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#whether publicly or just in my brain

sunstaained · 8 months

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yk .. maybe it’s nothing at all but i’d love to throw my hat in the ring for suvi subclass speculation

is war caster the easy out? yes. but aabria’s been coy with her hinting on the fireside that both that and abjuration aren’t gonna make the cut. now hear me out.

✨chronurgy✨

there’s something about the way aabria describes suvi self soothing that’s rhythmic tapping, making an effort for it to come off as “clock-like” and yk? could this just be fun flavor stuff? absolutely! but i’m willing to put my clown makeup on for this one.

suvi with the ability to make reality bend to her favor, no matter how small to protect the ones she loves (chronal shift) and doing her best to truly keep things down on lock, just nice and contained so she can help get a better handle on things (momentary stasis??) look, gang. it’s a tasty option.

#not to mention that temporal awarness suvi would gain Immediately at lvl 2 #‘you can add your intelligence modifier to your initiative rolls’#like?? cmonnn!#miss big bad princess of the citadel getting to throw down Up Top bc of that added bonus? tasty.#all of this is to say time wizard suvi make brain go brrr #im a chronurgy wizard stan first and foremost so know there Is bias but like.. it’s NOT unfounded here #my speculation has a shred of validity to it me thinks #i also think it could be fun if suvi goes bladesinger #regardless of subclass?#im team suvi till the day i die i love her A Totally Normal Amount #(<— lying)#worlds beyond number #www #suvirin kedberiket #suvi the wizard #in the spirit of wizard hubris i’m posting this publicly just to document whether i was right or not #the wizard the witch and the wild one #wbn

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maxwell-grant · 5 months

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So is Worm good from what you have read

"Yes" doesn't begin to cover it but yes. Worm is a brain-rewiring mobius strip disguised as a bible disguised as a superhero web serial that either cured your cancer or shot your dog or both depending on who you ask, and it has many extremely dedicated, brilliant scholar priest surgeons publicly dissecting it on this platform on the regular to the point I don't think I have much to add to the conversations surrounding it, even if I do have some The Thoughts about it. I had never even really seriously thought about superhero prose before and Worm isn't a thing I go back and reread frequently but it did a complete and total 180 on the way I think about superheroes and even fiction, and I've never stopped thinking about it since I've read it.

It is a monumentally impressive story with completely absolutely incredible characters that I cannot stop thinking about. No matter where it was going, even past stretches that were less interesting or more of a slog to read or worse, I could not put the story of Taylor Hebert down for one minute. Tattletale fascinated me every step of the way, I had to keep up with her. Rachel Lindt was a character I feel like I'd been waiting my whole life for. What was I gonna do, not see them through? I feel like Worm easily loses you if you don't particularly connect with the characters enough to justify to yourself the amount of time you'll spend with them, but man, I could not unglue my eyeballs from these people enough (I love all the core Undersiders, to be clear, I'd say it's Rachel > Taylor > Tattletale > Aisha and Alec and Brian, there are very small gaps between these, I just don't go berserk for the last three like I do for the first three, I'm taking Bitch and Skitter to the grave I'm dead serious)

Worm irreparably destroys your ability to engage with superhero fiction the same way ever again, as evidenced by the fact that it destroyed the author's own ability to engage with his own superhero fiction ever again. And everybody who read it has one or several gripes with it with some major dealbreakers in the mix. Tumblr's kinda the only place online where you can really talk about them at length without the spectre of John Wildbow hanging over the discussion, which enables discussion to the point where yes, maybe it does look like to outsiders that nobody can agree on whether Worm is good or what is it even about or whether it even has worms in it (it has at least one, although it's a very big one).

And it is good, it has the Undersiders in it and the Undersiders are one of the greatest groups of characters ever put together, but everyone has at least one major point of contention with Worm whether it's the timeskip or the length or the racism or the gross fatphobia or aspects surrounding the Dallon-Pelham Torment Nexus and etc. I'd say it has maybe the most racist vision of Latin America I've ever seen in a superhero text a hair short of pro-colonial tracts in Golden Age comics and that is a tall fucking order by any metric (part of why I started WEON4 as a project was motivated by spite, to try and make my own stories about non-American superheroes even if just as practice). It is Complicated, and that winds up making it so fascinating to talk about.

Worm has self-sustaining ecological systems of posts up here, far away from the Spacebattles and Reddit battlegrounds where it has different ones and that's not getting into Weaverdice or the sequel or Wildbow's larger body of work, which I haven't gotten to and probably will not any time soon because Worm was enough of a commitment as is. Do I recommend Worm to everyone? It is certainly not to everyone's tastes and I personally find it difficult to describe it simply enough to make it sound appealing or not like a pyramid scheme. But yes I do think it's good, in fact great, in fact, amazing, except when it isn't, and except it Plainly Sucks, but then something like Taylor vs Mannequin or Kevin Norton's interlude or "You needed worthy opponents" happens and it fucks harder than anything has ever fucked before and you don't walk away from it the same, so yes I guess "good" will have to do now.

It's certainly a lot but I definitely found it worth my time to read and then read the texts written about it here. You'll have to take my endorsement of Worm as proof of it's quality and proof of how deranged it makes it's readerbase, they're not mutually exclusive. If you can make it, Worm and the wormosphere has layers and layers to wade through and talk about and enjoy, despite how we're all so very small in the end *gunshot*.

#replies tag #worm #worm spoilers #wormblr #wildbow #superheroes #web serial

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lovebotmo · 4 months

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like the movies

chapter four - the feathered visitor

series masterlist

pairing: theodore nott x reader

wc: 1675

author's note: so so grateful that you guys are enjoying the story so far!!! its been incredible to be inspired and motivated when it comes to writing. i appreciate those who let me know they want to be on the taglist - lmk if anyone else wants to be added!!!

also if i missed someone my apologies!!! first time putting a tag list together hehe

song inspiration: how sweet it is (to be loved by you) by marvin gaye

Clambering into the compartment containing your friends after separating from Theo, you are greeted with expectant silence. Ten eyes peer at you with varying emotions; curiosity, caution, surprise, excitement, and intrigue all seem to swim in the faces of your dear friends.

Slapping your hands onto your knees, you smile nervously at them. “Well, what is it?”

“Don’t keep us waiting!” urges Hannah, who’s practically vibrating with excitement. “What was that all about? Running after Nott of all people.”

Your brows furrow unconsciously, “What d’you mean?”

Ginny laughs at your apparent confusion. “Nuh uh, Y/n. We all saw you go after Nott, no need to be coy now.” She winks cheekily at you. “Are you two seeing each other?”

You sputter at her brashness, “Me and Theo? There’s—”

“It’s Theo now, is it?” Padma asks. “When did he become Theo, eh?” Padma nudges your shoulder with her own.

“Oh, shove it, Pads!” You could practically feel the red rising in your face and neck at the undivided attention now being paid to your very short, tiny, essentially minimal interaction with a male specimen. You felt like a research subject whenever your friends interrogated you like this. “I was just worried Theo was going to miss the train—a very normal thing to be worried about considering he’s my potion partner and I bloody well can’t use his brain if he’s stranded in Hogsmeade! Besides,” you said, pulling at the sleeves of your wooly sweater, “that fight between Malfoy and him looked downright awful.” At that, the girls abruptly halted their aggressive probing, uneasily remembering the spat that had taken place very publicly in The Three Broomsticks. All, except for Luna, who continued to peer at you with that typical all-knowing, dreamy look of hers that seemed to suggest she knew better.

As if there’s anything going on between Theo and me. I barely know the guy…or almost barely know him…kind of know him?

Shaking the disorganized thoughts from your head, you turned to the girls to continue the conversation that had abruptly stopped at the tavern. A train ride filled with trolley sweets, gossip, and uncontrollable laughter soon led to your arrival at Hogwarts, just in time for the evening meal.

Retiring to your room shortly after dinner, you found that your housemates’ beds were empty. You guess that they were likely meandering around the grounds before curfew. You savored the silence and stillness of the room. However, all too soon, it was interrupted by an odd sort of sound.

Clink.

At first you ignored it, thinking something had just shifted in your room.

Clink…Clink.

This time, your eyes swept across the room, searching for whatever could be causing that sound. It didn’t sound like a water drip, someone in heels, or even coins moving around in a coin purse.

Clinkclinkclinkclink!

As the sound increased in volume and frequency, you realized it was coming from the window of all places, even though you were elevated relatively high in the tower containing your bedchamber. That is to say, no person could have been outside your room without the aid of a broom or the flying charm. You cursed under your breathe that the window was glazed, meaning you couldn’t see what lay on the other side. Undergoing a momentary crisis of whether you should open the window, you decided in a split-second to just open it and hope for the best. However, you made sure to grab your wand.

Can’t be too careful now, can we, Y/n?

Your hand grasped at the brass handle, quickly swinging the frame open. An autumnal evening gust of wind greeted you, along with something else.

What the fuck.

Perching on your windowsill, was a quaint tawny owl peering at you rather oddly. The bird cocked its brown and white feathered head as you did the same.

What the devil is a bloody owl doing up here? “I don’t suppose you intended to come up here, did you?” Looking at the owl, you noticed it was clutching something in its claws, a small parcel of sorts. “Is that for me?”

As if answering, the owl flew past you and landed on your desk. Its head cocked once more as if wondering whether you were going to join it or not. Realizing you were standing dumbly in front of the window and letting all the warm air out, you shut it. You did not lock it, however, anticipating that your feathered friend would be departing shortly.

You joined the owl at your desk, sitting in your chair. You were now eye level with the mysterious bird, its dark eyes gazing into your own.

“May I?” you inquired, gesturing towards the little package in its clutches. The fowl relented, gently releasing it onto the wood of your desk. Before allowing yourself to rip into the bundle, you pulled out a small cannister of crickets you kept in one of your desk drawers for when you visited your own owl in the aviary. Lightly placing it in front of the owl, you allowed it to treat itself while opening the unknown gift.

Inside, you found a small package of caramel creams, just like those you had gifted to Mr. Flume a few short hours ago.

“How…?” You looked to the bird who was still pleasing itself with your offering of crickets.

You couldn’t begin to wonder at who would have known to gift you that particular candy, who would have noticed your quick interaction among the thick throng of students that had filled Honeydukes earlier. No one had stood out to you in the little time you had spent in the candy store, wholly preoccupied with your candy exchange.

Where could they have even bought it from? It’s not like Mr. Flume even stocks this specific sweet, no matter how much I may beg the man to.

“You must have been flying for ages to bring these to me, I reckon.”

“Hoot.”

Laughing at the short, clipped response of the owl, your eyes noticed a small piece of parchment paper within the parcel. Grasping and opening it quickly, your eyes were met with the same script you had seen on the previous note that had accompanied the moly bouquet currently residing on your nightstand. Once more, the note was succinct and saccharine.

Y/n,

Sweets for you, sweetheart.

Yours,

Teddy

“Seems your owner fancies me,” you said to the owl as you carefully refolded the note. “I don’t suppose you would be able to give me a clue as to who they are?”

“Hoot.”

Sighing, you replied, “Alright, alright. I won’t badger you for answers.” You rose from your chair, intending to allow the plumed messenger to return to the aviary. The bird flew from its perch on your desk to your shoulder, its head gently rubbing against your cheek. You smiled at the little show of affection. Once more, you opened your window, allowing your avian visitor to rejoin the skies. Looking back at the caramel creams and clutching the note to your chest, a warm feeling began to leak out of your heart. Whoever your admirer was, he was rather…sweet.

A few caramel creams later, you were sprawled on your bed and surrounded by your friends as you recounted the entire rendezvous with the tawny owl. You shared the sweets among your friends, but you kept the contents of the note to yourself. Your friends had already seen the first note and none of them had recognized the handwriting. There was no harm done, really.

Besides, you thought, it’s kind of nice to keep something between just me and this elusive ‘Teddy.’

“You didn’t recognize the owl, did you?” asked Ginny. “Godric knows everybody can tell when I’ve sent an owl. That bloody bird, Errol, is hard to miss.” She gives you a vexed look that makes you chuckle.

“No, it looked like any other owl I’d have seen in the aviary. Anyway, there are hundreds of owls here, they’re not exactly easy to differentiate.”

“Well,” Padma says, “at the very least, we know that your little admirer is a third year or older.”

Hannah’s face shows her confusion, “How do you figure?”

“They were in Honeydukes, weren’t they?” Padma shrugs, “Whoever he is, he has to be, at minimum, thirteen years old to go to Hogsmeade.”

Groaning, you flop back onto your bed, hands covering your face in dismay. “Blimey, I hadn’t even considered it might be someone younger than me. What if it is a third year? Fucking hell, I’ll never be able to live it down.”

Moving your hands from your face, Hermione smiles gently at you. “If it is a third year, which I seriously doubt, you’ll be gentle in letting them down. No big deal.”

“I’d be a laughingstock, ‘Mione,” you say grumpily.

“No, you won’t, Y/n,” replies Hannah. “Besides, it’s just the six of us that knows, right?”

“About that…” Ginny looks at you sheepishly. “I may or may not have possibly, accidentally let it slip when I was perhaps…potentially talking with Lavender…”

The redhead’s confession gets you to shoot up quickly from your horizontal position. “You did what?” You toss at a pillow at her, which, with her incredible athleticism, she easily intercepts. You frown. “Lavender is possibly the worst gossip I’ve ever met. I’d be surprised if Filch didn’t know about it.”

“It was an accident, promise!” Ginny exclaims, “Lavender asked if you were seeing anybody—I think she’s interested in Lee Jordan—so, I suppose she was trying to determine whether or not you were—”

“Ginny.”

“…Yes, Y/n?”

“I’m going to give you until the count of three.”

“Count of three—what for?”

“One.”

“Oh please, Y/n. I didn’t mean to—”

“Two.”

“For the love of Merlin—”

“Three.” At your last count, you sprint at the girl who starts to run from you as you chase her with your wand. She sharts to shriek with laughter, dashing as far from your incurrent wrath as possible.

“You’re going to get it, Weasley!”

taglist: @melllinaa, @randomgurl2326, @lovelyygirl8, @abaker74, @mypolicemanharryyy, @vanevafu, @laceandsuch, @agent-tempest, @themarauderswife7 & @adoraspace

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kayas-kosmos · 1 year

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Autism Symbol Dragon.

This is the autism symbol as a dragon. I did this to represent the influence my autism has on my art. This is a public domain drawing and anyone can use it for any reason.

I really like the infinity autism symbol over all others, especially the Godawful puzzle piece. It really encapsulates the diversity of our community and how unique every autistic individual is. But I wanted to do a little spin on it by turning it into a dragon to add some extra meaning. A dragon to me is the symbol of the imagination itself, since dragons are so diverse in of themselves and can look like or represent anything. But as well as imagination, I think the dragon also represent resilience and a ferocious passion.

My webcomic is absolutely full of different types of dragon. Here are just a few examples:

(Can you tell dragons are one of my special interests?)

I was diagnosed at about 3 and I've had a very mixed relationship with being autistic until recently. There was a time when I really hated having to bear the label of “autistic” and tried for years to erase that part of me because of the stigma. Being an artist allowed me to get away with being a bit weird because I could chalk it up to just being "an eccentric artist," but there was also the side of me that needed extra accommodations and help, the less glamorous side. I would often push myself to be as neurotypical as I could in these areas and I developed a debilitating fear of becoming a burden on others, to the point where it started damaging my mental health. Eventually, I developed panic attacks due to overworking myself (and struggles with accepting myself as queer), autistic shutdowns became more frequent and this lead to further humiliation and a further disgust towards my autism.

It wasn't until I became a freelancer a few years ago that I realised how much damage trying to hold myself to neurotypical standards was having on me. While being able to work remotely was a dream since it meant not having to deal with the sensory nightmare that is using the local bus service, it also meant I experienced autistic burnout more frequently. Then I came across the autistic community on Twitter, where I started to discover so much about myself and how my brain works.

I also made a lot of incredible friends through this and even had the courage to publicly come out as queer. Now I fully embrace being autistic, even the parts that society deems “unacceptable” like stimming and not making eye contact. I am happy in who I am and no longer see myself as a burden.

Sadly, there is often a discussion about whether autism should be cured or not, a discussion that should absolutely not be happening because autism is not a disease. If you "cured" my autism, you would also remove my art. My art and my autism are inseparable and one does not exist without the other. Autism has given me the ability to think outside the box and traits like my monotropism allow me to hyperfocus on a project until its completion. Having spoken to many autistic creatives throughout my life, a good chunk of our struggles do not come from being autistic itself, rather society’s refusal to accept or accommodate us. Many of us could achieve great things and truly innovate society, but there are too many systemic barriers in the way preventing us from doing so, and no amount of “hard work” or “conquering our disability” (fuck inspiration porn, seriously) can change that because individualistic solutions do not fix systemic problems. Simple solutions such as disability benefits that actually properly cover our living costs, a higher wage for carers of disabled people and proper work accommodations (including the option for remote work) would mean the world of difference for us.

Now personally, I am a bit more radical in my thinking and I believe the current system of Neoliberal Capitalism needs to be done away with entirely because ableism is built into Capitalism itself. This is what has drawn me to ideas such as anarchism and the Solarpunk movement. In particular, I try to live by the "12 principles of Permaculture" to the best of my ability. I think "Embrace Diversity" and "Produce No Waste" can be applied to living as a disabled person, since disabled people are often seen as a waste product under this system and embracing our differences means we are not wasted.

For those of you who have followed me for a while, you may have noticed that my art, like me, is weird. I love to embrace the weird and the quirky. My creatures are whimsical and bizarre. My characters all tend to be quirky outsiders. I have always been drawn to surrealism and absurdism, the work of Salvador Dali in particular really caught my attention.

Art has always been a safe way for me to explore the unusual and alien, and it has been a voice for me when speaking words fail. I use it to explore the things that frighten me and to help process a chaotic world. As weird as my art is, I think the weirdness and absurdity is a reflection of how weird and absurd our modern world is and how little sense it makes to me anymore.

There are often themes of environmentalism and the profound beauty of nature, influenced heavily by growing up in an area of natural beauty. Furthermore, the theme of "empathy for monsters" is a personal favourite. Maybe the reason why there are so many weird, twisted and grotesque monsters and creatures with tragic backstories in my webcomic universe is because I see myself in them - just weird little off-putting things that want compassion and to be understood.

As I have grown as a person, so has my art. The more I learn about my autism, the more I can open up and the better I can express myself.

On a final note, if you would like to support me and the work I do, please consider donating a Ko-Fi. It would really help me push towards my goal of finally launching my webcomic, plus it would also allow me to talk more about important topics surrounding disability, sustainable living and art/creature stuff.

Happy new year, everyone! And especially to all of my autistic and neurodivergent comrades out there.

#autism #actually autistic #neurodivergent #queer autistic #autistic artist #fantasy artist #digital artist #fantasy illustration #autism symbol #infinity symbol #creature design #dragon art #dragon artist #autistic art #autism art #permaculture #solarpunk

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sirfrogsworth · 12 days

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Please stop giving into trolls. They want that attention and you are handing it to them.

I was bullied as a kid. I took that bullying. I never stood up for myself. And it caused a lot of lifelong trauma.

I can't do that anymore. If someone bullies me I'm going to stand up for myself. I'm not going to just take it.

Blocking and ignoring works okay for some people. But to me it just leads to festering anxiety. It lives in my brain as a feedback loop and won't go away. But if I address it, say my piece, and stick up for myself, I get closure for my anxiety.

I don't give a shit if they want attention. They can have attention. But I'm not going to let them say hateful things and just absorb it. I'm going to defend myself and yeet that asshole from my mind.

There are going to be an endless supply of trolls whether we feed them or not. They aren't going to go away because one person didn't give them attention. So I'm going to try and publicly hand them their ass.

In my 12+ years of dealing with anonymous ne'er-do-wells, this is the best way I have found to cope with this. I'm not saying everyone should handle it like this. It's just what I need to do and I'd ask that you not scold me for it.

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onceuponaoneshotfanfic · 7 months

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Shut Up and Drive (Chapter 7)

Roy Kent x F1 Driver!Reader

5.2k words

Warnings: Language, Roy being kind of a dom, unprotected sex, kind of cum play, fingering, some overstimulation, lots affection and fluff

@agentstarkid more brain rot and alllllll the fluff!

A/N: Going to be taking a week off from this story to do some planning! Excited for the next few chapters! 😘

Series Masterlist

After roughly wiping down your thighs, mumbling something about them getting ruined again anyways, Roy’s dark eyes trailed up your sweat-covered body as he bent down to pick your panties off the floor. Keeping your gaze, he stuffed the drenched lace into his pocket and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against him.

“You got your room key?” he asked huskily. Your muted nod had him smirking at you. “Then let’s go.”

He quickly tugged down your dress to cover your bare cunt, briefly letting his fingers ghost over your entrance, chuckling at your soft gasp. Keeping his arm around you, Roy swiftly moved the chair back where it belonged and guided you through the door.

Before you stepped fully into the hallway, you looked up at him, eyes wide and wild. “Could I borrow your jacket?” you hissed.

“Why?”

“M’back’s probably full of fucking hickeys,” you reminded him pointedly.

Roy’s normally soft brown eyes were nearly black. “What, you don’t want anyone seeing my teeth marks on you?” His grip dug into your hip harshly as his mouth found your ear. “Oh no, Empress. I want everyone to see what you’ve been up to.” His eyes trailed down your figure for a moment. “Although, you may want to walk quickly. Unless you want something to start leaking out of you- then everyone will know all the things you let me do to you.”

Shit. Should you really be this turned on by how… mean Roy was being? By the devilish way he looked at you? By the deep, gruff growl he spoke with? By the way his hand was very publicly just above your ass, as if you were his possession?

Whether or not you should be turned on… well, you definitely fucking were.

When you gave a little wobble in your heels, Roy tightened his grip with a dark laugh. “Look at you,” he tutted, his own stride strong, confident, steady. “Like fucking Bambi over here, can’t even fucking walk, poor thing. Better get you in bed.” But the hungry look on his face told him you wouldn’t be resting once you got there.

As you focused on trying to remember how to walk on your wobbly legs, Roy scanned the lobby. With the early morning hour and the party still raging behind you, it was fairly empty, most people paying no mind to the football legend and F1 star, both flushed and disheveled, making their way to the lifts that led up to the lavish bedrooms.

Really, only one person noticed.

Isaac McAdoo’s eyes widened when he saw the two of you. Yeah, the guys had teased Roy about his obvious little crush on you. And Jamie clearly thought it went beyond just the crush and was fully convinced that there was a romance starting. But, shit, he didn’t expect to actually see Roy with his arm around you, making a beeline for the elevators.

Roy froze for a fraction of a second when he noticed his captain, a stop so brief you didn’t even notice. He gave Isaac a steely nod across the lobby, assuring his player that yes, his eyes were working correctly- and that he’d better keep his mouth shut.

With raised eyebrows, Isaac nodded back. Shit, good for Roy, he thought. The man deserved some fun. And Isaac sure as hell wasn’t about to rat him out.

Refocusing on his mission, Roy steered you to the lift, practically punching the button and chewing on his bottom lip as the elevator made its way down. Once the doors opened, Roy quickly tugged you inside. You immediately pressed your floor number and turned to Roy, whose mouth was on your neck the moment the doors closed again.

“Remember what you said that night we met?” he hummed against your skin. “Your mother being horrified about you having a man in your room?”

“Yeah,” you breathed, hands exploring Roy’s back, your tight grip keeping you upright.

He left you a new bite mark. “What I’m about to do to you would probably fucking kill both our mums,” he teased, pulling back when he heard the ding of the elevator. “Lead the way.”

With Roy’s hand now grabbing your ass, you walked as fast as your weak legs could carry you, both excited and apprehensive about what Roy had planned for you. Whatever it was, you knew it would leave you even weaker in the knees. And it would probably be something you’d think about while alone in bed.

Your fingers fumbled with your cardkey a little at the door, prompting Roy to grab the card out of your hand and press it to the reader himself.

“You poor thing,” he cooed as he opened the door. “Am I making you nervous, darling?”

As you stepped into your room, you found your boldness again. “Oh, I’m sorry, are you trying to make me nervous, Kent?” you teased, tugging him by the belt loop to follow you inside.

His thick eyebrows flew up. “Are we being rude again, Empress?” He locked the deadbolt on your door pointedly. “Do we need a reminder about our fucking manners?”

Yeah, your dress was probably ruined at this point; you were soaking wet for him. “I think we do,” you hummed, your voice thick and mischievous.

“In that case…” He pushed you towards the bed, his hands flying to his trousers. “You better take that dress off. And I want to see you ready on all fours.”

How did he manage to make his voice sound deeper than usual? “Yes, Coach,” you purred, turning your back to him. Knowing that he had those dark eyes trained on you, you slowly unzipped your dress and let it fall into a puddle on the floor, quickly unhooking your bra and adding it to the pile. After stepping out of your heels- and finding that you were still having trouble standing even without them- you quickly got on the bed, lifting your ass to give Roy the view he wanted.

“Fucking hell,” he rasped, the sound of his approaching footsteps enough to have you clenching around nothing. “That for me?” His hands were warm on your ass as he gripped tightly, kneading the flesh roughly. “Or is this for some pretty boy?”

You arched your back, melting under his touch. “For you,” you breathed, closing your eyes. “All for you, Roy Kent.”

He shivered at the sound of his name dripping from your lips like honey, the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

The mattress dipped as he joined you on the bed, settling behind you. One hand slithered up your back, gently tracing one of the purple marks he’d given you. “Fucking gorgeous,” he murmured. “All mine.” You whimpered when you felt his tip brush your sensitive entrance. “Tell me,” he ordered softly. “Tell me how much you want this cock.”

You squirmed towards him, desperate to feel him inside you again. “Need you,” you gapsed. “Need you so fucking bad, Roy.” You turned your head to look over your shoulder at him. “Only you.”

His soft grunt was heavenly as he sank into you, watching the way you rocked back to meet him. The long, low moan that poured out of your mouth had him twitching inside you and reaching up to grab a fistful of your hair. His gentle tug had a smile curling on your lips; fuck, you liked this side of Roy, all mean and possessive and needy. It had you feeling wanted in a way you’d never experienced, in a way you didn’t want to let go of.

As if he could read your mind, Roy pulled out and rammed back into you roughly, jolting your entire body. “Don’t want you to be able to walk tomorrow,” he growled, giving a harsher tug to your hair. “Want you to spend the whole day in bed, thinking about me.” He slammed into you over and over, a rough, desperate rhythm that had your legs already shaking. “You looked so fucking good tonight,” he grunted. “Who’d you look so fucking pretty for? Hmm? Another driver? That pretty prick? Someone else?”

“For you,” you panted, fingers gripping the sheets. “Just for you.”

Roy’s chuckle was empty and dark. “That why you were hiding from me? And hanging all over him?” As if to show you his hurt and frustration, he gave a particularly rough thrust that had your face buried into a plump pillow.

You tilted your head to the side and blew some stray hair out of your face. “Dunno,” you huffed. Another moan escaped your lips as he pounded your aching cunt over and over, making it hard to think clearly, let alone actually answer Roy’s question. “’m sorry.”

His movements paused, leaving you whining as your pussy clenched around him. “Prove it,” he taunted. “Prove you’re fucking sorry.” The confused whimper you gave had him smirking at you. “Fuck yourself on my cock, pretty girl.”

It was kind of pathetic how quickly you did as he demanded. But sure enough, you braced yourself against the mattress and rutted back into him, choking back a sob as you felt his cock hit that perfect spot deep inside you.

“Again,” came his gruff command.

Arms shaking, you repeated the movement. And again. And again. Your body was exhausted as you thrust against him, feeling his hips slam against your bare ass. He let go of your hair and settled both hands on your hips with a bruising grip, gritting his teeth.

“Make yourself come,” he hissed, his fingers digging into your skin. “Be a good girl and make that gorgeous cunt come for me.” His smirk returned.

Desperate to please him and feel those familiar waves of pleasure, you quickened your pace, panting and whimpering as you sloppily fucked Roy, not caring about looking pretty for him; not that he minded. With the beads of sweat that trailed down your neck and the way your eyebrows furrowed in concentration as you chased your high, you were sinfully beautiful to Roy.

Fuck, a man could fall in love with this view.

“Roy,” you sobbed, feeling like you were going to fall apart. “’m gonna- ‘m gonna-”

“Come for me, baby.”

He took over for you, driving his cock deep inside you, his chest warming with pride as he felt you tighten around his cock. Your walls fluttered around him, squeezing and clenching, as if nothing else could ever satisfy you; and fuck, maybe that was true. Your cunt was overwhelmed from the third orgasm Roy took from you, spasming with pleasure as your limbs lost all feeling. As your vision went white, your arms gave out beneath you; only Roy’s firm grip kept you from completely collapsing onto the mattress. He watched carefully as your body went limp under his touch. Satisfied that you were coming down from your high, he tenderly pulled out of you, still hard and throbbing.

The side of your face was still pressed to the pillow as you gazed at his cock, practically drooling at the sight. “Roy?” you croaked out, eager for him to follow you into post-orgasm bliss.

With a wicked glint in his eye, he gently turned you onto your back, tutting sympathetically at your wince. “Remember what I said on the phone?” he hummed, leaning down to grope your breast with one hand as he stroked his rigid length with the other. “Wanna see you all covered up.”

Your body went scorching hot as you wriggled with anticipation; this was definitely an image you’d conjured up more than a few times since Roy had mentioned the idea. And after tonight, seeing how painfully jealous he’d gotten, your bruised cunt continued to throb at the idea of Roy making you his in such a dirty way.

He licked his lips as he watched your squirming figure, already filled with his release, three orgasms leaving you a disheveled, glistening mess. There you were, the Empress. The woman who’d long occupied many of his fantasies and had been filling most of his thoughts since Silverstone. Earlier tonight, you had another man’s hands on you, and before that, you were standing on a podium, covered in champagne, adoring fans screaming your name. And now there you were, gazing up at him with tired, lust-filled eyes, practically begging him to cover you with his release.

How could the most miserable man in the world get so fucking lucky?

“Want me to come for you?” he grunted, feeling so dirty as he stroked himself, his whole body trembling. “All over those pretty, pretty tits?”

Your desperate nod had him twitching in his hand. “All over me,” you purred, back arching. “Because I’m yours.”

Fuck.

Roy felt like his whole body was filled with electricity as he pumped his cock, shooting his release onto your breasts, his mouth open wide in awe as he watched his stickiness mix with your sweat. His eyes widened as he watched you, completely fucked out and in something of a daze, lift your head and stick out your tongue- a pathetic attempt to lick up the mess he’d made on you.

Jaw slacking, he bent over you and used two fingers to scoop up some of his cum, not bothering to hold back his groan when you greedily devoured what he offered you, swirling his fingertips with your tongue as you licked his digits clean.

“You…” He shook his head, cupping your cheek with his clean hand. “You are so fucking perfect,” he chuckled, all darkness gone from those soft brown eyes. He gazed down your spent body, gulping when he realized the absolute mess he’d made of you. “Let me…” He cleared his throat. “Fuck, let me clean you up, gorgeous.” He pressed a tiny kiss to your forehead and climbed off the bed, pausing only to grab his discarded boxers off the floor as he walked to the bathroom.

With a soft sigh, you gazed up at the ceiling, thinking about how jealous Roy had gotten, how possessive he was. How hurt he’d looked when you found him in the hallway. A man doesn’t get that way over just some hookup, you thought.

He returned with a damp washcloth, sitting down on the bed without a word. Tenderly, gently, he wiped down your body, cleaning your chest and between your legs. When he finished, he leaned down and kissed your lips softly.

“Bathroom?”

When you nodded, he swiftly lifted you, wincing a little when his knee cracked, and carried you to the restroom.

“Roy,” you giggled, “you don’t have to-”

He kissed your mouth again, a little deeper now. “Hush. Fucking let me take care of you.”

After you finished in the restroom, Roy picked you up again, laying you gently on the bed. The smile he offered you was the absolute softest, most adoring smile you’d ever seen in your life.

“As much as I love this body of yours, let’s get some fucking clothes on you, yeah?”

Suddenly, you had energy again, scrambling to sit up. “Oh, let me grab-”

A firm hand pushed you back down. “I said let me take care of you.” With a teasing smirk, Roy stood up and crossed over to the dresser. “Your stuff in here? Or have you been living out of your fucking suitcase all weekend?”

Feeling bashful for the first time all night, you bit your lip. “Second drawer,” you huffed.

Shooting you a quizzical look at the sight of your sudden timidness, Roy opened the drawer and pulled out a fresh pair of underwear. He cocked his head as something familiar caught his attention. “Oi, is this…” He turned around with raised eyebrows, holding up a black t-shirt. “Is this mine?”

“Maybe,” you mumbled, averting your gaze and suddenly feeling… exposed.

Roy felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest as he returned to bed. “And why do you have my shirt?” he hummed as he slipped your panties over your ankles. “Why’d you bring that thing all the way to fucking Belgium?” His eyes sparkled mischievously as he tugged up your underwear, following the material with a sprinkling of light kisses up your legs.

You weren’t sure if your squirming was from embarrassment or the kisses on your sensitive skin. “Just… dunno.” You gave a little huff. “Smells like you,” you murmured.

“Smells like me,” Roy repeated. He pressed the tiniest of kisses to your pussy before pulling your panties over it. “You like the way I smell, then?”

Despite your embarrassment, you smiled at him. “Maybe,” you hummed. You sat up, reaching for said t-shirt.

He paused, thoughtfulness crossing his bearded face. “Lemme see your back.” He winced when you leaned forward, showing off the smattering of purple marks and bites he’d left. “Shit.” Popping his lips, he stood up and went to the bathroom, emerging with another washcloth. “Right, turn over then.”

With a small squeak, you flipped onto your belly, realizing how fucking sore you were. Roy gently pressed the washcloth to your back, his face heated with embarrassment as he took in the evidence of his behavior. Not exactly what he’d had in mind when he’d agreed to come to Belgium.

“’m sorry,” he finally breathed as he continued to nurse your back. “I… your back…” He cleared his throat. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you chuckled. “Honestly, it’s fine.”

He sighed and laid a small kiss on a particularly dark hickey. “If there… if you… if you didn’t like that, I will never act like that again.” His voice was rushed, thick with awkwardness. “Don’t fucking know what came over me.”

You tilted your head to look at his furiously blushing face. “Roy,” you said firmly, the corners of your mouth lifting. “I actually enjoyed myself. Hopefully the three orgasms I had are evidence enough of that, hmm? As for what came over you…” You turned back over and sat up, taking one of Roy’s hands in yours. “I think you were suffering from green eyes, hmm?”

Roy grunted as he tossed the washcloth onto the nightstand. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, an embarrassed grin crossing his face as he picked up the black t-shirt. “Arms.” You lifted your arms, allowing Roy to tug the shirt over your head, covering your body comfortably. “Under the covers, you.”

Rolling your eyes at his avoidant behavior, you scrambled under the blankets, thrilled to see him join you; without any prompting, Roy Kent was spending the night. He wrapped an arm around you carefully, tugging you close.

“Roy?”

“Yeah?”

You shifted so you were facing him, hooking one still-weak leg over his hip. “You don’t need to be jealous, you know that?” You pressed a kiss to his furry chest, right over his heart. “You never need to be jealous. Not… not when it comes to me.”

He paused for a moment, not quite looking at you. “I just… didn’t like seeing his hands on you,” he whispered, stroking your waist. “Especially after you didn’t invite me to come here.”

“That’s fair,” you agreed. “I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you want me here?” His voice was full of that same hurt you’d seen in the hallway.

You pressed your body close to his, tilting your head so you were finally looking each other in the eye. “I…” You took a deep breath. “Things are just… different. This isn’t… this isn’t just sex for me anymore, Roy.”

It felt like the longest ten seconds in the world before Roy opened his mouth again. “I… don’t think it’s ever been just sex for me.”

For once, you didn’t bother hiding your smile from him. Instead, you pressed your lips to his, probably the softest you’d kissed him since you’d met. His hand snaked up your back, gripping you softly, careful not to press those purple marks he’d left you. When he finally broke the kiss, Roy was smiling so broadly you thought his face would break.

“You better get some rest,” he breathed, pecking your nose. “Some horrible bastard was pretty mean to you tonight.”

With a smirk, you settled in his arms, tiredness overcoming your exhausted body. “Yeah. But he’s pretty hot, so I’d let him do it again.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he growled playfully, snuggling close as you finally closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Roy’s sleepy smile was the first thing you saw when you woke up. He was sitting up already, one arm wrapped around you as you rested on his stomach.

“Morning,” came his gruff, gentle voice as his free hand stroked your cheek. “Sleep well?”

You nodded, stretching. “Always sleep well after… you know.” A small groan escaped your swollen lips as you realized how heavy your entire body was, how it felt like it could melt through the mattress and onto the floor. With an involuntary grimace, you genuinely wondered how the fuck you were supposed to walk.

Of course, Roy noticed. “Alright there?”

“Tired,” you mumbled, bringing up one of your heavy arms to wrap around his middle. “Had a bit of a rough night,” you teased.

A kiss landed on the top of your head. “Which you took very well,” Roy murmured, in that thick, syrupy voice he’d mocked you with last night. Already, it had your sore pussy throbbing with excitement. As if he could tell, his hand slid down your back until it rested firmly on your ass. “You were such a good girl.”

The sound of your breath hitching and the sight of your furious blush spurred him on. Without warning, Roy pulled you up until you were sitting between his thick thighs, your back pressed against his bare chest. Instinctively, you leaned into him, craning your neck to grant him access, which he thanked you for with a sloppy kiss to your collarbone.

“Want me to take care of you?” he breathed as he used one hand to pry your sore thighs open. “Want me to make you feel good?” The whimper that spilled from your lips was all he needed to encourage him to tug your panties to the side and let two fingers explore your already wet cunt. “Oh, darling,” he cooed. “She’s still soaked.”

“Roy,” you gasped as his fingers began to spread your lips, smearing your wetness over yourself. “Don’t think I can-”

His tongue traced a heart on your neck. “Shh, I know baby,” he whispered. “Just let me make you feel good, yeah?” He kissed your temple as his middle finger inched into you. “Let me spoil you.”

For the second time in less than twelve hours, Roy Kent buried his finger inside your wetness, groaning softly as you tightened around him. Your hands gripped his thighs, needing something to anchor you to reality as you melted into pleasure. Your thighs trembled as he slowly pumped into your aching cunt, shaky breaths and soft moans letting Roy know he was doing his job.

His strokes were slow and deliberate, just like the deep kisses he pressed to your neck. He cherished every detail about you: your beautiful little whimpers, the way you pressed yourself against him, the squelching sound from under the covers. After a particularly desperate moan, Roy added a second finger, smirking at the way your body trembled against his. Fuck, he could do this all day. All week. Hell, for the rest of his life.

“You did so well last night,” he hummed, dragging his fingers against your fluttering walls. “So fucking good for me, you know that, beautiful?” An open-mouthed kiss found your neck. “You were perfect, my perfect girl.”

Your eyes fluttered as you squirmed against him. “Roy,” was all you could manage, your strangled voice letting him know you were approaching your climax.

“And all mine,” he continued as his thumb rubbed your clit gently; he chucked when your entire body jerked. “You like being all mine, gorgeous?”

“Yours,” you answered, more a whine than a moan as you began to roll your hips into his hand.

His free arm wrapped around your middle, stilling you. “Uh-uh, Empress.” He kissed your cheek, his beard tickling your skin. “Allow me.”

With that, he thrust his fingers deeper into you, not stopping until his digits completely disappeared into your cunt. He repeated the move, over and over, fucking you gently as the pad of his thumb continued pressing into your clit. When he felt you desperately clench around his fingers, he finally quickened his pace, giving you exactly what your body wanted.

“Think you could come for me one more time, baby?” His voice was practically begging as his grip around your tummy tensed. “Think you’ve got one more for me?”

Your eyes rolled back, and you were pretty sure there was a little drool in the corner of your mouth. It felt like you were going to shatter into a million pieces as Roy expertly dragged over your clit and slid his tongue over your skin. With one perfect little bit of pressure to your bundle of nerves, Roy had you falling apart in his arms, a beautiful, whimpering little mess on his lap. When you tilted your face to his, he captured your mouth in a kiss, swallowing your pretty noises as he pumped in and out of your aching cunt.

When your moans turned to soft gasps, Roy eased his fingers out of you, laughing lovingly at your disappointed whine. As his hand emerged from under the covers, you slumped against his body and expectantly opened your mouth.

“Oh no,” Roy chuckled. “This is all mine, baby.” With that, he brought his fingers to his mouth, a deep moan vibrating against you as he sucked his digits clean. “Fuck, you are the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.” He kissed your mouth harshly, a kiss full of joy and affection. “Think I could taste you forever.”

He let you lay on top of him, listening as your breaths became steady again. You weren’t sure how much time passed, but eventually the two of you found yourselves laying down, your head on Roy’s chest, his hand in your hair. It was peaceful, just as natural as any rough, semi-public fling you’d shared. As you listened to his heartbeat, you found yourself speaking without thinking.

“I’ve got a month off,” you hummed. “Think I could meet you at a few away games?”

He wondered if you could hear his heart skip a beat. “Come to as many matches as you want. Home, away, all of ’em. Hell, come stay in Richmond the whole fucking month. I’d fucking love that.”

“Yeah?” You brought yourself up, laying your chin on his chest. “Don’t think you’d get sick of me, Kent?”

“Could never get sick of you,” he assured you, poking your nose affectionately. “Honestly. If you’re interested, you should come hang out in Richmond. We’d have fun, I think.” His eyes searched yours. “If you want.”

Your bright smile had his chest tightening with joy. “Yeah. We’d have fun.” You pressed a kiss to his chest. “Guess I’m spending my break in Richmond.” You reached for the nightstand. “Hand me my phone? Gonna go ahead and book my hotel.”

Roy squirmed beneath you, a complete change from the confidence he’d shown earlier in the morning. “Actually… what would you say to staying with me?”

“Staying with you,” you echoed, wondering if he could feel the heat that covered your body. You thought a moment; that little voice of doubt that seemed to always come around when Roy was on your mind screamed at you to stop, to ask him to leave, to end it here and now before things went too far and you found yourself shattered again.

But another voice was begging you to let this man, with his brown eyes and growling voice, adore you the way he wanted to.

“I mean,” Roy continued, glancing away. “We’re probably going to end up in bed together every other night, anyway. Saves us the back and forth. And I’ve got a guest room if you get sick of my fuckign snoring.”

His sudden shyness had you making your decision.

“I’d love to.” You reached up and traced his lips with your finger. “Although, ending up in bed together every other night? You’re underestimating us, Kent.”

The joyful laugh that flew out of his mouth was interrupted by the sound of his phone vibrating next to yours on the nightstand. “Hold that thought.” He picked it up and glanced at it, immediately throwing his head back with a groan. “Fucking hell,” he sighed. “Gotta get ready to meet the guys.” He studied your face for a moment. “Don’t suppose you’d want to come with us? You’ve already got a suitcase.”

That earnest look on his face had you feeling like an entire zoo was living in your stomach.

“As much as I’d love to travel with you and Jamie and Sam and Isaac,” you teased, “I’d like more than just a few days’ worth of clothes. And besides-” You pulled your face to Roy’s, tapping his nose with yours. “-I’ve got a drawer full of lingerie back in Monaco. Don’t you think I’ll need some of those things in Richmond?”

His eyes widened for a fraction of a moment. “Yeah, you should definitely go home and pack whatever you need,” he agreed in a half-joking voice. “I’m a patient man, I’ll see you in Richmond.”

You kissed his lips happily. “See you in Richmond.”

It took some effort on both of your parts to finally say goodbye, promising to see each other soon. Roy felt like he was walking on air as he eventually made his way down to the lobby with his duffel bag. What a difference one night could make; he’d woken up Sunday morning feeling more miserable than usual, and this morning he was fighting a grin every time he pictured your pretty face.

It didn’t take a genius to notice, so he shouldn’t have been surprised by Jamie Tartt’s smug expression.

“Where’d you end up last night, Roy?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows. “You never came back to the party.”

He shrugged, doing his best to keep a straight face. “Fucking went to bed.”

Jamie winked at him. “And whose bed would that be?”

Sam clapped his hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “Oh, leave him alone.” His eyes sparkled mischievously. “Roy’s not the kind of guy to kiss and tell.”

Before Roy could tell his players to fuck off, Isaac approached, sunglasses on his nose and backpack on his shoulder. As Jamie and Sam turned to begin walking out of the hotel, Isaac looked at Roy over the top of his sunglasses, eyebrows raised slightly. Roy offered him a smirk and shrug, bobbing his head. With the smallest of grins, Isaac held up his fist, which Roy tapped with his own, cementing an unspoken understanding between the two men.

As Roy stepped out of the hotel, listening to his players chatter about how much fun they had, his phone vibrated. He swiftly pulled it out, shoulders softening when he read the four little words on his screen:

See you in Richmond ❤️

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mariacallous · 8 days

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Is a five-year age gap in a relationship a little untoward? What about a three-year gap?

On social media, Gen Zers ― at least those who are chronically online ― are constantly debating the ethics of age gaps. Even if some relationships are perfectly legal, that doesn’t necessarily make them ethical, many say.

It’s little wonder then that age-disparate relationships are cause for so much conversation: Having grown up alongside the #MeToo movement, Generation Z is well versed in unbalanced power dynamics and the language of consent. And lately, there’s been plenty of celebrity pairings to interrogate.

There’s the obviously icky examples, like the recent, short-lived romance between Aoki Lee Simmons — Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons’ 21-year-old daughter — and restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65. Earlier this month, viral photos showed the pair flouncing around on vacation in St. Barts.

Yes, they’re both consenting adults, but it was still unseemly, critics said. If anything, the argument that they’re both of age is “something groomers cling to,” as one young woman on Threads put it.

“Adulthood was meant to signify voting/draft age,” she wrote. “But everyone knows your prefrontal cortex is not fully formed at this age.” (This difference between so-called brain age and chronological age ― you might be 21 but your brain is undeveloped! ― often gets brought up in these kinds of conversations.)

There are gender-swapped examples too, like actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, a now-married couple who met while working on a 2009 John Lennon biopic called “Nowhere Boy.” At the time, he was in his late teens and she was a mother of two in her early 40s.

“I didn’t relate to anyone my age,” the actor told The Telegraph in 2019, reflecting on when they first met. “I just feel that we’re on the same wavelength.”

Some fans aren’t convinced. “We def aren’t talking about male grooming victims enough and this is literally proof,” one person wrote in a highly shared TikTok video about their coupling.

Then there’s the less expected critiques: Is four years too much of an age gap? “At 25, I wouldn’t even date a 21 year old,” reads one tweet with around 80,000 likes.

What about 10 years? Fans of Billie Eilish were up in arms in 2022 when the then-20-year-old singer revealed that she was dating fellow musician Jesse Rutherford, who was in his early 30s. One viral tweet about the 10-year age gap reads: “jesse rutherford was alive during george h w bush’s presidency . billie eilish cannot legally drink.”

Long-established relationships aren’t safe, either. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s 11-year gap has been scrutinized. And recently, Beyhive members have begun debating whether Beyoncé was “groomed” because she was 19 when she started dating Jay-Z, who was in his early 30s.

Noncelebrity couples are getting called out, too. “I was 19. My now husband was 27. My now 13yo child calls him my ‘predator,’” one woman wrote on Threads alongside laughing emoji, probably only half-joking.

Why Gen Z Seems To Have Such An Aversion To Age Gaps

Is Gen Z just more prudish on this subject than prior generations?

Not necessarily, said Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and the host of the “Sex and Psychology Podcast.” He’s been studying age-gap relationships for roughly 20 years and said the stigma around age-disparate relationships is long-standing.

In 2008 ― when terms like “cradle robber” and “cougar” were bandied around a lot more than they are now ― Lehmiller co-authored a study that found age-discrepant couples reported experiencing significantly more social disapproval than people in gay or interracial couples.

So the discomfort around these types of relationships isn’t anything new. What is new, according to Lehmiller, is how comfortable Gen Z feels about publicly and vocally disapproving of these relationships ― even on people’s personal Instagram pages. (Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson recently spoke out against the “bizarre” online judgment they’ve received. Eilish and Rutherford brushed off the criticism from overly concerned fans by dressing up as a baby and an old man one Halloween.)

“To some in Gen Z, age-gap relationships read as being inherently exploitative because they perceive age discrepancies as necessarily creating a power imbalance that favors the older partner,” Lehmiller told HuffPost.

What’s also changed is which parties tend to receive the brunt of the judgment. In the past, people were often scornful of both the younger and older partners in these relationships. Historically, the younger partners, especially when they were women, endured labels like “gold digger” ― with the implication that they were the ones doing the exploiting. That terminology doesn’t always fly with Gen Z.

“That perception seems to have largely disappeared when you look at what Gen Z is saying,” Lehmiller noted. “They seem to cast the younger partners as victims who are being preyed upon or ‘groomed.’”

Gigi Engle, a certified sex and relationship psychotherapist and resident intimacy expert for dating app 3Fun, worries that the term “grooming” is being overapplied and losing its meaning.

“The narrative is really toxic here and in many other cases,” she told HuffPost. “Trans people are groomers, gay people are groomers, older people dating younger people are groomers ― and this just isn’t accurate. It’s a really fear-mongering time we live in.”

Gen Z may be hyperfocused on this because of their age: If you’re a 35-year-old woman, you’re probably less hung up on the idea of a 50-year-old guy expressing interest in you.

“I think younger people may be more susceptible to manipulation and are therefore more afraid of it,” Engle said. “The reality is, age-gap relationships have been happening since humans have existed, and it is absolutely not some one-size-fits-all. In the vast majority of relationships like this, nothing untoward is happening.”

Here’s What Gen Z Has To Say About Age Gaps

Talking to actual Gen Zers, you’ll find that their opinions on age gaps run the gamut. As with most things, their takes on the subject are much more nuanced than those found on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, would have you believe.

That said, many are genuinely bothered by age gaps. While the #MeToo movement gave them the language to talk about power imbalances, some 20-somethings say their opinions are more colored by their own personal experiences.

Layla — a 23-year-old who asked to use her first name only for privacy reasons, like others in this story — thinks it’s better to date within your own age group, ideally within a two- or three-year range.

“When I was around 21 and 22, I tried talking to guys who were 30 and over but soon realized it wasn’t right,” she told HuffPot. “They had so much more life experiences than me, and it was awkward being from different generations.”

Layla said she’d tried to joke and laugh about certain things ― a meme or a TikTok video ― and got a lot of blank stares. She wasn’t a fan of their humor, either: A date recounting the umpteenth “Seinfeld” episode or that one “Step Brothers” scene gets a little old after a while.

“Trying to relate to one another just didn’t work out, and it felt awkward and wrong,” she said.

“I believe a relationship between an 18- and 25-year-old is problematic,” Layla said, noting that this applies regardless of gender.

“I actually wish women got called out for their predatory behavior, too,” she said. “It almost seems like no one wants to hold women accountable.”

Mona, a 21-year-old college student in Georgia, even finds her own parents’ 11-year age gap a little “predatory”: Her dad was in his late 30s and a divorced father of one when he met her mom, who was in her late 20s and didn’t have children.

Mona would date someone three years older. She wouldn’t consider going younger, though. “I do think that an 18- and 25-year-old together is unacceptable,” she said.

She is particularly weirded out when she hears people talk about how their partner basically raised them or taught them “how to be a woman,” as Beyoncé said to Jay-Z in a 2006 birthday toast that went viral recently.

Mona is also wary of anyone who almost exclusively dates young people ― the Leonardo DiCaprios of the world. Every time the 49-year-old actor gets a new girlfriend, a graph highlighting the fact that each of his ex-girlfriends has been 25 or under starts circulating again.

“Any respectable adult would have the common sense that pursuing a teenager is extremely weird, and I also believe it says a lot about the headspace of the older person,” the 21-year-old said.

Mona also thinks the COVID-19 pandemic might’ve been a factor in Gen Zers’ apprehension over age gaps. They might technically be 21, but given that weird few-year pause, they don’t feel it.

“You hear about how we’re mentally the same age that we were when the pandemic first started,” she said. “That might play a role in why some people are not settling on older people pursuing them ― you feel you’re still too young.”

Not everyone agrees. Rei, a 22-year-old who is queer, said they don’t find age-disparate relationships inherently problematic. They said there’s a lot more than age that gives people power over each other, and if you consider five years an “age-gap relationship” then Rei is currently in one.

“Though my partner is older than me, I have a college degree and she doesn’t,” they said. “So arguably I have a better financial and career outlook that would make me the ‘abusive one,’ if you’re using that language.”

Age gaps may be more common in the queer community, Rei said. “I don’t know a gay guy who hasn’t been with someone much older than him,” they said. “It’s just normal to us.”

Problematic dynamics can exist no matter the age. “People now don’t know what grooming is and just use the term as synonymous with age gaps,” Rei said.

To some extent, Rei sees the hubbub over age gaps as an overcorrection of the mores ushered in by the #MeToo movement.

“People overadjust and assume that any relationship out of the norm is abusive,” they said. “In my experience, people who feel age gaps are problematic are also the same people who argue the internet is harmful and should be censored because they had a bad experience as a kid. Your experience isn’t universal.”

For Amelia, 24, actual age matters less than the stage of life you’re in. She figures if you’re a relatively accomplished 28-year-old dating an accomplished 40-year-old, what’s the big deal? The word “grooming” really only applies when an adult is introduced to a future partner when they’re underage, Amelia said.

She cited the relationship between Dane Cook and his wife as an “egregious” example of a questionable age gap. (The now-52-year-old comedian met Kelsi Taylor at a game night he hosted when she was in her late teens.)

“Do I think it’s possible for people like that to have a healthy and happy relationship? Sure,” Amelia said. “But the older I get, my desire to talk to high schoolers grows slimmer and slimmer. I really can’t put myself in the shoes of someone who would want to befriend a high schooler.”

That said, Amelia thinks that some Gen Zers take their judgment too far. To her, the concern over age gaps seems like a weirdly “paternalistic” brand of feminism, where women feel the need to protect women from men.

“It’s similar to how Swifties treat Taylor Swift,” she said, referring to the now-34-year-old pop star.

“You have young women ‘looking out for’ a billionaire woman in her 30s. I’m a fan of Taylor Swift, but I don’t think she needs protecting from Travis Kelce because Travis Kelce got in the face of his NFL coach during the Super Bowl.”

The anti-age-gap sentiment held by many plays into the “puriteen” narrative that’s been inescapable lately. Online, there’s a lot of hand-wringing over Gen Zers’ seeming aversion to sex: Studies show that they’re having less of it than earlier generations and that they don’t want sex scenes in their movies.

Though Amelia overall disagrees with age-gap critics ― she feels like their arguments rob women of their agency, she said ― she gets where those in her peer group are coming from.

“The majority of us had unsupervised internet access from a young age. We were in chatrooms, on Tumblr, and other various corners of the internet that we probably should not have been on at that age,” she said. “It was easy for grown men on the internet to reach us if they wanted to.”

If you’ve been oversexualized at a young age ― or seen others in your age bracket be oversexualized ― that experience is understandably going to shape how you perceive these kinds of things, Amelia said.

But the reality is, there are likely just as many happy May-December unions as there are disappointing ones. “Believe it or not, we often see more ― not less ― equity in these relationships,” Lehmiller noted.

All of the Gen Zers we spoke to said that ultimately, two consenting adults can do whatever they want in their private lives, even if others find it off-putting.

“Men can like women that are younger and not be a creep,” Amelia said. “He also can be a creep, but some random person with a Twitter cartoon avatar shouldn’t necessarily be the judge of that!”

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beautifulpersonpeach · 3 days

Note

I was a bit surprised to see that mhj specifically said that newjeans had approved the statement saying that belift had copied newjeans' concept with illit. I'm not the type of person that thinks that you're a bitch for asserting position or your value, so this isn't where I'm coming from, but, especially in an industry where it's so rare to see groups say anything negative about other groups, particular junior groups I would think, it was quite the strong, swift position to take. Do you foresee newjeans continuing to engage publicly with this scandal, and how would you think taking an active part in this would affect their brand?

Ask 2:

bp in your opinion is there any chance that in this Hybe/MHJ situation there's a buried kind of double-blind motivation?

Like the kind i've seen attributed to E|on Musk, where he creates a big scandal to provide cover when he's doing something much shadier (and then maybe it gets out of hand, like the TwiX thing lol)

You've said you're pretty familar with the corporate side machinations - could Hybe be purposefully airing all this, sure to stick it to MHJ, but also to temporarily drive down stock prices for idk easy shares-repurchasing? Or even allowing a mess they can blame for having to report lower numbers to shareholders for whatever reason: boycott actually impacting profit, hedging against lower-than-predicted bts returning numbers, etc.

Or is this too convoluted of conspiracy thinking and BPD/HYBE/MHJ, and by extension from your recent posts basically 'corporate kpop' entire, are really just that transparent and petty?

Ask 3:

Might be a stupid question because I honestly don't have any clue about corporate businesses and how they work. But in the light of this scandal and how BigHit/Hybe developed over the last years: would you say this is what you get when you become too greedy instead of concentrating on what you were good at?

Ask 4:

in your opinion, is mhj truly an indispensable part of newjeans creative output? Also, do you see any way that hybe would let newjeans leave with its name and discography if they try to break their contract to go with mhj like some people are saying?

Ask 5:

I’m seeing a lot of discussion about whether newjeans will try to leave with mhj and break their contract with hybe, but I don’t see this as a realistic scenario, and I especially don’t see hybe letting them leave with their name and discography. You mentioned that there are a limited set of options now, but is this even one of them? In my mind, newjeans as a concept either stays at hybe, with or without mhj in whatever capacity, or can’t really exist legally

Ask 6:

Also this has given everyone (kpop stans, ARMYs, journalists) the go ahead to drag Newjeans in order to "defend" Illit, BTS, Riize, etc by throwing (again) dozens of plagiarism accusations and trying to discredit everything the group has done and achieved. And it was started by Hybe themselves... I have no words, bpp

***

I think these six asks capture most of the talking points in the asks I've received since yesterday, so I'll use these to answer your questions.

The sheer amount of spin happening in the media right now is ridiculous lmaoo. With the mention of BTS in the "escape files", ARMYs have predictably moved from shady bystanders to actively joining in the negative spin, spreading rumor articles and many are now attacking the girls themselves. But honestly, this is nothing less than what I expected. NewJeans is the most popular group in Korea, the 2nd most valuable IP only behind BTS, and Min Heejin is the brains behind the operation - an achievement she's insisted on taking full credit for since inception. Leaving the only option for whoever is masterminding this from within and outside HYBE, to destroy her reputation as an executive completely to diminish her value to outside investors, and weaken the fan support for NewJeans given how closely they are already associated with MHJ. And that's what is happening. It impacts every group at HYBE and nearly obliterates the viability of NewJeans.

For HYBE, it's a tolerable loss given there's only one year left before BTS returns and closes that earnings gap in mere months. Whoever took this action sees it simply as resulting in a numerical loss that can be soon corrected, but personally, I disagree, for the same reasons I objected to HYBE's acquisition of SM even though on paper it made numerical sense.

Anon in ask 1: I can understand your surprise but sad as it is to say, I expected that response from MHJ. She's a creative, not a PR exec or an MBA-credentialled suit. I'm not sure how familiar you are with ADOR's press releases in general, but anybody who reads them can tell there's almost no corporate doublespeak, no vague allusions, nothing that shows it's written by a typical media-trained PR person. Which is why most people, including you, take that statement to mean NewJeans agrees with MHJ that Illit copied them (it's a possibility), when in reality the language shows it could refer to them agreeing with MHJ's assertion that HYBE hasn't duly responded to her requests about inter-label discrimination, or other related matters. That's the kind of detail a trained PR person would be sure to include, to minimize the fallout to NJ, but just as with the press release on Cookie, the one on Minji's rival sasaeng, the response to Hyein's veneer rumours, and practically every press release ADOR has put out, the language is unsophisticated.

"Do you foresee newjeans continuing to engage publicly with this scandal, and how would you think taking an active part in this would affect their brand?"

NewJeans has so far not engaged publicly with this scandal. MHJ has mentioned them to signal any separation between them will likely be contested. It's leverage. If they do take an active part in this scandal, it will completely destroy their brand. Like, it's already on life support. Anything more and we might as well say their last rites.

Anon in ask 2: I'd say that's not a conspiracy exactly but it is kinda pushing it. Anytime there's a stock dip it's a buying opportunity, and HYBE is always guaranteed to be a Buy so long as BTS is slated to return within 12 months of the stock event. But we simply don't have any clear indications that's the case now given the timing doesn't quite line up. If anything, that is more like the 4th order side-effect.

And yeah, people on the corporate side, not just in k-pop, are many times just that petty. But it's also true this case has been sensationalized in particular ways to appeal to k-pop stans specifically.

Anons in ask 4 & 5: The options available are:

MHJ leaves HYBE and NewJeans stays in HYBE

MHJ leaves HYBE and NewJeans leaves with her

MHJ stays in HYBE but is demoted from her exec role and NewJeans stays in HYBE

MHJ stays in HYBE and keeps her exec role and NewJeans stays in HYBE

None of these options are good, but the worst of these evils is option 2. If the members attempt to leave with her, there's no pretty way to say this, but they'll be done. I'm not even going to waste time writing all the ways HYBE and k-pop stans as a whole will rip them to shreds, all I'll say is that whoever is attached to these girls should consider taking a 6 months sabbatical away from k-pop entirely once that news breaks. The law is not on their side and public opinion, especially after all the 'leaks' and spin from HYBE in the last 72 hours, certainly isn't on their side either. It would be career suicide.

"in your opinion, is mhj truly an indispensable part of newjeans creative output?"

Personally, I think yes. Every label at HYBE had similar initial monetary investment as NewJeans and ADOR had, and other groups from the Big 3 have had even bigger investments and resources at their disposal. There isn't a single group, both within HYBE and outside HYBE, that has yielded the same results as NewJeans in the same period of time. Illit comes close, but even with their achievements they haven't reached the same (positive) notoriety as NewJeans did at debut. All HYBE groups have access to HYBE's youtube channel, connections and resources, and yet the achievements of BOYNEXTDOOR, LE SSERAFIM, ENHYPEN, and even ILLIT, are nowhere near comparable to that of NewJeans. And I agree with MHJ that she's the primary reason why. Having access to resources is only one part of the equation. How you allocate those resources and what you do with it is far more important, and this is where MHJ and ADOR excels relative to other sub-labels.

NewJeans without MHJ will not be nearly as threatening to everyone else in k-pop, and I suspect this is one reason there have been calls for her to be removed from managing the group since their debut.

Anons in ask 3 & 6: Yeah there's a fair bit of greed on show here. Generally, for a lot of people in this industry, greed is good... unless the greedy person is a woman. Because the only thing more central to nasty corporate tussles like this, more than greed, is ego.

I'm not trying to play the gender card, but sometimes I do wonder why there are no articles like this about people like Jaden Jeong and Simon Jakob given the reputation those men have in corporate circles, where top officials (in this case, within HYBE) are saying they cannot possibly work with MHJ because she is "overly and excessively opinionated". I'm highlighting this article because despite the initial paragraphs of spin, that bit is the only thing consistent with MHJ's claim that this attack from HYBE started because she'd filed a whistleblowing report on toxic inter-label competition and followed up an email that said quote:

"..is this deliberate obtuseness and unapologetic behaviour consistent with HYBE's founding philosophy of rebelling against unfair practices in the entertainment industry?"

I mean... in corporate Korea, I can see how they were sick of her shit and it was only a matter of time before she got the boot.

The insidious thing about spin is that it mixes the truth with lies, making it easy for people to accept it wholly. It's entirely possible that MHJ wants more compensation, more autonomy and independence, feels that Belift and other companies borrowed her ideas without full credit, and that she was unsupported by HYBE HQ. It's entirely possible that she took actions such as monitoring fan feedback of the group(s) she suspects and filing a whistleblowing report to build a case - according to both MHJ and others at HYBE, these are complaints she's apparently had since last year, but none of those things would justify HYBE's response nor is it enough to turn people against her.

What I find particularly interesting about this case, is that everything that decisively incriminates her of the more sensational and sinister allegations, comes from the person of VP L or CEO A - a person who only joined ADOR in January 2024, shortly after which HYBE received their first tip-off that MHJ was planning to escape. It's VP L who titles documents with the equivalent of "TOP SECRET DO NOT TOUCH" on company computers... the same guy that's supposedly a double agent working in favour of MHJ and ADOR but is situated within ADOR, not HYBE, where simple logic shows he'd be most useful. Unless he's situated right where he's supposed to be.

Anyway...

HYBE has requested for a shareholder meeting on April 30th where they'll likely table the motion for MHJ to resign regardless of what's found in the audit. Far as I know, she's completed the audit questionnaire but not surrendered her laptop as HYBE has requested. Given the play is for HYBE to kick her out while continuing to manage NJ, I can see how she'd rather die than surrender her laptop and hand over her ideas (and potentially incriminating info) to HYBE on a silver platter for them to use in her wake.

Every way this shakes out is bad news for HYBE groups IMO. So long as NewJeans keeps quiet and sides with HYBE, they'll be somewhat okay. But regardless of the fallout from HYBE cannibalizing itself, all HYBE groups have no choice but to take it on the chin and bide their time until BTS comes back to capture the attention back to them.

I hope I answered all your questions. IMO there's really no point talking more about this until there's a firm conclusion.

#min heejin #newjeans #ador #hybe #bang pd #kpop #kpop industry #kpop business #belift

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yeehawbvby · 2 years

Text

Let’s Play a Game (Sebastian x GN!Reader)

Rating: Teen+

Summary: Sebastian has a strange proposition for you.

Author’s Note: Inspired by this comic! This is my first fic to be released publicly and I speedran it at like 5am when inspiration struck. It’s super corny, but I hope y’all like it anyway!

Edit: Found the comic’s source, finally! Martin Rosner, or @/HotPaperComics on Twitter :)

Check it out on ao3!

“Let’s play a game.”

You cock a brow, choking back a strong sip of your drink, fresh off the bar counter. Jeez, that blue-haired chick spiked the crap out of this thing.

“What kind of game?”

Your acquaintance, Sebastian, is sporting the most dastardly possible grin.

He’s the son of your neighborhood carpenter, and just about the only human you’ve had contact with under the age of 40 since moving away from the city. A charming fella, if you find edgy, nerdy stoners to be charming… Unfortunately, you do.

And after you somehow got lucky enough for him to invite you out, and couldn’t resist saying “yes” to his obnoxiously pretty face. You hadn’t checked your luck today, but you can only assume that the spirits have been doing Yoba’s work.

Narrowing his eyes, he answers your question. “Chicken.”

Chicken? Memories of your childhood friends flood your mind. Stacking atop each other’s shoulders on a hot summer’s day, pool noodles in hand. Sunscreen and sweat and heavily chlorinated water making your grips slippery. Not a worry in the world, other than whether or not you would be the first to fall into the water below you…

“Like, the pool game?”

He laughs, “Not quite.” He sips his own beverage — the same thing as yours — unfazed by its strength. Show-off. “Let’s spend some quality time together.” Oh? “We’ll help each other with errands, do some cooking together, go on some adventures in the mines or whatever…”

“So,” the gears turn in your brain as you cut him off, “you just want to… hang out? How is that—”

He silences you with a raised finger, cutting you back off with his words. “First one to fall in love loses.”

“…What? ”

“You’re new, so you’re basically friendless, yeah?”

“Ouch,” you wince, although you can’t help the light laugher that escapes you. He isn’t wrong. You just got here, what, a week ago? “Yeah, I guess.”

“Are you single?” He endearingly wiggles his eyebrows, to which you roll your eyes.

“Yeah…” you grumble into your drink before bravely downing half the glass.

“Then it’s settled.”

“But still, how is this a game?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

_______________

You knew you were at a disadvantage when starting this stupid little “game” with Sebastian, but you had no idea how hard it would be. Of course he’s cute, so there’s no avoiding a crush on the guy. You knew that. But after spending so much time with him over just a few days, you’re hopelessly into him.

But you’ll be damned if you tell him that.

Sure, it’s probably cheating, but you have too much pride to just openly admit defeat so easily. And besides, who’s to say it’s love yet? Not you, you sly bastard.

One night at the beach, watching the stars and waves together, you ask for clarification. “What is love?”

He avoids the question, only singing the lyrics “Baby don’t hurt me, no more," in response.

Another day, while he’s helping you forage in Cindersnap, he cheekily asks, “Have you ever wanted to kiss me?“

Of course you have. But instead of answering, you sing, “K-k-kiss me, infect me with your love and…” etcetera.

It’s become a trend. Part of the game, if you will. Whenever either of you openly questions the other’s feelings, the rules of the game, whatever, the other person pulls a song outta their ass, turning the situation into an impromptu karaoke. It’s fun, but it’s only making things harder in the end.

The charade goes on for weeks. Neither of you have had the balls to call it quits, and you’re both feeling the consequences of this long-fought battle.

________________

“C’mere,” Sebastian mumbles from the other side of your couch.

You scoot over just a little, not daring to cuddle up. The two of you have only made light contact thus far, and you know you’ll probably come out as a big dirty cheater who lost the game forever ago, if you were to do so much as hold hands with the guy.

He whines, “More.” He reaches his arm out, signaling you to tuck yourself into his side. “I don’t bite hard, I promise.”

You glare at him. “I’m good.”

“You’re shivering, actually.” Ugh. He’s right. The central heating in your cabin hasn’t been installed yet, leaving the fireplace in the kitchen as your only source of warmth.

“Fine, whatever.” you snuggle into his arms, balling up your blanket over your cheeks to hide the fierce blush coating them.

As Sebastian searches through your movie options on Netflix, you’re able to slowly settle into his touch… although, the more you cozy up to him, the faster you can hear his nearby heart racing.

Maybe you fell for him first, but this is definitely the heart rate of someone who’s just as into you as you’re into them. Holy shit.

You giggle.

“Hmm?” he hums questioningly.

“Is your resting heart rate always this fast?”

No answer.

Your eyes widen at his silence. You peer up to see his own eyes wide as well.

“Oh my god,” you lean up, leveling with him.

He closes his eyes, “God damnit.”

“Oh my GOD.” Beaming, you cup his cheeks in your hands. His eyes are still shut but his face is getting warm. “I won.”

No answer.

“I fucking won!”

Still no answer. His eyes slowly open, staring back at yours. As soon as he sees your goofy smile, he mirrors it.

Not knowing what else there is to do at a time like this, you kiss him. He kisses back, and it’s as magical as you’d imagined it to be. His lips are soft, his kissing style as rough around the edges as he is. It doesn’t take long for tongues to get involved.

But it also doesn’t take long for him to crack the code:

With a light grunt and his eyebrows furrowed, he pulls away. “Wait, but if you’re this eager to…” he thinks aloud. You can almost see the lightbulb go on. Oops. “You didn’t win, did you?”

#any gender #any gender reader #gender neutral reader #sebastian x reader #sebastian x farmer #sebastian sdv #sdv sebastian #sebastian stardew #sebastian stardew valley #stardew valley #stardew sebastian #stardew valley fanfic #one shot #oneshot #fluff #comfort #flirting

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hoshinoyozora · 1 year

Text

The Immortal’s Feelings

🖤 Pairing: Yandere! Malleus Draconia x Female! Reader feat. Silver

💛 Word Count: 0,7k+

❤ Warnings: -

[Edited]

Do not re-upload my writing to another website or use it without my permission. Also, don’t ask for a sequel unless I like the story enough to write one. Please reblog so other people can see my stories!***

I’m not a psychology student, but I think it’s interesting how (forced) transformation can affect human psyche. Then again, my depiction won’t be perfect considering I’m someone with neutral feelings nearly all the time (at least enough until some people close to me call me emotionless lmao).

“Why did you become a knight, Silver?”

You sipped the tea calmly and gracefully; an act that was enough to make the majority of people here acknowledged you as their queen, but never enough to make them accept you. At least, all those tedious lessons about table manners paid off somewhat.

“Because I want to repay my father and His Majesty’s kindness.”

“I see.” you mused, putting down the cup on the saucer with a soft clink. “So, I guess no matter what I do, you’ll always be loyal to him, huh…”

Silver gripped his knees.

“You are the queen, so I’ll still obey your orders.”

“Anyone can obey me, but not everyone can be loyal to me. That’s probably the first thing I’ve learned since my… coronation.”

You hated that word. It sounded too noble, too posh, too heavy. As if it was something you should be honored with, rejoiced over. It might be better to rule over the people who hated you rather than live among them, but it didn’t make the experience any less unpleasant.

“I won’t lie and say that what he did was right, but fairies tend to love intensely.”

“And humans love freedom. They need it, even. But, at the end of the day, I’m just an artificial fae, aren’t I?” you sneered. “Even humanity feels alien to me now, like a concept too abstract for me to understand.”

The last part came out more as a heartfelt confession than a bitter remark. Sometimes you woke up and felt a deep hollowness inside your chest, as if someone had ripped your heart out and left you as a husk. Or a robot, because you were still functional. Yes, you did your duty as a queen and a wife; a routine that was as normal as sleeping and eating now. There were times when you experienced any kind of emotion too, and you quickly forgot the reason behind it. Why were you happy? Why were you sad? It didn’t make any sense. Your brain had overpowered your body at this point, and what was left of your heart was used to accommodate the petty offense over an insult, perceived or not.

Back then, you would’ve called it embarrassing. Nobody should be sensitive enough to attack someone just because they forgot to greet you. But now, you’d made great use of Malleus by ordering him to publicly humiliate the offender. Something still caught you from committing a worst act, though, and you weren’t sure whether you should be relieved or not. Whether it was your lingering humanity or the warnings you’d gotten from people who deemed themselves important enough to not embarrass yourself.

And yet, Malleus was happy. Proud, even. Although you’d learned it was much better to use him than defy him, anger would resurface and remind you that asking for his help was similar to needing him. Then, memories of him forcing you to marry him and transforming you into a pathetic, subpar version of himself would spark all the forgotten feelings, only for them to disappear when you tried so hard to remember why you hated Malleus in the first place.

It was a confusing event all around, and your husband, with his limited knowledge of human psyche and the effect of your transformation, chalked it up to ‘mood swing’. Still, it did change your attitude to everyone else and led them to look at you the same way they looked at Malleus; with fear, and probably less respect.

After all, you were nothing without him.

But then, you spotted Silver helping his sparring partner from the ground and remembered that humanity was about helping each other. At least, that was what you thought, until you heard his explanation.

“… I have nothing to say, Your Majesty.” Silver admitted shamefully.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

“Of course, you don’t. You’re just a human raised by faes. You know about humanity as much as I do.” You waved your hand dismissively. “Now, leave. I want to be alone right now.”

You heard the chair scrape against the stone masonry, but you didn’t bother to acknowledge his respectful bow. It was only after he went inside the castle, did you open your eyes and peer down through the balcony.

A few mortal servants and knights scattered here and there, and you wondered whether you could sway this minority group to join your side with your experiences as a former human.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #disney twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland #twst imagines #yandere twst #female reader #malleus draconia #yandere malleus x reader #yandere malleus draconia #malleus x reader #yandere malleus #twisted wonderland malleus #silver #twst silver

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ladyamanda123 · 3 days

Text

imgonnagetyouback

… Lilac short skirt

The one that fits me like skin

Did your research

You knew the price goin' in

… And I'll tell you one thing, honey

I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean

Standing at the bar like something's funny, bubbly

Once you fix your face, I'm goin' in

… Whether I'm gonna be your wife or

Gonna smash up your bike, I

Haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… Whether I'm gonna curse you out or

Take you back to my house, I

Haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… I, I hear the whispers in your eyes

I'll make you wanna think twice

You'll find that you were never not mine

You're mine

… Small talk, big love

Act like I don't care what you did

I'm an Aston Martin

That you steered straight into the ditch

Then ran and hid

… And I'll tell you one thing, honey

I can take the upper hand and touch your body

Flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party

Or I might just love you 'til the end

… Whether I'm gonna be your wife or

Gonna smash up your bike, I

Haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… Whether I'm gonna flip you off or

Pull you into the closet

I haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… I, I hear the whispers in your eyes

I'll make you wanna think twice

You'll find that you were never not mine

You're mine

… I can feel it comin', hummin' in the way you move

Push the reset button, we're becoming something new

Say you got somebody, I'll say, "I got someone too"

Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you

… Bygones will be bygone eras fadin' into gray (fadin' into gray)

We broke all the pieces but still want to play the game (oh)

Told my friends, "I hate you but I love you just the same"

Pick your poison, babe

I'm poison either way

… Whether I'm gonna be your wife or

Gonna smash up your bike, I

Haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… Whether I'm gonna curse you out or

Take you back to my house, I

Haven't decided yet

But I'm gonna get you back

… I, I hear the whispers in your eyes

I'll make you wanna think twice

You'll find that you were never not mine

I'm gonna get you back

Observations:

-Gender neutral pronouns

-Using the word “bubbly” to describe her muse…..is so sapphic and 1000% screams Karlie

-“once you fix your face I’m going in” I mean….sure guys can wear make up and be bubbly but come on. This isn’t sounding like any of the beards. This is Karlie or another woman at least.

-whisper in your eyes….whispering eyes is queer

-the “I, I” before whispering eyes sounds EXACTLY like Dress BUT incomplete. Only two instead of 4….because they’re stuck in between. In Dress they were in the moment of the dress coming off and then….

Here the ending isn’t known yet….will this end in a fight or will the dress be coming off when she takes her home?

- “bygones will be bygones, eras fading into gray” Is this indicating that they will be publicly “burying the hatchet” so to speak and be seen together again towards the end of the eras tour?

ANOTHER Thought….

I feel like this album has fully ninja’d my brain! Every day new things jump out at me! But this one completely went over my head until I saw a tiktok Jordyn did about it….

🎶Whether I’m gonna flip you off or Pull you into the closet

I’m sorry, WHAT!?!?

🤯

This album is SOOO loud!!!!

#taylor swift #the tortured poets department #kaylor #gaylor #karlie kloss #dress #reputation #imgonnagetyouback #whispering eyes #the eras tour

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sparklegemstone · 13 days

Text

Loki at Paley Fest 2024

It was incredible! I'm so happy I got the opportunity to attend, and it uplifted my spirits so much. I really hope Paley makes the panel available for everyone to watch at some point because the questions and discussion were pithy, thoughtful, and engaging. Just a stellar panel. If it doesn't become publicly available, I'll try to circle back to post more detail of what was discussed.

Hiddleston was absolutely firing on all cylinders being his eloquent self going on long explorations of themes and the human condition. I think the most memorable was when he was exploring the relationship of Loki's line "Satisfaction is not in my nature" from a previous film to the events of the Loki series and whether that was relevant or not relevant to where the character arrived at in the series.

First of all, kudos to the host of the panel (also writer of a MCU timeline book) that came with receipts and Loki and Hiddleston quotes from over a decade ago that he used to ask really interesting questions that explored Loki's journey and highlighted the beautiful ways Hiddleston has thought about playing the role over years. He just did an excellent, excellent job, and is the one that brough up the "satisfaction is not in my nature" quote to prompt discussion.

And let's be honest, I think a lot of panelists, whose job is to sound engaging and fill up panel time, when asked to explore the relationship of that "not satisfied" quote to the most recent content they filmed, would just turn on their "I'm in English class" brain and run with the prompt and improvise some ideas of how the theme of not being satisfied is shown in the series. But rather than just running with and affirming the prompt, Hiddleston actually thought about it sincerely and turned it around answering in the negative, that he wasn't sure if that still applied in the series. So instead of just running with the prompt, he cared enough about the art to give it the most truthful answer he could. I saw that aspect of how he approaches discussion when I met him in person at a comic con a number of years ago as well, that interest in exploring something sincerely rather than doing the easier thing of just running with whatever is expedient, and I love that about him.

And then Wilson displayed great comedic sense and flow of the discussion by capping off Hiddleston's eloquent discussion by doing a sharp right turn into the absurd, pivoting into how "would my dog have any meaning in his life if he was satisfied and had everything he wanted and wasn't constantly eager for his next meal". That got a huge laugh from everyone.

Some other anecdotes from the event:

For the arc of the series, it was described as season 1 being about Loki learning to love himself and season 2 was about learning to accept connections and let the love of others in.

Hiddleston's wardrobe was lovely -- all black and dark grey, with bright red tread on the bottom of his shoes for which sitting at a panel with your legs crossed is the perfectly opportunity to show off that pop of color.

I was also digging Aaron Moorhead's style with a grey top half and orange pants and shoes with blue socks. Love this trend of men making bold color choices in their wardrobe.

Hiddleston was, unsurprisingly, very engaged with the whole discussion and it was fun to watch his reactions when other people spoke. The host asked the writers/directors if they'd created S2 with it in mind of it being Loki's last appearance or whether we might see more of Loki in the future. Wilson playfully said "he comes the tap dancing" and Hiddleston very deliberately turned towards the writers/directors with his chin on his fist like "I'm so curious to hear the answer, do tell".

Sylvie ended up in a McDonalds in S2 because when Di Martino got asked at the end of season 1 where she saw Sylvie going next, she told them "she's hungry, I bet she'd go for a burger". So Di Martino takes full responsibility for that particular decision, lol.

Because comedy films aren't my thing and Wilson hasn't crossed my personal radar much besides Zoolander, which is a delightful film, I found it very interesting and wasn't necessarily expecting just the thunderous amount of applause and huge reception that Wilson got from the audience. He's very popular.

During the panel, every so often a little piece of paper, like 2x2 inches, the kind you'd use to create the effect of dumping a bunch of confetti, would fall from the rafters above the stage and slowly float down until it landed on the stage itself in front of the panel. The first time was peculiar, but it continued to happen five distinct times throughout the panel and became a bit of a running joke.

Before the Q&A, they screened the finale episode, and they did not have their tech sorted out. The film didn't play at a consistent 24 fps and there were parts that lagged and slowed down the motion on screen. A minor thing really, but for an organization whose sole purpose and mission is media (Paley), in a venue (the Dolby Theater) that hosts the Oscars and should be technologically state of the art, you'd think they'd make sure they could play video at proper speed. I just thought it was a funny issue for a media organization to have.

Tagging @delyth88 since I know you were interested in hearing about it.

#paleyfest #loki #tom hiddleston

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emelinstriker · 5 months

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Anyone who calls this AU a 'slave' AU...

Then theres me who looks at this AU and just sees an excuse to hug and spoil favorite characters. (Not teying to start hate I just want to express to new viewers all I see are people taking this AU and creating fluff. The LMK already has angst filled (potential) characters and this AU, while also dark and angst filled, has characters that has the Reader who has potential to be comedy "what is going on!?!???" And "these are my pwecious babehs. Must hug and cherish" .... Brain is entering not making sense at near 11 pm....

EXACTLY-

The AU is supposed to have some dark content, I even mentioned that in my masterlist, but that's literally not even the point of the AU. It just adds more of a mystery to the environment for those enjoying the AU, who like to look for hidden lore crumbs, piece them together and figure out the story.

It's like a murder mystery. Just because people enjoy listening to/watching those does not mean they're into becoming killers. Especially if it's fictional, made up stories to let viewers engange with the situation themselves and solve it.

Meanwhile the way I've seen people interact with the champions in my inbox always ends up being more wholesome or funny. Because at its core, the AU is just there so people can have fun interacting with the characters.

And I'll keep saying it over and over if I have to.

Humans are different.

Opinions and preferences are different.

Literally no one is getting harmed in real life if I sprinkle in some hints to darker lore. Some people just like angst and dark things more than others, and that's fine. It's just generally more interesting for them.

But even then, those that prefer more of a fluffy, comedic, or even horny interaction with the cast have the option to do so. The AU is built like a one-shot. You can have one story or the other and don't need to look at the other parts. They can all be read on their own.

If someone doesn't like the AU or isn't interested, that's absolutely fine and I respect that.

However, what I can't respect is people talking shit behind my back like a group of children, publicly spreading hate and misinterpret messages. Again, I've already said my viewpoint on things. Whether people agree or disagree on my standpoint, I don't care anymore at this point.

Just as much as the brickwall I'm talking about isn't accepting the fact that not everyone shares the same opinion on how old a character is supposed to be. Especially in a fictional AU setting. When I say ESAU!Nezha is an adult, then in this very AU, as the creator of said AU, I can legally say he is an adult in this AU. End of story. If one says he's a kid in the source story, that's fine. If one says he's an adult in a made-up fictional Lego story, that's fine.

I'm literally just calmly explaining my own points and they start accusing me of more shit by taking my explanations and taking things out of context in a mob mentality, again. They even still for some reason believe Bean MK is canon and was "born and branded into slavery" when that was clearly just a wholesome way to do a crossover between me and @theweepingegg. Like, MK is an adult in this just like the others. I literally did an entire summary just some days ago, with art of him being normal-sized and not chibi-fied, about how MK joined the group. But of course they still say people are supposed to do their research, when they've clearly not done their own research on Bean MK if that's the only version to them that exists.

The fact that they already openly "exposed" my blog and all that to their followers too, without even trying to be vague at all anymore, is also starting to enter borderline harassment. Like that's literally just encouraging people to spread more unnecessary hate over literal opinions and assumptions.

Ironic, considering that blog's own controversial history.

From the unnecessary harassment of a Wattpad user over a few quotes/pick-up lines they allegedly "plagiarized" till their account deletion, to the unnecessary harassment of others for saying Nezha isn't a kid. There is literally a blog mentioning this allegation. Plus the Wattpad user could've been handled maturely like an actual adult, like y'know, talking to the author instead of being petty about it to your followers. Which is still very much something that apparently never changed about them. And after having witnessed them talk smack and lie openly about my own content on a blog of a game they're supposed to represent, I now fully believe all those harassment stories.

And despite all this, I'm still not even openly talking shit about them. Because I'm not a kid talking shit about another creator.

At this point I'm literally just about to ignore all that "drama" since I've already realized the topic hit a brickwall. Like, they're not gonna leave this very much unnecessary shit alone based on how they're still talking about it. But my care has already dwindled, knowing they're still acting like children trying to find something, literally anything, against me to rant about. I already stated my case multiple times and how the AU works. If one still takes the logical things I'm explaining out of context, then they can just keep that opinion to themselves. The "drama" literally hit the moment where all's just opinions and biases.

Now watch as either she or one of her followers will take screenshots of this post and take it all out of context as well. Because they will try to find any single piece of dirt on me to rant about.

And after some discussing about why the fuck this entire thing is even happening with some friends, and why the blog never actually notified me about shit personally, I will simply no longer respond to any allegations. I've already stated my side on the the mentioned allegations and no longer see the need in having to speak anymore. I'll just go back to doing my own thing, and you can go back to doing your own thing.

#lmk esau #eternal servants au #esau qna

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a-dragons-journal · 9 months

Text

On Questioning An Archetrope

So I'm turning over the concept of a potential paladin (or something similar) archetrope in my brain now.

I have... kind of always viewed myself as a guardian. I've been the Mom-friend, the one people go to for advice, for practically as long as I can remember. I have a protective streak a mile wide, partly due to my territorial instincts from my dragonself. I don't really want to talk about it publicly, but suffice to say that growing up I had what I would now, for lack of better words, call a rich imagined reality wherein I (and my few closest friends, though I hung onto it the longest) was a capital-G Guardian, a hero of blade and armor, a protector of the world.

Later on, in high school, those same friends and I took on a more realistic protective streak, primarily in the form of a habit of adopting girls who a) had just been through bad breakups and/or b) were being harassed/stalked by creepy boys and literally bodyguarding them throughout the day. I still fantasize about scenarios where I get to protect people, often strangers, on a regular basis, for no real reason other than it makes me feel good. I want to be that. I want to be a protector, a shield and sword for those who need it.

My first D&D character was a paladin, and a fairly stereotypical one (although not fully Lawful Stupid). Shail is a tiefling who was abandoned at a temple doorstep as a baby after they were born, raised by one of the priests as their father, and later took up arms after being inspired by a visiting paladin and took the Oath of Devotion. They were my first experiment with they/them pronouns. I am realizing their choice of class may also have been a bit of projection.

I don't know how much of this is inherent to me and how much is something I chose and how much is something I want to choose.

A brief tangent: it so happens that I very recently saw the musical Man of La Mancha, which is based on Don Quixote. While I was vaguely familiar with the story of Don Quixote, I'd never actually read or seen it in full in any form until now. I did not expect to be as touched by it as I was. Don Quixote is... for all we often make fun of him for the windmill incident, ultimately I think Don Quixote is someone we could all stand to learn from, and perhaps even to aspire to. To stubbornly, doggedly, adamantly adhere to honor and justice and a view of the world where good prevails in the end, to fight for what's right no matter the odds, to swear yourself to these things despite the way the rest of the world laughs at you - perhaps the world would be a better place if more of us were Don Quixote in this.

"A quest?" "How you must fight? And it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, if only you follow the quest."

"To dream the impossible dream. To fight the unbeatable foe. To bear with unbearable sorrow. To run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong. To love pure and chaste from afar. To try when your arms are too weary. To reach the unreachable star."

Perhaps the recency of this exposure to Don Quixote, and my thoughts and feelings about it and about him as a character, is influencing how I'm reacting to the exposure to archetropy. Or perhaps my reaction to Man of La Mancha is indicative of my resonance with Don Quixote as someone I would argue has an archetropal identity (if of the Knight Errant rather than of the Paladin, though the two really aren't that different) himself. Perhaps both.

Either way, I think it's an admirable thing to take up such a mantle in the face of the world's cruelties - to take up the Guardian's armor and sword again, illogical as it may be, and to aspire to such a lofty ideal as this despite the way the world may consider it foolish or daft.

(And there I go getting poetic prose-y again. Perhaps that's also part of why the paladin archetype appeals to me, ha. I have been known to monologue.)

Even my job can be argued to fall into the paladin - a healer, a helper, a servant who at least tries to value The Good Of The Patient above all else. it's not quite a guardian role - but then, a paladin is often a healer as well.

On top of all of that, there's the fact that when I, out of curiosity and experimentation, put a major problem of indecision I've been facing regarding my current job hunt through the lens of "what would a paladin do," it immediately answered the question with "wouldn't let the difficulty of the task scare them off." Which didn't completely solve my problem, but solves a good solid chunk of it.

So it appears that this may be a helpful tool for me. Even if the thought of "what would Xenk Yendar do" is a slightly silly one. (And yes, Xenk Yendar is an extremely good representation of what paladin looks like to me - and perhaps it's telling that I really latched onto him as a character almost instantly upon watching Honor Among Thieves.)

Perhaps my one big hesitance to latch onto the paladin archetype is the religious connotation of a paladin - while I suppose my relationship with Asclepius could qualify, under the "paladins are also often healers" thought, Asclepius does not cover most of what draws me to the paladin archetype. But a paladin doesn't always have to be religious; in D&D paladins technically draw their power from their oath, Xenk Yendar comes up as an example of a paladin who doesn't obviously seem to have a particular god, and besides none of the alternative archetypes I'm finding or coming up with fit quite as well. The Knight Errant is close, but requires wandering in a way I am thoroughly uncomfortable with (I am still a territorial beast at heart) and also implies seeking evil rather than defending from it.

So... perhaps that's not as big a block as one might think. I'm going to chew on this a while longer, and I'm certainly open to suggestions on similar archetypes for my consideration, but... I might have tripped into a new alterhuman identity. Oops.

#archetrope #paladin archetrope #rani talks #alterhuman #journaling #community writings

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