another. And the logic of love is the basis of Christianity.

Just as an athlete restricts himself certain food in order to achieve his best performance in a marathon, so too Christians follow certain rules and regulations so we can be purified and be worthy in uniting with God in the afterlife; because nothing unclean can stand within the presence of God.

We Christians abstain from pre-marital sex and pornography so we don’t settle for the kind of “love” that reduces people to sexual pleasure. And also so we can have the unconditional love and see the real soul of the person in his/her naked body after genuine and honest courtship and receiving the sacrament of marriage.

Because freedom is not an end on itself, it’s a means to an end, which is to achieve man’s purpose. And the purpose of human life is to love and serve God.

Since God made everything in the universe, everything exists to serve Him. Catholics believe that the purpose of the government is to lead people to God, not just preventing ourselves from killing each other.

Having said that, the kind of human laws that we should have that only forbids certain sins and not the others requires another blogposts (more like another book) so I’ll just end this right here.

[haggishlyhagging]

In her book My Fight for Birth Control (1931) [Margaret Sanger] is quite clear about the fact that while birth control may have served economic ends, and while it was a practice consistent with her analysis of society, it was none the less a response to women's needs - and not to men's needs of a revolution - that induced her to take on the double task of finding out how pregnancies (and births) could be prevented, and then of distributing the knowledge to women. While today we may think that the greater problem is finding safe and satisfactory means of birth control, in Sanger's time the greater problem was providing women with the information of the means.

The law stated - in Sanger's own words - ‘that no one could give information to prevent conception to anyone for any reason’ (1931, p. 152). It was illegal to publish such information or to send such 'obscene' material through the post. Because of this 'conspiracy of silence', it is understandable that many women thought there was a ‘secret,’ known only to the privileged few. This was the case with Sadie Sacks, whose experience Margaret Sanger cites in her own account of her commitment to the struggle for birth control.

Mrs Sacks already had three young children when she became pregnant again, and because she could not afford another child, physically or financially, she procured an abortion and Margaret Sanger arrived as the nurse who afterwards battled for her life. The woman survived but was very despondent, informing Sanger that another baby would kill her (either through abortion or birth) and that she was desperate to find a way of preventing it. She asked the doctor what she should do and he treated the whole issue facetiously; he scoffed at the idea that she should want to have her cake and eat it too, and suggested that she ‘ban’ her husband to the rooftop. After the doctor's departure, Mrs Sacks implored Sanger to tell her the secret, and Sanger states with rage and frustration that she simply did not know how you prevented pregnancy.

Sanger too left Mrs Sacks's home and over the next few months felt uneasy - even guilty - about the fate of Mrs Sacks. Then she was called once more; this time Mrs Sacks died from the abortion. Sanger returned to her own home, stunned, but gradually convinced throughout the course of the night that ‘uncontrolled breeding’ was the central social problem and determined to do something about it. She writes that at that moment she renounced all palliative work for ever. ‘I would never go back again to nurse women's ailing bodies while their miseries were as vast as the stars. I was now finished with superficial cures, with doctors and nurses and social workers who were brought face to face with this overwhelming truth of women's needs and yet turned to pass on the other side. They must be made to see these facts. I resolved that women should have knowledge of contraception. They have every right to know about their own bodies … I would tell the world what was going on in the lives of these poor women. I would be heard. No matter what it should cost. I would be heard’ (ibid., p. 56).

In 1916, Sanger opened a birth control clinic in Brooklyn - the main emphasis being on contraception, not abortion - and while it was designed to provide women with information it was also a deliberate attempt to test the law. News of the clinic quickly spread, women flocked to its doors, and poured out their feelings of terror and pain on this issue which haunted their lives but which was a socially and legally taboo topic. The premises were raided, the women arrested and Sanger says, ‘We were not surprised at being arrested, but the shock and horror of it was that a woman, with a squad of five plain clothes men, conducted the raid and made the arrest. A woman - the irony of it!’ (ibid., p. 158). There can be no doubt that Sanger saw women as a group, with shared interests and a common cause. There was panic among the women in the waiting room - who were being bullied by the police in the attempt to obtain their names so that they could later be subpoenad to testify - and there was chaos outside (women, baby carriages, children - all waiting to get into the clinic). When Sanger and Tania Mindell were taken away, one woman ran after them, screaming wildly for them to come back and help her. The clinic was closed; the court declared it a ‘public nuisance’. Sanger was imprisoned but went on to fight again - and again.

-Dale Spender, Women of Ideas and What Men Have Done to Them

[praetorqueenreyna]

I love reading about u talk about acotar, really intrigues me enough to consider reading the books, I'm also very interested in any and all fandom gossip, so please please please tell me what is the current situation? What is elaingate in reference to? 👀👀👀

WELL FIRSTABLE if you read the books, stop after the first one 😂 and THANK YOU FOR ASKING I will relay the tale of some of the most low-stakes fandom drama to ever exist that I accidentally started WHOOPSIE

On July 24, 2024, the blog for Elain Archeron Week posted the rules for the event. There were 4 rules, one of which was that they wouldn't allow ships with "known abusers" and listed Tamlin and Beron as examples (I assume you know who Tamlin is lmao, Beron is a kind of generic Mean Dad character). ACOTAR fandom is known for being puritanical and religiously devoted to canon, but this is a new development. Event week mods have ignored/not reblogged content they don't like that was submitted for their week, but this is the first one I've seen that outright BANNED anything.

There was already a little kickback that mostly has to do with the two competing ships for Elain, elriel and elucien. They both think the other is the DEVIL even though both ships are equally boring. Apparently, the Elain Week is run by elriels, and eluciens were already huffy about the wording of an ask wondering if elucien would be allowed in the event. This part of the story is boring and doesn't have anything to do with me, the star of the show, so I will move on.

Anyway! A few fandom friends sent me links and screenshots of all of this because it's objectively funny. I made a post talking about how funny it was, which brought attention to it on this side of the fandom. My mutuals (the most hilarious people on the planet) asked what was going on, and immediately joined in on the fun. Memes were created at an astronomical rate. Art, fic, and poems for every possible ship of those three characters were made. Amazingly enough, Tamlin/Beron has had a huge surge of content, as the two men named and specifically banned from the week. I started tagging the posts #elaingate, and apparently it caught on enough that the tag now has over 100 posts in it.

To clarify!! The issue has never been about the ships themselves. There are VERY few Tamlin/Elain shippers on tumblr, which I know because I have run multiple demographic surveys and crunched the numbers. And absolutely NOBODY was making Beron/Elain. You have to understand how bland this fandom is. They consider one of the most degenerate, disgusting ships to be the main male character and....his wife's sister. And it certainly isn't isolated to elain/elriel stans, they were just the unlucky bastards to finally verbalize these insidious issues with fandom, especially ACOTAR fandom. Mostly just that the fandom is EXTREMELY conservative, and also that people that like the Popular Thing always have to make themselves out to be the ultimate victims. It's also in poor taste for running an event week. Yes, event weeks are run by fans in their free time, but the idea is to inspire EVERYBODY to create for the thing that you're a fan of. If you're so precious that simple seeing a ship you don't like sends you to the fainting couch, an event week is probably not the thing for you.

I wrote a whole essay on modern ACOTAR fandom here then deleted it bc YOU DID NOT ASK. But anyway THAT IS ELAINGATE we are all being very silly.

[justsome-di]

I swear I've made posts about this before but I enjoy beating dead horses. So. Whenever there's conversations about censorship, the same argument gets brought up over and over.

If you start censoring something, people will start moving the line around. If you say one thing is not allowed, it becomes a slope of nothing is allowed.

And that's a major issue with censorship. It's a major problem happening in the world right now. We say that sexually explicit material shouldn't be allowed in school libraries. People think there's no harm in that. Then we redefine what sexually explicit materials are, and we're removing all LGBT materials from shelves.

But it really kind of just narrowly misses the most major point against censorship. Censorship isn't wrong because one day it might be you that gets censored. Censor ship is wrong is because no one deserves to be censored.

No one deserves to be revoked of their voice. Censorship is always about power. It's never about protecting people.

This is important to believe because one day you will hear about something being banned from schools or libraries, and you will read about That Thing and think That Thing is unappealing. It depicts something you don't like thinking about. Maybe it does it poorly. Maybe people say it glamorizes awful topics.

But it's not really about That Thing--it's about people. It's about telling people that no, they shouldn't be able to read That Thing because That Thing is so awful, it would be bad for you. For you, who cannot tell the difference between right and wrong and so easily corrupted.

Censorship is me saying--I know what's best for you. I don't think you should read Colleen Hoover because she glorifies abuse. I don't think you should read E.L. James because it's bad BDSM.

I need to protect you, protect our community. I alone need to do this. I alone know what is right for you.

You can no longer be trusted to choose what you read and watch. I will make that decision for you.

Because censorship is about shaping the world to one group of people's standards.

And yes, it is also always about redefining what "bad things" are. It's always about people being sneaky to get to some end goal. Keep talking about that. Always talk about that.

And really, that's the best way to get people to be anti-censorship. It's the easiest part of the whole thing to digest. And often times, that really is enough of an argument to get people to where they need to be.

But what it's really about is forcing morals on other people. Censorship is very, very scary. If you want to be fully radical against censorship--and we desperately need that right now because fuck school librarians are drawing pants over butts in children's picture books now or else face charges for showing children pornography--then now is the time to start challenging your perception of it just a bit further.

[liminalweirdo]

If you are not in the US, you can sign the above petition.

KOSA is censorhip and targets LGBTQ+ and trans youth.

If you are in the US, the resources will help you find your reps so you can call or email them.

change is possible, but activism is called activism because you must act. Don't wait for others to do it for you.

Scripts for email, fax, or telephone below the cut:

DEMOCRATIC VERSION:

Hi, I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, s.1409. Nearly 200 human rights and LGBT organizations total came out in an open letter opposing it in 2022 and 2023 because of how dangerous it is. The new language does NOT meet any concerns brought up, in fact many organizations were ignored. Major news have reported that this bill actively harms kids. When you look online through social media, you will find thousands of posts by Gen Z who are opposed to this bill. We do not want this. 

The rewritten bill would still allow any state attorney general, and now the FTC, to sue any website for “harmful” content. When you have Republicans calling anything LGBT “sexual exploitation” or anything about race “CRT” to successfully ban books and teachers, then they will use any justification to censor the internet. The Missouri attorney general used “mental health” successfully to ban gender-affirming care with backed up research. Suicide rates will skyrocket for marginalized youth with this bill restricting content.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies. Furthermore, updated language threatens encryption the same way the Earn It Act does. How is this protecting children’s privacy? 

KOSA actively harms kids by taking away educational resources they need right now. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

REPUBLICAN VERSION:

I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, s.1409. This is a dangerous bill that will harm children. Many news organizations have reported that this bill actively harms kids by exposing their private data to strangers under the guise of protecting them. We need to hold Big Tech accountable, but KOSA is not the solution.

The rewritten bill would still allow any state attorney general, and even thr FTC, to sue any website for “harmful” content. Do we really want blue state lawyers deciding what can and can’t be allowed online and continue to censor people? This is massive government overreach. We need a bill that actually protects people by creating better security measures instead of bringing about more censorship.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies, which would put them in further danger. How is this protecting children’s privacy? What parent would want their child’s private data in the hands of strangers like this? KOSA is actively putting kids in danger. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Baal aym kallamar x follower reader who got assigned cooking duty but they suck in the kitchen

Baal Aym and Kallamar x reader who cant cook

i dont know if my body is just being weird but ive been feeling so tired lately grr grr keep strumbling over my feet too and i hate it notes: post game, all of you are followers, reader is gn and any creature cws: none

BAAL

he can cook decently well, hes learned a few things since hes joined the cult and he has the mind to take a moment to prepare all of his ingredients so he doesnt have to scramble around later for them

so he really comes in handy when you call for him to give you a hand! hes fairly patient when it comes to you, so while hes helping you hes also showing you some of the stuff hes picked up on so you can apply it in the future!

if youre a bad enough cook to set the nonflammable stuff on fire hes.... admittedly going to be impressed, however that pushes him to keep an even closer eye on you

as well as following behind to join you in the kitchen when he catches wind that youve been assigned dinner duty

AYM

cannot cook for shit, unlike his brother he has not picked up any skills since hes been brought into the cult... in fact hes just as bad of a cook as you!

with your combined skills you both do the impossible: set water on fire! you both kind of stare at it for a moment before realizing what exactly is going on, thus rushing around to try to put it out.... can you put it out with more water?

you may get banned from kitchen duties, but honestly? aym isnt too bothered about it, hes much more interested in some of the rougher jobs; going on missions or some of the hands on labor like chopping wood

that being said hes eating anything you give him even if it makes him sick- supportive boyfriend to the end

KALLAMAR

is.... not the best cook due to not needing to cook for so long- he was a bishop... why cook when someone can do it for you? not totally helpless in the kitchen as long as theres someone to keep him on task... terrified of hot oil and its splatters as he should be.... pure evil....

tries to impress you by showing you how to get the work done but it ends up with the two of you just staring at a recipe book and wondering what half the words mean

set on doing it himself because now that hes said that hes going to help you out loud he feels he needs to commit to it

the food does not turn out pretty, much to his despair, but its... mostly edible, even if its not all that tasty

leshy and heket will not let either of you live this down... mostly not let kallamar live it down but you get roped in...

[elisaintime]

The post-episode 3 shift

FRESH POST!

So we were talking about how AMC's Interview with the Vampire Season 1 handles their choice of making Louis a black man in the early 1900s. This is a really cool change the show made in its AU version of IWTV, and it brought in a whole lot of subjects to explore that didn't exist in the books, making the TV show a very different work of art. But all the initial ideas for this show came from a cishet white man, and while he down the line had assistance from poc collaborators, I still think the show had areas where it could have done better with regards to some of the story beats, character arcs, and plot progression. The other thread got unwieldy with multiple reblog trees, but it's here for reference: https://www.tumblr.com/elisaintime/748738811357462528/woah-i-must-have-missed-something-why-are-people You can see everyone else's discussion in the notes.

I love discussions like this! Please talk to me about vampire chronicles! I live for it! I'm posting this now because I am disappointed that a few people seem to not be understanding several things I said. Maybe I said it unclearly, or maybe they're projecting and jumping to conclusions.

Kind of like how this poster does:

I deleted/banned every single comment on my videos that talked negatively about the show making Louis and Claudia black or deriding it for trying to be woke (and there were a bunch!). I delete block and ban all forms of hate speech. My channel is absolutely not a safe space for racists or bigots of any kind.

As you can see in the screencap, there is nothing in these comments that is about the race changes. These comments are talking about other changes the show made from the books and don't touch on race at all. The poster who screencapped them is jumping to the conclusion that these commenters liking the books better than the show automatically makes them racist, and that these are racist comments. And this screencap is specifically what I was referencing at the beginning of the other thread. Several people have said this now, that my YT comments section makes a safe space for racists. But these are not racist comments, and there is no evidence that the commenters are racist. This is projection and assumption. If you DO ever notice a racist comment on any of my videos, that I somehow missed, please bring it to my attention so that I can immediately delete and ban the user from ever commenting on my channel again.

But back to the show itself and my critique of it. I'm always here for talking about vampire-related writing! Let's go!

I still stand by what I said in my videos about the few issues I had with the show's scripts. If you watched my videos or follow all I've said about the show here on tumblr or elsewhere, you'll know how excited about this show I've been from the very beginning, how obsessively into it I am, following every aspect of production and behind the scenes news. You may even be in one of the multiple discord servers with me where we talk about the show constantly. There was much I really enjoyed about season 1, which I was outspoken about in my videos, and people keep seeming to forget. My videos had a greater percentage of positivity in them than negativity. But yes, I did have critiques as well, just like I do with every single piece of vampire media I discuss on my channel--it's the entire point of my channel!--and those mostly had to do with inconsistency in the writing.

What I've said is that the DRIVING FORCE of the plot wasn’t about Louis's struggles with chafing against society as a black man after episode 3, not that there was no more racism. I said he was obviously still immersed in systemic racism all around him, which the show showed us with visual details in the background, despite no one talking about them. This is fine, we don't need it spelled out for us. TV is a visual medium, and that's what the images are there for. But my discussion is about his character MOTIVATIONS on a writing level. His want vs need. His goal vs obstacle. If you're unversed on the techniques of story writing and plot structure, I recommend Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat as a crash course. In ep 1-3, for Louis, it was about being respected as a man equal to others among his society, the citizens of New Orleans, his colleagues and business rivals. Fighting for social opportunities that were limited to him because he is black. That story ends with episode 3 and a new story begins. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I just said I NOTICED it.

After it all burns down, Louis stops focusing on society respecting him as a human being (which was ironic to begin with, because he’s not human anymore) and his driving plot becomes about making and keeping a family and such. Obviously race is still an element of that in a mixed marriage, but it’s not about his business or social standing anymore, these parts of his life that were SO IMPORTANT to him in the first three episodes. In the books, vampires stop caring about that kind of stuff the second they are made, but the show changed it to take Louis a few years to get there instead of it happening instantly.

Obviously racism doesn't magically disappear or stop mattering once he accepts his vampire nature (which Lestat kind of promises him it will), but it does shift to being a background element for what we see on screen. He is not focused on it anymore, when it used to be the primary driving force of his plot. We hardly even get to see Louis interact with (racist) society again til the finale (and I made this observation on episode 5, which the end-of-episode credits told us was written by a white person). For example, the police that come to their door are bigoted to him and Lestat because they’re gay, but meanwhile, they act completely colorblind. At this point, Louis’s character motivations are about fear of them being caught for murder, and his emotions regarding how Claudia is struggling with her eternal child body and lashing out--about keeping his family together. Not about his racial struggles as a businessman and citizen in outward society.

Yes, we all know there were non-white people in the writer’s room (thank god! Can you imagine?? If there weren’t any, we’d all have been raging from the very beginning! Did you read RJ’s episode 1 script draft before it got revised with the input of black/queer/female editors? OOF), but the choice to completely shift Louis’s driving character motivations away from his impassioned societal race struggle to something different after 3 episodes was part of the original season outline made by white people before any poc were brought on to the team. 

And again, I didn’t say it was a bad thing, it was just something I NOTICED, and the way the show executed it felt very abrupt and clunky. Did I want the cops to not be colorblind and get in some racial digs and microaggressions while they were at Louis’s house? Ew no. But I did NOTICE that they didn’t do that, and how it was so different from the way Louis was spoken to by white people in the first 3 episodes. Did the white writer of this episode perhaps feel uncomfortable going there?

The season told two different stories for Louis, with an abrupt turn in the arc after episode 3. It didn’t feel like an arc at all, but a sharp angle. Starting with Claudia, Louis’s primary drives and character motivations completely change. He no longer wants to be an important businessman respected in society, he becomes “the housewife,” and never once seems to miss his desperately-fought-for social status at all. This comes back to what I said about the show being weakened by trying to shove in too much book stuff. Ep1-3 were all these cool new original ideas from the show with Louis having entirely new character motivations based on the show's changes to his background. They were naturally driven by what him being black in 1910 now meant. But after that story was done, it abruptly shifts back to more of how he in in the books, and trying to suddenly pull him back to his book personality/motivations/goals after giving us this whole new organically-evolved self in 1-3 was notable. I noticed it.

All in all, I think it probably would have worked much better on a writing level if it was treated as two separate mini seasons instead of presenting itself as an attempt at one coherent whole.