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otherkinnews · 3 months

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Will Oklahoma Call Animal Control on Students?

This article was originally posted to the Otherkin News blog on Dreamwidth.

Content warnings: Rated G. Sexism against transgender people. Adults who cause danger or distress for children by outing them as transgender or showing them animal bloodsports.

Summary: In 2023, Republicans in the US began to propose laws (bills) that would be against furries or people who identify as animals. They continue to do so in 2024. The first two such bills of this year are Oklahoma House Bill 3084 (OK HB 3084) and Mississippi House Bill 176 (MS HB 176). Read on for information about these bills from this and last year, the urban legend that inspired them, what may happen next, and what you can do. This five page article (plus references) is a twelve minute read.

Humphrey’s anti-furry bill in Oklahoma

Republican Representative Justin Humphrey (he/him) specializes in writing bills that are intentionally bizarre so they will attract attention, and then cleaning them up later so that they will pass into law. On December 6, he wrote OK HB 3084, as its only sponsor. He prefiled it on January 17. It was introduced for its first reading on February 5. Here is the bill on Oklahoma’s official site, and on the third-party site Legiscan. It proposes a new law, which would read in full:

“Students who purport to be an imaginary animal or animal species, or who engage in anthropomorphic behavior commonly referred to as furries at school shall not be allowed to participate in school curriculum or activities. The parent or guardian of a student in violation of this section shall pick the student up from the school, or animal control services shall be contacted to remove the student.”

In Humphrey’s interview with Rolling Stone about this, he specifically said that he wrote the furry bill in response to having heard about students using litter boxes in school. The Stone pointed out that that’s an urban legend that never happened at all, but he thinks it’s happened sometimes, if not widespread. He said that “furry” is the common name for a “mental illness” and “sexual habit,” and that there’s an “actual psychological term” for it, which he didn’t say because he found it “very, very difficult to pronounce” (Ehrlich, 2024).

He probably was referring to “anthropomorphic behavior,” which he wrote in his bill text. That isn’t a psychological term or a mental illness, it’s about cartoon characters. The furry fandom uses “anthropomorphic animals” as a synonym for furries, fictional talking animal characters. “Anthropomorphic” often gets misused to mean “animal-like,” but its literal meaning is “human-like.” Humphrey’s wording would suffice to expel all students from a school: kids who act like animals and kids who act like humans. He likely based his bill on last year’s dead Oklahoma Senate Bill 943, which he didn’t write, but which also used the word.

Humphrey’s bill is the first that says to call animal control on furries. Would they refuse to pick up a student, or could this really cause students to be arrested and detained? Animal control is dictated by the local government (Bradshaw and Vankavage). Sometimes it may be outsourced to contractors who wouldn’t respond to this bizarre request, but in many cases it’s managed by local law enforcement. For example, one Oklahoman city ordinance says that all its animal control officers who are not already part of law enforcement “possess all authority of a police officer of the city for enforcing these animal regulations” (Vinita city code 2005 5-3-19). Humphrey explained that this part is a joke that he doesn’t intend to stick to, though, saying,

“if you want to treat these people as actual animals, you call animal control. I’ll be happy to rewrite the language [to replace ‘animal control’ with mental health professionals]. But right now, I put that in there to make the point. A sarcastic point” (Erhlich, 2024).

(Bracketed text in original.) Introducing a bill with an absurd part and then deleting or altering it to let it pass is a tactic that we see in one of last year’s bills, and it’s a favorite tactic of Humphrey’s.

The day after Humphrey filed his furry bill, he called it his “crazy” bill, saying, “I’ve laughed and said, well, we ought to neuter them and vaccinate them and send them to the pound." KOCO News reported, “Humphrey said although it may not become law, he wants to bring attention to what he called a problem” (Jones, 2024). Perhaps, like the urban legend that inspired it, the bill’s purpose is to attract attention by being intentionally absurd. It makes up a guy to get mad at: it describes an invented situation that has never happened, then recommends penalties for that imaginary situation, and those penalties themselves are something that may not be realistically carried out, or which would have absurdly high-stakes consequences. Humphrey’s furry bill doesn’t mention transgender people, but he wrote it in reference to an urban legend that parodies transgender people. Humphrey has also made many public remarks against transgender people, and he has supported anti-transgender bills (Murphy, 2021).

Other Representatives believe he may have intended for the absurdity of his furry bill to distract attention from more serious bills. On the same day that he prefiled this, he also filed a racially discriminatory bill about Oklahomans of Hispanic descent, House Bill 3133 (Jones, 2024).

Part of Humphrey’s amusement here is that he has a beef with animal control. In addition to his hostilities toward LGBTQ people, one of his long-term goals is to reduce the legal penalties for cockfighting from felony to misdemeanor. Throughout the US, this blood sport is illegal, and it is a federal crime to bring a child under age sixteen to any animal fighting events (Humane Society). Humphrey approves of allowing children there, saying, “You’re dang skippy I’ll take my kid to a chicken fighting before I’m gonna take them to see a drag queen” (Leigh, 2023).

This year’s anti-transgender and anti-furry bill in Mississippi

Introduced on January 17, MS HB 176 would require schools to out transgender students to parents, and to allow faculty to not accommodate any student who

“identif[ies] at school as a gender or pronoun that does not align with the child's sex on their birth certificate, other official records, sex assigned at birth, or identifying as an animal species, extraterrestrial being or inanimate object.”

As the nonprofit journalism site Mississippi Free Press noted, “There are no known incidents of Mississippi schoolchildren identifying as aliens or inanimate objects, but the idea of children identifying as animals may stem from an unsubstantiated urban myth about litter boxes that spread among Republican officials in recent years” (Harrison, 2024). Here is the bill on Mississippi’s official site, and on the third-party site Legiscan. The bill’s seven authors are all Republican Representatives: Charles “Chuck” Blackwell (main author), William Arnold, Randy Boyd, Larry Byrd, Dan Eubanks, Jimmy Fondren, and Donnie Scoggin. In the same month, Blackwell also sponsored the bill MS HB 303 (about digital currencies) and co-sponsored the bill MS HR 17 (for deporting undocumented immigrants back to Mexico) (TrackBill).

An overview of last year’s anti-furry bills

Important background for what’s happening is that last year in the US, sexists introduced more than five hundred bills to limit the rights of transgender people (Reed, 2023). Four of those were also against furries or people who identify as animals. They were mainly against the rights of transgender students, and also opposed “a student's perception of being any animal species other than human” (North Dakota House Bill 1522) or “anthropomorphic behavior commonly referred to as furries” (Oklahoma Senate Bill 943).

The text of the third, Indiana Statehouse Bill 380, only talked about dress codes and “disruptive behavior.” Later, this was amended to say “distractive behavior.” However, its writer said that it was to prevent “imitating or were behaving like a furry” (Herron, 2023). The bill’s unspoken real aim was to prevent transgender students from dressing as their gender.

The fourth was a proposed amendment to Montana Senate Bill 544. It would have changed this internet censorship bill to also censor “acts of transgenderism,” which it defines as “a person being in the mental state of believing the person is transgender or transspecies” (Scribner, Shepard, and Sol, 2023). The word “transgenderism” is a dogwhistle used by people who oppose transgender rights. “Transspecies” is not typically thought of as a subset of it.

By the end of 2023, what came of those four bills? The line about animals was later deleted from the North Dakota bill, though it was still anti-transgender (Scribner, March 14, 2023). It passed on May 18, becoming law that will oppose the rights of transgender students. Last year’s Oklahoma bill died in committee. The Indiana bill passed on May 4, and will prohibit “distractive behavior” in schools. The Montana bill passed on May 19, and it’s still a clumsy plan for internet censorship, but the final text did not use the amendment that talked about transgender or transspecies (Legiscan). So far, no laws have passed with texts that mention anything along the lines of furries or identifying as nonhuman.

What are anti-furry bills really about?

These bills happened because of an urban legend. In parody of transgender students, Republicans made up a story that schools have litter boxes for students who identify as cats. Fact-checking site Snopes has been debunking this legend (Palma), as has Reuters Fact Check. This panel by a historian gives very detailed information about the legend’s development (Chimeras, 2022). Republicans imply through this legend that letting transgender students use the restroom that matches their gender identity would be as ridiculous as giving litter boxes to students who identify as animals.

What are the facts about people who identify as animals, if any exist? Surveys of the furry fandom show that most people who call themselves furries do not identify as animals (Plante et al, 2016, pp. 113-114). However, there are real people who sincerely identify as animals or nonhuman beings. Many call themselves therianthropes or otherkin (Scribner, 2023, “Simple introduction”). Sexists use the word “transspecies” to parody transgender people. However, a few transgender people call a nonhuman aspect of themselves transspecies (Chimeras, 2021). None of them did the things in schools that the urban legend says, so the legend isn’t true, and the legend wasn’t created in response to them. The threatening intent of the legend and bills is toward transgender people, but could cause trouble for furries and people who identify as animals.

Are there people who think of their gender identity as something nonhuman, and is that based on or part of the concept of being transgender? Transgender people who don’t feel they are a woman or man only or all the time have a nonbinary gender. Some people feel so different from a woman or man that they say their gender is something other than human. Since 2014, some call themselves xenogender, meaning “alien gender.” This can be a metaphor for something difficult to put into words, and they do not necessarily think of themselves as literally nonhuman, though some do. Surveys show that most nonbinary people define their gender in relation to being a woman or man; only 1.7% of nonbinary people call themselves xenogender or a variation on that word, and no other xenogender identity comes close to common (Gender Census, 2023). However, identifying as nonhuman is not inherently a form of being transgender, and was not developed based on the concept of being transgender.

What happens next for Humphrey’s anti-furry bill?

On February 5 and 6, it had its first and second readings, and it was referred to the House Rules Committee to read it next. That Committee has seven Republicans and two Democrats (State of Oklahoma). We’ll see if they let it die the same as last year’s Oklahoma bill, or if they vote for it to progress toward passing in some form. Remember the aforementioned interview where Humphrey said he doesn’t expect it to pass. Its purpose is to make “a sarcastic point” and attract attention away from other bills.

What happens next for the Mississippi bill?

The day it was introduced, MS HB 176 was referred to the Mississippi House Education Committee and still waits for them to vote on it. Given that the Committee has a majority of Republicans (according to its government site and legislation tracking site, BillTracker.com), and the bill’s similarity to the North Dakota bill that passed last year with the portion about non-humans deleted, they’re likely to pass this bill in some form. The director of the Mississippi branch of the Human Rights Campaign, Rob Hill (he/him), said,

“We’ve not seen this kind of bill in Mississippi before, and we hope that our leaders will resist another effort to stigmatize and isolate transgender and nonbinary youth and their peers [...] This is a very dangerous bill. It’s dangerous for the lives of youth … and it further perpetuates Mississippi’s image of being a place of discrimination” (Harrison, 2024).

What can you do?

Page Shepard (they/he), House of Chimeras (they/them), and I presented a panel about the bills last August. In the recording of our panel, skip to the timestamp 23:44 to hear what ordinary people can do about bad bills. In the written script of our lecture, see Slides 21 through 25.

About the author of this article

I’m Orion Scribner (they/them), and I’ve been writing and researching as an alterhuman community historian for more than ten years. I’m a moderator on Otherkin News, a volunteer-run blog about current events relevant to the alterhuman communities. My partner N. Noel Sol (she/her) did some editing in this document, especially in regard to animal control. Thanks for proofreading by my partner system the House of Chimeras (they/them), and my colleague Xylanth (it/its). I never write articles with the assistance of procedural generation or so-called artificial intelligence (AI), and that type of content isn’t allowed on Otherkin News.

References

BillTrack50. "Mississippi House Education Committee." https://www.billtrack50.com/committee/4245#billReferral

Bradshaw, A. and L. Vankavage. “The Role of Local Government in Animal Control.” Humane Animal Control. https://resources.bestfriends.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Chapter%202_Role%20of%20Local%20Government%20in%20Animal%20Control.pdf?bG9ehcLSrIR08a1N_X1wbpYDzgy8_orb

Vinita city code 2005 5-3-19: ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER; IMPOUNDMENT OF ANIMALS; REDEMPTION; SALE; EUTHANASIA. American Legal Publishing. https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/vinitaok/latest/vinita_ok/0-0-0-2467

Ehrlich, Brenna (January 17, 2024). “Students Dressed as Furries Could be Collected by Animal Control if New Oklahoma Bill Passes.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/furries-school-bill-animal-control-1234948434/

Jones, Alyse (January 18, 2024). "How many newly filed bills will become law in Oklahoma?". KOCO-TV. https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-new-filed-bills/46431213

House of Chimeras (Aug. 12, 2022). "Litter Boxes in School Bathrooms: Dissecting the Alt-Right’s Current Moral Panic." https://houseofchimeras.neocities.org/Lectures

House of Chimeras (Aug. 14, 2021). "The Use and Misuse of The Term Transspecies." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miSyXSesyzw

House of Chimeras, O. Scribner, and P. Shepard (2023). “Litter Box Hoax 2: Legislature Boogaloo.” OtherCon 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXy_ctC4Jc&t=1425s

Harrison, Heather (January 19, 2024). “Teachers Required to Out Trans Students to Families Under Proposed Mississippi Bill.” Mississippi Free Press. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/39193/teachers-required-to-out-trans-students-to-families-under-proposed-mississippi-bill

Herron, Arika (Jan. 26, 2023). "Indiana lawmaker targets furries in schools. Schools say there's no problem." IndyStar. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/26/indiana-statehouse-bill-targets-furries-schools-say-no-problem/69840839007/ Archived Jan. 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230126101035/https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/26/indiana-statehouse-bill-targets-furries-schools-say-no-problem/69840839007/

Humane Society Legislative Fund (February 4, 2014). “Farm Bill Strengthens Animal Fighting Law, Maintains State Farm Animal Protection Laws.” The Humane Society of the United States. https://web.archive.org/web/20141025151239/http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news_briefs/2014/02/farm_bill_passed_020414.html

Legiscan, IN SB 380. https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0380/2023

Legiscan, MT SB 544. https://legiscan.com/MT/bill/SB544/2023

Legiscan, MS HB 176. https://legiscan.com/MS/bill/HB176/2024

Legiscan, ND HB 1522. https://legiscan.com/ND/bill/HB1522/2023

Legiscan, OK HB 3084. https://legiscan.com/OK/bill/HB3084/2024

Legiscan, OK SB 943. https://legiscan.com/OK/bill/SB943/2023

Leigh, Sunny (April 15, 2023). "Bill to reduce penalties for animal fighting shut down in Oklahoma Senate". KTUL. https://ktul.com/news/local/bill-to-reduce-penalties-for-animal-fighting-shut-down-in-oklahoma-senate-cockfighting-chicken-fighting-dogfighting-humphrey-kunzweiler-humane-society-animal-wellness-gamefowl-lawmakers Content warning for animal cruelty. This article goes into some detail about the more criminal and violent extremes of animal fighting.

Mississippi Legislation. House of Representatives Committee Listing. https://www.legislature.ms.gov/committees/house-committees/

Murphy, Sean (15 April 2021). "GOP Oklahoma lawmaker criticized for transgender comments". AP. https://apnews.com/article/legislature-oklahoma-bills-oklahoma-city-5db54da2949c3398d3fc7c53714bdc36

Palma, Bethania. (January 30, 2023). “How Furries Got Swept Up in Anti-Trans 'Litter Box' Rumors.” Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/ Archived on March 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230330232007/https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/

Plante, C., S. Reysen, S. Roberts, and K. Gerbasi (2016). FurScience! A summary of five years of research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. FurScience: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ISBN: 978-0-9976288-0-7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304540208_FurScience_A_summary_of_five_years_of_research_from_the_International_Anthropomorphic_Research_Project The relevant section of the book is also on the project’s official web page here: https://furscience.com/research-findings/therians/7-2-animal-identification/

Reed, Erin (December 30, 2023). “Erin's 2024 Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map.” Erin in the Morning. https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/erins-2024-anti-trans-legislative

Reuters Fact Check (October 18, 2022). “Fact Check-No evidence of schools accommodating ‘furries’ with litter boxes.” https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT Archived February 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213110524/https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT

Scribner, O. (March 14, 2023). “A formerly anti-alterhuman but still anti-transgender bill will be heard Wednesday.” https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/88744.html

Scribner, O. (April 13, 2023). “A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes: Version 2.4.7.” The Works of Orion Scribner. https://web.archive.org/web/20230603220035/http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/simpleintro.pdf

Scribner, O. (February 22, 2023). “In US, three anti-transgender bills also oppose alterhumans; similar recent Supreme Court cases.” Otherkin News. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/86709.html

Scribner, O., P. Shepard, and N. N. Sol (April 24, 2023). “Proposed amendment to Montana net censorship bill would ban transgender and transspecies people.” Otherkin News. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/89561.html

State of Oklahoma House of Representatives. Oklahoma House Rules Committee. https://www.okhouse.gov/committees/house/rules

TrackBill. “Mississippi Rep. Charles Blackwell (R).” https://trackbill.com/legislator/mississippi-representative-charles-blackwell/981-27365/

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fuck-you-upmusicbracket · 2 months

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The Old Witch Sleep and The Good Man Grace (The Amazing Devil)

'Cause I've been here so many times before/Don't you think I look pretty/Curled up on this bathroom floor/But where you see weakness I see wit/Sometimes I fall to pieces/Just to see what bits of me don't fit/'Cause when I stand, oh all those folks will run/And tell the tales of what I've become/They'll speak of me in whispered tones/And say my name like it shakes their bones

"GIRL (gender neutral). It’s so unbelievably Hannibal (NBC) coded. Even the bio on genius.com is Hannibal coded. I was making up a dance to this song inspired by Hannibal in my room not even five minutes ago and it’s 10 pm my time. I hope that answers the question I’m just very mentally ill."

"Becoming a demon against your demons ("Cos I’m not trapped / With you you see / You’re the one who’s / Trapped with me"), shaping yourself into something dangerous against what hurt you, grasping with claws and teeth to your freedom and truest self. The pain shaped us but we won't let that stop us."

Don't Ever Forget (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky)

"This is the song that plays after the big finale of the main game. Like, you have quite literally saved the world from the Big Bad after so many trials and tribulations, and then it happens. You start to disappear because you changed the future for better, because you yourself are from the future, and so despite being triumphant, it is bittersweet, because you leave your partner behind. They have to return to the guild by themselves and tell your story. Because you aren't there anymore. Your partner literally throws themselves down in sorrow as you are removed from existence. It is also the ONLY part of the game where your character does not have brackets around their text, implying this moment is the FIRST moment we actually get to see dialogue from you as the main character. The song is a plea to never forget. And if anyone has played the game, this is the moment where people would cry. I hear it and STILL get fucked up SEVERAL YEARS LATER, quite LITERALLY just thinking about that moment."

The Old Witch... submitted by @gay-breakdown-central + @saint-oleander + others

#fuck you up bracket #tournament #polls #the amazing devil #pokemon mystery dungeon

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myymi · 3 months

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ohh if you can i would appreciate some tips!! honestly writers are so admirable we dont give yall enough credit🙏🙏🙏

well, for me to give you the absolute best tips i can to help out, i need to know what exactly you're struggling with when it comes to writing. there are about a million different tips i can give you for about a million different things and some of those tips will be completely useless to you

for now though, i'll give you the things that help me getting into a writing mood + general tips i give to new writers and if you still need further help you can explain what exactly you're struggling with and ill do my best to help out;

1) whatever you learned about formatting essays; forget it.

a common thing i see in new writers is they try to write it like an essay. which isn't a bad idea really, but it is restricting. your paragraphs don't have to be four or more sentences. they can only be one if you want. it's your story, format it however you want. you don't need to follow rules

2) listening to music

this is mostly for when you have that one specific scene in your head but have no idea what to do for the rest of the fic. listening to music and connecting the lyrics to the characters you're using is a great way to get your mind thinking. one song can give you several different ideas depending on how you interpret it

3) make sure you are in a good mood

personally, i cannot write to save my life if im upset or just generally having a bad day. i know some people can use creating as a way to cheer themselves up, but it just doesn't work out for me lol

4) if you don't need background noise, don't use it

it's pretty easy to get distracted when writing, especially when you have something new playing. if you do need background noise of some kind, i would advise playing instrumental music or that one movie/show that you've seen a thousand times and could quote in your sleep. keep your focus on your writing

5) brackets will be your best fucking friend when writing

one of the most important things about writing is keeping your flow going. if you find yourself writing sentence after sentence for a good while and then you suddenly hit a stop because you don't know how to word what happens next; throw it in brackets and write the scene after it. its the same reason why you're told to skip questions you get stuck on when taking a test. let your brain do what it knows it can and come back to the tricky stuff later.

6) you don't have to write anything in order

you don't have to write a story exactly start to finish. you can jump between any scene you'd like and find out how to connect it to a different scene another time. this kinda ties into the last tip in the sense that you gotta let your brain do what it knows. if you only know the beginning and the end then write those first and figure out the rest as you go. if you need to edit either one of the previous things then that's okay. there's no shame in changing things around, it's just how creating things go. sometimes change is needed

7) writing prompts

for new writers, i like to tell them to find a prompt online to write a story for before they start their own. using a prompt someone else made keeps your brain from getting overwhelmed, allowing you to focus more on finding a writing style that works best for you. using writing prompts also lets your brain find ways to contribute to a story without having it make everything while also figuring out how to put it on paper. it's easy to overwhelm the brain, so let it get used to writing before you start creating your own ideas. (this is also something i advise to people who experience burnout or just cant think of anything to write. your brain just needs a break from creating ideas right now, go and find a prompt for it)

8) word count

listen to me because this is so important; ignore the word count. you need to focus on learning, not how much you're writing. it doesn't matter if you only wrote 50 words when other people have fics well over 50k. ignore it. you are learning, you'll get there eventually. if you focus too much on how much you're writing you're going to stress yourself out and ultimately drive yourself away from ever writing again. treat word counts as milestones. start with 50, then 100, then 150, then 200, etc. let yourself work towards it slowly rather than push yourself too hard right out the gate. you can't expect to draw the mona lisa the first time you put a pencil to a paper, so don't expect to write thousands of words the first time you write a story. it'll take time, and that's perfectly okay.

9) analyze the shit out of your characters

this is easier when writing fanfiction, but take a few hours to learn your characters. find the content they're in and hyper-focus on what they're doing. pay attention to their speech patterns, their body language, their relationships with others, etc. if they're not in a scene, try to imagine they are and what'd they do and/or say if they were. it'll help out with keeping them in character when writing

10) if you get to a point where you can't write anymore even when using brackets; stop writing for the day

we have our limits. you will get to a point where you can't get another word down and that's okay. it doesn't matter if you've only written a handful of words, close your program and wait until you feel motivation hit you again. if you keep trying to force yourself to write when you just can't then you're going to burn yourself out. the most probable reason for this is writer's block, which means you need to focus on other things for a while. give your brain time to recollect itself. it's annoying, i know, but it's better for you if you just let your brain do what it needs to. it knows how to take care of itself, so let it.

i also have a tag i use whenever i give tips, so you can check those out as well to see if anything helps! it's just writing tips

#if these end up not helping you that is okay #everyone is different #what works for me wont always work for you #mess around with it until something does work #just remember not to push yourself too hard #learning takes time. don't rush it #writing things #writing asks #writing tips #anon #anonymous #anon ask

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lucifermeo · 2 years

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Keeping Up with the Port Mafia: Lore Edition

I might or might not have a favoured spot for the Port Mafia and Asagiri definitely has the habit of dropping lore and timeline all over the places, so I thought I'll compile an everything-we-know-about-the-PM (and some speculation maybe?) post in chronological order (mostly for my own reference). For easy timekeeping, time posts are converted to years-before-present aka Chapter 1 of the main manga, and characters' ages at the time will be in brackets, eg. Dazai (14). There will be spoilers for canon materials up until June '22 (to be updated if we get something new).

Let's categorise the PM history into three main phases: (1) Before Mori, (2) Mori's entrance and MPMGA (Make the PM Great Again), (3) Dark Era and the Present PM.

1. Before Mori (?? – 12 years ago)

Known members: previous boss, Hirotsu Ryuurou, Kouyou Ozaki (join times: all unknown), Randou (real name: Arthur Rimbaud, join time: 15 years ago)

Not much is known about the mafia during this period. What little is known, though, paints a pretty terrible picture. The Port Mafia was the biggest and most powerful underground organisation in Yokohama, but the previous boss was described to be violent, sadistic, and grew progressively even more insane and unpredictable towards the end of his illness, and his rule was described as a "bloody tyranny."

One [..] day, the residents of an entire housing complex died when their water tank was poisoned on the off chance that a rival organization's executive was hiding there. And on yet another day, the previous boss issued a citywide notice that anyone who spoke ill of the Port Mafia would be put to death and anyone who reported such talk would be rewarded. The entire city spent the next several years engaged in a witch hunt with everyone suspicious of one another. Yokohama became a city of traitors; over a thousand people were executed, many of whom were apparently known at the time to be innocent. (Dazai, Chuuya, age Fifteen LN)

While he maintained the power of the PM, the previous boss also caused the reign of terror over the city and directly led to its instability, as shown by smaller gangs taking advantage of the PM's reputation to sow more chaos without repercussions (Ch. 50, Fukuzawa and Mori's flashback), as well as the rise of groups like The Sheep, originally formed to protect orphans against the Yokohama underworld. We know he treated his subordinates terribly, through the story of Kouyou (14?) and her mysterious man (Ch. 37), how most men had deserted the mafia by the time of his death, or how Hirotsu, probably the most 'traditional' loyal mafia man, barely blinked when he heard proof Mori cut the previous boss's throat (Ch. 33). It was also implied he didn't know how to use his subordinates efficiently, as Randou, with his OP subspace ability and presumably above-average intelligence even after losing his memories, was only relegated to a low-level grunt during his reign. This serves as contrast to Mori, who promoted Randou to sub-executive immediately after his ascension to PM boss.

What other main players were doing at the time:

During the Great War (?? – 14 years ago), Mori (?? – 26) served as the JPN army doctor, while Fukuzawa (?? – 31) served as a government assassin alongside Fukuchi, until the former quit. For unknown reasons, Mori left the military after the war to work as an underground doctor and informant, where he (28) met Natsume-sensei sometime 12 years ago.

Fukuzawa, after quitting assassin work because he was enjoying killing too much, worked as a bodyguard until he encountered Ranpo 13 years ago (the events of Untold Origins of the Detective Agency). 1 year later, to protect Ranpo, he (33) approached Natsume sensei for a Skilled Business Permit and was introduced to Mori (Ch 50, flashback). Both men undertook their first mission together at the manor and were then inducted into the Tripartite Plan. We also know both of them shared hatred for how the previous boss ruled the PM.

Dazai's whereabouts at this point are unknown. Fifteen LN suggests he and the previous boss were familiar (antagonistically) with each other, but whether it's due to them having known each other before Mori or purely due to Dazai's association with the doctor after he was 14 is hard to say definitively.

After the Arahabaki incident 15 years ago, Chuuya (7) joined the Sheep and acted as their 'leader', while Verlaine (age?) defected from his previous job as a French spy to become a rogue assassin

Oda had gained infamy working as an assassin in Yokohama since time unknown until he (14) read Natsume Souseki's novel, was approached by the man himself about writing the ending, and then quit assassin work 14 years ago. He continued doing odd jobs before the events of The Day I Picked Up Dazai (Side A) bonus story

2. Mori's entrance and Making the PM Great Again (12 years ago – 5 years ago)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Mori Ougai (personal physician, boss), Dazai Osamu (member, executive candidate), Nakahara Chuuya (member, executive candidate), Sakaguchi Ango (accountant, Special Division for Unusual Powers spy), Paul Verlaine (member, trainer), Oda Sakunosuke (low-level grunt)

Members lost: previous boss (assassinated by Mori), Randou/Rimbaud (betrayal, killed by SKK), the Flags and others (killed by Verlaine/Guirve), 84++ members and executive member 'Colonel' (killed in Dragon's Head Conflict)

12 years ago: Sometime after Fukuzawa's and Mori's first mission together, Mori managed to gain employment as the PM boss's personal physician and Fukuzawa's somewhat established the ADA with Ranpo as its only member (Ch. 66, their info boxes)

11 years ago: However, at the time, the previous boss was presumably still lucid and had the full backing of the PM members, which must have led Mori to believe the "most optimal" option to take him down was through force. Having no manpower of his own, Mori remembered his botched Undead Army plan during wartime and searched out Yosano ("3 years after the war" Ch. 66), which led to the breakdown of his and Fukuzawa's partnership. Upon Ranpo's invitation, Yosano (14) officially joined the ADA.

8 years ago: Without Yosano, Mori continued to bide for time while the PM's brutality continued. However, during this time the previous boss's illness grew worse (naturally? or did Mori poison him with something slow-acting as his plan B??) making his actions more volatile. Regardless, the previous boss started losing the trust of the PM members, as well as the PM's standing in the underworld due to increasing casualties. The time was ripe for a takeover.

It was then that Dazai (14) came into Mori’s care after a suicide attempt. Recognizing Dazai’s intelligence as an asset (and missing the fact that he can’t be trusted), Mori enlisted Dazai’s help to plan the assassination of the previous boss. Their plan carried on without a hitch, and Mori (32) succeeded as the Port Mafia boss (this might just be a hint towards Dazai’s real past; after all, people don’t send just any suicidal kid to the care of the mafia’s private doctor)

7 years ago aka the events of Fifteen LN: Mori had successfully removed the previous boss from power, but the succession was not smooth; he lacked trust from the factions still loyal to the previous boss, the mafia still lacked resources and talents due to the previous boss's action, and they were losing territories to rivals (Takasekai, GSS, Sheep). However, after the "Fake Predecessor" case, Dazai (15) and Chuuya (15) officially joined the PM and worked under Mori and Kouyou, respectively. With their help, Mori would go on to regain control and expand the PM.

Sometime during this period, Ango (19) joined the Port Mafia as a spy for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.

Two years ago, Ango went to Europe for business after he had been in the mafia for a year and gained their trust. (Dark Era LN pg 68-69, suggesting Ango joined the PM 3 years before its events.)

6 years ago, part 1 (Assassination King's Incident aka events of Stormbringer LN): Verlaine came into town looking for his 'brother' Chuuya (16). The resulting conflict resulted in heavy casualties for the PM, with 5 executive candidates (the Flags) and many ability users dead, and forced them to withdraw their influence significantly in the Yokohama underworld to protect them from the government's scrutiny. However, it was not a total loss: laying low would later help them through the DHC, they gained yet another government-level secret weapon in Verlaine (though his ability was significantly weakened), and Chuuya now knew how to activate Corruption (this can also be considered a turning point that secured Chuuya's loyalty to the PM as well as continued to build momentum for Soukoku's later infamous partnership)

6 years ago, interlude: Dazai (16) went undercover to investigate the rumours of a powerful figure in the city and ended up establishing a friendship with Oda. Upon Dazai's invitation while they were drinking in Lupin, 'Odasaku' (21) joined the Port Mafia (The Day I Picked Up Dazai, Side A short story.)

6 years ago, part 2 (Dragon's Head Conflict): An 88-day war occurred in Yokohama's underworld over a 500 billion yen inheritance. Due to laying low since the Assassin King Incident, the PM got away with the least damage in the beginning of the conflict. During this time, Dazai and Oda befriended Ango, thus began the trio's friendship until Dark Era. The Special Division brought in Shibuwasa (23?) intending to end the war, but he turned on them, started his own organisation, and made the casualties worse in his quest to acquire ability gems. He was eventually confronted by Dazai and Chuuya (16) and believed to have died when Chuuya used Corruption (Dead Apple multiple adaptations). This was implied to be the first time 'Soukoku'/Double Black term was coined ("[Chuuya and Dazai] destroyed an entire organization in one night" - Ch. 30) and marked the end of the DHC.

After the end of conflict, [the Port Mafia's] influence expanded rapidly in the burn-out underworld. Like a young tree after a forest fire that was remarkedly growing without the sunlight being obstructed. (Stormbringer LN, translated by @/Chibikko_Chuuya)

5 years ago: unknown (please ask twitter user @/kafkaasagiri)

3. Dark Era and Present PM (4 years ago – Present)

Members update: Sakaguchi Ango (intelligence agent, defected), Dazai Osamu (executive, defected), Nakahara Chuuya (executive), Paul Verlaine (executive)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Gin (Dazai's subordinate, Black Lizard), Kajii Motojirou ('Sneering Lemon Incident'??uncertain), Tachihara Michizou (Black Lizard, Hunting Dog spy), Higuchi Ichiyou (Akutagawa's assistant), Izumi Kyouka (assassin)

Members lost: Sakaguchi Ango (defected), Oda Sakunosuke (killed by Gide), Dazai Osamu (defected), Izumi Kyouka (defected), Ace (executive, suicide by Fyodor), everyone? (vampires???)

4.5 years ago: Dazai (18) was made executive, the youngest in mafia's history. On the same day (The Heartless Cur short story), he professed to come across the news that a PM sub-organisation killed all of Akutagawa's friends and after baiting them to kill each other, successfully invited Akutagawa (16) and his sister, Gin, to join the PM.

(Note: the "4.5 years" was taken from Beast manga, where the same event happened except Beast!Dazai rejected Akutagawa to take Atsushi as his protégé instead. Since it is assumed Beast!Oda picked up Akutagawa the same time as canon!Dazai picked up Atsushi by the river, the length of time should apply as well?)

(to be confirmed) According to the order of events listed chronologically at the end of Stormbringer LN, a 'Sneering Lemon Incident' was supposed to take place between Dazai's promotion to executive and Mimic Incident. This might be when Kajii was recruited to the PM.

4 years ago aka events of Dark Era LN: Mimic came to Yokohama after getting Ango (22)'s information, which was actually manipulated by Mori (36). Everything went according to Mori's plan: the spy Ango was removed from the PM after exhausting his usefulness as a Special Division liaison, Mimic was removed with minimal casualty as Oda (23) would not have contributed much to the PM when he refused to kill, and the PM obtained the Skilled Business Permit, which would free them from most government interference and basically solidified their uncontested position as ruler of Yokohama's underworld. It is heavily implied Dazai (18)'s defection was planned as well, though Mori's reason was never stated definitely.

The organization had received an item of great value, something that more than made up for the total pecuniary damage and loss of talented subordinates. That included Dazai's disappearance as well. Logically, the results couldn't have been better. Everything was going according to plan. (Dark Era LN, Mori's PoV)

(The surface meaning of the above quote suggested Dazai was another calculated loss like Oda, while Dazai said Mori was afraid he would be usurped by Dazai. However, the words "logically", the fact the position is left open for Dazai, and how Beast manga implied Mori wanted to 'save' for Dazai, could also suggest Mori saw Dazai was getting worse the longer he stayed in the PM and wanted to kick him out for his own good?? Debatable.)

Interlude: Sometime after Dark Era, Tachihara joined as a spy for the Hunting Dog to replace Ango's position as the designated government spy, and Higuchi joined as well (reason unknown). Sometime after that, Chuuya (age?) was promoted to executive position, as Akutagawa and Higuchi were seen already working together when he received his gift from Mori for the promotion. At some point before present, Verlaine (age?) was also promoted to executive.

Present: Yay, we finally reached present timeline! Taking the final count of members before the Decay of Angels arc, by rank:

The PM boss: Mori Ougai (40). Role: everything

The Five Executives:

Dazai Osamu (22) (defected). Known roles: former Mori's right-hand man, former leader of Guerrilla Corps (The Heartless Cur short story), in charge of mafia's merger and acquisition of new businesses (Stormbringer LN)

Kouyou Ozaki (26). Known roles: Managing mafia's business ties and front organisations (Fifteen LN), in charge of the mafia's interrogation units (Ch. 19), combat when the situation calls for it (Stormbringer LN, Cannibalism arc)

Nakahara Chuuya (22). Known roles: Mori's current right-hand man(?)/next-in-command (Cannibalism arc), combat when the situation calls for it (suppressing uprisings in the west - Ch. 11, Soukoku - Ch. 31, Dead Apple, Cannibalism arc), formerly in charge of the mafia's jewellery trade (under Kouyou - Stormbringer LN)

Paul Verlaine. Known roles: ?? (side job: basement dweller assassin trainer)

Ace (deceased). Known roles: managing the mafia's casinos and finance

The Guerrilla Corps: previously led by Dazai, currently led by Akutagawa (20). Higuchi is a member and acts as Akutagawa's right-hand man. Follows orders directly from the boss.

The Combat Unit (Black Lizards): Led by Hirotsu (50) ('Commander of Hundred') with subunits led by Tachihara (19) and Gin ('Commander of Ten'). Acts as the offensive arm of the PM, follows orders from the Guerrilla Corps members and boss & executives.

Unknown rank: Kajii (28), Q/Yumeno Kyuusaku (13)

Other known roles/units:

Mafia's personal informant: previously held by Ango. Liaise with/spy on other crime syndicates. Answer directly to the boss, unaffiliated with the executives.

Accounting firm: in charge of money laundering, bookkeeping and the PM's banks. A senior accountant may be very well-respected among high-ranking members.

"The accountant you killed at the bank - he was a senior in the profession who had devoted himself to our organization for many years. He was highly trusted among the executives. The boss will probably attend his funeral as well. I, too, was personally acquainted with the man." (Akutagawa, 55 minutes LN)

Medical team: former member, Doc. "Extraordinarily valued and favoured" unit in the PM, due to Mori's past.

Public Relations Officer: previously held by Lippmann. In charge of negotiating with front companies, government officials, and the media.

Vehicle support: previously held by Albatross. Supplies and manages transport for all PM members.

(now it's time to keep up with manga updates and hope they're not all dead by vampirism 💀)

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd port mafia #bsd dazai #bsd chuuya #bsd mori #bsd kouyou #bsd verlaine #bsd akutagawa #bsd ango #bsd odasaku #bsd dark era #bsd fifteen #bsd stormbringer #bsd lore #sth like that #i got tired of tagging

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trashbins-stuff · 8 months

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^asset and og info by my friend hazel

okay bin, time to make sum oc lore, lets flesh out this character!! (bracket r established and offishal info and the rest r im too lazy to put bracket, nothing more nothing less)

[name: Elena "Costisha" Kauffmann]

[age: 2k4 kid sooo 19 in 2023]

[gender: apagender]

[sexuality: aro demiace lesbian]

[pronouns: they/it/he/note/she/heart]

-nationality: not too important but based of kauffmann ill say german

[hobbies: knitting, playing games and hanging out w friends]

-likes: shiny things, swimming in the ocean drifting/leaning on back style and making silly website to cheer ppl up!!

-dislike: too much physical affection, sharp things like knifes, sweet things lolz bro will straight up drink the darkest blackest most bitter coffeee u see

-talent: speed eater, physically impossbile to look bad in pictures even with the eyebags

-green flag: caring and loving, good at decorating and party planning and kind to his friends!

-red flag: get grumpy pretty easily, doesnt know when to take a break

-beige flag: have memory issue lolz def not projecting no siree

-disability: sometime use walking frame :] and have autism bc yes and anxiety tee hee

-favourites things: music? lofi/game ost. show? bee and puppycat #1 special interest. animal? fireflies

-backstory/lore:

! note live with note's grandparent most of note's life while note's parents live somewhere else for work, they never called. But that's okay, elena live fine w her grandparents! on sundays heart's grandma wood take heart to a hill and have a little picnic there and sometime a white bunny (which their grandpa call "bnnuy" they thinks its a reference to somehting but they're not sure) they also teach them how to bake, knit, growing vegetables,..

! it's fav thing to drink/eat is creamed-filled pastry and..when it like black coffe now but tis second fav is orange juice, it used to squeeze orange juice and make cookies to share with its friends back in the country side but it move in with its parent the summer before high school and it struggle to adjust,,dw it still visit them one in a while! though it visit less now due to college

! the wall next to his bed is decorated w polaroids and fairy lights, he also have a small star-rainbow lamp thing (ntoe: draw it later)

! note took "gulping down food" a bit too seriously..literally eat a whole cake in one bite/srs

! pull all-nighter to work on project she likes, but probably wont even glance at project from subject she hate, probably just gonna half-ass it

! back in the country side heart would go catch butterflies w heart's friend and chilling at the creek behind heart's best friend house

Note to self: write sum fic abt Elena l8ter

#object oc #mostly text lolz #i have so many thoughts abt it rhhhhhhhhhh #lore

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fictionaladoptionpolls · 10 months

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Kevin E. Levin

Age: 11 (nominally)

Home: NYC (Ben 10)

Likes: The X-Files, dogs, magical girlfriends

Dislikes: The law, the Omnitrix, car damage

Abilities: Several nouns followed with “absorption,” which the wiki thinks should count as distinct superpowers.

The Levin family household was poor, precarious, and probed by aliens. (Kevin’s mom and some Plumbers had fake memories of a Devin Levin implanted in their minds as part of a plan to manipulate the Plumbers; disruption of the Levin family was a byproduct.) Apparently unrelated to this, Kevin developed energy absorption abilities, which some people thought was freaky, which is possibly why his…stepfather(?) abused him. Anyways, eventually Kevin ran away from home and started stealing stuff.

(I don’t remember any of Kevin’s backstory from when I watched this series as a kid, TV Tropes is vague, the wiki scatters details across a dozen pages, and a bunch of Kevin-related stuff was retconned at least once.)

Anyways, Kevin ends up a delinquent urchin. He runs into Ben Tennyson, who becomes his friend, collaborator, and enemy in short order. (Shouldn’t have jumped straight from victimless warehouse theft to mass murder theft.) Accidentally absorbing a bunch of Ben’s alien watch’s energy, Kevin turned into a shapeshifting alien thing, and…you know, I’ll just show you what the submitter said about his backstory.

(NOT THE REBOOT) They put Kevin through so much. It’s like everytime the writers got bored, the just decided to put him through more traumatic events.they sent the mentally ill homeless 11 year old who didn’t understand his powers to adult space jail, where he suffered but found a mentor/father figure in one of his fellow inmates, who taught him how to control his powers. Later his mentor sacrifices himself,being killed by a guard, so Kevin can live and escape. He literally feels like it was his fault. I watch the show and I often find myself saying ‘oh, Kevin..’ like you would about a dog who keeps eating bees but doesn’t understand why it hurts. I think Ben 10 is anime enough to count, based the clear inspiration in storytelling and art style.

For the record, if I had to divide all animated series into Anime or Not Anime, Ben 10 would be borderline. That said, I explicitly specified an inclusive definition of “anime” in the bracket description…and Kevin is arguably the most anime character in the series. Once he gets out of space jail, Kevin becomes teen Ben’s Vegeta. Sure, he has a checkered past and used to be willing to murder people, and he still has a dark streak that puts him in contrast with Ben and Gwen, he’s trying to do good, and focuses most of his negative emotions on people who deserve to be hurt.

One neurosis that Kevin never seems to shake off his his self-loathing about the weirder expressions of his power. He sometimes gets physically mutated (especially when he absorbs Omnitrix energy), and that always fills him with a volatile mixture of aggression and depression. Also, he’s not great at thinking ahead. But once he learns not to hate people who aren’t himself, he means well.

Aside from Mx. NOT THE REBOOT, what does Tumblr think of Kevin?

I always felt kinda bad for Kevin, he had a rough life, and it seemed like even after he turned good he was always getting the short end of the stick. Like when he turned evil the second time, it was because he was saving the world.

So like, Osmosians are aliens in the first few series of Ben 10, and the Omnitrix takes DNA from the alien at the time it is first exposed. And they missed a huge joke that could have come from Ben trying to go for an alien only to turn into ELVEN YEAR OLD KEVIN while he is with both Kevin and Gwen.

I just think Kevin should get a pet rat and name it Argit, then train it to pick pocket.

(I know this profile is longer and more detailed than most. I had two reasons for this. First, I wanted to make sure anime purists gave him a fair shake. Second, and more importantly, I wanted to include that whole block of text without it being a significant percentage of the profile. It's currently 20%, which is…acceptable.)

#kevin e levin #ben 10 #ben 10 classic #anime child adoption bracket #profile

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driflew · 10 months

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hi it is six sentence sunday and i have... HOW IS THIS 12 SENTENCES. @ MY PAST SELF PUT THE COMMA AWAY GET AWAY FROM THAT EM DASH START USING PERIODS

While the lantern allows Martyn to bring his god into most places, there are a few establishes that simply won’t budge. A particularly stubborn inn, for one, with an innkeeper who didn’t like Martyn’s cavalier attitude about alleged arsonist abilities. A festival of some kind, Martyn never actually figured out what—they’d had bunch of tents up, and the man charging the entry fee had been convinced Martyn’s claims of holy flame were, at best, the makings of a madman.

Most places that bar Martyn entry are too uptight and paranoid, at least for Martyn’s tastes, and not worth the fight to get inside. The library, Martyn must admit, has some merit, and he would abandon his quest inside entirely if not for the fact it were for his god’s benefit.

On the bright side, the man at the desk up front had at least been relatively accommodating about being asked to babysit Martyn’s lantern, even if he’d looked at Martyn like he was insane for asking.

Unlike most of what he does these days, Martyn hasn’t actually explained his mission to his god. He just doesn’t want to get his god’s hopes up—Research isn’t Martyn’s forte, and Martyn isn’t sure what writings would even exist on an isolated city god who died two decades prior. He’s not even sure if they’ll know of Dogwarts, let alone have record of the name of its god.

Because that is Martyn’s mission—if his god can’t tell him who he is, then Martyn will have to look somewhere else. When Martyn had stumbled into [**TOWN NAME**], the first thing he’d heard had been boasts of a bustling archive, with records stretching nearly two centuries. If anywhere he’s encountered so far can tell him about his god, it’ll be here.

i will name the fake town later. it’s not important. all you need is brackets sometimes it keeps from breaking your writing Flow. anyway, lamplight time! im stuck on heliography so im writing smth a bit later that hits a few beats ive been meaning to include

dunno when this one will be finished or if ill finish this or heliography ch2 first, but hey, cool fic stuff!

#six sentence sunday #lamplight au #traffic smp

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leseigneurdufeu · 1 year

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So, to new users, you probably have seen posts about how there’s no algorithm, how you should have a header and pfp other than the default ones, how you should reblog everything, how blocking is not a moral thing but a convenience one, etc. But let’s talk vibes.

- There is a culture in Tumblr. We are a civilization. We are nice but the ecosystem isn’t, it’s ruthless and unforgiving. You shall adapt or you shall perish.

- There are important holidays. Some are more important than others. Out of touch thursday is commonly accepted, and Sad-ant-with-a-bindle-monday is a nice one to participate in. Do not speak ill of the 5th of November, which is the international day.

- You are not obliged to have watched the series or read the books everyone else has. But it would give you a headstart to know what Destiel, Superwholock and Dracula Daily mean. More specialized slang, like Horse Plinko, Blorbo, Eeby Deeby or Jonmina, will come later.

- We don’t have the same kind of personnalities as Twitter has: our pantheon is composed of President Smellborp, Glup Shitto and my cousin Throckmorton, to only talk about the most notorious.

- Traditions such as the Sexyman Bracket, the Colour Theory comments, etc, might seem outdated or outright weird to the common newcomer. You are completely free to ignore them, and completely free to find them stupid. Be warned however that if you smear them, you will be stoned to death.

- If you want the question and the answer to be public, you can ask people things through the askbox. If you want it to be private, direct-message them.

- As for the header and pfp problem, you should know that there is a neversleeping plague in here: they call themselves sugar daddy or sugar baby, lonely girl or even mature teen, but we call them PornBots. We recognize them at a default header and profile picture, and their blogs are full of porn. However, they started evolving and sometimes have not only a credible username, but also a profile picture. You WILL be blocked on sight if you have never reblogged anything and/or if you have the default header and pfp. When we fight a war, we don’t care what brought you to wear the ennemy’s uniform, we care only to make you bleed.

- The Shibboleth if you think someone you know is on Tumblr is “I like your shoelaces”. The addressed shall, if they are from tumblr, answer with “Thanks! I stole them from the president”. Few are still living who remember the meaning or the origin of those words.

- If there’s a flashing gif, tag it as “tw flashing” or “flashing”. Do NOT tag as “epilepsy”, or epileptic people in quest of informations will open the tag and die promptly after being exposed to twenty flashing gifs all at once. This is not a joke.

- You can block tags and post contents in your settings. Be warned that the post contents will also filter the usernames: so if you filter “fire” because you don’t like fire or because it generally comes with flashing gifs, know that it will block anyone with a username saying firelord, firefighter, brighter-than-fire and such.

- Anon hate is for cowards and for fools. Who would come, however well masked, to a king’s very throne room, in order to insult them? When the king is accompagnied by his most trusted advisors and most devouted subjects? It’s also not a nice thing. You can be blocked even if you’re on anon btw.

- There are posses and groups, factions if you like. Some are politicals, some are religious, some go by hobbies... You can go wherever you like but be sure to be armed before you ever go near an unfamiliar Fandom. Those are dreaded even by the most valiant heroes.

- The current climate is midly xenophobic. No one cares where you come from, mind you, in real life. But if you’re coming here from Twitter, hide the signs. Pick up the lingua, talk about reblogs not retweets, try to put “rebagel” at some point and talk about SPN and how dreadful the Superwholock fandom are just as if you belonged. Lie low. You’ll be able to joke about that later with your mutuals. For the moment, you might want to be safe rather than sorry.

- This is a lawless land. You make justice by yourself, by blocking people or by reporting them. I’d recommand only to report people actively encouraging crime and the Ennemy (the pornbots), but you do you, and you know better than me when it’s time to unsheathe your weapon.

- For the love of all that is holy, tag your posts. If you don’t, they will find you.

- On that note, try to tag the trigger warnings/content warnings with tw or cw tags which already exist. Because blocking the tag “tw incest” doesn’t block the tag “tw: incest”. And if you ever try your hand at censoring your tags (ex: “tw e4t1ng d1s0rd3rs” or “tw r*ape”)... not only will you harm people, you will probably be harmed in return. DO NOT CENSOR YOUR TAGS, and except if relevant (if you really want people who censor those words to still read this post) do not censor the words in the post itself.

- Rogue knights who fought under the banner of the Blue Bird prior to its castle’s conquest by the Elongated-Muskrat-blason man, are not seen with a kind eye right now. But boy oh boy, if you betray that you’re from Tiktok, for example with the use of words such as “unalive”, you will wish that someone would use such kind words to describe what will be left of you. Don’t censor yourselves. For the above-mentionned problem, and because using words such as fuck, kill, murder, arson, disembowelment, have no algorithm charged with tracking it. You won’t be censored by the ecosystem: don’t censor yourself.

- The Tumbeasts are the official emblem of the Hellsite. You can use this nicholasname in a derogatory, affectionate or flirtatious manner. Don’t try to hunt the Tumbeasts to extinction. Much like the hydras, you will only find yourself with more ennemies than you could count before starting your quest.

- No one cares for the name, address or age of the mysterious guy who stepped in the saloon. It will actually be sus of them to wear a badge with their real name, age or city, on their chest. Sus people will be taken advantage of or blocked. There’s a third, secret thing, but you’re not old enough to know about it - old in tumblr days of course, not in real-life days.

- The Tumbeasts eat electronical circuits. However if you disturb their sleep they will bite, and they will add to their diet any living moving thing, from blue birds to tiktokers. Ye be warned.

- Don’t try to change us. Others tried before and are no longer around to flaunt their unfortunate attempts. Assimilate. If change has to happen, it will happen organically.

TL;DR: Don’t censor your tags nor yourself, both because it’s useless and because it will actively harm people blocking the full words, and put a pfp and a header. Block liberally. Stay clear of the Fandoms if you’re not ready, there’s no shame in it.

Welcome to the Hellsite, you weeaboo little shits. Sleep tight, tomorrow your first day of hell starts. There’s no exit. They took the bridge.

#to new users:

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classicrocker2000 · 2 years

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So, I got back into Nirvana not long after Taylor Hawkins' death (it was originally a Foo Fighters hyper-fixation that drifted towards Nirvana), and I remembered this absolutely horrid book I read about the band called Heavier Than Heaven.

For the unaware, this book by professional hack Charles Cross came out in 2001, just SEVEN years after Kurt died, btw, and frankly, the only comparison I can draw to describe how awful it is would be The Lives of John Lennon. Both books feature the author clearly preferring someone else to their main subject, and it showing in their writing by portraying their subject in the worst light possible. And as someone who's been diagnosed with depression, his depiction of Kurt honestly reeked of the worst stereotypes of people with mental illnesses (hurting the people and animals around them, being inherently selfish, etc.)

Of course, ideally, I should be finishing finals and getting late homework in, and I don't have the time or patience right now to find another example, but there is one juicy incident I can use to illustrate my point.

In October 1992, Kurt left threatening voicemails on Victoria Clarke's phone over a book that she and another author were working on at the time. The reason? He felt that the content they were putting in it would hurt his family (iirc, this wasn't that long after the whole CPS incident had been resolved). I personally find these voicemails indefensible, but it's an anger I can kind of understand as someone who also gets fiercely protective of the ones I love.

There is a quote from Come As You Are (published in 1993) that Cross "borrowed" where Kurt said, "If I ever find myself destitute and I've lost my family, I won't hesitate to get revenge on people who have fucked with me. I've always been capable of that. I've tried killing people before in a fit of rage when I've gotten in fights with people. [It's definitely a character flaw, to say the least, but I feel so strongly about people unnecessarily causing negative things to happen to people for no reason. I don't enjoy people fucking with my family and carrying on the tradition of lies and slander. I don't deserve it. No one deserves it. We've been scapegoated more than any fucking band I can think of in the history of rock, to my knowledge. People fuck with us and they want dirt and they want to lie about us and I just don't understand it. I've never really tried to do anything scandalous in my life.] When people unnecessarily fuck with me, I just can't help but want to beat them to death." (The stuff with brackets was the stuff Cross didn't use). It's also here that Cross notes, "A month prior he had received death threats; now he was making them."

Here's what Kurt said a few weeks later after calming down and what Cross didn't bother to quote, "I don't ever talk like that. That's the first time I've ever been so vicious and so sexist and weird. I just wanted to seem as extreme and irrational as possible to scare them. For all I care, they are exactly those things. I don't feel bad about saying any of that stuff because they are cunts. Men can be cunts too."

So while it's clear to me that he didn't entirely regret the situation, he did at least simmer down, and for all I know, he probably did regret it later on as well (I am guessing/slightly projecting though, as sometimes I also take a while to realize the full weight of my actions).

The overall point I'm trying to make, however, is that Cross never mentioned the part where Kurt did calm down. He just goes into some screed about late night phone calls becoming a thing for Kurt at that point in his life.

I'm autistic, so I may not always explain things as well as I could, but this does seem to fit into Cross's overall pattern of portraying Kurt in the worst light and Courtney in the best. And personally, I don't really care if one dislikes Kurt and likes Courtney. After all, humans are allowed to agree to disagree. However, Cross never really portrays Kurt in his better moments (from what I can remember), and he never analyzes Courtney's actions in the same light. And I personally feel that if you're going to write a biography about anyone, at the very least, one should take the person as they are, both good and bad, and be willing to analyze their actions in a critical light. I am admittedly biased towards Kurt, but as I've said already, I can't excuse these voicemails. And that's fine. My counselor gave me a good reminder a few weeks ago that I'm allowed to like someone's music and still disagree with their actions.

It is, however, a whole other thing when you're lying about someone, either outright or by omission, which Cross does all throughout HTH.

#nirvana #kurt cobain #courtney love #heavier than heaven #lying by omission #tw: threats

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homonculos · 2 months

Text

sorry to longpost complain. aita at my workplace (i kno im not im j mad)

my boss is so fucking annoying.... i had an informal performance review with him yesterday and here's how it went:

boss: how do you think youre doing?

me: um ok i think? im still getting my feet under me but im enjoying it so far [been abt 2 months since i started]

boss: yea youre doing a great job. so uh what happened w the car break in? [company property was stolen in the process]

[i explain the story; expressly indicate that i want to make it right, including fulfilling a clause in the equipment policy that says the $ to buy new equipment can be taken out of my next paycheck. boss is incredulous; says that is likely not necessary. im relieved.]

boss: so it seems like youre having trouble with [z], so i sent you some ideas.

me: i saw that email, looks great. ill take a look at those in the coming weeks. also, here's a long list of ideas that i got from a different meeting this morning.

boss: oh, looks great. ok. any other questions for me?

me: um not really. i guess i'd ask, do you want me to focus more on X or Y? [the long list of ideas i brought to meeting are all X-related]

boss: uh well i guess both when you can. we haven't had much X lately since i started running this operation, so that's welcome. feel free to work on things i cover as well [his stuff is mostly Y].

me: ok, ill start looking into Y and X things as they come around. another question, is 3 projects/week still an ok productivity level for you?

boss: uh i dont know where you got that idea. 5/week is what we all aim for. that shouldnt be a problem for you since you did 3 projects/day at your last job.

me: oh ok, ill start doing more.

boss: yea i dont know where you got that idea. i help out where i can [meaning he writes a couple 6 sentence paragraphs/week and calls those complete projects] but everyone does 5/week. that shouldnt be a problem for you.

me: its not a problem! i just didnt know. ill start aiming for that.

EPILOGUE

i turned in a project later that afternoon. the project in question follows a very contentious, months-long event that has disrupted the community our org works with and resulted in two major leadership changes. no response from boss when i notify him.

at 7pm boss replies to me:

[paraphrasing] "i appreciate you researching this and handing in a complete project, but it could have just been a 6 sentence paragraph." [end paraphrase]"

8:45 am this morning, unprompted: (direct quote, excluding brackets for privacy)

"not sure where you heard 3 [projects] a week. Even [colleague 1] does that many and he edits 2 days a week. He sometimes does 5. [colleague 2] and [colleague 3] both do 5-10 [projects] a week. Anyway, since you did 3 [projects] a day at your last job I don't think that should be a problem for you. It's really easy to do a project in 8 hours. In fact most [projects] we do should take half that time. Even long and complicated [projects] shouldn't take longer than 2-3 days."

is it just me or was this not a problem until I BROUGHT IT UP.... like u have every right to be mad at me if i wasnt doing something u wanted me to do. but you have to TELL ME TO DO IT FIRST!!!!

also we already talked about this in person??? why are you repeating yourself and chastising me???

fucking boomers man. this guy retires at the end of the year fortunately but its really annoying to deal with him. it's been problems ever since the beginning too.

and as an addendum, i have a friend who is fighting for their dreams to get into grad school right now, and im so proud and so so so jealous. and they love their job right now too! its renewing their interest in our shared field! im so happy for them but im so bitter that i made a life-changing choice a year ago and its turning out like this. i should journal! i need to journal ack

#please dont report me thanks

0 notes

becomewings · 3 years

Photo

BTS Universe Timeline

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INTRODUCTION

The goal of this guide is to chronologically map the major plot points of BTS Universe (BU), a fictional transmedia narrative centered on the lives of seven young men who share names with the members portraying them. The complexity of the timeline is magnified by the time loops that begin and reset on 11 April Year 22, so careful attention will be given to tracing how the loops diverge from one another after that date. The guide will be published over multiple posts.

Most of the information in the timeline is drawn from the official English-version publications of The Notes: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life 1 and The Notes: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life 2 (hereafter shortened to Notes 1 and Notes 2). Other resources are referenced as necessary, including the Notes released with certain physical albums, the Save Me webtoon, the official BU content in the BTS Universe Story mobile game, and BU music videos/short films. Summaries from the album Notes are based on translations by twitter user @/origamifirefly. Character names are abbreviated in parentheses next to the print sources to indicate the perspective from which the original entries are written.

Dates are presented as they appear in the texts. The single or double-digit year number most likely corresponds with SeokJin’s age rather than a calendar year. (In Korea’s age-calculating system, everyone’s age increases by one year on January 1st regardless of when their birthday falls in the calendar.) There are enough clues scattered throughout the text to suggest that the characters’ ages reflect the real-life age differences of the members. For example, JungKook is five years younger than SeokJin; they overlap in high school because SeokJin is held back a grade after returning from the American school system. Ages that are explicitly stated in official sources will be included in the timeline whenever possible.

BTS Universe deals with many difficult and potentially triggering themes, so please read the content warning in the Timeline Guide before proceeding. The Guide section will be included on all future posts for quick reference.

TIMELINE GUIDE

Content warning: contains references to death, suicide, suicidal ideation, child abuse, domestic violence, blood, homicide, depression, trauma, PTSD

This guide contains major spoilers from all BU media

Revisions and additions will be made as necessary, so please visit the original post for the most up-to-date version (update log is included at bottom of post)

All names are provided as fully as known

Bracketed dates are inferred or calculated from references in the text

While the timeline is presented here as objectively as possible, I acknowledge that there is a level of subjectivity in choosing which information is significant enough for inclusion and in certain connections drawn between entries

Please inform me of any suspected errors; I will investigate and correct them

Do not repost, copy, or quote without permission

Shadows of Our Childhoods

- Beginning through Year 18 -

[Year 9]

Jung HoSeok (age 7) is abandoned by his mother at an amusement park and moves into an orphanage. His age is referenced in his 31 May Year 22 entry from Notes: Her.

The earliest entry of the Notes published so far is HoSeok’s 30 August Year 9 (Notes: 7). Some older boys wake him up at night, and he reluctantly sneaks up to the rooftop with them. Fireworks explode in the sky. HoSeok is shocked at first and then entranced. The older boys tease him for crying, but he can’t stop the tears.

Note: It’s reasonable to assume that this unidentified rooftop location is the orphanage HoSeok grows up in. Therefore, his mother left him sometime before 30 August—possibly that summer, due to his unexplained tears.

10 October Year 9 Notes 1 (SJ)

Kim SeokJin (age 9) runs away from school with a friend to protect him from men who want to use him as leverage to get money from his father, Mr. Choi, who disappeared after his company shut down. SeokJin tries to hide the friend in his room at home, but his father, Kim ChangJun, arrives with one of the men and allows him to take the boy away. ChangJun tells SeokJin to be a “good kid.” The friend never returns to school.

Note: SeokJin’s age is specified in BTS Universe Story: The Boy on the Threshold, ep.3.

28 February Year 10 Notes: 7 (TH)

Kim TaeHyung encounters an older boy feeding the dog that he frequently plays with outside of the supermarket. He tells the boy that when his father earns a lot of money and moves their family into a big house, he can take the dog and raise him. After TaeHyung presses him a second time, the boy reveals that his name is Kim SeokJin.

23 July Year 10 Notes 1 (HS)

While counting in front of his class, HoSeok recalls the day at the amusement park when his mother handed him a chocolate bar and told him to close his eyes and count to ten. He feels like she will never come looking for him if he finishes counting to ten, and then he collapses.

Note: His mother abandoned him at the amusement park when he was seven (Year 9).

29 December Year 10 Notes 1 (TH)

TaeHyung’s father returns home drunk and disheveled after an absence and abuses him for the first time.

6 April Year 11 Related post: The Arboretum Notes 1 (JM)

Park JiMin (age 8) visits the Grass Flower Arboretum on a school picnic day. While his classmates are all accompanied by their mothers, his own parents are too busy to make it. At the end of the trip, he ignores his teacher’s call to wait and tries to walk home alone. With only his backpack in hand, he is caught in a torrential downpour and seeks shelter in a small warehouse near the back gate. JiMin wakes up in a hospital after he is found unconscious in the arboretum with no memory of what happened. He develops seizures as a result of this unnamed trauma and is frequently hospitalized as he grows up.

Note: This day is also referenced in his entries for 11 May, 19 May, and 4 July of Year 22; the lattermost specifies his age.

Notes 2 (JM)

JiMin reflects on what really transpired at the arboretum in his 12 August Year 22 entry, which also reveals that his memory returned due to a chance encounter on 15 September Year 20. Inside the dark and cluttered warehouse, young JiMin falls asleep and is awoken by an iron door clanging shut and the sound of someone breathing. He discovers an interior room and creeps closer. A small, pale hand appears on the other side, startling him. Someone whistles outside and opens the warehouse door. He hides under a desk and watches a man enter the interior room. Through the man’s legs, JiMin can see a small boy lying on the floor with bruised arms and legs and scars on his wrists from being tied up too long. Their eyes briefly meet. JiMin senses that he is asking for help. The man turns around, and the boy stabs his thigh with a boxcutter before he notices JiMin hiding. The man disarms the boy and slams the door shut. JiMin escapes the warehouse under the cover of the violent noises within. No one is around to help. He runs through the pouring rain and mud, frequently falling and scraping his knees. He collapses at the back gate with an image of the boy’s bleeding hand in his mind. He wakes up at the hospital surrounded by his parents, a doctor, and a nurse. They question him about what happened, but JiMin does not remember.

Note: In the same 12 August Year 22 entry, JiMin explains that he conducted research online into the incident. He learned that the boy’s family name is Choi, he was five at the time, and he was discovered near Hwayong Mountain on April 10 suffering from temporary amnesia caused by shock. JiMin could not find any follow-up articles on the police investigation. Additionally, he reveals the real cause of his seizure at the bus stop on 15 September Year 20: he saw the same boy in the window of the Grass Flower Arboretum shuttle bus. “His empty eyes no longer spoke” to JiMin.

21 July Year 12 Notes 1 (SJ)

After his mother’s death, SeokJin is sent by his father to live with his maternal grandmother in the U.S. (The city is specified as Los Angeles in his 1 February Year 22 entry from Notes: 7.) His father breaks his promise to see him off at the airport.

30 September Year 12 Notes: 7 (JK)

Jeon JungKook (age 7) slips through a crowd of people surrounding a massive sinkhole, wanting to see what’s inside of it. Dirt crumbles beneath his sneaker and he almost loses his balance at the edge. When he steps back, he sees something that is both like a light and another hole inside the hole.

Note: Compare to his Notes 2 Epilogue, XX XX Year XX, when he sees a bottomless hole below and the moon (or “a big hole in the sky”) above where he floats.

[Winter Year 12] Notes 1 (JK)

JungKook (age 7) overhears his father telling his mother that the world “was too heavy for him to bear” and that “there’s nothing he can do for JungKook.” He leaves their family forever.

Note: I calculated this season/year from his 11 September Year 17 entry, in which JungKook has waited ten days to receive a birthday card from his father; he has four cards saved in a drawer. (This also matches his real-life age difference with Jin.) He reflects on his father leaving him during the winter when he was 7 years old. He believes: “I was the world that was too heavy for him to bear—that world that he gave up on. A child who can never be the reason to endure it all. That was me.”

21 May Year 15 Notes: 7 (NJ)

Kim NamJoon returns home late from playing with his friends. The house is unusually dark and empty, giving him a chilling sense of foreboding. The phone rings and he senses that if he answers it, his life will forever change.

Note: It is likely that this is one of the times, if not the first time, his father is hospitalized due to a serious illness. About a year later, in his 21 June Year 16 entry of Notes 1, NamJoon describes how he coaxed his boss to hire a middle school student to post flyers. His family struggles financially with his father’s hospital bills and their overdue utilities.

19 September Year 16 Notes 1 (YG)

Min YoonGi arrives home and finds it devoured by flames. Frozen, he thinks of his mom and watches the house collapse. A neighbor asks him if his mom is inside, and he answers “no” without thinking. YoonGi’s mother dies in the fire.

Note: Some people suspect that YoonGi’s mother set the fire deliberately. In episode 6 of the Save Me webtoon, YoonGi recalls his father warning him against pursuing music unless he wants to “go crazy and kill [himself] like [his] mom did.”

2 May Year 18 Notes: Persona (NJ)

NamJoon and his father return home from the hospital to see the family’s belongings piled outside. They were evicted after his younger brother NamHyeon got in a fight with the landlord’s son who came to collect their overdue rent. The owner of the local supermarket allows them to move into its storage room. Exhausted, NamJoon snaps when his mother frets and asks where his brother is. The supermarket owner gives him a can of beer. In a later Notes 2 entry, he reflects that he was probably 16 at the time.

Note: On 18 June Year 22 in the Notes 2 timeline, NamJoon recounts this story to SeokJin at a street pub as a preface to asking when SeokJin drank alcohol for the first time, testing his memory.

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

Update Log

Posted January 13, 2021

Linked to next part added May 5, 2021

Do not repost.

293 notes · View notes

blarrghe · 2 years

Note

5, 6 and 20!

5. A favourite trope to write for

Nerds in love! Also, I was recently reminded by @fandomn00blr of how very excellent an awkward breakfast the morning after ill-defined relations is as a trope. Especially if you put a conversation where everyone tries really hard to avoid talking about feelings while still needing to talk about feelings in there. Like a good "What..... are we...." and "So we're doing this over breakfast. Ok." chat. Yeah. Fave.

6. A topic I'd like to explore more in my writing

Less a topic, more a genre but. Tragedy. I've been writing hurt comfort and messy brains and grounded, complicated people but usually with a healing bent and a happy ending. Really interested in just taking a situation and making it progressively worse sometime, getting everything to just go so predictably and uncontrollably wrong. I think it would be fun.

20. Writing advice

My best advice is "write what you want". Both in the "do what makes you happy and write for you first" sense but more specifically if you are stuck or struggling to "get there". Stop, consider: what do you want to be happening, where do you want things to be? Then, in as basic of terms as you need, put that on the page and go from there. Fill in the gaps later, it will always be easier to see what needs adding or changing to make the connection once the thing you want written is at least stated. You can throw some stupid commentary or word floundering in brackets and move on and when you come back that will be much easier to fill in (or even sometimes just delete. Sometimes it's better to just skip right to the good bit).

#ask me things!#writing things

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tangledinmdzs · 3 years

Text

with you - junior quartet hcs

juniors reaction when you die in their arms

warning: major sad vibes please read at your own discretion

i am personally a very fluffy person and try to make my blog as such. but sometimes we crave a tad bit of angst in our lives

so here it is.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

Lan Sizhui

you can’t help the tear that rolls down your cheek

it’s the only warmth that you can truly feel

especially when everything, even your skin

was beginning to numb

“don’t close your eyes,”

you hadn’t realized that you were doing that in the first place,

you don’t know where you get the strength to pull your eyelids open again, but when you look up

you’re glad that it’s to something familiar

“Sizhui...” you breathe out, feeling your breath choked on something from inside

“s-save your energy, y/n”

you’d never heard Sizhui stutter before

perhaps this demon curse was scarier than you thought

and the curiosity lends enough strength for you to find his face again,

maybe if you focused hard enough, you could feel how tightly his arms were wrapped around you

how close he was holding you to him

but you can’t feel anything, anymore

you blink rapidly, looking up trying to meet his eyes

though you can only see the bottom of his chin, barely follow the way that his head flickers here and there for help

“Sizhui...i’ll be alright...”

at your voice Sizhui looks down, and his tear filled eyes meet your blank, dulling ones

how is it, even in this moment,

you were still the one reassuring him

“y/n...”

“it’ll be alright...” you tell him, just as the darkening edges of your vision take over

when your eyes close, Sizhui feels like his own breath stops

his hand lands on your face, thumb catching on the final tear that rolls gently down your face,

he leans his head down to meet yours,

and he cries too

≿————-　❈　————-≾

Lan Jingyi

Jingyi’s soft hiccuping tears has been your company for the past few hours,

along with the drip drip of water in the desolate temple you were both trapped in

your blood that was once warm has stained both of your hands, red and bright

now it dripped in tandem with the water from somewhere in the temple, a small puddle at your side

the shallower your breath gets, the more Jingyi cries, his tears and hiccups mixing with pure fear

Jingyi doesn’t think that there is anything that can help him regain himself, his mind, not when you were this hurt, this injured,

this close to-

he feels your warm, blood slicked hand land on his

Jingyi jolts hard at the contact, looking down to you right away

luckily he finds your eyes immediately, staring up at him

he’s grateful that you’re still awake, though there’s a haziness that’s setting into your stare

“...at the very least...i’m not alone,”

“you didn’t think that i would leave you here, by yourself, did you?” Jingyi stutters out at you

he can’t understand if it was your heroism talking or you were simply that stupid

you take in another breath, though it doesn’t travel as deeply into your lungs as you want to

“...you should of-”

“and what then? who’d help you? who’d get you out of here?”

Jingyi’s voice sounds borderline hysteric, which is why your calm, soft voice dulls everything,

“...there was never an exit for me...when i took on this mission,”

Jingyi stares down at you, finds your eyes then

he sees the acceptance in them, something that he was never prepared for

a fast tear rolls down his face, following the previous tear tracks that have already wet his skin

he can barely feel it when your blood slicked hand gently covers his, pressing down on your wound

he can barely hear the smallest ‘thank you’ that you breathe out to him, your final breath

only when you go still in his arms, blood seeping onto his robes does Jingyi let out an anguished, desperate cry

the temple hears his wails, echoing in the vast chambers

cradling your warm body, Jingyi wonders how there was any god that could be so cruel

≿————-　❈　————-≾

Jin Ling

Jin Ling has never run this fast in his life

but now he was running like his life depended on it

actually, he ran as fast because your life depended on it

and that would be equivalent if not more than his own life

a hard shiver from your body in his arms almost makes him lose his balance, but he holds you close, pushing on in the night as the moon sits high on the sky

this night hunt had gone wrong

so wrong in so many ways

but Jin Ling would not

be adding your name to the casualty list

the thought of anything worse happening to you makes him misstep

and much to his fear, you both fall to the ground

he’d manage to bracket much of his body around yours, taking the brunt of the impact

but when he sits up, you’re deadly still in his arms

“y/n-y/n” he shakily calls, holding your shoulders than your face,

you don’t respond right away and he’s fearful

“y/n!!” he shouts

and your eyes open slowly, blinking up at him almost in confusion

he’s relieved that your eyes have opened, but your skin is sickly pale, your qi fighting inside you from the demon’s mantra

Jin Ling knows that the sooner he gets you back to the camp the sooner you would get help

so he doesn’t hesitate wrapping his arms around you to pick you up again

but you wither in pain, hiccuping out a small moan as he tried to so much as lift you

“h-hurts,” you whimper out and Jin Ling holds you closer to him, letting you hide your face in the juncture of his neck

his hands rub rapidly up and down your arms when you stutter our a breathy, ‘cold’ despite the warm night

“we need to go get help,” Jin Ling tries to tell you but your ‘no’ overlaps with how hard you begin to shiver

in a final desperate attempt, Jin Ling holds your head steady, wrapping his entire cloak around the both of you to conserve warmth

“y-you can’t, you can’t leave me too. i can’t lose you too y/n” Jin Ling stutters out his voice cracking as the fear of losing you finally dawns on

held this close in his arms, you want to reassure him, want to do more than cling onto his robe sleeves and dig your nose into skin

but before you can

you qi is involuntarily sealed

and the rest of your body, feels the depths of fire and the sharpest of ice cold all at once

you barely have time to hear his scream of your name

you don’t have time to say goodbye

≿————-　❈　————-≾

Ouyang Zizhen

“the blossoms are beautiful today, aren’t they?”

your voice is softer today than usual, reminisce and melancholy despite the young age that you are

both of your young ages

sat with you in his arms, Zizhen leans his head on top of yours gently, arms encompassing you as the cool spring breeze passes by the open awning of your bed chambers

when Zizhen looks down at you, he watches the little smile appear on your face as you stare out at the scenery, the awakening of new life just around the corner

Zizhen keeps his eyes on you, takes in the look of your profile against the backdrop of the cherry blossoms of the small villa

many had always said that the had looked at you like you hung the stars in the sky, pulled up the sun when morning came and whispered to the moon for a little extra light at night time

Zizhen had always watched you with a look of love, of deep love for you

some people say that it might just be the honeymoon stage

since you both were married so young and have barely had a year together

but

Zizhen feels (knows) that he will always love you

despite the young age

despite the fast marriage

despite your illness

when a particularly hard cough racks your body, Zizhen quickly tightens his arms around you, fixing his cloak tighter around your already warm robes

you manage a small smile when you catch your breath, leaning back into him,

he feels your weight on him, though you’re much lighter than he’d like you to be

“we should go inside now, the wind can’t be good for you after a long time,” Zizhen tries to persuade you but when he looks down to catch your little pout, he finds it hard to even heed his own words

“i’ve always seen the blossoms from far away, never this close. let’s stay a little while more Zhen-Zhen” you tell him

the dwindling amount of time that you had left with him had always loomed over the both of you ever since that fateful day a few months ago, from the physician’s words

that had be the first and only time that you had seen Zizhen cry about your illness with you, when you were feeling most despondent

he had never cried again since

doesn’t want to fill the remaining moments with you in his life with tears and sadness

wants to remember you happy

so he lets you stay out despite his heart beating too rapidly in his chest, and his mind whirring with what to tell the cooks to make for when you come inside later

“Zhen-Zhen,” you call, even though he’s really close to you

Zizhen looks down at you, gives a small half smile when you lean your head down closer into his chest

small smiles are what you are both often accustomed to nowadays

“i love you my sun and sky,” you whisper eyes closed as you feel his warmth surround you

Zizhen lets out a little funny huff, wrapping his arms tighter around you

“i love you more, my moon and stars,” Zizhen replies just as gently

because you’re so close, he feels the moment that your final breath puffs against the column of his neck,

feels the different kind of stillness of your body in his arms

and Zizhen knows, he knows that his time with you was always meant to end sooner than later

but it doesn’t change the fact

that he will never be ready it

Zizhen closes his eyes, presses a final kiss onto the crown of your head

though his arms can’t find it in himself to let you go

87 notes · View notes

star-killer-md · 3 years

Text

Actus Reus, Mens Rea

@contesa-lui-alucard asked:

Hey hey happy sleepover my friend!! If it’s alright with you, I have two prompts from the Smut list that I’d love to see you combine for... mob Kylo and lawyer reader! Oh snap!! 15 & 37, if you please. If not, no worries, I still hope you have an awesome sleepover 😁 (“Make it hurt, baby.” + “Lay back and touch yourself. I want to watch.”)

Anon asked:

hello, may i request clingy/possessive kylo,, thank you

Thank you lovlies for your requests and sorry from the bottom of my depressed ass heart that it took me so fucking long. Anyway here ya go, hope you enjoy some mobster Kylo deliciousness. I’m so excited you liked him Contesa, and I hope you’re into it as well too nonny! Sorry it got long, I truly have no control over that.

And thank you so much to @sacklersdoll for reading over this for me!

Word Count: 4.4k

Warnings: Angst (its me), Smut (its me), mentions of predator/prey dynamic (mostly as metaphor), possessive Kylo Ren, semi-public sex, no pronouns for the reader by they are afab, dominant Kylo Ren, some brat vibes, Kylo Ren is not nice, allusions to guns, some sorta stalking behavior

Ship: Mob Boss!Kylo Ren x Lawyer!Reader

Summary: You’ve started to take on some pro bono clients as a favor to a friend and Kylo Ren is Not A Fan™ of all the attention this guy has been paying you. After a few months of consulting on the side, you’re beginning to wonder if life working for a mob boss is something you’re really cut out for. Though you quickly learn that you very well may have passed the point of no return when Kylo shows up at your office to remind you just who exactly you work for.

“I really can’t thank you enough.”

You shook the woman’s hands and returned her smile. Her son stayed quiet, looking at the ground, but mumbled his thanks as well. He was a good kid. Just pissed off the wrong neighbor. One of those ‘get off my lawn,’ ‘good ole American dream’ types who thought welfare was a sign of the devil, and had it out for everyone in the lower tax brackets.

“Really, it’s no problem,” you walked them to the door, leaving her your business card. “I’ll see you both at the courthouse on Monday.”

Evan was waiting in your office when you returned. His patent leather shoes rested precariously on the corner of your desk and you knocked them off with a huff.

“See you’ve made yourself at home,” you said, crossing your arms and staring down at him in your chair.

He shrugged and stood under your scrutiny, moving around to take the seat across from you. Evan Goodman was an old friend from undergrad. You often got the impression he was still that same cocky frat boy in the head. Still flashed the ‘my daddy has more money than you’ smile on occasion when he really wanted to get under your skin. With his slicked back hair, unnervingly straight teeth, and his annoying prosperity despite never putting in much effort it was somewhat shocking the two still spoke. He was simply not the type of person who had ever needed to try. Success came naturally to him, and much to your dismay.

“What can I say? You’re a very gracious host,” he mused and leaned forward on the desk. “So, how did it go?”

You sighed, “They’ll be alright, might get saddled with a fine but the charges aren’t that serious.”

“Good, Rosa’s an old friend. I would have helped her out myself, but not really my deal ya know?”

“Yeah, Mr. Tax Attorney, I get it.”

Evan was kind of a dick, but he was also the kind of friend who would sit on the bathroom floor with you, hold your hair back and sing horrendous parody versions of ABBA no matter who heard. So you couldn’t hate him entirely. That also meant that when he came to you with cases like this, a favor for a friend or whatever the situation may be, you had a hard time refusing.

It was also a convenient front for you not-so-legal legal work you’d been invested in for the past few months.

“Seriously, I know I’ve been asking a lot of you recently,” he flashed you that god awful grin and kicked his feet up again. “You can tell me to fuck off if it’s too much.”

He had been coming to you for pro bono work with increasing frequency, especially over the past month or so, but again, you didn’t wholly mind it. You went into this kind of work for a reason. Though, you were starting to get the feeling that a certain, brooding, less than lawfully abiding businessman did not feel the same.

Kylo Ren dealt frequently with the shady, black market underbelly of capitalist society, but you were less accustomed to his world and not completely ready to throw yourself to the hounds just yet.

You had already missed more than a few meetings and canceled on dinner tonight to meet with Rosa. To be fair, it wasn’t as if he’d made any indication this ill-defined whatever-it-was going on between the two of you was anything serious. And you were only his consultant, for now, so this took precedent anyway. At least that’s what you tried to convince yourself of. Definitely not a way to avoid thinking about fucking your boss who also happened to be in with the mob.

Definitely not.

“I wouldn’t have agreed to help if I couldn’t manage it,” you yawned softly and stood to collect your things.

It was late and you were beginning to fantasize about how soft and warm your sheets would be. If you got back in time you could pop them in the dryer and get in an episode or two before bed.

“Hey, let me at least buy you dinner or something since I kept you out so late,” Evan parked his skinny frame in your path to the doorway.

“You’re going to apologize for keeping me out late, by keeping me out even later?”

“Do you want free food or not?”

Pursing your lips, you stared at him for a few moments. He really did know all your weaknesses. You had skipped out on meeting with Mr. Ren—or Kylo or sir or whatever the hell you were supposed to call him now—already tonight, however, Evan was sure to take you somewhere nice and it wouldn’t be so morally repugnant if it was just as a ‘thank you….’

“Okay, fine,” you conceded and let him lead you out to the parking garage, locking the office up behind you.

***

The next morning you stumbled past reception in a haze. Both from lack of sleep, and the bitingly cold winds battering your building despite the neighboring high rises blocking the brunt of the gale. The young woman at the desk informed you tersely that a Mr. Goodman was already waiting for you in your office and that you should really get here on time if you were expecting clients this early.

You agreed that, yes you probably should but, you know, “trains and all that mess,” and tried not to judge her too harshly. After all, she was the barrier between you and the hundreds of calls this place received daily.

Before slipping through the door with your name plate, you hung your coat on the rack and switched your phone on. It’d died on you last night amidst the allure of fancy, late night dinner and your sleep deprivation riddled brain had not cared enough to plug it in before bed. Fuck Amazon, but thank god for its speedy delivery of portable charges.

You chewed your lip as the lock screen came to life. One missed call and a text. Both, of course from the most anxiety inducing sender, Kylo Ren. Because why would it be anyone else? His name menacing even typed out in standard black font.

The text read:

Meet me at 8am.

It was very much like him—a command with punctuation and absolutely no details. The message receipt showed it was sent two hours ago, and it was already half past eight. Shit. Your fingers shook as you pulled up his contact and called. Every interaction left you coursing with adrenaline. Even now, miles away listening to the dial tone was nerve-wracking. Your heart pounded, hands slick in their grip on your phone. Maybe it was because you were never sure where you stood with him. Maybe it was because he was handsome and he knew it. Strong and he knew it. Intimidating and mysterious and closer in some ways to a Greek god than a man. He was all encompassing, and filled every available space in any room he occupied.

Sometimes you thought you might choke on his presence.

It rang once, twice, three times before cutting out completely. You stared down at the blank screen, biting your lip and shooting off a quick text. You were sorry, something important had come up, you would meet him the second it was convenient.

Evan slapped you heartily on the back when you came into the room. He was holding a bouquet of flowers, evergreen with small white blossoms.

“So, how many hours did you manage last night?” he asked, smiling his shit eating smile and seemingly unaffected despite the fact that he had to be running on just as little sleep as you.

“I’m not even sure at this point,” you groaned as you tossed your bags down behind the little metal desk. “Time ceases to exist when you take trains past midnight.”

“Fair enough. Hey look,” Evan waved the greenery in your face, “courtesy of Rosa’s shop. She insisted I bring you something as thanks. I figured you could put them out in the front or something to brighten things up.”

“They’re lovely. Please tell me you’re only here as a glorified delivery boy.”

His shoulders slumped at your lack of amusement, but before he could quip back the landline in your office rang. You answered, holding a finger towards Evan and leaning against the edge of the desk. It was the receptionist, Jess was her name? Maybe? You could never remember, someone else always addressed the holiday gift cards anyway.

“There’s someone here to see you at the front desk,” she clipped, almost more exasperated than before.

You told her you’d be right there and hung up. Evan grabbed his coat as you headed out, holding the door for you and following into the hall.

“I’ll leave you to it if you’re busy, but give me a call after Monday and tell me how it goes,” he continued rambling as you came out into the front.

You had a smart comeback prepared, something about how simple the case was, he should have more faith in you, he was the reason you were busy in the first place, etc…but every word turned to ashes on your tongue when you saw him.

Kylo Ren, standing right there at the desk and glaring at your receptionist. His suit was dark blue and ironed to perfection. Each leg was creased perfectly down the front and the jacket sat flawlessly on his wide set shoulders. He was a wall of unimaginably expensive fabric and what looked concerning like barely contained rage. You could see it in the twitch of his eye, the set of his jaw, and in the way his gaze landed on you the second you walked in.

The way a predator immediately hones in on its prey.

You froze just feet from him in the lobby, floundering like a fish on a hook.

Evan, for his part, seemed not to notice the tension at all and continued to say his long winded goodbyes, placing the flowers in your hands and completely unaware of the slow, measured tightening of Kylo’s massive hands into fists at his side.

“I’m free on Monday evening so we should—”

“She’ll be busy.”

Evan frowned, turning to face the man standing before him, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Kylo’s voice was a dark thing, low and rumbling, “She will be otherwise occupied.”

His words were punctuated by a step towards you, one paw of a hand easily gripping your entire jaw. Lucky he did too, otherwise it would have dropped straight to the floor when he shot one last cobra strike glare in Evan’s direction, and pressed his mouth to yours. Right there. In the lobby. For everyone to see.

The absolute bastard.

His lips were pillow plump and softer than the silk lining of his suit—and even through the surge of shock and embarrassment and more than a touch of anger—you felt your heart throb at the way he licked into your mouth.

The flowers tumbled from your hands onto the floor as everything in you went limp under his touch. This was nowhere near the first time you’d tasted him, but it was like this every time. Like drinking ambrosia. An otherworldly experience.

But that didn’t stop the sharp pain of his crushing grip on your arm, the way he nearly lifted your feet off the floor when he pulled away to drag along behind him. You could hear Evan spluttering in the hall behind you, the receptionist going back to clacking at her keyboard as if nothing had happened.

When Kylo opened your office door he just about threw you inside. You tripped as he tipped you in, stumbling and catching yourself on the edge of your desk. The power behind his hand alone was undeniable. You shuddered at the thought of the array of purple fingerprints he would leave behind. It made your mouth dry and your heart sink. Confusing and delicious.

And left you seething nonetheless.

“What the fuck was that?!” you were not calm, so you didn’t attempt any semblance of it.

“You didn’t answer me,” he said, level as he always was.

The quiet before the storm and all that.

“About the meeting? I tried to call, my phone died—”

“Because you were out catching trains at all hours of the night, I’m aware.”

You paused, glaring at the wall of muscle between you and the door, “How did you know that?”

“So you’re not denying it?”

Kylo stalked towards you like a beast in his tailored suit and polished leather shoes like talons. You could hear your heartbeat, hear the blood rushing in your ears. Just like a rabbit in the sightline of a hawk, you were clearly being hunted.

“Why would I deny something I’m not trying to hide?” your voice came out horse as he caged you between the desk and his chest, arms on either side to block any route of escape.

“No you are certainly not adept at subtlety,” he said and you couldn’t take your eyes off the way his tongue moved behind his teeth. “This is the fifth time that idiot in the hall has distracted you from work.”

“That’s not an answer,” you tried to spit the words but his eyes were boring into you. The honey of them spilled down your spine and made you shiver. “How did you know? You are not entitled to any information pertaining to my personal life, regardless.”

“Watch your mouth,” he growled. “Entitlement has no part in this.”

You were entering dangerous territory, though stopping curiously did not occur to you.

“I don’t think you have the right to be throwing out commands right now, not after that display.”

“Have you forgotten who you work for?” Kylo hissed at you, hands wrapped around the metal of your desk so hard you thought it might warp under his fingers.

“Of course not,” you desperately tried to keep your voice down lest anyone get even more a spectacle.

“Then what is this?” one hand left the desk and pulled a phone from inside his jacket.

The screen lit up, and you looked in horror at pictures of yourself. Pictures of yourself from last night. Pictures of yourself from last night at dinner with Evan, interspersed with shots of you crossing the street, waiting on the train platform, and stumbling back into your apartment. Each was clearer than you’d expected, presumably from some insanely expensive surveillance equipment. You had been out for hours, and you had been watched the whole time.

You narrowed your eyes, flicking back and forth between Kylo’s face—the graceful bridge of his nose pointed down at you—and gaped.

“You had me followed…” you breathed the words into the slowly shrinking space between your bodies.

He simply nodded, as if, somehow, you were foolish for not having considered this before. Perhaps you were. Perhaps you had no idea what you had gotten yourself into. Perhaps you had signed on for much more than a paycheck when you agreed to work for Kylo Ren.

“I can’t have my employees getting distracted.”

Kylo slowly drifted ever closer, shoulders bent so he was eye level with you. He pressed further into the desk, pinning you between his body and the hard surface that bit into your ass. Something long and thick and hard nudged your thigh.

“I don’t know why you though having me followed was necessary—”

“You’re an arrogant little slut who needs to be reminded of your priorities,” his hand snatched your leg and wrenched it open so he could stand between them, “ I am not something you do on the side.”

You could hear the way his teeth grit out the words, the way they formed as a growl deep in his beast’s throat. The hand still settled on the desk, skimmed up your hip and chest, his fingers

biting into your jaw.

“Do you understand me?”

Your lips were shut tight in a thin line, eyes wide and staring up like the prey you were. The silence only provoked him more. Snarling, two thick fingers wrenched your mouth open, pressing hard on your tongue and making you gag around them.

“Answer.”

Kylo Ren almost always spoke in commands. Having power did that to people, and rarely did it ever compel you, but his words sunk deep into your bones. Dredged up some dark, instinctual need to obey. To submit to this show of control.

“Yes,” you mumbled around his fingers in your mouth, drool slipping past your lips when they moved.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.”

You watched him suck his teeth, grabbing your face tighter and dragging you close so he could spit directly into your open mouth. He slammed your jaw shut, nearly taking off the tip of your tongue and hissed into your ear.

“Swallow.”

Again, you did without a thought. And it was disgusting, but invigorating, sent off some spark in your stomach with how easily he bent your body to his will. There was no man like him, you decided. And maybe this was simply because Kylo Ren was not a man. That term alone would never do him justice.

In one shockingly smooth motion, you found yourself flat on your back, ass hanging off the edge of the desk with his hands on your hips. He ground himself against you, the throbbing of his cock evident even through the layers of clothing. That feeling on its own had you soaked through, thighs sticking with liquid excitement.

“Remember who you work for,” he growled into your neck, licking a long stripe up your throat and sucking at the exposed skin.

But it was very clear to you what he really meant.

Remember who you belong to.

You slapped a hand over your mouth as he bit down on the skin just above your shoulder, laving his tongue over the stinging flesh. Kylo pulled back, frowning down at you and yanking the hand away from your face. One held both your wrists in a vice lock while the other ripped your panties straight down your legs and left the dripping fabric discarded on the carpet.

“No, they’re going to hear you,” he grunted, and pulled one of your hands down, pressing it to your slit and running your fingers through your slick. “Go on, touch your fucking pussy and let them know what a little whore you are for me.”

It was something about his voice. Something in the way it left him, its timbre, its wonder, unquestioning. You could never refuse him.

So, with a small nod you parted your folds, head resting on a stack of files as you drew slow circles around your clit with a shaky hand. His eyes never left your cunt, tracing the movement of your finger and the trail of wetness that seeped from you to the desktop. Softly, you gasped as the familiar placement of your fingers made you clench and arch up. Kylo’s rubbed small circles into your inner thighs with his thumbs, kneading the flesh there.

When the spark was there, the lovely pulsing in your nerves alight, you dipped down, teasing and slipping inside, grinding down as best you could on your hand. It wasn’t enough, but nothing ever was since you’d been ripped open on Kylo’s cock.

Evidently he did not find your work sufficient either.

Another finger joined yours, stroking your lips and circling your entrance. His touch made you whine, the promise of hands that were not your own never ceasing to illicit a new gush of pleasure.

“I said,” he murmured, his touch so terribly feather light. “Let them hear you.”

He was like a gunshot, sudden and forceful and almost instantly had you screaming. Kylo slammed his fingers into you, so full and so deep, curling hard against that lovely spot inside.

“Kylo, god, please—” you moaned long and low, your face burning with the knowledge that the walls were barely thick enough to keep your phone calls private, much less the shameful noises he pulled from you.

“What was that?” he panted, adding another finger and pumping them deep into your cunt. “You can do better.”

Your teeth dug so hard into your lip you thought it might bleed, but you couldn’t take much more. The ledge was approaching—Kylo Ren knew it—and he was determined to push you straight into the fire.

You choked when his deliciously thick fingers were ripped from you, walls fluttering around the awful emptiness. Your head lolled back as you listened to him work the buckle of his belt and slacks open, and when you did glance down your mouth watered at the sight. Kylo—impossibly long cock throbbing in his hand—stood between your legs, stroking himself from root to tip. You watched little pearls of precum bead at the head while his thumb swiped across to smear them along his length.

“You are insane,” you hissed through gritted teeth.

Did you need to keep this position? No, technically you would be more than well off on the salary Mr. Ren so graciously provided. However, you could not mentally deal with being terminated for getting dicked in your office during work hours.

Kylo smirked, the edge of his perfect cupid’s bow cocked back and aimed straight at your chest. Without warning, he sunk into you, straight to the hilt and threw his head back as you sobbed with the sharp sting of being split in two on his cock.

“This is what you do,” he growled into your ear, hands on either side of your head as he worked his length back out only to pound into you again. “You work for me and you take my cock and don’t ever fucking forget that.”

Your legs were wound so tightly around his waist that had he been any other man, his ribs would have cracked under the pressure. His hair, falling in black, satin waves, was gorgeous even in the sterile office lighting. You threaded your fingers into it at the roots and held him while your body rocked against the desk. It’s metal surface pinched at your sink and made your back ache, though that was nothing compared to the burn of Kylo’s thrusts, sliding against your walls. You felt him in your throat. You always did. That was simply the way things were with him. He filled you painfully, thoroughly, took over all of your senses until it was just him.

And, strangely, it was the most alive you’d ever felt.

He was unlike anyone you’d ever known.

You couldn’t scream for him, but you could still let him taste the desperation, the willingness in your body to mold against him. So you kissed him, dragged him by the hair to meet your lips and licked past his teeth, gasping and moaning on his tongue as you sucked it hard and cried into his mouth.

And he drank you down, picking up a punishing rhythm and breaking blood vessels where his hands gripped your hips. One drifted lower, thumb pressing down hard on your clit as your cunt clenched around his length. The desk was lifting off the ground with every thrust, the room filled with the wet sounds of your bodies and you were quickly melting under him.

Warmth was spreading, growing, building out from your pussy, igniting in your veins. He was right. This is what you did. This is what he did to you. This toe curling, lip biting, bone shattering kind of pleasure.

Oh you were so royally fucked.

“I—oh shit—Kylo I’m,” you pulled back just enough to pant out a warning before the wave took you.

So hot, it washed over your skin and made your legs shake and your hands leave his hair to dig your nails into his chest through the crisp white button down he wore.

“Feel that?” he grunted as you convulsed and shuddered under him, “Feel how this pussy was made for me.”

You nodded, buried your face in his neck and held on as he worked you through your climax and straight into his own. Once, twice he ground his cock deep in you, feeling how tight you were around him until he was spent and spilling hot, thick ropes of cum that coated your walls and dripped out around his length.

He panted, lazily rolling his hips, fucking you slowly until finally, he came to a halt with his softening cock still sheathed inside you. Seconds past, or maybe hours, you couldn’t tell. Kylo tended to have that effect on you. Time slipped away so easily in his presence, like there was never enough of it.

When he did pull away, you stayed with your back firmly planted amidst the mess of scattered paperwork and manila envelopes. He rose to his full, towering height and tucked himself away, straightening the wrinkles in his suit and eyeing you only once from the side. You admired his profile, you never understood until now what the meaning of the word “regal” truly was.

Under the dictionary definition, his picture surely would be there, staring at you down the bridge of his marble carved nose.

You sat up on your elbows as he stalked towards the door.

“Was that all you came for?”

Kylo paused, broad back still facing you and leaving the room feeling irrevocably empty with just the intention of his absence.

“We’ll reschedule for five tonight,” he said, filling the door frame completely. “Don’t be late.”

The door clicked shut behind him and the sound of it made you collapse back onto the desktop. You laid there for a moment, leaking your combined spend and aching. The throb of him settled in your muscles and festered. But the worst part was the other ache, the pain of being without. And maybe you had been a bit avoidant. Maybe this work really was so you didn’t have to see him. Because if you saw him you’d end up fucking him—which was fine, which was good, which was great actually—but then he would leave. And you couldn’t decide which wanting was worse. The wanting before or the wanting after.

Maybe it didn’t matter.

You had more important things to think about anyway. Like securing the receptionist an incredibly large holiday bonus, assuming you still had a job here at the end of the day.

Maybe that didn’t matter either.

It might be high time you made a commitment to whatever the hell kind of mess you’d stumbled into. Kylo Ren was an enigma in the best kind of way. Maybe you should stop running from it.

#kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo ren smut #mob!kylo ren #lawyer!reader #dr. b writes #requests #adcu fanfic

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faraway-wanderer · 4 years

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books by black authors masterlist

Supporting art by Black creators is a great way to support the black community; read their stories, support their stories and ensure that our voices are heard. It goes without saying that each and everyone us who does read should be putting effort into reading stories of POC because even through fiction, we’re learning more about different cultures and countries and heritages. But for today I’ve put together a list of fiction by black authors that only scratches the surface of books by black authors out there, and there’s also a section that includes a few queer reads! If you like reading then please consider having a look!

(P.S in light of it being Caribbean Heritage Month in June, each book in the list that takes place or is about a Caribbean country is marked in brackets next to the title!)

Adult Fiction

· How to love a Jamaican- Alexis Arthurs (Jamaica) a debut collection of stories about Jamaican immigrants and their families

· Here comes the sun- Nicole Dennis- Benn (Jamaica) ‘a cast of unforgettable women battle for independence while a maelstrom of change threatens their Jamaican village.’

· Everything inside: Stories- Edwidge Danticat Rich with hard-won wisdom and humanity, set in locales from Miami and Port-au-Prince to a small unnamed country in the Caribbean and beyond, Everything Inside is at once wide in scope and intimate, as it explores the forces that pull us together, or drive us apart, sometimes in the same searing instant.

· Breath, eyes memory -Edwidge Danticat (Haiti) When her mother leaves Haiti to find work in the US, Sophie is raised by her aunt. Their parting, years later, when her mother sends for her, is as wrenching as the reunion in New York. Though she barely knows her mother they both carry secrets from their homeland that will haunt them forever.

· A small place- Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua) ‘In A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid candidly appraises where she grew up, and makes palpable the impact of European colonisation and tourism.’

· Ayiti- Roxane Gay (Haiti) ‘From New York Times-bestselling powerhouse Roxane Gay, Ayiti is a powerful collection exploring the Haitian diaspora experience.’

Get a life, Chloe Brown- Talia Hibbert Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”

Contemporary YA

· Clap when you land- Elizabeth Acevedo (Dominican Republic)

‘In a dual narrative novel in verse that brims with both grief and love, award-winning and bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.’

· The Hate you Give- Angie Thomas Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.

· On the Come Up- Angie Thomas a powerful story about hip hop, freedom of speech – and fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you.

· Dear Martin- Nic Stone Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone boldly tackles American race relations in this stunning debut.

· YA Jackpot- Nic Stone Seventeen-year-old Rico splits her time outside school between looking after her younger brother and working in the local gas station to help her mum pay the bills. So when she sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket and the money goes unclaimed, Rico thinks maybe her luck has changed.

· Dear Haiti, Love Alaine- Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite (Haiti) Alaine Beauparlant has heard about Haiti all her life...But the stories were always passed down from her dad--and her mom, when she wasn't too busy with her high-profile newscaster gig. But when Alaine's life goes a bit sideways, it's time to finally visit Haiti herself.

· This is my America- Kim Johnson The Hate U Give meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting first novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.

· You should see me in a crown -Leah Johnson Becky Albertalli meets Jenny Han in a smart, hilarious, black girl magic, own voices rom-com by fantastic debut talent ,Leah Johnson.

· The sun is also a star- Nicola Yoon The New York Times bestselling love story from Nicola Yoon, author of Everything, Everything.

· The Field Guide to the North American Teenager- Ben Philippe Norris Kaplan is a black, French Canadian teenager who has been uprooted from his home after moving to Austin, Texas with his mother.

· Opposite of Always- Justin A. Reynolds Jack and Kate fell for each other and had their own love story, but it soon ended after Kate's unexpected death. Then, through reasons Jack can't explain, Kate's death sends him into a repetitive time loop, taking him back to the moment they first met.

· Queenie- Candice Carty-Williams Queenie is a young Jamaican woman living in London. After her breakup from her boyfriend, Queenie embarks on a journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-worth

- Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice.)

Sci-fi/ Fantasy YA

· Queen of the Conquered- Kacen Callender On the islands of Hans Lollik, Sigourney Rose was the only survivor when her family was massacred by the colonizers. When the childless king of the islands declares he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge.

· Children on Blood and Bone- Tomi Adeyemi Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut Children of Blood and Bone.

· Black Leopard, Red Wolf- Marlon James 'A game-changing modern fantasy classic’.

· The Belles- Dhonielle Clayton If you could change everything about yourself, would you?Should you?

· An Unkindness of Ghosts – Rivers Solomon "This book is a clear descendent of Octavia Butler's Black science fiction legacy, but grounded in more explicit queerness and neuroatypicality."

· Song of Wraith and Ruin- Roseanne A Brown- The first in a gripping fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction

· Song below water- Bethany C Morrow a captivating modern fantasy about black mermaids, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism.

Queer reads

· Felix Ever after- Kacen Callender a novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

· The Stars and The Blackness Between Them - Junauda Petrus Audre and Mabel, Black girls who find romance just in time for everything to fall even further apart.

· By any means necessary- Candice Montgomery By Any Means Neccesary dives into the intersection of race and sexuality through the lens of its main character, Torrey, a gay Black college student.

· Full Disclosure- Camryn Garratt Camryn Garrett’s debut novel follows a Black, HIV-positive teen as she explores her first romantic relationship. There are few books that discuss what it’s like to live with HIV, especially those that are light, relatable, and told through the lens of a young Black girl.

· The Black Flamingo- Dean Atta Atta pens a coming-of-age story about a boy accepting his identity as a mixed-race gay teen, but then finds a place where he belongs as a drag artist named The Black Flamingo.

· Juniper Leaves- Jaz Joyner Kinky-haired blerd Juniper Bray used to believe in magic, until she lost her best friend: her grandmother. Now this 15-year-old shy girl is headed to her father's research trip on a farm hundreds of miles away, with a family she barely knows and the opposite of a best friend, her new arch nemesis, Bree Mckinney. As if she wasn't miserable enough. Little does she know the next few months Juniper will discover magical powers she never knew she had, get a crush on a girl she never knew she'd like and well, quite frankly, save the world.

Thriller/murder mystery

· The Gilded Ones- Namina Forna Inspired by the work of Angela Carter and Anthony Burgess, The Gilded Ones is a gritty psychological crime drama with twists and turns that will have readers hooked.

· Spin- Lamar Giles This murder-mystery will leave you on the edge of your seat; when famed DJ ParSec is found dead, her best friend Kya and number one groupie Fuse put their differences aside and team up to find out what happened.

Keep sharing, signing petitions and donating where you can. The more people who are actively anti-racist, the better. We don’t want to let this go silent, we need change globally, and for all POC, the fear and threat of racism is EVERYDAY for us, we need allies that will help change the system. If you have any books you’d like to add to the list feel free!!

#books by black authors #ya #queer books #blacklivesmatter #blm #justiceforgeorgefloyd #fiction #black authors #poc authors #mine #i have not read all of these but i plan to read alot #the hate u give is AMAZING #and children of blood and bone is rlly good too #Book blogging

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