Red

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” these stories are only “easy” to read in the sense that the effort we put into them is rewarded in a timely manner. which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start rewarding the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

I Want Names.

     Henry was excited to be on this mission. He was finally allowed to join the other Toppats without Charles giving people death stares, but it wasn't going quite as planned. It was just a raid, how had it gone this wrong? It didn't matter at the moment, they needed to escape the guards. That was the new goal. Run. Henry ran with various other Toppats, he was at the rear, firing his hand gun at the guards pursuing them. Dave was in front of him, and Rupert was at the very front, guiding the trio to the exit. Their pursuers fired their guns as well, the Toppat group was outnumbered and outgunned.    

     They rushed to their escape vehicle, Rupert rushed to the driver's seat as the other group members climbed in. Henry stayed at the rear, doing his best to cover for them. The vehicle raced off, heading to their planned pick up spot so they could get back to the safety of the airship. Henry tried to fire his gun, only to find it was out of ammo. Sh*t. Before Henry could think of another way out of the situation he heard a BANG followed by pain in his side. Henry howled in pain. 

"Oi Henry! You alright!?" Rupert yelled after hearing Henry's pained yell. "Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine! Just drive!" Henry replied, he looked at his new wound. It was a deep gash, not lethal, but it was bleeding quite a bit. The bullet had grazed him. He had to cover it, not just because it was bleeding, but also so Charles wouldn't see it. He couldn't let Charles know about it. If he did, Charles would insist on treating it, meaning he'd have to see his body. Sure, Henry and Charles had been getting closer, heck, they shared a bed. But Charles hadn't seen Henry shirtless before. Henry hadn't let him. Luckily with Rupert's driving, and Dave's remaining ammo, they managed to get them away from the guards and to safety.

     Henry searched the van for something to cover his wound. Rupert continued to drive, Dave tried to help, but they didn't have a first aid kit. "Please don't tell Charles about this." Henry pleaded quietly. Dave nodded. He didn't want to face Charles. Dave looked around the van for something to help Henry cover up the vast in his side. Eventually he found a scarf and a spare black shirt. Not much, but it'll do. Dave handed the scarf to Henry, as he wouldn't let Dave help treat the wound. The scarf was large enough to wrap around his torso with no problem. After he finished tying the scarf he put on the extra shirt. It was a bit big. Perfect. Less likely to show any blood. Now he just had to wait until they got home, and avoid Charles long enough to properly patch up the wound himself (ok, maybe it wouldn't be "properly" done, but it would still be better than this). Henry's breathing was hard. His side hurt. Bad. How was he gonna hide this? He couldn't- no he had to. He couldn't let Charles see his wound. Who knows what Charles would do to Rupert or Dave if he saw Henry injured? "Oi, we're here. Boss says the airship's on its way." Rupert's voice brought Henry back to focus. "Can you walk? Do you need help?" Dave asked, concerned. "I'll be fine. Besides, if Charles sees me limping he'll probably go off on you two." Henry replied. Charles was still very protective after all. Well, it was really more possessive rather than "protective" but that was beside the point. He was dangerous when it came to Henry. He had to protect Rupert and Dave. They were the closest thing to friends that Henry had in the clan, he had a hard time socializing with the other members thanks to Charles' yandere nature. Now all they had to do was wait, and hope that the Toppat leader wouldn't notice Henry's wound.

…

    Charles nearly tackled Henry with a hug. It took every ounce of Henry's willpower to not react to the pain in his side. "Hello Henry! My absolute treasure! Welcome home." Charles gave Henry a kiss on the forehead. "H-hi Charles.." Henry replied, this was going to be harder than he thought it would be. "Sorry the mission didn't go as well as we hoped." Henry apologized. Charles still had his arms wrapped around him. "Oh don't worry about that Henry! You're home again. That's what matters. We'll try again some other time." Charles replied sweetly, nuzzling the top of Henry's head. Henry bit his tongue, trying not to show any reaction to the pain in his side. He had to get actual bandages for it before it soaked through his shirt and scarf. "Henry, my love, are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up." Charles asked. Henry thought about it. If he pretended to feel sick, he could probably use that as a cover up for his injury. All he had to do is say that he wanted to go lay down. Perfect. "Y-Yeah, uh, I'm feeling a l-little queasy. Think I ate something bad. I'm gonna go lay down." Henry mentally cursed at himself for stuttering, and started making his way to their room, moving slowly to seem ill (wasn't hard, since he was already in pain). "Oh Henry, I'm sorry you don't feel well. Here."  Charles said right before lifting Henry off the ground and carrying him bridal style. "Let me take you there so you can rest a bit more." 

Henry couldn't help but flinch as Charles carried him. His side was starting to hurt pretty badly. Now he once again had to struggle to hide the pain. Damn it! Why did Charles have to be so attentive!? Henry didn't reply, if he started making up excuses Charles would get suspicious. How was Henry supposed to treat and hide his wound now? He had to think of something, and fast too. He could feel the gash on his side bleeding through the scarf, it was only a matter of time before it bled through the shirt too. 

    Charles carried Henry through the door of their shared bedroom, and gently placed Henry on the bed. "Do you want me to get you anything, love?" Charles asked, holding Henry's hand. "Uh. N-no.. I just wanna lay down. You should probably check on Rupert and Dave though. It was a rough mission and they might have gotten hurt." Henry replied. That was a reasonable excuse, right? Charles was the chief after all, it would make sense to do so. All Henry could do was hope Charles would take the bait and go. That would give Henry the chance to find their first aid kit. "We have a medic on the ship. They know their way around. They'll be fine." Charles replied dismissively. "Don't worry about them dear. They can manage. Just worry about you right now." Damn it. Why was Charles making this so difficult? "I-I'll be f-fine, I just need some rest." Henry said, hoping it would be enough to make Charles give him some time alone. "Alright, I'll just put the mini trash can by the bed just in case, and you just try and sleep this off. Okay Hen-hen?" Charles asked, Henry nodded, worried that if he spoke, he'd make it easier to tell that he was in pain. Charles did as he promised, placing the little garbage can within arm's reach for Henry. Then he gave him a kiss on the forehead, and made his way to the door. Stopping to say something before leaving. "How about I get the kitchen staff to make some soup for you? Maybe that can help. Then I'll come back and nurse you to health!" He offered, waiting for Henry to reply. Henry took a deep breath, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "S-sounds good. T-thank you." 

"Okay! I'll be back when it's done. Love you!" Charles said excitedly, then left. The metal door closing behind him. Henry waited for a few minutes, then slowly got up off the bed. His side stung from the movement, urging him to stop. He had already pushed it so much with his stalling. Nevertheless, he continued to move. He made it this far without Charles noticing, might as well finally patch himself up. He limped towards the bathroom and found the first aid kit. He took it and moved back onto the bed. Henry took a shuddering breath, and started pulling the supplies he needed out. He held his side, with one hand, grabbing the materials with his free hand.

"Hey Hunny-bunny! I just realized that I didn't even ask what kind of soup you- Why do you have the first aid kit out?" 

Henry froze. Sh*t. What was he supposed to do now!? Charles quickly dashed towards Henry, cupping his check, looking at Henry frantically. "Where are you hurt? How bad is it? Who hurt you!?" Charles then noticed Henry gripping his side. He reached for the bottom of Henry's shirt, only to have Henry push his hand away. "Hun. I'm trying to help. Let me see." Charles said, his tone slightly stern. Henry started to panic. "No! I'm fine! Don't!" Henry tried to back away from Charles but his movements were sluggish. The Toppat leader only got closer. Charles gripped Henry's wrists, preventing him from backing away much further. Charles was much stronger in comparison to Henry's slightly malnourished body, but Henry still tried to get away. Charles pinned Henry down, using his legs to hold Henry's together. Immobilized.  Henry could only squirm in attempts to break free. "Henry, why are you so against me looking? I just wanna help! What's got you so panicked?" 

Henry didn't reply. 

"I'm gonna take a look." Charles let go of one of Henry's wrists, and started pulling Henry's shirt up with one hand, stopping just beneath Henry's ribs. He raised an eyebrow at the scarf wrapped around Henry's stomach. Charles slowly let go of Henry's other wrist, then unwrapped the scarf. It was damp with Henry's blood. Charles looked at Henry's exposed side and belly, the bloody, dripping, red gash on Henry's right side caught his attention. Henry gave up on trying to stop Charles, it was too late. Henry shut his eyes, but otherwise didn't move. He felt bad for his friends. 

    Charles too, was stunned into silence, but he had a job to do. Charles grabbed the first aid kit, immediately working to clean the wound. He fully removed Henry's shirt to make his job easier. Henry flinched here and there as the peroxide stung, but he let Charles work. When the injury was clean, he bandaged it. Careful not to make it too tight or too loose. After all that, silence. Charles stared at Henry's exposed chest. He was thinner than Charles had realized. His ribs stuck out slightly. His body was littered with so many scars it was as though he was wrapped in barbed wire. Each of them stuck out like a sore thumb. Charles looked up towards Henry's face. Henry still had his eyes closed, and his head was facing away from Charles. Was this why Henry was so freaked out by Charles' help? Was someone threatening him? Who hurt him? Nobody hurts his Henry and gets away with it! Nobody. He was gonna get to the bottom of this. "Henry… please look at me." Charles waited a few seconds as Henry's eyes fluttered open. "Why didn't you tell me that you were hurt?" Charles asked, he wanted to hear Henry's reasoning before taking action. He had to be sure. "I… I didn't.. Want you to be mad." Henry replied, his tone a mixture of shyness and worry. Charles felt a pang in his heart, he didn’t want Henry to feel uncomfortable around him. He adored him. Charles moved to lay down by Henry's uninjured side, he wanted to cuddle. "Henry… I don't want you to feel the need to hide things like this. You're the love of my life. You have nothing to be ashamed of… I could never be mad at you for something like this. I'll worry, but I won't be mad. Just… don't hide these things from me." Charles paused, gently gripped Henry's hand, and kissed Henry on the cheek. Charles rested his hand on Henry's chest, gently touching the scars that wrapped themselves around Henry's torso. His hands caressed Henry's protruding ribs. His touch was so gentle and full of care, Henry could feel his nerves calming down.

     "You should eat more, Hen-Hen. You're a little malnourished. We have plenty of food you can eat, you don't have to live like you're barely scraping by again." Charles said as he continued to inspect Henry's chest.

"I know… old habits die hard I guess." Henry replied, not sure how else to respond. He knew Charles was right. He was hungry most of the time, and he knew it was a problem. "Henry…" 

"I know, Charles. I know."

There was a little pause between them. Then Charles stood up, and approached their closet. Charles pulled out one of Henry's comfy sweaters and handed it to him. After Henry put the sweater on, Charles cuddled up to him, wrapping his arms around his precious little treasure.

 "I'm doing this because I love you. You know that, right Hen-Hen?" 

"Yeah. I know."

"I also do THIS because I love you!" Charles exclaimed. "H-Huh?" Henry questioned, just before suddenly being smothered by an onslaught of Charles' kisses. Charles kissed Henry's forehead, cheek, and neck. Henry couldn't help but giggle at the sudden sweet affection, as well as the tickling sensation his love's lips gave him. Henry squirmed slightly, he was too ticklish for this! "C-Charles! Hahaha! S-stop! Haha!" Henry laughed, his half-hearted protests did nothing to stop Charles's cuddly attack. Henry's nerves continued to ease. Charles wasn't a monster, he could be dangerous, but he was still sweet deep down. Even if Henry was the only one who really got to experience such sweetness.

    Charles eventually stopped tickling/kissing Henry, there was still something important to tend to. "Hey Hen-Hen, I gotta do something important, but I'll be back! Do you want me to bring you anything when I come back?" Charles asked. Henry pondered it for a moment, he was pretty hungry… "Yeah, actually. Can you bring me something to eat? Like a sandwich or something?" Henry requested. "I can bring you more than a sandwich! We have tons of great stuff on the ship. Is there anything else you want?" Charles asked excitedly, he could do so much more for the love of his life! Henry chuckled, unsure of what he wanted food wise. "Uhh… surprise me?" Henry said, unsure of what he wanted when it came to food. Charles buried his face into the crook of Henry's neck. "I'm gonna spoil you to death!" He said excitedly, before giving Henry one more kiss, and leaving the room. "Love ya Hen-Hen!"

"Love you too Charlie."

…

   The door closed behind Charles. His cheerful expression had snapped into one of stern rage. He wasn't done yet. He needed to talk to Rupert and Dave. 

   When Charles walked through the halls asking about the whereabouts of two clan members, the other Toppats immediately knew someone was in trouble. After a little searching, he found the two men in the infirmary. Rupert immediately knew that this was bad news. "Hey Rupert. Dave." The two men stared at their leader. Dave shifted uncomfortably under his boss's gaze. Rupert decided to speak up first. "Hey boss. Is something wrong?" Dumb question, it was obvious that Charles was pissed, but he hoped approaching the situation with calmness would prevent it from getting worse. "I'd like to know what happened out there. Henry came home with a sizable gash in his side and I'd like to know why it happened. Care to explain?"

Rupert tensed. So he did see Henry's injury. Of course he did. At this point, Rupert wouldn't be surprised if he found out his boss tracked Henry's breathing patterns. "Well… things kinda went south and he was grazed by a guard's bullet when we tried to escape in the truck. I was driving. Dave tried to help Henry as best as he could, but we didn't have a first aid kit. We didn't want Henry to get hurt either, boss." Rupert explained, it wasn't their fault Henry got hurt. It could've happened to anyone. To Rupert's surprise, Charles seemed to calm down a tiny bit. "I see… Dave. Do you remember which guard shot Henry?" Charles asked, now focused on him rather than Rupert. "I-uh." Dave started nervously. "N-no, sir. There was a lot going on, and I-I didn't even know Henry was hurt until he screamed and uh…" Dave stammered, seemingly getting more nervous the more he spoke. "So you don't remember who shot Henry?" Charles asked sternly. "...no sir.. I uh, vaguely remember what the group looked like but I don't know the exact uh, culprit." Dave replied nervously. "Do you remember their faces? If I showed you a picture of them, would you be able to tell me who was there?" Charles asked as he leaned towards Dave slightly. Dave was shorter than him, and already intimidated by Charles, so this just scared him more. "U-uh, m-maybe?" Dave's response was unsure and clearly frightened. "Hmm. That might just have to do… New mission!" Charles exclaimed. Catching the attention of several Toppats. "I want all the employee files for that facility. I want names and faces. Do you understand?" Rupert and Dave nodded, at least they weren't the ones on their boss's chopping block now. 

"Now, I have to get some food 

 for my sweet little Henry." Charles' stern demeanor broke into a loving one for a moment. Then his sternness returned. "I'll be back later to further discuss your new mission. See ya then." 

THIS SHIT WORKS OKAY, I AM DEAD SERIOUS.

The last time I saw this on my dash, I didn’t think it would happen, so jokingly I wished I could go to a fun. concert.

AND GUESS WHAT, I WENT TO A FUCKING FUN. CONCERT.

I SAW THIS ON MY DASH THE OTHER DAY AND THOUGHT “ITS WORTH A TRY” SO I WISHED I COULD GET A 3DS

LITERALLY LIKE 4 DAYS LATER MY DAD SENT ME A PICTURE OF THE 3DS XL HE BOUGHT FOR ME WHILE I WAS AT SCHOOL

GUYS.

HE FUCKING CALLED ME 20 MINUTES LATER

20 FUCKNG. MINUTES. LATER.

Surprise!! We’re opening commissions!!

H u h

Alright boys, girls, and pals in between or none the like.

My friend Cydney’s teacher believed THIS was ok to put up. It’s transphobic as fuck, and the schools gone into a whole riot about it. People are getting horrifically upset about her. Her girlfriend’s brother is trans, and both are getting hurt by this poster.

NOW despite the fact like half the school is arguing against it, their teacher STILL will not tear it down. She believes this shit is ok. Cydney tells me they’re are now debating on trying to get this on the news.

Now I, someone who is a transmasc nonbinary student, along with all of the friends she told this too, are LIVID about it. And I told her I’m posting this on Tumblr.

I’m pissed 

This is not a good message for any educator to send to their students.

(And transphobes get stabbed by Bloodhound)

If you disagree with me, unfollow my blog, block me and never look at my blog again.

Out of 19000+ followers I have, only one of you actually reblogged about this issue, yet a lot of you have reblogged and liked a picture by playboy about catcalling and that how men should never do it.

Additionally, I have received abuse in my ask box (which I will be answering when I can) and threats. In particular death threats and rape threats.