Something Witty This Way Comes

Bi, bi-racial witch with an attitude. Wanna play? - She/Her - Fanfic, Social Justice, and politics

[maykendehoutman]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

For anyone interested, a link to my fanfic on AO3.

I’m also on Dreamwidth now.

[agardenandlibrary]

bets on this being Aral quoting Piotr back to himself?

[agardenandlibrary]

me, ignoring all the trauma on the way: Aral's face lights up whenever he sees Cordelia 🥰

[maykendehoutman]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aral Vorkosigan/Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan Characters: Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan Additional Tags: Time Period: Vorkosigan Regency, Established Relationship, BDSM, Dom/sub, Light Bondage, Femdom, Impact Play, Whipping, Pegging, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Teasing, Vibrators, Kink Negotiation, Safewords, Porn with Feelings, Past Rape/Non-con, Angst with a Happy Ending, Healing, Aftercare, Bruises, Orgasm Edging, they're also just being cute in this one Series: Part 4 of The Aral Files Summary:

It was what Aral wanted, and so it was what he would have, but she’d need to be careful. If she judged wrong, pushed him too far, it might damage those associations in his memory past repair. It reminded her of her old days in the Survey: the risk of the jump, trusting in your calculations to bring you through to the other side and your judgment to deal with whatever you found where you landed. For this venture, she was his coordinates; she could not let him down.

***

As Aral and Cordelia delve further into kink explorations, he makes a request to help banish the ghosts of the past, and she's happy to oblige.

This is the latest in a really good series exploring Aral’s relationship to Ges and Cordelia and kink. Go read the whole thing but I love this newest edition so much!

[song-of-the-spheres]

so a realization that I had upon starting my Vorkosigan Saga reread is that...I'd never actually read Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen the first time around. I bought it around when it came out - but I was having a Bad Time around then, looked at the back, and decided I was not at that point up for what was probably going to be a very well-done but nonetheless devastating exploration of grief and loss, so on my shel for later it went.

and then. I kind of forgot. it sat on my shelf for so long that it eventually passed into the category of "surely I have read this book I own, the last book in this series I adore." and then I started my reread and was looking something up on the wiki for reference and found:

and went WHAT. WHAT. OKAY I WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED THAT.

so I got impatient and jumped ahead to read that one. and it was delightful. I think I felt like it'd be bleak, but it's not??? the grief is certainly there and it hits when it needs to hit, and there are moments from melancholy to heartbreaking, but it's also funny and hopeful and sweet and charming; I was reading it the whole way through in permanent Good For Her(TM) mode.

some of my favorite moments:

Vorinnis accidentally roasting Jole by making him feel a million years old (mood, brother, college students are doing this to me often. What Do You Mean you were born in 2007.)

the little examples sprinkled throughout about how Barrayaran society is changing (the female officers corp! the medical center in Hassadar!)

"Asssertive, perhaps. As you may recall," followed immediately by Jole choking on his wine (...which could mean anything)

Aral canonically confirmed for kinky as hell, in a grand victory for Fandom Assumptions

every single thing that happens in The Shack oh my GOD

the fact that it apparently took a whole security detail conspiracy to keep the Vorkosigan throuple under wraps and Miles STILL didn't figure it out

"Screwing, dear."

THE DRAWINGS

Cordelia's joke about Aral being the first Barrayaran to discover the burrowing radials

Jole and Miles's garden talk where Miles is re-evaluating his entire perception of his parents and Jole is meanwhile just. on so so many painkillers (that whole conversation was very sweet)

the two ending lines before the epilogue. the ending lines of the epilogue. THE ENDING.

what a great coda to the series. god. 10/10 would finish at 2 AM and lie awake in bed for the next hour experiencing indescribable emotions again

[maykendehoutman]

I am once again going to pimp the Plot Trysts: My Word as Vorkosigan podcast, but especially the episode on this book, because it is so damned good. (I mean, once you are done with your re-read. Or, ya know, whenever!)

[beroebluejeans]

*pastel cartoon of artfully mud-splattered Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan smirking at each other, arms crossed*

House of the Dragon meets Murderbot in SHARDS OF HONOR, a swoony new sci-fi romantasy by debut author Lois McMaster Bujold, perfect for fans of Andor.

Enemies-to-lovers ⚔️

Forced proximity 🏕️

Marriage of convenience 👰🏻‍♀️🤵🏻‍♂️

He falls first 😍

“Touch her and die” 😠

Silver fox 👨🏻‍🦳

“Gorgeous!” -Emily Broccolini, #1 NYT-bestselling author of An Heir of Storms and Sapphires and A Queen of Tornadoes and Topaz

“Screaming, crying, throwing up 😭💕” -Goodreads reviewer

“Step on me Cordelia 😩🥵” -Goodreads reviewer

[isaacsapphire]

You forgot

🏳️‍🌈 representation

[beroebluejeans]

^ absolutely, and only because I made this post before I got to that part

really proud of what I’ve done:

and a great point here:

[beroebluejeans]

yessssssss

[benevolenterrancy]

okay, this post succeeded in making me read Shards of Honor and yeah, alright, it fucking slaps. this part made me laugh, pregnancy through moral obligation and signing the wrong delivery form

technically she only thinks this and doesn't say it, but for the sake of art and humour...

[evilscientist3]

last week my doppelganger trapped me in the basement I keep it imprisoned in and took my place in my life. fortunately after the first day of this it came down and asked to have the basement back. Probably a good sign 👍

[kindigo]

[an-ruraiocht]

this is such a source of anger for me in particular because so many restrictive policies are justified as being about "protecting children". oh we'll ban them from social media but we won't ban them from the fucking military. absolutely not they can't be trusted to consent to transition healthcare but yes let's have them in the goddamn army!!

i'm like. i will not believe a SINGLE WORD YOU SAY about protecting children until you listen to what human rights and children's rights campaigners have been saying for decades and stop recruiting children into the fucking army. why do you listen to the people trying to ban them from instagram and not the ones wanting you to raise the military recruitment age to 18, huh?? worried about running out of naive cannon fodder?

[an-ruraiocht]

it's also just weirdly invisible as a problem! so normal to us that we don't realise it's weird and completely hidden to non-brits! when i lived in ireland i remember talking to irish quakers about it and i was astonished at how many of them, who were active in peace movements and demilitarisation movements, did not even know that their next-door neighbours were recruiting that young. like ???? it makes me feel insane that this is just so hidden away

[dykepuffs]

Fifteen years and seven months, for the non-Brits. That's how old you have to be to start the application process, which is just so timed so that you can then go to Assessment at 15 years and 9 months, so that you can start Army Foundation College bang on your sixteenth birthday. My brother-in-law went that route and now in his 40s it feels really obvious that his whole adult self has been defined by what the military made him into, he's never had a chance to be anything that wasn't first and foremost someone's dog.

[mangled-by-disuse]

taking this out of the replies bc it feels important that people know it:

the standard contract you sign when you join up is 12 years. 12 years' dedicated service in the Armed Forces. if you join up at not-quite-16, you will be legally tied to serve in the Armed Forces until you are twenty-eight years old.

you can get out of that service contract, with difficulty, from four years. you have to have been in active service for at least three years. you may owe them money in lieu of service. this still cannot happen until you are already in your 20s.

a child who is 15 years and 7 months old cannot legally have sex, vote, drink, drive (they can get a provisional licence at 15 years and 9 months but can't sit the driving test until they turn 17), smoke, or buy paracetamol. they will not be able to use social media after spring next year (thanks, kier). they cannot open a bank account or sign any other legal paperwork without a responsible adult cosignatory. they cannot leave school, because they are not viewed as capable of deciding their future responsibly at 15.

except, apparently, if that future is a binding legal contract to serve in the armed forces for nearly as long as they've been alive.

I don't think enough people realise just how insidious the child recruitment in this country is. and while we're making all this handwringing fuss about how we can't let the youth have mobile phones or Twitter or access to adult content in case they're traumatised by it, there's a hell of a loud silence around sending them into a system designed to traumatise the conscience and individuality out of you.

[maykendehoutman]

It's not quite as bad here in the US - cannot sign until age 17. And they generally want you to have at least a GED. But the recruitment drive starts as early as 14 (and in some places even younger!) with JROTC and (in some places) mandatory ASVAB. And of course the military recruiting campaigns, which have been shown to lie outright to potential recruits. And of course it's usually a 4-year hitch rather than 12 (WTAF?!!11) But the damage that can be done to the psyche of a teenager in 4 years is horrifying. Especially given the Christian Nationalist takeover of the US military as a whole.

So, yeah, fuck the "think of the children" crowd. They don't give a shit about helping kids. They care about controlling us all.

[cassidy-peterson]

sometimes I just want to go shopping like Cordelia

[fauxshow42]

Reblog if you too yern for "retail therapy" in these trying times.

[cassidy-peterson]

sometimes I just want to go shopping like Cordelia

[agardenandlibrary]

my partner, nearly finished with the Warrior's Apprentice: I wonder if Miles will see the Dendarii again?

me: wait and see :)

[yorgen-sh]

[helenvaughans]

[sistertaxon]

why are there so many posts about asexuals being immune to sirens. people. sirens don’t lure you in with sex (necessarily). they sing about whatever it is that you want most. they could sing about mothman or cinnamon toast crunch and guess what then your asexual pirate is fucking dead

[thesylverlining]

this is the only kind of ace discourse i ever want to see on my dash. the only kind. ever again. good job

[kittyknowsthings]

Do you think the sirens would be grateful that they finally get some variety? 

[systlin]

“Oh my god we can finally just sing about pasta thank the fucking gods.” 

[totohoy-blog]

I’m not asexual but I’m fairly certain sirens would do a far better job luring me into the depths with a song about pasta rather than sex…

[systlin]

I mean. 

“WHAT THE FUCK STAY AWAY FROM THE ROCKS.”

“FUCKER THEY SAID THEY HAVE FETTUCCINE CARBONARA AND HOT GARLIC BREAD OVER THERE HANG ON BITCH.” 

[musicalhell]

This is true; Odysseus heard them promising him knowledge of the future.  So the next time you see artwork like this:

Remember those sultry naked chicks are saying “We’ll tell you the winning lotto numbers.”

[fuckstaffposts]

Them: “We have unlimited wifi at incredible speeds~” Me: *diving headfirst into the water*

[rpluvsyj]

This post is a blessing

[wittyusername97]

Congratulations! Odysseus! You’ve been selected as a winner for the free $1000 Amazon Gift Card, Apple iPhone X 256G or Samsung Galaxy S8! Claim your prize now!

[kitvalkyrie]

Oh my god sirens were literally scam websites

[10thingsihateabout-all-yall]

Oh my god they were phishing

[zypiris]

[ID/ Image 1: The painting the Sirens and Ulysses by William Etty. Three naked women/sirens are kneeling on rocks with human skeletons and dead bodies around them. In the sea is a wooden boat with circular shields along the side. On it several men are restraining Ulysses. Some of the other men are rowing, others are wrestling with the sails.

Image 2: The painting Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper. Three mostly naked white women/sirens are climbing onto a wooden boat. The two out of the water have legs, the one still in the water has a fish tail. They are singing at a man who is tied to the mast. One man is restraining him. The other men are rowing. /End]

[agardenandlibrary]

"It isn't exactly like waking from the nightmare, to see your face." [Vorkosigan] touched her face gently, fingertips on the curve of her jaw, thumb laid a moment across her lips, lighter than a kiss. "More like, knowing, while dreaming still, that beyond the dream there is a waking world. I mean to join you in that waking world, someday. You'll see. You'll see."

[neovagina-penisis-evangelion]

When people argue that food from Chinese and Mexican restaurants in the US are not 'real' representations of that culture's cuisine ignore the historical reality that these dishes were developed by diasporic communities striving to recreate the flavors of home with available resources. Such criticism frames adaptation as a loss of authenticity, rather than recognizing it as a sincere and evolving expression of culture by people separated from their homeland.

[ninhaoma-ya]

Too good to leave in the tags